Why is there violence in the world?

Why is there so much violence in the world? What would happen if everyone believed in the soul? There will be only joy in the world!

 
Let me explain, especially for those who are not in the Tenrikyo religion. God descended from heaven to save the world. Through Miki Nakayama, who we call Oyasama, God has given us the instructions to save oneself and also given us the instructions to save others. These instructions are all written in the Ofudesaki, the most sacred scripture in the world.
 
First God tells us we do not understand our own soul. What is the soul? Because of the soul, we live for eternity. What does the soul do when it resides in our bodies. It monitors our behavior, and distributes justice for our actions. We reap what we have sowed because of our own soul. In the Ofudesaki, God tells us to ponder what fates come from our own souls. This is why God tells people not to blame God or others when suffering occurs, but ponder our own minds for the negative thoughts associated with the suffering. 
 
What happens to our souls when our physical bodies stop functioning. Our memories are erased, but the soul take our fates that have not manifested, and their associated thoughts to our next destination. We are not given a fresh start, in our next lifetime. This is why God tells us to remove our negative thoughts in this lifetime, to remove their associated fates.
 
This concept of karma or innen, and reincarnation is not easily understood by many people  This is why God gives us the instructions in the Ofudesaki to convince people of the soul to purify the mind.  God has granted us the Youki-tsutome, a prayer asking God to help sweep the negative thoughts of others. But through time, the prayer has incorrectly thought as a prayer asking God to save oneself. Remember God has already told us how to save ourself, by understanding what comes from our own soul. This misunderstanding has caused the delay in salvation of the world. 
 
What does this prayer do? God will help us convince the people we have initially spread the teaching. God does this by placing illness as guidance, to help people understand what our own soul does. When these people understand God’s guidance, they will come to our places of worship to heal their illness placed by God.  We will then further teach them, and perform the osazuke. Yes this is the only time the Osazuke heals. It does not heal existing illnesses, but only heals the illness placed by God.  These are the steps to spread to the world. But again we are not using our prayer as intended by God. This is why God’s teachings are not spreading to the world.  This is why the world continues to suffer.
 
Again when the world understands their own soul, there will only be joy that comes from everyone’s soul. The teachings are simple, but religion has made it difficult to see the truth. 
 
 
 
なぜ世の中にはこれほど多くの暴力があるのでしょうか?もし皆が魂を信じたなら、何が起こるでしょう?世の中には喜びだけがあるでしょう!
特に天理教の信者でない方々に説明させてください。神様は天から降りてきて世界を救われました。私たちが親神様と呼ぶ中山御姫様を通して、神様は自らを救う教えと他者を救う教えを授けてくださいました。これらの教えは全て、世界で最も神聖な経典であるおふでさきに記されています。
まず神様は、私たちが自らの魂を理解していないと教えておられます。魂とは何でしょうか?魂があるからこそ、私たちは永遠に生きられるのです。魂は肉体に住まうとき、何をなさるのか。私たちの行いを監視し、その行いに応じて正義を分配なさる。自らが蒔いた種を刈り取るのは、この魂ゆえである。『おふでさき』において、神様は私たちに「自らの魂から生じる運命を深く考えよ」と諭される。だからこそ、苦難に遭ったとき、神様や他人を責めるのではなく、その苦しみに関連する悪しき思いが自らのkokoro (mind) にあるのかを省みるよう、神様は教え給うのである。
肉体が機能しなくなった時、私たちの魂はどうなるのか。記憶は消え去るが、魂は現れなかった運命と、それに伴う思考を次の行き先へと携えていく。私たちは来世で新たなスタートを切るわけではない。だからこそ神は、この世で負の思考を断ち、それに伴う運命を断ち切るよう命じられるのだ。
このカルマ(因縁)や輪廻転生の概念は多くの人々には容易に理解されない。だからこそ神は『おふでさき』において、魂にkokoro (mind) を清めるよう説く指針を与えたのだ。神は他者の負の思考を掃き清めるよう祈る「幽霊勤め」を授けてくださった。しかし時を経て、この祈りは誤って「自らを救う祈り」と解釈されるようになった。神は既に、自らの魂から生じるものを理解することで自らを救う方法を教えておられます。この誤解が世界の救済を遅らせているのです。
この祈りは何をもたらすか?神は、私たちが最初に教えを広めた人々を説得する手助けをしてくださいます。神は病を導きとして与えることで、人々が自らの魂の行いを理解する助けとなるのです。彼らが神の導きを理解した時、神が置かれた病を癒すため、私たちの礼拝の場を訪れます。そこで私たちはさらに教えを授け、おさづけを行います。そう、おさづけが癒すのはこの時だけです。既存の病を癒すのではなく、神が置かれた病のみを癒すのです。これが教えが世界に広まる道なのです。これらは世界に広めるための手順である。しかし、私たちは再び祈りを神が意図した通りに用いていない。これが神の教えが世界に広まらない理由である。これが世界が苦しみ続ける理由である。
再び世界が自らの魂を理解する時、そこにはただ一人ひとりの魂から湧き上がる喜びだけがあるだろう。教えは単純なのに、宗教が真実を見えにくくしてきたのだ。
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OFUDESAKI 14-72

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OFUDESAKI 13-117

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Why Our Religion Does Not Impact the World

Why our religion does not impact the world

First, I believe we are not fully following the instructions in the Ofudesaki. One key reason is that we do not truly understand the soul.

In the very first verse of the Ofudesaki, God tells us that we do not understand the soul (mune). So, what is the soul? And what comes from the soul? The phrase mune no uchi yori appears often in the Ofudesaki, and it teaches us that our fates come from the soul. The soul is what observes and records our thoughts and actions. Because of the soul, we reap what we have sown. This is why there is both suffering and joy in the world.

God explains that to purify the mind, we must understand what comes from our own soul. When the mind becomes pure, we are saved—and only joy will come from the soul.

So, how do we purify our mind?
When suffering arises, God asks us not to blame God or others, but instead to calm the mind, set aside negative emotions, and deeply reflect on our thoughts—the very thoughts that gave rise to those emotions. Then, we must refrain from acting on them. In this way, step by step, we purify the mind. This is the heart of the teaching. And when the mind is pure, only joy will come from our soul.

But how do we share this truth with the world?
Should we simply keep dancing before God, reciting truths God already knows? I believe Oyasama gave us these dances as tools to help people understand the message of the Ofudesaki. Likewise, should we only encourage people to return to Ojiba in gratitude? Does this, by itself, lead to the salvation of others?

In the Ofudesaki, God clearly shows us the way to save others. First, we ourselves must understand the soul and purify our mind. Then God has granted us the Yōki-tsutome, a prayer for the salvation of others. But before performing this service, God instructs us to spread the teachings of the soul, the pure mind, and God’s guidance. Then, with a purified mind, we perform the Yōki-tsutome. If God accepts our prayer, God will provide illness as guidance to those who we have spread the teachings. If they understand the illness as guidance from God, they will come to our places of worship to be healed. At that time, we perform the Osazuke to heal the illness and provide further instruction, so they too can begin purifying their own minds by themselves.

It is important to note that the Osazuke does not cure all illnesses. Its purpose is not to provide miraculous cures at hospitals. Rather, it removes illness that God placed as guidance, and its true purpose is to heal the mind by removing negative thoughts.

This is how the teachings spread.  To summarize:

  1. Understand the soul in order to purify the mind. When the mind is pure, one is saved.
  2. Spread the teachings of the soul, the pure mind, and God’s guidance.
  3. Perform the Yōki-tsutome with a purified mind to pray for others.
  4. God places illness as guidance to those who have heard the truth.
  5. Those who understand come to our places of worship to be healed.
  6. We perform the Osazuke to heal them and teach them further, so they can purify their own minds.

This is the path God reveals to us in the Ofudesaki.

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OFUDESAK 13-99

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OFUDESAKI 13-98

God can see what fates are in our souls. This is why God wants to save us.

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OFUDESAKI 13-93

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OFUDESAKI 13-83

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OFUDESAKI 12-121

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OFUDESAKI 12-79

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