Japan and mindfulness towards others

Quizlet:

Phrases used

Each country has its own unique culture and way of living. The way a country chooses to run its everyday life might be drastically different from others, yet if we imbibe one positive aspect each of a country’s culture (and probably discard one negative aspect of our own), we too can become happy, content and self-sufficient. Take Bhutan for example. It is one of the happiest countries in the world that measures its success in the form of GNP “Gross National Happiness” instead of GDP. Moreover, there are many other countries in the world like Norway and Netherlands that measure their economy not just in terms of the huge pay check a person is taking home, but also whether that pay check is really making him happy or not. Among the developed countries, Japan is known as one of the busiest economies in the world. Just like each country teaches its children some valuable lesson or the other – for example, in the US, children are taught to think free and aim high and in India, children are taught to respect elders – Japanese children are taught the art of mindfulness. For the uninitiated, let’s talk about what mindfulness really means. Suppose you are getting late for work and rush in to catch the peak hour metro or train. As soon as the metro door opens, you often run inside to grab a seat (or even find a place to stand) without actually waiting for people to get off first. And even though you know you are being downright offensive (to others), you nevertheless do it, because of the fear of getting another “late for work” nasty email from your boss. Let’s take another example --- how many times have you held the door for others who are walking just behind you or climbed up an escalator in a queue? Not often you would say. This art of practicing restraint and displaying perseverance is called Mindfulness --- something that Japan as a country has mastered. Japan ranks 16th in the Quality of Life Index, yet ranks an impressive 4th in public safety --- this is because you can still park your bike outside a restaurant when you go in to eat and no one will touch it or you can easily take a nap in the subway because it’s so quiet. You can go to any café and you will be greeted with a bow and a smile. The reason is simple. In Japan, people think about others as much as they think about themselves. This practice of mindfulness is not something new to Japan, it is engrained in their very culture. The Japanese monk Hakuin Ekaku (1686–1769) played a prominent role in preaching the effectiveness of Zen meditation as a way of practicing mindfulness and also cultivating a healthy body, along with mind. The success of the mindfulness practice in Japan also stems from the fact that the Japanese derive happiness from the small joys in life --- in Japan, it is not uncommon to be a part of as Haiku poetry session (in which a poet captures the essence of a moment in just 17 syllables), tea ceremony (where members take time out to appreciate the design of the cups) and a cherry-blossom viewing day, where participants gaze at bright cherries for the better part of the day. Even for a daily activity like eating (which most of us do on the go), the Japanese invest in time and preparation and you are supposed to sit down and eat and finish every morsel on your plate. The Japanese also master at the nanso method, that is a form of introspective meditation developed by Hakuin Ekaku. Through this method, students are taught to master the art of introspection as they meditated, and this practice makes them more aware of their bodies. So, the next time, you shove and push someone on a crowded bus, remember to be a little more giving, or as the Japanese would say, be teinei (polite).

Japanese Mindfulness