The Pope’s Message

Posted on May 24, 2013 by heaventruth

It is good news that the new Pope believes that those who are not Catholic can do good. The following is from an article on MSN news:

“They complain,” the Pope said in his homily, because they say, “If he is not one of us, he cannot do good. If he is not of our party, he cannot do good.” And Jesus corrects them: “Do not hinder him, he says, let him do good.” The disciples, Pope Francis explains, “were a little intolerant,” closed off by the idea of ​​possessing the truth, convinced that “those who do not have the truth, cannot do good.” “This was wrong . . . Jesus broadens the horizon.” Pope Francis said, “The root of this possibility of doing good – that we all have – is in creation”

The last part of what the Pope has said is similar to what is written in the Tip of the Writing Brush. It is written  that mankind was created to live a joyous life. This is why we need to go back to the “Origin”, to find out why mankind was created. The answer lies in the innermost heart of every individual. It is the pure heart (soul) which was meant to do good.

But it is this pure heart that has been contaminated by evil (greed, arrogance, and self love) thoughts. It is only when we eliminate these evils, can we uncover our pure hearts and do good . This is what I believe the Pope wants you to take from his message.

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

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God’s Miracle

Posted on May 23, 2013 by heaventruth

Many will say that God is an observer, and not a participant in the world he created. The recent tornadoes and recent tragedies reflect this view.

God is going to start to work miracles. These miracles do not go against nature, or against science, but are occurrences that have not been commonly seen by mankind. What are these so-called miracles?

God is going to show us our minds! God is going to show us how we are using our minds today. The stomach ache, the headache, constipation, eye infection, and other bodily disorders may be God showing his disapproval of your present thoughts.

But are these miracles occurring now? Is God placing disorders on our bodies today? Some say God has begun these miracles on a limited scale, but will eventually show these miracles to the whole world. It is hoped that when the world realizes that these disorders reflect their minds, they will begin to eliminate greed, arrogance, and self love from their minds.

Since God is said to be an observer, it is said that we must ask God with our prayers to sweep these evils from the world’s mind. With our acceptance of our prayers, it is said that God will begin these miracles.

We must pray to God to sweep arrogance, greed, and self-love from the world’s mind. But like with all prayers, the more people praying, the more effective the prayer will be. Eventually it is hoped that the whole world will be praying.

We must also prepare the world for God’s miracles. We must tell people what God is going to perform. Without telling them, they will not understand what is occurring to them.

Remember these miracles are not God’s punishment. They are God’s loving guidance. When we remove the evils from our minds, then the illness or disorder will be given back to God. 

Tell people about God’s miracle, and then pray for this miracle!

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

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Yoga

Posted on May 22, 2013 by heaventruth

In the news, parents of a school were taking the school to court to prevent yoga as a physical education class. They were stating that Yoga is a religion. They contend that as the school systems can not teach religion at the schools, yoga as a religion should not be practiced during school hours.

Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word yui which means to unite or join. To unite or join with what? Yoga helps you connect to your inner spirit (soul), which in my previous blog was said to be a part of God. In essence our  soul was once divine. Yoga is a technique to find this pure soul.

In the Tip of the Writing Brush, it is said that the universe is the body of God. Initially, as we are part of God, our souls were pure. But evils (greed, arrogance, and self love) thoughts have originated from our selfish minds and have contaminated our hearts. This state is said to lead to suffering.

It is this state of the pure heart, where there is only positive thoughts and positive energies that yoga helps us find. Inevitably when one reaches this state,  our sufferings disappears. Some  say that this focusing technique blocks the evils that originate from our minds, cleansing our thoughts and leading to a state of bless and joy. This is a state where we all want to be all the time.

But even if yoga helps us lessen our sufferings, how can we maintain this bless during our daily routines?  Is it practical to practice yoga in a middle of a meeting, or a stressful situation? My belief is that we can find the inner heart or our pure soul that yoga helps us unite with. If we consciously remove greed, arrogance, and self love from our minds, we can eventually reach the state of bless without yoga.

In summary, yoga is not a religion. It temporarily helps us find our innermost heart (divine). Some say it makes us one with God. The world can easily reach this state permanently by removing greed, arrogance, and self love from their minds.

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

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The Potential To Be Happy

Posted on May 22, 2013 by heaventruth

As human beings we all have the potential to be happy. It is like our bodies were created to be happy. But what has gone wrong?  As we go through life or lives if one believes in reincarnation,  this potential goes up and down.  We live happy lives, we live sad lives, and most of us live a combination of both happy and sad lives.  Many of us do not know why some suffer, and why some have happy lives?  Is it random, like a flip of a coin, or is there a cause?

What causes this up and down in potential to be happy?  Some say that it is our thoughts  that effect our future. These thoughts are energies that are released internally and externally creating  future joy or sufferings.  Evil thoughts are greed, arrogance, and self love that have negative energies. Good thoughts are the opposite and have positive energies.  These energy sources originating in our minds are released in the future, resulting in joy or suffering.

It is this seemingly easy task of eliminating the evil thoughts that we must complete.  But as many find out, this task is not easy.  First it would be easier to believe in the law of cause and effect. Good thoughts result in joy, and evil thoughts result in suffering.  But for many, this would be difficult concept to believe in because of the prolong time lapse between cause and effect.  We are a society of instant gratification.

Even if believe in the concept of  cause and effect, eliminating greed and arrogance is very difficult because of the temptations that we are bombarded with daily.  We need to remind ourselves of the sufferings that may result from the misuse of our minds.

For those that have a difficulty of understanding what I have just written, just eliminate greed and arrogance from your lives. See if you notice any difference in your happiness.

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

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Don’t Forget Your Past

Posted on May 21, 2013 by heaventruth

It is said that the human minds forgets easily. This pertains to business, social and religious events. For example in business there is a saying, “It is not what you have done in the past, but what you can do for the company now.” With this reasoning, companies release their employees without regret.  In friendship, sometime we forget all the good times in the past, and become distant from some one due to a petty disagreement.

In religion, we are so appreciative when we a saved from an illness, or personal difficulties. But as time passes, we forget about God’s blessings that were received. The following is a verse from the Osashizu:

Even if I reveal the free and unlimited workings of God, you remember it only for the time being. But when a day passes, ten days pass and thirty days pass, you forget it entirely. I have taught you, but the truth does not stand. It is not because it cannot stand. It is because you do not uphold it. Your not upholding the truth is the bases of dusts (evil). May 9, 1898

In summary, we must be cognizant of the past to go forth in the future. Remember what got you here!

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

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Faith and worry

Posted on May 21, 2013 by heaventruth

How do you have complete faith in God? Someone once said that worry should not occur when we have total faith in God.  But what happens when we get seriously ill? Yes we worry about our fate, and the ones we may leave behind. How about when our children get lost for an instant, do we have enough faith not to worry?  Should we be concerned about our connection with God when we worry?  This will be an interesting question for those who are involved in their religions.

For those who have complete faith in God, should they be worried about their high blood glucose level, hypertension, an unknown growth on their bodies, or any illness? Can they have enough faith in God not worry? Would taking medicine and seeking medical assistance lessen their faith in God?

In the Tip of the Writing Brush is written that God created mankind to live a joyous life. This parental God also created doctors and medicine to help people.

In summary, worry may be a normal human trait that is acceptable to God. Faith on the other hand is a learned skill that only comes from our experiences.

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

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Power of Prayer

Posted on May 19, 2013 by heaventruth

Many people believe in the power of the prayer to heal others.  If we are to believe that if prayers can heal people, could there be a purpose for illness? If God can heal an illness through prayer, can God have placed the illness for a purpose? What does it mean when one is healed with a prayer?  Is it God’s approval of the healed person, or is it God’s approval of the prayer? Or could it be both? Some good questions to ponder about!

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

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What do you do?

Posted on May 18, 2013 by heaventruth

Sometime, it may be our fate that we should suffer the indignities of an arrogant individual. We are sometimes blind sided from close individuals that we thought we knew. We question their motives, and yet we cannot understand their behavior. This may be a close friend, coworker or even your spouse. 

At times you question your past actions, if you had caused this separation. Other times you fight back with word or actions that are more severe than the ones that were placed on you. But as time goes on, there is no return to the close relationship you once had.  Usually there is much anger. Anger then proceeds to hate and grudge bearing between both parties. If you continue to fight, usually separation results whether it is at work or marriage. Co-existence would certainly be difficult. 

How do we deal with this situation? Separation may be a remedy, but often the same type of person enters your life, and the cycle repeats (divorce again).

If we were to believe that these situations are our fate as explained by the law of cause and effect, we would be less inclined to have hostility toward the aggressor. We would be able to passively accept the negativity. With time, the relationship may become neutral, and compatible again.

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The World is a Mirror

Posted on May 18, 2013 by heaventruth

Webster defines fate as the will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do.

Fate is something that we cannot change. It is something that is going to happen. We often hear people say that it was fate that two people met, or it was fate that the accident happened.

If we were to go by Webster’s definition of fate, the law of cause and effect appears to fit the definition of fate.  Good behavior results in happiness, and evil actions result in suffering in the future. The effect can be traced to the cause. The following verses support this view.

The world’s path is a path of manifestations, whereas God’s path is the path of the heart.  In the world’s path, you can do whatever you want and get away with it, so long as no one sees you do it. But in the path of the heart, it all comes to bear on yourself.        Osashizu January 27, 1891

The world is a mirror. It reflects the states of the mind of the world’s people. Osashizu July 19, 1897

Any and everything is reflected in the world. All is reflected in the world. The world is a mirror. Osashizu February 4, 1889

The world is a mirror. Everything is a thing borrowed. The mind is yours. The way you have used your mind is reflected in the mirror.  Osashizu July 29, 1988

According to the law of cause and effect, the sufferings of this world are caused by the evil (greed, arrogance, and self love) thoughts and actions of the world. Like a mirror, our actions or thought reflect back on to us, as suffering or joy.

With this understanding, from an individual view, if we have good thoughts and actions, we will have a joyous future. If the minds of the world also begin to eliminate greed and arrogance from their minds, the world will become joyous with everyone helping each other.

We all have the tendency to look for what is causing our suffering, like our jobs, other people, or even God. But according to the law of cause and effect, we should look within to find an answer. Especially ponder how we have been using our minds. Eliminate greed and arrogance from your minds!

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

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Are our lives better now than 20 years ago?

Posted on May 18, 2013 by heaventruth

In a study published by the American Psychological Association, since the Baby Boomer generation, there has been a significant decline among young Americans in political participation, concern for others and interest in saving the environment, according to a new study published by the American Psychological Association.

When did this selfishness take place? Did the Baby Boomers create this mentality?  The economic prosperity created by this generation has diminished our social values, and the importance of God in our lives. Money and fame have become the golden calf. We constantly go on face book to find out if anyone liked our posts. Television is inundated with series that portray the rich and famous. Look at the millions of people who play the lottery.  To become famous and rich without much effort becomes the ultimate goal of our children.

What has occurred or is happening to our society because of this selfish mentality? Business and work has become a mode to make money, and not a means of earning a living.  Churches and charities have become a mode of making us feel good, and not a means to finding God and compassion.  And finally the government has become a mode of gaining power and dependency from the people, and not a means to protect and help the people.

Are our lives better now than 20 years ago?

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

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