How and why did this world come to be? How and why did human beings come about? What is the purpose of our existence? Philosophers of the East and West, both from the past and present, have been constantly seeking the answers to the big questions relating to the purpose and meaning of life. God the Parent gave us the clear answer explaining the divine objective behind humankind's existence in the "Story of Creation," also called the "Truth of Origin."

This story starts with the phrase, "In the beginning, the world was a muddy ocean. . . ." Because of this, the story was often called "The Ancient Record of the Muddy Ocean (or Muddy Waters)." Also, there are handwritten accounts of the story that had the inscription "God's Divine Record" on them.

None of us have any recollection of the time when we were born. We know the identities of our father and mother and the date and place of our birth only because we have learned them from our parents. In the same way, there is no way for us to know anything about the beginnings of human beings without the original Parent, God the Parent, teaching us the details. It was Oyasama who first taught us the identity of our original Parent and God the Parent's intention behind human creation. This indeed makes this teaching the final and ultimate teaching.

It must be pointed out that the "Story of Creation" is fundamentally different from typical creation stories found throughout the world describing the creation of human beings. The "Truth of Origin"--the story detailing the circumstances and significance underlying the beginnings of creation--was taught not only to provide us with knowledge of the past. Knowing this "Truth of Origin" enables us to understand the meaning behind our current situation and shows us the proper direction in which humanity should proceed toward the future.

Through the "Truth of Origin," we can understand the following:

• The identity of the true, original Parent of humankind and this world

• The Parent's intention behind the creation of human beings--the significance and purpose of life

• The providence of God the Parent that makes human life possible--the truth of the human body as a thing lent, a thing borrowed

• The details of how humanity came to be in its present state and the manner we should proceed toward the future

  Furthermore, the "Truth of Origin" clearly teaches us the following important points:

• The reason this teaching was begun with Oyasama as Shrine

• The significance of the date and place where the teaching was founded

• The significance behind the Kagura Service as the fundamental means to save all of humanity and the implications of the form which the Service takes

"Where there was no form" (Monkata nai)

Tenrikyo ministers often evoke the phrase, "humankind and the world were created where there was no form." But a closer look at the original Japanese for "where there was no form"--"monkata nai"--reveals that these words have a deeper meaning, for it not only suggests a lack of shape or form but even a lack of a foundation or a model that could serve as a basis to create a recognizable form.

We are taught that, in the beginning, the world was "a muddy ocean." The beginning has also been likened elsewhere to "a haze." We are told that the state of the world was a formless chaos where nothing was distinguishable. There was no distinction between heaven and earth, ocean and land, water and fire, or shadow and light. Because nothing existed in any form we can think of, we could describe this state as a world of nothingness. However, this condition was not that of pure "nothingness," for the complete providence of God the Parent--which is the foundation of life and all that exists--remained in a simmering, formless state of being.

It was God the Parent who created the world and human beings from the muddy ocean where there was no hint or trace of our existence. Thus from the words "where there was no form," we can gain a sense, however imperfect, of how precious God's parental love is and how immeasurable God's efforts have been in nurturing us across countless years from the time of creation until the present day. For it was God the Parent's extraordinary efforts and unlimited providence that nurtured human beings throughout the period in which we lived in water and, once we began to live on land, also instructed us in wisdom and in letters.

Finally, in a sense we may also say that this teaching began "where there was no form." On October 26, 1838, when Oyasama was settled as the Shrine of God to reveal the teaching, the world was in a state of chaos, for people were lost on the dark paths of their minds without knowing the identity or intention of the original Parent. It was in such a context that Oyasama demonstrated the Divine Model Herself through fifty years of hardship and difficulties, taught the identity of the true Parent to this world, and established the path for humankind to follow.