May 2026 Issue: What Can I Do

The President asks what each of us can do. The sunlight in the garden, the President of the Association for the Demonstration of Justice, the fact that we are human beings who are connected to one another—yet the power of each and every one of us humans is truly weak and small. It is also said that without the superiority of being able to use language and tools and to act in groups, humans would not have been able to win the struggle for survival or to survive. The reason humans are called social animals is, I suppose, because we have built a highly developed society in which we cooperate, aiming for everyone to live well, as we strive to complete our training as physicians. Previously, I stated that living harmoniously with others is the very meaning of our being born as human beings, and I believe that, even when viewed from the history of life, this is likewise true, and that humans know this instinctively. However, in recent times, perhaps due to the trend of valuing one's own values, there are people who put the brakes on the willingness to communicate and the desire to get along with others, which are also said to be characteristics of human beings, and I think this is leading to their own isolation or to indifference toward others, as symbolized by social problems such as loneliness. It seems that the world of children is no exception, and according to recent surveys in Japan, in this small household, the number of students in elementary, middle, and high schools who are isolated has reached a past high, which is a situation that should be taken seriously. As Nakamura Keiko, a life-saving researcher, stated more than ten years ago, "The ones I most want to help right now are children. Elementary school students send me letters saying they are troubled by their own lives and want to die." As she wrote in *Ikiki* (Vibrant Life), March 2015 issue, from that time on, children whose hearts have been worn down by isolation at school or family anxieties and who think they want to die have not ceased to appear. We ask about our own way of living every day. If it is something we ourselves have been troubled or worried about, we can immediately understand another person's suffering and think, "That person must be going through a lot." However, when we have no experience, we often cannot even muster interest, and when it comes to suffering so great that one thinks of wanting to die, I believe there are few people who truly understand how the person involved feels. The Dogen Zenji is said to have realized that "to study the Buddha Way is to study the self." Even though we think we know ourselves, we do not even understand ourselves well. As for whether we, who do not even understand ourselves, can understand how others feel, it seems to me to be a very difficult matter. So, in a world where many young people feel it is hard to live, is there nothing we can do? No, that is not the case. The educator, Mr. Morino Musashi, points out that no matter how difficult life may be, there is no greater blessing on this earth than having been given life. And he points out that making this point clearly known is true religion. The aforementioned Ms. Nakamura Keiko says she wishes to convey to children that the fact that you are alive right now is an amazing thing. Both of them understand the importance of conveying the truth of life, and Ms. Nakamura also says, "No matter how far you trace back to yourself, everyone is connected and leads back to the ancestral cell from 3.8 billion years ago," and this also shows that the awareness of the unity of all beings gives the heart the courage to live. Then, what is most important for us first is perhaps to show, through our way of living, how we ourselves accept suffering, how we are aware of the preciousness of being alive now, and how we are living. As a result of this, when the voice of the heart of a person who is troubled and suffering touches the times, we simply need to deliver words that give strength. If asked what is the most painful thing, answer: a heart that separates people. The Ryokan Zenji says that the greatest suffering is for people not to help one another and not to get along. Therefore, while daily reflecting on how we ourselves should be now, we should notice even small changes in those close to us and call out to them, "What's wrong?" This repetition leads to saving people and to nurturing young people. With this, I will conclude the President's Dharma talk for the May issue of *Kousei*, Reiwa 8.

会長方は、自分に何ができるか。 庭の日光、立証公正会会長、つながり合うのが人間なのに、私たち人間一人一人の力は実に弱くて小さなものです。 人間は、言葉や道具が使えて集団行動ができるという優異性がなければ、生存競争に勝てず、生き残ることはできなかったとも言われます。 人間が社会的動物と言われるのも、私たちが医師の卒業を図って協力し合い、 みんながよく生きることを目指す、高度な社会を築いてきたからでありましょう。 以前、人と仲良く生きることこそ、私たちが人間として生まれてきた意義であると申しましたが、 生命の歴史から見てもそれは同様であることを、人間は本能的に知っているのだと思います。 ところが昨今は、自分の価値観を大事にする風調からか、 人間の特徴とも言える意志の途通や人と仲良くしようとする思いにブレーキをかける人もいて、 それが自らの孤立を招き、あるいは孤独しなどの社会問題に象徴される他社への無関心を生んでいるようにも思います。 それは子どもの世界も例外ではないようで、日本での最近の調査によると、この小資家の中、 小、中、高校生の自治者が過去最高に達しているという有料すべき状況なのだそうです。 生命試験救者の中村稽子さんが10年以上前に、今一番お手伝いしたいのが子どもたちです。 私のところには小学生が自分の命に悩み、死にたいと手紙を送ってくる。 生き生き2015年3月号と述べているように、当時からずっと学校での孤立や家族の不安などで心が疲れ、 死にたいと考える子どもが後を立たないのです。 日々自分の生き方を問う。私たちは自分が困ったり悩んだりしたことであれば、他人の苦悩もすぐに、あの人は大変だなと理解できます。 ところが経験がないと関心すら持てないことが多く、まして死にたいと思うほどの苦しみとなると、 本当に当事者の気持ちがわかる人は少ないように思います。 道言前事は、仏道を習うというは、事故を習うなりと悟されています。 自分のことを知っているつもりでも、私たちは自分のことさえよくわかっていないのです。 自分のこともわからない私たちに人の気持ちがわかるかというと、私にはとても難しいことに思えます。 では、生きづらさを感じる若い人が多い世の中において、私たちは何もできないのかというと、そうではありません。 教育者の森野武蔵先生は、いかに強くな人生であろうとも、生を与えられたということほど大なる恩恵はこの地上にはない。 そして、この点をはっきりと知らすのが真の宗教と指摘され、 さきの中村稽古さんは子どもたちに、あなたが今生きていることはすごいことなのだと伝えたいと説に願われています。 いずれも命の真実を伝える大切さを解き、中村さんは、自分をどこまでも逆のぼれば、みんなつながって38億年前の祖先細胞に生きつきます。 とものべて、自体一体、みんな一つの自覚が自体を逃ぶ心と生きる勇気を与えることも示されています。 すると、私たちにまず大切なのは、自分自身がどのように苦難を受け止め、 今命あることのありがたさを自覚していかに生きているかを、生き方を通して示すことなのかもしれません。 その結果として、悩み苦しむ人の心の声が時代に触れた時、力を与える言葉を届ければいいのです。 いかなるが苦しきものと問うならば、人をへだつる心と答えよ。 両官前次は、人と人が助け合わず仲良くしないことが一番の苦しみなのだと言います。 ゆえに、自分は今どうあるべきかを日々賛成しつつ、 近しい人には少しの変化を捉えて、どうしたの?と声をかける。 その繰り返しが人を救い、青少年を育てることにもつながるのです。 以上で、高生、令和8年5月号、会長先生ご法和の労働を終了させていただきます。