The Teachings of Tenrikyo

Oyasama

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

Ofudesaki XII:67

 

Tsukihi will enter your bodies and show you free and unlimited workings in all things.

Ofudesaki VII:37

*The Ofudesaki, The Tip of the Writing Brush, was written by Oyasama Herself and contains 1,711 verses in seventeen parts.

Who founded Tenrikyo?

The Foundress of Tenrikyo is named Miki Nakayama. We call Her “Oyasama”—which translates as “our beloved Parent”—with a sense of intimacy. On October 26, 1838, God the Parent, who had created human beings and the world, entered the body of Oyasama. The divine intention of God the Parent, who desires to save all people in the world, was revealed through the mouth of Oyasama, the Shrine of God.

How did Oyasama convey the teachings?

For a period of fifty years after the founding of the Teaching, Oyasama, Miki Nakayama, not only conveyed the intention of God the Parent to us human beings, but also demonstrated the model way of living that leads to the Joyous Life. Her path is called the path of the Divine Model, and we adore Oyasama as the Parent of the Divine Model.

You say that Oyasama withdrew from physical life in 1887, but what does it exactly mean? Does it not mean that Oyasama passed away?

On the lunar calendar date of January 26 (February 18, by the Gregorian calendar), 1887, Oyasama withdrew from physical life in order to urge human beings, Her children, to make spiritual growth. Tenrikyo teaches that Oyasama did not pass away when She withdrew from physical life and that, although we cannot see Her with our eyes, She lives in the Residence of Origin and is working to save all people in the world as ever before. This is referred to as the truth of the everliving Oyasama. Oyasama is waiting for all human beings in the world, Her children, to return to their home, Jiba.