The Joyous Life is the most essential principle of Tenrikyo, the principle that determines all the other principles. At first glance the concept may seem rather vague and perhaps even trivial, so I’ll try my best to clarify the term and explain its significance.
Why is the Joyous Life so important in Tenrikyo?
- It’s the reason that God the Parent created human beings, determined at the time of human creation.
- It’s the goal of human existence, which means that God the Parent ultimately wants to see all of humanity live the Joyous Life.
- It’s the state of mind that experiences salvation and can bring salvation to others.
To explain what the Joyous Life is, I’d like to start with what Oyasama reportedly said once. Emphasis added.
“Since creating the world and humankind where neither existed, God has governed the world and trained and taught humans by using temporary hoops. God has taught nine parts out of ten of what needs to be taught, yet the one remaining part has not been taught. This one part has to do with the fact that people of the world complain and moan about how things do not go as they want. God will now teach the truth of complete freedom, the truth of free and unlimited workings. It is out of a desire to teach this one truth that God became openly revealed” (Yoshio Horikoshi, in Kyoyu, no. 144, based on “Koro yori kikigaki.” Also found in Eiji Ozaki’s “Mind That Attracts Happiness,” p.7).
One of the great truths about human beings is that things do not always go as they wish.
Some people are born with disadvantages in society. They are born with a mental or physical disability; they are conceived by parents who are divorced, go missing, die young, have alcohol and drug problems, or are abusive and neglectful; they are raised in a community filled with drugs, crime, or poverty; they are born into a race or class that is less likely to succeed professionally because of prejudice. So when they are unhappy, they may blame their parents, their own fate, or systemic oppression.
Other people pursue things in the hope that they will bring happiness, only to see them fail. They live with someone they love for months and years, only for the relationship to end suddenly; they pursue a career, only to find that nothing is working out; they get into the job or school of their dreams, only to discover that it is nothing like what was expected. These people may blame their unhappiness on other people or themselves.
Really unfortunate events happen to some people without warning. They catch a cold at the worst possible time; a member of their family suffers from an terminal illness that costs a inordinate amount of time and money; a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tsunami, or earthquake destroys their homes; they get their valuables stolen or get into a car accident because of a moment of absentmindedness. These people may curse the unfairness of the world or themselves for their unhappiness.
Even when things are going well, what happens? Some people are so very successful in the careers but may be dissatisfied with their lives because there’s always that looming fear that they will be beaten by some other smarter, more powerful, more cunning person. Others are leading materially comfortable lives compared to most people in the world, but because they find little intrinsic meaning in life or are simply bored, they may entertain themselves by indulging in their greed or finding an excuse to get angry.
By the way, the people I mentioned are not “those disagreeable people” – that’s us, that’s me. The truth is that we all experience some sort of suffering at some point in our lives.
Of course, some people may suffer more than others due to injustices formed by the norms and laws of society. And yes, we should work together to get rid of those injustices. But what I’m trying to get at is a much more fundamental problem. Even if every person in the world had enough money, enough food, enough power, and enough knowledge, doesn’t mean that we won’t still experience suffering. It doesn’t even guarantee happiness.
Here’s another truth though: Because we are human, we can choose our attitudes toward suffering. Notice that I used the word “may” in “may blame” or “may curse.” We have a choice; we don’t have to respond to suffering by blaming society, cursing oneself and others, or finding refuge in greed. Of course it’s much easier to do such things, but they won’t make you or anyone else truly happy in the long-run.
How, then, should we respond to suffering? The specific answer depends on the individual and the situation, but the only way we can answer is to know why suffering exists. Scientific inquiry can tell us how illness works, how happiness works in the mind, and how society works, but only by fully understanding why our own suffering exists can we choose our attitudes toward our suffering in a way that will make us truly happy in the long-run. This path to “complete freedom” instead of enslavement to our suffering, to true and enduring happiness, to God’s “free and unlimited workings,” is what is called the Joyous Life in Tenrikyo.
Tenrikyo is not the first religion to address the question of suffering. What is, I think, quite beautiful about Tenrikyo is that the question of suffering is the primary concern. All of the teachings relate to suffering and happiness in some way:
- God the Parent created human beings so that they could one day live the Joyous Life. The story is recounted in the Truth of Origin.
- God the Parent creates suffering out of the parental desire to see people mature and learn to savor the Joyous Life even more.
- God the Parent gives us the opportunity to start anew by instructing us through illnesses of our bodies, which are actually borrowed from God the Parent.
- The simple fact that God the Parent has lent us bodies to use should be enough to fill us with immense gratitude.
- The Ten Aspects of God’s Providence teach us that our bodies are an inseparable part of the universe which is under the care of God’s providence.
- The Jiba/Kanrodai not only answers the existential question of where we come from, but also gives us a focal point to express our gratitude to God the Parent.
- The Eight Dusts are attitudes or emotions that will lead to suffering and therefore get in the way of the Joyous Life.
Tenrikyo Explained 