The Book of Life

pages of wisdom potential enemy. If kept too long, they could ignite spontaneously, releasing an odourless, invisible mist that would kill everything in the path.” Once a person adopts a destructive approach, they cannot escape its harmful consequences—no matter how powerful they may be, or how advanced and carefully designed their plan may be. HIGH THINKING A publishing house in Tokyo has printed a 160-page book. It is an introduction to Japanese society and the temperament of the Japanese people. The book is titled: Chie Nakane, Japanese Society (1987). The author of this book is a woman, Chie Nakane, who is a professor of social anthropology at Tokyo University. She has explained in detail what the mental make-up of the Japanese people is. According to her description, the mindset of the Japanese can be summarized in these words: the constant desire to rise a little higher than the average (p.155). The author considers this to be the way of life of the Japanese. They treat it as something sacred, almost like a religious teaching, and always try to live by it. There is no standstill in life. A person will either fall downward or rise