We have just performed the Autumn Grand Service. As you know very well, Tenrikyo came into being at eight o'clock in the morning on this very day, 161 years ago, which is to say, October 26, 1838. That is the day on which Oyasama began to teach this path. The Autumn Grand Service is performed in commemoration of that day of origin, and it begins at eight o'clock in the morning to mark the exact hour.

At yesterday's Inauguration Service, we Yoboku who have been drawn to this path agreed to bring our minds into unity and serve as Oyasama's instruments and, thereby, advance spiritedly toward actualizing the Joyous Life for the entire world. Today, in addition, I should like all of us Yoboku to think deeply about the parental heart by returning our thoughts to the Teaching's day of origin and to the causality of origin, and thereby awaken to an ever richer joy of faith. By doing this, I hope that we can make this day meaningful.

To help us ponder over the Teaching's day of origin, allow me to cite God the Parent's original revelation:

I am God of Origin, God in Truth. There is causality in this Residence. At this time I have descended here to save all humankind. I wish to receive Miki as the Shrine of God.

In this revelation, God the Parent announces, "I am God of Origin, God in Truth," and expresses the desire to settle Oyasama's body as the Shrine of God.

In chapter 1 of The Doctrine of Tenrikyo, we read:

Miki's family was greatly startled by the unexpected revelation. Using every possible argument, they refused God's request, but God the Parent remained steadfast. Finally, forsaking all self-centered human thoughts and concerns of inconvenience to the family, they replied that they would comply with God's request. That day, October 26, 1838, marks the beginning of Tenrikyo.

It was not until later that we were taught about the causalities that had made this possible. First, we learned about the causality of Oyasama's soul--which is to say that She had the soul of Izanami-no-Mikoto, the mother in creation. Second, we learned about the causality of the Residence--which is to say that this was the Residence where the original conception of human beings took place, as well as the Residence where Izanami-no-Mikoto, the mother in creation, remained for three years and three months while nurturing Her children in Her womb. Third, we learned about the causality of the Promised Time--which is to say that October 26, 1838, marked the arrival of the time specified by God the Parent at the time of creation, when God promised to bring the instruments of creation back to the Residence of Origin, where they would be adored by their posterity, when the years equal to the number of their first-born had elapsed. We are taught that it was through the conjunction of these three causalities that Oyasama's teaching could be begun.

From that moment onward, Oyasama served as the Shrine of Tsukihi in whom God the Parent, the original and true Parent of all humankind, took up residence in this world. In the Ofudesaki, The Tip of the Writing Brush, we read:

These thoughts of Tsukihi are spoken through Her: the mouth is human, the mind is that of Tsukihi.

Listen! I, Tsukihi, am borrowing Her mouth wholly, and I, Tsukihi, am lending My mind wholly.

Ofudesaki XII:67-68

In the light of these verses, we can say that Oyasama's voice was no different from what it had been before October 26, 1838. Neither had Her physical appearance undergone any change at all. Oyasama's mind, on the other hand, had undergone an immense transformation from what it had been until October 26, 1838. Regardless of the causality of Her soul, the very soul of the mother in creation, She was, prior to that day, an ordinary human being.

Because Oyasama's voice and physical appearance were the same human voice and physical appearance as before, it is very likely that the people around Her had difficulty in changing the way they saw Her. The words "I, Tsukihi, am borrowing Her mouth wholly" imply that Oyasama's outward physical appearance was the same as before, while the words "I, Tsukihi, am lending My mind wholly" clearly point out that Oyasama's mind was now the mind of Tsukihi and, therefore, no longer the human mind She had previously had.

Following October 26, 1838, Oyasama's words and actions were, without a single exception, in perfect accord with the intention of Tsukihi. I believe that, for all Tenrikyo followers, the basis for a life of faith consists in following Oyasama with absolute trust. Since Oyasama continues to provide Her workings, everliving as She is, this conviction ought to be carried down intact through all generations.

That day of origin was therefore a turning point when Oyasama went from being an ordinary housewife to being the Parent of all humankind. Thereafter, out of Her single-hearted love for Her children, She conveyed each detail of God the Parent's intention for us human beings, carefully choosing a variety of means to make it easier for us to understand. To help us grow spiritually into people who reflected God the Parent's intention perfectly, She guided and nurtured us with indescribable parental love, leading us by the hand, urging us to stand when we crawl and to walk when we stand.

We use the term "Shrine of Tsukihi" when referring to Oyasama's role as the one who conveyed the intention of God the Parent to human beings. And we use the term "Parent of the Divine Model" when referring to Oyasama's role as the one who showed us, through Her own example, how to live in accord with God the Parent's intention, thus demonstrating a course of life upon which we human beings could model our own lives.

God the Parent's intention is, in fact, the parental heart that wishes to restore us to our original state where we human beings could share the Joyous Life together with the Parent. In Her role as the Shrine of Tsukihi, Oyasama conveyed this parental heart just as it was. In Her role as the Parent of the Divine Model, on the other hand, Oyasama guided Her children with love and patience so that they might put the truth of the teaching into practice and thereby lead their own lives in perfect joy.

[ NEXT ]