NEWPATH TENRIKYO - BRIEFLY PONDERING RECOLLECTIONS OF THE TEACHING

           From "Lectures on the Doctrine of Tenrikyo" by Shozen Nakayama the 2nd Shinbashira of Tenrikyo

"[T]he Ofudesaki sometimes repeats teachings already stated before. In organizing the Doctrine, therefore, we considered the Ofudesaki basically as the source in which we are to find the essence of the teachings."

One way of pondering this, is to view the Ofudesaki Poems as a conversation between the eternal, immortal, unchanging, original parental mind of all human minds equally, essentially initiating and attempting to engage in a loving conversation with all of the minds of the world that rise out of it, its "children"(Ofudesaki IV:62). The sole intention of the parental mind being the hastening of the "children" to temporarily awaken from their self-centered dreaming and return to their original condition for a needed repair and replacement.(Ofudesaki XI:53) The intention being that they can then return to play joyously in the free play of the world playground (juyojizai). (Ofudesaki XI:14)