The Lying Counselor’s Eloquent Reasoning - Chapter 34
“Well, everybody’s love life is different. I’m glad he’s recovered from his painful heartbreak and is back on his feet.”
“Back on his feet… That is?”
Mocking other people’s misfortune is no way to restore one’s mental health. Inappropriate, too unhealthy.
“Doctor, ever since I started working here, I’ve been doing my own research on the work of counselors, and I think your current approach is strange, no matter to what extent.”
“Oh. Why is that again? Why?”
“Because usually, when people are depressed like that, they go through cognitive behavioral therapy, right? It’s supposed to alleviate depressive feelings by changing negative thoughts into positive ones. Why don’t you do proper counseling like that?”
“Well, there are some places that do that, but others do it and I don’t. First of all, being a counselor is a profession that does not require any qualifications, and the one who calls himself a counselor wins. I have no set of guidelines to abide by.”
Hahaha, said Uroma, laughing mockingly. I knew this guy is just a weirdo who claims to be a counselor.
“And consider this closely. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a process of correcting distortions in thoughts and cognition, and creating healthy changes in the way consciousness is perceived. It has a strong scientific basis, but it doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone. For instance, would you recommend such a healthy way of thinking to someone whose nature is rotten and twisted from the very beginning?”
“Eh…”
“No one can live as straight and flexible as a bamboo. Some people live in a twisted way, clinging to others, reeking of stench, like a paederia foetida. If such people are depressed, is it really appropriate to suggest to them that they will feel better if they maintain a straight mind like a bamboo? No matter how much paederia foetida struggle, it can’t become bamboo.”
“Paederia foetida?”
What a dreadful name for a grass.
“Takimoto, as you saw earlier, is a fat, dull, middle-aged man with a modest hairline and income, who is insensitive, short-tempered, simple, and has never been able to interact with the opposite sex except for chatting with women at bars. Furthermore, his body reeked of a slight sourness. From the first glance, I was convinced that he was not a bamboo. Therefore, instead of cognitive behavioral therapy, I decided to have him regain his energy by mocking the misfortune of others.”
“Hah.”
I know what you’re talking about, but the way you dealt with him in his state of confusion was terrible. It’s disparaging.
“And just between ourselves, there is a Buddha’s teaching that by being aware of other people’s misfortune, we should realize the impermanence of the world and break free from our own sorrow.”
“Eh, from Buddhism?”
“Yes. It is a very famous story about a woman named Kisa Gotami. Since this is a good opportunity, let me tell you about it. It was a long time ago.”
Uroma began to narrate. There was once a woman in India named Kisa Gotami. Eventually, she married into a wealthy family and gave birth to a boy, but the boy died at an early age. Oh, how grievous it was! She was so devastated that she ran away from home, carrying the child’s remains. In search of a medicine that would bring the child back to life. Of course, nothing like that could be sought, and she was regarded as a freak by everyone she met, but somehow or other, she ended up at the Buddha’s place.
Thereupon the Buddha said to her, “Very well, I will prepare the medicine. However, I need an ingredient for that”. The woman asked what it was, and he said it was white mustard seeds, which are ubiquitous in India. However, the ingredients must be obtained from a house where no one has ever died. The woman immediately went from house to house seeking for it. But this was ancient India. Nowhere was there a house where not a single person had died. Each and every house was dealing with the grief of losing a family member. That was when the woman realized it. She realized that even though she was extremely sad over the loss of her child, it was a common occurrence for everyone in their lives…
“Yes, in other words, all things are impermanent. No one is mortal, and all forms will be destroyed eventually. Rather than dreaming of eternity, clinging to it, and weeping over the loss, we should choose a way of life that allows us to attain eternity in our transience.”
“Hah.”
If you suddenly start talking about Buddhism from an illustration of a grass with a strange name, well, I can’t understand.
“Is this connected to what you said earlier to Takimoto?”
“Yes, of course. Last week, I told him this story in a simple and easy style. First of all, he should know the misfortunes of people other than himself. Then, mock the miserable lives of those who are worse off and know that you are better off than they are, and heal your wounded heart. Well, something like that.”
“No, wait a minute. Your way of putting it is a long way from the Buddha’s teachings??”
“No such thing. In fact, it should be drawing closer to the essence. On the surface, the Buddha is talking about difficult and solemn things, but I’m sure his true feelings are like this. There is an old saying that people’s misfortune is the taste of honey. That is to say, laughing at other people’s misfortune makes most of us feel better. It’s the spirit of schadenfreude. Haha.”
“That kind of approach is wrong. It’s terrible!”
“What? You saw it with your own eyes just now, didn’t you, Tomomi? Didn’t you witness with your own eyes how he recovered so vigorously? What’s wrong with my method?”
“Eh, no, that’s??”
“If you are going to deny this Shakuson style therapy, which has been handed down along with Buddhism since 500 B.C., then I would like you to present some scientific evidence to support your claim. Do you have something that can compete with the weight of two thousand five hundred years of history?”
“S-Shakuson style…”
What kind of weird name is this guy inventing?
T/N:
Shakuson – A polite way to refer to Shaka Budhha