Compass of the Times 214
Compass of the Times 214
To Walk on the High Road
Keiko Takahashi
Life without Making Assumptions
Happy New Year.
After two years of being tossed about by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now entering a new year. I hope you are all having a wonderful New Year.
Since September last year, the number of newly infected cases in Japan has drastically decreased. By early October, when the state of emergency was lifted, the number of infected had decreased to only a few dozen in Tokyo and about 200 nationwide.
Furthermore, since the beginning of November, some days it decreased to single digits in Tokyo. It has been no longer unusual for infections to fall below 100 on any given day in Japan, further stabilizing the situation.
There were concerns that the increase in human flow would lead to an increase in the number of infected; however, the number of new infections has remained fairly under control, even now after entering December.
On the other hand, the emergence of the Omicron strain, which is said to be more infectious than the Delta strain that had caused a peak of a large number of infections, has certainly made the world more vigilant.
What people hope is that the virulence of the SARS-COV2 virus will weaken and settle down to the level of influenza as soon as possible. Nevertheless, the place we live is Saha1, the World of Suffering and Endurance. It is not a place where things go the way we want.
In this world, we never know what will happen. It is an unpredictable world where anything can happen. We often make decisions with biased assumptions, such as “It’s over now. I can relax,” or “I’m done. It’s the end.” However, such biased assumptions are most inappropriate in the world we live in.
This is why we need to approach this world without making biased assumptions.
To Walk on the High Road
The ironclad rule for living in such a world is to center ourselves on the Divine Truth above all else. To live in accordance with, and based on, the Divine Truth is nothing less than walking on the high road when living in Saha, the World of Suffering and Endurance.
No matter what reality comes our way or how the current situation changes, we accept that reality as Chaos2. In addition, it should be realized that such Chaos does not come to us coincidently or by chance.
That Chaos (reality) comes to us and is targeted right at us. Given this is so, we must increase the Level of Necessity to face that Chaos as much as possible. With that mindset, we should face that Chaos once again.
No matter what kind of Chaos there is, there is a blueprint3 entrusted to us that must be realized. That is why we can set a blueprint for the future that we should truly aim for, no matter what the current situation is, and seek the best possible path, the Golden Path that will lead us there.
The key to drawing that best possible path to ourselves is how well we align ourselves with the Divine Truth and resonate with the laws of the universe and nature. What we should do is to examine our Ju-Hatsu-shiki4, transform them, and continue our doing.
There are some things we really cannot do, no matter how hard we wish they can be achieved. For example, if we wish to change the reality we face in an instant, that is something we really cannot do. No matter how much we think, “If things were this way . . . ,” there are things we cannot change instantaneously.
What we must do is to focus on what we should be doing right now and do the things we can do but are not doing without being distracted by things that we have no control over.
To Open the Path of Hope
When we accumulate our doing while bringing our actions closer to those that resonate with the Divine Truth, the path we walk will always be the one that harbors light.
This is because we become closer to the best possible path a little more today than yesterday and a little more tomorrow than today. I believe it is an irreplaceable hope.
We can move forward. We can live with a deeper Level of Necessity. We can bring the blueprints entrusted to us in this new year closer to fruition, one step at a time.
I sincerely hope that all of you will have many fruitful days ahead of you.
Editor’s Note
1. Saha (The World of Suffering and Endurance)
“Rarely everything 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 page 35 of The Reason Why You Were Born as You)
2. Chaos
Chaos indicates the primordial state, which has yet to have any form or clear outline, nor results or conclusions. There exist various possibilities and limitations, as well as light and darkness harbored within. The origin of the word “chaos” comes from the Greek myth of the primordial deity Chaos. Chaos is a state prior to the beginning of the universe that harbors all light and darkness. It is a state of nothingness, but at the same time, it conceals all possibilities. As the main premise, the special characteristic of Chaos is that it inevitably leads to a way of life that transcends good or bad judgments. (Excerpted and summarized from page 126 of How to Make Your Life the Best)
3. Blueprint
Originally, a blueprint referred to plans to show how to build something such as a building or a machine. From there, it has come to refer to diagrams or plans for just about anything or for diagrams of the future that ought to be. The reality that we seek to realize and aspire to achieve. In the Study of the Soul, the term is also imbued with the meanings of the Idea (ideal form) hidden in all things and to the promise made with the Great Existence, God. (Excerpted from page 136 of The Golden Path; currently available only in Japanese)
4. Ju-Hatsu-Shiki
Ju is Reception, in which we perceive events that occurred in reality (external world) into our mind (internal world). Hatsu is Transmission, in which we interact with the external world after Reception. Shiki is a Buddhist term that refers to visible realities or the external world such as incidents and events, including people. As long as we live, human beings continue to rotate this cycle of Ju-Hatsu-Shiki and keep producing realities, even if we are not aware of it. (Excerpted from pages 66-67 of The Glossary of the Divine Truth 2012; currently available only in Japanese)