Prologue
Japan’s current fertility problem is in some ways the most advanced in the world.
With statistical projections showing that by 2050, more than half of the Japanese population will never marry before they die, there is no way to stop Japan’s population decline.
In addition, as a maritime nation, Japan cannot expect population growth through immigration as compared to European countries that are connected to the earth.
Furthermore, the appeal of immigrating to Japan, which is no longer as wealthy as it once was, has been reduced by half.
Economic activity is sluggish, and Japan as a whole will slowly and surely become poorer.
However, I am not to write to convey pessimism about Japan.
Japan’s economic activity began to decline in the 1990s and has been stagnant for 30 years.
In the midst of this situation, there are fewer and fewer people who flaunt their material wealth as they once did in the 1980s. Young people in particular are not interested in cars and luxury watches.
The buoyant frenzy of the bubble years of the late 1980s is nothing but a laughing matter for the current generation of young people.
More and more people are attracted to the modest, hermit-like lifestyle,
Today, “Tsurezuregusa” written by Kamo Chomei is being reevaluated.
This trend seems rather convenient for seeking the true richness of human nature.
The coronary pandemic of 2020 (covic19) spurred these trends.
The situation changed dramatically.
The most significant of these changes was in the “organization”.
Organizations that had been believed to be secure began to look very fragile.
One by one, organizations that had been huddled together and thought to be strong, such as countries, companies, schools, and even families, showed cracks in their fabric.
We were greatly surprised at how vulnerable these organizations were to the onslaught of the invisible virus, covic19.
But let’s think about it.
The “covic19” only brought these problems into stark relief, but in fact there had been signs of gradual change even before that.
The U.S. is putting itself first, the U.K. is leaving the European Union, and other problems are occurring at the national level.
In Japan, the previously secured lifetime employment system has collapsed, and the business style of universities has been called into question due to the intensifying competition for students.
Families are not just a divided nuclear family problem, but young people are questioning the pointlessness of family building in the first place.
As noted at the beginning of this report, it is estimated that the number of people in Japan who will never marry in their lifetime will account for about half of the population by 2050.
As a result, there are concerns about further declining birthrates and a shrinking population.
Until now
“The government will do something for us.”
“As long as I go to college, I’ll be fine,” and
”As long as I have a family, I’ll be safe.”
we would be safe and sound good.
However, it has come to light that this idea does not work.
I do not mean to imply any negative feelings such as “Japan is finished.
Rather, this kind of situation is like a biorhythm,
Around the time of the Taika Reformation, the emergence of Taira no Kiyomori in the Heian period,
The Kamakura period (1185-1333), which was dominated by the samurai clan of Minamoto no Yoritomo, the unstable Muromachi period (1333-1568), and the Sengoku period (1568-1568),
The “end of the century” trend existed at the end of the Edo period and at the end of World War II.
In other countries around the world, the “end of the century” trend has existed at the end of various eras.
The position of those who see it as “the end” and those who see it as “an opportunity” are like two sides of the same coin, flipping from one to the other as time goes on.
Thus, the “end of the organization” syndrome was triggered by “covic19” and became a worldwide concern.
But was covic19 the only one to blame?
I think it is not facing the problem to conclude that “covic19” is the only problem.
In order to survive in the coming age, it will be important not to rely on anything, but to predict the future by oneself and not neglect to develop the ability to get through it.
It will be important to have the ability to examine a variety of information carefully and to think and judge for oneself what is beneficial or not.
At that time, you must not think in terms of which is right and which is wrong. It is easy to separate right from wrong.
It is not easy to separate right from wrong.
The same information can be different depending on one’s position.
Let us now look at the contrast of discomfort in the modern world.
Organizations and Individuals
A country, a company, a school, a family, all of these are not formed by one person,
but rather they are formed by oneself and others.
Ideally, both should be educated and respected so as to maintain a good balance.
For too long, however, organizations have acted too coercively toward individuals.
People who became disenchanted with this left the organization.
Even once employed, the more talented people sometimes leave the organization.
Conversely, we sometimes hear that those who are not capable hang on to their organizations.
Even if one is aware that the situation is somewhat strange, no one can do anything about it.
Maintaining sanity in such a society is like walking on a tightrope.
Most people fall off the rope, and in desperation, they have no choice but to be taken in by the group.
Or some may actually have been driven into a corner and turned to crime.
It is hard to say that many random crimes and street crimes are unrelated to this.
Organizations can save people, but they can also drive them out.
We are indebted to organizations, but at the same time we must hone our own weapons.
ZEN Jibun Sodate(nurture oneself)
How many people are able to utilize their natural abilities?
In today’s organized world, we are taught to survive in a world that someone else has created, and we are made to believe that this is the best way.
The more honest a person is, the more he or she adapts, and the more difficult it is to break out of that circle.
Those who excel academically, in other words, take control of their countries and organizations.
And those who stray from that line will live under the rules made by those who have adapted well.
Those who have strayed from the tracks, so to speak, will continue to play an endless game in which they will not be able to demonstrate their power.
The first step is to realize that we are all involved in this game that no one knows who started it. The next step is to figure out how to deal with that game.
How fast can most people finish in this game? Everyone is eager to do so.
For example, becoming powerful or rich,
buying a luxury car, living in a prime location, etc,
We are all trying to reach each goal in a game that no one knows who started it.
And they are aiming for fantasy goals that they envy someone else.
What is the purpose of this game we are participating in without knowing it?
If we remain unaware, we will be running day and night like carriage horses in a never-ending red race.
First, organizations want people to compete.
This is the food chain of human society.
Competition for promotion.
Competition for education.
Competition for riches.
To get out of this, you have to realize your own ridiculous competitive spirit.
It is also important to have a mind that is not bound by anyone.
We can be fueled by the expectations of those closest to us, such as our immediate family and spouse, or we can force our partners and children to meet our own expectations.
One way to look at these things calmly is to meditate.
This meditation is also a good way to look at how you are involved in the food chain of human society.
Also, people usually strive to get someone’s attention or to win a competition. After achieving this goal, they may feel a sense of emptiness. This can be a starting point for self-reflection.
This is the same meaning as “meditation” in the act of reexamining the path one has chosen.
This is because people often need to experience the emptiness after achievement to realize “meaningful success.
Emptiness comes the moment you realize the meaningless red lace.
The emptiness we feel is one kind of awareness.
By repeating this step-by-step process of realization over and over again, the impurities of the affliction will gradually be removed.
The more we fall, the closer we get to our original seed.
Our seed that has been shaved off the grime of vexations will be our pure gift to nurture.
Mind growth
The old Japanese monk “Kukai” said. “After we have gone through a certain amount of material growth, we must be conscious of our spiritual growth.”
However, the way they try to increase their material desires is no different from the way they endlessly repeat binge eating and drinking.
(The state of devouring is called “GAKI” [mean is “hungry demon”]).
Nevertheless, there is a limit to our material desires.
Repeated binge eating and drinking will eventually lead to poor health, disease, and emaciation.
But the spiritual food chain, or mental chain (mind chain), is endless.
No matter how much we continue to grow spiritually, it never ends.
Also, while the food chain is an exchange of energy between organisms existing at the same time, the energy exchange in the mind chain can be with people in the past and in the future.
In other words, even if we are not useful to someone now, the mind chain may be useful to someone after our death.
Humans, without exception, grow up starting with the material food chain cycle.
When we are born, we are protected and nurtured by our parents or relatives.
Like other animals, they grow up eating plants and animals.
During the process of physical growth, there may be little need for spiritual growth.
However, with physical growth comes spiritual awakening.
It varies considerably from person to person. Some people are geniuses who become aware of this at the age of five or so, while others are unable to look at themselves objectively even as adults.
We understand that we must aim not only for material growth, but also for this spiritual growth.
It is natural to desire spiritual fulfillment once we have attained a certain level of material wealth.
What is important is balance.
If one acquires great material wealth, one cannot escape emptiness unless one also acquires the spiritual wealth that accompanies it.
The key to one’s growth as a person is to aim for spiritual growth.
So Mind Chain – True Happiness
Although everyone has his or her own desires, I strongly believe that what makes people truly happy is when they feel that they are of use to someone else or that they have made someone else happy.
There are many forms of happiness, so it is not a matter for others to interfere.
However, as many wealthy people, such as Steve Jobs, said at the end of his life, “I wish I had spent more time with my family.”
It is true that people value spiritual satisfaction more than money and other materialistic fulfillment.
It may take time for some people to accept this idea.
This is because people who are so poor that they cannot afford to eat today or tomorrow do not have the time to do so.
In order to seek spiritual satisfaction, it is first necessary to have enough material resources for the time being.
However, the world is a huge.
There are certainly people who are rich in spirit, even those who are extremely poor.
These people already have the mental capacity to look at themselves calmly and objectively.
I think there are few people like this in Japan today.
This is because the more Japanese people ignore “who they are from their own perspective” and are only conscious of “who they are from the perspective of others.
I can say with certainty that no other people are as overly conscious of the eyes of others as the Japanese.
This may have both advantages and disadvantages, but in terms of “the ability to feel happiness,” the disadvantages seem to prevail.
Let’s take a good look at ourselves, not as others see us, but as another self, and listen to our heart’s opinion.
Then, we can explore and nurture our own potential.
Share “your flower” that blooms and “your fruit” that you bear with someone else.
I believe that beyond someone’s happiness, we will truly feel glad that we were born.
I believe that feeling this happiness is “true happiness.
The world is past sixty or seventy, and “the young ones are no good!”
There are old people who say, “Young people have no spirit!
This way of life is typical of the food chain mindset.
We know very well that it is deplorable, so we must not get caught up in it,
We must make an effort not to be part of that game.
Xi Jinping of China, Putin of Russia, and Biden of the U.S., well, they are all major powers who seem to be in the same boat.
I often hear people say that Japan is not doing well, but I think the same thing is happening all over the world.
Perhaps one aspect of this is that the most powerful organizations are no longer “countries” anymore.
Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft have become organizations that can send a more powerful message than the state.
The replacement of democracy and dictatorship in various countries has been repeated in history, but in a way, the head of GAFAM is more intense and powerful than the dictatorships of the countries so far.
For a smart way of life, we need to get out of the food chain where people eat people and do not harm them.
If possible, we as a nation should aim for a way of life that provides good mental nourishment to people.
This is a recommendation for a mind chain originating from Japan, which once became an economic superpower but is now trying to live quietly after finally realizing that its remarkable economic growth was actually just luck.
I am writing this in the hope that it will surely be of use to you when you are conscious of living a life of seclusion, where you don’t get involved with people as much as possible.
