Episode 6 | "Being in This Body Now"—Sokushin-Jobutsu and the Servant Leader

The term "Sokushin-Jobutsu" (attaining Buddhahood in this very body)
might sound like some kind of special enlightenment
or a state that only a limited few can reach.

However, what Kukai demonstrated was
not enlightenment as a future goal,
but a very realistic question: "Becoming a Buddha in this body right now... in other words, how are you being?"

It is a story about spiritual practice, but at the same time,
it is a story about how to live,
and also a story about the way a leader should be.

◆ Not "Act After Becoming"

We tend to think,
"Let's act once we are ready,"
"Let's lead once we are fully prepared."

For a leader, this is even more true;
we often feel that we shouldn't stand at the front
unless we have the knowledge, experience, title, and track record.

However, what Sokushin-Jobutsu shows is
the opposite sense of time.

You do not act after you have changed.
The very "body" that acts
is already influencing the world.

What is your posture as you stand here now?
With what gaze are you facing people now?
What words are you choosing, and what silence are you accepting right now?

I believe Kukai saw that all of these
are already the "way of being that has been attained."

◆ Sokushin-Jobutsu is the "Real-time Nature of Being"

If we take Sokushin-Jobutsu
in the superficial sense of "you can be enlightened right now,"
this philosophy becomes detached from reality.

But I think what Kukai showed
was something much more urgent and much more rigorous.

In the inescapable "now",
how are you being?

You cannot postpone it to the future,
nor can you escape into an ideal version of yourself.

In this body, in this position, and in these relationships,
how you are being manifests directly into the world.

Therefore, Sokushin-Jobutsu
is not a word of comfort,
but rather a philosophy that requires great resolve.

◆ The "Person Who Supports" is Already Standing at the Center

Here,
I would like to overlay this with the modern image of a leader.

The person who stands at the front and gives instructions.
The person who stands above and manages.
The person who shows the correct answer and leads.

In a form different from that kind of leader image,
isn't there someone like this in your organization?

・Someone who listens well
・Someone who sets the tone of the environment
・Someone who naturally reaches out to help those in need

Even though they are not trying to stand out,
before you know it,
their presence has become the center.

The person who is already supporting others
ends up standing at the center.

The way Kukai lived his life
overlaps very well with this image.

◆ Leadership without a name

In modern times,
this way of being
is sometimes called a "servant leader."

But what is important
is not the name.

What is crucial is
that leadership does not arise
from roles or status
but from this point.

A way of supporting.
An attitude of listening.
A sense of serving the environment.

All of these
arise from the single point of
"How am I being, in this body, right now?"

Sokushin-jobutsu and the servant leader are spoken of in terms of different cultures, but

they point to the same horizon.
It might be an exaggeration, but that is how I feel.

◆ The way of being has already begun

From the perspective of Sokushin-jobutsu,
whether or not you are a leader
is not determined by your title.

How are you engaging with someone right now?
What kind of environment are you creating right now?
What kind of peace or tension are you spreading right now?

All of that
is already reaching those around you
as "leadership."

Therefore, the question is not
"whether you can become one," but
"what kind of way of being are you in?".

Kukai was a religious figure who lived his life
without running away from this question.
That is how I think of him.

◆ A question for us living in the modern age

If there is someone right now
who feels,
"I'm still not enough" or "It's too early for me."

Sokushinbutsu does not
deny that sensation.

But at the same time,
I feel it also asks us in return:

In this very body right now,
what are you already creating?

The answer
is not in the future,
but here and now.

◆ Next Episode Preview — Words carry a way of being

In Episode 7,
I would like to re-examine
the "words" we use so casually every day
from the perspective of our way of being once more.