Photo/Illutration Ryuon Wada, the chief priest of Chokakuji Temple in Hiroshima's Naka Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Ryuon Wada, the chief priest of Chokakuji Temple in Hiroshima's Naka Ward, has made it his routine to come up with an inspiring slogan every day to share with the public.

With a calligraphy brush, he writes his daily message on the back of an old calendar page and posts it on the gate of his temple.

Wada, 53, used to do this once a week. But the coronavirus outbreak prompted him to make this his daily routine, hoping to soothe people's frazzled nerves.

One message goes: "Don't yell at your kids, because you were a kid once. Be kind to old people, because you'll be old one day. Don't blame people who've been infected with the virus, because we are all in this together."

Wada was deeply disturbed by society's growing propensity to condemn infected people as if they were criminals.

The first part of this message was based on what Wada read in an inspirational book written by Rokusuke Ei (1933-2016). The part about virus-infected people was Wada's original addition.

Here's another: "We are made to realize the preciousness of what we always took for granted."

Such things include children learning lessons in the classroom and adults going to work. Wada's words remind us acutely of the daily blessings we were given but didn't really appreciate, until they were taken away from us.

A former stock trader by profession, Wada lived through the collapse of the asset-inflated economy and the accompanying deterioration of morale in the workplace. Exhausted from excessive performance demands, he decided to become a Buddhist monk when he was 30.

"The daily messages I write are for people who walk past the temple gate every day, but they are also addressed to myself from when I was a deeply troubled and unhappy company worker," Wada said.

He also posts them on social media every day.

The holiday-studded Golden Week is finally over, and schools and stores have reopened in some parts of the nation. But many people, I'm sure, are still far from letting their guard down.

When we feel despondent because the situation isn't getting any better, it should help to recite this mantra aloud: "Don't give up on what you want to do. If you have something you must do, go slowly. Don't second-guess your decision if you know what you can do."

This spring, a virus called "anxiety" has overrun the world with discontent and distrust.

I tell myself to warm my heart, at least once a day, with these words of wisdom: "Flowers bloom in the sunlight of gratitude. Flowers die in the storm of discontent."

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 8

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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