OFUDESAKI-GOD'S TEACHINGS

Life is like calculus problem. Knowing the answer may not get you through life’s path. If you go back to calculus in high school or college, remember when you had the answer to the problem from the back of the book. You knew the answer, but you had to write down how you got the answer. The formulas and theorems were given to you, like the truths given to you by your religion. You had to apply these formulas and theorem to a given problem to arrive at the answer. It was not the answer that was important, but the path you took to get there.

I believe this is why, some followers and religious leaders fall from grace. They know God’s truths like the theorems and formulas of math. But because they have evil (greed, arrogance, and self love) in their hearts, they are not able to apply God’s truth when circumstances and challenges appear before them. They espouse God’s truth in public, but take the short path of greed, arrogance and self-love.

It is the experienced and hardened person who goes through his or her life applying God’s truth that finally gets to experience salvation, or joyous life. It is the selfish mind that will have difficulty attaining this salvation. Like the calculus problem, both know the answer, but only one gets there.

Many religions believe that we should be kind to everyone. How about the co-worker or employee who comes in late and works at minimum capacity? How can we talk to this kind of person without causing enmity from him? Should he not already know his deficiencies? Does this kind of person care? Yet, at the end we are the antagonist and end up defending our actions.

There was once an incident that caused great anxiety and turmoil in our religion. Apparently there was some confrontation with people opposed to the religion. Someone asked Oyasama (founder of religion) what to do.  She gave an answer that was surprising but true. She said that sometimes when we face evil, it is better to go around it, because if we face it directly, there may be dust (evil) that may attach to ourselves.  How true this is in daily life. For example, the incident about the co-worker occurred to me. I decided to confront this person and report him to the administration; but by going head on with the confrontation, anger arose in myself. Anger I believe arises from arrogance. Arrogance is one of the evils we try to avoid. At the end, the employee still works with the company, and I resigned.

In summary, sometimes we cannot force righteous behavior on others. Their resistance may cause evils to attach to our minds. Then what do we do?  I believe we have a duty to inform them of our observance, and suggest offering our assistance. But most important, we must pray so that God does eventually sweep evil from their minds.

There is nothing as trying as illness, especially when the prognosis is uncertain for a child. Even the common cold causes one to slow down and hope for recovery. Luckily, many of these disorders pass with time and rest. Many scientists will agree that these illnesses are sometimes unavoidable; but the intensity of discomfort and severity of the illness even with the same strain of pathogen is different with each individual. What causes this difference in pain and suffering? Much can be explained with science, but suppose there are diseases or illnesses given as guidance from a loving God?

In the mountain, I can see fire and water.

Can’t anyone see this with your own eyes?  2-40

When the distinction between fire and water in the high places are made,

joyousness will settle of its own accord. 6-5

Verse 2-40 is talking about God seeing the illness in the bodies (fire) in relationship to our use of the mind (water) in society. God questions if we can see this relationship.

Verse 6-5 states that when this relationship between fire ( body) and water (mind) is understood, joyousness will occur by itself.

In summary, society will say that illness and disorders can be explained in terms of scientific reasoning. But sometimes science and medicine cannot explain these symptoms of sufferings. Could they possibly be God’s guidance from above? The relationship of the mind to the body cannot be refuted. For example stress is one component of the effect of the mind on the body. But can these disorders also be result of God’s guidance to help us eliminate greed, arrogance, and self-love from our minds.  God prophesizes that when everyone sees this relationship between the body and the mind as true, the world will experience true joy, with everyone helping each other!