Inclusivity and community are inseparable aspects of joyous living. As I explain below, I don’t feel that conversion is necessary to experience this joy. You don’t need to convert to Tenrikyo to experience a joyful life. While Tenrikyo teaches that following its principles can lead to the Joyous Life, it does not appear to insist that only its followers can achieve peace and harmony. In Tenrikyo, we believe that God’s hope for us is to all live the Joyous Life—a state of peace and harmony where we can live in a world full of mutual help, feeling fulfillment and satisfaction. Many Tenrikyo followers think of it as akin to heaven on earth.
Can the Joyous Life Be Achieved by Individuals Alone?
With this in mind, the Joyous Life cannot be achieved by one person alone, nor by a single group. For it to be truly the Joyous Life, as opposed to some individuals merely seeming to live joyously, everyone must be a part of it. If even one person is living in misery, it would be difficult to call the situation either heaven or the Joyous Life.
Must You Be a Tenrikyo Follower to Experience the Joyous Life?
Tenrikyo views the Joyous Life as an achievement—a heavenly state, in simple terms. It teaches us a path to follow to reach this goal. But does this mean only followers of Tenrikyo can attain the Joyous Life? Is it possible for Tenrikyo followers to live the Joyous Life while others continue to pursue heaven following other faiths? What if people of other faiths, or even atheists, live a life that embodies the same characteristics that define the Joyous Life—peace and harmony, gratitude, mutual help, fulfillment, and satisfaction? Have we failed to achieve the Joyous Life, where everyone is living in this joyous manner, no one is suffering, and there is a great feeling of community—just because some participants are not Tenrikyo followers?
What Do Church Leaders Say About Universal Participation?
I recently had the rare opportunity to speak in-depth with a very senior member of the Church hierarchy—someone comparable to a cardinal in the Catholic Church. I asked him: Must you be a Tenrikyo follower to be part of the Joyous Life?
As you can imagine, his answer was thoughtful and careful. Given his position in the Church, he may not have been able to provide a direct answer. What I took from our conversation, however, was that while we are taught that Tenrikyo is a path to the Joyous Life, he did not rule out the possibility of non-Tenrikyo people being part of it as well.
How Can We All Participate in This Universal Vision?
Given that inclusivity is such an integral part of the Joyous Life concept, I believe many of the questions raised in this blog can be summed up as follows: While it is necessary that the Joyous Life include all people, I do not know of any requirement that every person must be a Tenrikyo follower to experience it.
No matter where you come from or what you believe, the Joyous Life is a vision worth striving for—a life filled with peace, mutual support, and a deep sense of fulfillment. I encourage you to seek joy in your own life and to help others discover it too, creating a world where everyone can experience the warmth of community and the beauty of shared happiness.
