Great Construction
Sickness and I
When I awoke on the morning of November 29, I was debilitated and really did not want to arise. I touched my body with my fingers and felt fever, especially in the area of the lower abdomen. When I had gone to sleep the night before, I had not felt quite right, so the purification must have started then.
There did not seem to be anything extremely wrong, but my stool was just a bit watery, and it was covered in a reddish color. I thought it must be a light case of dysentery. Dysentery usually takes a half a day or a day to recover from, so I did not worry. I stayed in bed, and by noon I had felt much better, so I ate half my usual amount for lunch. For energy, I also drank a small cup of wine. But in two hours, I felt worse and even had a slight stomachache. My condition worsened towards evening. During the day I channeled Johrei to myself over and over again, and by nighttime I was well enough to see a movie. But I thought if this were dysentery, it should have been over by now, so it is strange that getting better is taking so long.
At this point, I realized my condition was poisoning. The source being a rather well-known wine made in Japan, I will not give the name here. It is a sweet, red wine, and that was why my stool was reddish. When I thought about it, I realized the cause of my condition was the fact that the evening before I had drunk twice the amount of this wine I usually consume. As I already mentioned, since feeling ill, I had continued to channel Johrei to myself and had greatly improved, but then I had drunk a cup of the wine at noontime with lunch, and the condition had again worsened, at which point I realized the cause of the condition. Intriguingly, when I understood the source of my trouble, I sensed my pain eased by more than half, but you can see the great role the nervous system plays in the body’s health. The next day, I had an important engagement, so I traveled to Tokyo even though I still did not feel completely recovered. Using a cane, I toured the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition at Ueno, and viewing the art works seemed to help. The next day I was able to follow an almost regular schedule.
My condition was light and commonplace, not really worth writing about, but there are two points that deserve mention. The first is the wine poisoning. The average person probably thinks that a small amount of wine taken for medicinal purposes would not cause poisoning, but it can cause the condition that I described above, so all should take great care. The cause of this poisoning is probably the great amount of preservatives or other toxic ingredients in the wine. I had experienced poisoning with this wine once some twenty years before and did not drink it for a long while, but I had started to drink a little bit at a time since last year. Nothing happened, so I felt assured enough to increase the amount I drank until this incident occurred.
Second, at the beginning of this article I wrote that if my condition had been dysentery, there would be nothing to worry about. The ordinary person who comes across this statement is probably greatly surprised. Dysentery is cause for great concern among the general populace. If the essence of disease is known, however, there is nothing frightening about it at all. Anyone can come to have this complete assurance and peace of mind. Occasionally I get a fever, but when I do, I do not worry, but rise and tackle my everyday activities. Whether it is diarrhea, headaches, colds, or whatever, all are purifying activities, and the person purifying will recover completely, so undue concern is not necessary. Rather, the toxins will be reduced by the amount purified, so one should look forward to the increased good health and be grateful for their condition. Germs and other kinds of organisms do not concern us. Even if one should come into contact with an infectious disease, one should be thankful that one’s blood will be made that much purer. It is ironical that my followers have not come down with a contagious disease since learning this principle.
I am referring not only to myself, but also to my family members, subordinates, close relatives, all together the some twenty or more people who live in close proximity to me. None have come down with a contagious disease that has not been healed. Nor has hardly anyone been completely incapacitated due to disease. In the occasional case where they come down with a cold or light diarrhea, they channel Johrei to themselves or receive it from a friend, and after one or two days rest, they recover.
I am not being theoretical here but have simply written the facts as they are. Anyone who knows the cause of disease, understands the principles of health, and believes in God, may come to experience this fortune. I have written this essay to let everyone know how they may pleasantly spend their days with full peace of mind.
Eikô, Issue 80, November 29, 1950
translated by cynndd
1 Japanese readers would have immediately recognized the reference to Akadama Port Wine, a heavily fortified, sweet alcoholic drink, still available even now in Japan, but long the only type of Western “wine” Japanese would drink.
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For reference, a translation of “Watashi to Byôki” was also published in Meishu-sama’s Teachings, Booklet One, 1996, pp. 53-56.