Creating peace (part 2)

Creating peace (part 2)

Some people still continue their way of life built on the sense of separation even after they realize that it’s incorrect and that a way of life built on a sense of inseparability is true.

I think there are a couple of reasons for this.

Firstly, their understanding is inadequate in some cases.

Secondly, more than a few people do not have sufficient intuition to feel something is wrong, even if their actual way of life differs from what they have realized.

I think this is because their attitude toward a true way of life is not strong enough. If it was stronger, they would find their way of life to be different and change; but they still continue to live in the same way without noticing anything. This is truly disappointing.

Life is indispensable to anyone, and I cordially advise you to reflect on your past conduct and firmly define the direction of your life if you think this may be the case.

Thirdly, people have thought a lot about a true way of life in their own way, have understood more or less that the sense of separation is incorrect and that the sense of inseparability is the truth of existence, and they believe that they are determined to change their way of life built on the sense of separation and switch it to the way of life built on the sense of inseparability; in fact, they still continue their way of life built on the sense of separation.

In other words, in the third case people think they have got off the train for Tokyo (way of life built on the sense of separation) and have changed to the train for Kyoto (way of life built on the sense of inseparability), but actually they’re still on the train for Tokyo powerwalking toward Kyoto.

This is often the case with people who use their heads too much. Let me explain it as usual by taking the story of quitting smoking as an example.

It goes this way: you have realized that smoking has no merit and you think you are determined to give it up. Nevertheless, the determination lasts only a couple of days at the most, and before long, you give way to your desire and start to smoke again.

So many people fit the description above regarding smoking.

How can you tell the difference between the case where you have really changed to the train for Kyoto and the case where you think that you have, but are actually still on the train for Tokyo?

You can tell in the following way.

Although you try to stop smoking, if you still have any halfhearted or regretful feelings, “I should quit. It can’t be helped. I’ll do my best somehow,” it means that you still want to smoke and you don’t want to quit at heart, which means that you haven’t quit in fact.

In other words, you merely half-think in your head that you have changed to the train for Kyoto.

When you decide to stop smoking, if you are dying to quit as soon as possible, are excited and bursting with joy, it means you have genuinely stopped smoking.

Ascertaining the truth about smoking to that extent is the key to quitting.

This criterion for judging is the most important point for making a variety of selections and decisions in your life, as well as for stopping smoking.

Creating peace (part 1)

Creating peace (part 1)

To date, so many people have made strenuous efforts wishing for a peaceful world; yet the world of truly everlasting peace hasn’t be realized.

Why is that?

In my opinion, this is because a surprisingly simple thing has been left unnoticed due to some serious oversights.

Let me explain it in plain terms.

Suppose you are at Nagoya Station, on the bullet train platform now. You are waiting for a train to go to Kyoto. The train comes and you get on the first car.

After the train starts moving, you notice you have jumped on a train bound for Tokyo, in the opposite direction, by mistake.

Do you powerwalk toward the last car of the train to head in the right direction, toward Kyoto?

This does not allow you to approach Kyoto at all. Rather, it makes you advance rapidly toward Tokyo, despite all your efforts.

Likewise, no matter how hard we oppose war, we cannot realize a world of truly everlasting peace if we leave a breeding ground for war.

In order to achieve a world of truly everlasting peace, we need to eradicate the breeding ground for war itself and create a breeding ground for peace.

Calls for opposition to war may have the symptomatic effect of temporarily stopping movements toward war, and are necessary in that sense, of course.

Forces for war, however, turn out to view opposing movements as a threat, which unfortunately creates more powerful reactionary movements. Don’t you think conflicts between the two sides would escalate readily in this manner?

Even if you desire peace from your heart and eagerly express opposition to war while ignoring its breeding ground, that alone will not contribute to the ultimate impoverishment of the breeding ground itself because it partly contains an opposing element.

Herein, the breeding ground for war refers to the state of society based on a sense of separation. The breeding ground for peace refers to the state of society based on a sense of inseparability.

We should still promote campaigns against war as a symptomatic treatment to stop (even if only slightly) the present movements toward war. In addition, in order to realize a world of truly everlasting peace by eradicating the breeding ground for war and creating a breeding ground for peace, we should also strongly and seriously promote non-opposing peace movements by treating the issue fundamentally.

It should be noted that if the non-opposing peace movements are merely self-satisfying, by simply praying for peace for example, it fails to help in eliminating the breeding ground for war and creating a breeding ground for peace.

Fortunately, the key to creating a truly everlasting peaceful world is right in your hands.

It would be much appreciated if you could thoroughly read my book Beyond National Egoism for details.

The button of hope

The button of hope

We need to pass through many processes before the ideal of a Nation for International Peace and the Environment* is raised in Japan.

For these processes, we would do well to think about the most effective way of proceeding with them at each occasion as changes develop in line with this proposal.

The most important process among them is obviously that the number of proposal supporters needs to increase rapidly.

So how can we increase the number of supporters?

To begin with, do you support the proposal yourself?

Do you think it is difficult to increase the number of supporters of the proposal?

You might feel a little puzzled being asked one question after another in this way.

Let me give my opinion.

First of all, I myself think that we can rapidly increase the number of supporters of the proposal.

The reason is simple. If we think we can’t, then it’s finished.

I’m confident that we can surely find an effective way to do it if we all consider how to, in the belief that we can make it.

Next, I think that it’s easy to increase the number of supporters of the proposal.

The approach does not suggest changing current politics, economy, or anything else right now. Instead of directly touching upon these topics, it only asks “what do you think would be best for the future state of Japan?”

Considering this, isn’t it such an easy thing to support the proposal?

The first stage only requires an increase in the number of supporters.

Once the number of supporters reaches a certain level, various movements arise among them, causing the number of supporters to increase even more.

It’s just like when a small fire starts in a dry, grassy plain where it has hardly rained, and in a moment the fire grows stronger and spreads to cover the whole area.

Simply put, if you think something is “difficult,” it will actually be difficult for you.

Anything, even something possible, cannot be achieved if you’re trying it in a pessimistic mood with negative thoughts, like “Oh, dear! What a pain!”

The key to success is to try to make things work positively, with a bright and cheerful attitude, like “We can’t fail! It’s easy!”

Now you have a button in your hand.

If you press this button, a world of everlasting peace will definitely come true, as if by magic.

I name it a “magic button,” but it may be better to call it a “button of hope.”

Why don’t you press the button of hope one more time at the beginning of the New Year?

Why not let as many people as possible know about the presence of the button of hope this year?

May the New Year be a hopeful year to all that live!

* For full details, please refer to my book:
Shohei Nomura, Beyond National Egoism - The Road to a Nation for International Peace and the Environment (English ver.), Mamizu-Shuppan, 2008

And the Beyond National Egoism NetWork website:
http://beynatego.jimdo.com/