Prayer for Love and Mercy

 I never imagined I would find a glimmer of compassion in *Hagakure*. *Hagakure*—yes, that very book, the quintessential text on the spirit of *Bushido* (the Way of the Warrior). It is absolutely fascinating—truly, it’s gripping. And it’s not just interesting; to my complete surprise, it even contains a glimmer of mercy. To be honest, I haven’t even finished half of it yet. I decided, quite by chance, to work my way through a series of classic Japanese texts. I spent some time reading works by Confucian scholars—Arai Hakuseki, Ogyū Sorai—and now, I’ve arrived at *Hagakure*. The book records the words of Yamamoto Tsunetomo. "The Way of the Warrior (*Bushido*) is found in death." Here, one encounters that famous phrase which encapsulates the very essence of *Bushido*. A warrior must be prepared to die for his lord. Every single day, he thinks of nothing but how he might die for his master. Merely achieving a feat of arms—like taking an enemy’s head—is not considered a truly gre...

 Let’s take a look at the true nature of "quotas" by examining some concrete examples. First, there are "sales quotas"—the requirement to sell a certain amount by a specific deadline. If you fail to meet these, you’re often left with two grim choices: either engage in "self-inflicted sales" (buying the products yourself out of your own pocket) or resort to "forced selling" (pressuring others to buy things they don’t even need). In the latter case, salespeople might barge into a customer’s home and refuse to leave until a purchase is made, invent a fictitious "original price" to make a product look like a "half-price bargain," or falsely claim that "only a few items are left!"—even when there is still a massive surplus in stock—all to pressure the customer into buying. Those who do this feel no pangs of conscience; their moral sense has become completely paralyzed. They have ceased to be human. If one cannot make a li...

 Previously, I posited that the imposition of unreasonable quotas stems from the arrogant belief that humans can control future outcomes—a mindset that effectively places the individual in the position of God. What happens when a human, lacking the capacity for such a role, presumes to occupy the place of God? Arrogance and ruthlessness come to the fore. When unreasonable quotas are forced upon others, the resulting pressure often leads to dishonesty—superficial adjustments made merely to hit the numbers—which causes internal distortions to accumulate. Meanwhile, the broader society suffers mounting damage. Then, at the very pinnacle of triumph—just as those in charge are intoxicated by the "victory" of having met their goals—these accumulated distortions reach a breaking point, and the collapse begins. The moment of ruin has arrived. This bears a striking resemblance to something I wrote previously- Evil is not worth it , and The reason why God lifts up the evil one in orde...

 Unreasonable quotas breed misconduct; when that misconduct is exposed, the organization loses public trust and collapses. It is a pattern of ruin that has played out time and time again. Where exactly did this root of all evil—the "quota"—come from? Humans never seem to learn their lesson; this destructive cycle repeats endlessly, forcing me to ponder the issue. I’m not sure if I can successfully unravel the origins of the quota system, but I’ll give it a shot. I suppose I’ll think it through as I write. To start, let’s imagine working part-time at a cake shop. You are told to sell a certain cake throughout the day. Your shift is eight hours long. You work as a shop assistant. Up to this point, we wouldn't call it a "quota," even though you are working an eight-hour shift. You could argue it *is* a quota of sorts, but certainly not an unreasonable one. But what if you were told, "You absolutely must sell 100 of these today"? That is where the quota co...

 I’ve said before that everyone is essentially an "Emperor with no clothes" by default because we can't see ourselves clearly—but is there anyone who can save us from that hopeless situation? Having someone point out your flaws is a truly valuable asset. Of course, it makes you incredibly angry in the moment—after all, someone is calling out your shortcomings. Even friends won't point out your faults to your face unless they’re extremely close to you; there’s a saying about the importance of courtesy even among close friends, after all. So, do I have anyone like that in my life—someone who infuriates me but is ultimately a godsend? Hmm, let me look around... There she is! My wife. She really gets under my skin. She blurts out whatever she’s thinking, and it shows all over her face immediately. She’ll say things like "You stink!" or "You're gross!" or even tell me to "Go away" when we're in the bedroom. Her motto is: "Be harsh...

I’ve only recently realized that everyone is essentially an "Emperor with no clothes"—myself included. After all, in any given moment, we can't see ourselves—even though we can see others clearly. This applies to everyone; by default, we are all emperors with no clothes. Everyone else can see us, but we can't see ourselves. Unless we look in a mirror, we can't see our own reflection. There are plenty of times when we look at celebrities and think, "Yikes, that’s embarrassing." But celebrities are human, too, so it’s only natural for them to have a few cringeworthy traits. Because they’re famous and constantly in the public eye, their flaws just stand out more. We ordinary people are likely riddled with even more embarrassing traits—we just don't attract attention because we aren't famous. Yet, the people around us *can* see those flaws, even if we can't see them ourselves. We constantly compare ourselves to others, thinking, "I'm sup...