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When we are making diligent efforts on the path of salvation, our days are bright and cheerful and our lives are filled with happiness. This is because we lead our lives in the warm embrace of God the Parent and our minds are at peace with the assurance that if we save others, we shall ourselves be saved. This is the state of the Joyous Life. God the Parent created human beings to see the Joyous Life of humankind and, thus, to share in that joy. To bring this intent of God the Parent into realization is the significance of human life and the ultimate goal of humankind.
However long you may continue to believe, Mikagura-uta V : 5 A bright and spirited mind is a joyous mind. By living each day with this joyous mind, we shall find true happiness and shall feel that life is indeed worth living. On the other hand, if our minds are not spirited, but depressed, we shall not be in accord with the mind of God the Parent, no matter how long we continue our faith. The greatest source of happiness for humankind is to live each day joyously in this world, receiving the blessings of God the Parent as they are given. If we open the windows of our minds and receive the radiant light of God the Parent, the dark clouds will clear away of themselves and we shall arise in brightness and joy. The Joyous Life is indeed a life full of happiness. When we come to share our joys and pleasures with one another, the Joyous Life will come into being. When the minds of all are spirited, all truths will be seen and all flowers will bloom. Only when your joy brings joy to others, can it be called true joy. If you enjoy yourselves while causing others to suffer, this cannot be called true joy. Osashizu, December 11, 1897 There may come a time when, because of our selfishness, we forget to live in harmony. Far from being a mind-purifying life of joy, this is the dark path which clouds the mind. Selfishness may be well for the individual but it will never be the truth that will bring peace to all. Osashizu, November 20, 1900 To bring our minds into unity is to unify our minds with the One Truth of the Path. When this truth is forgotten, we shall become awash in selfishness. A unity of minds calls forth God's free and unlimited blessings. On the other hand, if there is no unity of minds, we shall not be acceptable to God the Parent, no matter how numerous we may be. Only when we become united in mind with the One Truth of the Path, each of us respecting and helping one another, shall we be able to live joyously and spiritedly. This is when we shall have reached the goal of the Joyous Life. Unite your minds and construct a path of hope. You must reflect it to the world so the world will be convinced that it is the true path to follow. Osashizu, September 6, 1902 If we but live joyously, trusting in God the Parent, adoring Oyasama, reflecting on the truth of the teachings, uniting our minds, and helping one another, then a path of hope will appear and the joy of it will spread throughout the world. This is the desire of God the Parent. If only human beings throughout the world have purified their minds and lead lives joyously. . . When the mind of Tsukihi is truly spirited, so will be all human beings. When the minds of all the world are spirited, Tsukihi and human beings will be one in mind. Ofudesaki VII : 109-111 Receiving the providence of God the Parent, our minds made bright and pure, living joyously and in high spirits, and coming together to help one another: this is the life which is in accord with the will of God the Parent. It is also the "endless construction." In this state, our brightened minds will receive further blessings and will become even more joyous and spirited. God the Parent, having long awaited our spiritual maturity, will look upon our joyous lives and will be joyous and spirited in return. If we continue our efforts by relying on the parental love of God and extending a helping hand to one another, whether near or far, rich or poor, in full recognition of the truth that we are all children of God the Parent and brothers and sisters to one another, and if we follow the path of the Divine Model steadily, endeavoring diligently in the endless construction of our minds, then the minds of all humankind will be replaced and the world will be reconstructed of itself. Thus, when all of the minds in the world have been made pure, the intent of single-hearted salvation will have been fulfilled. The blessings of God the Parent will flow without limit, and the whole world will enjoy unprecedented prosperity. Such a world is indeed a world filled with happiness, a world of bliss for God and humankind, and a world of everlasting peace. The human race, while making great progress in civilization, has to this day wandered about in delusion on dark paths of unknown destination. In this delusion, people, on the one hand, pit themselves against one another in the erroneous belief that life's happiness can be attained through defeating others, while, on the other hand, their unstifled yearning is to live in peace and tranquility. This is indeed a deep contradiction. The solution to this contradiction is none other than the path of single-hearted salvation. It is this path alone which can give true support to the minds of all humankind and show us the way to light. The world never stops hoping for peace. But a true world peace cannot be accomplished merely by the cessation of conflicts, for, although this will make the world free from conflicts, it will not lead to a world of peace filled with light. Such a world of true peace can only be brought about by the truth of God the Parent. When this path of God the Parent settles in our hearts without error, when we forget all desires for our own gain and work to help one another in expressions of true sincerity under the warm protection of God the Parent, when our minds are joyous as God the Parent has long awaited--only then will the eternal paradise on earth, filled with vitality, come into being.
(This article was excerpted from The Doctrine of Tenrikyo, 73-77.) |
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