PEACE in JAPAN —- Really ? ? ?

Japan is a strange country.   Among the developed countries, it is the most safe, prosperous

country.  Newborn babies’ mortality rate is the smallest in the world and live longest life.

In other words, it is the most peaceful place in the world. Never seen bloody conflict or

political economical insurgence, other than few Yakuza killings and very remote poison-gas attack

by the religious fanatics. —– Only exception is occasional natural disasters which is

killing handful people in each incidence.

—– so, some may say Japanese are spoiled by the peace.

non

It seems, the previous post which I wrote how Japanese is overcoming the disaster by

ignoring the BAD NEWS, annoyed some people who was saying “ Don’t mix-up

the natural disaster to the man-made Nuclear Accident and the failure of the

response by the government.

I’m well aware of it. In fact I’ve been annoyed by the situation myself. At least, I was an

anti-establishment activist. —-but, we learned it in 60^th, 70^th how hopeless the situation is.

non

The expression in the west [Bang the head against a stone wall] would explain the

situation. —– And the rack of the political leadership, charismatic leader, nor championing

organization — hence no prospect of any change. ( You might be noticed, there is

virtually no anti-Nuclear demonstration in Japan except the one organized by the

musicians —– it was more like a family outing to cheer-up the depressed people

and politically gave no effect )

So that, there is very positive activities to help the disaster stricken people, but in the same

time deep hopeless mind-set toward the situation, especially the government or establishment.

This hopelessness and powerlessness toward the ever murky politics and the

situation of the Nuclear Plant made the people to feel —– it is no different from

unfortunate fate, like the one’s death which will inevitably comes.

(Remember, there was anti-Nuclear or anti-War demonstration, though I never seen

anti-death demonstration — of cause, there is no point at all though,

it is utterly unfair isn’t it. Why not ? 😀 )

—– This Japanese psyche has been exploited by the government, hence their one-party

dominance could continued 50 years.  (Then even after the power moved from Lib-Dem to

Democratic Party, unfortunately as they have been away from the system too long,

they don’t know how to govern the country —– and the system relying on the personal

expertise and the connection, it can not be replaced and changed easily)

Japanese politics is done by the negotiations between those in power and the backup person

and not open to public, not mention foreign journalists, the debate in the Parliament are

just a farce and the Minister is just a nominal figure (the facts and the data was held by

bureaucrats, hence Minister doesn’t necessary know the whole picture) —— even a head of

government change, those people who know the data and actually run the system is

still the same.   Mind you, the system there is economically second or third largest system

and the industrially as large as US. —– when the supply of components stopped from Japan

due to the disaster there, even the iPAD production in China halted.

non

禅仏教とは What is the Buddhism

This is the shortest explanation of What is the BUDDHISM, which I made to my friend in Japan.

——————–

これは日本の友人に送ったメールで、仏教とは何かを説明した部分ですが改めて読んでみると、

極度に簡略化した割に要点はちゃんと収まっている。

これは皆に読んでもらうのに手頃では？と、ポストに加えました。

—-

仏教的倫理観では、人間も含めた全存在は実は無限に広がり断え間なくつながった

「法（ダルマ）」であると理解しています。　個人が個人と見え、当人もそう考えているがそれは単なる

見かけで実体の無いもの。　（ましてその当人のエゴだ欲だといったものは当人の幻想、雑念以外

の何物でもない）－－－で、当人は実は全体のー部分、他の人ともつながっているから、ちょうど怪我をした

手の痛みが全身に伝わるように、仙台の痛みが大阪のヤクザにさえ伝わりトラックを駆って現地の救援にと

かり立てる。　それも坊主が説教してかり出した訳ではなく、全く自発的な行動です。

ーーーという事は別に仏教に依らずとも、元々これが人間のモラル、「法」として存在していたという事実です。

当然、救援に向ったトラックで石コロを運んだような馬鹿は居ない。自発こそは「法」であり、英知です。

例の倫理構造図式の、実在、真、正、英知、さらにそこから抽象された倫理意識や、具体的に

何をすべきかは人に言われるまでもなく、まして坊主に説教されるまでもなく誰もが解っている事です。

釈尊はこれを指摘して「法」がいかに全てをカバーし有効に機能しているかを説明しただけで、別に

[法]やモラルを発明して人類に与えた訳ではありません。（僕は単にそれを図式化して説明しただけです）

元々「法」の中に無我も慈善も含まれているのですが人間、我や欲、執着があって素直に「法」を

見る事、従う事ができない。　で、小乗仏教では細かく禁忌義務を列記して、

形の上だけでも「法」に従った、つまり悟りを開いたとされる人間を生産しようとした訳です。

しかし何百もの禁忌を記憶しそれにこだわりつつ生きる事自体が雑念ではないか？となった。

ここから大乗ヘの進化が始まった訳です。

—

「法」は全ての人間に（実は虫けらにも）元々備っていて雑念がそれをマスクしているだけだから

要は無心になれば良いーーーとは言うものの、それ程簡単ではない。

「精々努力しなさい。しかしムリしなさんな」というのが「中道」と言うもの。

極端に執着したり固定観念でタメにするのは別として人が人として自然に着想してやっていく事は

「法」の内と見るのが大乗です。 しかし、それならー流の職人が寝食を忘れて完璧を追求するのは何か？

あるいは連続強姦魔はどうなのか？ーーーなどというタメにする質問が出たら、

質問者をー発ドツケば即解決する。禅は明解です。

—–

面白いのは長年黙々と手作業をやって来た人、全く空しく水面を見つめて来た釣り帥などの中に

しばしば「ムッ、お主できるな」という人物がいる事です。ーーーで、この効果を意図的に再現するように

考えたのが、それぞれの宗派の「行」で、全く何の足しにもならない事を延々と繰り返させる。

初めは疑問や不平があってもいずれ思念を放棄し黙々とやるようになる。意図的に与えられたものでも

無心に遂行する心理、行動様式が定着すると余計な思考や逡巡なく物事を処理できるようになる。

ーーーーー（僕はこれを仏教の持つ第３のアスぺクト＝心理工学と呼んだ訳ですが）

（思念のマスクが取除かれると潜在意識の中にプログラムされていたものが反射的に出る。.しかし、

本人すら自覚していないものが何故そこに在るのか？ーーーだからそれが「法」なのだ、と説明する）

無心とは、一切の構えなく心を開く事でもありますから自由な発想を持つには最適ーーーで、

それをテストする為に僕は色々変なものを発想しては、それを作っている訳です。

実験心理学、実験仏教学と言う所以です。

ーーーーーーーーーー

___/\___   Yoshizen 拝

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SOCIETY

In the media reports of Japanese Disasters, a peculiarity of Japanese society was shocked the world.

“Why Japanese can keep calm and not express their grief ? “

I explained a back-ground —– their deep embedded Ethos / Fatalism originated from the

Buddhism —– in the previous post.

—–

But there is the another aspect which is even deeper and common to all the human-being.

We human-being is a social animal , we live, and have to live as a member of a society.

We are definitely a descendant of the packed animal like monkey, chimpanzee, not a lone panther.

Hence it is written in our gene, and so-called instincts are programmed accordingly such as the

gripping hand of a baby is to cringe to a mother.

To be a social animal, there is the order of the society and its rules. Any member who couldn’t

comply the rules, will be excluded from its society —– and slow death is the fate.

Where those rules were posted ? Ethos and those social code are not written but kept by the

member, the member themselves are the role-model / manifestation of the rules.

As society is operated by their member who possess the same Ethos and the Rules, and it is

almost the same even generation after generation, all the social activity, social systems are coherent

with the same Ethos. Everything shows the same manifestation and follow the same rules.

This exact coherency can be observed by even a small baby and learned by them and written

down into their subconscious memory. In fact this is the so-called Collective Unconscious.

But this is the case when the society is having universal, coherent system and the Ethos.

Among the member, some might become rebel though, the person is only temporally rebelling

or just behaving the reverse of existing rule —– nothing new just a reverse.

But when the population who is possessing fundamentally different Ethos, moved into other society,

it start to show completely different situation.

In metaphor, when non-thieving society received considerable size of thieving group, the Ethos of

both societies break down. ( Even thieving society and their way of life having their own strict rules,

taboo, who to steal or who is the senior thieves and the violent punishment who break its rules )

A kids of Non-thieving society learn the thieving, and a kids of Thieving society learn to

escape a punishment claiming his Human right 😀

Everything break down and only Ego exposed.

A baby start to see two conflicting systems and the rules, hence unable to figure out what is the Ethos of

the Society —– there couldn’t be a Collective Unconscious but just an attitude of

convenient cherry picking of excuse and the knowledge of “How to avoid “ —– it’s mean avoid

to be a member of the society. In fact there is no longer a society and its integrity exists.

—–

Fortunately ( or unfortunately ? ) Japanese society still maintain themselves as a society,

as foreign element is still negligible, even an outcast group Yakuza responded to the disaster, with

hundreds of truck load of relief supply delivered to the evacuated people.

Even though Yakuza were branded as the criminal organization, they are undoubtedly nobody else of

Japanese, and a part of the same society, hence share the same compassion and the sense of duty.

—– simply because, they grown up in the same society ( Even Yakuza was once an innocent

small boy,as you know 😀 ) hence build up the same Ethos as a Japanese.

—-

In reality, to make a baby to a Japanese, other than the teachings in a school and the family and the

circulating popular culture, such as everybody should have the same gadget and ware same kind (well

some pre-classified types) of fashion, there is a hidden secret of social pressure to a person

to conform the social code.

It is more akin to the chorus of the hen in the Animal Farm. When this chorus starts, even a person

who has been saying different opinion suddenly changes the colour and join a chorus, the louder the better.

This is a moment to a person to assess what is the majority and join them.

When the majority is behaving in a certain way, just do the same. To remain within the same group

and the society is the imperative in Japan. Whether it is true or not, right or wrong, just go with them.

So that, when nobody is crying –its mean, no-one should cry. The unwritten code says “Mittomonai

( It looks disorderly, and embarrassing ) “ Anybody brake-off from here, there is a danger to be ostracised.

As a result, everybody looks calm on the TV.

—

Funny side-effect of this conformative society is, as the expectation and the imaginary eligibility

of a man is fixed, such as socially acceptable income and the status etc, under the stagnated

Japanese economy, most of the ordinary man is no longer regarded to fit to marry —– hence

so many people are forced to stay single. ( A research found that among the eligible age-group,

only 6 % of men were regarded to fit the expectation of the woman, its mean, if a woman marry

other than rare 6 % , she will face a humiliation, a chorus of “Mittomonai”.)

—

When no dominant voice led the chorus, hens couldn’t know what to do.

Strangely, they still knows when somebody start to show up with unconformative opinion, they

overwhelm the opinion with their noisy chorus and suppress it. Therefore no fresh innovative idea

(other than imaginative Manga story) nor strong decisive idea coming out of Japan.

This is the situation in Japanese politics too.

Therefore, when they faced a crisis of Nuclear accident, they only try to avoid the Japanese public

fallen into a “Mittomonai” panic, by pretending nothing serious happened, thus do-nothing —-take

an emergency measure itself looks “Mittomonai”—– until it’s actually exploded.

Then everything got too late to take any measure. —– though, a criticism like this will be seen by a Japanese

as an act to expose “Mittomonai”Japan, hence has to be suppressed —-> So that , there wouldn’t be any

“Mittomonai”situation, therefore, able to keep calm face. Face is more important than the safety.

Beautiful isn’t it ?

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