Accumulation of the Mind’s Dust
The phrase “according to one’s state of mind” hardly means “according to one’s wishes” or “according to one’s prayers.” If the world were unfolding according to our wishes, everyone should readily be able to achieve true happiness inasmuch as we all wish for our happiness and salvation. There would be no one grieving about their misfortunes. If we were receiving God’s blessings according to our prayers, everyone should always be blessed with good health and living a life of joy and brightness since we all wish for a healthy and bright life. There wouldn’t be anyone suffering from any disease or despairing of the world.
Were the world to work in accordance with our wishes or prayers, we might become increasingly lost in selfish thought, thinking only about our own concerns, caring only about ourselves, and behaving just as we please. Wouldn’t we human beings most likely become self-centered beings?
We may rest assured, however, that this universe is the bosom of all humanity’s Parent, who provides for us precisely according to our state of mind, which means that things are reflected in the world according to the virtue and dust of our mind. In other words, whatever is happening is in accordance with the causality of each person.
Asked what causality is, Oyasama is reported to have said:
Though you speak of causality, it is really an accumulation of the mind’s dust. Dust on clothes can be removed by dusting them off. Dust of the mind can likewise be removed—though removing deeply embedded causality might require that you work your fingers to the bone to rid yourself of it.
Sobo Ozaki Kiku kiki-gaki
Asked how one accumulates the dust of the mind in the first place, Oyasama apparently said:
With human beings, dust arises through the intense attachment of self-love. . . . Though you speak of “eight kinds of dust,” they all boil down to one: the intense attachment of self-love.
Sobo Ozaki Kiku kiki-gaki