The Yoboku

Our joy at having been saved is directed outward and is transformed into acts of saving others. Herein we become the material for the construction of the world of the Joyous Life. God the Parent calls such material Yoboku (timber). Desiring ardently to save all humankind, God the Parent hastens to draw forth a great number of Yoboku.

Just a word: the hastening in the mind of God is solely to prepare to assemble useful timber.

Ofudesaki III : 128

Of these timbers, it is not to be just a few. I desire a great number of timbers.

Ofudesaki III : 130

The reason I am waiting for these people is that I desire to save all of My children in the world.

Ofudesaki XIII : 85

As for the Yoboku, there is no distinction between men and women or between those of differing social ranks. There may be a difference depending on the time and place in how God the Parent uses Yoboku, but since we become Yoboku because of the truth of sincerity, all Yoboku are equal building materials for God the Parent to use.

Of these trees, I do not say whether male pine or female pine. Tsukihi has an intention for any tree.

Ofudesaki VII : 21

Without doubt, it is a blessing for followers of the teachings to be called as Yoboku to God the Parent's incomparable construction of the world of the Joyous Life. However, if the minds of those called forth are not upright, they would not be usable material for this construction, so God the Parent tends them as may be needed, again and again and in various ways. By understanding this divine intention, we shall be able to accept illness or other troubles joyously as "flowers of the Path."

Day by day, I shall tend those trees which are to become My useful timber. Never take it to be illness.

Ofudesaki III : 131

A follower thus called forth returns to the Home of the Parent and attends the Besseki lectures. As one progresses through the sessions, one gradually sweeps away the dusts by virtue of the truth of the teachings, corrects one's conduct and, finally, the mind becomes clear. The desire to be saved becomes a desire for the salvation of others. This is when the truth of the Sazuke is bestowed and the mind is reborn. The truth of the Sazuke is a divine gift bestowed on the mind of sincerity befitting a Yoboku. Only when the truth of the Sazuke is settled in the mind, will its effectiveness be manifest.

I shall let you work by the truth of your mind. One person can face myriads solely by virtue of the mind. God rides on the mind and works. As long as the mind is firm, God will ride the mind and work freely and unlimitedly.

Osashizu, October 2, 1898

Thus, how recipients of the truth of the Sazuke use their minds each day is highly important. If they conduct their lives by keeping the resolve they made on the day they received the truth of the Sazuke as a lifetime resolve, then God the Parent, also, will always bestow the marvelous divine grace.

Step by step, the Parent, who began this world, will enter all of these useful timbers.

When the Parent, who began this world, enters them, there is no knowing what I shall do.

Ofudesaki XV : 60-61

The mission of the Yoboku is single-hearted salvation. In the beginning, we must make diligent efforts to settle the truth of the teachings in our minds. Thereafter, as we carry out the teachings in our lives, we convey a word to others about the teachings. Then, with the hope and prayer that others be saved, we proceed to administer the Sazuke with sincerity. Herein will the marvelous, saving grace of God the Parent appear.

The appearance of such miracles is by no means due to our skill, but to God the Parent's acceptance of our earnest desire to have others saved and of the sincerity with which we administer the Sazuke. Far from being the result of our own power, the miracles are the workings of God the Parent, who enters the Yoboku and effects salvation.

Thus, while the function of the Yoboku is to administer the Sazuke for the salvation of the sick, Yoboku are not saviors but materials for God the Parent's construction. That being the case, the Yoboku must take care to settle their minds each day and to keep them unclouded so as to reflect the truth of heaven. The Yoboku fulfill their mission by constantly following the Divine Model of Oyasama, by living in the common world without falling into common ways, and by making positive efforts to become models of the truth of the teachings for the communities in which they live.

The path of the Yoboku, then, is to administer the Sazuke to those in pain and suffering from illness and to convey the truth of the teachings to those in anguish from insoluble problems. It is not merely to relieve this pain or to remove that anguish but, rather, to effect a true salvation of the mind, whose condition is being shown through the suffering.

We do not live by our own power, but it is our nature to think that we do. Herein lies the cause of our minds' endless path of darkness. Salvation work, then, is to convey to those people the intention of God the Parent and, by divine blessings, to lead them from the maze of darkness to the world of light.

In truth, this Path is the path of the salvation of the mind. When the mind is saved, we shall be freed from the pain and suffering of illness and other troubles, whose cure and solutions will come of themselves by virtue of the fact that the mind is in complete accord with the will of God the Parent.

If only your mind is truly accepted by Tsukihi, you will be assured of any salvation whatever.

Ofudesaki VIII : 45

All Yoboku, regardless of the length of their devotion, will be able to receive vivid instances of the protection of God the Parent, if they but follow the Divine Model of Oyasama and, by their single-hearted dedication to the salvation of others, overcome all difficulties and advance with sincerity straight forward on the path of salvation.

If you are truly of a mind to save others single-heartedly, I shall firmly accept you, even if you say nothing.

Ofudesaki III : 38

Ponder from your innermost heart to understand. Through saving others, you will be saved.

Ofudesaki III : 47

When we earnestly pray for the blessings of God the Parent on behalf of others and conduct our lives without thought for our own welfare, we are protected in the embrace of God the Parent. Though we may not be aware of it, we shall advance in spiritual growth and be on our way to a bright and joyous salvation.

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(This article was excerpted from The Doctrine of Tenrikyo, 66-71.)