Ofudesaki 03:098
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Part 1 |
Contents
Content
| If only the dusts are cleanly swept away, | hokori sai sukiyaka harota koto nara ba | ほこりさい すきやかはろた 事ならば |
| then I shall work marvelous salvation. | ato wa mezurashitasuke suru zoya | あとハめづらし たすけするぞや |
Alternate English translations
Third Edition
If only you have finished the sweeping of your mental dust, I will work remarkable salvation.
Inoue/Eynon
Only when the dust is swept away completely, shall I then reveal a marvelous salvation.
Commentary
Commentary by Yoshitaro Ueda (2008)
From Michi no Dai: Foundation of the Path 33:52–3
What is called dust is what causes illness. Sweeping dust out completely will lead to “marvelous salvation.” This is the first time that the term “marvelous salvation” has been used in the Ofudesaki, which contains five instances of this term.
Sometimes the question is raised as to what the differences are between “mezurashi tasuke,” which is here rendered as “marvelous salvation,” and “fushigina tasuke,” often translated as “miraculous salvation.” The root meanings of the word “mezurashi” include “admirable” and “deserving to be cherished.” A dictionary will tell you that the word—which indicates a sense of praise coming from being impressed by freshness and novelty—means “fresh,” “novel,” “new,” “deserving to be loved,” “wonderful,” and “exceedingly rare.” This word refers to rarity and uncommonness and has positive meanings such as mentioned.
As for the word “fushigina,” the dictionary says that it means “inexplicable,” “mysterious,” “incomprehensible to humans,” and “having a cause that is unknowable.” When we compare and contrast the two words as we have done, there is a sense that they have rather different connotations. Based on what we have seen, I think we may say that “fushigina tasuke” means miraculous salvation or miracles of salvation whereas “mezurashi tasuke" seems to refer to what we might call ultimate salvation.
We may add that “mezurashi tasuke” does not just refer to individual salvation, which enables a person to live to the age of 115; rather, it means a salvation that includes anyone and everyone. Thus, even if we live to be 115, we cannot regard ourselves as having been saved in the sense of “mezurashi tasuke” if, for example, we have lost our spouses and children and are treated unkindly by people around us. We may say that, in a sense, “mezurashi tasuke" refers to an aspect of the Joyous Life World.
It should be noted in this regard that what the Ofudesaki calls salvation is much more than merely curing diseases, as is clear from verses 52 and 53 of Part XVII: “The salvation is not just to cure illness. I intend it to be a marvelous salvation. What do you think this salvation is? It is to be free from illness, death, and weakening.” For instance, even if miraculous salvation is received whereby we are saved from certain death through God the Parent’s blessings, this refers only to being restored to our previous condition, which is to say that what was wrong has been cured. However, the Ofudesaki says, “The salvation is not just to cure illness. I intend it to be a marvelous salvation…. It is to be free from illness, death, and weakening.” This, I think, refers to what we might call ultimate salvation.
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