Church, Tenrikyo

TENRIKYO CHURCH - Tenrikyo, sometimes refered as Tenriism, is a new religion which originated from the teachings of a 19th  century Japanese woman named Nakayama Miki, known to her followers as Oyasama.  Followers of Tenrikyo believe that God of Origin, God in Truth,  known by several names including "Tsukihi," "Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto," and "Oyagamisama (God the Parent)" revealed divine intent through Miki Nakayama as the Shrine of God, and to a lesser extent the roles of the Honseki Izo Iburi and other leaders.  Tenrikyo's worldly aim is to teach and promote the Joyous Life, which is cultivated through acts of charity and mindfulness called hinokishin.   It has 1.75 million followers in Japan, and is estimated to have over 2 million worldwide.

The most basic teaching of Tenrikyo is kashimono-karimono, meaning "a thing lent, a thing borrowed".  The thing that is lent and borrowed is the human body. T enrikyo followers think of their minds as things that are under their own control, but their bodies are not completely under their control.

The Joyous Life in Tenrikyo is defined as charity and abstention from greed, selfishness, hatred, anger and arrogance.  Negative tendencies are not known as sins in Tenrikyo, but rather as "dust" that can be swept away from the mind through hinokishin and ritual.  Hinokishin, voluntary effort, is performed not out of a desire to appear selfless, but out of gratitude for kashimono-karimono and shugo (providence).

Adherents believe in a single god, Tenri-O-no-Mikoto, who is defined as the creator and caring parent of all human beings.  It is also taught that the universe is the body of God.  The ultimate spiritual aim of Tenrikyo is the construction of the Kanrodai, a divinely ordained pillar in an axis mundi called the Jiba, and the correct performance of the Kagura ritual around the Kanrodai, which will bring about the salvation of all human beings.  The idea of the Jiba as the origin of earthly creation is called moto-no-ri, or the principle of origin.  A pilgrimage to the Jiba is interpreted as a return to one's origin, so the greeting okaeri nasai (welcome home) is seen on many inns in Tenri City.

Reincarnation is part of the religion, in the form of denaoshi, "passing away for rebirth".