304. Repent of your sins and pray that you may be saved by the Spirit of Mizu. Be calm, offering all to God.
305. While you have the opinion that your faith is perfect, you still do not even know in which direction the Divine realm lies.
306. If you are sad that you wash and wash and yet your soul does not become pure, that you walk and walk and yet the way becomes further away than ever, know that you are coming a little closer to God.
307. Faith without practice is dead faith, however fervent it may seem. Faith without practice invites only anger in the heart of God.
308. A man who suffers sickness, a man who is distressed by poverty, a man who loses hope, a man who remains without pleasure, may these all follow the teachings of God and hear His voice. Then joy will immediately flower and bear fruit, and all will be favoured by being able to see the prosperity and joy of the realm of heavenly beings.
309. The power which stirs and activates the soul failing through tiredness and distress is naohi (pure spirit). Without the live function of naohi, malicious gods will easily attack and steal the basis of the human soul, and finally even the essence of naohi will be lost.
310. Without Divine wisdom no one can correctly understand the profound Divine truth. He who tries to know the profound truth of God with human wisdom makes a serious mistake.
311. If one examines things not according to God’s teaching but according to one’s own intelligence, one will gain nothing but confusion.
312. In the sight of humans true faith resembles absence of faith; absence of faith often resembles true faith. True faithfulness to one’s parents often appears to human eyes as faithlessness. Faithlessness often seems like faithfulness.
313. True kindness resembles unkindness. Unkindness often seems like kindness.
314. True good deeds often appear to human eyes like evil deeds, and, conversely, evil deeds like good deeds.
315. To human eyes the truly wise person often seems foolish. A foolish person, contrarily, seems wise.
316. God’s teaching is deeper than the deepest sea, and the light of truth is like that of the sun. In the ship of salvation may you easily cross the furious sea of this world and attain the joy of the Divine realm. The ship of salvation is this teaching.
317. That which becomes a treasure of the Divine realm is the true life of the soul, which one can acquire through strong faith and true conduct. This life of the soul never grows old and never dies.
318. Through the teachings of Oomoto, acquire limitless power to struggle against all devils in this world.
319. Happy indeed are those who can hear the Divine words, for none of the saints and sages until now have known this truth or seen this Divine light.
320. The true home of every human being is not this world, but the Divine realm, without aging or death.
321. God created the Divine realm and expects only that the souls of just people may rise up and live in joy.
322. The physical life is finite. It is rare indeed for some one to live to the age of a hundred years. Consequently life on earth is only temporary and destined to perish.
323. The life of the soul is eternal and deathless; it is the life of spirit in the spirit world.
324. What gives to the unageing and undying spirit the eternal joy of the Divine realm? None other than the human soul itself, conforming to the heart of God, having accomplished deep faith and service to God.
325. What invites you to eternal suffering in the abysmal world? Your sin in not believing in God, neglecting Him, and your impure conduct.
326. In the Divine realm there is no sin, no impurity, no sickness and no suffering. How then will you reach this Divine realm?
327. Just believe that the Spirit of Mizu is saviour, cultivate a living faith and perform worthy deeds. The only way is to make the four spiritual qualities function fully (see paragraphs 91, 92, 93).
328. In the Divine realm, the dark night does not exist. The warm and gentle light of the sun (Divine light) shines ceaselessly.
329. The Divine realm is a joyful paradise, in which all things grow and prosper, without withering and without dying.
330. In the Divine realm there is no fighting or disorder. God is full of joy and the heavenly beings sparkle with pleasure; words cannot express its beauty.
331. A man who has been born and died can not be reborn in this world with the same body. Man, whose flesh has this destiny, do not pass the time in this world in vain.
332. While you live in your body, strive to cultivate your faith, improve your conduct and open the door yourself to the realm of heavenly beings.
333. He who during his bodily life cannot open the door to the realm of heavenly beings will not be able to open the door to the Divine realm once he has become only a spirit.
334. While you have your physical body, redeem yourself of your sins, repenting and correcting your conduct: your sins will not be forgiven after your death. A soul whose sins are forgiven during the earthly life will enjoy forgiveness also after death; the soul whose sins are not forgiven during the bodily life will search in vain for forgiveness after death.
335. He who cannot know the Divine realm during the earthly life will be even less able to do so after death.
336. The soul, given by God, must be returned to God. The soul, which comes from the Divine realm, must return to the Divine realm. How then will you excuse yourself before God if, lured into avarice, you wound and damage your four spiritual qualities and finally fall into the abysmal realm?
337. Be obedient to the words of the Spirit of Mizu. With pleasure I will accompany you to God’s side. Surely will I lead you to the side of the Original God, the Master of the world. The realm into which I will lead you is a realm unmoving and unchanging.
338. God knows well that my soul is the Spirit of Mizu. Therefore God uses my body and soul as a holy dwelling place and imparts the joyous tidings of the Divine realm.
339. Therefore, the words which I impart all come from the Divine realm.
340. The pure spring water of Anao (the name of the birthplace of Onisaburo) flows from the heart of God to wash the stains of human hearts.
341. I, born from the spirit of this water, am an envoy of heaven, saviour of the world, come to cleanse the world stained with mud.
342. He who from beginning to end serves God, enduring pain and suffering, can reach the Divine realm with the Spirit of Mizu.
343. Know that to govern the nation, one’s family or oneself, patience and effort are absolutely necessary. They are the most essential qualities for achieving anything. Even more so are they necessary on the Divine path.
344. Know that patience and effort are fundamental to receiving Heaven’s help.
345. Never shun human company. He who looks down upon human beings is in turn looked down upon by God. Three shaku under the ground, there is no distinction between the nobleman and the commoner.
- Note: a shaku is an old Japanese unit of measurement equal to approximately 33 cm.
346. Be gentle and compassionate. That which conquers various sins is compassion.
347. Be noble-spirited and bold. Do not worry about trivial things, do not grumble and do not reproach the faults of others immoderately.
348. Brothers and sisters, be circumspect in your speech. The tongue may spit poison and become a sword. The various sins of the world come mostly from the tongue. Take care!
349. There is nothing more terrible than the tongue. It may become a sword, a serpent, or a devil. That which will make your body and soul fall down into hell is most likely to be the work of your tongue.
350. Praise people rather than reviling them. Reviling a person is the same as reviling God, because all human beings are God’s children. Those who love to revile others are immediately rewarded with unhappiness. Be cautious!
351. People who walk on the true path, people who wish to learn the true way: never envy, revile or judge others. Vilifying another human being is the same as confessing one’s own evil and unreasonableness in front of the other.
352. There is a great difference between good and evil on earth and that in the Divine realm. The way of greatest goodness is only to love God and for His sake to strive for the prosperity of the realms of heavenly beings, heavenly and earthly. Other than this there is no absolute good. And the good must be the love of good (altruistic). The love of evil (egoistic) is the work of a malicious god.
353. On the Divine path do not regard human beings with prejudice. Whatever good words you may say, if your actions are unfair you are not taking the just and true path: you are taking the devil’s path.
354. If one desires the true flower and fruit, one should cultivate the true tree. Missionaries, take care to cultivate and nurture the wisdom to distinguish good from evil, justice from injustice.
355. The activity of a missionary is like a flame, burning mountain and field. Even a tiny flame soon becomes a great fire. In the same way, even a single one of the words and deeds of a missionary moves the world. Take heed, therefore!
356. Assimilating with people in the present world and going their way is not in accordance with God’s pure heart. He who conforms to God’s heart cannot be in accord with people in this impure world. Therefore the need arises first for aramitama (Divine activity) and nigimitama (Divine harmony).
357. Even if one speaks the truth with one’s mouth and thinks the truth with one’s mind, it is a dead truth unless one has the courage to practise it. God likes living truth the most and despises dead truth the most.
358. If ill fortune has prevented you from carrying out true deeds despite your strong desire to do so, God will be indulgent with you for some time, for He knows this well.
359. When your fortune improves, practise without delay.
360. Truth only spoken is a mask and a false thing. This God knows. Therefore, He is not indulgent even for a moment.
361. Do not do evil for the sake of a limited life and abandon your true eternal life; this is a sin which brings about God’s anger.
362. In the world there are many loyal people. But true immaculate loyalty has disappeared in the present time.
363. Loyalty in service for one’s own honour and reward is quite a commonplace loyalty.
364. True loyalty is without honour, without payment and without gifts. Helping God in the holy work, offering one’s body and heart for the nation is true loyalty.
365. Respect and love God with a straight soul. Resting on the head of a just person, God will guard him and shine on his heart. In the world there is nothing more worthy of respect than God.
366. A house built on sand is easily brought down and washed away by flood. Just so is a man with shallow faith. When one or two unfortunate things happen to him, he immediately has rancour against God and loses his faith. Such faith God dislikes most of all.
367. He whom God dislikes cannot reach the realm of heavenly beings. If you wish to reach that realm, first become intimate with God, be in accord with God and serve God.
368. Everything in the world is ruled by God. Therefore, may all ask God and obtain His permission in all things.
369. Know that he who does everything arbitrarily without God’s permission is an opponent of God.
370. That which God allows will surely come about. That which does not come about is not yet allowed by God. In such a case, make your heart tranquil and reflect on good and evil.
371. My body is a holy house of God. The Gods enter into this house and impart the gospel of the Divine realm.
372. The true chief saviour of the world is the Spirit of Mizu or the God Susanoo.
373. Shakyamuni, Christ, Confucius and others are world saviours. Human beings who have contributed to society are also saviours.
374. Those who serve humankind on earth, offering their bodies and hearts, are also saviours of the world.
375. The Spirit of Mizu, the chief saviour, has again come down into the world and made a path of salvation.
376. The chief redeemer of the various sins, heavenly and earthly, is the Spirit of Mizu or the God Susanoo.
377. Consequently, the sins which humans cannot compensate for even in a generation are redeemed and pardoned in the name of this God. Therefore, unless made to the God Susanoo your prayers for absolution will be to no effect.
378. He who sincerely serves God, persevering constantly, receives God’s favour. For God always remains with one who serves Him justly. While one remains with God, there is nothing to fear, on fields or mountains, in seas or rivers.
379. When one travels the world with God, one never loses the way and never perishes. For God’s virtue is clear and He is the true living fountain of life.
380. Making true vows before God, receiving infinite Divine power, overcoming the world in which only devils prosper, and explaining God and the truth, these are the tasks of Oomoto believers.
381. The body and soul of the man who clearly reveals God’s light and truth to the world will in turn be clearly shown by God in the realm of heavenly beings.
382. Even in such a case as when in your heart appear the clouds of avarice and greed and the sea of your emotions rages, if you illuminate your heart with the teaching of the Spirit of Mizu, the clouds will quickly disappear, the wind and waves will be calmed, the sun of admonition will appear and the moon of humility will shine.
383. The human body and soul are both borrowed from God. In the Divine realm, God guards everything at the same time, the material and the spiritual. He who wishes to enter into the true faith must never forget this.
384. Looking at human beings wandering in darkness, God always seeks to lead them to the light and cares for their salvation.
385. Never turn to the way of strife, disregarding the heart of God.
386. Pray to God that you may be saved out of the abominable realm of devils into the beautiful Divine realm. Pray with the name of the Spirit of Mizu. God is Spirit. Pray therefore to God who is Spirit, with your just spirit, given by Heaven. Serving Spirit with spirit is the true faith.
387. People in the present day are all travelling on a dark road. They are making a very dangerous journey, saying as they do that in front of their noses is the darkness of night, and living for the pleasure of the moment. Those who travel in darkness do not notice the deep pit at their feet.
388. Because God pities human beings going thus in darkness, He has sent down the light of the Spirit of Mizu and opened the way to salvation.
389. The shadow of death watches over humans incessantly. With the ticking of the clock, human life draws closer and closer to death. Therefore let no one fail to prepare for the life after death. Without faith a man will be completely unable to prosper either in the material world or in the spiritual.
390. Polish your soul to the point where you do not fear death at all, even if it comes to you now. Constantly nurture your faith, for the shadow of death is always watching over you and it is not certain when your time will come.
