Kawaraban No. 95

10/2014

by the head of Tendokan, Kenji Shimizu Sensei

Especially during the recent years it could be felt that we as human beings got successfully used to modern civilization, but compared to past times we do not make full use of the so-called excellent five senses of living beings, which originally exist since our birth. But they are extremely important for the preservation of health of mind and body. Regarding mind and body of human beings there is nothing equally wonderful. It is reported that the genes include a period of one million years of personal experience and knowledge.

There are several hundred trillions of so-called brain cells, which are more powerful than every computer. We possess various emotions, thoughts and all sorts of things. Human beings love each other, hate each other, are worried, are happy, persuade other people, make efforts, they sing, play piano, do sports and are able to move around freely. In case of injuries or illness a pharmaceutical factory inside the body produces the appropriate necessary medicine and supports us.

When we intake food it is absorbed and digested, only the unnecessary things will be drained outside the body. Looking at this process it only can be called wonderful. If we would try to rebuild this process technically, even spending hundred trillions of Yen it would be impossible. There is nothing comparatively valuable. On one hand we consider many expensive things as important, but why don’t we take on the other hand great pains for something much more valuable? One reason might be that it is something, which we receive free of charge from our parents. Because it did not cost money, we do not understand the true value.

The human body works perfectly, and with high performance functions like resilience, reconstruction and self-regulation power it works somehow without failure up to an age of 50 years. Passing the age of 50 we begin to feel how our condition of health becomes worse. It is said that we are functioning up to about 100 years if we use mind and body in a healthy way. Consequently to keep this potential ability longer we should acknowledge the value of our body.

Shigehiko Tayama, the English literature scientist and reviewer, pointed out that „if we only try to collect any amount of information, human growth will not follow. Is it therefore not more important to use our head? We read books, we study to obtain knowledge, and of course we maintain intellectual activities, but what is presently missing is to live.” It is wrong, if we just live, and knowledge and education are missing. Certainly in daily life we make a lot of errors at various occasions. This is stimulation for a human being, and that becomes energy for facing new things. If in nowadays Japan during education from primary school to university life is interrupted for several years and very much effort is put only on acquisition of information, this will be a great loss for the society. After a short term of concentration on school education it is advisable to study while working in the real world. Among working students there are numerous excellent persons, and the reason is that life and study have become one.

We are worried about an education within a ‘protected area’ of a too low birth rate. If we obtain even more information, we will become human beings, who behave stereotype and only act formally in a fixed way. If we imprudently feel thankful about information and adapt information blindly, we are like a glider, which cannot fly by its own power, and so finally we will not think anymore how to fly – and that was the warning of Mr. Toyama.

Is not therefore the technical civilization with too much usefulness, which people face today, a great evil practice?

© translated by Ichiro Murata and Dr. Peter Nawrot, 01/2015