Unlike other sacred scriptures, the Ofudesaki is easy to understand. It was written in hiragana, a form of writing that is simple, unlike the complexity of kanji. It does not require scholars and church officials to translate and interpret the almost 2,000 verses that are written in waka style poetry. The contents are also basic, in that God’s message to the world is to attain the Original pure mind, the pure mind given to the first parents of human beings. This is the state of mind, God wants us to return to. This is a mind without greed, arrogance, disappointment (regret), covetousness, and self-love. With the attainment of this mind, any blessings are possible! The following verses are from the Ofudesaki:

In the Ofudesaki, God teaches us how to attain this Original pure mind (shinjitsu). How precious is the Ofudesaki, as it gives us ingredients to live the Joyous life.

We need to spread the contents of the Ofudesaki to the world. In the mikagura-uta, God calls the dissemination of God’s truth hinokishin (hito no kishin), or a person’s contribution to God. The following is from song 7-1 of the mikagura-uta:

In the Ofudesaki, the word hinokishin does not exist. The traditional Church translation of hinokishin is volunteering, or disaster relief, both physical activities to help others. But in the Mikagura-uta, as evidenced by the verses, the meaning of the word matches more with spreading God’s teachings.

What is more important to God, the helping of others like cleaning a park, or spreading God’s truth to others? Spreading God’s truth is more important. More difficult question would be what is more important to God, helping others after a disaster like a hurricane, or spreading God’s truths. Helping others after a disaster is applauded, but the spreading of God’s teachings will possibly prevent future disasters. It is like the proverb, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime. God gives us the instructions in the Ofudesaki to have joy for eternity.

To help us spread the teachings to the world, God has given us a special prayer called the Joyous Service. By performing this prayer with a pure mind, God will help these people who we have previously spread God’s truth, to attain the Original pure mind.

Again the simple message in the Ofudesaki is:

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