三尺去って師の影を踏まず
Sanjakusatteshinokage wo fumazu
A student must never forget to honor their teacher.
-Japanese Proverb
The best warriors never forget. Remembering is about being able to recall something which is not in our immediate awareness. Never forgetting implies that we wish to keep something in our awareness and keep it in the forefront of our minds. It is thought that the average person forgets four important facts, items, or events every day and thus 1460 things can become “lost” in the recesses of our minds every year. Knowing that there is mental degradation over time, a warrior strives to not forget because they know that little things when forgotten can become bigger things in the future. This weekend we honor our teacher Rev. Kensho Furuya who passed away 15 years ago. After 15 years, it would be easy for Furuya Sensei, the person, to just become a picture on a wall that we venerate every once in a while. The reason why we should not forget our teachers is because the Way is perilous. The path is fraught with danger and with each and every step we can easily or unconsciously be led astray. Sensei used to say something like, “To step off the path even one step takes hundreds of miles to return from.” When we have lost our way then we may succumb to any vice, situation, or fear. That is why Furuya Sensei used to always say, “Always act as if your teacher is watching.” By pretending that our “teacher is always watching” we are much less likely to do something that would embarrass us, lead us astray or cause us to make a mistake. By acting as if our teacher is watching, we end up not forgetting our teacher and the lessons that we learned. There is a secret power that exists in not forgetting. I am not sure I can explain it well but every person who neglects the memory of their teacher or “moves on” from it, ends up suffering the consequences and loses most of the lessons that they struggled so hard to learn. For instance, there was a really diligent student who was a great person and hard working. When he quit, he ended up getting a divorce, going bankrupt and losing his professional license. In all of those mishaps, it seems that he did not act as if his teacher was watching. By never forgetting, we don’t forget what it is we should be doing and how we should be doing it and that’s why the best warriors never forget.
Today’s goal: Act as if your teacher or your parents are watching.