We call God the Parent, Tenri-O-no-Mikoto. God the Parent created human beings and everything else from where there was no form. God the Parent provided us with the Cosmos, the Earth, and the natural environment that makes life possible. God the Parent oversees the laws of nature and is also its source. God is also our Parent who relieves human beings of our troubles and guides us to the Joyous Life.

In order for us to better understand God the Parent’s providence, each particular working of God was assigned a sacred name and explained. This is the “ten aspects of God’s complete providence.”

We learn this exposition of the providence in order to build genuine faith to the teaching of God the Parent, appreciate the providence by chanting the sacred names, and learn the intention of God the Parent shown through illness and calamities.

Kunisazuchi-no-Mikoto: in the human body, the providence of the female organ, of skin and joining; in the world, the providence of joining in general.

This aspect of the complete providence is female and represented in the heavens as the star Canopus; its direction is southeast. At human creation, its symbolic form in the muddy ocean was a turtle. Its counterparts in the Buddhist tradition are Fugen Bodhisattva (Samantabhadra), Daruma (Bodhidharma), Benten (Benzaiten/Sarasvati), “Obaku-san” (Manpukuji Temple), and the Zen sect.

In the human body, in addition to providing us with the working of the skin, the layer of tissue under the skin, the cortex that surrounds the inner organs, and muscles, this aspect of the complete providence supplies the workings of the female sexual organ. In the world, it oversees human relationships, including marriage, family ties, and financial and economic matters.

All living things, including human beings, have their individual forms because they are wrapped with the protection of skin and joining. Married couples and families exist because of connections and ties between individuals. Society exists because families are joined by other families. Further, children are born due to the workings of the female organ, and their birth creates the ties between parents, children, grandchildren, and so on. The workings of Kunisazuchi-no-Mikoto also oversee economic relationships, which in turn help secure food, clothing, and shelter for each individual.

The quality of the mind that is associated with the workings of Kunisazuchi-no-Mikoto is steadfast and firm, as well as resilient in the face of adversity. It also emphasizes joining and maintaining connections. It is a mind that mends scars and frayed relations. It is a mind that passes through life with humility, as symbolized by the turtle and how it crawls low to the ground.

To conform to this aspect of God’s providence, we must have joyous acceptance, a mind that “joins” (not to cut) and a mind that contributes for the sake of God’s work. Joyous acceptance amounts to having a mind with a modest quality, ridding ourselves of a mind that is discontent about inadequacies, and rejoicing at the blessings we receive each day. A mind that “joins” amounts to dedicating ourselves to expressing our indebtedness for the blessing we receive. To contribute is to exhaust and devote ourselves to serve Jiba and our church for the sake of building merit and transforming our causality.

The mind that is arrogant, haughty, lacks the will to maintain connections, cruelly hurts others, and holds grudges against others for their mistakes does not conform with the workings of this aspect of God’s providence.

If we neglect to have joyous acceptance and fail to dedicate ourselves to the path of expressing our indebtedness, this will result in eczema, inflammation of the skin, cuts, burns, ulcers, and osteosarcoma. Mistaken use of the female organ will result in afflictions of the reproductive system such as the uterus. We are taught: “If people tell you, ‘Don’t,’ then answer, ‘Very well.’ If they tell you, ‘No,’ then answer, ‘Very well.’’ In other words, it is important to maintain an attitude that emphasizes joining over cutting. We are also encouraged to let go of our attachment to money and material things and pass through life while continuing to join and contribute as we express our indebtedness for God’s providence.

*This exposition was written by Rev. Chuichi Fukaya, the second head minister of Yamatoyoki Branch Church, and translated by Roy Forbes.