May I begin by expressing my heartfelt appreciation for the sincere efforts you are devoting to the tasks of the path each day. We have just been able to duly conclude this year's Autumn Grand Service. As I wish to take this opportunity to share some of my thoughts with you, may I have your attention while I deliver my sermon.

The reason we perform the Autumn Grand Service on this day every year is not merely to celebrate or commemorate the day this Teaching was founded. Rather, it is to take to heart once again the Parent's intention that is behind the day of origin of the Teaching--the intention that is embodied in God the Parent's first revelation, which said, "I have descended here to save all humankind." We ought to pledge that we will fulfill that intention of God by spreading the path of single-hearted salvation ever more widely no matter how many generations it may take. Such is the significance of this day.

Chapter 1 of The Life of Oyasama opens with God the Parent's first revelation, which says in its entirety: "I am God of Origin, God in Truth. There is causality in this Residence. At this time I have descended here to save all humankind. I wish to receive Miki as the Shrine of God." That chapter describes the tense situation in the Residence, where the three-day dialogue between God and human beings continued until Oyasama's husband, Zenbei, replied, "I offer Miki to You," thus allowing Oyasama to be settled as the Shrine of God. In addition, this chapter outlines the series of events that Zenbei recalled having occurred during the preceding one year.

Only seven pages long, this is the shortest chapter in this book. Yet, it includes a number of important teachings that we should consider as central to this path including the first revelation of God the Parent.

Reading this chapter has once again given me a renewed sense that, in the lead-up to the arrival of the Promised Time, God the Parent was making various arrangements for laying this path through the leg ailment of Oyasama's son, Shuji. Initially, his leg pain subsided as a result of a Shugendo practitioner's healing rituals. Yet, because it became a recurring problem, the Nakayama family decided to hold an incantation, which involved inviting a number of people as well as burning a ritual fire.

This enabled Shuji to be free of the leg problem for six months or so, but the pain returned thereafter. The Life of Oyasama describes the frantic atmosphere in which the Nakayama family held as many as nine incantations during the course of one year.

Then, on the evening of October 23, 1838, not only did Shuji have a sore leg, but Zenbei was having trouble with his eyes, and Oyasama with Her back. Thus, there were three ailing persons under one roof. Thinking that this was no ordinary turn of events, the family held an incantation on the following day--that is, the 24th--with Oyasama serving as the medium because the woman who usually served in that role could not be located at the time. In the middle of that incantation came the aforementioned revelation of God the Parent.

From the point of view of Her family members, however, accommodating God the Parent's wish to receive Miki as the Shrine of God would entail a far greater sacrifice than they could accept. Besides, in their eyes, the request was being made by an unknown god they had never even heard of before. Zenbei, therefore, repeatedly refused the request, but God the Parent remained adamant and told him: "After twenty or thirty years have passed, a day is sure to come when all of you will admit the truth of My intention," and also, "I shall save all humankind if you will listen to Me." Thus God the Parent told Zenbei about the delight that lay ahead, while instructing him carefully and sternly.

Meanwhile, Oyasama was taking no rest at all as She continued to convey God's intention day and night until, at last, Her life seemed to be in danger. Therefore, at eight o'clock on the morning of the 26th, Zenbei finally accepted God's demand that Oyasama be offered as the Shrine of God, forsaking all self-centered human thoughts and concerns of inconvenience to the family.

Some of you can probably relate to Zenbei's bewilderment, hesitation, and eventual resolve if you recall the day of origin of your family's faith or your own faith.

No matter how much you were told about why this is the ultimate teaching or about how wondrous God the Parent's blessings are, perhaps not many of you became convinced of those things, let alone started to follow the path, merely as a result of hearing about them. Rather, I suspect that the vast majority of you began to follow the path because some serious illness or problem compelled you to plead for help. Perhaps, initially, there were aspects of the teachings that you did not feel quite convinced of, yet as you began to bask in wondrous blessings you were gradually able to see the truth of the teachings and make spiritual growth. As you did so, you must surely have become more and more convinced of the preciousness of God the Parent's blessings and the wonderfulness of the teachings.

What I am talking about is, in fact, not necessarily limited to first-generation followers. The same, I believe, may be said of cases where the faith has been maintained for many years and handed down from generation to generation.

At present, we can always have access to the three Scriptures, which contain the direct teachings of God the Parent, and we know a great deal about the Divine Model of Oyasama. Certainly we ought to be far more thoroughly versed in the teachings than the early followers were. Nonetheless, there is a danger that our slowness in making spiritual growth may prevent us from being straightforward in bringing ourselves into complete accord with the divine intention or becoming thoroughly single-hearted with God.

What this probably means is that, even if we know the teachings, we have not truly internalized them or placed complete trust in them. This, among other things, can give rise to a situation in which, even when we claim to be following Oyasama's Divine Model, we may be arbitrarily choosing to follow only certain aspects of it or interpreting it in a self-serving way.

The real value of having faith that has been maintained for many years or a number of generations lies in being able to take it upon oneself to perceive God's intention and implement it in one's own life without being compelled by illness or problems to do so. We must strive to sweep our heart and purify our minds so that we can accurately perceive what God the Parent and Oyasama desire of us and implement it in a spirit of simple openness.

In a sense, we may perhaps say that the first words spoken by God the Parent to humankind were God the Parent's own first attempt to sprinkle the fragrance of the teachings. What the three-day dialogue between God and human beings tells us is that when we attempt to convey the teachings to those who know nothing about the path, we cannot expect them to readily understand those teachings if we merely convey them verbally. In fact, it is only to be expected that those people will not even listen to us. Nevertheless, even if they reject us time and again, we ought to make repeated efforts to visit them and convey the teachings with utmost sincerity, for it is such sincere and repeated efforts that God the Parent will accept and respond to by opening up the minds of the people we are trying to work with. This, I think, applies not only to sprinkling the fragrance of the teachings on people who have yet to come into touch with them but also to trying to help with the spiritual growth of those who have already been drawn to the teachings.

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