Happy New Year, everyone. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to you for working on various tasks of the path last year.<\/p>\n
The final year of the \u201cthree years, one thousand days\u201d has just begun. A little over two years ago, in the autumn of 2022 (Tenrikyo 185), I announced Instruction Four. Then, in the following year, we embarked on the \u201cthree years, one thousand days\u201d period that we set aside for our anniversary-related activities. It has already been two years since then.<\/p>\n
I announced the Instruction to help all of us in the Tenrikyo community to make progress toward the anniversary with our minds in unison. I wanted us to work for single-hearted salvation in unity of mind, thereby bringing joy and peace of mind to Oyasama.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnity of mind\u201d can be described as a state in which we each completely fulfill our respective roles to achieve the common goal so that we can receive God\u2019s blessings. If we truly work together in unity of mind, we can be blessed with strength that we cannot muster on our own. We can also experience a joy that we could never experience individually. To achieve such unity of mind, we must each first unite our minds with the intention of Oyasama. We must become single-hearted with God.<\/p>\n
A Divine Direction teaches us:<\/p>\n
\nGod rides on the mind and works. As long as the mind is firm, God will ride the mind and work freely and unlimitedly.<\/p>\n
Osashizu, October 2, 1898<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
This passage tells us that we should base ourselves on single-heartedness with God and wholeheartedly dedicate ourselves to fulfilling the roles entrusted to us and performing the tasks that must be carried out in this season.<\/p>\n
As I mentioned at the Autumn Grand Service, I cannot help but feel that, as a whole, the efforts we have been making toward the upcoming anniversary are not entirely sufficient in terms of responding to Oyasama\u2019s intention. I believe, however, that the deficiencies can be remedied depending on how we handle the mind and how we carry out our tasks while handling the mind in a helpful way.<\/p>\n
This is the third year of the \u201cthree years, one thousand days\u201d period\u2014the concluding year for our pre-anniversary activities. We can say either that we have only one year left, or that we still have one-third of the time left. I earnestly hope that you will dedicate your utmost sincerity and work enthusiastically\u2014whether in achieving your resolutions or your individual goals\u2014so that we can make as much progress as possible in responding to Oyasama\u2019s intention. Through such wholehearted efforts, I sincerely wish for this year to be a fruitful one.<\/p>\n
Having shared my thoughts at the beginning of the new year, I now want to conclude my remarks.<\/p>\n
I look forward to working with you again this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Happy New Year, everyone. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to you for working on various tasks of the path last year. The final year of the \u201cthree years, one thousand days\u201d has just begun. A little over two years ago, in the autumn of 2022 (Tenrikyo 185),\u2026<\/p>\n