“Living in the Present — What Truly Matters in the Age of VUCA “　

In this issue, I would like to take up the theme shown in the title from the book Nihonjin yo, Hahagokoro ni Kaere (“Japanese People, Return to a Mother’s Heart”) by Master Masando Sasaki,* a great Aikido teacher and chief priest of the Yamakage Shinto tradition.

Words by Mr. Sasaki are quoted in “ ” below.

 

Master Sasaki once consulted his Master Nakamura Tempu about the fact that his wife’s parents were staying for an extended period at his home. Master Tempu listened quietly as Sasaki explained the situation in full. After a pause, Master Tempu slowly began to speak:

“‘It is true that living together with one’s wife’s parents may not be socially appropriate. However, filial piety itself is also a form of spiritual training. Even if you are to have them return home, at least take care of them for today only, and send them back tomorrow.‘

(Omitted)

To be honest, those words left me disappointed.

‘Even if may not be socially appropriate, is it too cruel to send them back tomorrow? Are not loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness the proper way of human beings?’

With an unsettled heart, I made my way home. Again and again, the master Tempu’s words echoed in my mind:

‘Just for today, take care of them.’

‘Just for today… just for today…’

Suddenly, I realized it.

‘That’s it! Filial piety exists only as ‘today.’ Every day is ‘today.’’

At that moment, I awoke from the delusion of ignorance. I then turned toward my teacher’s home and pressed my palms together in prayer.”

 

This episode appears in the chapter “I Have No Regrets in My Life” from Master Sasaki’s book.

As this is the beginning of a new year, I would like to share the following lessons on how to live, drawn from this story:

 

 

 

Let me explain each one of above in detail.

 

１ Treasure the present moment and live each day to the fullest

Words of Master Sasaki

(Master Sasaki spoke to his wife’s parents as follows.)

“’There is such a thing as social propriety. I do not wish to cause my brothers-in-law to lose face. I am truly sorry, but please return home tomorrow.’

The next day, the parents packed their belongings and began preparing to leave.

I deliberately asked, ‘Where are you going?’

They replied, ‘Well, you told us last night that you wanted us to go home tomorrow.’

I then said, ‘Yes—so please go home tomorrow. Not today.’

For a while, they seemed unable to grasp the meaning of my words.

‘In fact, yesterday I went to see Master Tempu and received his guidance.

He said, ‘Life exists only in this very moment—there is neither tomorrow nor yesterday.’In other words, every day is ‘today.’

To be honest, no matter how admirable filial piety may be, I do not wish to take care of you for the rest of my life. However, I can endure it for just one day.

So please relax and make yourselves comfortable for today only, and when tomorrow comes, please return home.’

At this, the parents and my wife shed tears in silence.”

 

(My Comment)

Since around last year’s winter solstice, I have become aware of something within my own subconscious.

Looking back, it seems that throughout my life, my actions were guided by an unconscious belief that I needed to armor myself—

that I had to protect myself against something.

Reflecting on the past and anticipating the future are certainly important.

However, what is even more important, I believe, is this:

to cherish the present moment, and to live with tenderness toward now.

 

２ Hold fast to your convictions

Words of Master Sasaki

“After that, ‘just for today’ continued for twenty years.

Then my father-in-law became bedridden due to illness.

My wife alone could not bathe him, so every three days I would return home in the middle of my workday, help my father-in-law take a bath, and then go back out to work.

This continued for about two years.

At the very end, my father-in-law held my hand, shed a single tear, and quietly departed on his final journey.”

 

(My Comment)

Once you realize what “the proper way of being human” truly is,

you walk that path—no matter what others may say.

I felt that this attitude itself is something deeply important.

My husband is a foreigner, and I tried to marry him guided only by my own feelings, without adequately explaining my decision to those around me. As a result, neither my mother nor my siblings attended my wedding.

Yet my father alone said,

“Of course I’m going. I’m her father, after all,”

and came to my wedding.

Ignoring the opinions of others, he wished for his daughter’s fulfillment simply as a father. Even now, I feel deep gratitude for the vast love my father showed me.

 

３ Do everything within your power, and then entrust the rest to Heaven

Words of Master Sasaki

“Several years ago, I was asked to officiate a jichinsai (ground-purification ceremony).

From early morning, a torrential rain was pouring down. I received a phone call saying that the ceremony would be canceled. When I reported this to the God before the altar, I received a divine prompting—‘Proceed’—along with a sudden flash of insight: ‘the sword.’

I immediately called and persuaded the master carpenter, who did not believe in the gods.

‘Do gods really exist?’ he asked, as he drove us to the site.

The rain continued without letup.

Although the divine message was to proceed, I wondered how to do so. I borrowed a small room in a nearby bakery and put on my ceremonial robes. Strangely enough, at that very moment, the rain suddenly stopped, and patches of blue sky even appeared.

While giving instructions to the astonished carpenter, I began the ceremony. Yet when it came time to recite the words of purification, they would not come out—my throat seemed completely blocked.

Then suddenly it struck me: ‘Ah—the sword!’

I immediately performed a purification of the four directions using the secret Yamakage-ry? sword-purification technique with my famed Kotetsu blade.

The rain-soaked weeds were cut cleanly and smoothly, as if being swept away by the Kusanagi Sword.

The ceremony concluded without incident, but scarcely five minutes had passed before the torrential rain resumed.

Thinking this most curious, I later investigated the land and discovered that it had once been the site of a railway suicide.

When I reported this to Master Yamakage, he said:

‘Shinto is martial strategy. Purification performed with a Japanese sword, forged and trained with sincerity and enclosed by sacred ropes, has the power to drive away malignant spirits.’”

 

(My comments)

After all, I believe that once we live the present moment with utmost sincerity and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to our convictions, all that remains is to entrust everything to Heaven.

Recently, there was media commentary about Sanae Takaichi (PM of Japan)and Satsuki Katayama (Ministry of Finance), saying:

“They have made up their minds and possess a steadiness of resolve that differs from that of men—this level of challenge will not shake them.”

Indeed, when observing their stance, one can sense a firm will and belief: a determination to do everything that human beings possibly can.

Victory or defeat, outcomes and results—ultimately, all of these are decided by Heaven’s design.

This is not blind reliance on external forces, but rather a refreshing and pure state that comes from letting go of small human attachments.

 

 

 

*Master Masando Sasaki

Born in 1929 in Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture.

After overcoming many hardships in his youth, he graduated from the Faculty of Economics and the Advanced Course of the Faculty of Law at Chuo University.

After resigning from his post at the Defense Agency, he encountered Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, and devoted himself to martial arts and the cultivation of the human spirit, eventually becoming an Aikido instructor.

While seeking the true path of life, he practiced waterfall austerities, zazen, and trained in groups such as “Ichiku-kai” and “Itsui-kai.”

He later met his life mentor, Nakamura Tempu, and studied under him.

Through a fortunate connection, he became associated with Yamakage Motoo and was ordained as a priest of the Yamakage Shinto tradition, serving as the chief priest of Kamifukuoka Nishimiya Shrine.

In 1977, he was invited by the French Ministry of Culture to Paris as a Shinto instructor at the “Dojo for the Restoration of Human Nature,” and he visited France again in 1985.

Alongside teaching Aikido, he traveled throughout Japan delivering “Sasaki Dharma Talks,” expounding on the traditional Japanese cultural arts—such as martial arts, tea ceremony, and flower arrangement—and on the true path of being human.

 

Further queries or doubts, please email to ytomizuka@abrilsjp.com

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