Tenrikyo - The Reason of Heaven

This universe is the body of God.

Ponder this in all matters.

X: 57-61

 Day after day, the concern in the mind of Moonsun

is the innermost hearts of a great number of people.

 This innermost heart is the “root”, “core” and  “origin of human beings”, it is the “ place to set up the Kanrodai”. It is one and the same for all human beings. The purpose of these poems and of Moonsun’s teachings is to reveal the truth of the “innermost heart” to all humanity as the truth of origin and the basis of a free and unlimited joyous life.

 How can I have you understand My mind?

I so desire that your minds be purified quickly.

 Moonsun’s mind is the origin and innermost heart of all human beings. To awaken to that truth and understand Moonsun’s mind and intention it is necessary for us to quickly purify our own mind. This purification of the mind involves calming and settling the mind so that the truth of the innermost heart, the truth of origin replaces the self-centered imagination as the foundation of human thought. 

 It is possible to achieve this purification consciously and purposely.  That is in full knowledge that one is sincerely setting out to purify one’s mind or unconsciously as a by-product of some other truly sincere effort. The prime ingredient in either approach is true sincerity. There is no doubt that the truly sincere mind will settle and return to its origin.  We are all invited to “test” this assertion for ourselves in our own minds. There is however, no way to capture the truth of origin with the self-centered imagination. The former is real and original while the later is by definition imaginary, mere changing reflections rising out of the origin.

Because this current theme involves the training of Moonsun’s intermediaries, it directly indicates being consciously aware of the purification of the mind as the means to return to the origin. It is intended then that those intermediaries will “quickly” purify their own mind and thus be able to utilize Moonsun’s free and unlimited workings to spread the truth of the teaching all over the world. Being free and unlimited those intermediaries would be able to teach in ways that are appropriate for the time the place and the level of spiritual maturity of those whom they would help to awaken.  As a crucial part of the “Hinagata”, Divine Model, the poetic themes of the seventeen books of the Ofudesaki demonstrate this free and unlimited effort very clearly and in numerous ways. 

It might be appropriate to mention just a word about Moonsun’s intention that our minds be “quickly purified”.  Certainly there is always an underlying theme of hastening in all of  Moonsun’s teachings. Whether they are hastening an immediate awakening or a step by step awakening, the push to get to it quickly, as in right now, is always indicated.  I would like to say a bit about the technical reason for this hastening. Anyone who as ever tried to calm, quiet and purify their own mind knows that the self-centered imagination can be a pretty slippery character to identify and quiet. So, though Moonsun’s intention is that the self-centered imagination be replaced as the foundation of my thinking, in my own experience, my self-centered imagination "thinks" (imagines) otherwise. And though it is quite willing to be interested in calming itself, it in fact can come up with all sorts of reasons to put that effort off until some other time.  I don’t know what goes on inside of other minds but at least in my own case the state of my self-centered thinking becomes the state and truth of my world.  That being the case, if I delay and put off calming and purifying my mind, then that delay becomes the state and truth of my world. If I allow my self-centered imagination to claim that it cannot be calmed or purified quickly then that also becomes the state and truth of my world. Though the regular performances of the various Services addresses this problem, it is perhaps best to follow Moonsun’s directives and go about the process of purification quickly and consciously. All the while watching out for the self-centered imagination’s efforts to settle complacency and the status quo of remaining the foundation of all of my thoughts  instead of allowing itself to settle (which it also says that it wants to do). Awakening to the truth of origin will always come in the single moment when the state of our mind is equal to the causality of origin. That is to say when our mind is purified and settled. Since the truth of origin is available now and always, if that moment isn't now, when is it?  Smile and be aware of the self-centered imagination right now at this moment. Is it yakking away making excuses; perhaps  that it doesn't understand  what to do or other seemingly good reasons for putting off its own purification? Perhaps even suggesting that the whole effort would be better taken care of in some other lifetime? In the process of its purification the self-centered imagination perhaps should not be taken too seriously. The more it is exposed to the light of its true origin the more more clear its painful and unintended consequences in the world become. It is all that dreamy chatter that becomes the state and truth of our world. Needless to say that means that we all self-centeredly experience a different state and truth of the world. It is a marvelous tool for creativity and survival but can and does lead to problems when mistaken for our total identity. Which is why Moonsun wishes to reveal the truth of the matter to us all.

 If this situation sounds familiar, wake up now!  Change the state of your world back to quickly purifying the mind and helping others to do the same. The self-centered imagination doesn’t mean any harm but it is truly limited in its understanding and it is easy to "doze off" and get lost in its darkness, even for years at a time. This then is the inevitable confrontation, between the self-centered imagination that wants to awaken and the self-centered imagination that wants to remain in its self-centered dreams. They are both in truth Moonsun though their very nature is the marvel  that is that denial.  Getting back on track is as simple as waking up from a dream. By jostling each other awake Moonsun’s intermediaries also refine and purify each other’s minds. 

 When all the world is truly purified from the innermost heart,

it will be Moonsun’s delight.

 To be purified from the innermost heart is to be single-hearted with Moonsun after having replaced the self-centered imagination with the truth of origin as the foundation of human thought. That is the genuine removal of a fundamental idea (identify it now, it talks to itself as the voices of the mind) as the foundation of thought and its replacement with the reality that is the truth of origin (what remains when those voices are quieted and purified). To the minds of the world so purified, Moonsun’s delight is the free unlimited workings of the origin projected into the human world as the joyous life.

When all humankind is purified from the innermost heart,

Moonsun will , then,

 Make your minds spirited step by step and day by day,

and teach joyousness to all of you. 

This is of course the essence of Moonsun’s promise to all human beings. We are hastened to purify our minds and to actually realize that promise, now, quickly, step by step and day by day. Yet, how can I remember to do so day by day and step by step, when my mind tumbles off in every direction? My self-centered imagination seems always ready to lead me astray. Fortunately, Moonsun is training intermediaries to be able to help me to purify my mind in free and unlimited ways appropriate for the time, place and level of my spiritual maturity. What a marvelous path! What a hopeful prospect!