Today, Master Idaki Shin's Applied Course was held in Tokyo. Before it began, I was happy and joyful to see people around me starting to share various things, including creating and selling picture books for the first time in their lives. I suddenly felt that I, too, wanted to try making a poetry book just as I envisioned it, and I decided to act on it. I went out to buy glue, a stapler, and stationery, and had a wonderful time. I do not usually walk around on my own, and staff members do the shopping for me, so I rarely go out to shop myself. I was happy simply to be able to go shopping alone, and my heart felt bright and cheerful. However, when the Applied Course began, my heart grew dark and heavy. I had no choice but to accept that this was how I truly felt at that moment. As I accepted it and listened to Master Idaki Shin, he happened to be speaking about how important it is to listen carefully. He had said in particular that if we listened properly to even five minutes of the “Legends of Koguryo Rediscovered” held at this same venue recently, both our minds and our sensitivity would improve. After that, I listened carefully to Master Idaki Shin. He also said, “You think you are listening, but you are not; you think you are seeing, but you are not.” I had no choice but to acknowledge that this was true. When I listened carefully, my heart became light and clear, and I turned toward the future. My body, too, felt light and agile. I experienced that if we are truly present in the moment, listen carefully, and have rich sensitivity, we can live brightly.
There was also talk of “ukiyo” (the floating world). In feudal times, systems and social status were predetermined, and while having no future to look toward, people had no choice but to live in resignation. I have always felt deeply that loneliness and desolation, and the feeling of not being fulfilled no matter what one does, are still with us today. I feel that this state of ukiyo has continued all along. Yet I understand that we can break free from it because we can create our own path in life and do what we need to do ourselves. When I thought of creating my own path, strength rose from my stomach, and as I became filled with the desire to move forward, the Applied Course came to an end. Master Idaki Shin’s courses reveal our challenges and problems and give us the experience of overcoming them. Today, too, I came to understand one of the reasons for the depressed state I often feel when I wake up in the morning. I had sensed that my heart grows dark when I become the same as the prevailing mood of society, and I now understood that this is indeed one cause. I am glad to be able to work toward changing it. Tomorrow, Master Idaki Shin will give a piano and pipe organ concert. I am truly grateful and look forward to having another wonderful experience tomorrow. It makes me happier and more grateful that I can experience it together with everyone. Thank you very much.