Wuzu Fayan, a Chinese Zen master of the Song dynasty known as Goso Hoen in Japanese, left a saying admonishing those who monopolize power. He said people in power tend to behave arrogantly, but it is when you have power that you should listen to others. He warned that misfortunes will come to those who steamroller the opposition. Great leaders are great listeners, he said.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s supremacy was cemented further by the Liberal Democratic Party’s victory in the Upper House election. Abe also managed to fulfill his long-cherished wish of political forces in favor of revising the Constitution securing a two-thirds majority in the chamber. He is most likely to interpret the result of the election as winning public confidence and try to push through agricultural policy reform and constitutional amendment.
It is known that Abe often visits a Zen temple in Tokyo to sit in Zen meditation. He must be calming himself down, praying for the peace of the nation and thinking carefully to make important decisions. As a leader who is at the helm of state, he should never push his way by force and shut out opposing views.
July 12 marks 50 years since the death of Daisetsu Suzuki, one of the world’s leading authorities of Zen Buddhism. Suzuki described the Eastern ways of thinking as valuing “mushin (no mind),” while pointing out the two-dimensional nature of Western thinking based on conflict and control. These days, Japan is also influenced by the Western-style neoliberalism and is turning into a society of division and confrontation.
Isn’t now the time for Abe, who is emerging as a rare strong leader, to sit in Zen meditation? He should listen to the voices of people who oppose to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement, nuclear power plants, United States military bases and constitutional revision. He is strongly recommended to meditate on what evil outcomes his power could bring to this country.