Summary of the Shinji (June 29, 2020) from Kyōshu Seishisha Tomomarukō Sensei

The Shinji for June 29 is revealed to show us the general inclination of people in the upcoming month of July. Knowing this, we are able to deeply understand and have awareness about our own train of thoughts in reacting what is going to happen around us, and thus be protected from being too consumed and face things without hesitation.

The Shinji transforms from foretelling the future, to an unchanging principle as we move forward in time. It will remain as a principle that helps and guides us for many years to come.

The Shinji for June 29 consists of three points of realization, and a deep understanding we must have. The beginning of the Shinji starts off with what we must realize now.

Deepen the learnings of the teachings and live by the principles; the effort to sustain and establish life is important.

It is important to strive to live by the principles with a continuing effort to learn the teachings. Problems and worries prevail due to the lack of effort to learn the teachings in a continuous way.

The society is experiencing changes and is greatly influenced in all aspects of our life amid the pandemic. It is true that many people are feeling vulnerable and anxious due to the uncertainties the world is facing. We hear voices saying that personal incomes have decreased in considerate amounts, or the government money has not reached out to the community, or even truthful voices saying that the government is simply not doing enough for the people to make ends meet in this difficult time. These are all coming from the worries and fears that are deeply rooted in people’s heart in reaction to our current situation. And those worries and fears are what is causing people to be unstable, which affects their daily lives and decision-making process.

As a shinja, who are given the environment to study the Shinji and learn the right path, we need to come closer to become a person who lives by the principles. When the society has come to a stop, follow that flow and do not move too much but wait. And if things have started to reopen and move, follow that flow. We need to understand the importance to think reasonably.

The following is the second of the realization and Kami is showing guidance in more details.

To the Shinja, what is the purpose to live life?

Seeing people’s kokoro in general today, this phrase of the Shinji shows that perhaps there are many who are having troubles keeping a good relationship with their surroundings and are being sensitive to small details. That is why, Kami is revealing this Shinji to remind us to keep calm and telling us to keep the focus on the purpose of life: The true purpose of living our life is to reach kaiun—a life of fulfillment without remorse. And the only way to reach kaiun is to use our unmei, use our given talents and abilities for the world to make it a better place.

Have you realized the treasure—the asset that secures your life?

The treasure that supports and secures each person’s life is our unmei. Every person is gifted with their strengths and their potential without fail. So therefore, the key is to live knowing one’s parameters. This is because, the effort made within the parameters will come to fruition and bear fruits. What we need to do is to give our best and live accordingly to our given unmei.  And with this understanding, it is to do our best in our given role as expected; as a father, as a mother, as an employer, as an employee.

It is human nature that people see clearer about others than about themselves, and create problems within themselves by criticizing and being judgmental. The focus of our life should not be on others, but it should be on the treasure (assets) we have and how to use them in the roles given to us now.

What must be realized now from the teachings are the ‘principles of life’ ‘the true kokoro of human’ and ‘how family should be.’

Kami pointed out three things to realize from this part of the Shinji.

Firstly, the ‘principles of life’ which is the truth that every thing in this world revolves based on unmei and jittai. Unmei is the potential to be useful given from Kami, and jittai is the way of life handed down in the family line. We need to see the truth that life is a journey within the parameters of our given unmei and jittai.

Secondly, the ‘true kokoro of human’ is the balance we need to have between self-greed and being rational and intellectual. This comes from the truth that human beings are filled with greed by nature.  Greed that Kami mainly talks about are; the greed of how we want to be seen by others, our vanity, and the want of wealth and fortune. It is not to say that we shouldn’t have such greed, but it is a balance of wanting too much. And these are the major elements of greed that take over our kokoro as a big emotion and often create worries and problems among us.

And lastly ‘how family should be’ can be understood from the principle that explains a family as a tree—the husband is the root, the wife is the trunk, the children are the branches and the grandparents are the soil that oversees the well-being of the tree. This principle teaches us the importance to live our respective roles.

When people run into problems or worries, it is better recommended to reflect to see if any of the three principles above are lacking or being dismissed in any way. If we lose focus on any of the three principles, there is a good chance that we start wanting something beyond our parameters; consumed by excessive sense of greed, unable to deliver what is expected from our individual role.  And these things gradually lead us to go off the right path, create worries and problems, and at the end of the day, lose our sense of direction in life.

The following part shows the deep understanding. The deep understanding is filled with implication of how our life should be lived.

The more life is lived supported by the teachings with the realization of the fundamentals of life, human beings see the crudeness of one’s jittai and the desire to correct and abide by the path will emerge.

With the three principles being said earlier, we need to strive to live by the teachings and evolve. With all the knowledge, ideas, experiences and information out there in the world, we will be lost without the support of the teachings that points us in the right direction. There are so many people out there that believe anything can be solved by their knowledge and experiences—with the resources we gain through information.

As we realize and see that there exist ties between the unmei-jittai of every being, and the world evolves according to the interactions of each unmei-jittai, it brings us to a point to raise our personalities and work on to correct our jittai. Correcting our jittai will naturally hone our unmei. The more we learn the teachings, we start to see the crudeness or the somewhat ‘childish’ self-centered thoughts we may have had leading us into the wrong direction one step at a time. We start to realize how cynical we were, how complaining we were, or how we were blaming everything on the other person without reflecting on our self. Once we realize on what we can do to fix on our part, make the effort to live the right path. Remember, the focus is on our self—not the other.

If you live each day with this kokoro, the unmei-jittai of human beings will be protected in Kami’s hands and able to live life with one’s unmei.

Our unmei-jittai will be protected when we live with the awareness and consciousness to correct our jittai. And life will likely be lived with less worries and problems because the life is with one’s unmei.  

This is a life of a person who walks life protected by Kibō no Michi.

As we become aware of the realization and the deep understanding explained above and make it a part of how we live, we will be protected by Kibō no Michi that promises our kaiun—a life of fulfillment and without remorse.

The last of the Shinji is revealed to show us another realization to keep our awareness. It is a guidance that makes us realize and see the things we are lacking today.

Strive to become a shinja who lives life supported by the teachings. This one thought will protect and secure your life and will entice and surface a kokoro that would lead to kaiun.

The teachings of Kami are not a religious doctrine. It teaches us the principles of how humans should live. And if we can follow and practice these principles, problems and worries will gradually fade away and we will experience joy and happiness, hence reach kaiun without fail. That is why we need to learn the teachings more, and use the teachings as our guidepost. We need to raise our views and our ways of thinking by learning the teachings and do our best to elevate ourselves.

As the teachings become part of each one of us, life will appear simple, kind, and gentle. We will not be consumed by our emotions at the moment, and not get into feuds and conflicts exchanging words that end up hurting each other as a result—this does not lead to anything good or productive. If the other person is being emotional or upset, listen to what they have to say and empathize. If the other person does not seem to change, do not expect them to change, but change our perspectives in approaching them. Life is not difficult as it may appear if lived according to the principles. Realize and be aware of the path that connects to kaiun, and focus on the movement of our kokoro towards our surrounding and keep focusing on how we live.