The Four Gods of Purification

- Following on the article of Dec. 20th about Haraedo Yonshin-

Ōharae-Norito, The Grand Purification Chant is the core essence of Shinto. The climax of this chant is where it explains the Haraedo-Yonshin purifying all sins (tsumi) and impurities (kegare). God Seoritsu-hime washes away all curses, sins, and impurities from the river to the ocean. God Hayaakitsu-hime awaits under the deep ocean to swallow all those curses, sins and impurities. God Ibukido-nushi make sure all the curses, sins and impurities are swallowed. And then he would shoot his breath toward the subterranean world, Ne-no-kuni Soko-no-kuni. At the end, Hayasasura-hime disperses the curses, sins and impurities that were brought into the subterranean world.

Seoritsu-hime is at the shore of the river that runs very fast. It is quite a task to pick up all the sins and impurities from this fast running river and bring them to the ocean. Out of the four secret steps of the Grand Purification process, I find the first step to be most important. At this process, the sins and impurities from the reality world are conversed to a spiritual energy. Without this process, the later three gods would not be able to do anything. Seoritsu-hime is a goddess with a special ability to convert a material from the World of Reality to the World of the Gods.

When I did a reading on these Four Gods, at the end Susanoo appeared. The Four Gods of Purification are the derivatives of Susanoo. Oppose to the soul of a healing mother, Goddess Amaterasu-Ohomikami (yan side of the sun), God Susanoo (yin side of the sun) has a significant job of purification who slaves behind the scenes.

Ikashite-itadaite Arigato-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live

Overcome Sins with Goodness

There is a summer event in Shinto called “Chinowa-kuguri”. The event is to pass several times through a large loop made out of kaya-kusa, sedges, and bamboos. By doing so, it is said to cleanse you from sins and epidemics, and clear away evil spirits.

I sense “death and resuscitation” in this act of “passing through the loop”. And when I did a reading on the origin of this event, I started to see the ancient agricultural age. After the harvesting, people made a hut with the same materials, sedge and bamboo. The farmers would stay in the hut quietly for two weeks to experience the oneness with god. It was to heal the body from all the work, but also to apologize and cleanse the sin for killing the small creatures in the soil during the production of the crops and to capture animals for food. The idea of “vow and cleanse” is the basics in Shintoism. As the time goes by, people felt that they didn’t have enough time to sit for two weeks, so it had been simplified into the event of “Chinowa-kuguri”. In the ancient times, people shut oneself in a hut once a year in order to experience the oneness with god, and to cleanse one’s sins.

The cells that construct our body are repeating the cycle of “death and resuscitation”. Even in a healthy body, cancer cells are produced every day and immune cells are fighting against it on a daily basis. When the cancer cells are little stronger then the immune cells for a certain amount of time, it will form a focus. Whether the cancer is malignant or benignant depends on one’s emotions. If one is cursing another, complaining all the time, selfish, or worried and having no sense of gratitude, these feelings will help to increase the cancer cells. On the other hand, feelings that will help to increase the immune cells is to have the sense of gratitude that you are led to live by the source, the Root. Everyone possesses both cancer cells and immune cells. As long as we live, we will make mistakes and create sins. Everyone carries both “Sin and Goodness”. If you know that you have sinned in the past, don’t forget about it and keep adding more goodness into your life, so at the end, goodness overcomes the sins. If you know you have sinned, you have more fate to be saved. Today, the “Chinowa-kuguri” can be done by saying “Ikashite-itadaite Arigato-gozaimasu. Thank you for letting us live.”