The Purpose of Our Existence Is to Lead the "Joyous Life"


Our original Parent--or, as we say in Tenrikyo, God the Parent, Tenri-O-no-Mikoto--has taught us, "The reason Tsukihi [God the Parent] began human beings was the desire to see you lead a joyous life." In other words, God created us human beings to see our Joyous Life and, thus, to share in that joy.

The Joyous Life flows, not from enjoying ourselves without caring about others, but from making others happy and spirited. We human beings, endowed with qualities that differ from one another, would do well to live in a way that helps nurture one another's talents and make up for one another's shortcomings. Sharing this world of ours by helping and respecting one another is an important aspect of the Joyous Life, the purpose of human existence. Another important aspect of the Joyous Life is that building the world of the Joyous Life involves both humankind and God--which should not be surprising since we human beings live in the very bosom of God. We are taught that as people become spirited, God will also be spirited. Indeed, when we become spirited through the helping of one another, the sight of our spiritedness will make God spirited, and God's spiritedness will enliven all living things and the entire world.

Tenrikyo is working toward actualizing the Joyous Life.


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