What are Tenrikyo's Scriptures? Who wrote them?

The Scriptures, which serve as the primary foundation of the Tenrikyo teachings, are the Ofudesaki, The Tip of Writing Brush; the Mikagura-uta, The Songs for the Service; and the Osashizu, The Divine Directions. The first two were written personally by Oyasama, and the last consists of collected transcriptions of Oyasama's revelations delivered through the Honseki's mouth (as well as some spoken by Oyasama Herself). These three sets of writings are called the "Three Scriptures of Tenrikyo."

More precisely speaking, the Mikagura-uta was taught by Oyasama as the songs to accompany the Service, which is the fundamental means of human salvation. She instructed Her followers in how to perform the Service between 1866 and 1882.

The Ofudesaki, written by Oyasama from 1869 to 1882, records the teachings of God the Parent.

The Osashizu comprises transcriptions of Oyasama's directions delivered between 1887 and 1907 concerning how to deal with various matters. All transcriptions included in this Scripture resulted from quickly writing down Her revelations while they were being delivered.

What should we be careful about when reading the Scriptures?

First of all, we should not interpret the Scriptures on the basis of our sense of values or our prejudices. It is important to try to understand Oyasama's own reasoning and intentions faithfully.

Second, we should not get caught up in particular words and phrases. Rather, it is important to take the attitude of trying to grasp how a topic is developing and understand what Oyasama desires to tell us in that context. We should then try to settle Oyasama's teachings in our mind.

In particular, we should caution ourselves against the tendency to take only what is convenient to us and neglect the other parts, for if we focus too narrowly on certain parts, we might interpret the Scriptures through our own logic and reasoning and might even distort the teachings.

How do Tenrikyo's Scriptures differ from those of other religions (Buddhism and Christianity), say in terms of how they were produced?

There are two major events worth noting with regard to the compilation of the canon of Buddhism. First, soon after the Buddha's death, approximately five hundred disciples joined together to recite all of his teachings, which were to be handed down as an oral tradition. Second, a century after his death, the canon was divided into three parts: the Buddha's doctrinal teachings, rules of monastic discipline, and commentaries on the Buddha's doctrinal teachings and rules of monastic discipline. Furthermore, many texts of Mahayana Buddhism began to be added to it five hundred years later and, thus, the Buddhist canon is now quite huge. Two main characteristics of the canon we might mention are that the Buddha's teachings it records were originally preserved as an oral tradition and that it contains a lot of commentaries on the Buddha's teachings written by followers.

Tenrikyo's Scriptures are confined to three sets of writings. Two of them, the Ofudesaki and the Mikagura-uta, were written personally by Oyasama and the other, the Osashizu, consisting of on-the-spot transcriptions of Oyasama's words, was mostly revealed through the mouth of the Honseki, Izo Iburi. Neither the oral tradition, which includes accounts of Her words and actions, nor Her disciples' writings that purport to record Her teachings are recognized as part of the Scriptures, though they are highly valued as reference materials that can help us deepen our faith. A defining characteristic of Tenrikyo's Scriptures is that they are all Oyasama's revelations.

The Bible consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was originally the scripture of Judaism. However, it became part of the Bible since it was considered to have a significant meaning in relation to the appearance of Jesus Christ.

The compilation of the New Testament took approximately fifty years to complete, starting fifty years after Jesus Christ's death. It consists of four parts: (1) four gospels recording Jesus Christ's mission, (2) Acts of the Apostles including St. Peter, (3) collections of letters that the Apostle Paul and other leaders in early churches sent to local churches, and (4) the Revelation of St. John the Divine.

One characteristic of the Bible is that its contents have a great deal of variety. For example, the Old Testament is the scripture of Judaism whereas much of the New Testament is the writings of Jesus Christ's disciples.

As mentioned in the answer to Question 1 of this chapter, Tenrikyo's Scriptures are confined to the teachings that Oya-sama revealed. They do not include any record of Her disciples' mission activities.

What is The Doctrine of Tenrikyo?

Immediately after World War II ended in 1945, the second Shinbashira proclaimed the start of "Restoration."* Responding to this, a doctrine compilation committee was organized as the first step to return to the original faith of the path. After repeated discussion and hard work, the committee produced a compilation of the teachings of Tenrikyo based on the Three Scriptures: the Ofudesaki, the Mikagura-uta, and the Osashizu. This was the first draft of The Doctrine of Tenrikyo. Compiled and polished over approximately four years on the basis of the Scriptures, it is a reliable and lucid description of Oya-sama's teachings and was officially published on October 26, 1949, with the second Shinbashira's authorization.

* The second Shinbashira explained that "restoration" means to return to the origin of the teachings taught by God the Parent and does not indicate merely resuming old ways.

What is the difference between The Doctrine of Tenrikyo and the Scriptures?

Tenrikyo has three Scriptures, namely the Ofudesaki, the Mikagura-uta, and the Osashizu. They were either written personally by Oyasama--referring to the first two--or produced by collecting on-the-spot transcriptions of Oyasama's words. The Three Scriptures, which are the direct revelations of God the Parent's intention, have an absolute value in our faith and are the most fundamental sources of the teachings. On the other hand, The Doctrine of Tenrikyo was compiled based on the Three Scriptures. It describes the teachings and their correct implementation in a systematic way that is easy to understand. The Doctrine of Tenrikyo is an important doctrinal publication, next only to the Scriptures.

How is the Meiji Kyoten (the Doctrine of Tenrikyo published in the Meiji period) different from the current Doctrine of Tenrikyo?

Tenrikyo's Kyoten that was first compiled in 1900 and revised in 1903 is often called the old Kyoten or the Meiji Kyoten in order to distinguish it from the current Doctrine of Tenrikyo, for it differs considerably from the current Doctrine in many respects. For example, it referred to God the Parent as Tenri-O-Kami and explained that the term was the collective name of ten gods. It also condoned the view of the Emperor as absolute as well as the Emperor-centered nationalism.

To understand this issue more clearly, we should consider the circumstances in which the Meiji Kyoten was compiled. Its compilation took place in an era when the Meiji government maintained a constitutional monarchy based on the Shinto religion and exercised a strong censorship of thought. In fact, Tenrikyo had to compile the Meiji Kyoten in order to gain official recognition and, thereby, to survive in the first place. Strong government control, which threatened to put an end to the path unless Tenrikyo followed national policy, influenced the way the old Kyoten was compiled. Tenrikyo was not allowed to teach "the truth of Jiba," "the truth of the everliving Oyasama," or "universal brotherhood" among other teachings, but rather was forced to emphasize the majesty of the Emperor and patriotic ideologies. Thus, the contents of the Meiji Kyoten were very much dictated by the government.

It was also said that the first Shinbashira, who made the agonizing decision to publish the Meiji Kyoten, was pinning his hopes on one day being able to correct the wrongs he was well aware of. Yet, he passed away for rebirth before gaining that opportunity, and the task was handed over to the second Shinbashira. Unfortunately, even more severe circumstances were to arise, as a strict military government came to power and World War II broke out. Only with the end of the war were all restrictions lifted for the first time. The day the war ended, the second Shinbashira immediately proclaimed "Restoration," which meant to return to the original faith exactly as taught by Oyasama. As the first step in this effort, the new version of The Doctrine of Tenrikyo started to be compiled in 1945 based on the Three Scriptures and was officially published in 1949. This is the current version of The Doctrine of Tenrikyo. It is sometimes called the "Restoration Doctrine" to distinguish this scripturally grounded description of Oyasama's teachings from the Meiji Kyoten.

(This article was excerpted from Questions and Answers about Tenrikyo, 113-118.)