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Part of a series of articles on |
| Beliefs and scripture |
| Tenri-O-no-Mikoto Ofudesaki Osashizu |
| Practices |
| Joyous Life Hinokishin |
| People |
| Oyasama (Miki Nakayama) Izo Iburi |
| Places |
| Tenri, Japan Tenri University Tenri Hospital Oyasato-yakata |
Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto (Japanese: 天理王命) is the name used to refer to the single god or creator, of the entire universe in Tenrikyo's principal beliefs. In English the name most frequently used to refer to Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto outside of ritual is "God the Parent"; in Japanese, the equivalent common name is Oyagamisama. God in Tenrikyo has no gender (this is easier to express in Japanese).
Tenrikyo followers vary in their understanding of this creator, from the early understanding of spirit (Kami, god/deity) through the underlying natural causality (Tsukihi, moon-sun) and eventually to an understanding of a parental relationship between the creator and themselves (Oya, parent). This progression of understanding is a key teaching of Tenrikyo, where it is accepted that everything must proceed "step by step" — by small stages of understanding instead of by great leaps of faith.
In 1880, in order to evade continuous persecution by the government, Tenrikyo placed itself under the administration of a Shugendo temple named Jifukuji. During this time Tenri-Ō-no-Mikoto was officially called Tenrin-Ō-Nyorai (i.e. from "Holy Lord Tenri" to "Buddha Lord Tenrin") and the kanji of various other deities were changed, but by 1890 Tenrikyo was given approval by the Meiji government and the original names were restored.[1]