Compass of the Times 222

Compass of the Times 222

Call Forth Our Inner Braveness

Keiko Takahashi


How Do We Face a Sense of Powerlessness?

In a time of the unbelievable, it is inevitable that we will be faced with unexpected realities of dark transformation.

We may face unforeseen negative results, a more difficult situation than expected, or a hurdle that cannot be overcome no matter what we do, leaving us with no choice but to stand still. Sometimes, it may seem as if the entire world is being swept away by a tide of dark transformation.

At such times, we human beings will bitterly experience our powerlessness.

“There is nothing I can do about it anymore by myself.”
“Even if I alone try my best, it won’t work out.”

It is not uncommon to find ourselves muttering these words unintentionally.

We will be almost swallowed up by the gravity of the dark situation in front of us. In the great movement of the times and society, we will be tossed about like a leaf on the surface of the water. There will be only a little we can do.

And yet, there is something I would like you to remember at a time when you are threatened by such a sense of powerlessness. This month, I would like to tell you about this.

Human Potential That Must Not Be Forgotten

Even if we feel, “I am powerless, and I cannot do anything,” there is a brave being hidden inside of us that accepts and overcomes any situation that confronts us.

We can see such an inner brave being because we perceive each individual person as a soul.

None of us are beings who have lived only this life. Each of us has experienced many different lives before the life we are now living. Our real entity stores within us the wisdom we have acquired from experiencing various encounters and events during our past lives.

For us, life is a place of adventure where we jumped in to have new experiences.

This world is Saha1: the World of Suffering and Endurance, where endurance is a prerequisite, and we are nothing more than adventurers who are born in the time of the unbelievable, knowing that anything can happen. A brave being called an adventurer is hidden in everyone without exception.

As long as we live, we search for our aspirations ingrained deep within us, trying to respond to our purpose and mission in life. In other words, we carry the profile of a brave being called a seeker as well.

In order to realize that aspiration, we are willing to cultivate our inner world and change ourselves. We do not mind breaking down our familiar ways of doing things, the way of life that had become natural to us, and we change that life into something new. We have a brave being called a cultivator, the one who continues to prepare a new mind that lies within us.

Furthermore, we are hiding within us a brave being called handler of the law, who is an expert in taking command of the Law of In-En-Kaho2 that governs the generation of all reality and who can move the world.

Call Forth Our Inner Brave Being

You might feel that you are just one helpless being without much power. You may have before you an abundant reality that makes you think so.

Nevertheless, just a few moments of thought will make you become aware that there is an unparalleled brave being hidden within you that combines many facets: an adventurer who is not defeated by fear; a seeker who keeps on seeking one’s mission in life; a cultivator who is willing to change oneself; and a handler of the law who follows the Divine Truth with single-minded devotion. What a waste it would be to leave such a brave being buried inside you.

What we need to do is to call forth that inner brave being. We need to keep on calling out from our True Heart, from the bottom of our hearts, with prayer: “Come forth, my inner brave being!” And then, take steps that you are able to take, steadily and one at a time. When you do that, your inner brave being will be awakened without fail. Through your daily and unceasing approach, that brave being will begin to take on a definite contour, rise up, and begin to move. That being shows itself in your profile, actually.

Editor’s Note

1. Saha (The World of Suffering and Endurance)

Everything rarely goes just as we want. In reality, we are constantly facing ordeals and injustices. I have explained the fact that this world is not paradise by using the Buddhist concept, “this world is saha.” Saha means a place to endure suffering. Living in saha points to the fact that we must endure distressing situations and accept unbearable things. (Excerpted and summarized from p. 35 of The Reason Why You Were Born as You)

2. The Law of In-En-Kaho

In-En-Kaho is the law of cause and effect. All phenomena are seen as the manifestation of the result (Kaho) produced by combining together cause (In), which is the source, and conditions (En). In other words, we grasp the flow of the energy that controls all of creation and destruction in this world by using the three poles. There is not a single phenomenon in this world that can be separated from the law of In-En-Kaho. All matter in the universe and every possible reality are the result (Kaho) that is created by the cause (In) and the conditions (En). (Excerpts and summary from pp.125-126 of The Soul Doctrine as a Way of Life by Keiko Takahashi)