Great Construction
Because It Is Religion
Something that I always find intriguing is that any sickness or disease is often satisfactorily cured by means of the treatment technique which I created. This is not something that is easy for me to say, but it is probably a wonderful healing practice never before seen in the history of humanity. That is because through this treatment it is not impossible that patients on whom the doctors have given up, have been saved, have become individuals who are able to live free from illness and will probably enjoy a life span of over a hundred years. Even in the case of tuberculosis, the most dreaded disease of all, if patients have not ingested too much medicine, ten persons in ten are able to completely recover, so there is no need to fear that such as the tuberculin germ. Patients can have peace of mind because, even if infected, the condition is easily healed. In addition, once one knows that all forms of infectious diseases are purifying functions necessary for health, one is rather happy to get them, dysentery, typhus, encephalitis, diphtheria, small pox, and measles can all be completely cured in several days, if no other measures are applied.
Particularly to be noted is that people today may find it surprising to have a cold welcomed, but from our perspective, a cold is an action that cleanses the physical body, makes one a possessor of purified blood, and increases health. Therefore, the major reason that there are so many varieties of diseases recently, beginning with tuberculosis, is that catching a cold is feared and measures are taken to avoid colds and their symptoms. So, if our treatment technique is known, it is understood that sickness is good because it is a purifying action and also understood is that the sickness will certainly be cured. Of course, what is known as bacteria and germs are not an issue anymore either. Troublesome routines such as disinfecting, gargling, and excessive hand washing are not necessary, so daily life becomes easier. Such great happiness and freedom from anxiety is beyond description. Still, even though such benefits are touted by us, it is something that contemporaries who are so afraid of illness cannot even imagine. They probably feel as if they were listening to an account about another world.
Furthermore, even when they hear of or see this new astounding curative treatment, its significance does appear to get across to any of them, particularly intellectuals. Its significance goes right through them and does not seem to stay in their brains. We ourselves are really at pains to understand this attitude. To put it plainly, the only way to account for this attitude is because it is religion.
Moreover, once in a while it is widely reported in the newspapers that a dog’s heart was transplanted into a human being, or that the eyeball from a dead person was excised and the retina transplanted into a living blind individual who became able to see, or that some new medicine has been invented, or that such and such therapy has been a success. We can only think that these occasions are just like a kid who is thrilled to have performed some new trick or deed. When I write in this way, some may think that ole Okada is going off on one of his fantastic tangents again and may even doubt our sanity, but that is most likely how people who may think this way have become captives of existing culture and their brains, fossilized. Above all, what we want to stress is that readers should thoroughly investigate whether it is a fantastic tangent, insanity, or a falsehood. Nay, I think the desire to look into the matter should arise naturally within, but such has not happened yet. Of course, we are always ready to show with actual examples as much as necessary so that others sincerely understand. But a willingness to investigate and understand is never shown and silence is maintained which is probably because it is religion.
Another item I would like to mention is that of the essays I have written about my new healing therapy, I do believe that even if one of my essays were deleted, the remaining would still have enough value to receive a Nobel Prize. But, if all the theory and actual examples of my therapy were known, it would probably be impossible that not only would the Nobel committees not joyfully welcome the results, neither could they decide. That is because, these are the kind of people who were thankful for the electrical light that distinguishes the dark from the light, but now they will encounter the light of the sun as the night becomes day. Therefore, it would probably not be an exaggeration to say that this great discovery, as opposed to the atomic bomb which has the power to destroy humanity, is an atomic bomb that has the power to rejuvenate humanity. Even though my words may be read, they probably do not have the power move the hearts of readers. As always, most intellectuals probably divert their eyes and have no interest at all. Needless to say, it is because it is religion.
Ah, ah. With such a great discovery, the difficulty of imparting enlightenment is indeed keenly felt.
Eikô, Issue 104, May 16, 1951
translated by cynndd
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“Shūkyō Naru ga Yue ni” was published at the top of side A1, the front page of Eikō, Issue 104 on May 16, 1951, and although no translations are known to exist, this essay was reprinted in Igaku Kankei Goronbun Shū (Collected Essays on Medical Science), an anthology that did enjoy a limited circulation. This volume contains no publication data, but internal evidence suggests that its editing stopped several months preceding Meishu-sama’s death. Furthermore, since it contains no publication data, whether the volume had Meishu-sama’s imprimatur or not is unknown, and details concerning this volume are probably impossible to research. Even church heads and executives of the Hakone-Atami headquarters would not get access to this essay until the publication of an exclusive internal-use only anthology in 1971. Meishu-sama’s “Shūkyō Naru ga Yue ni” was not available to the general public until publication of Volume 9 of Chojutsu-hen (Prose Works) of Okada Mokichi Zenshū (Complete Works of Mokichi Okada) on April 23, 1996.