OFUDESAKI-GOD'S TEACHINGS

I believe that church leaders have to be realistic. Our teachings are not spreading to the world. I hear lectures about sacrifices of suffering that we have to go through before God’s blessings are given to us.  People do not want to suffer, even though they are promised blessings in the future. We are told that we have to worship God, and Oyasama. We are also told to donate to our churches, and offer food and drinks to God.  We are also told to perform a dance ritual with perfection in front of God, to receive God’s blessings.  Do you understand why our religion is not growing!

In the Ofudesaki, God tells us we do not have to suffer to spread God’s teachings. God does not want us to worship God, and offer food and donations. This is not in the Ofudesaki! God does not want us to perform a dance Service, summarizing the Ofudesaki.  This dance was composed by Oyasama to help the early followers understand God’s teachings. It was not meant to be performed in front of God to worship. So what does God want us to do? The instructions are all in the Ofudesaki.

Summary of the Ofudesaki:

Church leaders tell us to perform the Youki-tsutome daily. They tell us that we are asking God to help us sweep our dusts or negative thoughts with this special prayer. But God already tells us how to sweep our negative thoughts in the Ofudesaki.  God tells us to calm our minds, and ponder our own minds when obstacles or suffering appears in our lives. God tells us that these sufferings come from our own souls. The soul monitors our behaviors and distributes our punishments or rewards. We reap what we have sowed because of our own souls.  If we understand the soul, we can purify our own minds by not acting upon our negative emotions or temptations, when obstacles occur.

Then what does the Youki-tsutome do?  First this Service is not the Yoki-tsutome, it is the You-ki-tsutome. The word yoki is translated as joy in English. This is why Tenrikyo people think this Service is called the Joyous Service. But you or juuyou is translated as workings, benefits, or blessings. In the Ofudesaki, these you (juuyou) are blessings of God placed on people we have spread the truth of the soul. These blessings are illness as guidance to help these people understand the soul. So we are praying to God, to save others, not ourselves when we perform the Youki-tsutome.   This is a prayer that helps us spread the truth of the soul. When the world undferstands the soul, there will be peace and prosperity,   heaven on earth!