Self-Centered - Guidelines for the Heart by Ryuho Okawa 196 -

March 27, 2021（Last Update: June 13, 2026）

Ryuho Okawa open_in_new's 'Guidelines for the Heart' is serialized in the propagation magazine of Happy Science, Monthly 'Happy Science' open_in_new. It is also displayed on posters at branches nationwide and is widely known as the monthly face of Happy Science.

If you want to read the guidelines in the monthly magazine, you can also find them in Monthly 'Happy Science' April 2021 issue open_in_new.

This month's 'Guidelines for the Heart' shows that whether one is 'self-centered' or not separates heaven and hell after death. Is there a secret to realizing one's self-centeredness and making course corrections? I asked Ms. Tayoko Takahata from the Happy Science East Kyushu Headquarters.

高畑タヨ子（たかはたたよこ）

幸福の科学東九州本部副本部長（兼）大分支部上級支部長

1953年、福岡県生まれ。旅行会社勤務、自営業を経て、2002年に幸福の科学に出家。九州地方で支部長を歴任し、15年より現職。

When I realized I was 'self-centered'

In this month's guidelines, I learned that going through 'religious conversion' leads to a life of serving others instead of being self-centered, and I felt that the Buddha looks upon the human transformation with a compassionate gaze.

I had my 'opportunity for conversion' 29 years ago. At that time, I was hospitalized due to an unknown spinal disease, in a state of screaming from the intense pain that attacked me day and night. No treatment was effective, and the doctor told me it was 'terminal symptoms of spinal cancer', and every day I complained to my husband, 'Why won't you help me?' 'Do something!'...

In such a situation, a friend handed me a book called 'Essentials of Divine Truth open_in_new' (by Ryuho Okawa), and when I opened it for just a moment, the teaching 'Love others especially in times of suffering' caught my eye. (What does that mean?) At first, it was incomprehensible, but for some reason, it intrigued me, and despite the pain, I kept thinking about the words 'Love especially in times of suffering'. Then one day, I suddenly realized.

(My husband is shouldering everything: work, housework, childcare, and even taking care of me...)

When I thought about my husband's struggles, I realized that I had been self-centered and wrong. And I decided, (I will stop telling my husband 'It hurts'. The only love I can give now is that.)

From that day on, I started listening to the lecture tapes of Ryuho Okawa that my friend delivered every day, making an effort to think about others' feelings without complaining. Gradually, I became able to deeply appreciate my husband and those around me, and at the same time, my test results improved, and remarkably, I was able to be discharged a few months later.

When the 'pillar of faith' stands in the heart...

In the past, I became self-centered because I was trying so hard to live, thinking 'faith is something for weak people to rely on'. Now, I believe 'faith is necessary for everyone'.

Without the pillar of faith, the heart tends to be unstable and self-centered. However, if one knows, 'I am being allowed to live in the world of compassion created by the divine', one can live with love for the world and people. I want to convey such deep happiness to many people.

This content is reprinted and edited from Monthly 'Happy Science' No. 410 open_in_new.

The very popular 'Guidelines for the Heart' is featured in Monthly 'Happy Science', and subscriptions open_in_new are also available, so please take advantage of it!