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.

Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto: in the human body, the providence of eating, drinking, and egestion (elimination); in the world, the providence of the rise and fall of moisture.

This aspect of the complete providence is female and represented in the heavens as the morning star; its direction is east. At human creation, its symbolic form in the muddy ocean was an eel. Its counterparts in the Buddhist tradition are Monju Bodhisattva (Manjusri), Yakushi Buddha (Bhaisajyaguru), Saint Shinran, Ryu-O (“dragon king”), Shennong (“divine farmer”), and Suijin (“water god”).

In the human body, this aspect of the complete providence oversees the functions of digestion, absorption, elimination, the digestive organs, urinary organs, and circulatory system. In the world, it provides the workings that relate to the water cycle—the cycle where water turns into water vapor and vice versa.

Life exists on Earth precisely because of the water cycle. The functions of consumption and elimination as well as the circulation of blood is a part of the water circulation cycle. Water rains from the sky, runs over the surface of the ground, or rises from the ground to become the water we use for drinking and irrigating fields, cook food, or clean things. Further, the protection afforded by this aspect of God’s providence helps absorb the energy from the Sun and releases exhaust heat into space, which allows the Earth to maintain a moderate temperature.

The quality of the mind that is associated with the workings of Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto is free, open-minded, and composed, and gives its utmost when it expresses appreciation, asks for favors, or offers an apology. It is a mind that makes gives first and is aware of the time to do so.

A mind that conforms to the workings of this aspect of God’s providence gives before receiving and contributes to the source/origin.  It is a mind that makes giving as our source of joy, expresses indebtedness and gratitude for God’s blessings, and implements filial piety or devotion to our parents.

The act of hoarding food, money, assets, and other material goods in apprehension of what might happen in the future as well as expressing discontent about the weather especially runs contrary to the protection provided by Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto. By doing so, we risk encountering situations where we cannot eat even though food is placed in front of us, become constipated, or fail to absorb sufficient nutrients from the food we eat because of afflictions in our digestive organs such as the stomach or disorders involving parts of the lower excretory system such as the bladder, the urethra, or the anus. Other forms of guidance may include miscarriage or premature delivery. It is important to accept heaven’s gifts with sincere joy, reform any self-love we may have on our part, contribute what is expected of us, and wake early enough so we can greet the morning star each morning.

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