152. Dew dripping from the leaf of a tree will finally become the water of the ocean; the fire of a match will eventually burn down even a great city. Even little misdeeds, impurities and transgressions will become great sins if they are neglected; in the end one will lose one’s life and will fall of oneself into the abysmal realm.
153. Not even a little can one neglect the words of God, therefore. A tiny ant hole will destroy even a great dam. Fearful indeed!
154. One should do as many good deeds as possible, even if seemingly unimportant. Great is the recompense of the Divine realm, just as a seed sown in the ground will multiply ten-thousandfold.
155. The true God who is the Master of the universe rejoices when a human being prays to Him with an honest heart for the common good; God favours him with boundless prosperity and progress.
156. God sees every action of every person at all times, and therefore He rewards those who do good with good those who do evil with evil. The recompense for good and evil follows as swiftly as one’s shadow follows one’s body.
157. God constantly gives a pure thing to human beings and makes them do good; He endows their souls with naohi and causes them to shine.
158. He who has no faith loses or damages the naohi given to him at his birth. Therefore his actions will shine not at all.
159. He whose actions and whose soul do not shine is the same as one dead; good for nothing in this world, he is the vessel of an evil god. Man is the administrator of the rule of the universe; he is created in the same form as God and is a part-spirit of the incomparably beautiful spirit of God. Human beings must be shining, therefore.
160. In each moment, whether near or far, light or dark, God sees into every corner of the earth. There is no place in this world where evil can be hidden from God’s view, not even the space for a pin to stand. Take care in your behaviour, therefore.
161. The light of God’s spirit reaches every corner in the world: there is no one who is beyond the protection of god. There is no place, therefore, where the sight of God does not reach.
162. Because man is endowed with a soul which shares in the holy spirit of God, his eye should be equal to God’s and his soul the same as His. But man degenerates into such a wretch, incapable of seeing what will come even one minute later; because he, prompted by evil spirits, darkens his own soul and distances himself from God.
163. If man can feel the spirit of God, the Ruler of the universe, he can see the world as clearly as if he were looking in a mirror.
164. The realm full of boundless joy and pleasure is the Divine realm or the realm of heavenly beings.
165. The polluted realm full of unlimited suffering and anguish is the abysmal realm or hell.
166. Whether one ascends to the Divine realm or descends to the abysmal realm depends purely on one’s own heart.
167. Those who can reach the realm of heavenly beings in the spirit world will be favoured with limitless prosperity, joy and life.
168. The Ruler of the Divine realm is the GOD OOKUNITOKOTACHI (or AMENOMINAKANUSHI). His sublime favour can in no way be expressed in words. In the realm of heavenly beings He manifests Himself as the sun, in the realm of angels (see paragraph 180) as the moon.
169. Humans living in this world are like travellers staying at an inn: the time will surely come when they have to leave. The Divine realm can be likened to the traveller’s birthplace, the body to an inn and the soul to the traveller. The traveller staying at an inn must surely return to his family home; the soul living in the body must surely return to the Divine realm, which is his birthplace.
170. A twisted sword can not return to its original scabbard. A twisted soul can no longer return to the original Divine realm; inevitably it falls into the abysmal realm.
171. The true missionary of God is one whose soul is never disordered. A man who is not prepared to allow his body to be torn apart or beaten or even to perish for the sake of Divine truth cannot be called a true missionary. To one whose soul has reached this state God will give true divine power and He will entrust him with a holy task to make him a treasure of the world.
172. Missionaries and believers who come when they find profit in coming and stay away when they do not are bad people who make God their plaything.
173. When missionaries who communicate God’s words are proud, the punishment is much more severe than when an ordinary believer is proud.
174. This world is a vale of tears, a house of suffering, a realm of demons, an ephemeral world, a world in which today’s prosperity turns to tomorrow’s ruin. But for those who conform to the Divine heart and walk the Divine way, it is the most joyful and pleasant world. There is no place as good. It is the duty of one born as a human being to live as long as possible in the physical body and to leave behind good works which will serve the world and the way, trusting all to God and carrying out truth. This is most important, more so even than living purely as a spirit in the Divine realm.
175. The physical body has its own limits and man cannot live with it for two hundred or three hundred years. Even if he were to live for a thousand or ten thousand years, his life would still be limited. A human lifespan of a mere 120 years is like a dream. Purify your souls, therefore, while your finite body is alive; and prepare yourselves to go to the realm of the spirit life, eternal and limitless.
176. If one is prepared for the journey to the world after death, even death while still young is not in any way to be regretted. But as for one who does not know the way of salvation into the Divine realm or does not have the strength of faith, even though he may be over a hundred, his death even in old age is very regrettable. In the world there is none as pitiable as one who dies without preparation, because he has already lost the chance to change his path.
177. May he who wishes to be saved into the Divine realm observe the Divine words communicated by the Spirit of Mizu. Make firm your soul in faith, persevering and persevering, toiling and toiling, and pray to God through the Spirit of Mizu for the progress of your soul. The soul is the substance, the basis of the human being.
178. This communication, which God makes me write, consists of the direct words of God. It is the light which illuminates the dark night of this world. When it begins to shine, the whole world will become a world of light; the heavenly realm on earth will be realised, full of joy and prosperity.
179. Truth does not spread itself to the people; people spread the truth according to the truth. If you are a missionary, strive to work for the world and for the truth. Heaven, which has no tongue, speaks and persuades with human tongues. This writing is a ship to save the world: the more the time passes, the more precious it becomes. Missionaries who spread this writing will receive help, prosperity and joy from God. Strive then in your faith, be a model for the people, and give glory to God’s name.
180. Vast though the universe and its various worlds may be, there is no place where God does not exist. While there are now two thousand million people living on the earth, few indeed are those who accord with God’s heart and are born in the Divine realm. The Divine realm is divided into two spheres: one is the realm of angels, and the other is the realm of heavenly beings.
181. Consider well that it is living faith that opens the door of salvation. Faith with practice is living faith. Those who only pray and ask things of God without practice remain in a faith which is quite dead. He who can be saved into the Divine realm must be a practitioner of the living faith; he who has dead faith offends God’s heart. Such a one will fall into the abysmal realm and will perish. Take heed!
182. The Spirit of Mizu has descended from heaven and, dwelling in my body, clearly demonstrates the truth about earthly affairs; but few are they who believe. The more so, then, with the Divine realm in heaven. The people in this world cannot see the Divine light because of the impurity of their souls; they themselves fall to the valley floor.
183. God made the Spirit of Mizu descend to explain why good is good and to spread good further and further; thus does He intend to convince hostile demons. Coming is the blessed time of God, when God increases the goodness and prosperity of those who fulfil good for the sake of good. Those who intend evil will immediately perish. The time is at hand when devils will perish instantly through the words of the Spirit of Mizu.
184. Among Shintoists there are many bigoted people who say that Japan is a Divine land where God exists, while other countries are savage countries where God does not exist. Such are words which no Shintoist has the right to utter. In the whole world there is no country where God does not exist. In every place where the light of the sun reaches there is God. Japanese and the Europeans, though they may have differently coloured hair and skin, are the same part-spirits of God. All are children of God, under the rule of the same Divine realm. Shintoists who say in spite of this that the Japanese are direct part-spirits of God, and that Europeans are spirits the same as beasts, are barbarians who know nothing of the truth.
185. When God sowed the seeds of humanity on the earth there came into being races of different colours, yellow, white, black and bronze; but in God’s favour there is absolutely no discrimination. Why should God discriminate, holding one race dear to him and not another, if all are His children?
186. The reason why Japan is a sacred land is because of the appearance of the Spirit ruling this world. Although Japan is therefore called a Divine land, God protects not only Japan but the whole world equally.
187. Soon the whole world will become a Divinely governed realm. Therefore the people who scorn other countries with petty and bigoted words are in opposition to the Divine heart. Change your hearts, therefore, and rid them of errors, wasting not even a day in doing so.
188. Wars between countries and quarrels between people both occur because of human greed. Wars and quarrels are caused by self-love: without regaining one’s divinity, without thinking about the world, one remains quite indifferent to other countries and people, if only one’s own nation is safe or if one alone is happy. These are all the works of evil spirits.
189. By becoming mean and greedy, forgetting to learn from God, one gains nothing. By wishing to plunder other countries, even killing people in order to do so, or desiring to steal the property of others, even knocking them down in order to do so, one will remain frustrated.
190. Many are the people who, seeing the rich lives of others, envy them and wish to hinder their lives in various ways. But they only torment themselves. Such are proud and foolish people, who are quite ignorant of the existence of God.
191. He who serves a wayward god, not drawing near to the God who made everything in the universe and endowed us with body, power and spirit, is an enemy of God. He who disobeys God will surely perish.
192. He who serves a wayward god, serves not God, his true parent, but a malicious god, in spite of God; he is an opponent of God.
193. He who lives amicably with the dark and impure world defies the heart of God.
194. Consider well that, night and day, God favours human beings, coming down into their souls and always reproaching evil and encouraging good. Do not think that it is your heart itself that reproaches the devil in your heart. That which reproaches the devil in your heart is the Spirit of God come down into your soul.
195. Follow God tirelessly, and with the power of your faith expel the devil hiding in your heart. The devil in your heart can not be expelled by anything other than Divine power. If one tried to expel the devil with one’s own power, one would only be overpowered and finally fettered by it.
196. Accept suffering as pleasure. A person with many sufferings is given a heavy mission by Heaven. Take pleasure in your heart. While one remains joyful, one often commits various sins and in this unhappiness germinates. While one remains in suffering one can be humble and one has good opportunities to sow the seeds of happiness.
197. Be as humble as possible not only before God but also before people. Such a one will be elevated by God. Bow before people. Such a one will be adored also by people.
198. Do not revile your brothers and sisters in the world; do not judge them according to good and evil. He who reviles his brothers is an enemy of God. He who judges his brothers is a criminal.
199. Apart from the one and only God, in whose hands are human life and death, no one has the right to judge the goodness or evil of human beings. Rather, one should examine oneself and pity one’s own weakness.
200. When you do not how things will turn out tomorrow, do not concentrate your energy only on acquiring profit of various kinds. Before engaging in any profitable enterprise, one should first ask for God’s permission. Without God’s permission, one cannot accomplish any good by one’s own efforts.
201. He who proudly proposes to bring about everything through his own power is an evil one. Evil ones do not have God’s protection.
202. He who does not practise that which he knows to be good is an opponent of God. He who fails to worship God and pray to Him, while knowing that it is good to do so, is a wrongdoer. He who thinks that it is not necessary to worship God as long as one does no evil is guilty of pride. The absolute good is to love God; nothing exceeds this. God is the holiest being, to be adored by all means. Without God, man cannot live even for a moment in the world. What a shameful thing it is that so few in the world realise this!
203. He who believes the teachings of an accursed god is a criminal before God. He who has anything to be ashamed of must immediately repent and turn to the right way.
204. There are those who deceive large numbers of people, saying: “I am the saviour of the world,” or “I am the Spirit of the God So-and-so.” Take care that you are not fooled by them.
205. There are those gods who only boast, although they possess no actual power. They only cheat people with their exaggerated claims.
206. He who knows how to be proud but not how to be humble becomes the vessel of devils.
207. Using such a vessel, devils will endeavour to deceive the people of the world under the mask of goodness.
208. A devil says seemingly good words, but when examined closely they always contain some deficiency and disorder. Let all therefore practise their faith with care in order not to be brought down into the world of devils through greed.
209. A cunning devil will try to hoax even a Saniwa chosen by God. Therefore let people consider and judge good and evil only according to the words of the Spirit of Mizu.
- Note: “Saniwa” is one who distinguishes between good and evil gods according to the traditional Japanese method.
210. It has even happened that a devil has attempted to deceive the body of the Spirit of Izu (the name of the Spirit of DEGUCHI Nao, the foundress of Oomoto)
211. Saints, sages and great people in the world are such only in the eyes of human beings. They are not perfect, noble or great in the eyes of the omnipotent God. According to the interpretations of modern scholars, the teachings of Shakyamuni, Confucius and Jesus contain errors. The time has come when a true saint will appear and complete the teachings of the three sages.
212. The cause of the present war is none other than the self-loving avarice of both sides; therefore neither is good. Naturally God, who instantly sees through everything, will not fail to give victory to the side that is even only a little more just.
- Note: “the present war” refers to the Russo-Japanese war of 1904.
213. The earthly world will be ruled in peace not by powerful armies but by the people believing in God and holding to the true way.
214. Because armies exist in the world, greed arises and wars occur. The world war is an act of defiance against the heart of God, who hates to see some happy while others are unhappy. Unhappiness is the beginning of happiness: it is inevitable that wars will happen until the world finally attains peace. But in this world the cruelest thing is war.
215. The strength or weakness of a nation depends on whether the conduct of its people is good or evil. If the conduct of a people is just, its customs are beautiful; if customs are beautiful, harmony rules the nation. In the world the strongest is the nation whose people are in unity.
216. When customs are not beautiful and the hearts of the people are not united, the nation will surely be defeated and perish, even if it has tens of millions of soldiers. A nation can never be ruled by soldiers and armies. It can only be ruled by the hearts of a people who believe in God and whose conduct is beautiful. Without belief in the Divine way the nation will finally perish. A house without belief in God will collapse of itself.
217. Knowing that God is worthy of respect and practising good from a true heart–if individual people, families, nations and the world are thus, gentle will be the wind, refreshing the rain, in every direction the universe will fill with joyous clouds and fresh air, and only happy things will there be in the world. When this comes about, battalions and warships and cannon and soldiers will be totally useless; the world will find itself at peace. For the earth to be ruled in peace there must be only one ruler, just as in the sky there is only sun. Never-ending indeed are the conflicts in a world with many kings.
218. In God’s reckoning, the life of one person is as precious as the earth. War, therefore, in which human beings rob each other of such valuable lives, is the greatest evil.
219. The act of taking precious life in defiance of God’s heart is a profound sin against God, who gave birth to humanity and wishes only for its advancement and prosperity. A nation which causes a war commits a great crime against God; it is an enemy of the peace of the world. God will make the true judgment in war and will decide the victor.
220. In the near future a false saviour will appear, and will deceive many people, saying that he is the Spirit of Mizu. But let no one be confused.
221. The Spirit of Mizu is the light of the world, and the light frightens malicious gods. Therefore, when a human being wishes to take this path the devil living in his heart will try to turn him away from the right path. If a human being does not steer himself well, therefore, he will soon bring about his own downfall, becoming the prey of devils.
222. This writing consists of the words of God. Copy it and read it aloud to believers. A man who is proud will be able to understand none of the content of these writings, because God dislikes him. A man who reads humbly God will favour with the ability to understand the deep meaning. Read then with humility and respect.
God is the Spirit animating all things, and man is the administrator of the rule of the universe. When man and God unite, limitless authority and power are manifest.
DEGUCHI Onisaburo
Written on the 15th of the 4th month in the 37th year of Meiji (1904).
