TENRIKYO - The Path to the Joyous Life
INTRODUCTION - 8/28/01
WHAT IS TENRIKYO?
- What are Tenrikyo's basic teachings? by Roy Forbes
- Tenrikyo [Wikipedia]
- Tenrikyo Search Engine
In the summer they had no netting to ward off the mosquitoes. In the winter they scraped together twigs and leaves for a fire to warm them from the cold wind, which streamed through their now dilapidated house. They spent many nights spinning thread by the light of the moon since they had little oil for their lamps. At times when they had nothing to eat but pickled vegetables and nothing to drink but water, She encouraged Her children by saying:
"In this world, there are many people who are suffering, unable to eat or even to swallow water despite food piled high at their bedsides. If we think of them, how blessed we are, for when we drink water, it tastes of water. God the Parent has blessed us with exquisite gifts."
Days, months, and years wore on in this way. No one would lend an ear to the teachings of God.
Then the Path was opened by the miracles of salvation, the first of which was the Grant of Safe Childbirth. People began to come from neighboring villages in veneration of Oyasama as a "living goddess." Oyasama taught them that the origin of illness is in the mind and worked countless miracles of healing before their very eyes. Even the so-called incurable illnesses were not incurable to Her - the blind opened their eyes at once and the insane completely regained their sanity.
Thus the Path began to grow quickly, but it was also the beginning of new trials. Jealousy, suspicion, and incomprehension gave rise not only to strong opposition but also to violent attacks with drawn swords. Despite the troubles, which beset Her day and night, She became even more spirited and taught the joyous Salvation Service.
In addition, Oyasama took up Her writing brush to explain the truths about the Jiba, the place of creation, about the Kanrodai, the center of the Salvation Service and about the Truth of Creation. She taught that God the Parent created humankind so that by seeing us live the Joyous Life, God could share in our joy. The living of the Joyous Life is, therefore, the purpose of our existence. Since God the Parent is our Parent, we are all God's children, and thus we should realize that we are all brothers and sisters. Our bodies are borrowed from God the Parent and only our minds belong to us and by the proper use of our minds; we will be able to live the Joyous Life. She taught that we should strive each day to sweep away our self-centered thinking and dedicate ourselves to helping others with true sincerity. If all people in the world make a sincere effort to understand and help one another, then God the Parent will accept our minds of sincerity and manifest free and unlimited workings. Thus She taught the Path of single-hearted salvation.
Meanwhile She was made to endure imprisonment or detention by the authorities seventeen or eighteen times, even in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. But such hardships did not bother Her in the least, and She constantly strove by every effort, day and night, to enlighten those who were doubtful and slow to understand.
Tenrikyo has spread throughout Japan and many other countries in the world with members in 38 different countries. I have no statistics of how many Tenrikyo members there are but there are total of 17,112 churches most of which are in Japan, but we do have 94 churches in the U.S., of which 36 are in Hawaii. There are 82 churches in Korea, 77 in Brazil, 18 in Taiwan and the rest are scattered among 9 other countries. About 3 years ago, in March 1993, a symposium was held in Rome, Italy on Tenrikyo-Christian Dialogue in which the Tenrikyo and Catholic faiths were shared. It was co-sponsored by Tenri University and Pontifical Gregorian University.
