From Shiawase o yobu kokoro by Eiji Ozaki: The Truth of Arising Occurrences (3)

The Impartial Mind of the Parent

Permit me to quote the following:

 

This event is said to have taken place on April 17, 1881. Umejiro Izutsu and Shirobei Umetani, both from Osaka, ran into each other on the road. As it happened, they were both heading for Jiba in order to request Oyasama’s sanction for the names of their respective fellowships, which had recently been formed. It was dusk by the time they arrived in Shoyashiki. After night fell, these men approached Oyasama’s Residence to make their requests. Because the main gate of the Residence was already closed, the two men used the auxiliary gate, which was so small that it looked as though the plump Izutsu would not be able to squeeze through. So Umetani went in first, and lzutsu followed.

 

They proceeded into the presence of Oyasama. The names that Izutsu and Umetani asked Oyasama to sanction sounded the same, “Meishin,” though the written characters applied to their names were not the same. “Mr. Umetani,” Oyasama said, “I give you ‘Meishin’ because you came first. As for Mr. Izutsu, by turning the name around I give you ‘Shinmei.’”

 

Izutsu could not quite understand. “I entered the faith in 1879, and Umetani in 1881,” thought Izutsu (in fact, at the time, it had scarcely been two months since Umetani had begun following the path). “This means that I came to the path earlier than he did. So why did Oyasama say that he came first?” A moment later, it occurred to him that Umetani was the first to enter the Residence through the small gate. lzutsu realized that Oyasama must have been referring to that.

 

As soon as Izutsu arrived back at his inn, he gathered his followers who had accompanied him from Osaka and told them: “On this path, you must not fall behind even a little. What counts is not how long ago you entered the faith. It’s how quickly you bring yourself to the Jiba.”

 

Takano, Gozonmei no koro, revised ed., vol. 2,p.91

 

Says a Divine Direction:

 

God does not discriminate, does not discriminate. Listen carefully and understand well. Sah, sah, listen and understand. The inside and the outside are the same truth. I have told you that human beings are things lent, things lent. I have all sorts of things reflected in the world. There, everything is reflected in the world. The world is a mirror. With each of you, everything is reflected on the body according to your own state of mind. As for what becomes of things from your previous lives, too, I have told you that I have everything reflected on the body.

Osashizu, February 4, 1889

 

It is out of impartial parental love that God the Parent watches over and nurtures all human beings. Yet, because what each individual receives of God’s providence appears different from person to person, some come to believe that God’s providence itself is partial and treats people differently. This view, however, is utterly mistaken. Not even a trace of partiality exists in God, who is in truth the Parent of all humanity.

Those who are conceited might regard themselves as deserving more than they are already blessed with. If the blessings that they consider appropriate for them do not seem forthcoming, they might selfishly conclude that God’s eyes are clouded and that God’s providence is tainted with partiality. Some who look at life with a jaundiced eye might feel themselves to be left out of God’s saving grace and want to express their dissatisfaction. But such dissatisfaction is caused by their own self-centered attitude toward life in the first place. The truth is that God the Parent provides impartially for all human beings, who are equally God’s dear children. The only thing is that our experience of living in this world is like an image reflected in a mirror—reflected according to each person’s state of mind. Or, as we are taught, we are always receiving blessings according to our own state of mind. The world is a mirror that reflects everything according to one’s own use of the mind. Though God’s providence remains impartial and unvarying, different appearances arise inevitably if people’s states of mind vary. The mirror remains the same.

One of our predecessors once quoted Oyasama as saying:

 

As regards the truth of the mind, its workings may be varied and repeated. Everything appears according to the mind. Everything is reflected in the world [according to the mind]. As with the mirror of Heaven, impartial is God’s mind. [You say that] it is partial and that you are unfairly treated. From the mind of each of you, everything appears on the body according to your state of mind.

“Fukaya Genjiro kowa,” Honbu-in kowashu, p. 110

Share this article:

Comments are closed.