The April Monthly Service of Tenrikyo Church Headquarters was performed on the 26th in the Main Sanctuary, with Successor-Designate Daisuke Nakayama serving as chief officiant on behalf of the Shinbashira.
In the Service prayer, Rev. Nakayama first expressed gratitude to God the Parent for guiding us along our journey of spiritual growth by constantly providing us with blessings day and night with warm parental love. With reference to Tenrikyo Hinokishin Day, which was to be observed on April 29, Rev. Nakayama expressed his hope of engaging in hinokishin in high spirits while taking to heart the joy of being kept alive by the complete providence of God the Parent. Continuing, he said: “No matter what kind of situation we may find ourselves in, all of us followers will always keep in mind the gratitude for the blessings we are receiving from God the Parent in our day-to-day lives. We are determined to engage in sprinkling the fragrance of the teachings and salvation work while implementing hinokishin in our everyday lives.”
The prayer was followed by the joyous performance of the Kagura Service and the Dance with Hand Movements. After the Service performance, Honbu-in Itaro Nishida took the podium to deliver the sermon.
In his sermon, Rev. Nishida referred to the “attitude of hinokishin,” which is one of the three guiding principles for Yoboku that were proposed by the second Shinbashira. Noting how we are borrowing our body from God the Parent and are being kept alive by constantly receiving God’s complete providence, Rev. Nishida spoke about how the mind full of joy and gratitude for the blessings we receive translates into an action of hinokishin. He then noted that there is no specific way that hinokishin should be conducted, and that it can therefore be carried out by individual followers whenever and wherever they like as a way of making repayment for God’s blessings. Toward the end of his sermon, Rev. Nishida called on the listeners to sow seeds of joy in their local communities on Hinokshin Day by engaging in whatever they can do.