Great Construction

Record of Oral Teachings, Issue 15
November 15, 1952

October 7, 1952

     Recently I attended the Japan Fine Arts and the Blue Dragon exhibitions and they were both so terrible I had to write down exactly what I thought. I will run this essay in an upcoming edition of the Eikô newspaper and have all the major people involved in nihonga painting in Japan read it. The whole genre of nihonga painting is about to disappear. Since it would be a shame if nihonga painting were to perish, I have written this essay to make people aware of the problem.
     (Essay: “Nihonga Painting, About to Perish” Eikô, Issue 178, October 15, 1952.)
     As I have mentioned before, I am now writing a book to be called Salvation for Americans, but when you think about it, it wouldn’t be strange to have published in the United States a book called “Saving Japan,” but for some feeble old man from the defeated nation of Japan to put out a book called Salvation for Americans will probably thought to be most impudent. My concern is with salvation for all humanity, so whether it is America or Africa, the places that must be saved, must be saved. This idea is not eccentric. For that reason, rather, upon publication the book should receive attention. There will be those who do see the point. To publish this book in the United States, a translation is necessary, so arrangements have been made to quickly get the book translated. By appealing through newspaper advertisements I also hope to get the Japanese people to read this book. Therefore, I am trying to make the book as clear and understandable as possible. I am sure that members will find it a convenient publication to show non-members. For these reasons, I am putting myself completely into this project. I had an earlier version of a draft read the other day but it really wasn’t finished. What I am having read today has been completely polished. I am sure this will be easy to understand.
     (Essays: “Foreword,” “What Is Disease?” Salvation for Americans, Eikô, issue 179, October 22, 1952)
     I have written an article called “Man Can Control His Fate.” Once you thoroughly understand the points in this article, matters in your life become much easier. These points are especially important for members, so I am having it read at the meeting today.
     (Essay: “Man Can Control His Fate,” Chijôtengoku, Issue 41, page 5, October 25, 1952)
     We often hear of a wife joining our church and the husband showing no understanding at all. This indeed makes things difficult for the wife. But a husband causing trouble because he does not understand is a form of purification. It is a form of purification for the wife. The fact that the wife is purifying in this manner means that she has that much clouds left. When the wife removes these clouds, her husband will not be able to oppose her faith any longer, and indeed will want to join the church as well. This is the law of spiritual affinity. This point should be thoroughly understood. “She doesn’t understand even though I am so nice to her. She is the one who is tormenting and making me suffer so. It is disgraceful,” a husband might say, but this sentiment on his part comes from the wife’s clouds. All human anguish and suffering is purification. The person who says, “These idiots really make life hard for me. It’s all their fault. What a lot of trouble they are!” is the person who is purifying us. When this point is truly understood, we cannot hate the person who makes us suffer. It is essential that human beings understand this point. The idea that all purification removes sins through suffering has been around for a long time. That was the point of faith, and faith meant to practice penance and asceticism. People made themselves suffer by pouring cold water over themselves and by starving themselves. In Japan, praying a hundred times in the shrine or temple yard or running around the town streets in one’s underwear were ways for purifying the soul. Since it was the age of the world of night, the only avenues available for the purification of the soul were hell-like. World Messianity’s way, however, is the opposite, and you can purify yourself with relative ease, without undue suffering. This is the meaning of the art museum as well. You can naturally purify yourself while looking at art objects. You can improve yourself. You can raise the spiritual level of your soul. The entertainment I plan for the audience after the grand services are with this point in mind. The number of entertainers who have performed at these events and later become members is rising. When these people understand faith….It is fine when they become members. But when entertainers raise their spiritual levels, and let their audience hear their words and voices, the audience is able to enjoy the performance while also being somewhat purified. God has devised the world in this way. So this is why World Messianity, directly opposite from the heretofore view of suffering, encourages soul polishing through enjoyment. This is a heaven-like religion. In other words, a religion of the world of daylight.
     The difference between these two approaches is great. That is why I teach that nothing of consequence can come from undue suffering. That is the way I handle matters. For example, suppose I make an object. I neither overly think about it or agonize over it. So, when people say, “You must have really agonized over this,” I am really at a loss as to what to say. To those who are not members I go along with them and say, “Yes, I really agonized over this. It was really difficult.” But what really happens is that when I start to think about making something, unless an idea does not come to me right away, then I pause, stop. I don’t try to force an idea. I put the matter aside for awhile. And, sometime, when I have forgotten about it, an idea will come to me. This is it! So, if a good idea does not come right away, I leave the project alone. The fact that a good idea does not come means that the right time for it has not come. It is very easy because when the right times comes, God lets me know in some way. Matters proceed very smoothly without overly agonizing about them. This experience cannot be imagined with conventional consciousness. Thus, I do not go out of my way to encourage suffering. Some of the pictures I see at exhibitions are truly suffering. The artist should really enjoy the labor of creating a piece, but agony to produce a masterpiece shows in the work. And thus, people who view the work do not receive a good, pleasant impression. Paintings are created through enjoyment, and thus people who look at the paintings receive that feeling of enjoyment. The pictures I see at exhibitions lately are not pleasant. They project a peculiar feeling. They do so because they have been produced under stress. People nowadays are not aware of this relationship, and World Messianity has to keep teaching this point to the world. So, that is why I say fate can be made at will. “At will,” or “freely,” only means that the clouds on one’s soul have been removed. Suffering comes in proportion to the amount of one’s clouds. So, even when we talk about “catching a disease,” we only catch it if our blood is impure. If our blood is not impure, the germs will die. In the same way, suffering and misfortune do not visit us if we have no clouds. In the testimonials published in our church periodicals we often read of people who fell from a high place but were saved. These people should probably have died at that time because of their clouds, but by wearing the sacred focal point, their clouds decreased and so they avoided death. All in the universe moves in accordance with the laws of spiritual affinity. Once this principle is understood, matters go smoothly. If things do not go as you expect, even when you struggle to attain your goal, it means you still have clouds. The fact that your record or your grades are not as good as they could be means that, when divided into high (good) and low (bad) levels, your fate is on a low (bad) level. That of positive value to you passes by. The lower levels of not-so-good fate are reserved for those with higher amounts of clouds. 

Pages 9-13.
translated by cynndd