March 29, 2021 Kibō no Michi Benkyōkai
Summary of the Shinji from Kyōshu Seishisha Tomomarukō Sensei

Shinji
There is one thing that you must do to attain a life without regrets in this age of Shinkon.
It is to learn the teachings with family members and to strive to create a family that lives by the principles.
To the Shinja
See the state (the truth) of society today—people are fearful and deepen their troubles of their own accord.
Human beings are able to live out their lives guided by their unmei when the principles are their mainstay in their life.
This is the condition (the truth) of human beings who have achieved a life without regrets.
Let me teach you the basic foundation of living the path of the shinja with the correct kokoro.
First, grasp the principles from the teachings and strive to make them your conviction.
Kigan and make them a part of yourself.
Second, strive to maintain your emotions based on the teachings.
The teachings show the way to live correctly.
Third, strive to accept that the changes in the environment is an inevitable flow.
All things change constantly to maintain harmony and balance.
Practice daily these three forms of awareness so that they may become spiritual understanding.
The more the teachings become a part of you as principles, human beings will accept change and suffering does not arise.
When you are in despair or running into problems, your kokoro (thoughts and emotions) often goes into a bad cycle taking you off the right path. Shinji for Kibō no Michi Benkyōkai gives guidance on how to incorporate the teachings to bring your kokoro back on the right path when you are in despair or running into problems. If you follow the teachings of Kami, you will find the light at the end of the tunnel. Kami showed us the following Shinji;
There is one thing that you must do to attain a life without regrets in this age of Shinkon.
It is to learn the teachings with family members and to strive to create a family that lives by the principles.
We are in the age of Shinkon. And the one important principle that represents this age is; “When you follow the Michi (Michi for Kami, Hotoke, and Hito no Michi), the Michi (Michi for Kibō no Michi) will help guide you through.”  What this means is that when you spend each day following Kami, Hotoke, and Hito no Michi(*1), Kibō no Michi(*2) is manifested and you will receive the protection. That is why it is so important to learn the teachings, be aware of your shortcomings, make the effort to correct them, and strive to live by the teachings. There, you will live a life fully extending your potentials, living out a life of fulfillment, hence reaching kaiun(*3).
Kami suggested one thing that you must do to attain a life of fulfillment is to make the effort to learn the teachings with family members and strive to create a family that lives by the principles. Whether you are the father, mother, children, or living away independently from the family, you must keep a healthy relationship with the family, relatives, and close people. It is especially important not to ignore the effort to keep a good relationship among the family which is the foundation of your life.  This is because, no matter how much the world changes around you, as long as you have a firm foundation of the family, you will support each other and stay unconsumed.

 

To the Shinja
See the state (the truth) of society today—people are fearful and deepen their troubles of their own accord.
Human beings are able to live out their lives guided by their unmei when the principles are their mainstay in their life.
This is the condition (the truth) of human beings who have achieved a life without regrets.
Seeing the state of society today, Kami said that people are fearful. While a harmonious family is supposed to anchor people’s kokoro, the reality is, families are not coming together, living their own selfish ways. We hear that conversations between parents and children are getting less, and as a consequence, they don’t know what each other are thinking.  We have to realize that Kami has been reminding us repeatedly about the importance of a harmonious family. And not paying attention to Kami’s words may be the reason to the emergence of problems during this time.
Kami also pointed out that people are deepening their troubles in their own accord. This tells us that the reason behind the problems are not in other people, the society, or the surrounding environment; but it comes from within—your views, your perception, and your ways of thinking.
But when you learn the teachings, and as the principles become the mainstay in your life, your views will start to change for the better. And when this happens, you can live the right path by following Kami, Hotoke, and Hito no Michi, which helps Kibō no Michi to be manifested. When Kibō no Michi is manifested, your abilities will be felt by many, hence you can live out your life guided by your unmei.
You will be protected from getting into accidents and disasters when you live with the teachings and manifest Kibō no Michi. Even if you happen to run into accidents or face some kind of disastrous events, it will become an opportunity that turns your life in a positive way. Everything will flow under the blessings of Kami, and your life without regrets will move forward towards completion.

 

Let me teach you the basic foundation of living the path of the shinja with the correct kokoro.
First, grasp the principles from the teachings and strive to make them your conviction.
Kigan and make them a part of yourself.
Second, strive to maintain your emotions based on the teachings.
The teachings show the way to live correctly.
Third, strive to accept that the changes in the environment is an inevitable flow.
All things change constantly to maintain harmony and balance.
Practice daily these three forms of awareness so that they may become spiritual understanding.
The more the teachings become a part of you as principles, human beings will accept change and suffering does not arise.
To live each day with a positive feeling, free from fear and problems, Kami taught us what to keep in mind; the basic foundation of living the path of the shinja with the correct kokoro. ‘The path of the shinja’ is a path for salvation.
The first of the foundation was; to grasp the principles from the teachings and strive to make them your conviction. Kami is telling you to learn the teachings to know the workings of the world, and the way things should be and acquire a strong foundation of life. And to incorporate the teachings into your way of life, Kami insisted that we kigan—Kigan and make them a part of yourself. So therefore, it is a continuous cycle of learning the teachings, gaining awareness from it, and trying to practice the teachings with kigan. And this is how you can make the teachings a part of how you live each day.
The second; strive to maintain your emotions based on the teachings. People are often consumed by their emotions when the kokoro is in fear and going through problems. To avoid from your emotions and negative personalities coming from your jittai taking over you, there exist the teachings of Kami. The Shinji said; The teachings show the way to live correctly. When you ask for help through kigan so that you can practice the teachings, the teachings will always come across in your mind and help you from being consumed and taken over by your emotions. Although your personalities do not change, rational thinking will come in to save you from triggering an emotional disaster.
Thirdly; strive to accept that the changes in the environment is an inevitable flow. Changes are unavoidable in life. You change, society changes, time changes—there is nothing that is permanent and immutable. Knowing this, we must not be swayed from left to right, reacting to all the changes that occur. If it rains, all you need to do is use an umbrella; don’t be upset with the meteorologists who didn’t give you an accurate forecast. Changes are inevitable, and it is what it is, so it is better to accept them and take them in.
After all, all things change constantly to maintain harmony and balance. Kami teaches us the truth in the two Shinji for March Shinja Kokoro no Michi (March1and 15) that everything in the world is a continuous cycle of harmony and change. Please tie that into the teachings for this Shinji.
We must immediately practice the three important points above—there is no waiting. Turn your awareness into your deep understanding with the help of kigan. A kokoro that naturally follows the teachings is one with a deep understanding. Kami showed that the more you incorporate the teachings into the way you live, human beings will accept change and suffering does not arise.
There may be rainy days. But that is life. There may be days you’re not feeling so well—but we are human, and it is natural to be that way. When something happens, many people go to the overflowing information and knowledge with a hope they find some answer. But you have to realize that sometimes that act leads to even more confusion and worries. When you live with the teachings, and with the protection, everything that happens in life will turn into a blessing. Now is the time to build a strong conviction to live by the teachings.

 

*1 Kami, Hotoke, and Hito no Michi: the world is made up of three worlds—world of Kami, the world of Hotoke, and the world of Hito. It is a teaching that teaches us the correct kokoro to live as a human being.   

*2 Kibō no Michi: it is a salvation revealed by Ōyamanezunomikoto that leads people to a life without regrets. The salvation is achieved by suppressing and correcting the jittai (emotional traits) handed down from the parents and ancestors and drawing out the given unmei. 

*3 Kaiun: to attain the happiness led by your unmei. This can be achieved by living by the teachings, drawing out your given unmei from Kami, and suppressing the negative jittai handed down from the parents and ancestors.