Thoughts of a Tenrikyo Follower @tenrikyofollower - Tumblr Blog

Where does Tenrikyo draw positivity from? Part 1

I am on social media a lot and often times I see a lot of these positive or wholesome messages that I see often align with the Tenrikyo Teachings. Of course all religions want to be associated with positivity and wholesomeness, so I think it's important to consider where that comes from within the teachings. I believe that Tenrikyo acknowledges the bad and hard things in life, but how we learn to accept and move on from them is what may separate Tenrikyo from other religions.

First and foremost the teaching of "A thing lent, a thing borrowed" comes to mind. It teaches us that our bodies are not our own, rather it is borrowed from God the Parent and that we do not have control of the inner workings of our bodies and believe that it is through the blessings of God the Parent that we breath, digest food, and perform other functions that maintain our bodies. These are things out of our control and therefore it is a blessing to us. So it should not be taken for granted.

The source of a Tenrikyo follower's happiness could solely be by the healthy body they have. You can imagine those who have experienced being completely disabled or without normal function of their bodies feeling elated when they recover these basic functions. Tenrikyo followers are often taught and reminded that even we must not forget appreciating God the Parent for these blessings. Even followers that are sick or disadvantage will be able to find joys in their life because they find happiness by realizing that despite their shortcomings. There are other things they find that make their lives bearable such as family and friends.

I think by having this core believe ingrained in our day-to-day lives, it would always be a reliable source of positivity.

Positivity can be seen as superficial or overly optimistic, but Tenrikyo has more teachings that help us find joy no matter the circumstance. The more you learn the Teachings and the more you mature spiritually, the easier it is to find that joy which is how Tenrikyo can be associated with positive messages.

There are more teachings that emphasize this point but will require a lot more writing so I will continue this as a series.

#tenrikyo #tenrikyo teachings #faith #religion

Why bother with faith?

I was inspired to write by this article: Why Bother with Faith?

It doesn’t put food on the table.

It doesn’t put a roof over your head.

It doesn’t instantly fix your problems.

Faith is not a solution, but a way of accepting your problems and getting through them. Tenrikyo’s teaching of “Buds sprout from knots,” acknowledges that problems in life are inevitable. Much like how a bamboo stalk has smooth parts that meet a knot every so often, we will always face problems that we must grow from.

How do you identify a “knot” in your life?

Any problem that is bothering you in your life. There are many problems that appear around you everyday in the news and even to people around you, but it probably doesn’t really bother you. Sometimes it’s a family member saying something that made your blood boil or your child gets sick and makes you worry to your wit’s end. These are knots and it could take a lot of time for you to recover from them and move on to the smooth part of your growth in life.

Thankfully, I have not come across any major knots but I did worry a lot as my wife went through our 4th pregnancy and birth. We also had to get tested for COVID simply because my daughter felt a bit sick. So I had to deal with holding the other 2 kids back from school and waiting for the test result. All the while, I still had to work my full-time job.

So back to why faith? Spiritual growth.

I like to measure spiritual growth by how well a person can accept a terrible situation. I recall someone telling a story of a head minister, in the midst of fleeing a bombed area in Japan during World War 2 carrying nothing and smiling about. When asked about it, he said that he was happy to experience when Oyasama fell to the depths of poverty. When Oyasama gave away all of the family’s valuable possessions by God’s command. If my memory serves me right, she did so to have even the poor to listen to her. No one will listen to someone living behind high gates.

The minister, to me has a high level of spiritual growth because he was able to take a hardship and turn it into an opportunity to experience something Oyasama did as well.

In the Tenrikyo faith, we realize God’s intention of creating us human beings. We were created to live the Joyous Life. The Joyous Life is not actually like a fictional Disneyland of happiness. It’s living here on Earth, helping each other as brother’s and sisters. And we work towards that when following the teachings.

And to me, you can do that in any faith, not just Tenrikyo. You can’t follow a faith damning other religions or realizing that we all need to work together.

#faith #tenrikyo

Anger is a sign.

If someone gets you riled up and constantly makes you complain and think about why that person is wrong, it’s a good sign that you need to reflect on yourself.

I was recently upset at someone and I had every right to be angry and it was so bad, I complained to people around me. It bothered me so much, I kept complaining for days. It was not good because it wasn’t solving anything. If anything it made the situation worse. Perhaps it made others think less of the person I was angry at or, worst of all, my anger was spreading to the people around me. I finally realized that I had to reflect on myself. I apologized to God the Parent as I performed the service. Anger is a mental dust and while it is natural that human beings are angered, we need to perform the daily service to sweep it away. But for that anger to stick around for a long time and it was wrong for me to spread that anger to others.

It is near impossible to change someone, but hard to change yourself.

I realized that I had to change my attitude. I couldn’t be angry nor critical towards that person. I had to be positive and ignore my selfish-desire to be right. It was tough, but once I apologized to God the Parent and Oyasama, and resolved my mind during the daily service, my anger disappeared.

#anger tenrikyothoughts

What is Tenrikyo's view on those who commit suicide?

[a tumblr user] Hello, this might be an odd question but: do you think you could let me know, or refer me to a source, that would tell me Tenrikyo's view on those who commit suicide? The reason is I am a fan of an anime which features shinigami characters who are people who suicided, and I am writing a comparative religions analysis about it because, that's how I enjoy appreciating cartoons :) Thank you, or, if not, that's totally fine too and sorry for having disturbed you.

[a tumblr user] oh -- forgot to add -- I'm asking you because i found nothing by google search, which was odd!

tenrikyofollower I'm really sorry, I hardly use tumblr, so I didn't notice you sending me a message.

What is Tenrikyo's view on those who commit suicide?

Tenrikyo has a teaching: "a thing lent, a thing borrowed" (kashimono karimono), which teaches us that our bodies are lent to us by God the Parent and what keeps us alive is God the Parent's workings. God the Parent's intention of creating human beings was to see us live the "Joyous Life." The Joyous Life refers to the way of life where we help one another in gratitude to God the Parent for the blessings of being kept alive.

Suicide is a very sensitive subject and there is a very broad range of reasons for suicide. Some are suffering from mental illnesses such as depression or others who are slowly dying with a slim chance of recovery. I think that whenever one person makes a decision to commit suicide, it can be based on varying things. As a Tenrikyo follower, I believe in assisted suicide (well, it's not really suicide since a doctor performs it), but I truly believe that it is for the sake of making those around them happier rather than watching their lives deteriorate and become a burden, and therefore align with the teachings of "a thing lent, a thing borrowed."

#tenrikyo

The girl at the Main Sanctuary.

In Tenrikyo, there is an activity called “kairoufuki” which means “corridor cleaning” where people volunteer to clean the wooden surfaces of the main sanctuary. When I lived in Ojiba years ago, I saw this activity done all the time at the main sanctuary, but I saw a girl doing this activity, but closer to the stair well where there were pieces of wood that held up the railing. She wiped each piece 3 or 4 times. I caught myself thinking to myself, “What a waste of time. She can probably just wipe it once and someone else will come along and wipe it again.”

And for some reason, this stuck in my mind. This girl was around high-school aged, as pure as they come in these parts, but I just wondered if I would do the same in her shoes. Would I be as sincere and wipe each part of the main sanctuary many times? Nobody would know if I wiped it once or zero times. She didn’t have to care if the Main Sanctuary was clean, but she did it because of her faith.

I just realized that a high school kid was much more sincere than I. I like to think I am fairly educated and knowledgeable of the Tenrikyo teachings, but an innocent girl was way beyond my level of spiritual maturity.

Whenever I do something in life, I should do it with a sincere mind just like that random girl I saw at the main sanctuary.

#tenrikyo spiritualmaturity

Perspectives on church are different when either single or married

There are a lot of obvious changes in your life when you get married. Your Facebook profile overall, gets way more Likes and comments. There is a lot less "me" time and more time dedicated to your family. Lately I have come to a realization that my views on church are different from those who are single. Since I was married, I always put church at a high priority, yet see other single individuals not share the same amount of dedication because they simply have a different perspective.

“It takes a village to raise a child.”

This common phrase best describes the situation. When you are a parent, your concerns extend further than your own well being. Not only do you want your children to grow up in an environment of good influences of family-minded people, but also if you get hurt or die, you will have a “village” that you children can fall back on.

I don’t blame single people for not prioritizing church as much as others could expect because they thrive on freedom. If you want to be a master of a craft, sport, or skill, you need the full utility of your time. I was this way when I was getting through college. I don’t think I could have been successful in college if I had to stop my studies to tend to a church obligation.

My transition from single to married was relatively seamless because I was in Japan volunteering my time completely to church. When I got home from Japan, I observed single individuals who were either dedicating much of their time to church activities and those who weren’t. I couldn’t understand the latter and now I do a little more.

#tenrikyo faith

Church is a place where I can share my worries

When you are in your everyday life, in public or at work, you have to put on your “mask” where your face shows that everything is okay. This is usually when you can’t let your problems get the best of you. There are many things to worry about such as money, raising kids, family, and your own health. They aren’t necessarily big problems, like the ones you can use as an excuse to leave work (or school), but just a lot of small ones that we can’t just let out in the public so that you don’t cause other people to worry.

Then when I attend church and listen to the stories of my friends and share some of mine, we can share each others’ loads. I noticed a lot of church friends, even church ministers, being very open about their problems. Maybe it’s a Tenrikyo thing, but I appreciate that in my life, especially when I don’t see any other part of it where I can do this. I hope everyone else has this in their lives.

Tenrikyo Bazaar, the pride of Hawaii’s congregation

We just held the 46th Annual Tenrikyo Bazaar, which was, once again, a huge success. Nearly everything sold out, everyone worked together from start to finish, and there were no significant mishaps. I have been attending the Bazaar every year as a volunteer ever since I could remember and this year, I have realized a few things.

When I think about “success” in Tenrikyo, I often want to think of it in terms of the sincerity of the people that are a part of it, and the Bazaar is the greatest example that.

The Tenrikyo Bazaar is so successful, that it has become something every Tenrikyo follower in Hawaii is proud to be a part of. Lots of people who usually don’t come out to the regular events religiously prepare and volunteer at this event. Even people who are not really a part of the religion and are acquaintances of people who are come to join in the help and be a part of the event.

I have been taking part in a lot of “Hinokishin” activities, but this one is one to be cherished because it allows you to take anyone, a friend or relative to let them see the positivity that can be expressed by everyone around you.

Tenrikyo Questions from Israel

Months ago, I received an email through the Tenrikyo Resource Contact page from a woman in Israel asking six rather difficult questions about Tenrikyo. They were difficult mostly because the answers could primarily depend on the individual answering the question and that individual's own opinion or interpretation.

I was a take aback from these questions, thus delaying my response back 3 months and, even through I sent it, she never responded. I don't blame her because I did a really bad job of responding quickly, but I didn't want these questions and (limited) answers to go to waste.

1. Is there any serious concrete indication that Mrs. Nakayama was indeed a subject to divine inspiration? 2. Is there any empirical proof that your claims regarding metaphysics, history, and whatnot are indeed true? This depends on how you might define "serious concrete" and "empirical," but I'll do my best to explain. The way Miki Nakayama had proved to the people around her that she was the "Shrine of Tsukihi," it took her 15 years from when God had entered her body on October 26, 1838. She gave away the family's possessions and dismantled the family mansion for the charity of the poor. Read about Oyasama's time as the Shrine of God. http://en.tenrikyo-resource.com/wiki/Miki_Nakayama#As_the_Shrine_of_God For 49 years, from the time she became the Shrine of Tsukihi until she "hid her physical presence," she demonstrated the "Divine Model," which is a model for us, human beings, to follow. Oyasama's life as the "Divine Model" was a very difficult one, yet she had endured every hardship with joy and always gave generously as charity for the poor. This included being sent to jail on multiple occassions, but you must imagine "jail" in the 18th century where there was a big possibility that she was tortured (though it is not said in Tenrikyo books). There are also stories in the Anecdotes of Oyasama, in which she demonstrated unusual strength on a strong young men, despite her being an aged woman. But those are just stories... not "empirical" or "concrete." For current "empirical proof" of Oyasma being the "Shrine of God (or Tsukihi)" are the scriptures that she had written, the Mikagura-uta and Ofudesaki, and taught the Teodori (hand dance) as well as instructions on playing the Musical Instruments in accompaniment with the Mikagura-uta. These were amazing feats that no ordinary human being could do, especially in that time period. That is about as "serious concrete" as I can get. The rest is faith that Oyasama had loved all human beings of this world and taught us how to live joyously and attain the "Joyous Life."

Returning to Jiba

I have lived in Tenri City for a little over 2 years and visited Jiba many times before and it was amazing to still feel spiritually refreshed and filled with joy after returning to Jiba a few weeks ago. Just imagine a religion with lots of good words and phrases, but then see it practiced by the many people around you such that its infectious. I still wonder how it is possible and why it couldn’t be happening at home?

My trip to Jiba this time was a little different because it was my first visit since I got married and I was leaving my family home while I spent 2 weeks in Japan to visit Jiba and take part in the Tenri Forum 2016 and the International Hinokishin Corps activities. I met many old friends and new friends too.

I got very emotional at times because what I was witnessing and doing was so important for my life, my family, my church, friends at church, and the people around me. Visiting Jiba did many things for me, but the biggest thing was to realize the importance of faith again. This time in the context as a father.

#tenrikyo Jiba

Changing policies and rules is only cutting the weeds, having faith is removing it from the root.

Since around college time I have started to pay more attention to news, elections (especially this current election cycle), and national debates. I often hear people cry out for gun control or other fear-driven solutions that come out of politics; especially after the recent shootings that shook up the nation. But I think we need to stop talking about controlling the violence and look at the problem at the root.

I just saw “Viva Colombia” and Doyusha publication about the faith propagation efforts leading to their 40th anniversary since the mission began. One of the followers said, “Whenever people come to me with an illness, they ask me to help them; and I tell them that they need to cut their problem from the root.” It hit me that we all seek the solutions to the world’s problems on the surface, yet we really should be looking at the root of the problem.

In Tenrikyo, we are taught that our illness and problems come from our minds. When we get sick we take medicine and get well, but you just cut the weed and not attacked it at the root. It will just come back to you again and again.

*I like this metaphor because I don’t like to cut the weeds around my house, I just weed it by digging the weeds at the root. It really helps me understand this teaching because my lawn looks nice and it hardly needs cutting now. I find weeds coming out in other places, but it’s hardly a problem anymore.

The root in this case, is our use of the mind and spreading faith (doesn’t really matter which one).

I don’t care what religion you follow, so long that it strives to help others, we must not just cut the grass, so to speak, we must find the source of the problem within ourselves. I recall an article titled something along the lines of, “Here’s how to stop gun shootings, but you’re not going to like it.” The answer was that you should go out and talk to people who aren’t spoken to. People who feel left out. Those are the people in society that nobody wants to talk to and end up shooting people. I personally don’t like that solution, but it’s absolutely true.

#tenrikyo faith

I was asked 5 questions by a Reddit user

I was sent a personal message on Reddit by a user who wanted to ask me a few questions. So I told him or her to send the questions to me by email and I answered them. I’m not too knowledgeable in the teachings, but I gave it my best shot.

1. Is God the Parent the creator of the entire universe?

Yes. Tenrikyo is a monotheistic religion, however, it does not deny that other religions' teachings, but rather Tenrikyo is considered the "final" teaching. So it's like a teaching upon the previous religions' teachings. There is also a scripture on the "Story of Creation" which refers to how human beings were created. It's not quite a direct scripture from Oyasama (Miki Nakayama), but rather orated from her teaching several disciples. See also: Story of Creation entry on Tenrikyo HQ and God as Creator

2. Besides God the Parent, are there other entities that Tenrikyo concerns itself with? (lesser gods, spirits, buddhas, etc.)

We believe that Oyasama (Miki Nakayama), the original mother of human beings' spirit is ever-living. She works through us when we perform the Sazuke or the healing ritual that we perform on other people.

Otherwise, human beings are reborn. We have a shrine for our ancestors, which was likely an adoption to the faith that was required when religious practices other than Buddhist or Shinto religions were not allowed.

See also: Dust of the mind and Service

The user responded and said that he or she already found the answers in the Ofudesaki. Which is quite admirable for a non-follower. It’s a long book and not very straight forward. So I assumed he or she didn’t get what they were looking for, so I recommended this book, which is partially online: Questions and Answers About Tenrikyo

#tenrikyo #tenrikyo-q&a

Introducing someone to faith

I was having small talk with a friend and asked him if he was a part of a faith or even a participant in church activities. He explained that he had friends invite him to sermons at which he could enjoy some good food. He felt like it was worth listening to the sermon.

I told him that our method of introducing people into faith was through our "church cleaning” activities, or as you might know “Hinokishin” activities, where we practice the teachings of helping others through gratitude for our blessings. We do have our delicious meals served at some of our events such as monthly services, but I just thought that allowing others to participate in the practicing faith rather than it be preached to them was a good Tenrikyo practice.

There are other means of introducing faith to others, I just thought the Tenrikyo practice of Hinokishin was an excellent method. It allows people to do good things and witness others in the faith practice its teachings.

Personally, I haven’t been successful in introducing people in the faith, but I can at least be one of those participants that people can witness.

#Tenrikyo Teachings

Falling back on faith

Right now, my life is about work like it is for most people. We all have to work so we can pay the bills, put food on the table, and survive; anything extra is put into the emergency fund or future big expenses. So most of my days, especially recently, is not focused on faith at all. Eventually, those days go into weeks and the stresses to do well at work as well as managing that money wears on you.

I kept thinking, “You’re wrong, I’m right.”

Logically, I need to stay focused on the money, but when I finally sat down and listened to the whole sermon, a lot of the teachings just clicked. A lot was going on at work and stress was at an all-time high and, I was constantly finding reasons why I was right and a person I worked with was wrong. Logically, I was probably right, but spiritually, I was wrong. I was reminded in the sermon of the Life of Oyasama where Oyasama fell “to the depths of poverty” and how she was still able to find things to be thankful for.

My world was stress was like “poverty” or a very low point of my life and I did not live like Oyasama, and despite reasonable circumstances to be salty or dissatisfied with life, I should have found those small things to be happy about. Oyasama said, “When you drink of water, it tastes of water. God the Parent has given us exquisite gifts.” When you’re poor with no food or any nice things, people would understand that you are living under poor circumstances and complaining is a given. As Tenrikyo, we should strive to see the good, even at the lowest circumstances.

Anyway, after hearing some reminders in a sermon, my worries subsided. I went back to work without my cynical attitude and slowly, I’m trying to be very positive and learn to work with that person, no matter how difficult that person might be.

#tenrikyo oyasama lifeofoyasama

Gratitude is a personality trait, a mood, and an emotion. As an emotion, gratitude is a feeling of happiness that comes from appreciation. While under a grateful mood, grateful emotions are more likel

I like this article because it's a practical perspective of our psychological well-being that correlates gratitude with satisfaction in life. Very similar to the teaching of joyous acceptance and indirectly related to a thing lent. We are also warned to avoid having a mind of “fuzoku” of dissatisfaction.

#tenrikyo

Tenrikyo Culture

Tenrikyo, like many other religions, has its own culture, its own system of right and wrong, normal and unusual. And then there are its subcultures due to its distance from the main church headquarters, I think Hawaii’s Tenrikyo culture is different. The Japanese and American cultural differences also don’t help align our thinking.

I don’t know what other religions are like, but I’m sure there are similarities in obscure religions like Tenrikyo.

As a Tenrikyo follower, I grew up knowing not many people knew what Tenrikyo was. The things we do like the daily services, which involves chanting, gongs, drums, and wooden clappers. I imagine that other people looking from the outside must think that what we do is bizarre. But at the same time I witnessed other religious activities that might seem strange too.

In Hawaii, there’s a sense of camaraderie with each other, but sometimes we take it for granted and don’t show up to church for a long time. My dad always says, “Hawaii is expensive, so they need to work a lot.” It’s true.

There are politics and when there are Japanese church officials involved, it gets confusing and backwards. I don’t blame them; they are in a different country after all.

I once took the attitude of, “Just shut up and listen,” towards those older than me. It makes sense when everyone does their part, but it bothered me when it felt like I couldn’t question decisions or be more aware of the situation.

#tenrikyo #religion

I joined Quora

I have recently become an active member of Quora and often see questions about issues between parents and children or issues that are limited by selfish demands. When I see these kinds of questions, I can review the eight dusts and make a direct comparison. Obviously, it would not be constructive to call out judgments of their character because it is only for themselves to determine through what is taught in religious institutions. So I would say, “turn to faith” and also attempt to answer their question in a logical manner.

Quora is, as I would imagine, not a place for faith-based answers because not everybody would agree with answers not based off of logic. So I acknowledge the possibility of turning to faith for an answer.

For some reason, I have always wanted to write and post online for many years, yet Quora has inspired me to write over 60 answers already. I see a lot of questions that are really easy to answer, so I give it a shot. Most answers seem ignored, but at least I made a contribution. It’s like making a lot of attempts before being successful and after each attempt, I can learn from it as well.

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