Religious Leaders From Japan

"神ありて我あり 我欲忘れて報恩 理を立てて身が立つ 今を全う kami arite ware ari ga yoku wasurete hō on ri o tate te mi ga tatsu ima o matsuto u"

"生も死も、借りしものにはなかりけり ただあるものは、神のおもわく sei mo shi mo, karishi mono ni wa nakarikeri tada aru mono wa, shin no o mo waku"

"幽斎は宇宙の主宰に感合し親しく八百万神に接す。其の修し得るに至ては至大無外、至小無内、無遠近、無大小、無広狭、無明暗、過去と現在と未来とを問はず一も通ぜざるは無し。是即ち惟神の妙法。"

"219. 手厚く信心をする者は夢でもうかつに見るな。神は、夢にでも良し悪しを教えてくださる。"

"183. 信心する者は、山へ行って木の切り株に腰をおろして休んでも、立つ時には礼を言う心持ちになれ。"

"223. 思う念力岩をもとおすというが、信心する者が一心を出して願えば、どんなことでもかなえてくださる。"

"159. 神が天地の理を説いて、安心の道を授けてやる。"

"163. 信心は話しを聞くだけでは十分でない。わが心からも練り出すがよい。"

"165. 神は昼夜も遠い近いも問わない。頼む心にへだてなく祈れ。"

"167. 信心といっても別にむずかしいことはない。親にものを言うように、朝起きたら神にお礼を申し、その日のことが都合よくいくように願い、よそへ行く時には、行ってまいりますと言ってお届け申しあげよ。 そして、帰って来たら、無事で帰りましたとお礼を言い、夜寝る時にはまた、その日のお礼を申して寝るようにすれば、それで信心になる。"

"166. 神を礼拝するのに、別に決まりはない。実意丁寧、正直、真一心がかなめである。 日々生かされているお礼を申し、次に、お互い凡夫の身で、知らず知らずにご無礼、お粗末、お気障りなどをしている道理であるから、それをお断りおわび申して、それがすんだら、身の上のことを何かと実意をもってお願いさせてもらうがよい。"

"201. 世間には、水の行、火の行などがあり、いろいろの物断ちをする人もあるが、そのような行はしなくてもよい。巡礼のように白い着物を着てあちらこちらを巡り歩く暇に、毎日の家業を信心の行と心得て勤め、おかげを受けるがよい。"

"Astronomy is religion (天文即宗教)."

"226. 「一心になることは、はなはだむずかしいものと思います。拝みながら、いろいろのことが思われたりして、心の内が定まりませんが、どういうものでありましょうか」と申しあげると、 「一心になる心は、子供をこしらえる時のようなぐあいに思い知れよ」と仰せられた。"

"111. 心は広く持っておれ。世界は広く考えておれ。世界はわが心にある。"

"117. 拝めとも何をせよとも言わない。ただ一つ真の信心をせよと言うのに、その一つができないのか。"

"128. 真にありがたいと思う心は、おかげのはじめである。"

"91. 日に日に生きることが信心である。"

"The state of “Kishin (帰神)” uniting in one with God, is that in which all these virtues are united, while spiritual sense is that in which a part of the divine power is received separately. The great virtue is a name given to the state of “Kishin (帰神)”, the virtue is incomparable and beyond description and is so called throughout the three worlds of past, present and future existence. This is called the divine virtue also."

"80. 用心せよ。わが心の鬼がわが身を責める。"

"230. 金の杖をつけば曲がる。竹や木の杖をつけば折れる。神を杖につけばよい。 神は、曲がりも折れも死にもなさらない。"

"90. 今、天地の開ける音を聞いて、目を覚ませ。"

"133. おかげはたらいの水である。向こうへやろうとすれば、こちらへ来る。こちらへ取ろうとすれば、向こうへ行く。"

"55. 生きている間も死んだ後も天と地はわが住みかである。生きても死んでも天地のお世話になることを悟れ。"

"56. お天道様のお照らしなさるのもおかげ、"

"[And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)] What must be noted here is the plural form used in the statement, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us....” It is not only in Jesus the Christ that the Word dwelt. The Word of God—the Holy Name of the Buddha—dwells in all people and that is what is appearing as the physical body. It is stated here, “... we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Here, St. John is saying that within us dwells the Word of God, that is, the Holy Name of the Buddha, that he saw the glory of it, that this was the glory of God’s only begotten son. This means that we are all the only begotten of God. There are a large number of only begotten sons. People who are lost because they do not realize that they are the only begotten of the Father are like the “prodigal son” who has lost his way. Christians who stick to the usual explanation on this point think that Jesus was the only begotten son of God. However, St. John tells us that we are all children of God, that the glory of God dwells in all human beings, that we are all shining forth, and that we are all the only begotten son of the Father."

"54. 人のことをそしる者がある。神道はどう、仏教がこうなどと、そしったりする。自分の産んだ子供の中で、一人は僧侶になり、一人は神父になり、一人は神主になり、また、役人になり、職人になり、商人になりというようになった時、親は、その子供の中でだれかがそしられて、うれしいと思うだろうか。他人をそしるのは、神の心にかなわない。釈迦もキリストもどの宗祖も、みな神のいとし子である。"

"60. 死ぬ用意をすな。生きる用意をせよ。死んだら土になるのみ。"

"Of course the pen in my hand writes the spiritual teachings in this book, but once I sit at my desk to write for it, I am no longer the ordinary “I.” Holy spirit comes over and inspires me. The strong words for my weak character pour out from my pen. I was surprised at my own words pouring down into the “Holy Song for the Seicho-No-Ie” which has appeared in the House Organ No. 2. When I was at Kameoka I was one day concentrating my mind to write on our teachings. Mr. Kato who had the faculty of clairvoyance was sitting beside me, and told me afterward that he saw a spiritual man quite different from myself writing at the desk. I do not know if we may believe his words. But if there is any founder of the spiritual teachings of “Seicho-No-Ie” it can not be this earthly I."

"24. 鳥や獣がどのようにして生きていくかを考えてみても、神のお恵みがわかる。冬になったといって重ね着をするでもなく、夏になっても一枚も脱ぐことはない。神はそれでちゃんとさしつかえないように育てておられる。"

"It was not until after he had founded his church that he began to call himself by the extraordinary title, "The Living God, The Great God Konkō." He declared that his "roots" were the same as those of God. Yet this remarkable manifestation of an expanded ego was united with the utmost humility. To the end of his life he preserved the character of a simple, self-abnegating farmer. There is no evidence that during his lifetime he ever invited or permitted worship on the part of his followers. Almost on his death-bed he declared with tears of gratitude and humility in his eyes that he could not cease to thank God that He had opened His truth to an ignorant man like himself. The followers of Konkō Daijin have described this dual consciousness as the union of complete man and complete God. It suggests the twofold nature ascribed to Jesus."

"O Parent God who gives life to all living beings, fill my whole being with Your Spirit and all blessings. My life is not my own to claim, it is the life of God, who permeates the universe. My acts are not my own to claim. They are the acts of God, who permeates the universe. May the Lord of Seicho-No-Ie, who has appeared to teach us the Way of God, the Parent of heaven and earth, guide us and protect us."

"66. 金光大神が、"

"今般、天地乃神より生神金光大神差し向け、願う氏子におかげを授け、理解申して聞かせ、末々まで繁盛いたすこと、氏子ありての神、神ありての氏子、上下立つようにいたし候。"

"2. 天地は生き通しである。天地が生きているから、人間もみな生きていられるのである。"

"神仏に信すれば，人様にも神仏のように心持ちて。"

"Konkō Kyō not only declares itself as monotheism but, at the same time, repudiates all ordinary superstitious beliefs and practices so widely prevalent among the nation at large, such as the selling and the wearing of charms and the use of exorcisms, divinations, and formal, repetitious prayers. Its founder, like Jesus of Nazareth, began life as a simple peasant and, like Jesus, Kawate Bunjirō eventually came to the conviction that the great Father of All Life had come to self-knowledge in himself. Chronologically Konkō Kyō is almost exactly coextensive with the history of Christianity in modern Japan. Its study affords material that is remarkably suggestive in making comparison with the progress of the Christian movement."

"39. 天地金乃神はこの世の親神であるから、天地金乃神に信心しているといっても、していないといっても、天地の間に生きているからには、天地金乃神の子に変わりはない。"

"God is all of everything, everywhere. I'm a child of God, His spirit within me. When in Oneness I pray, Heaven and Earth respond. When in Oneness I move, the Universe moves."

"354. 金光大神の話は、学者の話や講義と違って、ここが続き、ここが切れ目ということがない。天地のある間は、天地の話が尽きることはない。金光大神は天地の道理を説くのである。"

"The sacred spirit-training Chinkon [鎮魂] is applied to a man as self-discipline for acquiring a knowledge as to the Soul of the universe by deciphering physicographē of heaven. When one sits at Chinkon, he must sit straight and try to have a zero-state of mind, but with self-consciousness and a firm conviction that he himself is a god so that he may be made as sacred as a god. In this case, he must not try to create a mind-state of nihility or voidness, but he must let it be made naturally in his spiritual-self. This is the way of self-discipline or spirit-training at Chinkon to reduce or annihilate the ‘I’ to nothing."

"375. たとえ人にたたかれても、けっして人をたたいてはいけない。人に難儀をさせるな。よい心にならせてもらえばありがたいと思い、すれ違った人でも拝んであげよ。できるだけ人を助けるようにせよ。"

"There may be some other ways to communicate with the Great Spirit of the universe besides Chinkon, but at present Chinkon is the shortest course of such a sort of training among all. Not only that, but it is the surest training of reaching the noumenon of cosmo-nature."

"343. 縁談には、相性を調べ見合わせるより、真の心を見合わせよ。"

"396. 欲を捨てることについておたずねした時、 「いやいや、私にも欲がある。世界の人を助けたい欲がある。欲を捨ててはいけない」と仰せになった。"

"289. 人から出る日給はわかっても、神から出る日給はわかるまい。"

"291. 何を飲むにも食べるにも、ありがたくいただく心を忘れるな。"

"400. 金光とは、金光るということである。金は金乃神の金、光は天つ日の光である。天つ日の光があれば明るい。世界中に天地金乃神の光を光らせて、おかげを受けさせるということである。"

"It goes without saying that the science of astronomy is the highest grade subject of learning. To my thinking, it is scientifically related to all other subjects of learning, and is the foundation of basic education for all human race. What is more, it is the primal basis that uplifts one and all men intellectually."

"There is existent what is called zero, in other words incorporeity; and therefore corporeity, that is, existence, can be recognized. If there were not existent what is called zero, corporeity, that is, 'non-zero' could not be recognized. Now that there is what is called corporeity, incorporeity namely zero can be recognized. Corporeity and incorporeity, due to the principles of duality, are regarded as a two-in-one body. This world has been and is and will be existent as a being of corporeity-plus-incorporeity due to the principles of duality. "Existence is inexistence," or "corporeity is incorporeity," is a stern truth, as one adage goes, "Matter is void.""