Compass of the Times by Keiko Takahashi
December 2019
Compass of the Times 189
To Maintain Our Inner Order
Keiko Takahashi
Reflecting on the Progress of This Year
The end of the year is approaching again.
How has the progress of the year been for you? The year 2019 has given us countless encounters and incidents. I would like each of you to reflect on your progress over the past year.
If possible, I suggest you think of the days you have spent learning and practicing the Study of the Soul*1 . What types of changes have been made within you, and what kinds of things have been given to you?
As we repeat our busy daily routine, we somehow forget to stop and think. By reviewing your steps of this year, I am confident that you will find out what has been brought to you through your efforts.
Among those who recently started to pursue and practice the Study of the Soul, many will say that they can now see their reality better than before.
Once, all you could do was to respond to requests moment by
moment, not being able to understand what and how you felt. You could not comprehend what you thought of it, how you acted, or what kind of reality was brought forth as a result. But now you are able to observe all of these things.
Some of you may say that you discovered the tendency of your mind. Having the Soul Compass (Bonno Map)*2 as a clue, you now understand the tendency of your mind that you created in life, as well as its possibilities and limitations. There might be those of you who say that you have a better understanding of your repeated behaviors, or you are now able to control, little by little, the emotions that once pushed you around.
There will be those who state that their human relationships have slowly improved, or they could solve a problem or create a new reality.
And, if you feel that the order of your mind, your inner order, is becoming more certain than ever, it seems to me that you have attained one of the greatest Kaho (results).
Reality Is Severe, but ...
The world we live in is a place where the Laws of Disintegration*3 and Uncontrollability*4 conquer. If we do nothing, there is no choice, but things will still age, rust, break down, and wear out. For those of us who live in such conditions, the reality is severe.
What we wish will not come true, and situations will be impossible to control. Further, no matter how much effort we make, it may not be rewarded.
It is not uncommon to have relationship problems in the family, which is the most fundamental relationship of our lives. If that happens, a major distortion will occur that will affect our entire life. It is also rare to maintain a smooth relationship with friends at school or at the workplace after entering society.
We must earn a living to maintain our life in the real world, and at times, this can become a heavy burden.
Living in the real world is indeed not an easy task.
However, amid that severity, what if our mind has been nurtured in its strength and is able to accept all conditions it meets and can respond to them?
If we can establish the inner order that can help us perceive every situation correctly and lead us to the best possible path, rather than holding on to wrong beliefs or being engulfed in the oscillation between pleasure and pain, it means that we have gained the power to surpass everything. When the right structure is created within our mind, the right flow will be produced. That is none other than the stable path that can make our life shine.
What Stabilizes the Inner Order
Establishing the inner order is not as easy as it sounds. First of all, it is not something we can do by thinking, "Let's do it." The stability of the inner order is brought about as a result, as Kaho.
In order to achieve this, daily contact with a finely-tuned inner order will be a great help for us. More than anything, we must associate daily with the view of humanity and the world based on the Study of the Soul. It is especially important to experience its reality, which will be given to us by a good friend or Zenyu*5, who shares the same goal. As we witness many models of the practices of the Divine Truth, we think about how we will use the power of the mind when facing various realities. Through such steps of daily experiment, confirmation, and reflection, we will gradually establish the order of our mind.
The more we study and practice in the place surrounded by Zenyu, the more unshakable the order of our mind will become by gaining strength and depth.
Editor's Notes
1. Study of the Soul
The Study of the Soul is a system of theory and practice in which we seek a way of life by connecting the visible and invisible dimensions. In contrast to the study of phenomena, which science represents by dealing with the materialistic dimension, the Study of the Soul goes beyond that, dealing comprehensively with the materialistic dimension and the invisible dimension of the mind and soul. That is a principle that I have discovered
from intensive studies of human beings and the individual life journeys of the many people whom I have met. By looking at the soul, mind, and reality as a whole, we observe human beings and aspire to respond to every possible occasion. (Excerpted from How to Make Your Life the Best by Keiko Takahashi; available only in Japanese)
2. Soul Compass (Bonno Map)
Bonno is originally a Buddhist term, and it refers to all delusional thoughts that bother and aggravate people mentally and physically. The Soul Compass grasps them as tendencies in four types of Bonno that turn our life into darkness. The four types of Bonno are as follows: Pain-Recklessness (victim type) that is symbolized by anger and discontent of human beings: Pleasure-Lethargy (complacent type) that is symbolized by laziness within humans and blind dependency on others; Pain-Lethargy (self-deprecating type) that is symbolized by fear and negative thoughts; and Pleasure-Recklessness (overconfident type) that is symbolized by greed and controlling others.(Excerpted and summarized from The Book to Solve Equations of Life by Keiko Takahashi; available only in Japanese)
3. Law of Disintegration
The law of disintegration corresponds to the Buddhist term; all is impermanent. In science, there is a law of disorder which , otherwise is known as the second law of thermodynamics or the law of increase in entropy (entropy being a physical quantity to show complexity and disorder). In our world, all things move toward disorder; they never move on their own toward order. (Excerpted from Your Best for a New Era by Keiko Takahashi)
4. Law of Uncontrollability
Uncontrollability means things do not go the way we want them to. The law of uncontrollability teaches us that all things exist in a state of complex relationships, and in that state, we cannot make things go our way. In Buddhism, the law is expressed by the term; all is interconnected. (Excerpted from Your Best for a New Era by Keiko Takahashi)
5. Zenyu (Good friends)
It originates from Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, who emphasized the importance of Zenyu to his disciples when asked about its meaning. He responded, "Having Zenyu, a good friend, is equal to the entire path to
enlightenment." For us, Zenyu means nothing but the friends and companions who aspire to accomplish growth and evolution by helping each other based on the Study of the Soul. (Excerpted from April 2019 G. Monthly of The Compass of the Times 181)
Excerpt Translation of G. Monthly Journal December 2019 issue
Preliminary translation as of December, 2019
GLA member-volunteers translated Takahashi Sensei’s words.
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