Life of Oyasama Chapter 8-5
| The Life of Oyasama |
|---|
| Preface |
| Chapter One |
| The Shrine of Tsukihi (1837–1838) |
| Chapter Two |
| The Early History of Oyasama (1798–1837) |
| Chapter Three |
| On the Way (1838–1852), (1853–1854), (1862–1864) |
| Chapter Four |
| The Place for the Service (1864), (1865–1866) |
| Chapter Five |
| The Salvation Service (1866–1882) |
| Chapter Six |
| The Identification of the Jiba (1869–1873), (Jan–Nov 1874), (Dec 1874), (1875), (1876–1877) |
| Chapter Seven |
| Buds Sprout from Knots (1878–1880), (1881) |
| Chapter Eight |
| Parental Love (pp. 121–124), (pp. 124–131), (pp. 132–137), (pp. 137–146), (pp. 146–157), (pp. 157–165), (pp. 165–168) |
| Chapter Nine |
| The Hardships of Oyasama (Jan–Sep 1882), (Oct–Dec 1882), (Jan–Jun 1883), (Jul–Dec 1883), (1884), (1885), (Jan–Apr 1886),(May–Dec 1886) |
| Chapter Ten |
| The Portals Opened (Jan 1–11, 1887), (Jan 12–13, 1887), (Jan 18–Feb 18, 1887) |
Life of Oyasama Chapter 8-5 presents a portion of the contents of Chapter Eight from The Life of Oyasama as published by Tenrikyo Church Headquarters. The title of the chapter is "Parental Love."
Unlike earlier chapters, Chapter Eight offers little information on Oyasama's life. It mainly functions as a summary of the Ofudesaki.
The content below is equivalent to pages 146 to 157 of the print edition.
Note: The print edition of has been split into seven sections on this wiki due to length of text. The chapter is split as follows:
- Life of Oyasama Chapter 8-1 (pp. 121–124)
- Life of Oyasama Chapter 8-2 (pp. 124–131)
- Life of Oyasama Chapter 8-3 (pp. 132–137)
- Life of Oyasama Chapter 8-4 (pp. 137–146)
- Life of Oyasama Chapter 8-5 (pp. 146–157)
- Life of Oyasama Chapter 8-6 (pp. 157–165)
- Life of Oyasama Chapter 8-7 (pp. 165–169)
Contents
Text
Part thirteen
Entering part thirteen:
Tsukihi sincerely desires only to end the wars among those on the high mountains.
By what means can they be ended? If only you set forth on the Joyous Service. . .
Do not wonder from whose mind these words come. They are solely from the mind of Tsukihi.
It is difficult to do this Service because of the high mountains, but God gives you firm assurance.
This time, in all matters, I shall truly give you My firm assurance and shall work.
God the Parent desires from the bottom of the heart that war should end. War arises from the haughty pride of the human mind. From the desire to abolish war in this world by all means, God the Parent begins the Service of the Kanrodai. The Service of the Kanrodai is the Service for world peace. But human beings, who are children, are ignorant of this sincerity of God the Parent and, by their mischief, interfere. But do not fear the persecution or the meddling in the least, for God the Parent gives you firm assurance and will show free and unlimited blessings.
Part fourteen
Entering part fourteen:
Do not wonder what this is about. I need musical instruments for the Service quickly.
Now today, whatever you may do, you need not worry, for the Parent assures you.
Until now, because they know nothing, those in high places have always forbidden and opposed Me.
This time, no one will be able to stand against Me. From anyone who is of mind to defy, the Parent will withdraw!
On this matter, hasten to resolve your minds firmly and begin quickly.
Hasten to prepare everything for the Service. Fear nothing, for the Parent gives you assurance.
On this matter, resolve your minds and ponder. I am in haste to assemble the performers.
If you quickly unite your minds and do the Service correctly, the world will settle.
Urging the followers to prepare for the musical instruments quickly, God the Parent continues to hasten the assemblage of Service performers, telling the followers to settle in their minds a strong faith—the unshakable strength of the mind of true sincerity—so that any persecution, however strong, will not cause them to be fearful. It is promised that if we settle our minds with such resolve, God the Parent will bestow free and unlimited blessings. And if all performers for the Service quickly assemble and perform the Service correctly with their minds in one accord, God the Parent assures blessings that will bring peace to the world. Thus, God the Parent assures world peace by the performance of the Service of the Kanrodai.
Part fifteen
Further, in part fifteen:
In this talk, whatever Tsukihi may say concerning any matter, do not oppose it.
From now on, the Parent will request just one matter of you. I shall speak of nothing else.
What do you think this request is? It is solely about the Service.
This Service is the beginning of this world. If only this is realized. . .
Now today, you close to Me, let your minds not be opposed to the Parent's words on any matter.
Using such words as the "request" of the Parent, God expresses at length the urgency of the hastening parental heart, admonishing us earnestly that since the performance of the Service will lead to the creation of the world of the Joyous Life, we must not turn away from the words of the Parent nor differ from the parental heart but rather perform the Service quickly.
Continuing:
Today, I shall begin to tell you the real truth. Please understand it clearly.
This talk is solely about the great test from forty-three years ago.
What do you think this test is about? It is solely about the preparations to hasten the Service.
What do you think about this Service? Prepare for the performers including the musical instruments.
Ponder over this Service, whoever you are. If you dare to stop it, your life will be stopped.
It is the same as the way I began this world. I began human beings that never existed.
If only this is begun, I shall assure you any salvation whatever.
At this time, indeed, the real truth of the parental heart is revealed. Quiet your minds and listen carefully. It is the Service which God has been testing and for which God has been hastening these past forty-three years. And since the time for its performance is pressing, hasten the preparations to assemble the performers and musical instruments. If anyone tries to stop its performance, the breath of life will be stopped. Just as God the Parent created humankind from the formless chaos, so will God provide any salvation whatsoever by the performance of this Service. Thus, God's demands for the preparation of the Service increased in severity and in force.
Continuing:
Now a request. What do you think I request? Quickly assemble the musical instruments and begin practice.
Though until this time I have continued to keep still on whatever matters,
Now today, by all means, you must quickly do the Service.
Putting special stress on the practice of the musical instruments, God says that the time for the Service has arrived and the performance must be commenced.
Further:
This path has truly been a path of hardship for forty-three years.
Though no one has known of it until now, this time I shall clear it all away.
To explain how it will be cleared away: I shall reveal everything solely by the Service.
As to this Service, whatever the Parent may say about any matter, do not oppose it.
I request you earnestly, especially in this matter, so you will not be remorseful later.
If anyone dares to stop this Service, I shall withdraw even from the proxy at once.
You close to Me, what are you thinking about this talk? I cannot wait even for a breath.
Quickly begin to bring out the musical instruments at least. I am hastening solely for the Service.
The urgency of the hastening parental heart is recorded and taught earnestly yet impatiently, at times severely, at other times cordially, always directing the followers toward spiritual growth and hastening the performance of the Service so that the seasonable time would not be missed.
Part sixteen
In part sixteen, God teaches the fundamental truth of the Kagura Service:
Until now, perhaps no one has known about the origin of human beings at the beginning of this world.
At this time, by all means, I wish to teach everything about this origin clearly to the world.
The origin is represented by the two members of the Kagura. Truly, this Service is the beginning of this world.
What is called the Kagura this time is the Parent who began human beings.
The fundamental truth in the creation of humankind is displayed in the Kagura performance of the couple, Kunitokotachi and Omotari. Receiving the truth of God the Parent, their performance is infused with the truth of God the Parent, Tenri-O-no-Mikoto, the true Parent who created human beings.
There is no knowing what you may see in a dream. Hereafter, things will change and your mind will be spirited.
You may dream of marvelous things. Take it as a sign and begin the Service.
The seasonable time pressing as it was and the Parent's concern for the children growing more urgent, God causes marvelous dreams which, when seen, are to be taken as a sign that the Service is to be commenced. Thus, even through dreams, God orders that the Service be commenced quickly.
Tsukihi is the Parent who began human beings and this world which did not exist.
Be that as it may, the drum is being stopped by children who know nothing. Behold My regret.
God reproaches the children who, out of ignorance of the sincerity in the parental heart, attempt to stop the work of God.
When Tsukihi works throughout the world, perhaps there is no one who knows how to settle matters.
Therefore, I shall tell you how to settle matters. All of you in the world must ponder quickly.
Concerning the Service: never think that I have any other intention. I have only the single desire to save all of you.
Unaware of this, everyone is thinking that it is somehow evil.
As human beings are shallow, you speak about everything without knowing the core.
Until today, I have said nothing and remained still. Behold this regret of Mine.
When the storms of the regret and anger of God the Parent appear, no other path will cause them to subside but the Service. Indeed, the Service is the one and only way to settle any accident or disaster. Regrettably, the Service is being prevented and delayed. How the shallowness of the human mind strains the limits of God's patience! Thus, by strongly calling on the followers to introspect, God hastened the performance of the Service.
The Shrine of Tsukihi and the Parent of the Divine Model
As we have seen, Oyasama continually hastened the completion of the Service throughout the whole of the Ofudesaki and throughout Her life as well. Now let us consider the role of Oyasama from two standpoints: that of truth and that of physical reality. On the one hand, as the Shrine of Tsukihi, Oyasama revealed truth. On the other hand, as the Parent revealed on earth, She guided people by demonstrating the teachings Herself in Her life so that they would thoroughly understand them. On both points, Oyasama is the true Parent.
Beware, you grand shrines and high mountains whoever! There is no knowing when Tsukihi will rush out.
On the one hand, because time was pressing, an ominous warning was issued to human beings, "Tsukihi will rush out." On the other hand, God pleads with human beings:
And though each of you throughout the world has been pondering until now,
To My sorrow, no matter how deeply you have pondered, you have no mind to save others.
From now, Tsukihi requests you, everyone in the world, to replace your mind firmly.
To explain what kind of mind it is to be: it is none other than to save the world single-heartedly.
Hereafter, if all of you throughout the world save one another in every matter,
Know that Tsukihi will accept that mind and will provide any salvation whatever.
Please, people of the world, firmly replace your minds. Become the mind of single-hearted salvation. If you human beings become of a mind to respect and help one another, God the Parent will assure you any salvation whatsoever. Thus tenderly and warmly does God call upon us to replace our minds.
Further:
Whatever mind you may have had until now, replace it, even in the span of a night!
If you truly replace the mind in its entirety, Tsukihi will accept it, too, at once.
God the Parent will never forsake us. If we but replace our minds, we shall be saved even in a single night. Thus, the unlimited love of God is recorded in these verses directing us to replace our minds.
From the beginning, the relationship between God the Parent and human beings, who were created by the divine intention, has been one of Parent and children, not one of estrangement. But human beings, granted free will, used their minds in selfish ways for long ages since the creation, accumulating dust upon dust. Between this human mind and the unchanging heart of Tsukihi, a rift developed, causing one to think, at first glance, that perhaps there is no relationship between God and human beings. Our present human world, in which the voice of the Parent cannot easily be understood, is the result.
The difficulty of Oyasama's role in conveying the will of God the Parent and in leading people, whose minds are in such a state, to the Joyous Life is beyond imagination. In the Ofudesaki we can see this struggle as Oyasama saved people and taught them step by step, in accordance with the will of God the Parent, to sweep their hearts free of dust, leading them toward the brightness of the Joyous Life in which the children are one with the heart of the Parent. It is here that the parental love of Oyasama, whom we adore as the Parent of the Divine Model, is brought to mind.
