"Joyous Acceptance"
 (Tanno)

This term refers to bringing a sense of deep satisfaction and contentment into one's heart. It goes without saying that satisfaction is a feeling of fulfillment that we have when our desires or needs are met or when we find ourselves in a situation that is favorable to us. In reality, however, our situation is often unfavorable, and our desires are more likely to lead to frustration than to fulfillment. Coming into a sense of true satisfaction and contentment in the face of such a negative situation can be a remarkable way of handling the mind--so remarkable, in fact, that it might even end up changing the given situation itself. Such is "joyous acceptance."

"Joyous acceptance" indicates a state of mind that accepts one's situation in its entirety and reflects a consistently positive attitude that flows from unwavering faith in the parental heart of God. The ability to accept everything with joy comes from the full realization that we are only able to be alive by receiving God the Parent's providence.

If we are to settle into "joyous acceptance," we would do well to start by watching out for a feeling of insufficiency. This feeling, being a joyless state of mind, will not lead to the Joyous Life. Instead, it will contribute to a sense of dissatisfaction in others around us.

Why do we entertain a feeling of insufficiency at all? The reason is that we are unaware that we live in the eternal embrace of God the Parent's providence and that how we partake of the providence is consistent with our state of mind. In our unawareness, we compare our situation with someone else's and end up with a feeling of insufficiency. Again, a feeling of insufficiency may arise in a mind that seeks something without making a proper effort. Expectations not supported by a worthy effort are bound to end in disappointment. Therein arises a feeling of insufficiency or dissatisfaction.

Allowing our mind to be dominated by dissatisfaction is tantamount to denying God the Parent's complete providence. Yet we, as human beings, can only fulfill our life in the true sense of the word by accepting God the Parent's providence in its entirety. This is because God the Parent's providence enables us to be alive in the first place. A primary aspect of God's providence is, in fact, the loan of the body itself. Savoring joy in the realization that the body is "a thing lent, a thing borrowed" can help us let go of any feeling of insufficiency we may have and will allow our mind to come into joyous acceptance of what is.

God the Parent teaches joyous acceptance particularly as a way of settling the mind amid difficult situations or negative occurrences. This is because the true significance of joyous acceptance becomes clear especially when one brings true contentment into one's heart in the face of such a situation. Says a Divine Direction:

Joyously accepting a situation that is hard to accept is sincerity.

Osashizu, October 8, 1897

Yet how can we joyously accept such situations?

The answer involves the need to understand "causality." Consider this Divine Direction:

Listen and understand this truth called causality. Even if you try to cause something to happen, it may not happen. Even if you try not to let something happen, it may happen. Such is the truth of causality, I say.

Osashizu, May 31, 1894*

What is actually happening--whether it be something happening to us personally or not--may be quite different from what we wanted to happen. Nevertheless, God the Parent is showing us blessings that are in accord with our minds. The human mind functions as a composite of the past uses of the mind--which is to say, our present use of the mind is conditioned by our past use of the mind. The term "causality" refers to the accumulations of the past uses of the mind, which are conditioning one's present use of the mind, thereby shaping what is happening now, and which may go back generations. God the Parent provides blessings according to our causality and minds in order to encourage us to awaken to our causality, so that we may draw on our realization of causality to replace the mind.

As we perceive our causality behind whatever is happening and use our understanding of causality to replace the mind, we are able to let God's parental heart, which is always leading us to the Joyous Life, seep into our heart. This will then enable us to remain spirited and look forward to the delight that lies ahead in the face of any situation that may threaten to deprive us of joy. It is, of course, hard to take delight in an undesirable situation. Yet leaving everything up to God the Parent and delighting in the path ahead will allow us to live in joyous acceptance even of such a situation.

Another aspect of joyous acceptance is to focus on rejoicing in whatever blessings of God the Parent we can feel at the present moment. Even when we find ourselves confronted by what we might call undesirable occurrences, the truth is that we are still receiving innumerable blessings from God the Parent. Noticing those blessings and finding joy in them can provide the ability to deal with any situation, however difficult or trying it may be.

In summary, then, joyous acceptance of what is comes from grounding oneself in a clear recognition of causality and following the path to replace the mind. Another factor is finding joy in God's free and unlimited blessings that we receive moment by moment as we go through life.

In addition, recalling the journey Oyasama endured can help us come into joyous acceptance of even the most difficult of all possible circumstances. Oyasama joyfully and spiritedly went through a journey of great hardships and perils out of a desire to save all humankind. If we try to emulate Oyasama's journey and move from living a self-serving life--which involves bearing the full brunt of our causality--to pursuing a path that entails enduring difficulties for the sake of saving others, then what we previously felt to be hardships will no longer be experienced as hardships, and our spirits will always remain bright and high as we go through each day. We will, moreover, be able to free ourselves from causality, thereby changing the direction of our life.

* Cf. Osashizu, September 24, 1894, February 27, 1898.

(This article was first published in the June 2004 issue of TENRIKYO.)