Takehisa Kora - How to Live Well_ Secrets of Using Neurosis-State University of New York Press (1995)
Takehisa Kora - How to Live Well_ Secrets of Using Neurosis-State University of New York Press (1995)
Takehisa Kora - How to Live Well_ Secrets of Using Neurosis-State University of New York Press (1995)
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Rive WellSecrets of Using Neurosis
Takehisa Kora
RC Foreword by David K. Reynolds
489 , Translated by Gregory Peterson
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1995
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Takehisa Kora
Foreword by
David K. Reynolds
Translated by
Gregory Peterson
and
David K. Reynolds
Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
Index 129
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Takehisa Kora
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Views of Life
(
Corncet Self-Evatuation
People who cannot admit and accept their weaknesses, who
believe they are always right, are insufferable. (Of course,
some people suffer from delusions of grandeur, but we shall
not consider such serious mental illnesses here.) People who
have strong feelings of superiority overvalue themselves.
When they have little ability, they become chronic
KNOWING YOURSELF /5
feelings as they are and proceed with action first, and then it
is easy and practical to change your state of mind. You
need to recognize and practice such psychological realities in
order to change yourself more constructively.
19
20 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
Fudo
(4sh
Stalle
in Wind)
The meaning of the word fudoshin can be taken as being
calm in any situation, or not being influenced by feelings of
sorrow or joy, and being self-controlled at all times. You
may think anyone would want to achieve this state.
However, if one has fudoshin literally, then what happens?
When a car appears suddenly from the side during his walk,
if he cannot be startled, then he cannot avoid the car
instantly. If one is calm at the death of a loved one, then we
should call him not one who has fudoshin but rather
one
who has no heart.
When I was in the prime of my life, I worked at a large
mental hospital. Eighty percent of the patients were elderl
y
schizophrenic patients. I was shocked to discover that they
did not get surprised at earthquakes or fires, and that
they
PHRASES FOR SPIRITUAL TRAINING / 21
does not hurt others in his misery, then his days are good
days. There are some people who have serious illnesses and
yet positively influence the people around them all the time;
but there are others who, although they have objectively
light handicaps, exaggerate their problems and afflict others.
There, depending on one’s attitude, a bad day could be a
good day and even a wonderful day could be a bad day.
I often see plants in the garden around my clinic.
Koseiin has enough plants to become designated a forest
reserve of Shinjuku Ward. There are some very old trees,
and there are many plants that I started myself. I am
especially interested in the ones I planted; I have special
memories of each plant, and when I am in the garden I feel
that I am surrounded by my loved ones. The old man next
door made shelves in his small garden for several dozen
Azalea bonsai and takes good care of them every day. A
person who has something he loves is a person who has
good days. People naturally start feeling love toward
whatever they have nurtured or kept for a long time, such
as plants, animals, humans or personal belongings in
everyday use. The life that is surrounded by cherished
things or people is hibi kore kojitsu, a rich life filled with good
days. There is an even more positive example of hibi kore
kojitsu: a life in which one continues to do constructive work
and sees or anticipates its development. A person with a
creative attitude toward life can have many wonderful days,
but a lazy person can have very few.
People can experience hibi kore kojitsu in a wide variety
of ways: by actions, by appreciating nature or the arts, by
satisfying intellectual curiosity, by loving. If a person can
have many kinds of good days, then I would call that person
wealthy.
Sit: uesi dvoid |
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Uews of Life
Views of Life Chauge
There is no absolutely correct philosophy of life. It changes
with the times. During the time of prewar loyalty many
people placed great value on patriotism. They were taught
to believe that way by the people in power at the time.
Today few people have such a view of life. In the days of
the samurai, when those who had been wronged could
dispense justice themselves, revenge was considered a great
virtue. If you practice such revenge today, you are going to
get into very serious trouble.
One’s view of life depends on the times and also on
one’s age. That is why one’s outlook at twenty years old is
what it is at the time, not something absolute. You do not
know when it will change, and so you cannot help but leave
the future as your future assignment. When you are in your
thirties, it changes; and in your fifties, sixties, and seventies,
it changes accordingly. At my age I have my outlook, but I
do not know how it will change when I become 100 years
old. (If I am still living at that age, I am afraid I might not
have a view of life since I might be senile!)
25
26 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
Revewed With
Views of life in Medieval Europe centered around God.
They believed that God had created heaven and earth in a
week. God’s creation was earth-centered, and among the
living things on the earth humans were at the center.
Naturally they said the heavenly bodies went around the
earth, and on the earth humans were the best. They said,
“God created people in the image of God.”
However, in modern days the theory of creation is
completely reversed. This was caused first by developments
in astronomy. As a result of these developments we now
28 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
My discussion has gone off the track, but any bad man
has some good facets, and any good man has antisocial
aspects. Soseki Natsume wrote, “Usually a good man does
bad things in a crisis, so one must be on guard,” and when I
read it I was impressed. This is a true story that caused a
controversy in a foreign country: after a shipwreck there
was no food, and the survivors ate human flesh. Of course,
no one eats human flesh in ordinary circumstances, but
people can do even that in a crisis.
| olla
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aN ee
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Part 2
Uufpleasaut
but
5
lssis
alNeuro
Pitfof
Exaggerating Miner Physical Disorders
When you feel a heaviness in your head, you naturally feel
depressed. Although it has nothing to do with intelligence,
everyone has similar tendencies, depending on the occasion,
and your mental vitality is reduced in such circumstances.
It is not good to think of this kind of condition as a sign of
serious illness or to worry too much about it. If we compare
this condition to that of a machine, we can say that the
machine has some friction and needs some grease. On such
an occasion you must trust that it is going to improve and
you must wait for that time.
One’s physical condition can be good or bad depending
on the day. In my case, when I have a meeting until late, I
feel tired the next day, but I do not consider it an illness. It
is no good to think of illness whenever your physical
condition is poor. Although it is within the limit of normal
physiological change, if you pay anxious attention to it by
thinking of it as illness, then, as if you are hypnotized, you
start thinking about it more and more. It becomes a vicious
cycle. Even if you feel some physical disorder or have some
33
34 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
Distorted Self-Defense
The personality of a nervous person is a self-centered
defensive mechanism, and he strains every nerve to protect
himself. When this becomes a habit, it results in distorted
character traits. When we live in this society, we have
various objects of anxiety because the society is not
especially made for our convenience. In companies neither
36 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
“lake Respousibdlity
for Your rbctiaus
The fifth condition for a sound mind is to be able to
take
responsibility for one’s actions. A small child cannot take
CONDITIONS FOR A MENTALLY HEALTHY LIFE / 45
Ge Hlexible
The sixth condition is to have mental elasticity and
flexibility. In the Analects of Confucius there is a saying,
“A wise man is not a pot.” That is, a pot is convenient, but
it has only one use. A teacup is good for drinking tea, but it
is not very useful for anything else. A clock is useful to
know the time, but it has no other use. A car is the same,
and it is very convenient, but humans have to drive it. If the
decisions are left to the car, then there is no flexibility. On
the other hand, however trivial it seems, living things do not
bump into electrical poles when they walk. In other words,
they are flexible.
Among humans there are some who are obsessed or
controlled by one idea, having no flexibility in their
stubbornness. Once they decide something, they think they
are absolutely right, and no contradiction can change them.
Such inflexibility cannot be called mentally healthy.
Paranoia is a condition in which one is obsessed with one
46 /HOW TO LIVE WELL
Understand
Humor aud Enjoy Life
The seventh condition, and this is something I especially
want to add at the end, is the importance of understanding
humor and enjoying life. Being serious is all right, but there
are some who are serious and not interesting. A lack of
humor does not necessarily make one unhealthy, but if
possible it is better to understand and appreciate humor.
One who cannot appreciate humor sometimes flares up
when someone plays a joke on him. People cannot even
tell jokes around such a person. People need some latitude
to tell each other jokes and to make fun of each other.
Humor in life is like a lubricant. It can make contact
between people gentle and amiable rather than being cool
and instrumental.
Only with the freedom to enjoy life can people be rich
and happy. I think we can enjoy things infinitely if we have
purity of heart. For instance, autumn has various natural
scenes and objects that we can enjoy, such as chrysanthe-
mum blossoms, colored leaves, and the singing of wild birds.
We can enjoy reading books which satisfy our intellectual
curiosity. Or we can listen to music, appreciate fine arts or
enjoy sports. In any case, it is necessary to have the
freedom to enjoy life.
In this way a healthy person has many kinds of traits,
but among them some are more important than others. To
be able to keep on doing constructive activities is the most
important among them. Without this characteristic one
cannot be called a complete, authentic person.
In addition, our personalities vary. For example, some
people are good at speaking and some are not. Some people
speak well and often, but being taciturn does not prevent
one from being fully adult. There are many great people
who are taciturn but, on the other hand, there
are some
who fail because they speak too much. There are
some who
CONDITIONS FOR A MENTALLY HEALTHY LIFE / 47
are able to serve others by talking a lot, but there are others
who make slips of the tongue and who hurt the feelings of
others by talking too much. In this way, it is usually better
to have various abilities, but it does not matter too much if
you do not have them. Being good at drawing is better than
being poor at it, but even if you are bad at it, that fact does
not mean you are unhealthy.
I have enumerated many general characteristics of
healthy people. If you think about these conditions in
everyday life, then you will have an awareness of how you
should live and what you should do to be a healthy person.
If there is something contradictory inside yourself, then you
should reflect upon yourself to find out what is wrong or
overdone, and then you can become a healthy person if you
control yourself.
It is a basic principle for a neurotic person to live a
healthy life in order to become healthy. Living a healthy life
means that we should apply our abilities and approach the
outside world with correct attitudes. Neurotic symptoms
cannot be cured by resting. In other words, if you lead a life
filled with the desire to do, see, listen, and know, and if you
are actually practicing what you desire and you feel you do
not have enough time, then on the whole you are leading a
healthy life. If you avoid struggling with and trying to
eliminate or escape from your symptoms, and if you keep
such a healthy life, then eventually your symptoms will
disappear.
In Zen there are such expressions as tongo (sudden
enlightenment) and zengo (enlightenment that comes
unnoticed). Tongo means to gain enlightenment suddenly
for a particular reason: suddenly your frame of mind opens
up. This kind of thing occurs once in a while, but you can-
not expect it to happen. Zengo means to gain enlightenment
by gradually accumulating it, hence enlightenment occurs
even though one is not aware of it. Neurosis is cured in this
way.
While you steadily lead a healthy life, one day you look
back and realize through your experience that you are
nearly freed from old limitations caused by your symptoms.
48 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
Neurotic Symptoms
and
SY!
58 / HOWTO LIVE WELL
Falu
tu General
re Practice,
Succesas a Scholar
s
One cannot judge a person’s value by looking at only one
side of him. Just the opposite of the previous case, there was
a teacher who did not have much success as a general
practitioner; however he became a very great scholar.
Professor Tahara, who specialized in pathology at Kyushu
University, is the case I have in mind. This professor
discovered the fascicle [bundle of nerve fibers] that transmits
stimulation to the heart, and now his name is recorded in
anatomy books in reference to Tahara’s Fascicle. He was
very good academically, but he was not popular as a general
practitioner after his graduation from Tokyo University.
Even we, his students, could guess from hearing him that he
ADAPTING THE MIND AND BODY / 65
Beware of Perfectioniam
Nevertheless, it is no good to keep changing jobs by
criticizing one’s present work. Once I had an outpatient
who had changed jobs three times. She would quit a job
before she even got used to it. She would quit within two
months or so, complaining, “This job does not seem to suit
my personality,” or, “It is too difficult for me.” Some quit
working after a year, saying that it is too difficult or
something, but there is no way that they can get used to a
job in only one year. Some people quit when they feel that
their superiors are cruel or that they are not kind enough to
66 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
take time to teach them. If the job does not fit them at all,
then it may be better to quit, but no one can adjust in a short
time. When people do the same work for ten years or so,
they become experts. There are many hurdles to overcome
before one gets used to one’s work. You have to realize
more fully that society is not made especially for your
convenience.
If you are too concerned about yourself only, you be-
come very sensitive. However, if you deepen your interest in
the outside world, then you will be freed from self-centered
obsessions. It is important to place emphasis on dealing
with the reality of the outside world, regardless of your
feelings. Since feelings change like the weather, you should
do what you have to do, whether your feelings are positive
or negative, leaving them as they are.
When the desire for perfection is strong, one tends to
say, “I cannot do it well enough.” This is the worst possible
attitude. Perfect conditions are rare, and so even if we can
do only fifty or sixty percent of something, we do it. Every-
one wants to do something perfectly, but if his expectations
are too high for his abilities, his efforts will result in
disappointment every time. It is good to expect just a little
above your average ability, so aim just a little above normal.
For example, if you are going to play mini-golf at Koseiin,
and your normal score is 25, then you should aim for 22 or
23 today. If you aim for 18, you will be greatly disappointed.
Your adaptation to the outside world should be based
on reality. Contradictions increase rapidly if you try to
apply your own principles to the world. There is a dif-
ference between the way the world should be and the Way it
is. It is wonderful to have high ideals, but you should think
of an ideal as something that comes much later. The reality
is that you are far below such high expectations.
When one has neurotic symptoms, the gap between
idealistic standards and actual ability widens by attention to
ideals. As one becomes cured of neurosis, he reduces the
gap between his ideal standard and his actual ability,
learning a more practical view of human life.
G
Uuplearaut
but Necessary
“The Ersseuce of
Morita “lherapy
70
Neurstic Pernonality “hacning
_ I would like to base this chapter on a neurotic person whom I
_ know very well: myself. This patient was born in the year Meiji
32, or 1899. A difference of one year has made me a relic of the
19th century.
I was born in the countryside in Kagoshima Prefecture.
My father was from pure Kagoshima stock, and my mother was
from Tokyo. My family, a medical family, had only two
children, my elder sister and I. As the only son I was spoiled.
There were many books in my house, and so I began to
read a lot at an early age. Compared with other children in my
class, I had a clear head full of knowledge. However, I was very
immature in practical matters. The disparity was enormous. I
could not do what other children, who seemed inferior to me,
could do much better. On one hand I had an inferiority complex,
and on the other I had a superiority complex in learning. I
suffered from this contradiction since I was very young.
79
80 /HOW TO LIVE WELL
Responsibility
as a Doctor of Paychiatry
In our final years of medical school we gradually began to
practice clinical psychiatry: we actually saw patients. I
began to feel responsibility as a doctor for the first time.
Until then I had spent my time reading books or trying
foolhardy training exercises solely to solve my own prob-
lems. When I started clinical practice, I realized that as a
professional doctor I would have to know illnesses, so I had
to study medical science more seriously. From that time on
I began to study very hard. Eventually my school records
improved, and I graduated at the top of my class. At any
rate, I was moving in a practical direction.
Having experienced various kinds of neurotic suffering,
after graduating from university I chose to pursue a career
in psychiatry. This career would give me more opportun-
ities to contact patients whose afflictions were similar to
mine.
86 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
Following
the Desireto Tnprov
aud Develo
ep
I had a strong desire for perfection; yet I was very timid. At
that time I thought nobody was more worthless than I. I
greatly envied heroes and strong people. I always worried
why I wasn’t born to be a hero or a strong man, but now I
NEUROTIC PERSONALITY TRAINING / 87
forgot the taste of cigarettes and now I do not feel any urge,
even when someone is smoking around me.
Obsessive behavior is the same way. At first it requires
a great deal of endurance to avoid practicing obsessive
actions. It’s important to hold on and move ahead. If you
keep repeating more positive behavior several times, then it
becomes less painful to endure. After a month or two you
may still feel the urge sometimes, but it goes away
unnoticed. Obsessive ideas become ordinary distracting
thoughts. Of course, anyone feels bad when he thinks about
the possibility of getting cancer, but that kind of thought goes
away unnoticed.
On the other hand, if you continue with obsessive
actions, and if your attitudes change accordingly, obsessive
ideas become more and more powerful. But if you continue
to do things naturally, without being controlled by obsessive
ideas, then your obsessions lose their power. They simply
become distracting thoughts. The cure of neurosis follows
this process.
Hrugamama
It requires a great deal of effort to discipline a neurotic
personality. Your efforts should follow your desire to grow.
This is arugamama. Arugamama means, as defined above, to
recognize the facts as they are and to follow your desire to
improve and develop yourself.
Everyone has a desire to be lazy, to have an easy time.
If you are going to start something only after your desire to
be lazy disappears, then your chance to do it may never
come. Although everyone has a desire to lead an easy life,
arugamama does not mean following your desire to be lazy.
Arugamama means to restore your true will.
Your true will is to strive to improve yourself, to do
what you are supposed to do, even if you have a desire to be
lazy. Do not resist your desire to be lazy, but leave it as it is.
You have a will to improve. Act according to your true will.
That is the real meaning of arugamama. In short, to
92 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
Neurotic Self-Defeuse
The self-centeredness of neurotics differs somewhat from
the positive egoism with which some try to earn profit even
at the expense of others. Neurotic self-centeredness is the
negative kind with which they try to protect themselves.
They sometimes trouble their families as a result of neurosis,
but they rarely take antisocial actions. Because they are
interested only in protecting themselves, and live as if they
93
94 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
“The Symptoms
of Others Losk Odd
I have found a great number of interesting symptoms
among the patients who have come to see me. An example
is the following dialogue with a patient:
it. When they hear stories of others, they think that they are
comical and that these other people are stupid, but they don’t
find their own symptoms funny at all.
Once I wrote an essay with the title, “A Serious
Comedy.” In it I stated, “If you think others’ symptoms are
funny, that means you are looking at them not emotionally,
but objectively and logically. When you see your own
symptoms, they are not funny, and you really suffer.” Of
course, we doctors cannot deal with symptoms as humorous
because we have to treat them, and we do feel sorry for the
patients. However, if patients can understand that the
mechanism of their symptoms is essentially the same as that
underlying others’ comical symptoms, if they can see their
own behavior as equally comical, they will be quite free
from the symptoms. To be able to see themselves humor-
ously means that they can rise above their symptoms to a
certain degree.
We humans have a lot in common, but there are
individual differences within the commonality. We Japanese
find novels written by Germans or Americans interesting.
We also think The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike are
interesting. Doesn’t it prove that the humanity of all ages
and countries have much in common? That is why it is
wrong to be self-centered and think that no one else has
such symptoms as yours. If you recognize the fundamental
mechanism as the same, even if the individual symptoms
seem different, and if you free yourself from the self-
centered feeling of being so unique, and establish a sense of
equality with others, we can say that you have made great
progress.
Neurotics are interested only in themselves: they
habitually interpret everything, even accidental things, in
relation to themselves. In Japanese there are terms such as
jiko kankei zuke or kankei nenryo, which mean neurotics
interpret everything as related to themselves. In addition,
they interpret things negatively rather than positively. When
someone is talking at a distance, they assume that he is
talking about them. When someone clears his throat, they
think it is intended for them, or when someone is laughing,
98 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
have used for a long time. In that sense I often see foreign
people cherish the furniture that their ancestors used.
It is the same with plants. I like plants, and I take care
of many different varieties. Of course, some people think
that it is much easier to have a gardener plant fine plants,
but I think you have a special attachment to the ones that
you plant yourself. If you water and fertilize them yourself,
your love toward the plants deepens.
By taking care of people or things or animals or plants,
and by trying to nurture them well, you will surround
yourself with people and things that you love. I believe that
is the meaning of a rich life. An abundant life starts when
one is free from self-centeredness, being thankful for day-to-
day life.
To be freed from neurotic symptoms, you should
become actively involved in what is happening around you;
try to take care of things in the outside world, and deal with
them well, regardless of your feelings. If you develop a life
attitude that values these things, your symptoms will
disappear naturally. When you try to fight your symptoms
head-on, the harder you work at treating them, the more
you get trapped by them, and you will end up with nothing.
Instead, if you try to improve your whole life, your
symptoms disappear naturally. I believe that this is the way
to be free from the self-centeredness of neurosis.
(2
“See Causes of
Neurotic Symptoms
Symptoms
aud the Course of “heatment
Dr. Shoma Morita’s theory of neurosis is already widely
known, and the overall picture is made clear in The Complete
Works of Shoma Morita (Morita Shoma Zenshu, 7 Volumes,
Tokyo, Hakuyosha, 1975). Rather than discuss Morita
Theory itself, I will focus on my understanding of neurosis
and the course of treatment derived from his theory,
emphasizing the unique characteristics of Morita Therapy.
Adaptation rburiety
Nature existed before people, and it is not necessarily made
to be convenient for us. Every year natural disasters occur,
life-threatening bacteria spread. If you plant seeds, the
plants are attacked by harmful insects or weeds if left
neglected. The society in which we live is made for us to
live comfortably, but it has many defects. It is definitely not
made for your own convenience. School does not begin late
105
106 /HOW TO LIVE WELL
for students who cannot make it on time, and not all of your
colleagues or your superiors have good feelings toward you.
You can find limitless objects of anxiety in human relations,
the economy, the insecurity of politics, pollution, illness,
wars, traffic accidents, and so on.
We imperfect human beings who live in such anxious
circumstances have many physical and mental weaknesses
or defects. When we look upon ourselves, we often feel that
we have various weaknesses in our health or personalities
or abilities. I believe we all share a basic anxiety connected
to human life: our concern about whether we can adapt to
the natural environment, which was not necessarily made
for our convenience, and to society, which is not especially
in favor of us. We wonder if we can survive.
This adaptation anxiety differs in degree among
individuals, and there are many differences in our objects of
anxiety. Even within the same person the strength of
anxiety differs, depending on internal and external circum-
stances. It seems that the degree of adaptation anxiety also
has something to do with one’s predispositions. Some
people are cheerful and naturally optimistic, and some are
gloomy and natural worriers. Even though we cannot
ignore the fact that predispositions may influence anxiety,
generally it has much more to do with acquired circum-
stances. Professor Mitsuzo Shimoda took this position in
the early days of psychological research.
Recently the environment in which neurotics have
been brought up has been regarded as important, but Dr.
Morita did not show much interest in this. When he treated
neurotics, he did not care about their childhood environ-
ment, which nobody could change. When patients were told
that the way their parents educated them contributed to the
occurrence of their neurotic symptoms, some of them placed
the responsibility on their parents, turning the blaming of
their parents into everyday work. Placing blame on
something they cannot control does not help their progress
at all. It is important to improve the family environment to
prevent the further occurrence of neurosis, but we should
CAUSES OF NEUROTIC SYMPTOMS / 107
keep our eyes out for patients who exaggerate its signi-
ficance.
Making
the Means the End
If you look at psychological processes from different angles,
you will notice many interesting facts. I would like to
discuss a patient’s symptom of being unable to read because
of distracting thoughts. Such thoughts could be specific
ideas, or they could be a symptom in which his attention
drifts toward things on the desk other than the book he is
trying to read. If he thinks this tendency is an obstacle and
simplifies the problem by thinking that he must merely
eliminate his extraneous thoughts for his study to go
smoothly, then his efforts come to have a reverse effect. His
efforts to rid himself of his random thoughts result in more
awareness of his thoughts, and it becomes even harder for
him to read. It is a vicious cycle.
When we read, we do not usually concentrate totally
from beginning to end. Distracting thoughts inevitably
appear, but we simply accept them and continue to read,
110/ HOWTO LIVE WELL
Ptrugamama
tn the Course of “heatment
When we treat neurosis, we tell the patients that it is not an
organic disease. We explain different examples of symptoms
so that they can understand the nature of their neurosis
112 /HOWTO LIVE WELL
Mortta Vhenapey:
7t “fetal Method of “hreatment
We talk to the patients, as stated before, and we guide them
in the practice of arugamama. We try to use therapeutic
methods that cure physical and mental disorders by means
of psychological processes, but that is not the entirety of
Morita Therapy. It is often insufficient to merely clarify the
pathology, help patients understand the treatment plan, and
guide them in practicing it. It is sometimes necessary to
conduct the inpatient treatment that Morita practiced.
We use a combination of clinical methods, which include
an environmental change by hospitalization, the patient’s
absolute confinement in bed, physical work and games,
communal living, journal guidance, dialogue, and so on.
Neurotic symptoms are responses to the environment,
even though such reactions may be more or less indirect. It
is well known that reactions to physical confinement
improve just by transferring patients to freer environments.
Although not that drastic, the change in environment by
hospitalization helps free patients from the idleness that
allows them to be selfish. Also, this new environment has
both a warm, friendly, family-like atmosphere and the
strictness of a hospital. Absolute confinement in bed means
rest and recuperation. It also cuts off the psychic
interaction of confronting suffering and worry. At the same
time it is expected to have a psychological influence of
increased boredom from inactivity, hunger for stimuli, and
the building of a desire for activity.
Living in groups (usually from 10 to 20 members)
encourages inpatients to socialize. Those who have felt they
were unique can realize directly that there are many people
who have the same kinds of symptoms. Group life helps
them to be free from the sense of discrimination they have
felt up to now, and they begin to acquire a perspective of
116/ HOWTO LIVE WELL
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“She Essence of
Wlerita “lherapy
Obsession
aud “freedom
I often see magazine articles about the experiences of people
who were cured by Morita Therapy. However, I rarely see
the publication of stories written by people whose neuroses
were cured by other therapies. I believe that this is another
characteristic of Morita Therapy that distinguishes it from
other mental therapies; that is, people who are cured by
Morita Therapy do not keep their experiences only to
themselves. They want to share their experiences with as
many people as possible. They hope that their stories will
help or guide others. They cannot have this kind of desire
while they are obsessed with their symptoms.
Yesterday I received a letter that was ten pages of
small, closely written characters. It was from a female
school teacher. Although her name and address were on an
enclosed return envelope, the letter was not signed. She
begged me to send a response, and she also strongly
cautioned me not to tell anyone. If one is obsessed, that is
the way one behaves.
119
120 / HOW TO LIVE WELL
Course
of “reatmeut
Regarding the course of treatment, you probably know the
gist of it from what I have already mentioned. Neurosis
arises from anxiety about being unable to adapt. This
anxiety is the reverse of the desire to live. The more one
tries to eliminate anxiety, the stronger it becomes. All
efforts result in a reverse effect. There is no other way than
simply to accept anxiety with humility.
Moreover, symptoms typically bend one’s mental
tendencies into one direction over a long period of time.
Obsessive ideas appear every so often. A person who fears
interpersonal contact experiences fear as a reflex before he
actually meets someone. A person who has a fear of unclean-
liness has a desire to wash his hands every time he sees
certain objects. A person with anxiety neurosis suffers
severe anxiety attacks every time he gets on a train. The
symptoms of a neurotic person occur habitually, and they
attack almost automatically.
The urge to smoke attacked me irresistibly when I
renounced tobacco. We can assume that neurosis is the
same kind of thing. Therefore, it is useless to try to resist it.
Not only that, resisting yields the counter result of being
more strongly obsessed. There is no other way than to
simply accept it as it is. This is the first policy of treatment.
The next important point is the desire for growth and
development. The symptoms occur as irresistible reflexes,
so leave them as they are and strive according to your desire
to grow. I often use the following example: Fear attacks
inevitably when one tries to jump into a swimming pool
from a high diving platform. One who does not have any
fear is exceptional. If one avoids jumping in because of his
fear, then he does not have a strong desire for development.
He is one who gives up easily. One becomes a weak-willed
person if he gives up too easily.
I often watch sumo wrestling on television. There are
some wrestlers who quickly give up, and they quit fighting
as soon as they are pushed. However, it is not good to hold
ESSENCE OF MORITA THERAPY / 125
the recent past, so you have not been able to recognize your
own capabilities accurately. You have not yet done much.
When you have done many things, you unexpectedly
discover things that you can do, but you cannot really trust
your abilities when you have done little. That is why you
have a lot of uncertainty in your future. Given your short
record of past performance, no one can guarantee that you
will be able to cope with your long future.
When one becomes my age, he has done just about
everything he can do. Sumo wrestlers often retire after they
reach thirty, saying they have done enough and that there is
nothing more to do. My state of mind is something like
theirs. I know my abilities more or less. I know it is not
much more than what I can see now, so I am at ease.
However, I cannot expect that much development in my
future, so I am forlorn in that sense. When one is young, he
has great anxiety about his future, but that future is
attractive. Where there is no anxiety there is not much
appeal. Young people experience a lot of anxiety about the
future, but great possibilities lie there. The future is very
appealing.
I sincerely hope that you will make your best efforts
with your understanding of the principal ideas of neurotic
treatment.
Judex
129
130 / INDEX
THEOLOGY LIBRARY
CLAREMONT, CALIF.
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K6613
1995
THEOLOGY LIBRARY
CLAREMONT
SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
CLAREMONT,
CA
91711
LI-e2 DEMCO
How to
Live Well
Secrets of Using Neurosis
Takehisa Kora.
Translated by Gregory Peterson and David K. Reynolds
Foreword by David K. Reynolds
ISBN 0-7914-2402~-2
90000>
Cover design: Shems Friedlander
Wl
State University of New York Press =
,
9 "780791"424025