Cultivate Toughness Born of a Compassionate Heart
Rev. Nikkyo Niwano
Founder, Rissho Kosei-kai
A Society That Has Lost Its Rigor
In recent years, there has been a series of crimes that seem to defy common sense. Cases such as the abduction and murder of young girls or setting fire to the factory where one works because one has grown sick of the job are so abnormal that we can only shake our heads.
But when television reporters interview the perpetrators’ neighbors, the response is usually something like, “He was always a quiet but friendly person,” or “He was responsible and hard working.” How can we make any sense of this?
According to psychologists, because such people were coddled and raised in an overly protective environment, they failed to develop a temperament capable of coping with the harsh realities of society. Lacking the motivation to obtain what they desire through proper means, they end up taking shortcuts that ordinary people would never even consider.
And even if they do not go so far as to commit abnormal crimes, these days we often hear about boys and girls who are apathetic, emotionally fragile, and liable to take their own lives over seemingly trivial things. Nor is this limited to adolescents. Even among young and middle-aged adults, there is a growing number of people who lack qualities like perseverance and determination and who are easily discouraged. This, too, is said to be the result of having been raised in an overly indulgent manner.
When we reflect on all of this, we are forced to realize that raising children requires not only kindness but also toughness. Incidentally, even among birds and animals, newborns are groomed and nurtured with affection until they grow and approach the time to leave the nest. Then, their parents gradually push them away, encouraging them to learn how to protect themselves from the dangers of nature and predators. The same is even true of plants, such as flowering trees and fruit trees. If they are pampered too much and given excessive fertilizer or water, they will produce neither beautiful flowers nor good fruit. It is necessary to prune their branches and leaves appropriately to draw out enough vitality to overcome adversity. Human beings, too, are living creatures, and so it’s the same with us.
Bodai no me o okosashimu (Kosei Publishing, 2018), pp. 102-103