Descartes once said, “I think therefore I am”. Our minds are associated with our bodies. Our bodies eventually die and decay, so what happens to the mind when our bodies cease to function? Enter the soul, the last missing piece to who we are. The soul has also been called the heart or spirit. Many people believe that our souls are eternal; some will believe in heaven, others will believe in reincarnation, and some will believe in the combination of heaven and earth for eternity.
It is the soul that enters the body to form the mind. The soul stores are essence (who we are) as human beings. Descartes was partially correct in his assumption that we are our minds: but it is the soul that delivers vital information to the body, creating our individual minds, to think as we please. The soul carries are disposition of thoughts (not memories) from one lifetime to another, continuing our mindset for eternity. It is the action or non-action of these thoughts in our minds that determine if we have joy or suffering to our bodies. The following is from the Bible:
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. King James Version of the Bible, Epistle to the Galatians, 6:7
Above all else, guard your soul/heart(against acting on negative thoughts), for everything you do flows from it. International Version of the Proverbs 4:23
It is the soul that stores our negative acts as negative energy, and eventually will manifest (flows) these negative energies as suffering in the future. We reap what we have sowed. It is the soul that reminds us of the negative thoughts in our minds. We can remove these negative thoughts by not acting on the inconveniences that the soul manifests.
Descartes once said, “I think therefore I am”, to prove his existence. Our minds are associated with our bodies. Our bodies eventually die and decay, so what happens to the mind when our bodies cease to function? Enter the soul, the last missing piece to who we are. The soul has also been called the heart or spirit. Many people believe that our souls are eternal; some will believe our souls go to heaven, others will believe in reincarnation, and some will believe in both heaven and earth for the destinations of our souls.
It is the soul that enters the body to form the mind (see figure 1 and 2). The soul stores are essence (who we are) as human beings. Descartes was partially correct in his assumption that we are our minds: but it is the soul that delivers vital information to the body, creating our individual minds, to think as we please. The soul carries are disposition of thoughts (not memories) from one lifetime to another, continuing our mindset for eternity. It is the action or non-action of these thoughts in our minds that determine if we have joy or suffering to our bodies. The following is from the Bible:
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. King James Version of the Bible, Epistle to the Galatians, 6:7
Above all else, guard your soul/heart (against acting on negative thoughts), for everything you do flows from it. International Version of the Proverbs 4:23
It is the soul that stores our negative acts as negative energy, and eventually will manifest (flows) these negative energies as suffering in the future. We reap what we have sowed. It is the soul that reminds us of the negative thoughts in our minds. We can remove these negative thoughts by not acting on the inconveniences that the soul manifests. Please visit heaventruth.com for more information on the soul and how to heal your bodies.
Someone who commented on one of my blogs told me that the early Christians believed in reincarnation and causality. I cannot verify this assumption, but I was searching the Internet on the soul or heart, when I came upon the International Version of the Proverbs 4:20-27.23Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.24 Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.27 Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.Exchanging soul for the heart in the above verses, it would appear that God is telling us to guard our souls against acting on our evil thoughts. God does not tell us that we do not have evil in our minds. In fact, it is presumed that we have evil in our minds. Verses 24 through 27 confirm that there are paths of the mistaken mind, and that we should not take actions on these paths.Verse 23 tells us that by whatever we do, act or not act on our thoughts, it affects what flows from the soul in the future. It is our evil actions that affect our souls. The soul collects and stores the information (energy) from our negative actions, and releases it as suffering in our next lives. We reap what we have sowed.It is not surprising that all good religions have themes that are similar. Sometimes it is the interpretations that can bring religions together or bring division between them. It is this understanding of the soul/heart that I believe will bring religions together.
The paths of the mistaken mind are the paths of greed, arrogance, miserliness, covetousness, and self- love.
Someone who commented on one of my blogs told me that the early Christians believed in reincarnation and causality. I cannot verify this assumption, but I was searching the Internet on the soul or heart, when I came upon the International Version of the Proverbs 4:20-27.
23Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. 24 Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Exchanging soul for the heart in the above verses, it would appear that God is telling us to guard our souls against acting on our evil thoughts. God does not tell us that we do not have evil in our minds. In fact, it is presumed that we have evil in our minds. Verses 24 through 27 confirm that there are paths of the mistaken mind, and that we should not take actions on these paths.
Verse 23 tells us that by whatever we do, act or not act on our thoughts, it affects what flows from the soul in the future. It is our evil actions that affect our souls. The soul collects and stores the information (energy) from our negative actions, and releases it as suffering in our next lives. We reap what we have sowed.
It is not surprising that all good religions have themes that are similar. Sometimes it is the interpretations that can bring religions together or bring division between them. It is this understanding of the soul/heart that I believe will bring religions together.
The paths of the mistaken mind are the paths of greed, arrogance, miserliness, covetousness, and self- love.
Do you have an illness that doctors and medicine cannot cure? What if I tell you that whatever your illness is, it can be cured! You are probably thinking that this is a ridiculous statement, and are questioning my motive. No, I’m not going to sell you a product or ask you to donate anything. All I ask is your time to understand what may be the most important information to you and your family.
In the Bible, Jesus and his disciples healed the sick. In the beginning of our religion (Tenrikyo), thousands of people were cured of their illness; but where are the miracles now?
I have spent countless hours studying our religious literature to find out why these miracles are not occurring more frequently today. What are the ingredients to make this happen now? Does this require believing in God and having faith? It may and it may not; let me further explain. The following is from our sacred books:
However serious an illness will become, I never say that it will not be cured. 12-52 Ofudesaki
The saving of those whom doctors are unable to save is the foundation of the path. You tell them the teachings. They listen and they are healed. Oct 17, 1893 Osashizu
Suppose I tell you that all you have to do is truly believe in the soul to be healed of any illness or disease. This may appear to be an incredulous statement, but you make up your mind after reading the following information collected from our sacred books.
PLEASE READ THIS TO FIND OUT!
Why do people suffer? Why are some people afflicted with cancer? Why do people suffer from diseases? Why do people get into accidents? Why are there people who make our lives miserable? Why do bad people appear to have joy? Are these all coincidences or planned by God?
God tells us it is our own soul that brings upon joy or suffering to us.
23 Above all else, guard your heart/soul, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
In the first verse in our most sacred book, God emphasizes her concern about what is happening in the world by telling us we do not understand the soul:
Looking all over the world and through all ages, I find no one who understands the soul. Ofudesaki 1-1
Gods tells us why we need to understand the soul:
In whatever matters, if the soul of each of you is purified, there will be no danger. Ofudesaki 13-83
What is the soul, and how do we purify it? The soul has also been called the heart or the spirit. Scientists have not yet located or verified the existence of the soul in our bodies, but many of us believe that it exists. “My soul exist, therefore I am” would be an analogous phrase to what the philosopher Descartes once said to prove his existence. Our eternal souls are who we are; and our bodies are transient dwellings borrowed from God, that our souls utilize to seek true joy. God tells us that human bodieswere created for us, to live the Joyous life. But why is there suffering? To find out, one needs to understand the mind in relationship to the soul and body.
Is the mind part of the soul or is it associated with the body? The answer is yes to both. Our souls are said to carry both positive and negative energies, the precursors of good and evil thoughts (see figure 1). Our souls enter our developing bodies and interact with our complex neural systems (part of the body), creating a unique individualized mind that we have control over (see figure 2 and 3). Even before we are able to think, because of what information (energies) our eternal souls have collected and stored from our past lives, we have the building blocks of thoughts to do good and evil. Because of this, it is not surprising that many of us have evil thoughts in our minds.
figure 1
Evil thoughts are arrogance, greed, self-love, miserliness, and covetousness.
The soul enters the body and creates the mind, using the body’s complex neural system.
figure 3
The soul and the body create the mind.
Our minds are ours, to act or not act upon our existing evil thoughts, like the thoughts of greed and arrogance. We have ultimate control over our thoughts to act good or evil; but as we find out when we are ill, we may not always be able to control our bodies with our thoughts. This makes sense since we borrow our bodies from God.
All human bodies are things lent by God. With what thoughts are you using them? 3-41 Ofudesaki
Our bodies like everything around us is owned by God. So when we use our minds to do harm against others, we are hurting God. When we don’t take care of our bodies like taking drugs or alcohol, we are hurting God. When we discriminate against others due to appearance, we are discriminating against God. As for what happens to us because of these and other evil acts against God, we need to understand the soul.
Understanding the soul is of utmost importance. Like the DNA (genes) that stores the information to construct and maintain our bodies, the soul collects and stores information (as energy) that will determine if we suffer or have joy in the future.
Our pure soul by itself is an amalgam of positive energies derived from God at our creation. Each of us has the positive energies of God within our souls. These positive energies should only manifest into joy (see figure 4). God tells us that human beings were created to live the Joyous life. But why is there suffering in the world?
The positive energy of the soul (heart) bringing forth positive thoughts and bringing upon joy to the body. This was God’s plan at the creation of mankind.
There is suffering because in our past, we have acted upon our existing thoughts to commit evil acts or sins against each other. These negative acts against God produce the negative energies that the soul collects and stores (figure 5). These negative energies surround our pure souls. In the Bible, God tells us to guard our souls against these negative acts.
23 Above all else, guard your heart/soul, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
figure 5
When we act on our negative thoughts, we cause suffering to others; and also create negative energies which the soul collects and stores.
Sufferings, inconveniences, and temptations are the results of the delayed manifestations of these negative energiesthat surround our souls (figure 6). They sooner or later flow from the soul/heart. We eventually reap what we have sowed. Understanding the soul explains how causality and karma function as nature’s justice; but it is not as simple as this. There is more we can learn from what our souls manifest. When we ponder what our souls brings forth or what flows from our souls, we have opportunities to purify our minds!
Our negative energies around the soul manifesting into delayed sufferings and temptations to ourselves.
God tells us that evil thoughts (see figure 6) are in our minds, and tells us not to act upon them. The following is from Proverbs:
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
God reveals that many of us have sinned or have the potential for sin because of these evil thoughts in our minds. We can remove evil thoughts from our minds by not acting on them, especially when the soul brings forth inconveniences. It is our soul that reminds us that we have evil in our minds; yet many of us do not understand it’s manifestations and continue to believe that evil comes from outside of our bodies. This causes us to act upon what we believe is the source of evil, creating more evil thoughts and adding to the negative energies surrounding our souls; the cycle of suffering continues when we do not understand the soul.
When we understand the soul, we realize that our present obstacles are the result of our own past evil actions. We should not become angry at the messengers of our souls. Do not blame your spouse, coworker, strangers, or even God. It is easy to act with retribution when you feel that you have been wronged. It is also easy to blame others, even blaming God when suffering occurs. We must look within ourselves first.
When one calms the mind step by step and ponders (calm mind of evil thoughts and not take action on these thoughts), it will change into clear water (pure mind). 2-26 Ofudesaki
If we can calm our mind and not act upon the evil thoughts in our minds when the soul delivers these inconveniences or temptations, we can gradually eliminate evil thoughts from our minds; and therefore eliminate the negative energies associated with our evil actions (figure 7).
figure 7
No negative energies or negative thoughts created if we do not act on our evil thoughts
Gradually we can purify our minds and have only joy delivered by our pure positive souls (see figure 8). This is God’s promise of our salvation. Understanding the soul is the first step to our salvation. The second step is believing in the soul and responding appropriately to what the soul manifest; this is the most difficult step in pondering, and not blaming others. When we purify our minds, our souls will bring upon only joy.
figure 8
Our positive soul only brings upon joy.
God tells us that God will begin to work to have the world understand the soul. God tells us in our sacred book:
The saving of those whom doctors are unable to save is the foundation of the path. You tell them the teachings (about the soul). They listen and they are healed. Oct 17, 1893 Osashizu
The sick must not be left to suffer. I trust none of you would leave the sick to suffer. Those whom doctors consider to be beyond their help will merely be left to die. Saving such people is called the basis for teaching. October 17, 1893 Osashizu
The healing of the body is of primary concern when we are sick. Most of us will give up all our material wealth in order to be healthy again. It is from this perspective of health, that God will heal you from any illness if you “truly” understand the soul. God grants us the blessings of healing in order to have us understand the soul, and begin the process of purifying our minds of greed, arrogance, anger, enmity, miserliness, covetousness, and self love.
OUR BELIEFS FROM A RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
God descended from heaven to teach us how to live the joyous life. God through Oyasama (Miki Nakayama) and the Ofudesaki (sacred book) gives us the recipe to world salvation. These are the following ingredients:
Understand the soul and continue to purify our minds of negative thoughts ( sin/evil ) when confronted with temptation and sufferings manifested by the soul.
To spread and share God’s truth; telling people that illness and the healing of illness may be God’s guidance to help one understand the soul/heart. This conveyance of God’s truth is called hinokishin.
To pray daily with our special prayer (Joyous Service), asking God to help people understand the soul/heart and to sweep evil from their minds. We pray for the salvation of others! This is why our prayer is so important in our faith.
Kanrodai at Ojiba is where our prayer is directed toward.
“Evil sweeping. Save them please, Universal Saving God “.
To heal the people whose minds have been revealed when God guides them to us by the sazuke (saving prayer); and teach them about the soul (heart), causality and true sincerity. True sincerity is a mind that ponders over suffering and obstacles that the soul delivers, and accepts these inconveniences in a joyous manner. This will make our minds pure and spirited; and by the principle of causality will bring forth joy in the future due to the pure soul (heart).
This process of (1)understanding the soul and purifying our own minds by acting appropriately to what the soul manifest, (2) spreading the truth of the soul (hinokishin), and (3) praying to ask God to help people understand the soul, continues until all mankind is purified of evil in their minds. God hastens for the day that all minds of the world are pure. When this occurs, there will be heaven on earth for all of God’s children.
GOD’S PROMISE:
All mankind will live a joyous life with everyone helping each other.
WHAT WE ASK YOU TO DO:
Please understand the soul/heart, and share with others the sacred book (Ofudesaki) that promises you a “Joyous Life”.
Reference: Ofudesaki (Tip of the Writing Brush) 6th edition, Oyasama, Miki Nakayama, Tenrikyo Church Headquarter.
An Anthology of Osashizu Tranlation, Tenrikyo Overseas Department @71 Mishima, Tenri, Nara.
Am I a bad person because because I am sick or suffering?
Conventional belief in karma would say that you are suffering because you committed evil acts in the past.
Our belief (Tenrikyo) will say that everyone has God’s pure soul in them or goodness within, but have accumulated negative energies around their souls that have manifested into sufferings. While these sufferings maybe unpleasant and sometimes unbearable, they give us opportunities to begin to remove evil thoughts from our minds if we do not act on them (see figure 6). We have control of our future to have a joyous life.
What about race and gender?
Tenrikyo would says that our souls have no color or gender. Our bodies are only borrowed from God. From the perspective of the soul, our appearance does not matter in obtaining joy.
Do I need to believe in God to have joy?
The Ofudesaki says that one just needs to understand the soul, and respond appropriately to what the soul brings forth. But if one wants to share these truths with others, believing in God may be beneficial for this purpose of God helping you to spread the truth.
I have faith in another religion; is what is written in the Ofudesaki and my religion compatible?
Tenrikyo believes in the purification of our minds of evil thoughts (greed, arrogance, and self love). All religions will gladly accept this belief.
Do you have an illness that doctors and medicine cannot cure? What if I tell you that whatever your illness is, it can be cured! You are probably thinking that this is a ridiculous statement, and are questioning my motive. No, I’m not going to sell you a product or ask you to donate anything. All I ask is your time to understand what may be the most important information to you and your family.
In the Bible, Jesus and his disciples healed the sick. In the beginning of our religion (Tenrikyo), thousands of people were cured of their illness; but where are the miracles now?
I have spent countless hours studying our religious literature to find out why these miracles are not occurring more frequently today. What are the ingredients to make this happen now? Does this require believing in God and having faith? It may and it may not; let me further explain. The following is from our sacred books:
However serious an illness will become, I never say that it will not be cured. 12-52 Ofudesaki
The saving of those whom doctors are unable to save is the foundation of the path. You tell them the teachings. They listen and they are healed. Oct 17, 1893 Osashizu
Suppose I tell you that all you have to do is truly believe in the soul to be healed of any illness or disease. This may appear to be an incredulous statement, but you make up your mind after reading the following information collected from our sacred books.
PLEASE READ THIS TO FIND OUT!
Why do people suffer? Why are some people afflicted with cancer? Why do people suffer from diseases? Why do people get into accidents? Why are there people who make our lives miserable? Why do bad people appear to have joy? Are these all coincidences or planned by God?
God tells us it is our own soul that brings upon joy or suffering to us.
23 Above all else, guard your heart/soul, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
In the first verse in our most sacred book, God emphasizes her concern about what is happening in the world by telling us we do not understand the soul:
Looking all over the world and through all ages, I find no one who understands the soul. Ofudesaki 1-1
Gods tells us why we need to understand the soul:
In whatever matters, if the soul of each of you is purified, there will be no danger.Ofudesaki 13-83
What is the soul, and how do we purify it? The soul has also been called the heart or the spirit. Scientists have not yet located or verified the existence of the soul in our bodies, but many of us believe that it exists. “My soul exist, therefore I am” would be an analogous phrase to what the philosopher Descartes once said to prove his existence. Our eternal souls are who we are; and our bodies are transient dwellings borrowed from God, that our souls utilize to seek true joy. God tells us that human bodieswere created for us, to live the Joyous life. But why is there suffering? To find out, one needs to understand the mind in relationship to the soul and body.
Is the mind part of the soul or is it associated with the body? The answer is yes to both. Our souls are said to carry both positive and negative energies, the precursors of good and evil thoughts (see figure 1). Our souls enter our developing bodies and interact with our complex neural systems (part of the body), creating a unique individualized mind that we have control over (see figure 2 and 3). Even before we are able to think, because of what information (energies) our eternal souls have collected and stored from our past lives, we have the building blocks of thoughts to do good and evil. Because of this, it is not surprising that many of us have evil thoughts in our minds.
figure 1
Evil thoughts are arrogance, greed, self-love, miserliness, and covetousness.
The soul enters the body and creates the mind, using the body’s complex neural system.
figure 3
The soul and the body create the mind.
Our minds are ours, to act or not act upon our existing evil thoughts, like the thoughts of greed and arrogance. We have ultimate control over our thoughts to act good or evil; but as we find out when we are ill, we may not always be able to control our bodies with our thoughts. This makes sense since we borrow our bodies from God.
All human bodies are things lent by God. With what thoughts are you using them? 3-41 Ofudesaki
Our bodies like everything around us is owned by God. So when we use our minds to do harm against others, we are hurting God. When we don’t take care of our bodies like taking drugs or alcohol, we are hurting God. When we discriminate against others due to appearance, we are discriminating against God. As for what happens to us because of these and other evil acts against God, we need to understand the soul.
Understanding the soul is of utmost importance. Like the DNA (genes) that stores the information to construct and maintain our bodies, the soul collects and stores information (as energy) that will determine if we suffer or have joy in the future.
Our pure soul by itself is an amalgam of positive energies derived from God at our creation. Each of us has the positive energies of God within our souls. These positive energies should only manifest into joy (see figure 4). God tells us that human beings were created to live the Joyous life. But why is there suffering in the world?
The positive energy of the soul (heart) bringing forth positive thoughts and bringing upon joy to the body. This was God’s plan at the creation of mankind.
There is suffering because in our past, we have acted upon our existing thoughts to commit evil acts or sins against each other. These negative acts against God produce the negative energies that the soul collects and stores (figure 5). These negative energies surround our pure souls. In the Bible, God tells us to guard our souls against these negative acts.
23 Above all else, guard your heart/soul, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
figure 5
When we act on our negative thoughts, we cause suffering to others; and also create negative energies which the soul collects and stores.
Sufferings, inconveniences, and temptations are the results of the delayed manifestations of these negative energiesthat surround our souls (figure 6). They sooner or later flow from the soul/heart. We eventually reap what we have sowed. Understanding the soul explains how causality and karma function as nature’s justice; but it is not as simple as this. There is more we can learn from what our souls manifest. When we ponder what our souls brings forth or what flows from our souls, we have opportunities to purify our minds!
Our negative energies around the soul manifesting into delayed sufferings and temptations to ourselves.
God tells us that evil thoughts (see figure 6) are in our minds, and tells us not to act upon them. The following is from Proverbs:
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Give careful thought to the[a] paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
God reveals that many of us have sinned or have the potential for sin because of these evil thoughts in our minds. We can remove evil thoughts from our minds by not acting on them, especially when the soul brings forth inconveniences. It is our soul that reminds us that we have evil in our minds; yet many of us do not understand it’s manifestations and continue to believe that evil comes from outside of our bodies. This causes us to act upon what we believe is the source of evil, creating more evil thoughts and adding to the negative energies surrounding our souls; the cycle of suffering continues when we do not understand the soul.
When we understand the soul, we realize that our present obstacles are the result of our own past evil actions. We should not become angry at the messengers of our souls. Do not blame your spouse, coworker, strangers, or even God. It is easy to act with retribution when you feel that you have been wronged. It is also easy to blame others, even blaming God when suffering occurs. We must look within ourselves first.
When one calms the mind step by step and ponders (calm mind of evil thoughts and not take action on these thoughts), it will change into clear water (pure mind). 2-26 Ofudesaki
If we can calm our mind and not act upon the evil thoughts in our minds when the soul delivers these inconveniences or temptations, we can gradually eliminate evil thoughts from our minds; and therefore eliminate the negative energies associated with our evil actions (figure 7).
figure 7
No negative energies or negative thoughts created if we do not act on our evil thoughts
Gradually we can purify our minds and have only joy delivered by our pure positive souls (see figure 8). This is God’s promise of our salvation. Understanding the soul is the first step to our salvation. The second step is believing in the soul and responding appropriately to what the soul manifest; this is the most difficult step in pondering, and not blaming others. When we purify our minds, our souls will bring upon only joy.
figure 8
Our positive soul only brings upon joy.
God tells us that God will begin to work to have the world understand the soul. God tells us in our sacred book:
The saving of those whom doctors are unable to save is the foundation of the path. You tell them the teachings (about the soul). They listen and they are healed. Oct 17, 1893 Osashizu
The sick must not be left to suffer. I trust none of you would leave the sick to suffer. Those whom doctors consider to be beyond their help will merely be left to die. Saving such people is called the basis for teaching.October 17, 1893 Osashizu
The healing of the body is of primary concern when we are sick. Most of us will give up all our material wealth in order to be healthy again. It is from this perspective of health, that God will heal you from any illness if you “truly” understand the soul. God grants us the blessings of healing in order to have us understand the soul, and begin the process of purifying our minds of greed, arrogance, anger, enmity, miserliness, covetousness, and self love.
OUR BELIEFS FROM A RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
God descended from heaven to teach us how to live the joyous life. God through Oyasama (Miki Nakayama) and the Ofudesaki (sacred book) gives us the recipe to world salvation. These are the following ingredients:
Understand the soul and continue to purify our minds of negative thoughts ( sin/evil ) when confronted with temptation and sufferings manifested by the soul.
To spread and share God’s truth; telling people that illness and the healing of illness may be God’s guidance to help one understand the soul/heart. This conveyance of God’s truth is called hinokishin.
To pray daily with our special prayer (Joyous Service), asking God to help people understand the soul/heart and to sweep evil from their minds. We pray for the salvation of others! This is why our prayer is so important in our faith.
Kanrodai at Ojiba is where our prayer is directed toward.
“Evil sweeping. Save them please, Universal Saving God “.
To heal the people whose minds have been revealed when God guides them to us by the sazuke (saving prayer); and teach them about the soul (heart), causality and true sincerity. True sincerity is a mind that ponders over suffering and obstacles that the soul delivers, and accepts these inconveniences in a joyous manner. This will make our minds pure and spirited; and by the principle of causality will bring forth joy in the future due to the pure soul (heart).
This process of (1)understanding the soul and purifying our own minds by acting appropriately to what the soul manifest, (2) spreading the truth of the soul (hinokishin), and (3) praying to ask God to help people understand the soul, continues until all mankind is purified of evil in their minds. God hastens for the day that all minds of the world are pure. When this occurs, there will be heaven on earth for all of God’s children.
GOD’S PROMISE:
All mankind will live a joyous life with everyone helping each other.
WHAT WE ASK YOU TO DO:
Please understand the soul/heart, and share with others the sacred book (Ofudesaki) that promises you a “Joyous Life”.
Reference: Ofudesaki (Tip of the Writing Brush) 6th edition, Oyasama, Miki Nakayama, Tenrikyo Church Headquarter.
An Anthology of Osashizu Tranlation, Tenrikyo Overseas Department @71 Mishima, Tenri, Nara.
Am I a bad person because because I am sick or suffering?
Conventional belief in karma would say that you are suffering because you committed evil acts in the past.
Our belief (Tenrikyo) will say that everyone has God’s pure soul in them or goodness within, but have accumulated negative energies around their souls that have manifested into sufferings. While these sufferings maybe unpleasant and sometimes unbearable, they give us opportunities to begin to remove evil thoughts from our minds if we do not act on them (see figure 6). We have control of our future to have a joyous life.
What about race and gender?
Tenrikyo would says that our souls have no color or gender. Our bodies are only borrowed from God. From the perspective of the soul, our appearance does not matter in obtaining joy.
Do I need to believe in God to have joy?
The Ofudesaki says that one just needs to understand the soul, and respond appropriately to what the soul brings forth. But if one wants to share these truths with others, believing in God may be beneficial for this purpose of God helping you to spread the truth.
I have faith in another religion; is what is written in the Ofudesaki and my religion compatible?
Tenrikyo believes in the purification of our minds of evil thoughts (greed, arrogance, and self love). All religions will gladly accept this belief.
Do you have an illness that doctors and medicine cannot cure? What if I tell you that whatever your illness is, it can be cured! You are probably thinking that this is a ridiculous and inane statement, and are questioning my motive. No, I’m not going to sell you a product or ask you to donate anything. All I ask is your time to understand what may be the most important information in your life.
In the Bible, Jesus and his disciples cured the blind and healed the sick. In the beginning of our religion Tenrikyo, thousands of people were cured of their illness; but where are the miracles now?
I have spent thousands of hours studying our most sacred books to find out why these miracles are not occurring more frequently today. What are the ingredients to make this happen now? Does this require believing in God and having faith? It may and it may not; let me further explain. The following is from the Fudesaki, our most sacred book; God tells us:
However serious an illness will become,
I never say that it will not be cured. 12-52
Suppose I tell you that all you have to do is truly believe in the soul to be healed of any illness or disease. This may appear to be an incredulous statement, but you make up your mind after reading the following information collected from the Ofudesaki. Like one famous politician said,“What do you have to lose?”
PLEASE READ THIS NOW TO FIND OUT!
Why do people suffer? Why do good people suffer, and why do evil people appear to have joy? Why are some people afflicted with cancer? Why does an innocent child die? Why do people get into severe accidents? Are these events all coincidences or planned by God?
God tells us it is our own soul that brings upon joy or suffering to us. In the first verse in our most sacred book, God emphasizes the importance of understanding the soul by telling us:
Looking all over the world and through all ages, I find no one
who understands the soul. Ofudesaki 1-1
Gods tells us why we need to understand the soul:
In whatever matters, if the soul of each of you
is purified, there will be no danger. Ofudesaki 13-83
The soul has also been called the heart or the spirit. Science has not yet located or verified the existence of the soul in our bodies, but many of us truly believe that it exists. “My soul exist, therefore I am” would be an analogous phrase to what the great philosopher Descartes once said to prove his existence. Our souls are who we are; and our bodies are transient dwellings borrowed from God, that our souls utilize to seek true joy. God tells us that we (human bodies) were created to live the “Joyous life”.
Some may wonder where the mind comes into play in relationship to the soul and the body. Is the mind part of the soul or is it associated with the body? The answer is both. Our souls enter our developing bodies and interact with our complex neural system (part of the body), giving each of us a unique mind that is ours to think as we please (see figure 1 and figure 2). As Descartes once said, ” I think therefore I am.”
figure 1
The soul enters the body and creates the mind, using the body’s complex neural system.
figure 2
The soul and the body create the mind.
Our minds are ours to use as we please; but as we find out when we are ill, we may not be able to control our bodies. We borrow our bodies from God. Our bodies like everything around us is owned by God. So when we use our minds to do harm against others, we are hurting God. When we don’t take care of our bodies, we are hurting God. When we discriminate against others due to appearance, we are discriminating against God. As for what happens to us because of these and other evil acts against God, we need to understand the soul.
Understanding the soul is important. Like the DNA (genes) that stores the information to construct and maintain our bodies, the soul stores the records of our past evil actions.The soul by itself is an amalgam of positive energies derived from God at our creation. Each of us has the positive energies of God within us. These positive energies should only bring upon joy to us (see figure 3).
The positive energy of the soul (heart) bringing forth only joy.
But throughout our past lives (incarnations included), many of us have committed evil acts or sins against each other(God) because of the negative thoughts that exists in our minds. These negative acts produce the negative energies that surround the pure soul (figure 4).
When we act on our negative thoughts, we cause suffering to others; and also create negative energies which the soul collects and stores.
Sufferings, inconveniences, and temptations are the results of the delayed manifestations of these negative energies (figure 5) that surround the soul. We eventually reap what we have sowed. Understanding the soul explains how causality and karma function as nature’s justice; but it is not as simple as this. There is more we can learn from what the soul manifests.
figure 5
Our negative energies around the soul manifesting into delayed sufferings and temptations to ourselves.
When we understand the soul, we realize that our present and future obstacles are the result of our own past evil actions. We should not become angry at the messengers of our souls. Do not blame your spouse, coworker, strangers, or even God. It is easy to act with retribution when you feel that you have been wronged. It is also easy to blame others, even blaming God when suffering occurs. When we believe in the soul, we must look within ourselves first.
If we can calm our mind and not act upon the evil thoughts (see figure 6) in our minds when the soul delivers these inconveniences or temptations, we can gradually eliminate evil thoughts from our minds; and therefore eliminate the negative energies associated with our evil actions (figure 7).
figure 6
Evil thoughts are greed, arrogance, self love, miserliness and covetousness.
No negative energies or negative thoughts created if we do not act on our evil thoughts
Eventually we can purify our minds and have only joy delivered by our pure positive soul (see figure 8). This is God’s promise of our salvation. Understanding the soul is the first step to our salvation. The second step is believing in the soul and responding appropriately to what the soul manifest. When we purify our minds, our souls will bring upon only joy.
figure 8
Our positive soul only brings upon joy.
God tells us that God will begin to work to have the world understand the soul. God tells us in our sacred book:
However serious an illness will become,
I never say that it will not be cured. 12-52
From now on, no matter how serious the illness may be,
there is no illness that is incurable depending on the mind. 5-13
If God accepts your sincere mind,
I will show you any kind of free and unlimited workings (God’s blessings of healing). 5-14
In the Osashizu are the following:
The saving of those whom doctors are unable to save is the foundation of the path. You tell them the teachings (about the soul). They listen and they are healed.Oct 17, 1893 Osashizu
The sick must not be left to suffer. I trust none of you would leave the sick to suffer. Those whom doctors consider to be beyond their help will merely be left to die. Saving such people is called the basis for teaching. October 17, 1893 Osashizu
The healing of the body is of primary concern when we are sick. It is with this understanding that God will heal you from any illness if you “truly” understand the soul. When one understands the soul, one has the information to begin purifying one’s own mind. God grants us the blessings of healing in order to have us understand the soul, and begin the process of purifying our minds of greed, arrogance, anger, enmity, miserliness, covetousness, and self love.
OUR BELIEFS FROM A RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE:
God descended from heaven to teach us how to live the joyous life. God through Oyasama (Miki Nakayama) and the Ofudesaki (sacred book) gives us the recipe to world salvation. These are the following ingredients:
Understand the soul and continue to purify our minds of negative thoughts ( sin/evil ) when confronted with temptation and sufferings manifested by the soul.
To spread and share God’s truth; telling people that illness may be God’s guidance to help one understand the soul/heart. This conveyance of God’s truth is called hinokishin .
To pray daily with our special prayer (Joyous Service), asking God to help people understand the soul/heart and to sweep evil from their minds. We pray for the salvation of others! This is why our prayer is so important in our faith.
Kanrodai at Ojiba is where our prayer is directed toward.
“Evil sweeping. Save them please, Universal Saving God “.
To heal the people whose minds have been revealed when God guides them to us by the sazuke (saving prayer); and teach them about the soul (heart), causality and true sincerity. True sincerity is a mind that ponders over suffering and obstacles that the soul delivers, and accepts these inconveniences in a joyous manner. This will make our minds pure and spirited; and by the principle of causality will bring forth joy in the future due to the pure soul (heart).
This process of (1)understanding the soul and purifying our own minds by acting appropriately to what the soul manifest, (2) spreading the truth of the soul(hinokishin), and (3) praying to ask God to help people understand the soul, continues until all mankind is purified of evil in their minds. God hastens for the day that all minds of the world are pure. When this occurs, there will be heaven on earth for all of God’s children.
GOD’S PROMISE:
All mankind will live a joyous life with everyone helping each other.
WHAT WE ASK YOU TO DO:
Please understand the soul/heart, and share with others the sacred book (Ofudesaki) that promises you a “Joyous Life”.
Reference: Ofudesaki (Tip of the Writing Brush) 6th edition, Oyasama, Miki Nakayama, Tenrikyo Church Headquarter.
An Anthology of Osashizu Tranlation, Tenrikyo Overseas Department @71 Mishima, Tenri, Nara.
Questions asked:
Am I a bad person because because I am sick or suffering?
Conventional belief in karma would say that you are suffering because you committed evil acts in the past.
Our belief (Tenrikyo) will say that everyone has God’s pure soul in them or goodness within, but have accumulated negative energies around their souls that have manifested into sufferings. While these sufferings maybe unpleasant and sometimes unbearable, they give us opportunities to begin to remove evil thoughts from our minds if we do not act on them (see figure 6). We have control of our future.
What about race and gender?
Tenrikyo would says that our souls have no color or gender. Our bodies are only borrowed from God. From the perspective of the soul, our appearance does not matter in obtaining joy.
Do I need to believe in God to have joy?
The Ofudesaki says that one just needs to understand the soul, and respond appropriately to what the soul brings forth. But if one wants to share these truths with others, believing in God may be beneficial for this purpose of God helping you to spread the truth.
I have faith in another religion; is what is written in the Ofudesaki and my religion compatible?
Tenrikyo believes in the purification of our minds of evil thoughts (greed, arrogance, and self love). All religions will gladly accept this belief.
Suppose I tell you that our bodies are not ours. Like the environment around us, they are all created and possessed by God. Unaware of this, we segregate from each other by race and gender. Some go to extremes and have anger and hatred towards God’s creation, even to the most extreme actions of rape and murder. The color of our skin, or the gender is not who we are. But the majority of people in the world are not aware of this important truth. This is why we have so much conflict in this world because we believe that our physical appearance is who we are. We do not know what exist within us.
But if our bodies are not ours, what is? Some would say that our minds are who we are. The great philosopher Rene Descartes once said, “I think, therefore I am.” So the mind is who we are? But the mind requires the body to think, specifically our central nervous system to cogitate. As we have previously mention the body is possessed by God and lent to us, so how can the mind be ours if we need the central nervous system which is part of the body?
Enter the concept of the soul. Scientist cannot confirm the existence or the location of the soul in our bodies, but many us believe that it exists. Some would describe the soul as an amalgam of energies. Some of these energies are positive and negative thoughts that interact with our central nervous system in creating and initiating our minds (See figure 1). The soul is who we are; and it is the body that the soul enters to create the mind. It is this mind that is ours to use as we wish to either purify or defile the soul by our actions. Unlike the body, the soul has no color and gender, but is distinguished by the negative and positive energies that it contains. These energies interact with our bodies, eventually creating joy or suffering. We reap what we have sowed.
figure 1
The soul enters the body to create the mind.
In summary, human beings are not evil. Our bodies are not ours. They are possessed by God. We borrow them from God to have joy. The soul within the body is who we are. The soul and the body unite at conception to create and initiate the mind. It is our thoughts that either makes us good or evil. With this awakening, the discrimination based on appearance of our bodies is not warranted; but it is the thoughts that we must change in people we believe are evil. These evil thoughts are greed, arrogance, miserliness, covetousness, anger, revenge, and self-love.
Do you have an illness that doctors and medicine cannot cure? What if I tell you that whatever your illness is, it can be cured! You are probably thinking that this is some kind of scam. No, I am not going to sell you a product or ask you to donate at the end. All I ask is your time to understand what may be the most important information in your life.
In the Bible, Jesus and his disciples cured the blind and healed the sick. In the beginning of our religion, thousands of people were cured of their illness; but where are the miracles now?
I have spent thousands of hours studying our most sacred books to find out why these miracles are not occurring more frequently today. What are the ingredients to make this happen now? Does this require believing in God and having faith? It may and it may not; let me further explain. The following is from the Fudesaki, our most sacred book:
However serious an illness will become,
I never say that it will not be cured. 12-52
Suppose I tell you that all you have to do is truly believe in the soul to be healed of any illness or disease. This may appear to be an incredulous statement, but you make up your mind after reading the following information summarized from the Fudesaki. Like one famous politician said, “What do you have to lose?”
READ THIS NOW TO FIND OUT!
Why do people suffer? Why do good people suffer, and why do evil people appear to have joy? Why are some people afflicted with cancer? Why does an innocent child die? Why do people get into severe accidents? Are these events all coincidences or planned by God?
God tells us it is our own soul that brings upon joy or suffering to us. In the first verse in our most sacred book, God emphasizes the importance of understanding the soul by telling us:
Looking all over the world and through all ages, I find no one
who understands the soul. Fudesaki 1-1
Gods tells us why we need to understand the soul:
In whatever matters, if the soul of each of you
is purified, there will be no danger. Fudesaki 13-83
The soul has also been called the heart or the spirit. Science has not yet located or verified the existence of the soul, but many of us truly believe that it exists. “My soul exist, therefore I am” would be an analogous phrase to what the great philosopher Descartes once said to prove his existence. Our souls are who we are; and our bodies are transient dwellings borrowed from God, that our souls utilize to seek true joy. God tells us that we (human bodies) were created to live the “Joyous life”.
Some may wonder where the mind comes into play in relationship to the soul and the body. Is the mind part of the soul or is it associated with the body? The answer is both. Our souls enter our developing bodies and interact with our complex neural system (part of the body), giving each of us a unique mind that is ours to think as we please (see figure 1). As Descartes once said, ” I think therefore I am.”
figure 1
The soul enters the body and creates the mind, using the body’s complex neural system.
Our minds are ours to use as we please; but as we find out when we are ill, we may not be able to control our bodies. We borrow our bodies from God. Our bodies like everything around us is owned by God. So when we use our minds to do harm against others, we are hurting God. When we don’t take care of our bodies, we are hurting God. When we discriminate against others due to appearance, we are discriminating against God. As for what happens to us because of these and other evil acts against God, we need to understand the soul.
Understanding the soul is important. Like the DNA (genes) that stores the information to construct and maintain our bodies, the soul stores the records of our past evil actions.The soul by itself is an amalgam of positive energies derived from God at our creation. Each of us has the positive energies of God within us. These positive energies should only bring upon joy to us (see figure 2).
The positive energy of the soul (heart) bringing forth only joy.
But throughout our past lives (incarnations included), many of us have committed evil acts or sins against each other(God) because of the negative thoughts that exists in our minds. These negative acts produce the negative energies that surround the pure soul (figure 3).
figure 3
When we act on our negative thoughts, we cause suffering to others; and also create negative energies which the soul collects and stores.
Sufferings, inconveniences, and temptations are the results of the delayed manifestations of these negative energies (figure 4) that surround the soul. We eventually reap what we have sowed. Understanding the soul explains how causality and karma function as nature’s justice; but it is not as simple as this. There is more we can learn from what the soul manifests.
figure 4
Our negative energies around the soul manifesting into delayed sufferings and temptations to ourselves.
When we understand the soul, we realize that our present and future obstacles are the result of our own past evil actions. We should not become angry at the messengers of our souls. Do not blame your spouse, coworker, strangers, or even God. It is easy to act with retribution when you feel that you have been wronged. It is also easy to blame others, even blaming God when suffering occurs. When we believe in the soul, we must look within ourselves first.
If we can calm our mind and not act upon the evil thoughts (see figure 5) in our minds when the soul delivers these inconveniences or temptations, we can gradually eliminate evil thoughts from our minds; and therefore eliminate the negative energies associated with our evil actions (figure 6).
figure 5
Evil thoughts are greed, arrogance, self love, miserliness and covetousness.
figure 6
No negative energies or negative thoughts created if we do not act on our evil thoughts
Eventually we can purify our minds and have only joy delivered by our pure positive soul (see figure 7). This is God’s promise of our salvation. Understanding the soul is the first step to our salvation. The second step is believing in the soul and responding appropriately to what the soul manifest. When we purify our minds, our souls will bring upon only joy.
figure 7
Our positive soul only brings upon joy.
God tells us that God will begin to work to have the world understand the soul. God tells us in our sacred book:
From now on, no matter how serious the illness may be,
there is no illness that is incurable depending on the mind. 5-13
However serious an illness will become,
I never say that it will not be cured. 12-52
In the Osashizu are the following:
The saving of those whom doctors are unable to save is the foundation of the path. You tell them the teachings (about the soul). They listen and they are healed. Oct 17, 1893 Osashizu
The sick must not be left to suffer. I trust none of you would leave the sick to suffer. Those whom doctors consider to be beyond their help will merely be left to die. Saving such people is called the basis for teaching. October 17, 1893 Osashizu
The healing of the body is our primary concern when we are sick. It is with this understanding that God will heal you from any illness if you “truly” understand the soul. When one understands the soul, one has the information to begin purifying one’s own mind. God grants us the blessings of healing in order to have us understand the soul, and begin the process of purifying our minds of greed, arrogance, anger, enmity, miserliness, covetousness, and self love.
figure 1
figure 3
figure 8
figure 1
figur
figure 6
figure 1
OFUDESAKI-GOD'S TEACHINGS 
