Great Construction

The Superstition in Reasoning (2nd version)

     What is thought to be superstition is censured and held in contempt these days, but this situation does deserve some thought. It is most troubling that what constitutes superstition seems to especially preoccupy the intellectually inclined. Clarifying how superstition comes about is probably in order. The first thing that comes to mind when we look at the everyday lives of people at present is how much of what goes on in society does not conform to reason. “I will do this, I will do that. Doing this will certainly produce the desired outcome” is how many think but that results greatly betray expectations has most likely been the common experience. In which case, those who are convinced their plans will certainly go a specific way must surely be wrong in their thinking. When plans do not proceed in line with reasoning, it means ultimately that reasoning is wrong, and this point must be understood.
     All of an individual’s misfortunes result from reason that is misplaced, so people could be happy and fortunate if what they thought and did was truly in accord with reason.
     This principle means it is essential for people to adjust the state of mind that creates the way of thinking and the line of reasoning which leads to disappointment. This adjustment in thinking must be the point from which individuals start anew. It is probably fair to say that most of the people in the world today are failures at reasoning which shows that what is generally taken to be logical and reasonable is opposite to what really is reasonable and true, so what is opposite to the commonly-held logic is the true logic, the correct line of reasoning. What I always refer to as a reverse form of logic is just this. In true reasoning, reality precedes logic or reasoning, so mistakes hardly ever occur. For instance, Johrei as practiced by our church is said to be unreasonable but amazingly enough heals disease, and that medical science is said to be reasonable but does not cure at all, examples of which I often hear.
     This point can be made in another way. For example, when young people graduate from school and enter society, they discover that the reasoning they studied at school differs greatly from actual conditions in the world at large. The harm that an education in which reason takes precedence over reality brings about this situation. This tendency is especially noticeable in Japan. Influence from American education is finally beginning to be felt here, and although Japanese education has become practical to a certain extent I feel there is still a long way to go until true awareness of the issues of education is attained. In more practical terms is the youth who has studied science in school and upon graduation cannot repair an electrical appliance or the young woman who after graduating cannot display even the basics of Japanese cooking. Both of these situations occur because individuals have only studied the learning of artificial reasoning and have not been taught the learning of what happens in the real world.
     An attitude enveloped only in manufactured reasoning that ignores reality is undeniably the real superstition in reasoning.

Narratives, Jikan Library, Volume 12, pages 12-14, January 30, 1950 
translated by cynndd