What should we learn from Zen teachings now? - Hafurimeku on April 21st

Lecturer: Kenji Nanasawa, Representative Director of General Incorporated Association Shirakawa Gakkan
Editor: Parole Editorial Section, Yasushi Ohno, supervisor

Q.
We are not in ordinary days but in “wartime”. In such a situation, Laboratorio is quietly pushing ahead with what needs to be done on a day-to-day basis. What consciousness should I take to work? I would like to ask you about what mindset we should have regarding work during this type of conflict.

A.
There is a teaching called “Heijoshin”, or a usual state of mind, in the world of Zen. The meaning of this phrase is, “Live the same way as usual, no matter how troublesome life is or when painful things happen”. It is a matter of course to maintain this state of mind in ordinary daily life. However, when sudden confusion occurs, we ask ourselves how to behave and how to live.

From that point of view, I appreciate that we get together in Hafuriden and recite Shinto prayers every morning and that we are able to engage in our businesses in a solemn manner every day. In fact, we must remember that we have spent 20 years preparing ourselves in case of a rainy day. The reason we are able to live with Heijoshin, or a usual state of mind, is because we have diligently done what we can, assuming that anything could happen at any moment.

In countries and cultures that believe in Christianity, there is a history of preparing measures that would cause national difficulties and relief at the same time, with their belief that this era is the end of time. From this historical perspective, it seems that Japan has reached a turning point in the 3,000 years since the beginning of the Jomon period.

Now, there are many people around the world who are likely to emotionally suffer. Rather than merely acknowledging this, we must present a concrete methodology on “how to overcome this difficulty.” This methodology must be incorporated into practical methods and conveyed to the world in a positive manner. The text of Shinto prayers transmitted from the Logostron signal transmitters and the G-code seminar that starts within days are examples of positive steps to take.

In any case, we are undoubtedly at an extremely important turning point in our long history. Those of us who have chosen to be born in such hard times have a particular mission in life.

That is why you should not feel self-pity or become desperate, being trapped by negative feelings like “Why am I in so much pain now?” or “Why has this happened?” The evolution of human consciousness only occurs in difficult times. It is important to understand that we are living at the turning point of a paradigm shift, and to be prepared to live in a positive manner, focusing on the benefits to come.

Japanese Version

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Kenji Nanasawa
Born in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture in 1947. After graduating from Waseda University, he completed a Doctoral Program in the Graduate School of Letters at Taisho University. He developed an information processing system based on knowledge modeling of traditional medicine and philosophies and is a researcher of religious studies. He is involved in developing a next-generation system for digitizing language energies. Mr. Nanasawa re-established the Shirakawa Gakkan as a research institute for the study of the court rituals and ceremonies carried out by the Shirakawa family of Kyoto, a noble family that oversaw the Jingi, an office for religious rituals, for 800 years from the mid- Heian period to the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. He currently serves as the representative director of Shirakawa Gakkan and CEO of the Nanasawa Institute, among other positions.

He has written and served as the editorial supervisor for a number of books, among them Why Do Things Go Well with Japanese? Knowledge Modeling Inherent in Japanese Language and Culture (Naze nihonjin wa umakuikunoka? Nihongo to nihon bunka ni naizai sareta chishiki moshikika gijutsu) (Bungeisha). Also, he is the supervising editor of Three Works on the Study of Hebrew from a Shinto Perspective (Shinto kara mita heburai kenkyu sanbusho) (by Koji Ogasawara), and co-author with Koji Ogasawara of Princess Otohime of the Dragon Palace and Urashima Taro (Ryugu no Otohime to Urashima Taro).