104. Faith in God
In the middle of September, 1882, fifteen-year-old Yonetaro, the first son of Denjiro Tomita, then forty-three years old, was in critical condition from a recurrence of stomach ailment. The elder followers in Wadasaki Town sincerely prayed for his recovery. Within three days, he was wondrously saved. In gratitude, Denjiro returned to Jiba for the first time, accompanied by his mother, Jun Fujimura, who was seventy-six years old.
When Denjiro was led by an intermediary to have an audience with Oyasama, She asked him:
“Where did you come from?”
“I came from Hyogo,” he answered. Then Oyasama continued:
“You did? Hyogo is such a faraway place, I am happy that you have come.”
Further, she asked:
“What is your occupation?”
“I am a konnyaku* seller,” answered Denjiro.
Then Oyasama said:
“You are a konnyaku seller, then you are a merchant, aren’t you? A merchant must buy dearly and sell cheaply.”
She further instructed:
“Faith in God is to believe in God just as you do in your own parent who gave you birth. Then your faith will become genuine.”
Denjiro did not understand what was meant by “to buy dearly and sell cheaply.” It seemed to him that he would suffer losses and could not help but go bankrupt if he ever followed Her words. Therefore he asked one of the seniors at the Residence, who explained as follows. “When one lays in a stock of goods from wholesale dealers, one should buy somewhat more dearly than others to avoid risk of their going bankrupt or having some other trouble; when one sells goods one should sell somewhat cheaper than others, making only a small profit; then, one’s wholesale dealers will prosper and one’s customers will be happy; one’s shop will also prosper. This is the principle of mutual prosperity with no suffering of losses in return.” Now Denjiro understood.
On the same occasion, She granted him sacred paper** and sacred powder of roasted grain. He gave these to his mother, Jun Fujimura, who brought them home to the town of Miki. By virtue of these grants, marvelous healings occurred one after another, and the teachings spread all over Banshu Province thereafter.
* Konnyaku: a gelatin-like food made from the root of a certain plant.
** Iki-no-kami: literally, ‘paper of breath;’ paper which has been made sacred through the breath of Oyasama.
Anecdotes of Oyasama, pp. 87–88