Why does our religion not grow? In the Ofudesaki is the following:

(hayabaya to) (kokoro soroute) (shikkari to)

(tsutome suru nara) (Sekai osamaru). 14:92

Church Headquarter translates this as:

If you quickly unite your minds and do the Service correctly,

the world will settle. 14:92

They believe this Service is the Yorozuyo and the twelve dances. Church leaders wants its members to perform these dances without any mistakes for God to give blessings? For any nonJapanese person, is this possible to perform without any mistakes?

But the true translation for this verse is:

Quickly, the minds gather, firmly (with pure mind),

the Service (Youki-tsutome) to do if so, the world to settle. 14:92

God wants us to perform the Youki-tsutome with a pure mind. It is not the yorozuyo and 12 dances.

ashiki o haroute tasuke tamae

Tenri-o-no Mikoto

Evil thoughts sweeping save them please

Tenri-o-no-Mikoto

When God accepts our prayer, God then places illness as guidance to the people we have spread the teachings of the soul, pure mind, and God’s guidance. If the people understand God’s guidance when it appear, they come to our places of worship to be healed by the Osazuke. They are further instructed on the soul to purify their own mind. This is how the teachings are spread to the world.

Because we do not understand our prayers, we are not growing. We must understand the instructions in the Ofudesaki.

Christianity has approximately 2.4 billion followers or adherents, Islam has 2.0 billion adherents, hinduism has 1.2 billion adherents, and Buddhism has 500 million. Disappointing Tenrikyo has only 1.2 million adherents, and the number keeps decreasing.

Why is our religion not spreading to the world? We are not following the instructions in the Ofudesaki. The most accurate English translation can be purchased on Amazon. This translation also compares the traditional English Tenrikyo Headquarter’s translation with my translation which is word for word. You will see that we are not following God’s instructions. Instead, we are placing more importance on ceremonies, and rituals. God tells us that eventually the world will have peace and prosperity, but this will not happen until church leaders understand their own sacred scripture.

キリスト教には約24億人の信者、イスラム教には約20億人の信者、ヒンドゥー教には約12億人の信者、そして仏教には約5億人の信者がいます。それに対して、残念ながら天理教の信者は約120万人しかおらず、その数は今も減少し続けています。

なぜ私たちの信仰は世界に広がらないのでしょうか。それは、『おふでさき』の教えに従っていないからです。

最も正確な英訳版『おふでさき』はAmazonで購入できます。この翻訳書では、天理教教会本部の従来の英訳と、私による逐語訳（できる限り一語一語に忠実な翻訳）を比較しています。その違いをご覧になれば、私たちが神様の教えに従っていないことがお分かりいただけると思います。

その代わりに、私たちは儀式や形式を重視しすぎています。神様は、やがて世界は平和と繁栄に満ちると教えておられます。しかし、それは教会の指導者たちが自らの聖典を正しく理解するようになるまで実現しないでしょう。

One of the reason our teachings are not spreading to the world is because we do not understand our prayer, the Youki-tsutome. The following is Tenrikyo Church Headquarter’s translation of verse 15:90:

(hayabaya to) (narimono bari to) (dashikake yo)

(tsutome bakari o) (seethe iru kara). 15-90

Quickly, begin to bring out the musical instruments at least.

I am hastening solely for the Service. 15:90

But the word narimono can also be translated as harvest.

Quickly, the harvest (of new members) resulting in, carry our!

The Service only, because hastening to exist. 15-90

It is our Service, that brings upon a harvest of new members to save. This Service is not to save ourselves, but it is a Service to save others.

(kono tsutome)(kore ga kono yo no)(hajimari ya)

(kore sai kanota)(koto de aru nara) 15-29

(hayabaya to)(narimono nari to)(dashikake yo)

(tsutome bakari o )(seete iru kara). 15-90

Tenrikyo Church Headquarter translates these as:

This Service is the beginning of this world.

If only this is realized 15-29

Quickly begin to bring out the musical instruments at least.

I am hastening solely for the Service. 15-90

But can the real translations be:

This Service, this is these workings (of guidance), beginning.

This on occasion realized, by the occurrence(guidance) to exist if so. 15-29

Quickly, the harvest (of new members) resulting in, carry out!

The Service only, because hastening exist. 15-90

It is the performance of the Youki-tsutome-tsutome that brings upon guidance to the people we have spread the teachings to. By the acceptance of our prayer, God places illness depending on what negative thoughts are in the mind. It is these thoughts that people will act upon creating negative fates that the soul collects and eventually returns back as sufferings. God is showing them their future if they do not remove their negative thoughts.

In summary, it is the Service (Youki-tsutome) most people in Tenrikyo do not understand. This is why we do not grow as a religion.

Today I will like to talk about nihon and kara, which are mentioned in the Ofudesaki. Nihon are people that can understand God’s teachings. Kara are people who cannot understand God’s teachings or refuse to listen to God’s teachings. God tells us to spread the teachings to both kara and nihon. We then perform the Youki-tsutome resulting in God placing illness as guidance to purify their minds. Nihon will understand God’s guidance, and come to our places of worship to heal their illness given by God. We perform the osazuke and they are healed, and given further instructions to purify their own minds. They are now called Youboku or youki, as God continues to guide them to purify their minds. Yo(u) as blessing of guidance given to these people (ki). But kara will not understand God’s guidance, and will continue to act on their negative thoughts. This is why God tells us to continue to spread the teachings to kara, so they can become nihon.

Unfortunately, some of our church leaders may be kara, as they do not understand the teachings in the Ofudesaki, or they refuse to understand them, and continue to spread the teachings that God may not approve. This is why the Ofudesaki is a sacred scripture everyone must understand, so God’s instruction to save the world occurs.

God places illness as Guidance to help people understand there own soul, to achieve the pure mind.

(sato sato ta oto)(ta oto byou sama)(byou sama). 12-73

Discern discern do respond, do respond illness appearance)(illness appearance). 12-73

We in Tenrikyo often depend on doctors and medicine to help us because of the following verse in the Ofudesaki:

Kono koto o shirashitai kara dandan to

shuri ya koe ni isha kusuri o 9:11

Tenrikyo translates this as:

Because of My desire to have you know this,

I began doctors and medicine for weeding and fertilizing 9:11

But is this translation correct? God is talking about God’s guidance to help us purify our minds in the previous verses. The church headquarter’s translation is telling us God began doctors and medicine to give out God’s guidance? This does not make any sense. Could the verse be translated as:

These occurrences, because I want to inform, little by little,

weeding (God’s guidance) and fertilizer (Youki-tsutome) to be like, doctors and medicines to (resulting in health and happiness).

9:11

God is comparing the guidance from God, resulting from weeding and the Youki-tsutome, to doctors and medicine. They all result in health and happiness.

I believe this misinterpretation of verse 9:11 is resulting in our members relying on physicians and medicine in curing our illnesses. Instead we should mainly rely on God to help us when illness or obstacles occur.

It is interesting that Church leaders always teach us to return to our Parent Churches and to Ojiba. I notice many of the religious leaders always attending other churches, and taking photographs of their visit. These journeys appear to be normal to our members, but in the Mikagura Song 11, God appears to tell us to spread the teachings from our churches to the world, taking God’s teachings (Residence’s earth) from our churches to other locations.

We can support other churches, but our main purpose of our religion is to spread God’s

Teachings to the world. Is God’s teachings spreading to the world?

興味深いことに、教会の指導者はいつも、親教会やおぢばへ帰るよう私たちに教えています。私は、多くの宗教指導者がいつも他の教会を訪れ、その訪問の写真を撮っているのを目にします。

このような往来は教会の人々にとって普通のことのように思えます。しかし、『みかぐらうた』第十一節では、神様は私たちに、教会から世界へお教えを広めるようにお示しになっているように思えます。すなわち、教会から神様のお教え（「やしきのぢ」）を携えて、他の場所へ運ぶように教えておられるように思えます。

私たちは他の教会を支えることはできます。しかし、私たちの信仰の主な目的は、神様のお教えを世界へ広めることではないでしょうか。

神様のお教えは、今、世界へ広まっているのでしょうか

The first book is a short summary of the Ofudesaki. The second book is the most accurate translation of the Ofudesaki. Both the hiragana verses in Japanese, and the Tenrikyo Church Headquarter’s translation are in the book. It will be easy to compare my translation with Church Headquarter’s translation. Both books are sold on Amazon at the least expensive price. I do not make any profits from these sales. Again the Ofudesaki gives us the instructions to live the Joyous life. More importantly it gives us the instructions to save other.

最初の本は、『おふでさき』の要点を簡潔にまとめたものです。

二冊目は、『おふでさき』の最も正確な翻訳を目指したものです。本書には、日本語のひらがな原文と、天理教教会本部による英訳の両方を掲載していますので、私の翻訳と教会本部の翻訳を簡単に比較することができます。

どちらの本もAmazonでできるだけ安い価格で販売しています。これらの本の販売による利益は一切受け取っていません。

改めて申し上げますが、『おふでさき』は、陽気ぐらしを実現するための教えと実践の指針を示しています。そして、それ以上に大切なのは、人をたすけるための具体的な教えと方法を示しているということです。

WHEN THE MIND IS PURE, ONE IS SAVED. ONLY JOY WILL APPEAR FROM YOUR SOUL!

Understanding the Soul (Mune).

God desires that all people come to understand their own soul (mune). Without this understanding, we cannot fully grasp why suffering or joy appears in our lives or the world around us.

The soul is our eternal core. When our physical bodies cease functioning, the soul carries our thoughts and their associated fates to its next destination. Some believe the soul returns to God in heaven, but many believe it returns back to earth to start a new life. Although our memories are erased, death does not give us a fresh start as we carry our former thoughts and associated fates to the next life. It is in our present life to change our negative thoughts, to assure us of a joyous future. God in the Ofudesaki tells us how to purify our minds. God tells us when our minds are pure, we are saved. Only joy will appear from our own soul.

The Soul and Divine Justice

While we live in our borrowed bodies, the soul records demerits (negative energies)  from negative thoughts acted upon—such as greed, arrogance, or selfishness. These demerits are stored as fate, which later returns to us as suffering, either in this life or a future one.

We reap what we have sown—not through external judgment, but through the workings of our own soul.

Death Is Not a Reset

When we die, our memories fade, but our karmic fate—linked to our thoughts and behavior—continues. This explains why people are born with different inclinations, burdens, or blessings. Each of us begins life carrying the results of our previous thoughts. God does not interfere with our thinking. We must change it ourselves. Our present lifetime, gives us the opportunity to purify our minds.

How to Respond to Suffering

When suffering or obstacles appear, God tells us to ponder our own mind. These difficulties are messages from our soul, revealing negative thoughts that we must eliminate.

We must not blame others or act on the emotions that emerge from our negative thoughts. Instead we must ponder what negative thought or thoughts are contributing to the negative emotions that appear in our lives. This is how we eliminate our negative thoughts. When our minds are purified, we are saved. Only joy will come from our souls.

The Five Dusts of the Mind

God tells us that there is no one who is “evil”. Only dusts (negative thoughts)  have attached to the mind.

The negative thoughts (or “dusts”) God wants us to sweep are:

• Regret (disappointment in others)

• Covetousness (desire for what isn’t ours)

• Self-love (self-centeredness)

• Greed (excessive desire for material things)

• Arrogance (feeling superior, judging others)

By not acting on the emotions that arise from these thoughts, we can purify our minds. But this is difficult without understanding the soul. That is why God wants us to understand the soul first.

Helping Others Be Saved

Once we purify our own minds, many of us wish to help others do the same. This is where God’s guidance becomes essential.

God teaches us to spread the truth of the soul, the pure mind, and divine guidance. Some people will readily accept and understand. God refers to these receptive people as “Nihon”.

Others, however, may resist or be unable to understand—these are called “Kara”.  God tells us to continue to spread the teachings to them.

The Youki-Tsutome and God’s Guidance

God has given us a special prayer called the Youki-tsutome (teodori). This prayer is a request for God to help those we’ve taught who are not yet convinced of the teachings.

When performed with sincerity and a pure mind, God responds by placing illness as guidance upon those individuals that we have spread the teachings. These illnesses are not punishments—they are messages showing the consequences of what their own soul does. Our souls monitor our behavior.

This guidance gives them a glimpse of what their own soul will eventually manifest if those negative thoughts remain.

The Healing and the Spreading of Truth

Those who understand the guidance placed, will come to our places of worship, asking to heal their illnesses. We call these people youboku or youki. Then, we perform the Sazuke (healing prayer) and continue teaching them about the soul and the pure mind. This is how God’s teachings are spread to the world.

But unfortunately kara will not understand or refuse to understand God’s guidance that appears, and will continue to act on their negative thoughts. God tells us to continue to spread the teachings to these people so they will become nihon.

IN SUMMARY:

WHEN THE MIND IS PURE, ONE IS SAVED. ONLY JOY WILL APPEAR FROM ONE’S  SOUL!

This is from my introduction in heaventruth.com on WordPress. You can get the Japanese and Portuguese translation there,

The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” — Matthew 9:37

This is from the Bible, but I believe also it pertains to our religion. God promises an harvest of new members, but the people to spread the teachings of the soul and pure mind are a few.In the Ofudesaki the words ryuukei, and narimono exist. Church leaders have translated them to be harvest of crops and musical instruments. In the dictionary, both words can also be translated as harvest. I believe God is talking about a harvest of new members. The following is from the Ofudesaki:

(Ichiretsu ni)(Kami no kokoro ga)(Izumi nara)

(Mono no ryuuke ga)(mina Izumi nari) 1:12

To everyone, God’s mind is, to be depressed if so,

the person’s harvest (of new members to save) are, all to be depressed resultin in. 1:12

(Ryuukei no)(Izumi kokoro wa)(kinodoku ya)

(izuman you to)(hayaku isame yo) 1:13

Of the harvest, to be depressed the mind is, unfortunate.

Not to depress the workings (of guidance), quickly be spirited! 1:13

(Ryuukei ga)(isami deru yo to)(omou nara)

(Kagura-zutome ya)(teodori o seyo). 1:14

The harvest (of new members), spirited to appear, to think if so,

the Kagura Service as soon as, the hand dance (of the Youki-zutome) do it. 1:14

(nichiinich ni)(sekai no kokoro)(isamu nara)

(mono no ryuuke wa)(mina isami deru). 3:143

Day after day, the world’s mind, to be spirited if so,

the person’s harvest (of new members) are, all spirited to appear. 3:143

(Mata tasuke)(ryuuke ichiretsu)(dokomade mo)

(Itsumo housaku)(oshietai kara) 12:96

Another salvation, harvesting everyone, wherever also.

Always abundant harvest (members), because I want to teach. 3:143

(daiichi wa)(ryuuke tsukuru o)(tasuketasa)

(Koe ichijou o)(oshietai kara) 13-60

Foremost, the harvest (of new members) to reap, to want to save.

The Fertilizer (Youki-tsutome) soles, because I want to teach. 3:143

(Konosaki wa)(ryuuke no koe o)(chigawan yo)

(douzo shikkari)(shouchi shite kure) 13:72

From now on, the harvest’s fertilizer (Youki-tsutome), to not fail,

please firmly, understanding carryout (to purify the mind) do it. 13:72

(sono uchi ni)(narimono irete)(juu ku nin)

(Kagura zutome no)(ninjuu hoshii de) 10:27

To that within, the harvest included, 19 people,

the Kagura Service’s, members I want. 10:27

(Yakuwari mo)(douyuu koto de)(aru naraba)

(kagura juu nin)(ato i narimono) 10:39

The assignments also, what is it about, to exist if so,

the Kagura ten people, the remainder the harvest (of new members). 10:40

(kono koto wa)(nanino koto ya to)(omouna yo)

(Tsutome narimono)(hayaku hoshii de) 14:85

This matter, of what about that it is, do not think!

The Service harvest (of new members), quickly I want. 14:85

(kono tsutome)(douyuu koto ni)(omou kana)

(narimono irete)(ninjuu no moyou). 15:52

This Service, what is it about, to think wondering.

The harvest (of nww members) wanting, the (Service) members/ preparation. 15:52

(saa tanomu)(nani o tanomu to)(omou kana)

(hayaku narimono)(yosete keiko). 15:72

Now to request, what to request, to think wondering.

Quickly the harvest (of new members), gather to proceed. 15:72

(hayabaya to)(narimono nari to)(dashikake yo)

(tsutome bakari o)(seethe iru kara). 15:90

Quickly, the harvest (of new members) resulting in, carry out!

The Service only, because hastening to exist. 15:90

It is our Service of the Youki-tsutome that brings upon new members to save. One half of the Ofudesaki is about God’s guidance to help people understand the soul. With the spreading of God’s truth and the performance of the Youki-tsutome, we can attain a harvest of new members to save. This is also where the Osazuke comes into play to help people understand

the soul.