Hymns of Meishu-sama
O the greatness of nature and its providence!
How can mere logic and reasoning of humans fathom it?
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This material world is about to perish.
But how magnificent is God who endows life to it!
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Live righteously,
And do not take your life lightly.
Remember,
It was God who granted it to you –
The life that is so precious and noble!
Sacred Word of Meishu-sama
“The earth breathes”
Everyone knows that all creatures
breathe, but, in fact, things like plants and minerals as well as all things in
the universe breathe. What is more, you may be surprised to hear that the earth
itself breathes. I am sure you will understand why as you read the explanation
below.
To start with, the earth breathes
once a year. It starts to breathe out in spring and continues to do so through
summer, until the very end of its breath. The exhaling breath of the earth is
warm, just like that of humans. This warmth can be explained by the emission of
the earth’s heat. In spring, the earth’s heat is dense, causing all living
things to grow and buds to come out. Everything stretches upward and people
become more exuberant. As summer draws near, trees and plants grow thicker and
thicker until the exhaling breath reaches its limit. What follows is the
earth’s inhaling breath. This causes the plants to wither and all things to subside.
People become calmer, too. When the earth reaches the end of its inhalation, it
is the end of winter, and this is how the natural world works. The exhaling
breath of the earth is the spiritual energy radiated from the soil, which, in
science, is called nitrogen. This is why trees and plants grow in spring. This
thing called nitrogen continues to move upward, accumulates in the upper edge
of the earth’s atmosphere, and returns to the soil as rain. This is natural
nitrogen fertilizer. *
Next, I want to touch on sunspots.
Although their nature has been a topic of debate for a long time, I say that
they are the result of the breathing of the sun. The sunspots are known to
increase in size every 11 years – this is when the exhaling breath of the sun reaches
its limit. We all know that moonlight is the reflection of light from the sun.
However, we often fail to realize that the sun is able to be ablaze owing to
the moisture from the moon. Let me also point out that the 28-day period of the
waxing and waning of the moon is its breathing.
Miscellany on Faith, September 5, 1948
* Portions omitted for the service.
