The ABC’s of THE JOYOUS LIFE

Posted on September 7, 2015 by heaventruth
  1. Remove arrogance, greed, and self love from one’s thoughts because:

Arrogance causes anger, enmity, and hatred

Greed causes miserliness and covetousness

Self-love causes nepotism, and isolation

By the Principle of Heaven (causality), when we remove these evils from our minds, one becomes spirited or joyous: But true joy is shared joy. How do we share our joy and experience true joy?

  1. Pray to God, to help others sweep these evils (greed, arrogance, and self love) from their minds by the Joyous Service.
  2. Teach people God’s truth of causality and the removal of evil when God brings them to us. Show them how to perform the Joyous Service.

As more people find out about causality and perform the joyous service, we begin to experience true joy. When all mankind is purified, the world will experience Gods’ blessing of Heaven on earth.

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Hinokishin

Posted on September 7, 2015 by heaventruth

What is more important, the soul or the physical body? Many will say it is the salvation of the soul that is the most important. Yet, many religions place more emphasis on the physical or tangible assets of society. Food banks, donations, and disaster relief are all examples of improving the physical world. In the Tenrikyo religion, the term “hinokishin” is used as a term of helping others. It is said that a smile, or a kind word can also be called hinokishin. The Tenrikyo (Heaven’s Truth) religion is noted for their disaster relief assistance in Japan. Major religions, like the Christian religion is also known for their charitable work in helping people in times of physical need.

But how does helping the physical world save the soul or the spirit? Could these kind acts serve as beacons or light towers to others to our churches? Possibly influencing these unfortunate individuals to visit our churches later. I believe that there are many religions that believe this to be true. But spiritually, these acts may only influence the giver, and not the recipient. If we believe in Heaven as a final destination, then we add to our resume; if we believe in reincarnation, we build a better future in our next lives. Philanthropy may be a process of saving the soul of the giver, but not of the benefactor.

So the question arises, if we want to truly help others, what takes priority? Is it the spiritual or physical aide that is the most important? In the Tenrikyo religion, it is said that hinokishin is an important part of our religion. So one may presume that it is a religion that believes that our kind deeds will influence others to our faith, like a beacon or a lighthouse. Yet the word hinokishin translated means a precious timber (hinoki) and truth/original mind (shin). One can say the hinokishin is a messenger (hinoki) that spreads God’s truth (shin). Hinokishin is not the helping of others physically, but of helping others spiritually by praying (joyous service) and spreading God’s truth.

Some will ask why question the motives of our churches. Why question what help others. But I ask, what is the quickest method of saving the soul? Is it through giving individuals God’s truths, or through helping them in their physical needs? Or is it a combination of both? Which effort brings upon the most members to our churches? Something to ponder over.

Posted in Book of Prophecy, causality, Christian, Christianity, God, Heaven's Truth Church, Hindu, Hinduism, Islam, prayer, Tenrikyo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Do We Suffer/ revisited

Posted on August 30, 2015 by heaventruth

heaventruth's avatarOFUDESAKI-GOD'S TEACHINGS

Sometimes when people read my old blogs, I review them and add to what was written. This is a blog written in May of 2013.

Consider the books in God’s library.  In each book, the first and last pages are very similar. Each book represents who we are or our soul. Each separate page represents part of our lives.

Sometimes in life, we cannot understand what is happening to us. Why does God inflict pain on us? I am a good person, why do bad things happen to me? Even Job in the Bible asked God this question.  

Like a page in a book, we need to look at what has occurred before to understand what is happening now. This is the law of “Cause and Effect”. Good thoughts create happiness, and evil thoughts and actions create suffering in the future. But sometimes like in a book, the effect…

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Can Arrogance be the Devil?

Posted on August 30, 2015 by heaventruth

Ignore the color of the skin of the racist. It is the evil of arrogance in the thoughts that emanate from the soul of the individual. Arrogance is no stranger to color, gender, and physical features. Arrogance is evil. It makes an individual do things that he or she would normally not do. It has a tendency to attract others of similar thoughts. It causes anger, grudges, and violence; things that good people do not do. Does this sound like what the devil would do?  Can arrogance be the devil?

Like the devil, arrogance makes us act irrationally against good. Like the devil, it attracts others of similar thoughts, which temporarily makes a “hell” on earth. You have seen this recently with the looting of stores, and burning of cars. But unlike the devil in the sacred books, arrogance is created in our own minds. We can eliminate arrogance from our own minds and create a “Heaven” on earth. Something to ponder over.

Posted in arrogance, Book of Prophecy, evil, God, Heaven's Truth Church, Hinduism, Ofudesaki, Religion, Tenrikyo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Do We Suffer/ revisited

Posted on August 30, 2015 by heaventruth

Sometimes when people read my old blogs, I review them and add to what was written. This is a blog written in May of 2013.

Consider the books in God’s library.  In each book, the first and last pages are very similar. Each book represents who we are or our soul. Each separate page represents part of our lives.

Sometimes in life, we cannot understand what is happening to us. Why does God inflict pain on us? I am a good person, why do bad things happen to me? Even Job in the Bible asked God this question.  

Like a page in a book, we need to look at what has occurred before to understand what is happening now. This is the law of “Cause and Effect”. Good thoughts create happiness, and evil thoughts and actions create suffering in the future. But sometimes like in a book, the effect does not occur in the same chapter. This is why we cannot sometimes understand the sufferings.

The first page in all of the books is similar because we all start with a pure heart, void of evil (greed, arrogance, and self love). The last page of each book is the same for everyone; it reflects God’s hope of all mankind living the joyous life, ending with the pure heart. Some people will have a thin book, because they will understand causality and God’s truths sooner, while others unfortunately will suffer and have a thick book.  

Some may say that this is a ridiculous analogy or comparison, but it is something to ponder. Why does mankind suffer? Causality?

Posted in Book of Prophecy, causality, faith, God, guidance, Heaven's Truth Church, Hinduism, joyous life, karma, Religion, Tenrikyo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

God’s Guidance

Posted on August 29, 2015 by heaventruth

In many of the sacred books, there are accounts of miraculous healings that were performed by the prophets. Even today there are religions that advocate the healing of illness by prayer. But there are also instances where the prophets could not heal, or where God could not cure an illness. In the Book of Prophecy (Ofudesaki), there is an incident where a request was made for the life of a child. God answered:

You say that you wish to train the child for two or three more years. But she is no longer in the hands of God. 3-60.

What are these instances where God has no control of our fate? In the Heaven’s Truth Religion (Tenrikyo), we believe in the principle of causality. Causality states that suffering and inconveniences are due to our past thoughts and actions. We reap what we sow. God usually has no control over what develops from past actions and thoughts. Some may call this fate. Fate may appear to be dark. But by the principle of causality, the positive acceptance of suffering and understanding the source of suffering also promulgates a positive fate in the future. God may not be able to stop our suffering, but we control our fate by our response to our suffering. Optimism always creates a positive fate. Remember the soul is everlasting, and does not end with our current physical demise. Our soul or consciousness goes on forever.

Because people do not understand causality, God has begun to work. What is this work God will perform? In the Book of Prophecy (Ofudesaki), he calls it miraculous blessings. God sees the path of mankind, which causes suffering, and wants to give us a glimpse of our future. This is why he gives us guidance in the form of temporary illnesses depending on how we are using our minds. These are the illnesses that are curable. When we ponder over the illness, and remove greed, arrogance, and self-love from our thoughts and behavior, these illnesses are returned back to God. This is why God calls these illnesses as blessings. They have the potential to create a joyous future from what may have been ominous one. This is a concept of a temporary inconvenience for a joyous future. These are the illnesses that can be healed. But for God, healing is a secondary goal; the primary goal is to save the soul. This starts from understanding causality and removing greed, arrogance, and self love from one’s thoughts and behaviors. Your illness may be God guiding you to remove evil from your heart. It may be healed!

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What is Salvation?

Posted on August 28, 2015 by heaventruth

What is salvation work? In a recent lecture by a Tenrikyo reverend, he considered salvation work as anything that helps others. Even helping someone carry his or her suitcase may be considered salvation work. According to him, a smile can be considered to be salvation work. But is this really salvation work? Does helping and elderly person cross the street be considered salvation work? Can making someone feel good be considered salvation work? The answer may be no. This path of salvation may be directed inwards to the helper and not outward to the individual he or she is trying to help.

There are people who go door to door spreading the truth of their religion, believing that they can save souls. Their persistence can even make others uncomfortable, even to the level of arousing anger. By the reverend’s definition of salivation, this cannot be considered salvation work. But which ideology is correct?

What is salvation? In the Heaven’s Truth Church (Tenrikyo), salvation involves the removal of evil (greed, arrogance, and self love) from one’s heart. This by the principle of causality will bring upon joy to the individual. But true joy is shared joy. How do we go about the process of sharing our joy? This is where salvation comes into play. It is the process of disseminating God’s truth to the world.

In our religion, God has given us a special prayer (Joyous Service) which performed with true sincerity, will bring upon individuals to our churches; we can then teach them God’s truth of causality, and teach them about the evils (greed, arrogance, and self love) that we must sweep from our minds to bring forth a joyous future.

Salvation begins with the purification of one’s mind of evil (greed, arrogance, and self love), and the performance of our special prayer (Joyous Service). With the acceptance of our prayer, God will bring others to us, so we can share our joy. True joy is shared joy. Shared joy will bring upon a joyous world. Smiling, and philanthropy are all attributes to one’s salvation, but we must tell others the reasoning why the sweeping of evil from our minds is paramount in seeking the joyous world. This is why God has given us this special prayer that will eventually save the world.

Posted in Book of Prophecy, causality, faith, God, Heaven's Truth Church, love, Religion, Tenrikyo, true sincerity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Natural Disasters as a result of God’s Wrath

Posted on August 20, 2015 by heaventruth

How does God communicate his disapproval with us? In the Book of Prophecy (Ofudesaki), God tells us that the anger and regret of God is manifested by severe weather and geological disturbances.

In this world, landslides, thunder, earthquakes,

And great winds are all from the anger of God. 6-91

If one is a believer in the bible, the story of Noah also will confirm this. But how does God create these disturbances? In the Book of Prophecy, God refers to himself as God, the Moon-Sun, and the Parent. Is it coincidence that that God refers to himself as Moon-Sun beginning in Chapter 6 of the Book of Prophecy? This is the same chapter that he warns us that these weather and geological disturbances are a result of God’s anger and regret (verse 6-91 above).

By scientific data, we know that the moon and the sun can affect the weather and geological patterns of the earth. Does God use the moon and sun in showing us his anger or regret in mankind? Can these natural disasters be the result not of global warming, but as a result of man’s evil (greed, arrogance, and self love) thoughts and behaviors?

Posted in Book of Prophecy, causality, faith, God, Heaven's Truth Church, joyous life, karma, prayer, reincarnation, Religion, Tenrikyo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Racial Conflicts and Arrogance

Posted on August 16, 2015 by heaventruth

Ignore the color of the skin of the racist. It is the evil of arrogance in the thoughts that emanate from the soul of the bigot. Arrogance is no stranger to all races. The strife and hate between individual because of the tone of the skin is said to be on the increase in America. The protest in Ferguson is an example of individuals that are imbued with arrogance in their minds. If a machine was able to detect the evil of arrogance in Ferguson during the protest, I am sure that the meter would have determined an increase in arrogance.

It is not a black or white issue. It is an issue of individuals that have the evil of arrogance in their minds. The dust of arrogance will convince an individual that he or she is better than someone. It is a contagious evil, like a virus that becomes imbued in the mind. This evil is not selective to any race, but seeks the mind that does not understand that we are all God’s children.

It is not the issue of race that causes the sufferings that we have recently witnessed. But it is the issue of the evil of arrogance that we must eliminate from our minds. Arrogance not only causes racial conflicts, but it is the source of other conflicts. For example, we see arrogance on our highways, like road rage. We see conflicts in our workplace because of arrogance. We see religious conflicts in the Middle East because of arrogance.

Most people see what happened in Ferguson as a black and white issue in America; but I see it as a congregation of arrogant people that do not know that we are all God’s children. We must first eliminate arrogance from our minds to achieve harmony in this world.

 

 

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The Path to World Salvation (Heaven’s Truth/Tenrikyo)

Posted on August 16, 2015 by heaventruth

Remove greed, arrogance, and self-love from one’s thoughts to have joy; by the principal of causality, this will bring upon joy.

True joy is shared joy. We must share with others on how to attain joy and be spirited.

God has given us a prayer (Joyous Service) that will allow us to teach others on how to attain joy.

Praying (Joyous Service) to God to help us share this joy with others.

God accepts our prayer (Joyous Service) only when our minds are sincere (without greed, arrogance or self love).

Upon acceptance of our prayer, God brings people to us so we can teach them about the evils (greed, arrogance and self love) that prevent people from attaining joy. We teach them about causality, and our special prayer.

This process continues until the all mankind is purified of greed, arrogance, and self-love. This occurrence by the law of causality will bring upon joy to the world.

God promises us that when mankind is purified of evil, there will be Heaven on earth.

 

Posted in Book of Prophecy, causality, God, Heaven's Truth Church, joy, joyous life, karma, Ofudesaki, prayer, Religion, sufferings, Tenrikyo, true sincerity | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment