Human mass production
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Sawaki Rôshi:
The problem starts with the education in school: People pass exams, collect points, get grades and have numbers. How stupid! What is a good person? What is a bad person? Are you good if your are good in school? Are you bad if you are bad in school? And what about all those idiots that are good in school?
The one who comes in last place is frustrated. He says, "life sucks", and spents the rests of his days in hate and anger. Thus his life really sucks!
Uchiyama Rôshi:
In night clubs the hostess who is most popular is the number one, and proud of it. But still, would she be save from falling into loneliness sooner or later? She is just that one human product on the shelf of that club that happens to sell for the highest price. But even though your price is high, once you discover that you are no more than a product, naturally you will feel lonely.
Today, the schools seem to function as factories that produce humans. And the purpose of schools lies in raising the prices of these "human products". The purpose of going to elementary school is to go to a good junior high school, the purpose of junior high being to enter a good high school, which serves the purpose to qualify for university. And you go to university to get a good job. Thus you are riding on a belt conveyor on your way to be sold as a product to be consumed. What we see on the streets these days seems to me to be the protest of the teens against this "human mass production".
This protest of the teens represents another problem, but saying that "life sucks" and therefore leading a life that really sucks is an even greater problem.
Sawaki Rôshi:
To study originally meant to find out about one's own life.
Today study just gets you a licence that gets you a job.
