Articles and exerpts from a variety of books, on the teachings of Tenrikyo
We are taught that God the Parent created human beings and the world with the intention of seeing us live the Joyous Life and sharing in that joy. We are therefore all supposed to be able to live happily; however, we all face obstacles in our lives. In the Tenrikyo…
The Anecdote Around two o’clock in the afternoon of November 9, 1876, Kajiro Ueda was leaving for the Tenjin Festival at Kayo. Suddenly his daughter Naraito, who was weaving, began to cry, “Iwagami-san of Furu with his great mass of hair is descending on me. I’m frightened.” Later, she…
The Anecdote Oyasama did not waste one sheet of paper, not even an old scrap of paper. She carefully smoothed the wrinkles even out of the paper that had been used as gift wrappings and placed them under Her cushion to be used again. Oyasama taught: “If wrinkled paper…
Hinokishin is one of the Tenrikyo terms that are relatively well known to the public. There seem to be many people who have seen Tenrikyo followers in happi coats cleaning public facilities such as parks. Although some may regard hinokishin as volunteer service, it is significant that the motivation for…
The Anecdote One day Oyasama visited the home of Gisaburo Nakata in Toyoda Village. Oyasama hummed as She walked around the house: “Step in firmly. Step down firmly. Step down firmly to eternity.” After that, Oyasama told Nakata: “God has entered this residence and hardened the ground. Never…
These days, our everyday thinking seems to be becoming more rational and less superstitious. However, there are still certain occasions, such as weddings and funerals, about which people become superstitious. For example, they prefer particular days for weddings and avoid certain days for funerals based on old customs. In regard…