Gospel of Heaven written and spoken by Mokichi Okada
Part 1: Teachings from 4 February 1950 to 1954
Questioner (hereinafter referred to as “Q”); “Today, I think that it’s been just eighteen years since you moved to Hirakawa-Cho on 1 May 1934.
Meshiya-sama (hereinafter referred to as “M”); “It’s right. I moved here on that day. It’s passed just eighteen years. Now, I will take revenge. I went to Nara and found that Prince Shotoku was Kannon-sama. He was me as I thought. Yumedono or a hall of dreams is open only once a year and it was opened when I visited. At that time, the spirit of Kannon-sama dwelled in my body and I found that he has waited for the timing. Buddhism was originated in Nara. It started from there. When I asked various things about temples in Nara, I understood that they didn’t belong to any sects as they were not yet found. That is called an original Buddhism in Buddhist philosophy. Then so-called mountain Buddhism was found. Kobo Daishi in Mt Koya and Denkyo Daishi in Mt Hiei found this Buddhism in Japan. After that, Buddhism was divided into various sects. There are many objects such as Amitabha, Sakyamuni and so on but Kannon-sama is the main one to worship in the Nara period. Even Bhaisajyaguru are Kannon after all. Most of the objects to worship were Kannon and Prince Shotoku is a small model of Senju-Kannon.
M: Now I act as Senju-Kannon so that I am doing everything without limit. When I asked various things, I knew that Meshiya-Kannon has been in Yumedono and it was a kind of house for Prince Shotoku. He lived there and did writings. The name of Yomedono sounds interesting. I think that his dream would have finally come true. People wouldn’t normally name their house a hall of dreams. It would be something more proper and meaningful. In Yumedono, I found the Buddhist statue named Meshiya-Kannon. It is usually called Guze-Kannon and listed in books. It is I who call it Meshiya-Kannon for the first time. The doors of Yumedono were just open when I visit there. That is interesting and has a meaning. God had already decided that I would visit there. To tell the truth, I planned to visit Horyuji on the next day. However, we finished our plan earlier than expected on that day before. Then we decided to visit Horyuji by all means. The precincts of Horyuji are wide so that I was asked to see the places as many as possible on that day and then those left on the next day. If we had visited Youmedono on the next day, we would have missed the chance to enter it. Everything was under controlled like that. In terms of the miraculous power of the word, “Na” of Nara means earth and “Ra” means to spread so that “Nara” means that the earth spreads. It is the same meaning as Gora. Sakyamuni is the earth of Miroku. Earth represents “seven” so that Sakyamuni is the seventh of Miroku. Hakone represents “five”, Atami does “six” and Kyoto “seven”. When these three are put together, they become “five, six and seven” which means Miroku. Therefore, we will construct the model of Paradise in Kyoto as well as Hakone and Atami.”
Q; “During that trip, we coincidently came across ‘seven.’ I found that you took the train whose number was seven.”
M; “Is that so? Things are completed with ‘seven.’ The small model of Miroku will be completed when the model of Paradise is constructed in Kyoto.”
Q; “Does ‘seven’ have the meaning of completion?”
M; “Yes, it does.”
Q; “The seven is a basic number in the Bible and things of Egypt, too.”
M; “Yes, it is. In the Bible, people should rest on the seventh day or Sunday. It means that something is completed. Seven is pronounced ‘Na-na’ in Japanese and “Na” means earth regarding the miraculous power of the word. In the process of creating the world, therefore, the sun and moon were first and then the earth was completed. As I mentioned about the San Francisco Peace Treaty in Kyoto and Nara, a peace treaty means to tie things horizontally and vertically. The U.S.A. represents a horizontal nation and Japan does a vertical one. Therefore, the conclusion day is an auspicious day to tie the nations vertically and horizontally. From now on, the act of Izunome will spread all over the world. The design of our pin badge represents Japan and America. The red part of its centre represents Japan and the yellow part surrounding the red represents America. The U.S.A. is a nation of dollars which represents a gold colour. It is said that the U.S.A. has three-fourths of gold in the world. Such opinion recently spreads through the world. American experts say that the world will develop based on cooperation between the U.S.A. and Japan. People in the world start to understand it. Then Sekai-Meshiya-kyo takes the main role to tie the world. We gradually do so as time proceeds. Things will get interesting from now on. When the 15th of this June passes, needless to think, the situation changes more. We hold the opening ceremony of the museum on 15 June and the mining will be well prepared at that time. We hold the ceremonies of Shinsenkyo and the museum for the believers in three days so that all of them will be able to attend any one day of the three days. The hall has a large capacity this time and two or three thousand people can attend the ceremony at once. I think that three days are enough for all believers. Then the museum will be open to the public in July and foreign countries will gradually get to know it. This is also one of the models.
M: As I wrote, I invented the so-called Asahi Diamond as female jewellery when I run my fancy goods store. It shines like a diamond and it is still used for some accessories. I obtained a proprietary patent in ten countries. At that time, I loved to invent things and got patents for various things. The patent emblem is in the shape of the moon and half of a star coming out of it. A halo shines, too. It is an exaggerated and ridiculous design but conjured up I might do something international or my name would be known through the world. The patent of tens nations. As ten means to tie things, it was the first step of my present work.
Q; “Ten nations for Asahi Diamond, indeed.”
M; “That’s right.”
Q; “What is it made from?”
M; “It is made of a mirror. When a thin mirror is broken and made it round a little, it shines very much. A sheet of the shell was used for various Japanese lacquerware in the Kamakura period. I thought a mirror would shine more than a shell. I gained money with that invention. I got about one hundred thousand yen at that time. It was more than thirty to forty years ago when I was thirty-odd years old. In this way, I became the most successful person not only when I run a fancy goods shop but also did other things. What I did was called the Okada style at that time. I have done various things since then. Everything I do becomes far head of others. The same thing happened when I become a believer in Oomoto-kyo. I was becoming distinguished in various ways. Therefore, Oomoto-kyo felt threatened and applied pressure on me very much. As for works of art, I have a better eye than art dealers. I didn’t understand Buddhist art very much before but now clearly recognised it after I visited Nara.”
Q; “There are many Buddhist arts in Horyuji.”
M; “Yes. Horyuji is the centre of Buddhist art. It is an original place. It means that Prince Shotoku is an original person of Buddhist art. He sowed the seed of Buddhism in Japan”
Q; “Was Yumedone called so at that time? I don’t think he got inspired to name it.”
M; “I think that it was naturally called so.”
Q; “I heard that you wondered yourself there.”
M; “Yes, I was possessed by a god. In my case, I am in a much more direct situation than divine possession. Possession is an indirect method to some extent. I don’t need to ask or be known by God. God’s intention directly becomes mine. This is the unification between God and a man.”
Q; “The excellent mediums in the West feel without any special phenomenon.”
M; “They would do but even they were not significant. Therefore, people don’t have enough power until today.”
Q; “Were they possessed by gods who were not in a high class?”
M; “No, they were minor gods.”
Q; “Does it mean that we worship centring on Meshiya-Kannon as our faith which centres on Meshiya-sama? Am I right?”
M; “Not really. The real power doesn’t exert under the name of Kannon. Kannon is an incarnation of God who carries out His providence. Prince Shotoku became Meshiya-Kannon as I mentioned here. Now the time has finally come and God started to carry out His plan. To do so, God makes buddhas back to original figures or gods because He created them. He also makes them work for Sekai-Meshiya-kyo. Meshiya is a human name. Only one god is God or Jehovah. (1 May 1952)
Translated by N.H.