Japan today is drifting in a state of complacency.
Yes, cracks and problems can be seen in many places,
but how many people truly take them as their own reality?
In truth, a great many are still living each day in a peaceful daze.
Some may say, "That's unfair. We struggle with economic pressures and various hardships. Our lives are not easy at all."
Even so, most people manage to get through each day somehow.
Others might say:
"I work hard."
"I'm pursuing career advancement."
"I set goals and polish myself."
Indeed, there are many who do not simply drift through life,
who pour their energy into hallenges, into contributing to society.
And yet, when we step back and look,
their attention is still fixed on immediate, surface-level matters.
They speak of improving themselves, refining themselves—
yet they do not truly know who themselves are.
If one were to begin sensing the true self within,
one could no longer live the way one has until now.
Everything that once seemed important would begin to shrink.
This is because one would start to feel, "Now is not the time to be absorbed in such things."
But earlier I spoke of "turning the heart toward something."
Without truly knowing the self,
you cannot, in fact, understand what the "heart" really is.
People often say, "The heart is important."
But what is this heart?
If you do not know that,
you cannot truly care for your heart in the real sense.
The same is true of life.
We say, "Life is precious." Certainly, it is.
But why must life be cherished?
Everything begins with coming to know yourself—
not the self that has physical form,
but the unseen self within.
When you come to know that unseen self,
the nature of the heart becomes clear on its own.
And the notion of "eternal life" also becomes something
you can naturally accept.
Human beings have lived without any awareness
of the energy they emit.
We know the word kidoairaku—joy, anger, sorrow, and grief—
and beyond that: resentment, curses, competition, jealousy, spite, blame, judgment, domination.
We humans express countless emotions in countless situations.
We may feel, "I am angry over this," "I am sad about that," yet we are almost completely unaware
of what kind of energy is flowing out from within us at such times,
and what consequences that energy brings.
We only look at the outer situation—
the circumstances or the people who make us angry,
the conditions that bring us sadness.
We focus solely on the visible "me" and the visible "other."
For those who believe the visible world is reality,
this may be understandable and unavoidable—
and yet, it is not enough.
And the fact that "it is not enough" will soon appear before our eyes unmistakably, undeniably—
again and again.
The world we believe to be real
will collapse before us in an instant.
We will repeat that experience.
The collapse is already right before us.
Unless something happens that turns our world upside down—
so much so that heaven and earth seem reversed—
people will not truly look back on the path they have walked.
No—
even if such events occur,
at this present stage most people still will not genuinely reflect.
That is how deeply the belief
that "the physical body is the self"
has taken root in the human heart.
This is why, over the next 250–300 years of Earth time,
harsh incarnations await.
Each rebirth will inevitably include experiences
of great natural upheaval—
this is already part of the scenario.
"Reflect on the life you have lived,
and connect that reflection to your outlook for tomorrow."
The words sound admirable, but I ask you:
Does this truly mean you have reflected on yourself?
Does this truly open a path toward tomorrow?
When we say "the life you have lived," do we mean only the time since you were born?
I wish to ask this clearly.
If your answer is "Yes," then I will speak to you plainly:
"You existed before you were born,
and you will continue to exist after you die.
I want you to know that.
And the time will surely come
when you will come to know it.
Because we exist within the flow of consciousness."