Shinji
Live and have dreams.
Dreams will blossom in the kokoro that lives asking Kami for a positive
kokoro.
Human beings, who live today, have forgotten their dreams and do not have confidence in
their life.
To the Shinja
Live and believe in the strengths of your unmei.
Read the Shinji each day and let them become a part of your kokoro.
Your will to live will gradually grow stronger and you will live with a positive
kokoro.
The Shinji are the principles of life through which Kami speaks to the kokoro (soul) of each
person.
Thus the more they are deeply read, the human kokoro becomes positive and
strong.
This is how the kokoro of human beings is guided and protected by their unmei.
The teachings bring out true health in the kokoro (life) of a shinja.
The kokoro continues to be increasingly fulfilled by love and enveloped in thoughts of
contentment and gratitude.
To know and attain what is true health, learn the teachings with family members and deepen
your family connection with the principles.
When the teachings become the support in life, all people (human beings) live and have
dreams in the hands of Kami.
This month’s Shinja Kokoro no Moto Benkyōkai is about Health. The first part of the
Shinji begins with a deep understanding.
Live and have dreams.
Dreams will blossom in the kokoro that lives asking Kami for a positive
kokoro.
Human beings, who live today, have forgotten their dreams and do not have confidence in
their life.
This is an important set of information you should know about Health and living a healthy life. You must live and have dreams. ‘Dreams’ that Kami points out are not ‘wishes’ of what you want to become, or what you want to do. It is more of a directive to focus on the details of everyday life, enjoying what you can do to serve people with pleasure. For example, setting up your ‘to do list’ for the day, or even just planning what you want to make for lunch today. These may sound insignificant to your health, but they are such important feelings that bring livelihood and energy that affects your health.
To live each day and have dreams, it is important that you ask Kami for a positive kokoro every day in your kigan in the morning and evening, and at any time of the day. And Kami suggests this because our life is consumed in a money-oriented society. Money-oriented points out the materialistic thoughts that reside in our society—seeing everything in terms of gain and loss that results in the loss of your confidence in life.
Confidence is not something that you earn through work or credentials. It is a kokoro that grows as a result of good train of thoughts which was shown in a past Shinji—kansha (gratitude), kandō (inspiration), chōwa (balance), yūki (courage), jishin (confidence). Kansha (gratitude) is a kokoro that has the capability to accept things without judgment. Which leads you to kandō (inspiration), that helps you to react and respond accordingly and with ingenuity to the other person or the situation. And because the kokoro flows from kansha (gratitude) and kandō (inspiration), it brings chōwa (balance)—peace and harmony. Chōwa (balance) then brings forth the yūki (courage) from within to be more involved and proactive which eventually grows into jishin (confidence) about yourself. The loss of confidence emerges when you lack in the kokoro to be useful which discourages the good interactions with people. And having relationship/people issues will leave you feeling with no sense of belongingness and filled with loneliness.
The Shinji is followed by five points that we must realize in order to live a healthy life.
To the Shinja
Live and believe in the strengths of your unmei.
The first thing we must do is to realize and have faith about the wonderful strengths of an
unmei given to you. Do not blame your family that they are not being nice. Do not
blame your boss for not treating you respectfully. Or do not blame the environment for all the
uncomfortableness you are experiencing in life. This Shinji tells you not to expect others to
change for you, but to focus on the inner self and have faith that you can be useful for the society and
strive to hone your capabilities.
The following is the second realization.
Read the Shinji each day and let them become a part of your kokoro.
Your will to live will gradually grow stronger and you will live with a positive
kokoro.
Kami teaches us that the only way to bring out the strengths we own is to read the
Shinji each day and let them become part of your kokoro. The more you learn the
Shinji, you will start to realize some of the things about yourself that think differently from
the principles. Or the differences in values as opposed to others. And if there is something you
realize you need to fix and change about yourself, do so with kigan.
Then, your will to live will gradually grow stronger and you will live with a positive
kokoro. Your will to live is your feeling to be active
about being involved with people. There is a Shinji that teaches us that ‘No one can
live alone.’ And as this one phrase of Shinji tells us, people are meant to
support each other. So therefore, it is better not to be picky and choose who you want to be involved
with, or try to ignore those people you’d rather stay away from—but to treat everyone the same and
with respect. And the more you meet people and interact, the more you learn. And the more you gain
something valuable from people, the more you can give to share that with your own touch of wisdom and
character. Keeping this mindset will help you stay positive each day.
The third realization.
The Shinji are the principles of life through which Kami speaks to the kokoro (soul) of each
person.
Thus the more they are deeply read, the human kokoro becomes positive and
strong.
This is how the kokoro of human beings is guided and protected by their
unmei.
Shinji are the words of Kami. It is not man-made. As Kami reveals in this
third realization; The Shinji are the principles of life through which Kami speaks to the
kokoro (soul) of each person, it is a wisdom that shows us how to live. And because it
comes from the true Kami that exists, the more they are deeply read, the human
kokoro becomes positive and strong.
Shinji has been continuously revealed throughout the Era of Daishin, the Era of
Chokushi, and the Era of Shinkon. And it is a salvation that Kami continues
to reveal for us. And especially the Shinji revealed today are invaluable guidance based on the
movement and where we are heading as a society along with what needs to be done. As long as you follow
the guidance from Kami, your life will be guided and protected by your
unmei—which means that your capabilities will be extended within your parameters and
be able to live a life of meaning and purpose.
And the fourth realization.
The teachings bring out true health in the kokoro (life) of a shinja.
The kokoro continues to be increasingly fulfilled by love and enveloped in thoughts of
contentment and gratitude.
Your kokoro will remain positive and anchored if you continue to be in touch with the
Shinji and live by the teachings. And this state of your
kokoro is true health that Kami teaches us. And your
kokoro will increasingly be fulfilled with love to serve and support
the people you have encountered in your life. You will be enveloped in thoughts of
contentment and gratitude.
Gratitude is a kokoro of acceptance with a big heart. For instance, someone points out your
shortcomings. You will be able to accept their opinions with appreciation and be thankful for their
honesty. People who can always live with gratitude have a healthy mind/kokoro. If the
kokoro is healthy and positive, your physical health will gain stability. Even if you do have
certain health issues passed on to you genetically, the kokoro is protected and you can live
each day without big problems.
Lastly, the fifth realization. This part identifies the concluding point of what health is.
To know and attain what is true health, learn the teachings with family members and deepen
your family connection with the principles.
When the teachings become the support in life, all people (human beings) live and have
dreams in the hands of Kami.
We learned that true health grows from the heart/kokoro. If that is
so, to attain true health, create a family that learns the
teachings with family members and deepen the family connection with the principles.
Strive to have a family that makes the teachings as part of them and have candid conversations.
When the teachings become the mainstay and when the teachings become the support in life,
all people (human beings) live and have dreams in the hands of Kami. As mentioned at
the very beginning, to have dreams is the key to have true health. Having a
dream is to live life in mutual support with your family, having myriads of encounters, and just be
involved with people. A person who doesn’t want to go out and meet new people is without a dream
in their kokoro. When you live by the teachings, you learn to have confidence with who you are,
you can be proactive, you can be useful, and live with enthusiasm—which is to find health, both in your
mind and your body.