What is the Youki-tsutome?

People of Tenrikyo also call this the Joyous Service. What does it do? Tenrikyo followers and their church leaders explain that it is a prayer asking God to purify one’s own mind. However, how does God purify our minds? This point has not been fully settled. Some say that God gives illness as guidance in order to help purify the mind. But is the main purpose of the Service truly the purification of one’s own mind?

In the Ofudesaki, God teaches that the Youki-tsutome is a prayer asking God to save others, and not a prayer to save oneself. We should already know how to save ourselves by understanding what appears from our own soul. Let me explain. Our own soul observes our behavior and eventually dispenses justice for actions that arise from negative thoughts. Some people call this karma or innen as it appears in our lives. Through the working of the soul, we reap what we have sown.

With this understanding, God teaches that when suffering arising from the soul appears, we should not blame God or those whom we believe to be the source of our suffering. Instead, God tells us to reflect on our own minds and examine the negative thoughts we acted upon that are connected to the suffering. By doing this, and by not acting on those thoughts again, we can gradually purify our minds.

Now that we understand how to remove negative thoughts, let us explain how the Youki-tsutome saves other people. Through this prayer, we ask God to help sweep away the negative thoughts of others. How does God do this? God discerns the minds of those to whom we have spread the teachings, and places illness as guidance according to the amount and nature of the negative thoughts in their minds. These thoughts are ones they will eventually act upon, creating negative destinies. Through this guidance, God is showing them their future.

Those who understand God’s guidance go to places of worship seeking healing. There, the Osazuke (a healing prayer) is administered, and they are given further teachings of God so that they may purify their own minds. When the mind becomes pure, one is saved. From the soul, only health and happiness will then appear.

It is the Youki-tsutome that initiates all of this. Together with the Osazuke, it is a prayer to save others in the world.

陽気づとめ（ようきづとめ）とは何でしょうか。

天理教の人々はこれを「陽気づとめ（Joyous Service）」とも呼びます。これは何を行うものなのでしょうか。天理教の人々や教会の指導者たちは、これを「神に自分自身の心を清めていただくための祈り」であると説明します。しかし、神はどのようにして私たちのkokoro (mind)を清めるのでしょうか。その点については、いまだ解釈が分かれています。ある人々は、神がkokoro (mind)を清める助けとして病を「お導き」として与えるのだと言います。けれども、陽気づとめの主な目的は本当に自分自身の心を清めることなのでしょうか。

『おふでさき』の中で、神は陽気づとめとは「他者を救うために神に願う祈り」であり、「自分自身を救うための祈りではない」と教えています。私たちはすでに、自分自身をどのように救うかを、自らの魂に現れるものを理解することによって知っているはずなのです。説明しましょう。私たち自身の魂が私たちの行いを見守り、やがて否定的な思いに基づく行為に対して正義を下します。これをカルマ、あるいは因縁として人生に現れると呼ぶ人もいます。魂の働きによって、私たちは自分が蒔いたものを刈り取るのです。

このことを踏まえ、神は、魂から生じる苦しみが現れたとき、それを神や、苦しみの原因だと思い込んでいる他者のせいにしてはならないと教えています。そうではなく、その苦しみに関係する、自分が実際に行動に移した否定的な思いを、自らのkokoroの中に省みなさいと神は告げています。こうして、その思いに再び基づいて行動しないようにすることで、私たちは徐々にkokoro (mind) を清めることができるのです。

さて、否定的な思いを取り除く方法が分かったところで、次に、陽気づとめがどのようにして他の人々を救うのかを説明しましょう。この祈りによって、私たちは神に、他者の否定的な思いを掃い清めてくださるよう願います。神はどのようにそれを行うのでしょうか。神は、私たちが教えを伝えた相手のkokoro (mind) を見分け、そのkokoro (mind) にある否定的な思いの量や性質に応じて、病という形でお導きを与えます。これらの思いは、やがて行動として現れ、否定的な運命を生み出すものです。神は、そのお導きを通して、彼らの未来を示しているのです。

神のお導きを理解した人々は、癒やしを求めて教会や礼拝所を訪れます。そこで「おさづけ」（癒やしの祈り）が取り次がれ、さらに神の教えを授けられることで、自らのkokoro (mind)を清めていきます。kokoroが清まったとき、人は救われます。魂から現れるのは、健康と幸福だけになるのです。

この一連の流れを始動させるのが陽気づとめです。陽気づとめはおさづけとともに、この世の人々を救うための祈りなのです。

現実の世界において、神のご守護（ご恩恵）とは何でしょうか。多くの人は、神のご守護とは幸福や健康であると考えるでしょう。しかし『おふでさき』の中では、神は導きとして与えられる病を「ご守護」とお呼びになっています。なぜ病がご守護なのでしょうか。
神が病をお与えになる意図を理解すれば、神がお与えになる不都合や苦しみが、なぜご守護と呼ばれるのかが分かるはずです。

では、神が導きとして病をお与えになる意図とは何でしょうか。それは、人々が行いを改めなければ将来味わうことになる苦しみの姿を、前もって示しておられるということです。
神はどのようにしてそれをなさるのでしょうか。神は人の心を見分け、そこにある否定的な思いの量や種類に応じて病をお与えになります。これらの否定的な思いは、やがて人が行動に移してしまうものであり、その結果、魂が因縁として集め、蓄え、最終的には苦しみとなって自らに現れてきます。
このような病は、人々に否定的な思いを取り除くための時間と機会を与えるという点で、ご守護なのです。

では、人はどのようにして否定的な思いを取り除くのでしょうか。
以前に教えとして知らされていた神のご守護の意味を理解した人々は、癒やしを求めて私たちの礼拝の場へと足を運びます。そこで私たちはおさづけを取り次ぎ、人々は癒やされ、さらに心を澄ますための神の真実を教えられます。
心が澄めば、人は救われます。魂から現れるのは、健康と幸福だけです。
その結果、神から与えられた病を通して、喜びと健康がもたらされます。だからこそ、神の意図どおりに受け取られた病は、神のご守護であると言えるのです

In the real world, what are God’s blessings? Many people will believe God’s blessings are happiness and health. But In the Ofudesaki, God calls illness placed as God’s guidance as blessings. Why are they called blessings? If we understand the intention of God in placing illness, we will understand why inconvenience or sufferings God places may be called blessings. 

What are God’s intention in placing illness as guidance? God is showing people their future of suffering if they do not change their behavior. How does God do this? God distinguishes their minds for negative thoughts and places illness according to the amount and kind of negative thoughts. It is these negative thoughts that they will eventually act upon that will create their negative fates that their own soul collects, stores, and eventually manifest as suffering back to them. These illness are blessings because they give these people the time and opportunity to remove their negative thoughts.

How do they remove their negative thoughts? If they understand God’s blessing that they were previously informed about, they come to our places of worship to be healed. We perform the Osazuke and they are healed, and further given God’s truth to purify their minds. When their mind is pure, they are saved. Only health and happiness will appear from their souls. The end result is joy and health from the illness given by God. This is why these illnesses are blessings from God if accepted as intended.

I would like to continue to keep talking about the Osazuke. The Osazuke performed at the wrong time and circumstance may have a negative response to both the people we perform it on and ourselves. For example, what happens if these people do not get well? What happens to our confidence in the Osazuke if people do not get well, even after many visits. We hear excuses that our minds are not pure when we perform this service, or the patient’s mind was not responsive to our teachings. This is why the Osazuke did not work. So my question is when do we perform this special Service, and what besides healing illness is its purpose ? 

Could the Osazuke be an important instrument in spreading God’s teaching to the world? Let me explain. First we have another instrument that God has granted us to spread the teachings. This is the Youki-tsutome. With this prayer we are asking God to sweep away negative thoughts of the people we have informed of the teachings. How does God do this? God places illness as guidance depending on the amount and kind of negative thoughts one has in the mind. These are the thoughts that one will likely act upon that creates the negative fates that the soul collects, stores, and eventually manifest back as suffering when the right opportunity arises. In essence God is showing them their future if they do not remove their negative thoughts. 

What happens when people receive God’s guidance. Some will ignore it and think the illness is worldly common. Others who understand the illness given as guidance will come to our places of worship to heal their illness. This is when the Osazuke is effective. This opportunity also gives us a chance to further inform them of the soul to purify their own minds. We tell them that when the mind is pure, one is saved. Only health and happiness will appear from their soul. Again the Osazuke performed at the right time and circumstance will be effective. It cures the illness placed by God as guidance. It is one of two prayers God has granted us to help spread the teachings to the world. 

Some will say, why did God not create the Osazuke to heal all illness, even existing illness that Church leaders continue to believe it cures. If this was the case, there will be thousands of people coming to our places of worship to be cured daily. But what would be the result? Would these people purify their minds, or will they continue to act on their selfish and evil thoughts when their illness disappeared. Their souls will continue to bring upon suffering, and they will continue to come to receive the Osazuke. This does not result in people understanding the soul and why suffering and joy appear in the world. This is why we must only perform this special Service on people who God has placed illness as guidance.

これは、「ようきづとめ」という言葉に対する、あくまで私個人の解釈です。多くの天理教の人々は、これを「陽気づとめ（陽気ぐらしのおつとめ）」、あるいは英語では Joyous Service と呼んでいます。
しかし言葉を分けて考えてみると、「よう」はご守護、「き」は木（樹）、「つとめ」はおつとめ（奉仕）と捉えることができます。これらを組み合わせると、「ご守護としての導きを、人（木）に与えていただくためのおつとめ」という意味になります。つまり、神に対して、人に導きとして病をお与えいただくことをお願いするおつとめである、という解釈です。

その人がその導きを理解し、癒やしを求めて私たちの礼拝の場へ来られたとき、その人は「ようき」、あるいは「ようぼく」、すなわち神が導きをお置きになった人と呼ばれます。私たちはおさづけを取り次いで癒やし、さらにkokoro (mind) を澄ますために教えを伝えます。そうして、その人は自らの心を澄ますことができるようになります。

繰り返しますが、これはあくまでも私自身の考えです。

This is merely my personal interpretation of the term “Youki-tsutome.” Most Tenrikyo followers refer to this as the Joyous Service. However, if we separate the words, “you” can be understood as blessings, “ki” as tree, and “tsutome” as service. When these are combined, it becomes a Service that asks God to give blessings in the form of guidance to a person, with the tree representing a human being. In other words, it is a Service that asks God to place illness as guidance upon a person.

If the person understands that guidance and comes to our places of worship seeking healing, they are called youki or yoboku—people upon whom God has placed guidance. We heal them through the Osazuke and further teach them the teachings so that they may purify their minds. In this way, they become able to purify their own minds.

Again, this is only my own idea.

God showing us our future. Is this good or bad? 

God has granted us a special prayer. It is a prayer asking God to show the future of others that we have spread God’s teachings to. What does God do when God accepts our prayer? God enters the person, and distinguishes the negative thoughts in his or her mind. It is these thoughts that they will act upon, that creates their negative fates that their soul collects, stores, and eventually manifest back to them as suffering. Depending upon the amount of kind of negative thoughts, God places illness as guidance. In essence God is showing these people their future if they do not remove their negative thoughts.

I would like to talk about the Osazuke, a prayer that God has granted us to save people. Most Tenrikyo people will disagree with me, but the Osazuke does not cure existing illness that is present. Why do I say this? It is from my own experience. My mother often went to administer the Osazuke, but I do not remember any miraculous recovery from illness. When both my parents were ill in the hospital, even the Bishop’s administration of the Osazuke did not cure them. Both died sadly.

If the Ofudesaki does not work on existing illness, when does it work? When Oyasama was physically present, people came to the Residence to ask for healing after they were first introduced to God’s teachings of the soul. I do not believe that Oyasama or her followers went out to cure existing illness. So what are the illnesses that we can cure. It is the illness that God places as guidance that the Osazuke cures. Let me explain further.

How do we spread God’s teachings to other,to the world? God has granted us two precious Services or prayers to do this. The first is the Youki-tsutome. This is a prayer asking God to place illness as guidance to the people we have introduced the soul, and pure mind. The second is the Osazuke which is a prayer asking God to cure the illness that God had placed. This gives us the opportunity to convince the people we have first introduced the teachings about the soul and pure mind. These two prayers are vital in the spreading of the teachings to the world. Presently these two prayers are not understood by church leaders, and this is why God’s teachings are not spreading to the world.

Today is the special anniversary that we celebrate Oyasama. Hopefully Church leaders will understand the instructions in the Ofudesaki to spread the teachings that will save the world. We have two special prayers!

How does God guide people? First we must go out to spread the teachings of the pure mind, soul, and God’s guidance to others. Then we must perform the Youki-tsutome asking God to help us convince these people of the teachings.When God accepts our prayer of the Youki-tsutome, God enters the person, and evaluates the negative thoughts in them, and places illness as guidance depending on the amount and kind of negative thoughts in their minds. It is these thoughts that we will act upon, and create the fate that their soul collects and eventually manifest as suffering. In short, God is showing them their future if they do not remove their negative thoughts.

When these people understand the guidance that appears, they come to our places of worship to be healed by the Osazuke. The Osazuke appears to only cure illness that God places as guidance. It does not cure existing illnesses. God’s teachings are further instructed to the people who come to our places of worship, and they will be able to purify their own minds by themselves. When the mind is pure, only health and happiness will appear from the soul. This is how our teachings are spread to the world.

In summary:

1. we spread God’s teaching to others
2. we pray with the Youki-tsutome
3. God places illness as guidance to these people
4. they come to our places of worship to be healed
5. we perform the Osazuke to heal them and give further instructions.
6. they are able to purify their own minds by themselves
7. when their minds are pure, they are saved.
8. only health and happiness will appear from their soul

神はどのように人々を導くのでしょうか。
まず私たちは、清らかな心と魂、そして神の導きの教えを人々に広めていかなければなりません。
次に、人々がその教えを理解し受け入れられるよう、神にお力添えを願い、陽気づとめを行います。

神が私たちの陽気づとめの祈りをお受け取りになると、神はその人の中に入り、その人の心にある否定的な思いを見極めます。そして、その思いの量や種類に応じて、導きとして病をお与えになります。 人はその思いに基づいて行動し、魂が積み重ねる因縁をつくり、やがてそれが苦しみとして現れます。 つまり神は、否定的な思いを取り除かなければ将来どうなるのかを、その人に示しておられるのです。

この導きを理解した人々は、癒やしを求めて私たちの礼拝所に来られ、おさづけによるお救けを受けます。 おさづけは、神が導きとしてお与えになった病のみを癒やすものであり、もともとある病を治すものではありません。 礼拝所に来た人々には、さらに神の教えが伝えられ、やがて自らの力で心を澄ませることができるようになります。 心が澄めば、魂から現れるのは健康と幸福だけです。 このようにして、私たちの教えは世界へと広がっていきます。

まとめ：

• 私たちは神の教えを広める
• 陽気づとめをもって祈る
• 神は人々に導きとして病をお与えになる
• 人々は癒やしを求めて礼拝所に来る
• 私たちはおさづけを行い、癒やしとさらなる教えを授ける
• 人々は自ら心を澄ませることができるようになる
• 心が澄めば、人は救われる
• 魂から現れるのは、健康と幸福のみである’s Guidance

Spreading the truth:

Thinking about our religion Tenrikyo, it appears that church leaders are encouraging people to visit their churches, and eventually returning to Tenri to thank God. I think it should be in the opposite direction. We should be going out to spread the teachings to the world. It is the same with the Yorozuyo and 12 dances. We are dancing in front of God, and the people who already should know God’s truth. Again we should be going out to spread the teachings that we are dancing about. Your thoughts?

Short version:

What truth if spread to the world will change the world? In the Ofudesaki God tells us we do not understand the soul (mune). It is understanding the soul that will create a prosperous and happy world. Unfortunately our religion is placing more emphasis on ancient traditions and ritual of 19 century Japan. This includes the clothing, shrines, and even the language of Japan. Pilgrimages and worhipping of God take more importance than spreading God’s truths.

Long version:

What truth if spread to the world will change the world? In the Ofudesaki God tells us we do not understand the soul (mune). It is understanding the soul that will create a prosperous and happy world. What is the soul? Many people believe that because of the soul, we exist for eternity. Our bodies may die, but the soul continues to heaven, and eventually reincarnates to begin a new life. But what does the soul do when it is present in our physical bodies? This is what most people do not know, and what God tells us to understand, and share will the world.

While in our bodies, our soul monitors our behavior. We reap what we sowed because of our own soul. It collects our demerits and merits from acting on our thoughts. It stores them, and eventually manifest the demerits(negative energy) or merits(positive energy) when the right opportunity arises. Many times the right opportunity may not arise in this lifetime, and manifest in future lifetimes. Therefore it is not God that punishes or rewards us for our actions. Our prayers to ask forgiveness, will not usually be accepted by God for this reason.

What happens when our physical bodies die? It is the soul that takes the fates and their associated thoughts to our next destination. The associated thoughts are the thoughts that we acted upon that created the fate. Our memories will be erased but the thoughts and associated thoughts are carried by the soul to our next destination. Therefore, we do not get a fresh start when we are reborn.

So for those who have negative fates in the soul, do we just suffer in our next lives? It does not seem fair because we cannot even remember what we had done in our previous lives. But remember our negative thought(s) associated with the suffering appearing is still present in our minds, as it was carried by the soul. So do we deserve to suffer? What can we do?

We cannot go back in time to change what we have done. God tells us that if we can remove our negative thought(s) associated with the suffering(s), one can reduce the sufferings or eliminate them entirely. How do we do this? God tells us when suffering appears from the soul, not to blame God or others, but to ponder one’s own mind associated with the suffering; and not act upon them. This is how one gradually purifies the mind. When the mind is pure, only joy and health will appear from the soul.

It is this information we must spread to the world. God tells us that we are not alone to spread this truth. God has granted us the Youki-tsutome, a simple prayer asking God to help us spread God’s teachings to others. I will not go further on this topic as it has been discussed previously. But it is vital as people have difficulties in understanding the soul, pure mind, and God’s guidance to help understand the teachings.

I believe we as a church are depending on God to help us save the world. What do I mean? We are performing the Yorozuyo and 12 songs, hoping God to save us and the world. We are offering food in front of God to ask for blessings. We are emphacizing the return to Ojiba to thank God for many blessings. I can go on, but what does God want us to do. God tells us in the Ofudesaki, that we must spread the teachings that are in the Ofudesaki to others. What truths must we spread? It is the truth about the soul (mune), pure mind (shinjitsu), and God’s guidance (juuyou, and you) that we must spread to the world. These truth, the world does not know, and understand.

In the Ofudesaki, God tells us that if we spread the teachings first, God with our performance of the Youki-tsutome will help us save the people that we have spread the teachings to.

Again, we must make the efforts of spreading the teachings before God will help us save the world.

私は、教会として私たちは神様に頼って世界を救おうとしているのだと感じています。では、私が言いたいことは何でしょうか。私たちは、陽気づとめや十二つの歌を勤め、神様に私たち自身と世界を救っていただけるよう願っています。神様の前でお供えをして祝福を願い、また多くの祝福に感謝するためにおぢばへお戻りすることを大切にしています。挙げればきりがありません。

しかし、神様は私たちに何をしてほしいのでしょうか。神様は『おふでさき』の中で、私たちはまず『おふでさき』の教えを他の人々に広めなければならないと教えてくださっています。では、どのような真理を広めなければならないのでしょうか。それは、心（むね）についての真理、清い心（しんじつ）、そして神様の導き（じゅうよう・よう）の真理です。これらの真理は、世界の人々には知られておらず、理解されていません。

『おふでさき』には、まず教えを広めるならば、神様は私たちが陽気づとめを勤めることを通して、教えを広めた人々を救ってくださる、とも書かれています。

改めて言うと、世界を救っていただくためには、まず教えを広める努力を私たちがすることが必要なのです。