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Published: August 17th 2008
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Meiji Jinga Entrance
Tourism and devotion unfettered. Was the subcontinent just a dream? It’s now fading to my memories. Did it really happen? How can the world exist in such a state now that I’ve passed through the culture shock of arriving in Japan (or have I)? Or is the shock just masked by my alienation in Japan from the language, the foods, and the social norms? It’s hard to believe these cultures are of the same world in the same time. A tension is inherent in cultural diversity; it is inevitable that the differences will rub together. It’s a wonder that anything is accomplished in the UN or any international organization. It’s no wonder the WTO negotiations repeatedly fail. Is anyone at fault, or is it the way we understand our world that leads to disharmony.
In Delhi I saw the current movie the Dark Knight. There is a scene (sorry to spoil anything) where the Joker, played brilliantly by Heath Ledger, casually almost comically strolls out of a hospital while he proceeds to blow it up. I saw this scene in a theater full of Indians in Delhi. India was recently hit with a series of bombs. The bombers set off small blasts in various
cities. Then as people arrived to the hospitals, the bombers set off larger blasts at the hospitals. During the scene in the movie, the audience was completely in a shocked silence; it held new meaning unintended by the director. I saw the movie again in Japan (it was that good) and the weight of that scene did not have the same feeling.
Actually, the bombs in Delhi mimicked a popular Hindi movie called the Contract. The plot of the bombers and the movie were almost identical. Afterward, the people who claimed responsibility also threatened to kill some top Muslim-Indian actors if they continued making films. Perhaps the Joker’s ideology is not too far fetched. What is particularly phenomenal (for lack of a better word) is the blurring of popular culture with these “real life” tragedies where both shape the meanings of the other in unintended ways. That was the brilliance of the Dark Knight, but also the tragedy of the bombings. Both elevate the fears of the intended audience but one elevates a bizarre nihilism in an interpretation of god; the other, though exploring into some of our dark territory, refuses to give in to destructive cynicism. How strange
I would defend pop culture, how bizarre I would critique a social movement (to use the term loosely).
I’ve come to find the framing of conflict as good and evil is a distraction. However, I’m not into the “it’s all good” way of dismissing responsibility. There are always unintended consequences of ones actions. Perhaps that’s why I sometimes feel paralyzed in mine. However, this is what I work on. How do I move skillfully through this world without attaching to “mistakes” or “successes” but continue to refine so that I can be compassionate and minimize the suffering of others.
Japan has not been easy though it is a materially gentle society. There is relatively low poverty though it does exist. It is safe. There are adequate transportation, medical, education, and other facilities. But I am an outsider and I misjudged the daily requirements of living here. Its development is as advanced if not more than the US. The people are on equal footing with those from the US. It is influenced by Buddhism, as is Bhutan.
In Bhutan, I lived a moderate yet comfortable “middle class lifestyle”. In the US I struggle to make ends meet while
working to shed the teachings of a working class/poor identity. In Japan, I abruptly returned to those economic concerns of class status and I’m not living very well. I eat at 7/11s and AM/PMs like I did in my early adolescence. I can’t afford the good wholesome food I could eat in Bhutan and India or even the US. We can say that my material standard of living has decreased significantly in a country that is more materially stable than the “least develop countries” I recently visited. This is a complicated equation of relative (read temporary) privilege that has allowed me these experiences. My question is, do we in the “developed” countries really want other countries to develop? What are the ramifications? Will backpackers and students be able to travel? Will a modest grant sustain us in travel-study abroad? How will we sustain grassroots networking and intercultural exchange/understanding? And we often complain about the high tourist tariff in Bhutan. It’s actually fairly equitable, quite predictable, and (mostly) honest.
In Japan, many people seem indifferent if not potentially hostile to foreign visitors. They don’t need visitors, foreigners are mostly a social problem that requires extra infrastructure or time, especially when
they don’t speak Japanese. Except if you have an inside connection. In places like Bhutan and India foreigners represent income or investment (however small). In India there’s a strong wave of chauvinism that overwhelms the best intentioned (though delightful) Indians that mixes with a new economic prosperity and desire that comes off in whole as greed (not that US greed is any better or more honest). Bhutan has not found these, yet - they could. But will they choose Indian development or Japanese or Thai or…? Or will they develop on their own terms? Isn’t that what GNH is about?
Japan is less difficult when I come to terms with my own faults and approach things with humbleness. Outsiders can not afford arrogance in Japan. The Japanese have created those terms in their development. It’s humbling.
But is that mutuality? I can’t answer that question. What does mutually empowering sustainable development look like? Am I looking for something that doesn’t or will never exist? I see or feel elements of mutuality in many of these places I visit. Is it an attitude I carry with me and approach others with? Is it a clear economic calculation where I
give you one thing in exchange for something of equal value? Is it a trust in a gifting economy where I offer my services out of compassion? Do I give these things from faith that I’ll have what I need as opposed to what I want? In a mutual economy what is an obligation?
I’ve had many experiences in my short stay in Japan. Maybe I haven’t done in depth research into the internal workings of government, the economy, social society, religion, etc. However, I wandered through shopping and financial districts in Tokyo. I Cruised on a one-speed bike in a rural town and lived as an uchi-deshi (live in practitioner) at an Aikido dojo. I stayed with a middle class family in the suburbs of Tokyo and bowled until 1 AM. I rode the extensive rail and metro lines all over Tokyo and witnessed the homeless men amongst inaccessible affluence. I visited the Meiji Jinga, an important Shinto shrine. I also met and exchanged information with an NGO that sets up international workcamps. I didn’t fully understand what was happening nor did anyone fully understand who I was. Within days I went from associations with royalty in Bhutan
to anonymity amongst the steel and concrete in Japan.
I think the Japanese I’ve met are warm and kind people when I was able to meet them. On the lanes of Iwama - the rural town northeast of Tokyo - the old ladies and men on bicycles or walking their dogs or walking with friends would always nod an “ohiyo gozamashita” (good morning) with a bit of a smile. I was happy to return the same, knowing there was no expectation other than to see each other live in peace and happiness. That’s what we all want, right?
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dog gone
m j a
stirred, not shaken!
thank you for your stirring thoughts!