Do we have to dress in Japanese attire, perform a dance ritual in front of a shrine in Japanese, make donations and offerings, and make pilgrimages to Japan to be saved? All these procedures make it difficult for the average person to be saved. In the Ofudesaki, the most sacred scripture in the Tenrikyo religon, God tells us a different story of how to be saved.
First, what does it mean to be saved?
God tells us when one’s mnd is purified of negative thoughts, one is saved. Only joy and health will appear from our own souls.
What are these negative thoughts we have to remove and not act upon?
God tells us these thoughts are regret, covetousness, self-love, greed, and arrogance.
How simple could the teachings be. One only has to remove their negative thoughts to live a joyous life. This appears simple, but difficult to do, as we like to blame others for our sufferings. In the Ofudesaki God tells us why we need to remove our negative thoughts, and the instructions to remove them from our minds.
In summary to be happy one only needs to purify the mind. We do not even have to believe in God for this to happen. But if we want to spread the teachings to save others, the belief in God is important. This involves two special prayers that God has granted us to save the world. These two prayers unfortunately are not used as intended. I will explain why in future posts. This is why the teachings are not spreading to the world.