Great Construction

The Key to Mystic Wisdom, Issue 1 (Kōmyō Society)

QUESTION: In the case of having to make new ancestor tablets because the originals were destroyed by the bombing during the war, would it be all right to inscribe together on one tablet the names of husband and wife that previously had been on two separate tablets?
     What should be done in the case where a husband remarried after the death of the first wife? Then again, in the case where there are several brothers and sisters, would it be all right to put them all on one tablet?

MEISHU-SAMA: One couple on one tablet is all right. In the case of a second wife, inscribe a separate tablet for her and place it independently in front of the couple’s tablet. Inscribe the names of the brothers and sisters correctly and in order. On one tablet is all right.

QUESTION: In the case of reburial due to relocation of the cemetery, how many generations or years since death would it be all right to put into one tomb? Also in this case, for the way of performing the necessary rituals and disposal of the old tomb, what should be done?

MEISHU-SAMA: For those with whom you had an acquaintance, put one person on each tomb and for those with whom you did not have an acquaintance, it would be all right to put them together If the tomb gets full, it is all right to put them together.

QUESTION: When a person dies, what happens to the three spirits, primary, secondary, and guardian, in the spiritual world?

MEISHU-SAMA: The primary spirit performs the same activity as in the physical world. The only difference is that there is no physical body. There is no need for the guardian spirit, so it performs a different function. In some cases, it may be reborn in the physical world.
     After the secondary spirit has purified in the spiritual world for a while, it will be born again to a different person. All the spirits that have fallen into hell and most of the spirits in the intermediate spiritual world are still attached to secondary spirits.

QUESTION: In the case of the death of a follower of Shrine Shinto, the names are enshrined with the name on earth followed by the Chinese ideogram for mikoto. If the family happens to have joined our path, would it be all right to enshrine them that way?

MEISHU-SAMA: For the time being, using the names on earth followed by the Chinese ideogram for mikoto (lord), hiko (prince), or hime (princess), and so on, will be all right.

QUESTION: In the case of a Buddhist family who two or three generations ago changed to Sectarian Shinto, and now has changed to this path, what would be the correct way to enshrine the ancestors?

MEISHU-SAMA: When changing religions, the ancestors get angry, so their enshrinement should be left as is, and only the person or persons who changed affiliation should be enshrined in the Shinto manner.

QUESTION: I understand that in Japan, it is the local deity of birth-place who brings the two together in marriage, but in the West is there someone who corresponds to the local birth-place god?

MEISHU-SAMA: It appears to be that in the West there is no deity that corresponds to the local birth-place god.

QUESTION: Is it true that all the gods and deities gather at Izumo during the time traditionally known as kannazuki [“month when there are no gods,” the tenth month on the Japanese lunar calendar]?

MEISHU-SAMA: The gods do not gather in Izumo, they leave Izumo and go back to their original country, Korea. Susano-o no Mikoto is enshrined in Izumo, and gods on his lineage return to Korea from Cape Hinomisaki in the province of Izumo. This event concerns people of the Izumo area, but people in other regions have no connection.

QUESTION: In ceremonies such as the Fire Festival of Ontake-kyo, rituals such as “fire-passing” and bathing in boiling water are performed, but why is it that the participants do not feel the heat?

MEISHU-SAMA: It appears to be as the result of training.

QUESTION: There are the Dharma-kaya (Hōshin) Maitreya, the Sambhoga-kaya (Hōjin) Maitreya, and the Nirmana-kaya (Ōjin) Maitreya. Would you explain the distinction in activity of Hōshin, Hōjin, and Ōjin?

MEISHU-SAMA:  Hōshin is the law. Laws are regulations (that is, the path of the gods and the buddhas, which is the same as the regulations of heaven and earth) to be explained, Amitabha….  Hōjin is salvation by pushing upward. There are two types of salvation. One is to save from above and one is to save by pushing up from below. Shakyamuni is the Maitreya of the earth so he pushes upward. Regarder of Cries is Ōjin so it saves by adjusting to the individual. This is the activity of being pliable and flexible.

QUESTION: There are some shrine sanctuaries that are painted in cinnabar. Is there any special reason for this?

MEISHU-SAMA: Old shrines are of unpainted wood. Newer shrines or those in which human spirits are enshrined are painted in cinnabar. It appears to be the influence of Buddhism.

Bulletin (Kaihō), Inaugural Issue, Kōmyō (Divine Light) Society, January 23, 1949
translated by cynndd

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Note: English readers may find it helpful to know that the question and answer transcription format with Meishu-sama titled “The Key to Mystic Wisdom” (Myōchi no Kagi) appeared in bulletins of four societies. In the Japan Kannon Church, what would become known as “sub branch churches” (chū  kyōkai) with the establishment of World Messianity (Sekai Meshiya Kyō) in February 1950, were known as “societies” (bunkai). In addition to the Kōmyō Bunkai (9 issues), societies with this series in their bulletins that are known to date are the Jisshō Bunkai (3 issues), the Nikkō Bunkai (2 issues), and the Kōhō Bunkai (1 issue).