God’ guidance is not punishment

Posted on May 4, 2013 by heaventruth

But where does God come into helping us realize the relationship between cause and effect? To be continued……….. (see previous blog)

After the creation of human beings, what if God only observed his creation, waiting to see  if this joyous world that was planned at the beginning of human beings was successful.  How disappointed and sad God must be to see the sufferings caused by mankind throughout history. In the Tip of the Writing Brush, it is said that the greed and selfishness in the hearts of mankind  have caused this suffering.

What if God seeing this suffering wanted to help guide his children to a joyous life of true happiness.  It is with this sadness and regret that according to the Tip of the Writing Brush, God has begun to work to help us realize the relationship between cause and effect.

Lets  review the law of cause and effect. Evil thoughts (greed, arrogance, and self love) and actions  bring upon suffering to the individual in the future. Usually these seeds (thoughts and actions) develop in the distant future as suffering. For those who believe in reincarnation,  these seeds may not develop until the next lives.  Because of this delay, people have a difficulty understanding this relationship. They will continue to be evil.

What is the best way to have human beings see this relationship between cause and effect?  Suppose the time lapse between cause and effect is shortened? Suppose God enters us and distinguishes our thoughts, and shows us the consequences of these evils in our minds immediately.  Suppose bodily disorders and illness are  placed on our bodies because of these thoughts. God is essentially shortening the time lapse between our evil thoughts, and its consequence.

When people begin to understand this relationship of cause and effect, the selfish thoughts may still exist,  but they will  be afraid to act for fear of suffering. Some of these people may begin to understand God’s guidance and love, and begin to see that  illness and disorders are not  punishment, but guidance from God to sweep the mind of evil, arrogance and self love. When the world understands God’s heart,  then there will be joy with everyone helping each other.

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

Do the bad suffer?

Posted on May 2, 2013 by heaventruth

Sometimes don’t you wonder what makes the bad people in the world behave poorly? What make them think that they can steal, kill, and hurt others. Do they only have their selfish interests?  It appears to be the case.  Greed, arrogance and self-love are rampant throughout the world.

Suppose people realized their thoughts and actions determined their future.  Would they hurt people emotionally and physically? Suppose that car thief realized that he or she was causing his or her own suffering in the future. Would they continue to steal?  Suppose the corrupt politician realized that his selfish transactions would cause his own suffering in the future. Will he proceed to vote for what was bad for the people?  Even a selfish person will stop to think before committing these transgressions in order to prevent harm to him or herself in the distant future.

If people realized the law of cause and effect, the world will certainly be a better place to live.   Some will still have evil thoughts, but will be afraid to act due to the consequences of their evil acts.  Many may realize this relationship between cause and effect, and begin to understand God’s purpose in creating mankind, to live a joyous life. They will begin to sweep their evil thoughts from their minds, and be able to help others, instead of hurting others.

But where does God come into helping us realize the relationship between cause and effect? To be continued………..

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

How do I remove arrogance?

Posted on May 2, 2013 by heaventruth

How do I remove arrogance from my mind, or the feeling that one is superior? We may have more knowledge than someone. This does not make us more superior as a human beings. We may have more wealth. This does not make us superior. We may have more strength. This does not make us superior. We may have more intelligence. This does not make us superior. You get my point. As human beings, we are all God’s children, and one person is not superior to another. The homeless person on the street corner is on equal grounds with the business man on Wall Street. But do most people believe this?

By truly  believing in the equality of mankind is how we can remove arrogance from our minds.  In the Tip of the Writing Brush, it is written that we must know the “Origin”, or why mankind was created to be saved. It is said that God created mankind to live a joyous life. But this joyous life is only brought upon by the removal of evils in our minds. Arrogance being one of the evils.

From a idealistic view, this joyous world sounds great. But one can look at it from a from a practical view. Anger is an emotion  that is caused by an outside stimulus (thing people do ) and our arrogance. If we remove arrogance from our minds, anger will not arise. Anger causes hypertension, and other health issues. Removal of arrogance, lessens our episodes of anger,  putting us on the road to happiness.

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

How do you control anger?

Posted on May 2, 2013 by heaventruth

It seems like all my life I have been trying to control my anger. Yes, anger management. I keep promising myself that I can arrest this emotion, but I always seem to fail. Why is anger so difficult to prevent for some people?

We are taught in our religion that if we have anger, we do not know God’s truth. I always wondered if this was true. I appear to have anger often, so according to my church, I must not know God’s truth. Today when I was shouting at someone on the phone, it hit me that I may not know God’s truth. Let me explain.

One of God’s truths is that arrogance is one of the evils of the mind. Arrogance is the belief that one is superior to another person. Anger is an emotion caused by a stimulus (another person) and by one’s arrogance. With out having both, anger will not arise. So if we can remove either one, than anger will not appear. The stimulus we cannot control, and may appear at any moment, but our arrogance we can always control.

So it was with this lack of the truth that I was trying to control my anger. But from today, I will try to eliminate arrogance from my mind, and will see if anger decreases when I am confronted with situations that I do not agree with. I will let you know if I am successful. Remove arrogance from your minds!

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

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

The Gay Basketball Player

Posted on May 1, 2013 by heaventruth

Recently a basketball player came out to say he was gay. Many people including the President complimented him on his courage. But is this abnormal behavior something that we should approve?

This is abnormal because we are talking about sex between two people of the same gender. I am not sure if it even fits the description of sex. It is abnormal because the performance of sex cannot produce an offspring. What would happen if being gay became the norm in our species. The human race will die out. That is why I prefer to use the word abnormal.

But many people will say what is the problem of two people loving each other. There is no problem if two people love each other, like the love between parents and their children, the love between best friends or the love between siblings. But when there is sex between them, there is a problem. This behavior will be considered abnormal.

We do not know God’s purpose in the creation of a gay disposition on certain individuals, but like all urges that we have, they can be controlled. I do not know how difficult it would be to resist our sexual urges for a lifetime, but knowing that it is an abnormal behavior may possible make it easier for some gay individuals to abstain.

I hope that this basketball player came out to show people that gay people are like everyone else. They are God’s children who need our support and love. I truly hope that he did not come out to gain approval of sex between the same gender.

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

Posted in Christianity, gay, God, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Stop Bullying!

Posted on April 30, 2013 by heaventruth

With the recent suicide of a teenager who was bullied at school, should laws be enacted to make bullying against the law? Can you imagine your child prosecuted for calling a classmate fat or ugly. Would this be going to far? Can you imagine our courts over run by these trivial cases of name calling.

Some would say that being bullied makes one stronger. It makes us realize that these actions hurt people, and prevents oneself from bullying others. As we become adults, we become vigilant to prevent these types of arrogance, especially against our children. We become sensitive to the needs of the weak in society.

But what makes a person become a bully? Many times they are usually taller and stronger than there victims.  Psychologist would say that they are insecure people, possibly wanting attention that they probably do not get at home. They convince themselves that they are better than the victim. They usually want a crowd to witness their relentless pursuit, and the degradation of an individual.

How does society eliminate bullying? Does it end with our education? It continues into our adulthood. What is sexual harassment in the work place? It is another form of bullying. Complete elimination of bullying will be impossible, as long as human being have arrogance, or the feeling that one is superior to another.

Laws will not change the thoughts of the bullies. It only curtails some of their actions. The innuendos, the snickering, and the inconspicuous eye movements will still inflict harm on the victim.  The courts will not be able to prove guilt upon these actions.  The bully, unless stopped will continue the unbearable onslaught of torture to the helpless victim. 

The first step of stopping bullying is knowledge. This knowledge can come from our churches, and trickle into our schools. This knowledge that we are all equal in the eyes of God; and that physical features and our personalities do not make one better as a person.  It is this arrogance, in a lack of God’s truth, and in the belief that one is superior than others, is what we must eliminate.

When more people eliminate arrogance,  there will be less bullies. And if a bully were to emerge, there will be more people that will be willing to prevent the aggressor from bullying. Religions need to step up in denouncing arrogance!

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

Posted in arrogance, Bullying, Religion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is the simple life better?

Posted on April 30, 2013 by heaventruth

Just read an editorial on how life can be so simple if we had less. The more we have, the more we have to worry about. I can relate to this by being a homeowner and having three automobiles.

Weekends seem to be worst if you are a homeowner with a large  front and backyard. Have you ever had a palm tree, trying to cut the hanging palms? It’s no problem when the tree is small, but once it becomes taller than the house, you need ladder, and those long poles with a saw at the end. You try to balance the pole while trying to keep still on the ladder, almost like a circus act. Sometimes I pray for winter, when everything stops growing!.

Besides, the up keep, its hard to take a vacation when you have a home. What do you do with your pets? Five minutes on the road, you wonder if you shut off the coffee maker, or locked all the doors. You always worry about intruders coming into your home while you are away. How about if the water pipe breaks? Should you cancel your papers or have the neighbors pick it up? Which one will make it less conspicuous that you are not home?

Now lets worry about the cars we own. Sometime don’t you wonder how long your car can go without changing the oil? That nagging feeling that you should change your tires since it’s been over 35,000 miles. When we do get the oil change, the mechanic reminding us to change the transmission fluid, and telling us that our brake pads need to be replaced. You wonder why they just don’t give us a oil change without looking at anything else.

How about the kids? How often do we worry about them. From the time they begin to walk, we worry about them falling and injuring themselves. We try to make everything child proof. How about those teen years when our hair started turning gray, and our wrinkles appeared.

Yes sometime I wonder if life would of been easier if we did not own our house, or if we had no children. But these thoughts are overshadowed by the joy that are brought upon by what we have. Although everything we have is but temporary on this earth, we are often blessed by having them. The house that gives us protection, the cars that give us a myriad of new destinations, and our children that give us joy, we are blessed.

It is not the material possessions that prevent us from  finding joy. With more possessions or more experiences, we are likely to experience more worries. But we are also likely to experience more joy. The timid youth who is afraid of rejection will never experience the joy of friendship. The hermit, will be safe in his house, but will miss out on the many opportunities that life offers. Worries and stress are part of life. But with faith in God, the worries become less, and the joy only become more. A simple life would be more easy to live, but would that bring upon true joy?

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

Posted in Christianity, God, joyous life, Religion, Tenrikyo, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Church and Church Collections as Oxymorons

Posted on April 29, 2013 by heaventruth

Let us discuss religious donations. Donation and church are an oxymoron. Why would churches that proclaim that monetary wealth is not important, ask for donations from their congregation? It is not surprising that many of our church buildings are magnificent architectural monuments in even poor communities. But does this ornate dwelling serve a purpose? Possibly the churches want to display a glimpse of the after life?

But what is the cost of spreading God’s truth. Does it come to the enormous amount of donations that are collected by our churches? How much does it cost to print copies of our sacred books? Did Jesus, Moses, Buddha, and Oyasama have an enormous purse string to spread the teachings. They only needed a pair of shoes, and their passion in spreading God’s truth.

The spreading of God’s teaching does not require money to spread. It is God that helps us spread the truth.  It is this confusion of the churches proclaiming the evils of material wealth, but yet soliciting contributions that may be hindering the propagation of God’s truth to the world.  When religious leaders begin to follow their own teaching, the congregation will be able to see a path to follow. For now, the world’s religions  may claim to have many member; but how many of these members really knows God’s truth?

Donations do have an important part in society, but church donations to me have got out of hand. God does not need extravagant worship halls to be built. God is omnipresent. Only compassion and faith is needed to spread God’s truth. For most religions, it is spreading the truth of helping each other to produce a world of joy.

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

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

Are donations necessary?

Posted on April 28, 2013 by heaventruth

Do you sometimes feel uncomfortable when people approach you and ask for donations? How about those co-workers who every year comes around at work to ask you to buy cookies? Sometimes you don’t want to give, but you give in due to social pressure of giving.  If you don’t give in, you feel like a frugal monster. But they don’t know that you contribute to other charities of your choice.

Let us discuss religious donations. Donation and church are an oxymoron. Why would churches that claim material wealth is not important ask for material wealth from their congregation? It is not surprising that many of our churches are magnificent architectural monuments in even poor communities. But does this ornate dwelling serve a purpose. Possibly it represents a glimpse of the after life?

But what is the cost of spreading God’s truth. Does it come to the enormous amount of donations that are collected by our churches? How much does it cost to print copies of our sacred books? Did Jesus, Moses, Buddha, and Oyasama have an enormous purse to spread the teachings. They only needed a pair of shoes, and their passion in spreading God’s truth.

The spreading of God’s teaching does not require money to spread. It is God’s truth that will spread the teaching. It is this confusion of the churches proclaiming the evils of material wealth, but yet soliciting contributions that may be hindering the propagation of God’s truth.  When religious leaders begin to follow their own teaching, the congregation will be able to see a path to follow. For now, the churches may claim to have many member, but yet how many of these members really knows God’s truth?

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

Posted in Christianity, donations, God, guidance, Heaven's Truth, Religion, Tenrikyo, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Punishment for Bad Thoughts?

Posted on April 28, 2013 by heaventruth

Does God judge you or punish you for having bad thoughts? Have you ever wondered how God judges you for the bad thoughts you may have of someone? How about the anger and temptation to react on our freeways to a careless driver? How about the second glimpse we give to a beautiful person of the opposite sex? Is it possible that there is no harm or foul as long as we don’t carry out our thoughts? In the Tip of the Writing Brush are the following verses:

Prepare to clear this mind quickly.

Purify it by using a filter and sand. 3-10

This filter, where do you think it is.

The heart and the mouth are the sand and filter. 3-11

Since we control our minds, we have the ability to stop our thoughts from coming to fruition. It may be difficult, but we can control what comes out of our mouths. We can usually control the thoughts in our minds.

But if there are too many evil thoughts in our minds, we may have a difficult time preventing our thoughts from going into action. This is where the heart which some call the soul, make come into play.

Let us look at the purpose of sand in the sewage system. The purpose of sand is to attract the pollutants from the sewage, so that we can re-use the water. The heart (soul) may act in the same capacity of sand. It attracts evil thoughts from our minds, clearing the mind of evil thoughts.

In summary, the mouth and heart prevent most of our evil thoughts from going into action. But we have not answered our question if God judges us for our evil thoughts. What happens to the evil thoughts that are attracted and stored in our souls (hearts)? In previous blogs, we have theorized that the soul (heart) carries these evil thoughts to the afterlife whether it is heaven or earth. May we be judged on the amount of evil in our hearts? How does God remove these evils from our hearts? There are more questions than answers for now. Hopefully we will deal with some of these questions in future blogs!

Heaven’s Truth Church/Tenrikyo Church

Posted in causality, Christianity, faith, God, joyous life, Religion, Tenrikyo | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment