Self-Discovery through Japanese Harmony
Shariful Syed (Stony Brook University)
I yearned to study in Japan. I was drawn to their concept of “harmony”. Known as ‘wa,’ it was the
name of the country upon its creation. Because Japan can be said to be a nation built upon ’wa,’ I wanted to
gain a real sense of how harmony influences Japan’s way of life so as to enrich my own. However, at the
same time I still had to prepare myself for trying to gain acceptance to medical school. Neither goal could
be compromised; despite the common wisdom being that if one wishes to pursue the field of medicine they
must focus on pursuing extensive lab research and science courses, I felt that the experiences I would have
in Japan would facilitate my growth as a person and understanding of harmony. I wasn’t willing to give up
a chance to live in another country, totally removed from my normal way of life, and see how my response
reveals things about my nature that I may not have ever known.

In Japan, one of my immediate impressions was that I felt a strong sense of community and
connection that undeniably seemed harmonious. Japanese society seems to emphasize the value of shared
experience and group activities as vital in formation of social bonds. Attending the 60,000-population
Waseda University, I felt humbled and recognized that there is a distinct world outside of myself. I had to
discover my place. After some research and exploration, I soon found an activity that gave me a sense of
belonging. For a few months I led a weekly group discussion with Japanese students. It was a fantastic
opportunity to discuss topics like societal pressures and social norms that Japanese were reserved about.

Japanese often discourage voicing criticism. As the group leader, I encouraged the members to voice their
opinions about any issue they desired. Having such an open atmosphere generated an air of trust and
comfort between all of us. The process of creating strong bonds among people is a big part of what brings
me happiness. As I found my place, I was grateful to be part of the group.

During the course of my studies in Japan, I read a major work of Fukuzawa Yukichi. I consider his
text, An Outline of a Theory of Civilization and Enlightenment to be the book that has influenced my
attitude the most. What impacted me on a deep level was his idea that, civilization is the attainment of
BOTH material wellbeing and the elevation of the human spirit. I am someone that believes in the
importance of introspection, and the reason I think I value it so much is that I believe that it is a tool that
can facilitate the ‘elevation of the human spirit’ or at least my own spirit. The achievement of gaining an
acceptance to medical school, I consider, to only have been possible because of my will power and focus. A
big part of how I maintain a strong mental disposition is by a kind of meditation that I do outside while
burning incense. To me it feels like a sort of mental cleansing, I clear my mind of all extraneous thoughts to
the point where I am not thinking of anything. I then slowly start to think of life at the moment and what
has been going on and consider the biggest weights on my mind. Branching out I find myself consistently
needing to do this to not prevent myself from getting too far away from harmony.

When I think of some of my behavior patterns, the two things that quickly come to mind are a
metaphor from Ruth Benedict and a practice associated with Zen Buddhism. When presenting an
interpretation of Japanese society and culture, Ruth Benedict, in Chrysanthemum and the Sword, put forth
the idea that a self-conception that Japanese have is that they view their human spirit as something akin to a
brilliantly luster sword. She described that while we have the ability to shine brightly we can also quickly
become rusted and dull and if gone unchecked we may lose all semblance of our former selves. In the same
way I think I need to make a consistent mental effort to maintain a stable peace in my own spirit throughout
the trials and tough decisions I face in life.

The other Japanese parallel associated with Zen Buddhism is the practice of Koan. How I relate the
Koan to my own internal efforts is that just as the Koan requires one to take a very close look at themselves
and make distinctions and connection between their behavior, ways of thinking, perceptual set and see how
they have been affected by their personal experiences can then start to get some understanding of their core
nature. That is how I think introspection has functioned to facilitate my development into a very curious
and questioning person. I find that it is compatible with medicine because it is the task of a doctor to
understand the underlying mechanisms causing certain appearance of symptoms and illnesses. For the
same reason, I believe that this will help me become an exceptional skilled physician.

A meaningful experience I had in Japan occurred when I was volunteering at a local medical center. I
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