Great Construction
A Culture That Gives Birth to Happiness
It is a commonplace that the desire of all human beings can be expressed in the one word “happiness.” Humanity has continued to work toward the goal of happiness for thousands of years, and these efforts have finally led to the dazzling material culture that surrounds us today. The physical side of our world has certainly developed according to expectations, but how many people today believe they can claim true happiness? Picking out even one person in a hundred would probably be difficult. Look at the situation. That the three great sufferings of the world, the terror of sickness, the terror of poverty, and the terror of conflict, cannot be overcome is the human condition. That being so, what we have nowadays certainly cannot be called happiness. Probably everyone fervently embraces the idea of a society in which they can live with at least a little peace of mind.
The purpose of our efforts is to transform this world, to make it into a place of true happiness, and now because there is the possibility that a world of true happiness will gloriously become an actuality, this transformation will be an act of unprecedented salvation. The first step in this transformation is to point out the errors in contemporary culture and show the way the world should be. It will not do to have a culture in form only, one in which only the surface receives attention, as we have had till the present. We must make good the inside as well as the outside. We must construct a society without falsehood. It is no wonder that happiness does not flourish in our world today where people fool others to their hearts’ content and where many persons of evil intent masquerade as good.
In more simple terms, our present world could be described as one in which evil, on a scale of ten, amounts to seven; and good, three. Three is, of course, the measure of true love of justice, but at seven to three, good naturally loses. Because evil so heavily predominates and good is kept under wraps, unfortunate events and disasters continually occur, truly making for a world of suffering. But one thing that we should give serious consideration is that a great amount of evil is not easy to recognize as evil. Because the evil of today is rather more mental in nature, there are quite a few people who skillfully wear the mask of good but actually commit evil acts. The most difficult form of evil to deal with is that in which people mistakenly believe evil to be good and work diligently on its behalf.
The most egregious of this type of mistaken good is that which is performed by the medical profession. That is, in an effort to resolve humanity’s most urgent problem, disease, the many people on all levels who are trying to help others, from the research scientists who study life itself to members of the medical therapeutic profession, are all doing what they think is good, but which, gambling with human life, is actually evil. This situation is something I repeatedly caution the world about.
Another kind of mistake is unknowingly committed by those involved in agriculture. Though it is believed to be good for human beings to create and use fertilizers to artificially increase harvests, farmers do not realize that in reality the use of fertilizers eventually decreases yields. And finally there is the mistaken good of those people who in the name of communism go so far as to sacrifice all in the fight to provide happiness to the great number of people that comprise the lower, working classes.
Basically, these types of people are ignorant and are only doing evil because they believe it to be good. Their strong enthusiasm has been quite effective, but when we look at the causes of our problems today, the wisdom to get to the truth, to distinguish true and false, virtue and evil, is what is most necessary. Even mistaken beliefs, after a long time, come to be embraced by everyone. Thus, present theories about medicine have solidified and become part of humanity’s tradition. Medical science has turned out to be a false belief depended upon by all.
The reason the causes of our problems were not uncovered before was because it was not the right time. Time is the absolute ruler. God has chosen me to reveal the errors of civilization now, and God has given me the wisdom, the divine wisdom, to carry out this appointed task. Even matters not understood by the level of wisdom, I clearly perceive.
Now is the time for the power of evil, presently measured at seven, to gradually weaken, and for the power of good, now at three, to gradually increase, becoming four, five, and finally seven. Those who have grasped true happiness are those who understand what I say when I declare that the world of night is ending and the daylight age is beginning.
March 26, 1952, Eikô, Issue 149
translated by cynndd