Today I would like to talk about tanno or tannou. In the dictionary it is defined as satisfaction, and pleasure. In Tenrikyo, it is said to be the acceptance of suffering ( of karma) with joy. In both the Ofudesaki and the Mikagura-uta, the word tanno or tannou is not mentioned. Why am I talking about tanno? I happened to view a sermon by Pastor Owen Nakao. He was talking about a discussion with a Buddhist Priest discussing karma. The Buddhist Priest said that in the Buddhist religion one must accept the suffering of Karma. Pastor Owen told the priest in Tenrikyo, we accept karma with joy. By this process we can lessen our fate or eliminate them completely. Pastor Owen said that the Buddhist Priest had not known of this before, and was impressed by the teachings of tanno.

But do we need to accept karma with joy? In the Ofudesaki God tells us ” Mune no uchi yori, shian seyo. ” What does this mean? God tells us what comes from the soul, to ponder the negative fate that appears, and ponder the negative thoughts that are associated with the fate that appear. God tells us not to act on these negative thoughts. This is how we purify our minds. When the mind is pure, only positive fates will appear from our own soul.

So when fate or suffering appears, we must accept it like the Buddhist, but I do not think we need to accept it with joy like Tenrikyo tells us. But we must realize that it is our own soul that manifest these fates to help us purify our own minds. These instructions on how to purify our minds, and how to spread the teachings are in the Ofudesaki.