Great Construction

Warp and Woof


     As the truths of the universe come to be understood, one of the most essential factors to know about is the significance of warp and woof, the horizontal and the vertical. I have discussed this subject from different aspects at various instances in my career, but here I will thoroughly discuss these aspects in more detail. First, recognition of the most fundamental factors: as is well outlined in my published works, the sun is fire and fire burns vertically. Opposite to the sun is the moon which is water and flows horizontally. Therefore, the essence of the sun is height and that of the moon is width. To explain the planet earth according to these aspects, the layer of air above the earth is hydrogen, or the spirit of water, and flows horizontally, and fire penetrates this layer vertically. In other words, the spirit of the horizontal and that of the vertical is like the pattern on a piece of fabric, warp and woof, but the pattern is fine and of a density beyond all imagination. There is a very simple example to show this. The human being feels cooler when reclining because the spirit of water flows horizontally and is warmer when standing because the energy pulsing up and down the physical body is the spirit of fire. Fire is spiritual, without form, and positive. Water is physical, material, negative. This principle can also be understood by observing the cultures of the East and West. The east is vertical and so is spiritual and formless as contrasted to the West which is horizontal, physical, and material, and due to this contrast, the West has been able to advance the scientific civilization we see today. As well in the field of religion, Buddhism is vertical and the Chinese ideogram that was chosen to express the Indian word for “sutra” was the ideogram for “vertical.” It is through these sutras, which are written in vertical script, that Buddhism became known throughout most of East Asia. Easterners venerate their ancestors, place great importance on their descendents, and are highly insular. In contrast, in Christianity, ancestors are not particularly worshipped, love between a husband and wife is the keynote, and loving thy neighbor is a basic precept, thus has the religion spread outwards, internationally and horizontally. 
     Because the world until now has consisted of an East whose thought inclined toward the formless and a West whose thought tended toward the material, both cultures were at opposite extremes, so nothing proceeded smoothly. Humanity’s sufferings continued without ever being resolved and the world never knew a time when chaos and confusion did not stop. As we look at the world in this way, there is no reason that a complete, perfect world will be born unless both the vertical and the horizontal are brought together and joined. In which case, the issue becomes when will it be the time for the vertical and horizontal to be brought together. Astonishingly, that time is now, and the employment for the energy to do so is the mission of World Messianity. The badge of the balanced cross that my followers wear represents the joining of the vertical and horizontal. One point I have continuously made is that the activity of Kannon’s power is the same as the junction of the vertical and the horizontal, neither vertical nor horizontal, but vertical and horizontal as well, indeed flexible and free, inclining neither one way nor the other. It is with this meaning that we use expressions like “endless change” and “unrestricted freedom.” In accordance with this principle, the human mind must also come to possess such characteristics. That is, the mind should be centered on the point where vertical meets horizontal, which is what human beings should be referring to by what they mean as common sense. This is the reason I emphasize common sense in my work as much as I do. But because people of common sense seem to appear so common and ordinary, it is the people who are extreme that stand out and seem to be great, so my point does deserve to be deeply considered. Actually, those who tend to one extreme may appear great for a time, but actually they perform no great deeds. History does give a full account of such individuals who certainly do fail eventually. 
     It is truth that the vertical is high but small and that the horizontal is low but large. Therefore, my work proceeds based on this policy. The physical grounds I have constructed at Hakone and Atami, for example, are such. The sacred grounds of Hakone are at a high altitude but small in area, while the sacred grounds in Atami are at a low altitude but spacious. And, since the vertical is spiritual, I constructed the grounds at Hakone first, and as Atami is the physical, afterwards, in line with the order that spirit precedes physical. Proceeding in this way, construction activities have so far progressed smoothly indeed, and if this order is disturbed even a little, obstacles almost certainly appear. God’s economy is truly most regular and systematic with nothing out of place. 

    Light from the East, Issue 5, April 8, 1935
translated by cynndd