The dust of self-love is to care only about oneself, forgetting others. To allow one's children to make unreasonable demands, even teaching them to lie; to allow them to skip school because of the weather; and to allow them to play when they should be doing chores--all these are wrong. To be so drawn to one's child as not to correct his behavior and to esteem oneself and speak badly of others are dusts.

There is of course no one who does not bear love at all. But to be so blinded by love or to be so partial as to discriminate against others is dust. Some parents, in doting on a child, neglect their duties, seek what is beyond their means, give the child presents beyond what is proper, and allow the child to do wrongful things. In extreme cases, there may be some parents who, in doting on their children so much, conceive evil ideas and steal possessions of others.

One can be blinded not only by love for a child. There are also people who dote on a woman or a man so much as to neglect more important things and ruin their families, and thus do a great wrong.

We must erase such thought by leaning on God the Parent, by realizing innen, and by applying the teachings to what has happened to us.

Partiality is, for instance, to love a certain child, or two, to a greater degree without treating all of one's children with equal affection, or to give undue discrimination--while raising someone else's child, taken under one's care, together with his own children--in favor of his own children by giving them good things and letting them have an easy time while making the other child have a hard time by not giving him good things. If one does such things, everyone is affected, a quarrel occurs, and people cannot live happily together.

Undue discrimination is not in accord with Divine Wisdom. We should have equal affection for everyone without partiality. You love your children and yourself, why do you not, then, love others and others' children as well?

In 1883, when Yasu, the eldest daughter of Seijiro Imagawa, was nine years old, she contracted a serious contagious skin disease of the variety that became infected with pus. Accompanied by her parents, she returned to Jiba and had an audience with Oyasama. Oyasama called to her: "Come over here." When Yasu timidly moved forward, Oyasama said: "Come closer, come closer."

Finally, when Yasu had moved to Oyasama's side, Oyasama moistened Her own hands with Her mouth and then stroked Yasu's whole body three times, each time chanting: "Namu, Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto"

Then, again three times and three times again, She stroked Yasu and chanted in the same manner. Yasu, although young, was overwhelmed and felt the graciousness of Oyasama with her body and mind. The next day, when Yasu woke up, the skin disease had marvelously disappeared, without leaving a trace. Even though Yasu was only a child, she thought, "What a truly wondrous God!"

Yasu's feeling of gratitude for Oyasama's compassion in not minding even such a filthy condition as hers was, grew deeper and deeper as she grew older. It is said that in performing her duty as a yoboku she always recalled this feeling of gratitude and strived to respond to the compassion of Oyasama.

(Anecdotes of Oyasama, the Foundress of Tenrikyo, p.106)

(The above is an excerpt from Dust and Innen, first published in September 1982. Quotations from the Ofudesaki and the Kakisage have been replaced by the revised, current translations.)