Tag Archives: Murakami Kozaburo

Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 97

Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama,

97. Tobacco Field

Once Oyasama said to Kozaburo Murakami of Izumi Province:

“I will show you a vision.”

She showed him the inside of the sleeve of the red garment She was wearing. Kozaburo looked into the sleeve as instructed. There he saw a scene of deep green tobacco leaves growing luxuriantly in his tobacco field. When he came back home from the Residence, he went straight to his tobacco field. There he saw the tobacco growing just as luxuriantly as he had seen it inside Oyasama’s sleeve. Feelings of relief, joy and gratitude welled up within him and before he knew it, he was bowing deeply toward the Residence.

This incident took place when Kozaburo returned to Jiba during the time he had been directing his efforts solely toward saving others and had entrusted the farming entirely to his hired hands. The hired hands worked diligently at growing the tobacco plants and wanted Kozaburo to see the luxuriant field at least once. However, as Kozaburo was devoting all his time to the salvation of others he did not have any spare time to go and see the field. Naturally he was concerned; the thought of the tobacco field was always in the back of his mind. Kozaburo was all the more deeply moved by the omnipotent workings of God the Parent and by God’s parental love in taking care of God’s children.

Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 80–81 Continue reading Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 97 →

Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama 72

Blogging Anecdotes of Oyasama, , , ,

72. Destined to Be Saved

From around April 1880, Kosaburo Murakami of Izumi Province, in the prime of his manhood, began to lose the use of his hands and feet due to sciatica. The pain was so severe that he completely lost his appetite. He went to see doctors and sought as many various kinds of medical treatment as possible but he found no effective cure. His whole family, as well as he himself, lived from day to day in deep depression, feeling as if they had fallen into an abyss of misery.

Out of his ardent desire to be cured, Kosaburo went to Jinnan Village near Tatsuta, as he had heard that a noted herb doctor lived there, but was disappointed because the doctor was not home. At that moment he remembered his servants and the route merchants often speaking of the living god of Shoyashiki and so he decided to return to Shoyashiki Village since he had come thus far.

Thus he returned and was warmly received by Oyasama, who said:

“You will be saved, will be saved. You are destined to be saved.”

Oyasama further told him the teachings which he had never heard before. Then, at the time of his departure, he received three sweet bean dumplings placed on a sheet of paper, and some sacred water. Kosaburo, refreshed with the feeling that his body and mind were cleansed, left for home.

Although he had ridden in a rickshaw over a long distance, he was not tired at all when he reached home; on the contrary, he felt delighted. Then praying, “Namu, Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto, Namu, Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto,” he rubbed the water he had received from Oyasama on his aching hip. As if in a dream, the pain disappeared on the third day.

For the next half a year, each time he returned to Jiba his condition improved a little more, and in January of the following year, 1881, he held a celebration for his recovery. Kosaburo was forty-two years old. Feelings of gratitude naturally made his feet turn toward Jiba.

Returning to Jiba, Kosaburo immediately asked Oyasama how to repay Her for the favor. Oyasama replied:

“It is neither money nor material things. If you are happy because you have been saved, then with that joy go out to save people who are praying to be saved. That is the best way to repay the favor. Strive courageously for the salvation of others.”

Kosaburo firmly pledged to strive for the path of single-hearted salvation of others by following Oyasama’s words.

Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 62–63

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The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 24

Footsteps of Our Predecessors, Translations, , ,

The following is a translation of Part 24 of the series “Senjin no sokuseki” (Footsteps of Our Predecessors) from the December 2004 (No. 432) issue of Taimo, pp. 34–35. This translation is a provisional one at the moment and may require further revision.

Part 24: “Destined to Be Saved”

Kozaburo Murakami was born in a rich farming household in Izumi Province and was known for his honesty and his strict, hard-working nature. He was trusted by the people around him as a reliable man who never refused his assistance.

Continue reading The Footsteps of Our Predecessors 24 →