Tenrikyo Ofudesaki - The Services - Categories of Service- Direct Knowledge, Devotion, Good Works
The quickest and most universally applicable category of "Service" involves directly and immediately following the instruction to sincerely calm and empty one's mind; in so doing sinking into and merging with the power of the original conscious cause of all that is. Because of her true sincerity and affinity to original causality this is the way that Miki Nakayama unintentionally awakened. Because of that awakening she is able to craft and teach a number of ways of working on settling the state of our mind so that everyone else can awaken to the truth of origin and the joy of life just as she did. In the Tenrikyo Model Path this way of immediately returning and awakening is the service or work of the "Sazuke".
The next category involves completely devoting and surrendering the self-centered imagination to what whatever attracts and captures the imagination by suiting one's temperament. That can be a person, a place, a thing or an idea. The Tenrikyo Model and the poems of the "Tip of the Writing Brush" contain numerous examples of names, places, things and ideas and concepts all of which are interchangeable and point to just one truth. All are meant to indicate the one true "heart" and "core" that the self-centered imagination can be sincerely and devotionally returned to. When pondered deeply and sincerely with determination, those aids to devotion will settle the imagination and result in awakening to the true origin and original cause of all things. In the Tenrikyo Model Path this also includes the service of deeply and sincerely pondering the uncommon meaning of the teaching. Hence, sincerely and deeply pondering the meaning and intention of the Poems is included in this category of Service. Sincerely singing and dancing the truth also falls into this category as the sincere worker or service performer is provided with the opportunity to settle their mind and distinguish the imaginary from its original cause and source.
The last category of service being the complete devotion of one's self to selfless activities in the service of others. There are all sorts of ways of doing this service but when done sincerely and in perfection this approach is an imitation of the "model of parental love" shown by the original parental mind that loves all equally, teaches all equally and saves all equally, without discrimination.