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     The Church of World Messianity is completely different from any other religion in existence. I am going to write to a certain degree about the points which make it different; it is not yet time for me to divulge the entire truth.
     As we study other religions carefully, it seems there are in the main two kinds. One is a very simple and easy type; the attitudes of worshipers in this faith expect material blessings and express gratitude for them. As everybody knows, those who have this kind of attitude go to worship their deities every once in awhile, light holy fires for invocation, receive some pieces of paper with writing on them for charms, get amulets to wear, and consult their religions’ oracles. Those who have well-filled pockets may ask for holy music and make some offerings or donations. By doing these things they feel blessed without knowing why and return home feeling good. This is the degree of faith they have. It is the kind of popular believe we often see among uneducated people in Japan, commonly called “Kami-shinjin (devote people who have faith in some kind of deity).” Even this type of faith is organized with proper rules and regulations to back it up, so unmistakably it must be called a religion.
     The other kind should be classified as a “genuine religion.” In every faith of this kind all the members’ names have been registered; officers and ministers devote themselves as their life’s work; and many other individuals strive to spread the teachings. This is a real religion. Its members are sincere and earnest, different from those who only pray because they wish to receive blessings. Those who have advanced in their faith become ardent believers and plunge heart and soul into their spiritual activities.
     In this category there are some religions which are old, established ones and others which are newer. Most of the older ones, perhaps due to the change of the age, tend to be lacking in active spirit and are somewhat stagnant. I often hear that some of these are barely maintaining the status quo. The newer ones are religions which appeared around the end of the Tokugawa government and the beginning of the Meiji Era. They are full of life and are expanding. Most of them belong to Shintoism. Of those belonging to Buddhism, the only one which is full of life, actively working, is a part of the Nichiren sect; the rest are greatly lacking in energy.
     As we cast a glance at all of the established religions, even though there are differences in rituals and formalities we see that the teachings are mostly based on the spirits of their founders, on their personal attitudes or on the prophecies they have received, which are explained in detail. Members, needless to say, are receiving blessings from the deities they believe in, so they are sincerely devoting themselves, giving services for their respective churches. However, there are differences in the depths of their faith.
     All religions strive to satisfy the human desire for happiness by aiming at the realization of a better world, and we agree with them. Most of them, however, seem to stress spiritual blessings without having much interest in material, or physical blessings.

     The Church of World Messianity does not make light of spiritual blessings of course, but we believe that in order to help people wholly spiritual blessings alone are not enough; they should be helped materially, too. This is is our principle. This is where our church differs from other churches.
     Even though someone is aided spiritually, if it is only in his mind that he has been helped he cannot be said to have attained true happiness, for in this complicated world where we live today such happiness can be destroyed at any time; we see it actually happening all around us. For instance, a person may be attacked by some kind of illness; his home may be burglarized; he may be deceived by a wrongdoer and suffer a loss; he may be in trouble because of an unduly high tax imposed him.
     When we go to the root-cause of high taxes being imposed on people we find that it consists of police stations and courthouses, which are necessary because there are evildoers; the nation, which needs expenses for the prevention of diseases because there are so many people who are attacked by sickness; the government, which needs a lot of money for repair work on big damages caused by a huge war started by some individuals who entertained mistaken ideas. All of these make taxes go up.
     There are many other reasons. In this way, the idea of living with perfect peace of mind is perhaps the last thing we can think of. Such being the state of affairs of the world, people cannot attain true happiness unless they are helped both spiritually and materially. This is why our church is helping people from the material as well as the spiritual point of view.
     On the individual level we are helping individuals to receive material blessings; on the social level we are doing our best to expound cultural awareness.
     According to the revelation I received from God, there is a startling error hidden in modern civilization which hardly anyone seems to be aware of, and that error is being made by most people in the belief that it is good, when to the contrary humanity is suffering a great harm from it. In a word, what is being done for the purpose of increasing the welfare of humanity is resulting in the increase of misfortune.
     Above all, this is proved by the actual facts. In spite of the great progress civilization has made, not only has the happiness of humanity not been improved with it but there has been a tendency for its misery to become greater. This civilization we have today is the result of the accumulated efforts of outstanding individuals—great men, saints, scholars of erudition—who worked hard, taxing their ingenuity. It should be one which has reached its peak, therefore you may think there cannot be a terrible mistake being made within such a wonderful civilization. But as stated, I who have been made aware of this huge error wish to help people to learn of it as soon as possible and to share with them the happiness I have been given. I also wish to give guidelines for changing the world into one of ideal civilization, for I know it is God’s Will for me to do so.
    I would now like to write a little bit about myself. I have nothing special to let you know about my past other than that it has just been that of an ordinary person. However, I have come to earth with a strange destiny, the like of which nobody else has had in the history of humanity, for I am here to accomplish the great mission of helping God to save this world, a mission which is completely different from that of Gautama Buddha or of Jesus or of Mohammed, the three best known spiritual leaders. I say this because I am endowed with a power which enables me to do what those great spiritual men could not do. This is the actual truth, as members well know.
     For instance, I can learn whatever I wish to know. I can know not only about the entire universe, including the realm of the gods, the world of other spiritual beings and the physical plane but also about the important things concerning the past, the present and the future, within the scope of what is necessary for the work of saving humanity and establishing a paradise on earth. For that reason I can see what the world will be like in a year, in several years, as well as what my own fate may be, so I can say that it is interesting, too.
     From what I have experienced up to now, I can state that prophecies have come true just as they have been told to me. In other words, what had been an ideal before has become a reality.
     I always make plans and put them into action, and up to now everything has proceeded just as I wished. In literary matters, for instance, when I wish to write some articles they come to me smoothly one after another. I like composing waka poems, as our members know, and when I begin to work on some I can make so many at a time so easily that I myself am surprised; I can compose fifty waka-poems in an hour without difficulty. I wish I could write haiku poems, satirical poems, kanku poems, also some novels and plays. I don’t do s simply because I don’t have time to do all these. I do write some satirical literature and some humourous literature which many of the members are aware of because I have had them published. The norito prayer (Shinto-style prayer) which members chant has been composed by me (on the basis of the Kannon Sutra, 25^th of the Lotus Sutra, written by Gautama Buddha after he attained the highest point of his enlightenment). I had not known anything about the norito style, but it came to me when I started working on the prayer.
     I am now constructing a large-scale prototype of paradise on earth, as many of you know. Whatever I have a need for—such as rocks, and stones, trees and plants—I myself select and make designs for, including the landscaping of the gardens, architecture of the buildings and the interior decorations. The Hall of Worship which I am planning now, to be erected on the Seisei-dai Hill in the miniature paradise, is to be done in the style of Le Corbusier, who holds sway over the international architectural field, except that the Hall will be still more original in form. When it is completed I think it will be worthy of the attention of the entire world.
     Whether it is a building or a garden, when I stand on that location and fix my gaze on the space a complete picture appears vividly in front of me, so it is so simple for me that there is almost no need to think. Of course, I have never specifically learned anything about that kind of thing, nor have I ever taken lessons in any other phase of construction work. However, when I wish to do something a good idea flashes into my mind almost instantaneously.
     I also make flower arrangements, draw and paint pictures, write calligraphies. Except for painting, which I studied some, I am a complete amateur.
     As to the fields of education, economy, philosophy and medicine, I know what they will be like about a century from now. Especially because I am aware of what a mistaken basis today’s civilization stands on, I feel that if I can only reform that civilization humanity will be greatly helped and this world will then be a wonderfully happy one. When I think of it it is hard for me to stay still, to remain quiet without doing anything more. But I cannot take action before the time is right. What I am doing now, in obedience to the divine revelation I have received, is only pointing out the mistakes concerning the problems of health and of agriculture, which are both fundamental necessities for establishing a paradise on earth.

     What surprises me especially is my use of the spiritual energy which I pass on to my members so they too can channel to help sick people and the effectiveness with which these sick people are healed. We have heard of the miraculous healings performed by many spiritual leaders, including Jesus, of course, but almost all of these healings were achieved on the basis of one-to-one, so it was impossible to help millions of people. In order to help all the people of the world, many, many individuals should be able to channel the power without limit. I am working toward just that, with marvelous results. The wonderful expansion of our church is the best proof of this. As I have said before, ours is a divine work which even Jesus or Gautama Buddha did not perform.
     I don’t mean to boast that the power I am channeling is more than that of the power emitted by such great spiritual leaders. I am only writing facts as they are. When I think about the purpose of my being endowed with such a tremendous energy, I cannot help but realize the magnitude of my mission. God never creates anything that is unnecessary. He creates something when there is a need for it and causes it to disappear when it becomes unnecessary. Since this is the truth, which I always state, my God-given mission becomes clear. God has revealed to me all the mysteries of the world and has limitlessly given me profound wisdom.
     I am striving to awaken humanity to the truth revealed to me and am working for the creation of the new, ideal civilization in obedience to God’s guidance. I have been told by Him that since human knowledge has advanced so much today and people cannot be satisfied with the simple way of teaching used in the olden days, it is necessary to give logical explanations which can be accepted by modern society, together with miracles which will prove the validity of the teachings. For this reason God is helping me work many miracles. In this way, on the one hand God has revealed to me the mistakes of today’s civilization and on the other hand He is backing the teaching with miracles. For all of this, for the immeasurable greatness of God’s Will, my heart is totally filled with deep, deep gratitude. When you study the divine work I am actually performing now I am sure you will find no room for doubt as to the truth of the above statement.
     I don’t think that humanity through all the ages has ever even dreamed of such an absolute work of salvation on such a great scale. If those who have been told of this Divine Light Program of God have not yet awakened to it, must be spiritually blind and I am afraid they cannot be saved. If the crucial time which has been called the end of the world is to come in the near future, what a state of panic those who are not prepared may fall into and how much they will repent we cannot tell, but it may be too late for them then.

* * *

“Honkyō to Watashi” first appeared in the magazine Chijōtengoku, Issue 18, November 25, 1950, but was never anthologized in Japanese. “Honkyō to Watashi” has appeared in translation, albeit with some changes.

“Sekai Kyusei Kyo and Myself,” True Health, 1987, page 20. The original text was divided into three sections including two sub-headings. The text under the two sub-headings were reproduced as separate chapters in True Health, thus,
    “Sekai Kyusei Kyo and Myself,” page 20.
    “The True Salvation,” page 21.
    “Power of the Spirit,” page 23.

“My Mission and the Johrei Movement,” Meishu-sama’s Teachings, Booklet One, 1996, page 5. This version reproduced the text as a whole, but adds two other sub-headings in addition to the original two sub-headings.