Tenrikyo
Tenrikyo is a Japanese new religion which is neither strictly monotheistic nor pantheistic, originating from the teachings of a 19th-century woman named Nakayama Miki, known to her followers as "Oyasama". Followers of Tenrikyo believe that God of Origin, God in Truth, known by several names including "Tsukihi," "Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto" and "Oyagamisama" revealed divine intent through Miki Nakayama as the Shrine of God and to a lesser extent the roles of the Honseki Izo Iburi and other leaders. Tenrikyo's worldly aim is to teach and promote the Joyous Life, which is cultivated through acts of charity and mindfulness called.
The primary operations of Tenrikyo today are located at Tenrikyo Church Headquarters, which supports 16,833 locally managed churches in Japan, the construction and maintenance of the and various community-focused organisations. It has 1.75 million followers in Japan and is estimated to have over 2 million worldwide.
Beliefs
The ultimate spiritual aim of Tenrikyo is the construction of the Kanrodai, a divinely ordained pillar in an axis mundi called the Jiba, and the correct performance of the Kagura ritual around the Kanrodai, which will bring about the salvation of all human beings. The idea of the Jiba as the origin of earthly creation is called, or the principle of origin. A pilgrimage to the Jiba is interpreted as a return to one's origin, and is thus also known as "returning to O-Jiba". As such, the greeting can be seen at many hotels and guesthouses in Tenri City.Other key teachings include:
- – a constructive attitude towards troubles, illness and difficulties
- – ten principles involved in the creation, which exist in and are considered to be applied continuously throughout the universe
Joyous Life
Ontology
One of the most basic teachings of Tenrikyo is , meaning "a thing lent, a thing borrowed". The thing that is lent and borrowed is the human body. Tenrikyo followers think of their minds as things that are under their own control, but their bodies are not completely under their control.God
The sacred name of the single God and creator of the entire universe in Tenrikyo is Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto. Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto created humankind so that humans may live joyously and to partake in that joy. The body is a thing borrowed, but the mind alone is one's own, thus it is commonly accepted that Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto is not omnipotent.Other gods are considered instruments, such as the Divine Providences, and were also created by Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto.
Tenrikyo's doctrine names four properties of Tenri-O-no-Mikoto: as the God who became openly revealed in the world, as the creator who created the world and humankind, as the sustainer and protector who gives existence and life to all creation, and as the savior whose intention in becoming revealed is to save all humankind.
Through her scriptures, Nakayama conveyed the concept of the divine to her followers in steps:
- Firstly as. was a familiar term for her followers since they commonly referred to the spirits of the ethnic religion of Shinto, which were worshipped and venerated in Japan. To differentiate this divinity from the Shinto spirits, Oyasama clarified its characteristics with phrases such as and.
- Secondly as. The moon and sun could be understood as visual manifestations of the divine. Just as those bodies impartially give the world light and warmth at all times of the day, the workings of the divine are also impartial and constant.
- Finally as. The relationship between the divine and human beings is the mutual feeling of love between a parent and his or her children. The divine does not want to command and punish human beings, but rather to guide and nurture them so that they may live joyfully and cheerfully together. is both paternal and maternal, not simply one or the other.
Followers use the phrase "God the Parent" to refer to God, and the divine name "Tenri-O-no-Mikoto" when praising or worshipping God through prayer or ritual.
Causality
Comparison to karmic belief
The concept of in Tenrikyo is a unique understanding of karmic belief. Although causality resembles karmic beliefs found in religious traditions originating in ancient India, such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, Tenrikyo's doctrine does not claim to inherit the concept from these traditions and differs from their explanations of karma in a few significant ways.Broadly speaking, karma refers to the spiritual principle of cause and effect where intent and actions of an individual influence the future of that individual. In other words, a person's good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed contribute to bad karma and future suffering. Causality and karma are interchangeable in this sense; throughout life a person may experience good and bad causality. In Tenrikyo, the concept is encapsulated in the farming metaphor, "every seed sown will sprout." Karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth, such that one's past deeds in the current life and in all previous lives are reflected in the present moment, and one's present deeds are reflected in the future of the current life and in all future lives. This understanding of rebirth is upheld in causality as well.
Tenrikyo's ontology, however, differs from older karmic religious traditions such as Buddhism. In Tenrikyo, the human person is believed to consist of mind, body, and soul. The mind, which is given the freedom to sense, feel, and act by God the Parent, ceases to function at death. On the other hand, the soul, through the process of, takes on a new body lent from God the Parent and is reborn into this world. Though the reborn person has no memory of the previous life, the person's thoughts and deeds leave their mark on the soul and are carried over into the new life as the person's causality. As can be seen, Tenrikyo's ontology, which rests on the existence of a single creator deity, differs from Buddhist ontology, which does not contain a creator deity. Also Tenrikyo's concept of salvation, which is to live the Joyous Life in this existence and therefore does not promise a liberated afterlife outside of this existence, differs from Buddhist concepts of saṃsāra and nirvana.
"Original causality"
At the focal point of Tenrikyo's ontological understanding is the positing of "original causality," or "causality of origin", which is that God the Parent created human beings to see them live the Joyous Life and to share in that joy. Tenrikyo teaches that the Joyous Life will eventually encompass all humanity, and that gradual progress towards the Joyous Life is even now being made with the guidance of divine providence. Thus the concept of original causality has a teleological element, being the gradual unfolding of that which was ordained at the beginning of time."Individual causality"
Belief in individual causality is related to the principle of original causality. Individual causality is divine providence acting to realize the original causality of the human race, which through the use of suffering guides individuals to realize their causality and leads them to a change of heart and active cooperation towards the establishment of the Joyous Life, the world that was ordained at the beginning of time.Tenrikyo's doctrine explains that an individual's suffering should not be perceived as punishment or retributive justice from divine providence for past misdeeds, but rather as a sign of encouragement from divine providence for the individual to reflect on the past and to undergo a change of heart. The recognition of the divine providence at work should lead to an attitude of, a Japanese word that indicates a state of satisfaction. is a way of settling the mind – it is not to merely resign oneself to one's situation, but rather to actively "recognize God's parental love in all events and be braced by their occurrence into an ever firmer determination to live joyously each day." In other words, Tenrikyo emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive inner disposition, as opposed to a disposition easily swayed by external circumstance.