Great Construction

Introduction, Creation of Civilization


     As is already stated in the preface, this volume is a tremendous and unprecedented work that could very well be called an atom bomb aimed at contemporary civilization. The fundamentals that comprise our existing civilization, whether religion, thought, philosophy, education, science, or art, are included in this volume, and because to each field I apply a keen eye for a thorough critique and an unreserved expose, probably quite a few readers will feel compelled to peel off their old coverings and clothe themselves anew. As it becomes widely distributed throughout the world, this book will no doubt cause a great sensation within our existing civilization. Indeed, when completed, I intend to have copies of this volume distributed among as many as possible of the world’s religious leaders, universities, academic societies, opinion makers, authors, and other such well-known persons and institutions. Of course, copies will also be sent to each member of the Nobel Committee, but unfortunately these individuals are all authorities in some branch of sciences based on materialism, so they will find it difficult to comprehend at first, but among that which is explained in this volume also revealed are the fundamentals of science, all immutable truths which if sufficiently examined, should be readily comprehended.
     An important aspect of what I explain in this volume is that until now, our civilization has kept religion and science separate. Maintaining a distance between religion and science has been a serious error which is easily ascertained upon observation of all in the universe. Positive and negative, bright and dark, front and back all exist as two aspects that act as one body as everything on earth unfolds, so to consider these two aspects in separate terms is a mistake. Although civilization may be said to have greatly advanced, that humanity has not realized its most earnest wish for a society of peace and happiness arises mainly from this error. Therefore, throughout this book the discussion will be developed, partial neither to religion nor to science but aiming at a critique of the aspects of both religion and science. The scalpel of dissection will indeed be taken to every aspect of civilization, as there is nothing in all creation on the planet that does not have something to do with humanity; everything is connected in some way.
     It is in this sense that what is biased to a certain sphere is not an eternal truth but only a self-justifying opinion that applies to that age, the repeated occurrence of which is documented by history. Though such-and-such ism, so-and-so thought, this-and-that theory, and such may prevail for a particular period, it is a certainty that as time passes, it will be surpassed by something else. Speaking of those somethings that exist at this very moment and limiting the subject to religion, although there are only several kinds remaining, they are in gradual decline, and it is probably impossible that they will be able to recover the momentum and popularity of former times. The reason for this weakness is that their spheres are limited to matters of faith, and in particular, probably because their greatest defect is that they lack scientificness. Even as regards healing disease, not only do religions have no understanding of the cause of disease, neither do they have any methods for treating disease but for prayer. Such an approach is biased to the mental, the spiritual, so existing religions as well as existing sciences both lack in universality which also means that neither has the power or strength for the accomplishment of total salvation. This volume, however, instructs in ways that lean neither to religion nor to science and teaches reality of the universe to depths of profundity as yet uncovered by human beings. This book is an unfolding and clarification of truth itself.
     To proceed to the main topic of this chapter, if asked what is the greatest desire of human beings, unmistakably the answer is happiness and nothing else. The progress of civilization to the present has undoubtedly had no other aim but the embodiment of happiness. Religion, philosophy, discoveries and inventions, new academic theories, great art, and large-scale revolutions have all come about to contribute toward human happiness, but when we observe our contemporary civilization, we have to ask how much has been realized toward the original goal of happiness. Unfortunately, expectations probably still seem too distant. The external aspects of our contemporary civilization are indeed brilliant and breathtaking, but what about under the surface? Progress toward happiness has no doubt been made but is it not the current situation that this happiness is only on the material side and that on the spiritual side, not only has happiness been unattainable, rather that unease and unhappiness have been unstoppable and that humanity groans in misery at the bottom of a quagmire? Oddly, however, this tragedy has yet to be perceived. The cause of these circumstances is the fantasy that humanity has continued to believe that happiness would increase along with the advances of material civilization. Now, however, with the appearance of this book, becoming aware of how mistaken civilization has been will be unavoidable. Humanity which has long been veiled in the cloud of doubt and lost in a maze will, at this point with a complete change, be led to a clear state, to make a jump with hope for clear prospects.
     As such, our present civilization can be said to be a success materially and a failure spiritually, to put it simply. If civilization which has been built up over the past thousands of year has been half a success and half a failure, then it probably cannot be denied that somehow there has been a great error. Why and how such an error came about is in itself a big puzzle. I have been given the key to solving this puzzle by God. There is an essential aspect to this puzzle. The obtaining of humanity’s greatest desire, happiness which I have referred to above, would mean nothing without the security of human life. Contemporary civilization, however, has not been able to obtain either happiness nor secure its most important element, human life. Civilization is nothing less than powerless to guarantee either happiness or human life. The advances of medical science may be greatly extolled, but it is a fact that these advances have played civilization false. Look! Each nation is unable to cope with the flood of its sick and diseased population. In this regard, astonishing is the report of one of my followers in the United States that the number of patients receiving treatment from a doctor at present amounts to over seventeen million. Since the population of the U.S. is one hundred and fifty million souls, this means a little over ten percent of the population is sick, a phenomenon that surely deserves serious consideration. The U.S. is said to be number one in the progress of medical science, but if the current situation is truly as described above, one would at least think the powerlessness of medical science should be awakened to and perceived by all.

    translated by cynndd


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An essay titled “Kôgai” is recorded on pages 3 and 16 of Record of Oral Teachings, Issue 13 (Mioshieshû) as being introduced by Meishu-sama as an essay from Creation of Civilziation and read at meetings Meishu-sama held with members on August 5 and August 7, 1951, but no essay with this title is found in either Ronbunshû (Compilation of Essays) or Okada Mokichi Zenshû Chojutsuhen (Complete Works of Mokichi Okada Volumes of Essays), which both have pretensions to being complete archives of Meishu-sama’s literary output. The text translated here is from Igaku Kankei Goronbunshû (Collection of Essays Related to Medical Science), page 486, and listed in its table of contents as part of the essays planned for Creation of Civilization. Igaku Kankei Goronbunshû is itself an unknown quantity in that, unlike most Japanese-language publications, does not bear a colophon with publication data. Among the few who have copies of this volume, who compiled it and where it was published remains unknown. Judging from the contents and its physical appearance (an original copy of this book was viewed once by the translator), the book appears to date from the same time period as the other great anthologies of Meishu-sama’s teachings: Goshinsho: Shûkyôhen (Sacred Teachings: Essays on Religion); Sekai Meshiya Kyô Seiten, Geijutsu, Shakaihen (Sacred Texts of World Messianity: Essays on Art and Society), and the volumes of the Jôreihô Kôza (Lectures on Johrei Therapy) series, that is from sometime between 1955 and 1958. Indeed, internal evidence suggests that initial planning for and production of Igaku Kankei Goronbunshû, like that of Goshinsho: Shûkyôhen, was most likely started while Meishu-sama was still alive. The title “Kôgai” does not appear in the final draft of Creation of Civilization, and the contents of the essay appears to be an earlier, very rough draft of S2 “Kisei Bunka no Byûten” (The Errors of Existing Culture).