Reigenkai

　

        People erroneously believe that they can perceive almost anything with our five senses, but in fact the sphere of human senses is very limited. There are countless things that we cannot fully experience because they are beyond the range of perception. Take hearing, for instance. One cannot hear the roaring sound of the earth as it rotates over 24 hours. Similarly, one cannot hear the sound made by thousands of ants marching. Take another example, that of eyesight. One cannot see things when it grows dark, and what can be perceived is confined to a very narrow range of rays in the spectrum. Nevertheless, people misunderstand the world with their limited senses, and fail to estimate the true value of things.

        People owe much to other people and things. Yet they do not really know the extent to which they benefit from others. In particular, they are unaware of how much they are indebted to their parents. Parents take care of children all the time, whether the children are awake or asleep.

        Children take it for granted that their parents love them, and become unconscious to their parents’ love because they are loved without limit. On the other hand, people are very pleased when they occasionally receive a gift or advice from others. Divine love is greater than parental love. Similarly, all people are blessed with Divine Grace, but very few realize it. 

        What are the substances most essential for human beings to live? The first is air. The second is water. You can live for two weeks or so without food, but water remains necessary even on the deathbed. You cannot live for five to ten minutes without breathing. Air is available no matter where you are, whether rich or poor, but very few thank God for the gift of air. Moreover, there is no charge for air. The thing you need most is available for free everywhere. This is a mechanism of nature and a Divine Providence.

        The second most necessary substance is water. City dwellers have to pay for water, but in the country, water is found naturally gushing out of the ground and flowing in rivers. The Japanese often use the phrase “spending money like water” meaning that water is often used carelessly because its value is not recognized. 

        Think deeply about the body. Usually people enjoy good health and act freely every day. When a person eats, the food is digested and absorbed, and waste products are discharged, as a matter of course. But if something goes wrong with this system, terrible suffering results. If something goes wrong with physiological functions such as breathing, eliminating waste, or swallowing, there would be great pain, but if you live in accordance with the Divine Way or the law of nature, you will enjoy good health even at the age of 70 or 80. Living flesh doesn’t putrefy even without artificial methods of preservation. The grace of God lets us live, but people fail to perceive God’s love because they are loved without limit. 

        Because they rely solely on superficial knowledge, people in today’s world have forgotten God and are diverging from the natural way – the Divine Way. This deviation from God’s way is the real cause of human suffering. To live the right life, human beings must follow the Divine Way, which has existed for time immemorial and will continue eternally. In order not to deviate from the Divine Way, one should use your mind and not choose the wrong path. Only by following the Divine Way can good health and everlasting happiness be assured. 

        Human beings today ignore the great blessings of God and nature, thereby leading to many contradictions, much friction, and many conflicts, due to which they face increasing danger of annihilation.

        Illness means that a person has strayed from the Divine Way, but few people perceive it to be their own fault. Instead of correcting their attitudes, many rely on medicine, a product of shallow human knowledge. Today, doctors too often exercise or amputate affected areas, and patients are pleased to have such operations performed, even if they become disabled. How senseless this is! What one should do first is to open the mind’s eye, realize the existence of the eternal truth of God, and understand that wisdom should be used to conform to the Divine Way – the way of God. 

        Modern people should seriously reconsider their attitude toward God and nature. By recognizing the Divine Way and incorporating modern culture in accordance with it, culture will transform into something that is truly beneficial to the human race, and that brings true happiness and eternal prosperity to each and every individual.