Definition of the Ofudesaki
(21) This is a world constructed on reason. So I shall press upon you everything with the reason in verse.1
(22) I shall press, not by force or word of mouth. I shall press by the tip of My writing brush.2
(23) It is all very well if you err in nothing. But should you err, I shall inform you by verse.3
Illness, dust, and replacing the mind (taught through the analogy of “matters within”)
(24) I pity you when My warnings become manifest. Know that any illness is from the mind.4
(25) What you are calling an illness is not an ordinary one. It is the anger of [Kami] now being shown.5
(26) Because you have not obeyed the words of [Kami] even until now, I could not avoid showing it.6
(27) So much of [Kami]’s regret is now being shown, the matter is beyond the help of doctors and medicines.7
(28) Never think of this one matter as being ordinary. By all means, I shall admonish you with My verses.8
(29) This time, I shall clean the Residence thoroughly. Watch, as I show you how.9
(30) When this cleaning is thoroughly done, the truth shall be known and it will be told and retold.10
(31) What is the cause of My regret thus far? The lameness of your leg is My prime regret.11
(32) You are saying that your leg is affected by illness. It is not an illness but the anger of [Kami].
(33) My anger is not a small matter. It is the result of causes accumulated and piled up.
(34) To say why it is that I am angry: it is because the wrongdoing has not been removed.12
(35) Unless this wrongdoing is completely removed, know that it will stand in the way of the construction.13
(36) No matter how stubborn this wrongdoing may be, it will be removed by the admonishment of [Kami].14
(37) If this wrongdoing is completely cleared away, the lameness of your leg, also, will be cleared away.
(38) If only your leg is made completely well, nothing will remain but to prepare for the construction.15
(39) Just a word: returning her by the thirtieth of the first month is also from the mind of [Kami].16
(40) You close to Me may question what I do. This is because you do not know the future.17
(41) When the day arrives and things are seen, you close to Me will know that [Kami]’s words never err.
(42) Until now, you have doubted the words of [Kami]. You have been saying that they are all false.
(43) Among the words of [Kami], who began this world, there is not even a single mistake in a thousand.
(44) If you begin to see this step by step, be convinced. Every kind of mind will all be revealed.18
Notes
- OC 1:21: Everything in this world is based on My mind, the Mind of Oyagami. This is a world that exists due to the Cosmic Order (Tenri), so I shall caution the order (ri) of your conduct and everything that follows through explanations and instructions in verse. ↩
- OC 1:22: Although I say I will caution you, I shall not do so with physical strength as humans do. I will not scold you with My mouth (i.e., spoken words). I shall teach and caution you only by writing brush. ↩
- OC 1:23: It is fine when everything is in accordance with My mind. However, when if there happens to be anything that is not in accordance with My mind, I shall let you know by verse, so deeply consider (all that I write) so there will no mistakes in your use of mind or ways of thinking. ↩
- OC 1:24: I let you know of your mistaken use of mind by verse because I feel sorry for you when it reveals itself. All forms of illness all originate in the minds of each of you. ↩
- OC 1:25: Although you may call your condition an illness, you must not consider it a simple disease that is normally found in this world. I display My anger, giving you My attention here and now because your mind is not in accord with Mine. (Refer to note for next verse.) ↩
- OC 1:26: I have given you My caution time after time until now, but since you have not made use of them in the slightest, I had no choice but to reveal (your misuse of mind) into the open where people can see it.
*Note: Oyasama’s son Shuji Nakayama had long suffered from a se:vere leg ailment in which his pain would become acute from time to time. Oyasama had previously instructed him that this was not a disease but the admonition of Oyagami, urged him to fully repent and replace his mind, and hastened the cleaning of the Residence. Oyagami’s strict instruction directed to Shuji must not only be seen and understood as an admonition directed to Shuji himself but as an example to all human beings. ↩
- OC 1:27: While a slight disease may be easily treated, since you are on the receiving end of My severe reprimand, your condition ultimately cannot be treated despite the skill of the doctor or effectiveness of the medicine. ↩
- OC 1:28: You must not take your leg ailment lightly in a world manner and think that it is just a disease. I shall explain and instruct you, cautioning you completely of its cause in verse. ↩
- OC 1:29 In order to clarify the truth of the Jiba at this time, it is vital that all of you understand that I will clearly sweep away the dust from this Residence.
*Note: “Residence” refers to the premises where Oyasama lives and is location of the Jiba, the homeland of human beings. ↩
- OC 1:30: When the cleansing of the Residence is complete, the truth of the Jiba will become revealed and this path will naturally spread far and wide.
*Note: The phrase “the truth shall be known and it will be told and retold” (shirite hanashite hanashi suru) means that the truth of the Jiba will be told and spread by those who come to have faith in its truth. ↩
- OC 1:31: Until now, if you must know what I have considered as My greatest regret, it is about your leg ailment. ↩
- OC 1:34 Note: Refer to note for verse 1:39. ↩
- OC 1:35: Unless this wrongdoing is clearly removed from the Residence, know that it will stand in the way of fulfilling (accomplishing; executing) the spiritual construction toward world salvation.
*Note: “Construction” here can be understood to refer to Shuji Nakayama’s efforts to become one with the mind of Oyasama by following and actualizing Oyagami’s intention of manifold forms of salvation as well as the physical construction of Kami’s Residence. ↩
- OC 1:36 *Note: Unusual Japanese expression—shibutoi (“stubborn”) refers to something that is firmly wedded or attached. ↩
- OC 1:38: If the wrongdoing is taken away and your leg ailment is restored to health, all that will remain will be arrangements for the construction.
*Note: “Construction” here is understood as the construction of the mind, that is, the purification of the minds of all people in the world. ↩
- 1:39 *Note: Shuji was single and was not legally married for a long period of time. He had a common-law wife named Ochie who bore him a son named Otojiro and they both lived with him at the Residence. Both Shuji’s relationship with Ochie and the fact that she bore a child was not in accord with Oyagami’s intention from the very beginning. This verse is urging Shuji to send Ochie back to her parental home. ↩
- OC 1:40: You may wonder how strange it may be for Me to urge that Ochie be returned by the thirtieth of the first lunar month (1.30). That is because you do not know what is to occur later.
*Note: “You close to Me” (soba na mono) refers to the people close to Oyasama. It can be interpreted in a narrow sense to mean members of the Nakayama household or in a broad sense to include all the people who gathered to worship at the Residence. ↩
- OC 1:41–4 *Note: Several days after Ochie returned to her home, she fell ill and never recovered. If Shuji had remained bound by human sentiment and had been late in following the date Oyagami set, the cleaning of the Residence would not have been accomplished. ↩