There is no Value in the Faith Assigned as a Quota

When a fee-charging psychic tells a man to pay a visit to the shrine near to where he was born 21 times or do a certain thing, he will be at loss whether to do it. Being at a loss means that he must have both an expectation that something good might happen to him and a doubt about it. If I said to the him “That’s good,” would he do it? Or if I said “That’s bad,” would he stop trying it?

• fee-charging　有料の
• pay a visit　訪問する
• be at a loss　途方にくれる
• whether to~  〜するべきかどうか
• expectation　期待

Fee-charging psychics often recommend that their clients do something as a quota such as visiting a shrine for 21 days. Those who make a living in the religious world or spiritual business will order people to achieve a goal that puts them under restraint. By ordering their believers to do something or leading them, they try to show the authority of their group or themselves and their existence value. There is no spiritual value there. There is only a source of income there for corrupt pay-charging psychics.

• recommend　勧める
• quota　ノルマ
• make a living　生計を立てる
• achieve　達成する
• restraint　束縛
• authority　権威
• existence value　存在価値
• income　収入
• corrupt　腐敗した

Suppose there is a man who has visited a shrine near to where he was born for 21 days on rainy days or stormy days regardless of his physical condition. What do you think he is thinking? He must be thinking like “Well, I’ve done it. Is something good going to happen to me?” or ” Is my dream going to be realized ?” Or if he has some worries, he will be expecting that the worries will be resolved dramatically just because he visited the shrine many times.

• suppose　仮定する
• regardless of A　 Aに関係なく
• realize　実現させる
• resolve　解決する
• dramatically　劇的に

But spiritually speaking, this is a demand on gods by humans. Do you think gods will do something for you on your demand? If there are some Kenzokushins (眷属神）, or a subordinate deity, protecting gods at the shrine, your 21-day visit to the shrine will turn out to be adverse effects on you and you’re sure to understand the meaning of the proverb “Let sleeping dogs lie.”

• demand　要求
• subordinate　下位の
• turn out to be~   ~であるとわかる
• adverse effect　逆効果
• be sure to~  きっと〜するだろう
• proverb　ことわざ
• Let sleeping dogs lie　触らぬ神に祟りなし

Well then, what if you keep on visiting the shrine for 21 days for to offer only gratitude to gods? It’s all the same because such actions are nothing more than faith as a quota and exchange conditions for a purpose. These conducts are rude to gods and useless.

• what if S+V?  もしSがVしたらどうだろうか？
• all the same  やはり同じ
• nothing more than  A　Aでしかない
• exchange condition　交換条件
• purpose　目的
• rude　無礼
• useless　無駄な

Only when you feel happy and feel like visiting a shrine, should you visit a shrine to offer gratitude to gods for being kept alive. This is the true faith and such a visit can please gods. When gods are pleased, the visiter touches the magnetism of their holy energy and something good will actually happen to you without having to pray.

• gratitude　感謝の気持ち
• keep A alive　Aを生かしておく
• please　喜ばせる
• actually 　実際に

To visit a shrine is to see a mirror. What appears in the mirror is your mind. If you visit a shrine for the purpose of resolving your worries, they will reflect on the mirror and return to you and you’ll find yourself in dire straits all the more. On the other hand, if you visit a shrine to offer gratitude for your being kept alive, no mattar what troubles you have, what you feel like being grateful for will happen to you.

• for the purpose of ~ing　〜する目的で
• dire straits　苦境
• reflect　反射する
• all the more　ますます
• on the other hand　一方

In this sense, ff you hold memorial services for your ancestors from a sense of duty or a feeling of anxiety, you had better stop doing it. It’s important to do it because you want to. Thoughtfulness you give will be reflected in you and help you.

• sense of duty　義務感
• feeling of anxiety　不安感
• had better~　〜した方がよい
• thoughtfulness　思いやり

生かして頂いて　ありがとう御座位ます

I Ka Shi Te I Ta Da I Te  A Ri Ga To U Go Za I Ma Su

Thank you so much for keeping me/us alive.

Energy of Holy Spirits is Just Like a Living Thing

Magnetism of holy spirits can affect magnetic media such as DVDs. It can also affects bankbooks so much that they cannot be used any more. But this is not the phenomenon which often happens. It rarely happen. Some people will never have such an experience in life because it happens only when they can receive magnetism of holy spirits. If a person’s physical magnetism is that which keeps away from holy spirits, the energy of holy spirits will soon get away.

• magnetism　磁気
• affect　影響を与える
• bankbook　通帳
• phenomenon　現象
• rarely　めったに〜ない

Energy of holy spirits(=magnetism) is like a living thing. It doesn’t always stay at household shinto altars. Unless you take care of yours everyday, it leaves there soon because it’s like a living thing. A shinsatsu（神札） you bought at a shinto shrine you visited is not coated with holy energy at first, but as you deify it at home everyday the energy of holy spirits will gather around it. Offering your gratitude to it, instead of praying for something, would cause holy energy to come close.

• living thing　生き物
• unless S+V　SがVしない限り
• instead of ~ing　〜するのではなく
• cause A to~ Aが〜する原因となる

Magnetism the living thing called holy energy emits is like a pure child, who feels human desires to be heavy and then feels like running away while coming close to where the energy of gratitude is being given off. The magnetism erases the negative magnetism in a place. It does not so much extinguish the magnetism humans give off as change it like overwrite save.

• feel A to be~ Aを〜であると感じる
• give off A  Aを放つ
• erase　消す
• not so much A as B　AというよりむしろB
• extinguish　消滅させる
• overwrite save　上書き保存

I change the water offered to my household shinto altar everyday and hold a memorial service for my ancestors. It takes about 15 minutes in all. As long as you are not used to doing them, you may feel the 15 minutes to be long before leaving home for work. If you feel that you can take care of a shinto altar as well as your ancestral spirits, you should enshrine a shinsatsu to your shinto altar. When you’re not in the mood of holding a memorial service, you don’t have to do it. It’s better not to hold a memorial service than to offer your negative feelings to God.

• in all　全部で
• be used to A　Aに慣れている
• enshrine　祀る

Human beings are lazy by nature. Without a household shinto altar as a symbol, they are apt to forget to direct their mind to God. This world is the dimension where your actions are important in any situation. Your willingness itself is admirable to change the water offered to God during a busy time in the morning. It is the willingness that attracts holy energy which washes away various unnecessary “things.”

• by nature　生まれつき
• be apt to~　〜しがちである
• direct　向ける
• dimension　次元
• wash away A　 Aを洗い流す

生かして頂いて　ありがとう御座位ます

I Ka Shi Te I Ta Da I Te  A Ri Ga To U Go Za I Ma Su

Thank you so much for keeping me/us alive.

the Thicker, the Better

I was told by an acquaintance of mine that a pressure rice cooker was good for brown rice. I had seen an information program on TV in the morning featuring the latest pressure rice cookers. I thought the cookers made rapid progress.

• acquaintance　知人
• brown rice　玄米
• feature　特集する
• progress　進歩

The rice cooker of our family was more than ten years old and its discharge opening was a little bit deformed. As I had bought a lot of brown rice, our family decided to buy a new one. We went to an electronics retail store on a holiday and I was surprised to see a variety of rice cookers ranging from 80,000 to 100,000 yen in price. I couldn’t afford to buy such an expensive one, so I bought a floor sample without its box for about 30,000 yen. Like other pressure rice cookers, it can cook other food as well as brown rice.

• discharge　排出
• deform　変形させる
• electronics retail store　電気量販店
• a variety of A　様々な
• expensive　高価な
• as well as A   Aだけでなく

As it turned out afterwards, pressure rice cookers have to be cleaned every time after you use it though expensive ones might not need washing so often. If you’re thinking about buying one, you should take into account the trouble of washing it. Brown rice cooked with the new cooker was delicious. Brown rice I bought at a supermarket had a unique smell, but Futonorito（フトノリト） brown rice of Mt.Hakusan（白山） is free of such a smell. The texture is good and moderately chewy. And when eating, I feel its unique grilled aroma spread in my mouth.

• afterwards　後で
• every time　毎回
• take A into account　Aを考慮に入れる
• delicious　美味しい
• texture　食感
• moderately　適度に
• chewy　噛み応えがある
• grilled　香ばしい

Since I began to eat the Futonorito brown rice, my physical body has been changing apparently. Seriously, my stool has become thicker and longer than before and its color is ocher. People who pass thick stool are often mentally healthy in fact. When a person is irritated or has something to worry about, he or she tends to have their stool thin or dry like droppings of deer because the act of their digestive system is prevented. When people have a lot of stress mentally and physically, it’s possible that they don’t notice it because of the medicine they take. In this case, they can have a serious illness later if they don’t anything about it.

• apparently　明らかに
• stool　大便
• ocher　黄土色
• deer　鹿
• prevent　妨げる

If your stool is fragmented, it’s a sign that you should change your eating habit. You have to reconsider the nutrition you take everyday, supplementing dietary fibers or drinking more water for example. This can be the prevention of colon cancer, too. I hear that thin stool is a sign of rectal cancer.

• fragmented　細切れの
• sign　サイン
• reconsider　考え直す
• supplement　補う
• fiber　繊維
• colon cancer　大腸癌
• rectal cancer　直腸癌

To improve serious illness, people are apt to depend on some religious faith or strange things, but you’d better not. As long as you’re in the World of Reality, you are subject to physical laws. As you lead a grateful life in the right way, you’ll come to notice something you should amend in your daily life. When your mind has become stable as the result, you should pass thick stool. Your should take your dry, fragmented stool as  a sign to be grateful for that your mind is unstable, that you’re not be grateful enough in everyday life, that you have to improve your diet and so on. Great men’s stool must be thick (smile). How about yours?

• improve　改善させる
• be apt to~　〜しがちである
• religious faith　信仰
• had better not~　〜しない方がよい
• subject　従属して
• grateful　感謝の満ちた
• amend　改める

生かして頂いて　ありがとう御座位ます

I Ka Shi Te I Ta Da I Te  A Ri Ga To U Go Za I Ma Su

Thank you so much for keeping me/us alive.

Cleaning and Washing are Spiritually Important

Spiritual magnetism of our thought energy adheres to things or clothes we use in every day life and our favorite things, especially minerals, stones and jewelry. It also adheres to cars. When a driver changes his car for a used one, his way of driving can change and he comes to drive roughly, more irritated than before though the driver doesn’t know the change. This is because he is affected by the magnetism of the previous car owner. Jewelry given as a memento also do have parents’ mood.

• adhere　付着する
• mineral   好物
• irritated　イライラした
• affect　影響する
• memento　形見
• mood　雰囲気

These things accumulate the present owner’s magnetism but add to that of the previous owner, which fades away gradually. We can’t live afraid of used things after all, so point here is how important our thought energy we gives off everyday is. You can overwrite and renew spiritual magnetism.

• accumulate　蓄積する
• add to A　 Aを増加させる
• fade away　消えてなくなる
• overwrite　上書きする
• renew　更新する

Here’s some point to be careful of. It is that, in terms of spiritual magnetism, cleaning and washing are very important. Suppose that there is a man suffering from depression. He is too depressed to move, so he doesn’t clean his room nor wash his clothes. He sleeps on his bed with its bed sheets and pillow cover dirty, and his room has not been cleaned and the same things lie about. His bedclothes has accumulated negative, depressing magnetism he gives off everyday, and so has the things put around him.

• in terms of A　Aの観点から
• depression　鬱
• lie about　散らかっている
• bedclothes　寝具

Even if he tried to rouse himself to action and be positive, he couldn’t make it. Because he is affected by the things that has accumulated his depressing magnetism and this magnetism has been twining around him. He would be defeated by his own magnetism he emitted in the past. Under such an environment, it’s difficult to improve his depression. However, washing and changing his bed sheets and pillow cover could make a difference. Drying bed clothes in the sun regularly would be good, too. Cleaning his rooms can change the pattern of magnetism affecting him because the things around him are moved.

• rouse oneself　奮起する
• twine　巻きつく
• defeat　打ち負かす
• make a difference　違いを生む

Conversely, if you lived in a spiritually bad place, you could make the place better gradually by giving off magnetism of gratitude everyday. I feel that the law of spiritual magnetism is ubiquitous in this universe. The spiritual magnetism is involved in and affects all and everything, including the development of life. For the modern science to break through the present situation, the unified theory of magnetism and life science will be the key. Misogi-Hrae（禊祓）of ancient Shinto which has been passed down since ancient times is a way to cope with spiritual magnetism. This ancient wisdom might suggest a brand-new future world.

• conversely　逆に言えば
• gratitude　感謝の気持ち
• ubiquitous　いたるところにある
• involved　関わって
• including A　Aを含めて
• unified　統一した
• ancient Shinto　古神道
• cope with A　Aに対処する
• wisdom　知恵
• suggest　示唆する

生かして頂いて　ありがとう御座位ます

I Ka Shi Te I Ta Da I Te  A Ri Ga To U Go Za I Ma Su

Thank you so much for keeping me/us alive.

There is Limitation to What Parents can do for their Adult-Age Children

A reader of this blog says that her adult-age son cannot get a job because of his stuttering and when he was doing a part-time job, he couldn’t continue with his job because of bullying. According to her, her son said he didn’t like manual labor and wanted to die. Hearing this, his mother sent me the message, worried and grieving about him. It seems that as a single mother, she cannot say what she really wants to say to him, feeling small. Single mothers tend to be too protective to their children than mothers in ordinary home environment.

• stuttering　吃音
• bullying　いじめ
• manual labor　肉体労働
• mourn　嘆く
• protective　過保護

If I said the same thing to my mother, she wouldn’t hesitate to say “How miserable you are. Go ahead. Just die” and she might worry and cry, out of my sight. No matter how hard parents arrange everything for their children, parents are to die before their children and the children have to live on their own, which is a rule of this world. There is a limitation to what parents can do for their adult-age son. It is good to listen to him and have compassion on him. By doing so, you can satisfy yourself, thinking “I did all I could do to my son.” If you ignore him in such a situation, you’ll have regrets later.

• hesitate　ためらう
• on one’s own　自分で
• limitation　限界
• compassion　憐れみ
• satisfy　満足させる
• regret　後悔

All such parents can do is hold memorial services for their ancestors to clean the spiritual line of their family line. As the spiritual line is cleaned, it will have good effects on their son. However much mothers worry about their son, things couldn’t be better. It’s advisable for mothers with such a son to offer gratitude to Inner God inside themselves and their ancestral spirits whenever they think about their son, saying in their heart “Thank you so much for keeping my son alive,” instead of worrying about him.

• family line　家系
• effect　影響
• advisable　賢明な
• gratitude　感謝の気持ち
• whenever S+V　SがVする時はいつでも
• instead of A　Aの代わりに

I would say to her son “Don’t you know even a worm will turn? “, “You took the trouble to be born into this world, right? Do you want to end your like like this?”, or “Are you gonna kill your Inner God you received in trust?” There’s nothing bad about manual labor. It’s much better to do manual labor silently and sweating, sometimes scolded by your boss, than to work in your office bullied mentally. Being scolded is common in any company. Future is unknown. There are a lot of successful men who started by doing manual labor.

• Even a worm will turn.　一寸の虫にも五分の魂
• take the trouble to~   わざわざ〜する
• in trust　信頼されて
• silently　黙って
• scold　𠮟る
• common　よくある

When I was a child, I read a book of Mr. Masutatsu Ohyama（大山倍達）, the founder of Kyokushin Karate. Looking at his picture, especially a picture of his braking a natural stone with his bear hand, I, only a child, could see he was a reincarnation of a natural spirit putting on the human body. The stones he broke with his bare hand were round natural ones found in rivers. Normally, natural stones Karate experts use for breaking are flat and rough. But the stones he broke were oval, nearly a sphere, and the surface was smooth. Such stones must have had high density.

• founder　創始者
• bear hand　素手
• especially　特に
• reincarnation　化身
• round　丸い
• oval　楕円の
• sphere　球体
• density　密度

I think that, even in recent years, there are few Karate experts who can break such round natural stones with a bare hand. Even Mr.Ohyama had difficulty breaking such round stones at first. According to the book, he was very poor with his family. He thought if he couldn’t break the stone, he couldn’t earn his living by Karate. But he strongly wanted to make money by Karate. Then, he came to be able to break the stones by practice.

• recent years　近年
• at first　最初は
• earn one’s living　生活費を稼ぐ
• come to~　〜するようになる

You don’t need to hurry, for life is short. If you’re twenty, a quarter of your life span has already passed. It’s important to find a goal of your life and live passionately to reach the goal for the rest of your life. I want to add to the son “You couldn’t eat meals like this. You can only do it as long as your mother lives.”

• hurry　急ぐ
• quarter　4分の一
• passionately　情熱的に
• add　付け加えて言う
• as long as S+V　SがVする限り

生かして頂いて　ありがとう御座位ます

I Ka Shi Te I Ta Da I Te  A Ri Ga To U Go Za I Ma Su

Thank you so much for keeping me/us alive.

Nurturing a Snake or a Fiend in Your Heart could Hurt Your Inner God

I’ve got a message from a reader of this blog like the following:

“I thought I had lived on my own, but in fact I was being kept alive. Those who think themselves to be great are foolish. Those who realize that they are foolish are wise. Those who want more, feeling they’re lacking, are likely to lose many, while those who give for others are likely to be given. Those who cherish themselves above all will behave selfishly, while those who know themselves can respect others. Those who has a standard of values outside themselves deny themselves easily, while those who accept themselves as they are can make their dreams come true easily. And of course, those thankful for anything are thanked by others.”

I think this message expresses truth very well.

• the following　次のもの
• wise　賢い
• cherish　大事にする
• standard　基準
• values　価値観

Lives are difficult to manage and very interesting. You can’t take anything with you when you leave this World of Reality. It is sure that you will die alone without anything. As long as you lead your life clinging to money, things and other people, all of which you cannot take with you to the other world, you will fight each other, commit sins and mourn. Because of such fleeting things, it is possible that you use God or even lose your life. It is ideal that you can enjoy your life without clinging to these illusions, namely money, things and people.

• alone　一人で
• the other world　あの世
• commit　犯す
• sin　罪
• mourn　嘆く
• fleeting　儚い
• ideal　理想的な
• namely　すなわち

But there’s one thing you can take with you to the other world. It is the Inner God that you’ve received in trust. It is important how you nurtured your Inner God while you were alive. The feelings of anger or sadness hurt your Inner God.

• nurture　育てる
• feelings　感情

Spiritual bodies of human beings are strange. They can take the forms of creatures in this world, reflecting your state of mind. Feelings can be a habit. There are various kinds of habits of feelings such as anger, mourning, criticizing, escaping, grudge etc. If you’re always getting angry without controlling yourself, you’ll fall into a habit of getting angry. You couldn’t help getting angry at trifle things. When you’re angry, another you are observing your own situation and can feel comfortable about yielding yourself to anger as if you were possessed by something. Your spiritual body,when you’re in such a situation, often does have horns on the head.

• creature　生き物
• reflect　反映する
• state　状態
• habit　習慣
• cannot help ~ing　〜せざるをえない
• trifle　些細な
• observe　観察する
• comfortable　心地のよい
• possess　憑依する
• horn　角

Also, some people are good at remembering a trifle thing that happened a long time ago and burning with anger. They are being filled with anger because of the trifle thing no other people can understand. The spiritual body of such people takes the form of a snake then. They couldn’t control themselves.

• burn　燃える
• snake　蛇

You can form your habit of feelings by yourself as you like. In short, what kind of habit you form is on your own responsibility. Nurturing a snake or a fiend in your heart could hurt your Inner God. If you hurt your Inner God, your are sure to fall ill by the reflection. This is what you can prevent by efforts. The following words can form a good habit of feelings and make you healthy physically and mentally:

• as you like　好きなように
• in short　要するに
• responsibility　責任
• fiend　鬼
• be sure to~   必ず〜する
• prevent　防ぐ

生かして頂いて　ありがとう御座位ます

I Ka Shi Te I Ta Da I Te  A Ri Ga To U Go Za I Ma SU

Thank you so much for keeping me/us alive.

No One is Cheerful by Nature

The other day, Mr. Fujio Akatsuka（赤塚不二夫）, a Japanese famous comic artist, passed away. When I was a child, I would often read his comic Bakabon, the Genius. Also I would look forward to watching its animation on TV. The animation was a little bit different from its original comic, but I loved both of them. As a child, when I stayed at a Japanese hotel with my family, I would put a belt of Yukata around my chest and pretend to be Bakabon. But I, being a little child, sometimes felt scared of his eyes because I saw something crazy there. The eyes of the character were those of Mt.Akatsuka.

• pass away　亡くなる
• look forward to A　 Aを楽しみにする
• pretend　ふりをする
• feel scared　怖い

I feel that he went through many difficulties since he was a boy until he came of age, such as poverty, loneliness in his home, bully at school due to his family’s moving etc. The bullying must’ve been an especially traumatic experience for him. His heart seems to have been hurt all the more because he was a really kind person. But he never lost his cheerfulness. It can be said that his sense of humor in later years was nurtured thanks to his so harsh experiences in his boyhood that he wanted to kill himself. He must’ve acquired a power containing craziness that he had no choice but to laugh in the face of too much suffering, and realized that there was a laugh in an extreme condition.

• difficulty　困難
• come of age　成人になる
• poverty　貧困
• loneliness　孤独
• especially　特に
• cheerfulness　朗らかさ
• nurture　育む
• harsh   過酷な
• have no choice but to~  〜するより仕方がない
• extreme　極端な

Successful persons are mostly cheerful. Even if you live in miserable poverty and conditions, you don’t need to worry as long as you’re cheerful because you have a broad and tough mind. You can be said to be a person whose Inner God is manifesting itself more clearly than ordinary people. Cheerfulness is never acquired naturally. Cheerful people are the ones who tried hard to be cheerful in the face of hardships. You can never be cheerful passively.

• mostly 　たいていは
• as long as S+V　SがVする限り
• broad　広い
• manifest　現す

Bakabon’s signature phrase, “Yes, that is good! ” has a deep meaning. I sense from the phrase his high spirituality. He is saying “yes” to all things happening to him. His high spirituality is similar to that of Shinran（親鸞）, the founder of Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism.

• signature phrase　決めゼリフ
• meaning　意味
• spirituality　精神性

Be yourself. It is how you “play” in this world based on your conscience that matters. It would be painful and wasteful if you were just waiting for time to pass in this world where your life is sure to come to an end. Why don’t you start to live positively saying “yes” to all, instead of no? Then a new life will be opened up to you.

• conscience　良心
• matter　重要である
• instead of A   Aの代わりに

生かして頂いて　ありがとう御座位ます

I Ka Shi Te I Ta Da I Te  A Ri Ga To U Go Za I Ma Su

Thank you so much for keeping me/us alive.