Pondering & Worrying (Shian to anjigokoro)

by Yoshikazu Fukaya

Everywhere in the Ofudesaki and the Divine Directions, Oyasama advises us, "Ponder!" "Ponder over it!" "Ponder deeply!"

She asks us to ponder over the truth of Origin, to ponder over the truth that the universe is the body of God, and to ponder over God the Parent's intention in creating humankind. Since we human beings find ourselves powerless to control even what happens to our bodies, Oyasama tells us to begin by pondering over the truth of "a thing lent, a thing borrowed." In our lives of faith, we are also encouraged to ponder over the circumstances in which Oyasama spent fifty years teaching us this path and to ponder over everything with Her Divine Model as a guide for all our thoughts and actions. We can also profitably ponder over the beginning of our individual faith in this path.

But there is a catch. God the Parent asks us to be quite sure that all our ponderings are single-hearted with God--which is to say, to ensure that we are pondering over everything with God the Parent's intention as the standard for each and every thought while maintaining a constant awareness of God the Parent's complete and perfect providence.

If we are not pondering in single-heartedness with God, then we are pondering with human thoughts. This sort of pondering is based on our human knowledge and traditional, worldly common reasoning and tends to be a self-centered and self-serving way of thinking that is not in accord with God the Parent's intention.

The Ofudesaki teaches us:

And though each of you throughout the world has been pondering until now,

To My sorrow, no matter how deeply you have pondered, you have no mind to help others.

Ofudesaki XII:89-90

These verses help us understand that however faithfully we may be heeding Oyasama's advice to ponder deeply, it cannot deliver true joy if our pondering is a product of the selfish mind that has neglected to be constantly aware of God the Parent's perfect providence and has thus drifted away from God's intention by wandering in search of security and gain for oneself alone.

One of the pitfalls in our ponderings is the tendency to let our thoughts get locked into worrying about the future, and God the Parent particularly warns us against this tendency. Imagining things that lie ahead and worrying about how things will turn out can appear to be a serious and well-intentioned use of thought but, in the final analysis, these ponderings are the products of the human mind that has forgotten God's perfect providence and relies, instead, on the human knowledge and resources it has accumulated over time.

In the Divine Directions, God the Parent cautions us to the effect: "Once you begin to worry, there is no end to it. Settle every problem by keeping a spacious mind that allows you to go with the flow. There is no use worrying about things, since they will not turn out as your human minds imagine anyway. I understand your anxiety over physical ailments, but even then there is no cause for worry. Remember that the body is a thing borrowed from God and everything happening to it is exactly as God intends. I never put you through anything that you cannot manage to get through. So, set your mind at ease and go with the flow. Leaning on God's providence, allow nature to take its course. And thus find real delight in every arising occurrence. If your mind is truly spirited, your body, too, will be spirited."

The Mikagura-uta adds:

Whatever may happen, from now on,
I will go single-heartedly leaning on God.

Mikagura-uta III:7

This verse presents the basic stance for every follower: letting go of "the mind that entertains worries" and embracing "the mind that single-heartedly leans on God."