(3b) The teaching of causality.

To say that the human body is a thing lent by God, a thing borrowed, is to imply that there is someone who is borrowing the body. Do we as individuals come into existence when being born, and, after growing up and living our lives, do we cease to exist at death? Not exactly. It is taught that ever since human creation, which took place unimaginably long ago, the borrowers of the bodies have been through many births and rebirths (as various life forms in the course of evolution) and will continue to go through births and rebirths. What may be termed the true human essence is the soul, which expresses itself through the mind.

With human beings: the body is a thing lent by God, a thing borrowed. The mind alone is yours.

Osashizu, June 1, 1889

With human beings: the body is a thing borrowed, the mind alone is yours. From just one mind, any kind of truth will appear daily. I accept any kind of truth. You must understand the truth of free and unlimited workings.

Osashizu, February 14, 1889

The mind being ours, we can understand it in some measure and are able to use it more or less freely. We are also able to repent of our mind's dust insofar as we become aware of it. Yet, there is a limit to this. Whatever is happening to us at present has stemmed from a "seed" (cause) that we sowed in the past, which encompasses our previous lives as well as the past portion of our present lives. In most cases, however, human beings are unable to identify the precise "seed" of any given occurrence. Nonetheless, the responsibility for whatever is happening to us rests with us. This is part of what is called "causality." While this term has various meanings, the present article addresses that which causes what we perceive as inconvenient occurrences, such as illnesses and calamities. It is also called bad causation.

Causality as taught in Tenrikyo does not merely address the mechanical aspect of the cause-and-effect relationship but is, rather, aimed at helping us reflect on our dust of mind (cf. Ofudesaki XVII:67-69) and sweep the heart. Causality does not teach us to "put up with" any given situation thinking that there is nothing we can do about it because it is the result of our causality. Far from it. In the face of any difficulty that is occurring, we ought to perceive, with a sense of joy, the intention of God the Parent, who is letting us work off our causal force while reducing a great misfortune to a small misfortune. By repenting of our dust, sweeping it from the mind, and working off our causal force through repentance and joyous acceptance, we are able to purify the mind, which will then allow us to lead the Joyous Life--an experience that is expressed as: "Here is paradise on this earth."

(3c) The teaching of passing away for rebirth.

Currently, the average life expectancy of the Japanese people is said to be well over seventy, but it used to be much lower. That the average life expectancy has increased does not mean that everyone can rest assured that they can all live as long as expected, for expectancy is merely a matter of probability. Indeed, a feeling of worry about sudden death is always there.

In the past, this feeling was compounded by the circumstances perceived as unfavorable for living long enough even to fulfill what short life-spans people resignedly believed they were destined for.

God the Parent has, however, expressed the desire to "fix the natural term of life at one hundred and fifteen years" (Ofudesaki III:100). This seems to teach that all human beings have the potential to live for 115 years. Most people, however, pass away for rebirth well before reaching that age, and the reason why they do, it is taught, is to be found in their "dust of mind" and "causality." Yet, if the mind's dust is swept away and causality removed, anyone can live to be 115 without weakening, becoming ill, or encountering calamities. Furthermore, when we are able to receive God the Parent's marvelous blessings through the Service, we will be able to fulfill the "natural term of life" even if dust and causality are lingering. (There has not been any instance of this.)

Upon passing away for rebirth, one is embraced in the bosom of God the Parent (this applies even if death occurs before the completion of the "natural term of life"). When being reborn in this world, one retains almost no memory of the previous life and is thus given the opportunity to make a new beginning with a fresh mind. Death, therefore, is not to be regarded as merely a sorrowful event.

As indicated by chapter seven of The Doctrine of Tenrikyo, what is called "the teaching of a thing lent, a thing borrowed," in a broad sense, includes the teachings described in all the foregoing sections: (1) The entire universe is the body of God; (2a) All human beings are equally brothers and sisters; (2b) The human body is a thing lent by God, a thing borrowed; (3a) The mind's dust; (3b) Causality; and (3c) Passing away for rebirth. More commonly, however, this teaching is often seen as referring only to section (2b), which of course is central to it.

While various views have been expressed on how to interpret and understand this teaching of a thing lent, a thing borrowed, it seems safe to say that, if we agree that faith concerns how we should live as human beings, this teaching provides fundamental insight into human life.

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