Tenrikyo Dynamic Mission Terms - Ichibei Nakano

Ichibei Nakano:

Ichibei Nakano of Nagataki Village was a Yamabushi Monk and a practitioner of Shugendo a form of mountain worship indigenous to Japan* and as such was noted for his ability to employ ritual incantations, prayers and magical formulas to invoke spirits and gods, exorcize evil and effect cures of illnesses and troubles caused by supernatural forces such as spirits, curses and malevolent gods.  This happens to be a photo of a real Yamabushi called Sendatsu. He is one of the leaders of the sect,  just like Ichibei Nakano was.

Ichibei Nakano plays a very prominent and important role in Miki's Nakayama's early "Model Story".  He is important to the story because his magical healing incantations were held in high regard by the Nakayama family. His role in the Model Story helps us to understand the deep influence that the truths concerning the supernatural origin of illness and trouble had in the Nakayama family and in the broader region of Yamato. Through his role in the Model Story we can access many of the commonly understood truths that reasonably flowed from the world view that he shared with Miki, the Nakayama family and the villagers. Prior to awakening Miki was said to be particularly pious in her adherence to that world view and the truths that she shared with Ichibei, her family and the other people in her village. After Miki awakened as the Shrine of Moonsun Ichibei provides a stark contrast both because of his absence from the "Model Path" and the relegation of the world view and common worldly truths that Miki once shared with him to the status of non-existent. That shared view and the common worldly truths that flowed from that way of reasoning having been replaced by the totally new path of single-hearted salvation that was opened by our  Parent of origin and Her teaching of a totally new way of reasoning that flows from knowing and understanding the truth of origin by becoming single-hearted with God. 

Once Miki awakened to the truth of origin and began to teach, all of the truths that Ichibei and the Nakayama family adhered to and interacted with remain in both the "Model Story" and the "Model Path"  only as examples of worldly common truths that are intended to be removed from the human mind so that the truth of origin can be revealed. The poems collected as the Tip Of The Writing Brush are written in the form of a conversation between God the Parent's point of view and the point of view that Miki had and shared with her peers prior to Her awakening. Generally when we approach the path of Single-hearted salvation we begin with some variation on Miki's point of view before she awakened and are hastened to quickly move to and adopt God the Parent's point of view. When we ponder this we realize that this is a much more important event than just Ichibei's exit from the story. For Miki a huge collection of worldly common truths that she was once deeply and sincerely attached to and which made up such an important part of her self-image, its intentions, expectations, hopes and fears were swept away in an instant as none of those worldly common truths appear in a mind that has returned to the truth of its origin, the truly sincere mind like clear water.

It might be of some value to note that Ichibei is something of a place holder or example of a practitioner within a tradition of worldly common truths that have been within the human family for hundreds of generations. The example of worldly common truths adhered to in Shoyashiki Village, Yamabe County, Yamato Provence being just a local flavor of the kinds of common worldly truths known and understood all over the world and through all ages. Those truths having been taught by God our original parent in the early days of our species.  That is, worldly common truths that naturally lack the understanding of the one truth of origin. That our condition of solely relying on our self centered imaginings  is naturally the case is quite simply because the truth of origin had never been taught to human beings, so it is natural that we should know nothing of it.  Since the task of knowing and understanding the real truth of our origin is new to us as a species and since it results in a fundamental change in our way of reasoning, it is understandable that we should have such a difficult time understanding and making such a fundamental change. The task is however not impossible and since the truth of origin is native to all human beings equally its completion only requires the sincerity to quickly and briefly cut with past worldly common, self centered expectations and turn our attention inward where our parent of origin is waiting for us with a remarkable gift of free and unlimited workings. 

Finally, imagine if you will, the degree of sincerity that Ichibei Nakano would have needed had he desired to learn of the original cause of all things, the one truth of origin, from the person he knew as Miki Nakayama. Certainly She would have been willing to teach him, however in order to do that he would have had to be sincerely willing to quickly empty his mind just as he had instructed Miki to do, temporarily setting aside the truths that occupied his imagination and allowing his mind to open to the reason that flows from the truth of origin. That unfortunately is something that only the truly sincere are willing to do. 

* Reference materials for The Life of Oyasama - Tenrikyo Overseas Department Tenri, Nara, Japan

| Back to Menu|