Discipline and Relaxation - Law and Freedom -

The world is full of moving and good words that can serve as personal guidelines, so it is wonderful for young people to take them in and put them into practice whenever they feel moved or resonate with them. However, it is also good for wise young people to keep in the back of their minds that this is merely a form of 'mental taping'.

For example, 'don't be late' and 'don't keep people waiting' are obviously good things. But they are, so to speak, mental tape. You apply the tape and wait until the shape of your mind settles (that is, you repeat the practice until you can execute it), but if you live with that as your top priority, the tape will eventually become distorted. You might start wanting to lecture someone who cannot wake up on time. That person might, in fact, be someone who is congenitally unable to wake up no matter what.

Ideally, mental tape should peel off on its own after a reasonable amount of time has passed. As your minds grow and expand, if the old tape remains stuck on forever, it will eventually bind your heart and hinder further growth.

Phrases that move you and that you want to imitate are a bit like free apps that are easy to download. If you continue to hold onto them as your guidelines long after your mind has grown, they can become a yardstick by which you harshly judge those who cannot do the same, making your own heart feel cramped. As you grow, let us adopt deeper life guidelines.

I believe that the most important thing is not to keep one 'mental tape' for your entire life, but to continue updating it to something deeper. I hope that young people will grow into 'non-serious' people with free spirits, saying goodbye to both the rigid, serious types and the lazy, unserious types.