We reap what we have sowed is a verse in the bible. If we believe in reincarnation, we believe that we would be rewarded or punished by our actions, resulting in what many call fate or innen. We can definitely improve our future, by understanding the concept of karma; but are we stuck to face the consequences of what we have done in the past? This may sound discouraging for many of us who now understand the concept of reincarnation and karma; knowing that they have no control of what they have sowed in the past. Are we destined to suffer for what we have done in the past?

We cannot go back in time to correct our malfeasance, to eliminate what we have sowed. But in the Ofudesaki, God tells us by eliminating the dusts in our minds; we can live the “Joyous life”, erasing our fates. We can even do this within one night.  The dusts in our minds are disappointment (oshii), desire (hoshii), self-love (kawai), greed (yoku) and arrogance (kouman).

How would the elimination of these evil thoughts, erase our fates? Let me propose a theory, which is indirectly implied in the Ofudesaki. This theory will presume that our fates and the thoughts associated with the evil action with continue on to our next lives. Some will say this is unjust because we cannot remember our past lives.  But remember, we reap what we have sowed. We must take responsibility for our actions. Just because we attain a new body in our next incarnation, we do not also deserve to attain a clean slate, to start over with.

So now we have established that our bodies contain our fates. We also have the evil thoughts associated with them in our minds.  By acting on these thoughts, we created these fates. As we had mentioned before, we have no way of going back in time to cancel our actions. But suppose we can eliminate the thoughts that caused us to act inappropriately.  These thoughts that existed then and today are the source of the fate.  If we can remove these thoughts now, can the associated fate also be removed? This is like going back in time to eliminate the action that caused the creation of the fate.  

How do we eliminate evil thoughts from our minds? For many, it will be a difficult task to accomplish.  These evil thoughts are like dusts on a mirror. When accumulated, they are difficult to sweep away. In one night, it will be difficult to remove. 

God tells us when negative fate appears in lives, one must ponder our own minds, to see what dust initiated the fate. Instead of blaming others, we must ponder our own minds. If we do not act negatively toward these obstacles, we can continue to purify our minds.  When our minds are purified, one can cancel or lessen any fate; and our own hearts will bring upon joy only!