177. At Least One Person (hito hitori nari to)
Oyasama always said:
“I must save at least one person a day. Otherwise, I cannot let the day pass.”
Anecdotes of Oyasama, p. 141
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176. Person with a Pure Heart (kokoro no sunda hito)
On December 26, 1885, Oyasama spoke the following words to Gisaburo Nakata:
“I can hear the words of a person who has purified his heart. But I cannot hear the words of a person who has not purified his heart.”
Anecdotes of Oyasama, p. 141
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175. Seventeen Children (jūshichi-nin no kodomo)
One day in 1885, Oyasama joyously told the people who were with Her:
“Seventeen children will come home from Awa tomorrow.”
However, not only did the seventeen not return, but no one at all came on that day, nor the next day, nor even on the following day. People grew tired of waiting and forgot Oyasama’s words.
About sixteen or seventeen days later, seventeen persons arrived from Awa. People were surprised, as the number of persons who returned was exactly the same as Oyasama had mentioned. According to what they said, they had planned to sail off the very day that Oyasama had spoken Her words. However, the weather was bad, and after repeated attempts to set sail, they returned to Jiba some sixteen or seventeen days behind schedule. When Unosuke Tosa and his group heard about Oyasama’s words, they were astonished and deeply moved.
When they were granted an audience with Oyasama, She was very pleased to see them, and said:
“At the present, Awa Province seems a faraway place. There will come a day when you will be able to return here in one night while you are asleep if you wish to do so.”
Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 140–141
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174. If You Let Go Your Strength (socchi de chikara o yurume tara)
Hidenobu Nakano, who had been in charge of horses for the Koizumi feudal clan in Yamato, was also proficient in jujitsu and kendo–fencing. He returned to Jiba one day and was granted an audience with Oyasama. Oyasama said:
“Nakano, you are known as a strong man in the country. Now try and remove your hands,”
and She took hold of both his wrists. Nakano at first exerted only a little strength and tried to free his hands, but She would not let go. So he became serious about it, and with a shout, tried with all his might to pull both hands free. But the venerable Oyasama remained steady with perfect composure.
Nakano, who was still in the prime of life, tried, with his face flushing, again and again with all his might to pull free his hands, shouting each time, “Ya! Ya!” But Oyasama retained an awe-inspiring calm, and continued to smile pleasantly. He could do nothing.
Not only that, the most astonishing thing was that the more he exerted his strength, the more strongly his own wrists were gripped. Finally, they started to feel as if they were being ripped apart. Powerful as he was, Nakano could not bear the pain any longer. “I am overwhelmed. Please release my hands,” Nakano conceded to Oyasama. Then, She said:
“You need not apologize at all. If you let go your strength, God will also let go God’s strength. If you exert strength, God will also exert strength. This applies not only now but always,”
and She quietly released his hands.
Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 139-140
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173. All Days are Lucky Days (mina, yoi hi ya de)
Oyasama taught Naokichi Takai:
“There is not a single day which you ought to complain about. All days are lucky days. People choose a lucky day for a wedding or for raising a house. But the luckiest day is the day when everybody is spirited in mind.”
First: It Begins
Second: Abundance
Third: Nourished
Fourth: Happiness Comes
Fifth: Providence Comes Forth
Sixth: Peace Settles
Seventh: Nothing to Worry About
Eighth: Expanding in All Directions
Ninth: Suffering Disappears
Tenth: Sufficiency
Eleventh: Sufficiently It Begins
Twelfth: Sufficiently Abundant
Thirteenth: Sufficiently Nourished
(and so forth)
Twentieth: Sufficiently Abundant Abundance
Twenty-first: Sufficiently Abundantly It Begins
(and so forth)
Thirtieth: Sufficiently Abundant, Abundant Abundance
Thirty days make a month, twelve months make a year.
And not one day in the year is unlucky.
Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 138-139
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172. Repentance for a Previous Life (zenshō no sange)
There once lived a daughter of a seaweed dealer in Sakai, Osaka, who was inclined to steal. Her parents reverently asked Oyasama the reason why, and Her answer was:
“That is the result of a previous life. Your daughter is not at fault. She only does what her parents did in a previous life.”
The parents then sincerely repented for what they had done, and their daughter was marvelously healed of the bad habit.
Anecdotes of Oyasama, p. 138
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171. The Mountain of Treasure (takara no yama)
Oyasama taught:
“Over a large river, there is a bridge which has no supports. If you cross over this bridge, you will be able to climb a mountain of treasure and receive something marvelous. However, along the way, because the bridge has no supports, it will sway. If you turn back because it sways, you will not receive the treasure. However, if you earnestly strive and cross the bridge without falling, there will be before you a mountain of treasure. If you go to the summit you will receive something marvelous. But since one turns back because of dangers on the way, one does not receive the treasure.”
Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 137–138
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170. Heaven is the Foundation (ten ga dai)
Among the words Shirobei Umetani heard from Oyasama were the following:
“At any shrine or temple of Buddha, pay your respects and then chant Tenri-O-no-Mikoto.
“People worshiping at a place will increase the authority of that place. Because people worship at a place, that place will be able to maintain itself. The place where Ubusuna-gami is enshrined is one of the places where man was given birth. Even people who worship Ubusuna-gami are returning their obligation to God.
“Each other place of worship, whether it be a shrine or temple, is like a single finger of your hand. This place of origin is like having both hands and each hand with all its fingers.
“The foundation of this world is heaven. The core of heaven is Tsukihi.* The core of the human body is the eyes. The core of the human being is the clear water of the mind, the clear eyes.”
* Tsukihi: literally, ‘Moon-Sun’; another name of God the Parent.
Anecdotes of Oyasama, p. 137
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169. This Suits Me Very Well, Doesn’t It? (yō niau yaro na)
In Her later years, Oyasama used to say to Hisa Kajimoto, who was attending to Her:
“Tell me if there is something you want.”
Or:
“If you want to buy something, do so and say that you have bought it for Grandmother.”
Oyasama once bought a gaily colored cloth from a textile peddler and, throwing it over Her shoulders, said with a smile:
“This suits Me very well, doesn’t it?”
And She gave it to Hisa, saying:
“Keep this for yourself.”
On another occasion, Oyasama bought a coral beaded hairpin from a tortoise shell worker who came from Nagasaki, and putting it in Her hair, said:
“This is beautiful, isn’t it?”
She then gave it to Hisa, saying:
“Now you shall have this.”
Thus, occasionally, Oyasama bought something for Herself first and then later gave it to someone else. It is surmised that Her intention was to let others be able to accept these gifts without reserve. And, truly, people who received a gift from Oyasama were stirred with deep emotion.
Anecdotes of Oyasama, p. 136
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168. A Boat Ride (funa asobi)
Oyasama once said to Her granddaughter, Hisa Kajimoto (later Hisa Yamazawa):
“I would like to go for a boat ride. Were I to go, I would not be able to come back for two or three years.”
It is said that with these words Oyasama foretold the day when the teachings of God the Parent would spread overseas.
Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 135-136