Teaching of February, 2016

Human beings are born into the physical realm with the mission of establishing an ideal world.  This is God’s Plan.  So, when we function in harmony with the Plan, we can live and work happily, in perfect health.  This is an eternal, immutable truth.

However, no individual is free from the spiritual clouds that are passed from generation to generation.  In addition, due to the ignorance of Truth, people indiscriminately introduce harmful substances into their bodies.  As a result, they sometimes become more susceptible to illness, contrary to expectations.

However, it would be a deterrent to the furthering of God’s Plan if His workers were unable to continue to serve due to illness.  It is natural, then, that He would help these individuals and restore them to health – so they need have no undue anxiety.

Unfortunately, those who are unaware of the meaning of purification believe that the only thing they can rely on is medication, which merely suppresses their illness and does not offer real health since it is not in accord with the law of oneness of the spiritual and physical.

This is true for all suffering, all misery, not only physical sickness.  All are purifications, which have manifested in the form most in keeping with the cause.  For example, when spiritual clouds are created by wrongful practices concerning money or property (such as theft, embezzlement or other acts causing loss to others, or maintaining an extravagant lifestyle), they often appear as subsequent material losses.

There are many instances in wealthy families of “prodigal children” who squander huge legacies.  They do so because they are atoning for the spiritual clouds accumulated by their parents or past generations.  In such a case, the spirit of an ancestor often chooses one of the descendants to perform the mission of purifying the family of its clouds so the family line may continue to prosper and not die out.  It would be absolutely useless, therefore, for anyone to try to reform or change such an individual.

In the case of two sons – one prodigal and unmanageable, the other well-behaved – the first brother would seem bad and a discredit to his family from the ordinary viewpoint.  However, when considered from a Daijo or broader point of view the truth is just the opposite.  The “bad” brother is performing the mission of purifying the family line of its spiritual clouds, so he is doing a greater work.  Thus, it is not possible to determine the good or bad of anything solely from a human viewpoint.

If we take other examples, such as losses due to fire, burglary, fraud, failure in business or in gambling, large expenditures for illness, and so on, we see they also are atoning for wrongs of a material or pecuniary nature.  Whether or not anyone escapes being punished by human laws, no one can ever escape Divine Law, which is absolute.

In the same sense, clouds formed by wrong acts that cause a guilty person to avoid another’s eyes are often purified through some kind of eye trouble.  Clouds caused by hurtful, cynical, or spiteful words that are painful to hear may find purification through ear or tongue trouble.  Those formed by doing something to cause others headaches may bring headaches to the doer.  And so on.  Thus, sooner or later, a purification of the spiritual clouds is inevitable, in conformity with the law of spiritual affinity.

I would like you to remember that rather severe purifications may come to some individuals after they have joined our organization, often in direct proportion to their dedication.  This is a critical time since those whose faith is not strong and firm may waver.  While God wishes to quickly reward these members for their sincerity, their spiritual clouds must first be dispelled to a certain degree, just as dirty containers must be cleaned before they can be used for wholesome food.  If members endure their purifications patiently, without wavering, they will find themselves being blessed far beyond their expectations.

I’ve learned about this from personal experience.  For some twenty years I was burdened with a huge debt, which was so difficult for me to repay I almost gave up.  At last, in 1941, I was able to repay all of it.  How relieved I felt!  The very next year, to my great surprise, unexpectedly large sums of money began to come to me.  I was deeply moved by God’s great Love and Beneficence.

A popular saying in Japan goes, “After the fire, prosperity.”  It means that often a person becomes more prosperous after suffering losses through fire, with fortune taking a turn for the better upon being purified by this means.  Atami City became far more prosperous after its big fire of 1950 than it had ever been before.

What is good is good, of course.  But what seems to be unfortunate or even disastrous is also good, since it serves as a purifying process; and when it is over everything becomes better.  So, if a person can either accept fortune or misfortune, health or illness as something good, something to be grateful for, that person will have true peace of mind.

Of course, this can apply only to someone who has complete faith in God.  Lack of faith leads to impatience, which can increase a person’s suffering or a situation’s severity until it may finally reach ruinous proportions.

For this reason, I would say that the key to happiness lies in understanding this spiritual law of life.

Meishu-Sama

December 2nd, 1953