Compass of the Times by Keiko Takahashi
September 2020
Compass of the Times 198
To Find the Path
Keiko Takahashi
Under the Coronavirus Crisis
We currently face the health problem of the coronavirus crisis, which could be called an unprecedented trial. Almost half a year has passed since March when COVID-19 has started to spread, and now the severe effects of the pandemic are beginning to appear in our lives.
Take, for example, our economic problems. This pandemic not only affects the macro economy on a national level, but it directly threatens each of us who has to make a living.
The impact of COVID-19 is uncertain at this point as to when it will come to an end. For the past six months, substantial business activity has been limited for event-related work built on bringing people together in close proximity to each other. The same is true for companies in a variety of sectors, including those that provide various types of seminars and lectures, as well as the tourism trade and businesses in the food and drink sector. Although the declaration of emergency has been lifted and crowds are returning, this recovery seems premature. Problems remain as the number of new
infections is still on the rise, and business activities are not recovering match the previous levels.
The negative impact continues like a body blow, accumulating to become such serious damage that some stores and companies have already been forced to close down or go into bankruptcy. Some have to think about giving up the continuation of their business.
We must bear in mind that we will face even more severe problems starting this fall.
We are expected to prepare for challenges even bigger than the impact of the financial crisis triggered by Lehman Brothers collapse 12 years ago or the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
There Is a Path
Many of us may face situations in which we worry about the future we anticipate. We may become anxious in the midst of confusion where nothing reassuring is in sight, or we may actually be up against a wall where our efforts alone are hopeless.
At such times, what we must remember is the fact that “there is a path.”
You may not be able to achieve the reality you wish all at once. It may be difficult to change the situation the way you want it to be.
However, there is always a path that leads us to the best possible outcome. This is an unshakable, solid fact.
There is at least one path that will lead us to the transformation of light, in which the possibilities of our current situation are brought forth while keeping the limitations as small as possible.
If you wish to do something about the issues you face and find the path, even if it means to change yourself, you will certainly reach that path.
First of all, I would like you to believe that there is such a pure “white” path, even if you cannot see it clearly now.
Our mind and reality are connected as one. This pure white path can be found with eyes that believe its existence, but it is not easy to find with eyes that deny its existence.
If we think it does not exist, it does not exist. If we think it exists, it does exist. It sounds like a Zen riddle, but the connection between the human mind and reality is something quite inseparable and mysterious.
To Find the Golden Path
“When I look back, I cannot believe how I was able to follow that kind of path.”
It is not uncommon for such feelings to arise in the minds of those who have been able to escape from tremendously difficult situations. They wonder how they were able to arrive here from that point.
The course they took was a miraculous process, and it is somewhat a mysterious path. This means that there is a path that can be called the Golden Path.
This path is like a path that is given to us, coming from somewhere rather than being paved by ourselves. But it is never something that appears suddenly out of nowhere. It is a path that opens up when we earnestly face reality and do everything we can with a prepared mind while believing in the best possible path. As we devote every moment to doing all we can and accumulate the time that has been turned into prayer, the path will emerge as if a revelation.
Excerpt Translation of G. Monthly Journal September 2020 issue |
Preliminary translation as of September 2020 |
GLA member-volunteers translated Takahashi Sensei’s words.
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