Ofudesaki Part 05

Ofudesaki
Author: Miki Nakayama Date Published: 1998 Pages: 486 (English ed.) Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 unnumbered set

Ofudesaki Part 05 is an outline of the 5th part of the Ofudesaki. This outline is based on what appears in Thoughts on a Thematic Outline of the Ofudesaki by the second Shinbashira Shozen Nakayama. Ofudesaki Part 5 was written in May 1874.

Part 5: From the method of settling each person’s mind to the construction of the broad path by spreading God the Parent’s teaching concerning the truth

1. Self-reflection regarding disorders of the body, leading to the blessing of the free and unlimited workings 1–4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
2. Disorders of the body, guidance, admonition, drawing forth the performers, their spiritual growth, and the hand movements for the Service 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
3. This path and the Divine Record in Nihon (“incantations or magical arts” and the “true art,” the branches and the root or the origin, Kara and Nihon) 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47–8, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55
4. From the high mountains, a broad path will open 56–7, 58, 59, 60, 61
5. Preparing to dig up the root 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68
6. Spreading God the Parent’s teachings concerning the truth throughout the world 69, 70–1, 72, 73, 74, 75–6, 77
7. Spiritual growth obtained while progressing from a narrow path into a broad path; self-awareness 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88

Part summary by Yoshitaro Ueda

From Michi no dai: Foundation of the Path 35:45–6

I now want us to start looking at Part V of the Ofudesaki. First, let us read together the “Summary of Part V”:

Part V explains how God’s blessings unfold, saying that God the Parent provides for people according to the state of mind of each person. As a concrete example, this part refers to health disorders that come from the dust of the mind. Part V goes on to speak of drawing people forth through health disorders and providing them with training to open a broad path. All these efforts, we are taught, are part of the arrangements God the Parent is making to complete the Service.

This, says Part V, will result in a fundamental path to reconstruct the world, a path leading to the Divine Record for eternity. To this end, God will teach the truth about the beginnings of origin and subsequent events and show the free and unlimited workings, thereby helping all people in the world to purify their minds completely. The workings mentioned here are summed up in the phrase “I shall give returns when I accept your minds.”

Therefore, God urges people to be proactive in seeking out the path so that they can dig up the root of the world’s origin, which will lead to a dependable, trustworthy path. The next part, Part VI, will then present the story of the truth of origin.

Part V does not contain the word “Service.” Of the seventeen parts of the Ofudesaki, three parts have no instance of this word. Given how the Ofudesaki’s primary focus is on the completion of the Service, one would have thought that each of its seventeen parts contains many instances of the word “Service.” Yet parts V, XI, and XVII are devoid of this word. Nonetheless, in terms of Oyasama’s effort to make arrangements to complete the Service, it is worth noting that, as has been mentioned in the “Summary of Part V,” this part speaks of opening a broad path–which is to be used by many people–and that the foundation of the broad path is the Service. Also, although containing no explicit reference to the “Service,” Part V does refer to the “hand movements.”