Divisible Method

The divisible method is an approach to achieving goals in the Study of the Soul. By dividing the path to one’s goal into feasible steps and achieving them one by one, one will eventually be able to accomplish even a goal which is not reachable at once.

When we have a goal, the steps we take to reach it can be compared to climbing a mountain.

If we climb a mountain without a goal or forecast, we walk haphazardly depending on the mood of the moment, making it difficult to reach the top.

Also, if we cannot see our aimed summit because of the fog at the top, we tend to look only at our surroundings, the immediate future, and simply keep moving to a higher place than the current one. However, we will not know if the place we reach in this way is really the summit we should be aiming for.

In order to get to the summit, we need to have the strong will to arrive without fail and a forecast (vision) to get there, and divide the distance to the summit into feasible steps. Then, by making steady progress on each of these steps, we will be able to know where we are now, and even if we go down into a valley at times, we will be able to start again and reach the top.

When we wish to achieve a goal, we first see the whole picture from a bird’s eye view and have a perspective of the pathway to get there. Then, we divide it into steps, discern what we need to stick to and what we need to discard. If we steadily put these into action one step at a time, we will be able to reach our goals, even if they seem impossible at first. This is what we call the divisible method based on vision.

Source of reference:

– “Introduction to the Study of the Soul,” in G. Monthly Magazine, November, 2017 (available only in Japanese)
– “Lectures from the second and third sessions of the Youth School’s Ju-Hatsu-Shiki Cultivation Series Seminar 2001” (available only in Japanese)