Tenrikyo Ofudesaki - Methods of Interpreting the Poems -

There are perhaps as many different ways of looking at the Ofudesaki Poems as there are human minds in the world; with that in mind I will mention a handful of what might be the most common approaches.

• Certainly the most common approach is involves doubt, denial, dismissal and distortions; all of which are based on judging the poems according to the expectations that adhere to and flow from common truths of the world. Many of the poems directly address this situation in the conversations between the original parental mind and the minds of the "children". There is no need to go into them in detail here other than to say that we are cautioned to adopt the point of view of the original parental mind as it exists eternally at the "heart", "Core" and "Root" of our mind and not the point of view of those "children" who find it difficult and even to some, impossible, to mature to the point of view of the parent at this time.

• Instead lets spend some time with those who would like to use the poems to understand and awaken: 

  • The Poems can be savored and appreciated by allowing a single poem, line, phrase or word to capture our imagination and return it to its origin.

  • The Poems can settle the mind and return it to its origin through their repetition, savoring their sound without ever thinking about or pondering their meaning.

  • The Poems and the metaphors that are contained in them can be pondered deeply until their meaning is unlocked by the revelation of the distinction between the parental consciousness and the self-centered imagination that appears reflected to it. We are all conscious and we all have a self-centered imagination; the work of identifying and distinguishing the original parental mind from the self-centered mind of the "child" in our own mind is the primary concern of the intention of our original parent in providing the guidance and directives contained in the Poems.

Sure Guides: IVe