[3] Tenrikyo's teachings maintain that the original, fundamental nature of the human mind is clear and pure.
Tenrikyo's doctrine categorizes God's complete providence into ten aspects (十全の守護 jūzen no shugo).
[7] Tenrikyo affirms the concept of reincarnation, where the soul continually returns into the world with a new biological life after the death of the previous one.
[8] Nakayama Miki taught that the process of denaoshi is like taking off old clothes in order to put on new ones, an image that emphasizes the materiality of the body.
"[13] Causality also upholds another basic tenet of karma, which is that this personal responsibility carries over many deaths and rebirths of the soul.
[15] At the focal point of Tenrikyo's ontological understanding is the positing of original causality, or causality of origin (もとのいんねん moto no innen), which is that God the Parent created human beings to see them live the Joyous Life (the salvific state) and to share in that joy.
Thus the concept of original causality has a teleological element, being the gradual unfolding of that which was ordained at the beginning of time.
[16] The process of preordaining original causality and developing human beings is taught through Tenrikyo's creation narrative.
[18] Tenrikyo's doctrine explains that an individual's suffering should not be perceived as punishment or retributive justice from divine providence for past misdeeds, but rather as a sign of encouragement from divine providence for the individual to reflect on the past and to undergo a change of heart.
The recognition of the divine providence at work should lead to an attitude of tannō (たんのう "joyous acceptance" in Tenrikyo gloss), a Japanese word that indicates a state of satisfaction.
Tannō is a way of settling the mind – it is not to merely resign oneself to one's situation, but rather to actively “recognize God’s parental love in all events and be braced by their occurrence into an ever firmer determination to live joyously each day.”[19] In other words, Tenrikyo emphasizes the importance of maintaining a positive inner disposition, as opposed to a disposition easily swayed by external circumstance.