God’s Promise of the Joyous Life for Everyone

Posted on May 21, 2014 by heaventruth

In many religions, there is a catastrophic ending to the world (Armageddon), but in the Heaven’s Truth Church, there is a guarantee of joy to the world. There is a verse in the Tip of the Writing Brush, which refers to this blessing.

Because the Origin becoming Jiba and the Origin becoming causality exist, this God works freely and unlimitedly. 8-47

In the Heaven’s Truth Religion (Tenrikyo), there is a location where we believe that evolution of human beings began. We also believe in the Causality of the Origin, which states that mankind was created to live a joyous life.

The reason God began human beings was the desire to see you lead a joyous life. 14-25

God creating human beings is the cause and the effect is all human beings living a joyous life.

My interpretation of verse 8-47 is that because of the proof that human beings exist, God will work to make the original causality of the world come to fruition. God will work to make all mankind live a joyous life. How God will do this is in our sacred book, the Tip of the Writing Brush.

Posted in causality, God, Heaven's Truth Church, Religion, Tenrikyo, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Using the mind to understand

Posted on May 18, 2014 by heaventruth

This is a story of C who lived a box. Everything was all right with his life, except he was not happy. He was told not to look out of the box, because there was evil outside. Also he was told that if he did, he would not be able to go to the big box in the sky.

In the box, he had always noticed a small spring in the box. He often tried to throw the spring out the box, but it always came back. He started to play with the spring, jumping up and down. He started to notice that the more he played with it, the more the spring got larger. He was able to jump higher. One day as he was playing with the spring, he was able to see out of the box. The world outside did not appear as dark as he was told. Another day as he was jumping, the spring propelled him out of the box. C panicked as he was in unfamiliar territory. He noticed that the spring fortunately had also landed out the box. Retrieving the spring, C quickly jumped back into the box. As time went on, C was able to stay out of the box for longer periods. He found out the life out of the box made him happy. He noticed that the walls in his box became shorter, until they gradually disappeared. He was finally a part of the world.

This is just an allegory, but it has significant meaning. In the world, there are religions that attempt to inculcate their beliefs on us. They tell us to believe the unbelievable; they tell us not to use our minds; they tell us to have faith that is not based on reasoning. In the story, the spring represents the mind. For some, the spring will collect dust and stay in the corner; but for the enlightened, the spring will open a new world of knowledge, and may open one to the blessing of God.

Posted in causality, God, Heaven's Truth Church, Religion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Thinking Out of the Box

Posted on May 18, 2014 by heaventruth

This is a story of C who lived a box. Everything was all right with his life, except he was not happy. He was told not to look out of the box, because there was evil outside. Also he was told that if he did, he would not be able to go to the big box in the sky.

In the box, he had always noticed a small spring in the box. He often tried to throw the spring out the box, but it always came back. He started to play with the spring, jumping up and down. He started to notice that the more he played with it, the more the spring got larger. He was able to jump higher. One day as he was playing with the spring, he was able to see out of the box. The world outside did not appear as dark as he was told. Another day as he was jumping, the spring propelled him out of the box. C panicked as he was in unfamiliar territory. He noticed that the spring fortunately had also landed out the box. C quickly jumped back into the box. As time went on, C was able to stay out of the box for longer periods. He found out the life out of the box made him happy. He noticed that the walls in his box became shorter, until they gradually disappeared. He was finally a part of the world.

This is just an allegory, but it has significant meaning. In the world, there are religions that attempt to essentially brainwash us. They tell us to believe the unbelievable; they tell us not to use our minds. In the story, the spring represents the mind. We are the only species that has the ability to think. We must use our minds to understand. In the Tip of the Writing Brush there is a verse that summarizes this.

Though I have gathered many and varied missionaries,

those that are like a distorted mirror will not do. 3-50

The distorted mirror reflects an image that is not true. This is like a mind that cannot understand what it sees. Like the spring in the story that C used to see the true world, we must use our minds to understand. With understanding, we will find that true joy cannot be contained in a box; it must be shared with the world.

Posted in Buddhist, Catholic, causality, Christian, Christianity, faith, God, Heaven's Truth Church, Hinduism, innen, Jjehoval Witness, Methodist, Mormom, Protestant, Religion, Scientology, Shinto, Sokai Gakkai, Tenrikyo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The devil made me do it.

Posted on May 17, 2014 by heaventruth

It is funny how we tend to blame others for our own faults. I guess it is human nature to look outside of us to blame. How often have you heard excuses like we lost because the other team cheated, I didn’t get the promotion because my boss does not like me, and the devil made me do it? Many religions make it too easy for us to escape the blame.

Everyone believes that there is an opposite for everything. For example, the opposite of big is small, the opposite of man is woman and the opposite of good is bad. God is good, so there must be some force opposite of God that is bad. This must be Satan or the devil. Can the devil place bad thoughts in our minds, or do we generate these thoughts ourselves? In this world, there are many things or persons that tempt us. The churches would like us to think that the devil places these evils in front of us. But can it be these evils are generated from the minds of mankind?

In the Tip of the Writing Brush (Ofudesaki) is a verse,

Among all mankind, there is no one who is evil.

It is only a bit of dust stuck on them. 1-53

These dusts are greed, arrogance and self love that accumulate on our hearts. If we eliminate these dusts from our minds, we can become good and spirited. Suppose instead of asking God to help us fight Satan, we ask God to help us eliminate greed, arrogance, and self love from our minds. By ourselves, to eliminate these evils from our minds will be a herculean task; this is why we pray to God to help us!

Posted in blogs, causality, God, Heaven's Truth Church, prayer, reincarnation, Religion, Tenrikyo, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Verse of the Week

Posted on May 11, 2014 by heaventruth

WHY DO SOME SUFFER WHILE OTHERS HAVE JOY? HOW DO WE FIND JOY?

GOD CREATED ALL MANKIND TO LIVE A JOYOUS LIFE WITH EVERYONE HELPING EACH OTHER. BUT HOW DO WE LIVE THIS JOYOUS LIFE?  WE MUST FIRST BELIEVE IN CAUSALITY.

UNDERSTANDING CAUSALITY OPENS THE PATH TO JOY. CAUSALITY EXPLAINS WHY WE SUFFER OR HAVE JOY. NO MATTER HOW DESPERATE OUR SITUATION MAY APPEAR, WE CAN PLANT GOOD SEEDS NOW THAT WILL BLOSSOM INTO JOY. WE CAN GUARANTEE A JOYOUS FUTURE!

GOD WILL BEGIN TO HELP THE WORLD UNDERSTAND CAUSALITY. WE HAVE A SPECIAL PRAYER  ASKING GOD TO HELP OTHERS UNDERSTAND CAUSALITY.

INTRODUCTION:

God has created mankind to live a joyous life with everyone helping each other (the original causality).

The reason God began human beings was the desire to see you lead a joyous life. (Tip of the Writing Brush 14-26)

OUR BELIEFS:

We believe in the Law of  causality. Good thoughts and actions result in joy.  Evil (greed, arrogance, and self love) thoughts and actions result in suffering and inconveniences in the future.

God will begin to shorten the time lapse between the cause and effect, making the relationship easier to understand. God has given us a  special prayer that will make this possible.

OUR MISSION:

To pray daily with our special prayer (Joyous Service), asking God to help  people realize the law of causality. When this happens. people will begin to eliminate evil (greed and arrogance) from their minds.

To eliminate greed, arrogance, and self-love from our minds, thus making our special prayer more receptive to God.

To tell the world what God is going to do when he accepts  our special prayer (shortens the time lapse between cause and effect, making this relationship easier to understand). Ponder over any illnesses. They may be God’s guidance in teaching you causality.

To heal the illnesses brought upon by God’s guidance by performing our healing prayer (Sazuke).

OUR GOAL:

TO HAVE ALL MANKIND UNDERSTAND CAUSALITY; AND TO HAVE ALL MANKIND LIVE A JOYOUS LIFE BY HELPING EACH OTHER.

VERSE OF THE WEEK:

Among all mankind, there is no one who is evil.

It is only a bit of dust stuck on. 1-53

Interpretation of verse: Initially our hearts were pure. But dusts like arrogance, greed, and self love have attached to our hearts. Everyone can become good again.

Posted in causality, Heaven's Truth Church, joyous life, Tenrikyo, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Sacred Cow

Posted on May 11, 2014 by heaventruth

Have you wondered why in India they do not eat beef? The cow is said to be sacred and not to be eaten. But could there be another reason? Could these animals be one step closer to evolving into human beings? In the Tip of the Writing Brush, the following verses appear to insinuate this view of reincarnation.

Until now there has been much talk of rebirth as oxen or horses, but there has been no one who knows his past or future. 5-1

If you let your debts pile up, a path of oxen and horses will finally appear. 8-54

In these verses, it is suggested that if our hearts are filled with evil, we may regress to a lower animal on the evolution scale, like the oxen or the horse in our next life.

In one of the chronicles of the foundress, she thanked the preparer of the feast, but also taught her followers to say delicious, delicious so that the fish on the plate could come back advanced on the evolution scale.

The evolution of human beings has been documented on a physical scale, from the first cells to our multicellular structures. This process taking millions of years. But could each organism present today continue to advance to a higher form in the next life, like the fish served to the foundress in the above example. This may explain the continual increase in the population of the world.

The final human stage of development separates us from any other species. We have the ability to think. It is with our minds that we can understand the intentions of God, and make the world better. To those that continue to go against God, the future may be a path of oxen and horses?

Posted in causality, Heaven's Truth Church, Hinduism, reincarnation, Religion, Tenrikyo | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Tip of the Writing Brush

Posted on May 10, 2014 by heaventruth

In many religions, there is a prediction of a final action of God resulting in the salvation of the believers, and the annihilation of nonbelievers. Some may call this Armageddon. In the Heaven’s Truth Religion (Tenrikyo), God promises that all mankind will be purified from the innermost hearts. This is the elimination of greed, arrogance, and self love from our minds. When this happens, it is said the heavens will open up, and that all mankind will be able to live joyously forever.

Both scenarios appear unlikely. The biblical scholars have been predicting the end of the earth ever since the ancient books were written. If these predictions were to come true, many people will not be saved. The elimination of evil from the minds of mankind appears to be occurring at a snail’s pace. The promised time that God guarantees has not come yet. In both scenarios, it would be prudent for us to eliminate evil (greed, arrogance, and self love) and sin.

But how do we eliminate evil or sin that is rampant in the world? What religion or religions will bring forth a solution to make all mankind good? We believe that the answer is in the Tip of the Writing Brush (Ofudesaki).

Posted in causality, God, Heaven's Truth Church, Religion, Tenrikyo, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The equality of the sexes

Posted on May 8, 2014 by heaventruth

I am always shocked by the inhumanity toward women. Just recently the story about 300 teenage females who were kidnapped by an extremist group is in the news now. There are religions in the modern era that continue to propagate the superiority of men over women. Even in the ancient history, we do not see prophets or apostles that were female. Until the twentieth century, women did not have the right to vote. There is plethora of examples in the past and today on the injustices against the female sex. Why has this occurred, and why do the religions continue to support the superiority of the male?

There is one religion where the founder is a female. This religion is called Heaven’s Truth Church (Tenrikyo). Why God would select a female to help save mankind is something to ponder about. This choice would appear to go against the natural thinking of the time about the sexes, and would certainly bring upon opposition from other religions.

The following is a conversation between the foundress and a male follower who she thought was treating his wife as a second-class citizen. As they were both looking out into the fields, she stated:

“Did you notice those pumpkins and eggplants? They are big, aren’t they? The plants bear fruit because the flowers bloom. Not a single plant bears fruit without its flower. Now ponder deeply. The world says woman is unclean, but there is nothing unclean about woman. Man and woman are equally children of God and there is no discrimination. Woman has a duty, a duty to bear children. Her monthly period is the flower. Without the flower there is no fruit.   Understand this well. Take the pumpkin; if its big flower is gone, that is the end of it. In many things, there are flowers that bear no fruit. But to bear fruit without any flower is impossible. Ponder deeply. There is nothing unclean about it.”

There are definitely differences between males and females, especially physically. What was once thought as a negative attribute (menstruation) should now be thought as a positive attribute.  The blood is God’s preparation for the growth of the future generation of children that will inhabit the earth. Without this cleansing, both males and females will cease to exist. Because of this special reproductive process delegated to women, should we not view women as superior to men?

It is with this equality of sexes that this religion was founded on. Please ponder these teaching that treat both men and women with respect and dignity. The reason God created mankind was so he could see them (both male and female) live a joyous life.

Posted in causality, God, Heaven's Truth Church, Tenrikyo | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to be spirited

Posted on May 7, 2014 by heaventruth

What is the joyous life that God promises us? We all know how it feels to suffer, or be inconvenienced. This is of course not joy. Does having money and wealth promise us joy? Does having a great career give us joy? Is living without suffering or inconveniences joy? We all know people who we think have everything going for them, and find out that they are unhappy. We also know people who have experienced extreme sufferings, yet they are spirited.

Let us try to discover what joy is. Joy I believe is the feeling that everything is great. It is a positive attitude. Everyone seeks to find this attitude. Some believe that money, wealth, power, and career will help one achieve joy. Others feel that drugs, and other addictions will give oneself joy. Many will find that despite attaining these worldly possessions, depression will possess their minds.

Sometimes, a cup of coffee may boost our spirits; but often the gloom may surround us for a while. If material wealth, and drugs do not sustain our spirits, what does? It is said that if we eliminate greed, arrogance, and self-love from our minds, then we will become spirited. We must have the mind that helps other people. The secret of happiness or spiritedness is the emphasis on helping others, while placing less emphasis on oneself.

How great it would be if we could be spirited every minute of our lives. The discovery of a pill to attain this frame of mind will produce billions of dollars for the pharmaceutical companies. But the information to attain spiritedness is free. Remove arrogance, greed, and self-love from your minds.

Posted in causality, God, Heaven's Truth Church, Hinduism, joy, joyous life, Religion, Tenrikyo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Where do our donations go to?

Posted on May 5, 2014 by heaventruth

There was a comment I found interesting under the Catholic Church putting pressure on American nuns. One person commented, “ Religion is the easiest way of making a living at the expense of naïve victims”. Let me give you my opinion and thoughts on this matter.

Should not God’s teachings be free and accessible to everyone? Why do churches solicit donations, especially from the poor? Why are many churches ornate, and spacious, sometimes appearing out of place from the simple tenements that surround it? It would appear antithesis to the church’s renouncement of wealth and greed.

Why do we donate to our churches? Does our contributions enhance our salvation? I believe that the churches would like us to believe this. What happens to the billions of dollars that are collected by our churches? How much of this money is directed to the propagation of the teachings? How much of this money is used for the sustenance of the church?

It is not surprising that religion has become like a fraternity. The purpose for its existence has been lost. Religions should make people good, and lead happy lives. It should not exist to just sustain itself.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment