Pastoral Psychologist’s View on Life with Suffering and Enduring Resilience – Reflecting the Recent Earthquake in the Philippines and the 29th Sunday Year C Gospel Reading in Light of Morita Therapy, Paul Tillich’s “Courage”, Viktor Frankl’s “Tragic Optimism” and Sikolohiyang Pilipino

On Monday, October 15, 2013, M. 7.2 earthquake shook the Bohol-Cebu area of the central Philippines. Scenic 16^th-centry church buildings came down crumbling, while countless houses turned into rubles.  Many lives have been lost, while even more people have been sustaining injuries.  Many have lost not only their homes but also their loved ones and means to earn incomes. They are at loss. Shock, perhaps, confusion, and numbness, are typical initial reaction to traumatic losses. Because of numerous aftershocks, they are also living in anxiety. 

The earthquake in the Philippines really hit home, similar to the way it did when M. 9.0 earthquake and more-than-10-meter-high tsunami waves, followed by radiation disaster, hit the northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011. This disaster in the Philippines affects me this way because my close friends’ families in the Bohol-Cebu area lost their memory-filled homes.  They are now living on the piles of rubles of their homes, wondering how they are going to rebuild their lives – how they are going to bounce from this challenging reality. 

While the Bohol-Cebu area has had numerous aftershocks,  there was just another large earthquake, M. 7.1, off the Fukushima coast, Japan, in the Pacific Ocean, as I was writing this a while ago (October 26, 3:10 am in Japan ). Just to remind us more that we are always subject to challenges and sufferings, challenging us to see how we will respond. 

This difficult reality reminds us that life sure comes with inevitable and inescapable sufferings – no matter how advanced we may become in our wisdom and scientific technologies.  The ultimate question is not to what to do but rather how we face sufferings when they are inevitable and inescapable. I believe that this has a lot to do with the quality of life and meaning of life.  

In this blog entry, I would like to address how we are to confront inevitable and inescapable suffering in our life, focusing on our inner strengths, namely, our psychospritual resilience, which has been my research interest.  I am going to discuss this in light of Christian theology, Buddhist thought, Japanese cultural tradition, and Filipino cultural tradition, as well as perspectives in psychology. 

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“Life is difficult”, said M. Scott Peck, in “Roadless Traveled”.  Life indeed is difficult as it comes with series of trials. In fact, it is in the Four Noble Truth of Buddhism that life is suffering (dukkha).  And, Jesus has also reminded the apostles that following him means to accept and embrace suffering and even a possibility of death (martyrdom ) by overcoming attachment to our own selves (Luke 9:23).  In my 6/25/2013 blog entry, “Costly Grace in Bushido-like the Christian Discipleship - A Reflection of the Scripture Reading on the 12th Sunday Year C”, I associated Jesus’ teaching on embracing suffering and a prospect of death for the sake of him, meaning, for a saintly honorable salvation, in light of the essence of Bushido, the code of samurais, in Japan.  It is to draw meaning from inevitable and inescapable suffering.  In a way, this theme can be further extended  in light of Edward Schillebeeckx’s theological argument on discerning salvific value from suffering  and Pauline theological view on meaning of suffering (finding joy in suffering, not to be confused with masochism). 

Of course, nobody wants to suffer.  Our human instinct rather drives us to avoid and evade suffering, also as Sigmund Freud’s pleasure principle (seeking pleasure/comfort, avoiding pain/suffering) argues.  In fact, neither Jesus Christ nor Shakamuni  Buddha have taught that we should seek suffering .  Neither Jesus nor Shakamuni were masochistic. What they have taught is how we can respond to and embrace suffering rather meaningfully, because the way we deal with our sufferings leads us to the cessation of suffering in Buddhism and to salvation in Christianity. 

In the Four Noble Truth of Buddhist teaching, accepting the truth that life is suffering leads to another truth that suffering can be seceded.  In Jesus’ teaching in Christianity, by his own lived example, suffering and death must be accepted and embraced, as they come, in order to attain salvation.  As Buddhist teaching reminds us that the kleshas (mental instability due to insecure heart), which is rooted in the Three Poisons (ignorance/moha , attachment/raga, anger-ridden aversion/dvesa), keeps us locked in a vicious cycle of sufferings, both Christian and Jewish teachings remind us that ignorance about God’s majestic power, especially His salvific power, can keep us in repeated sufferings, as in the case with Job in the Book of Job. 

Besides Jesus and Shakamuni,  clinical psychology offers some helpful teachings on dealing with inevitable and inescapable sufferings, in particular, through the concept of post-traumatic growth (PTG) of Richard Calhoun & Lawrence Tedeschi (2004) and in the concept of tragic optimism of Viktor Frankl.  Additionally, Morita Therapy’s foundational concept of acceptance (accepting the given reality as it is – arugamamani) is another important teaching from psychology in dealing with suffering meaningfully to turn it a critical opportunity for new growth, as in PTG.  According to “Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundation and Empirical Evidence” by Calhoun & Tedeschi (2004), PTG is a process to turn experience of traumatic suffering into a critical opportunity to grow with resilience.  

Roderick McCormick & Paul Wong (2006) discuss how Frankl’s concept of tragic optimism works in PTG in “Adjustment and Coping in Aboriginal People” of “Handbook of Multicultural Perspectives on Stress and Coping”(eds. Paul Wong & Lilian Wong).  In my “Mono no aware” for the Realistic Hope for Post-March-11” in International Network of Personal Meaning, Part 1 of Special Issue, 2011, I pointed out that Frankl’s tragic optimism concept, as elaborated by Paul Wong, can be applied to enhance the effect of Morita Therapy.  Therefore, it is clear that PTG, tragic optimism, and Morita Therapy are all associated and helpful in responding to inevitable and inescapable sufferings in a way grow with resilience, while draping upon new meaning of life. 

We just don’t know when our lives would have to face sufferings.  Although we do our best with human wisdom to avoid sufferings, we cannot completely escape from sufferings.  What both Jesus and Shakamuni teach us is how we can cope with sufferings when we cannot escape from them but have to face them.  And, along with the teachings of Jesus and Shakamuni, the psychological concepts of PTG, tragic optimism, and Morita Therapy offer helpful perspectives in regard to how we can accept and face sufferings in order to grow with resilience and to draw new meaning in life.  It is always good to be prepared for unexpected inevitable and inescapable sufferings.  For this, let’s take a further look into helpful ideas.

******  Suffering, Patience, Stability, Strengths, Endurance, Faith, Hope, and Love******

First, we need to accept and understand the fact that life on earth is not free from suffering, as we cannot be totally immune from devastating and traumatic impacts of natural disasters. To Christians, life comes with sufferings as Christian life can be subject to persecution.  It is also best to learn from persons who have suffered and endured the suffering in a way of PTG.  And, we can find such persons in the Scriptures – Jesus, of course, and Paul.

According to Paul, what we need in dealing with inevitable and inescapable sufferings is endurance.  And, endurance certainly comes with hope, as he reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-4. In this, Paul unceasingly encouraged the Thessalonians to engage in work of faith, labor of love and endurance in hope of Christ, as they were facing great challenges. 

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope  of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father, knowing, brothers loved by God, how you were chosen. “(1 Thessalonians 1:2-4)

Paul knows firsthand that the work of faith and labor of love demand a lot of endurance in hope of Christ.  In fact, in the original Greek text, the word “endurance” is “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone). Within this world,  “hypo” (ὑπό) refers to “under”, and “meno” (reμένω) refers to “to remain” and “to endure”, with a connotation to suffering. Thus, what is conjured up from the word, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone), is being under suffering,  enabling to remain in suffering, rather than running away from it. 

In this aspect, the Greek word for “endurance”, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone) invokes the nuance of this Tagalog root word, “tatag”, which indicates stability. Together with another ward, “katatagan”, which means enduring firmness with a connotation to an inherent or inner character,  the Tagalog word ,“katatagang”, offer a similar nuance to the Greek word, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone), in regard to the quality of lasting and enduring firm stability to be able to remain under a suffering condition. 

It is also noteworthy that Paul used “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone) together with “ἀγάπη”(agape), to say “love and endurance” in 1 Thessalonians 1:3.  In fact, the Greek word for “endurance”, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone), also means “patience”. Thus, endurance and patience are considered closely related.  Also, the way Paul puts it, for love to be agape, it comes with endurance.  It means that love as agape is about patience and endurance. This explains why Paul said, “love is patient” in 1 Corinthians 13:4, using the same and relevant  Greek words, “ἀγάπη”(agape) is “μακροθυμέω”(makrothumeo). 

 The Greek word,faith (πίστις/pistis), hope (ἐλπίς/eplis), love (ἀγάπη/agape), . And, all of these are associated with endurance.  It is Paul who also said suffering (θλῖψις/pthlípsis) produces endurance (ὑπομονή/hypomone), which cultivates character, and the character brings hope (Romans 5:3-4). Thus, through Paul’s view in Greek words, we can see clearly how endurance is related to patience and love, through suffering.

Putting our faith in our work, our love in our labor, and our hope in our endurance is how we live as Christians. It also comes with love as agape , which comes with a connotation to enduring suffering.   It means that our unceasing faith, love, and hope, are manifested in our work, labor, and endurance.  This way, we can accomplish many missions with love, as we are called, in spite of many obstacles and sufferings.  This is how we can ensure that none of these setbacks will stop us and keep us from our engagement in missions.  It takes endurance, which is about faith, hope, and love. As Paul said, “But now faith (πίστις/pistis), hope (ἐλπίς/eplis), love (ἀγάπη/agape), abide these three; but the greatest of these is love”(1 Corinthians 13:13), love is the most important factor for our endurance, as Christians. 

Through, the 29^th Sunday Gospel story, Luke 18:1-8, Jesus speaks about our need to get engaged in our prayers and faith-driven actions unceasingly, even though our prayers and works may not bring any tangible result as we desire.  What Jesus challenges us is our tendency to give up when our efforts, whether in prayer or in work, do not bear tangible fruit as we want.  He wants us to build endurance so that we can become more patient with our efforts, being able to continue our efforts in prayer and work in spite of having no results soon and even with setbacks. 

In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus teaches us that we need to pray and work unceasingly with persistence that matches the widow’s uncompromising and unyielding persistence, which eventually convinced the very reluctant judge to rule for justice.  Such persistence is also found in Hannah’s petitioning prayer to God for a child (1 Kings 1-11), as well as Monica’s prayer for Augustine’s conversion.  This kind of persistence also means  endurance necessary not only to accomplish our missions and to fulfill our life’s purpose but also to cope with sufferings and to grow through struggles as in the case of PTG. Thus,  the biblical sense of endurance that Paul and Jesus  present through 1 Thessalonians 1:2-4 and Luke 18:1-8 corresponds to Viktor Frankl’s concept of tragic optimism, which is, in fact, essential to PTG, according to McCormick and Wong (2006), as aforementioned. 

In fact, persistence and endurance, like the widow’s (Luke 18:1-8) is a manifestation of strong and enduring faith, like a mustard seed,  that can even move  a mountain (Matthew 17:20). The persistence and endurance, as expressions of steadfast faith, makes God’s grace works best through us, as we must cooperate with God’s grace , in order for the grace to bear its fruits, for unconstructed grace to become constructed grace.

In fact, Jesus also tells that we need this kind of persistence in seeking and searching through a parable of a friend ,who asks his neighbor persistently  for  loaves of bread to provide hospitality for his friend unexpectedly visiting in Luke 11:1-13. 

As the unconcerned judge was eventually moved by the widow’s persistence in asking for justice and granted justice for her (Luke 18:1-8), the reluctant neighbor also would finally offer the friend something because of his persistent asking (Luke 11:1-13).  Both of these parables of Jesus teach us the importance of persistence and endurance in fighting setbacks to accomplish our missions. But, the lessons of persistence and endurance are also applicable to endure inevitable and inescapable sufferings in light of tragic optimism. This way, we can cope with sufferings though a PTG process, discerning deeper meaning and stronger resilience of life to grow.  And, if suffering is for love, in our practice of agape, our love grows deeper in its meaning and more resilient in its power.

Being a Lutheran and existential theologian, Paul Tillich can best connect the above-mentioned biblical view on persistence and endurance to Viktor Frankl’s  concept of “tragic optimism”.  From this, we can further understand how the biblical concept of persistence and endurance is applied in PTG, Morita Therapy, and “Sikolohiyang Pilipino”(Filipino psychology) in order to apply it to discern a way for those who have been affected by the earthquake in the Philippines. 

Paul Tillich, in his unique existential concept of “courage , describes this type of persistence and endurance in light of the defiant spirit against all odds, and it is courage that defeats difficult odds. 

Tillich states, “Courage is the self-affirmation of being in spite of the fact of nonbeing. It is the act of the individual self in taking the anxiety of nonbeing upon itself by affirming itself either as part of an embracing whole or in its individual selfhood. Courage always includes a risk, it is always threatened by nonbeing, whether a risk of losing oneself and becoming a thing within the whole of things or losing one’s world in an empty self-relatedness. Courage needs the power of being, a power transcending the nonbeing which is experienced in the anxiety of fate and death, which is present in the anxiety of emptiness and meaninglessness, which is effective in the anxiety of guilt and condemnation. The courage which takes this threefold anxiety into itself must be rooted in a power of being that is greater than the power of oneself and the power of one’s world. Neither self-affirmation as a part nor self-affirmation as oneself is beyond the manifold threat of nonbeing. ” (“The Essential Tillich”, p. 168)

Tillich sees that we would slip into the quagmire of despair if we lose courage, the courage to be who we are.  What Tillich describes as “courage” is the kind of courage steeped in steadfast faith that Paul had – the kind of courage that endures all sufferings and trials. And, the courage that Tillich describes is what is necessary for persistence and endurance that Paul and Jesus teach.   

The Tillich’s view on courage also parallels Frankl views on how hope can keep us from a loss of meaning in life.  In Frankl’s Logo Therapy theory, there is the concept of “tragic optimism”, whose premise is, like Buddhism teaching, that suffering, guilt, and death are three factors, which we all must face.  Suffering, guilt, and death in Frankl’s  tragic optimism concept to confront are also similar to the objects of Tillich’s threefold anxiety – fate, death, guilt, and condemnation.

   

Similar to Morita Therapy in Japan, Frankl’s Logo Therapy is to help us to face unavoidable and inescapable suffering, guilt, and death, meaningfully. This is echoed by Tillich’s concept of courage to face obstacles and setbacks, so that we will not fall into despair.  What is important to Frankl’s concept of tragic optimism’s premise of facing inevitable suffering, guilt, and death, is acceptance. And, the importance of acceptance is the foundation of Morita Therapy. Therefore, Morita Therapy’s core concept of accepting the reality as it is (arugamama ni) augments Frankl’s concept of “tragic optimism”, enhancing the courage of being in Tillich’s concept. 

As in the case of Morita Therapy, both Jesus and Shakamuni teach that we accept inevitable and inescapable sufferings as they are, rather than resisting or trying to evade. In Buddhism, our attempts to resist such sufferings are considered as a problem of “hakarai”, mental calculation. And, it is considered as a contributing factor for increasing the magnitude of the suffering.  

Psychologically, “hakarai” is an ego defense reaction, and it makes a person rather coward. To put it in Tillich’s view, “hakarai” is counter to “courage”, thus, contributing to problems of “nonbeing”, not living a life fully. This problem, what Tillich calls “nonbeing” is the pscyhospiritual condition of existential emptiness, which Frankl calls “noögenic neurosis”. Therefore, we must overcome our ego-driven “hakarai” to prevent us from sinking into “nonbeing”(Tillich) or “noögenic neurosis”(Frankl). 

The “hakarai” is a psychological manifestation of fear and anxiety due to fragile ego.  It becomes a psychological resistance to accepting the reality as it is. To put this in Morita Therapy’s term, “hakarai”  resists “arugamama ni” acceptance, because of the fear and anxiety to confront difficult elements, such as suffering, guilt, and death, in reality.  Thus, in order to practice acceptance of inevitable and inescapable suffering as it is (arugamama ni), we need to tackle “hakarai” or any other resistance  stemming from fragile ego.  In Tillich’s view, the strengths necessary to overcome “hakarai” and other ego-resistance phenomena is the courage of being.

To overcome “hakarai”  with its deep roots in fragile ego,   I propose to apply Tillich’s concept of courage of being, together with Frankl’s concept of “tragic optimism”, and Pauline theological concept of “strong character through endurance of suffering”( Romans 5:3-4) into the clinical framework of Morita Therapy to fulfill our missions and purposes of life in spite of setbacks and challenges.  This is, indeed, to adhere the virtue of “ora et labora” with the persistence and perseverance, like the widow ‘s persistence to win justice(Luke 18:1-8), like Hannah’s persistent prayer to have a child (1 Samuel 1-11), and like the Phoenician woman who persistently asked Jesus to heal her daughter (Matthew 15:22-28, Mark 7:24-30). 

If we let setbacks stop us, then, we will never be able to accomplish our mission and fulfill our life’s purposes.  This will mean regret, which can further lead to despair and what Tillich calls “nonbeing”. Life, in reality, comes with many discouraging factors.  Although we know we are to ask to receive, to seek to find, and to knock to open doors (Mathew 7:7-8), we cannot let any discouraging factors block our path of “being” (Tillich),  “living a meaningful life”(Frankl), and fulfilling our purposes and missions.  

When facing discouragement and setbacks, it helps to keep hope as in the case with Frankl’s “tragic optimism” to persist and endure.  In the aforementioned Paul’s message in 1 Thessalonians 1:3, hope ((ἐλπίς/eplis) is used with endurance (ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone))., indicating that hope and endurance are inseparable.  And, in Greek, the word,  hope (ἐλπίς/eplis) , also means trust.  Thus, in a biblical sense, keeping hope means having trust – trust in God.  Thus, what is behind in the teachings of Paul and Jesus on persistence and endurance is trust in God, in keeping hope, in keeping up with our “tragic optimism” and “courage of being”, in spite of many setbacks and obstacles. 

Whether we can persist on our mission to accomplish and endure all sufferings depends on how strong our trust in God is. Based on the teachings of Paul and Jesus, we must trust that God always provide what we need to remain resilient with endurance,  as  these words of Jesus remind:

 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:9-12)

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”  (Luke 11:9-13)

Also, from the Gospel reading of the 29^th Sunday,

“Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:7-8)



These words of Jesus help us keep our trust in God – God’s provision for us, so that we can remain persistent in our ora et labora mission and endure all sufferings.  This way, we can practice our “tragic optimism” and “courage of being” so that we can grow through our sufferings and struggles with increased resilience, as a process of PTG. 


Now, we know a bit more about trust, especially trust in God, for our persistence and endurance, as trust and hope go hand-in-hand to fuel persistence and endurance. So far, we have explored relevant concepts to persistence and endurance in regard to the words of Paul and Jesus, Frankl’s “tragic optimism”, Tillich’s “courage of being”, Morita Therapy’s “arugamama ni acceptance”, and Buddhist concept of “hakarai”. From here, I would like to further discuss these factors in the context of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology) and the Filipino cultural context in order to better understand a way of enduring sufferings in the Philippines. 

In my view, there are two important factors in Sikolohiyang Pilipino in coping with suffering with endurance. One is “bahala na”, and the other is “katagagang-loob”. “

“Bahala na” is loosely understood as a Filipino attitude of not struggling but leaving to greater power, especially “Bathala”, the supreme being and omnipotent creator in Tagalog indigenous mythology. To me, this Filipino concept corresponds to the Japanese concept of “shikataga nai”, which is often translated as “it cannot be helped”. 

As in the case of “shikataga nai”, “bahala na” is often regarded negatively as a passive fatalism (i.e. Tomas Andres, 1994, “Dictionary of Filipino Culture and Values”). On the other hand, Alfred Lagmay (1977, “Bahala na” in “Ulat ng Ikawang Pambansang Kunpensya sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino”) and F.L. Jocano (1978, ‘Toward a new conceptual orientation of Filipino culture” in “Readings on the Filipino Personality”, ed. V. Enriquez) argues that “bahala na” is not fatalistic phenomena but father a manifestation of courage to accept the reality difficult to accept. Such Lagmay’s and Jocano’s positive take on “bahala na” parallels my argument for “shikataga nai” in the aforementioned article of mine (Nakata, 2011), viewing “shikataga nai” like Morita Therapy’s arugamama-ni acceptance of difficult reality without “hakarai”. 

To accept reality difficult to accept as it is (arugamama ni) takes significant strengths (tibay) that endures and sustains for the stability of heart and mind. Thus, “bahala na” in Filipino culture and “shikataga nai “ in Japanese culture come with “katagagan”, the kind of strengths with durability and stability , making it possible to build, rebuild, and restore, if damaged, destroyed and hurt. The Sikolohiyang Pilipino concept of “katatagan” also has a connotation to inherent, inner and internal qualities, according to Joseph Tiangco (2005, “Understanding the Filipino Philosophy of Resiliency: Katatagang-Loob and Its Phenomenological Considerations”). Thus, “katatagang” is often combined with “loob”, which indicates inner self, to express the kind of strengths that enable to bounce back, namely resilience, unique to the Filipinos. To put the resilience expressed with “katatagang-loob” in the Filipino cultural context in the Japanese context, it corresponds to “nanakorobi hachioki”(seven falls, eight rises), the Japanese equivalent resilience to bounce back . 

 

Japanese Dharma Doll

This doll is formed after Bodhidharma, a 5/6th century Indian monk, who brought Zen (C'han) Buddhism to China . Bodhidarma has been known for his extraordinally resilience and as the founder of the Shaolin School of Martial Arts (少林寺拳法）, which demands both strengths and flexibility. The Filipino resilient spirit of "katatagang-loob"is often expressed with a metaphor of bamboo. But, it can be expressed with a metaphor of a (Bodhidharma) Dharma Doll in the Japanese context, to parallel it to the Japanese expression of "nanakorobi hachioki".

Now, it is evident that “bahala na” and “katatagang-loob”are closely associated with each other, as “bahala na”is a phenomenon of “katatagang-loob”. Thus, “bahala na” is not a negative fatalism but rather more like the “courage of being” in Tillich’s philosophy and “tragic optimism” in Frankl’s view, which McCormick & Wong (2006) regard as necessary for PTG. In this sense, “bahala na” is a sign of “tapang”(valor) to fight ego’s temptation for “hakarai”to evade suffering out of fear.

Of course, “bahala na” was originally associated with the omnipotent supreme being in the Filipino mythology, Bathala, there is a sense of trust in this. Literally, “bahala na” means leaving it to the provision and power of Bathala, with utmost trust. 

As discussed before, Paul used the Greek word, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone) to express endurance, necessary for a PTG-like coping with suffering, to discern salvific value from it. And, this Greek word also has a connotation to trust. Thus, in light of the Greek word, “ὑπομονῆς”(hypomone), the Tagalog concept of “bahala na” also indicates endurance, for its quality of trusting the greater being. Of course, in the Christian context, it is trust in God. And, “bahala na”-like trust in God, in particular, God’s provision, suggests humility. In Morita Therapy, this type of humble trust-driven acceptance of difficult reality of suffering with “bahala na” is understood as “jun na kokoro”, which literally means “pure heart” in Japanese. The “jun na kokoro” in Morita Therapy rather means a heart or mind free from ego’s desire. In this case, “hakarai”, which counters “bahala na”-like courage, “courage of being”, and “tragic optimism”. Not to mention, “bahala na” is what enables to accept the reality of suffering “arugamama ni” or as it is, in the context of Morita Therapy.

“Bahala na” is more like a tip of the iceberg of “katatagang-loob” as the deep inner durable strength makes “bahala na” courage makes it possible to overcome “hakarai” and to accept sufferings “arugamama ni”(as it is) in the Morita Therapy context. And, this acceptance is not a passive fatalism but rather an expression of “tapang”(courage), a Filipino equivalent to “courage of being” in Tillich’s view and “tragic optimism” in Frankl’s view, leading to a PTG-like transcendental growth with resilience. 

Namely, “bahala na”-“katatagang-loob” integration is the essence of Filipino resilience, discerned from the current difficult reality on the heel of the major earthquake in the central Philippines this year. This is, indeed, what makes the Filipino uniquely resilient, like a bamboo. And, I have demonstrated in this blog entry, the “bahala na”-“katatagang-loob” Filipino response to inevitable and inescapable suffering also makes sense in light of the teachings of Paul and Jesus, Paul Tillich’s concept of “courage of being”, Viktor Frankl’s concept of “tragic optimism”, Buddhist teaching of the “Four Noble Truth” and warning against “hakarai”, and Morita Therapy of Japan, as well as Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG).

May God continue to pour His grace of healing and power…May those who have been affected by the earthquake accept not only this difficult reality but also God’s grace with the humility and courage of “bahala na” so that “katatagang-loob” be manifested in the persistence and endurance in coping and rebuilding. 


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Glossary:

Bahala na (Tg) – acceptance of difficult reality as it is with humility, courage, and trust
Katatagang-loob (Tg) – inner strengths with endurance, resilience
Katatagan (Tg) – strengths, firmness
Tapang (Tg) - courage
Tibay (Tg) – enduring strength
Hakarai (計らい）(Jp) – mental calculation out of ego-driven fear, ego-defense mechanism (Japanese Buddhism term)
Arugamama ni　（あるがままに） (Jp) – as it is  (Morita Therapy’s term)
Nanakorobi hachioki （七転び　八起き）(Jp) – seven falls, eight rises, a Japanese expression of resilience, with an image of a Japanese Dharma doll constantly bouncing back upon being pushed to fall.
Shikataga nai （しかたがない）(Jp) – literally meaning, it cannot be helped, but it is acceptance of difficult reality as it is with humility and courage – similar to “bahala na”
Jun na kokoro （純な心）(Jp) – pure heart and mind, heart and mind without ego-driven “hakarai” (Morita Therapy’s term)

ora et labora (L) - prayer and work

Gratitude, Utang ng Loob, Giri Ninjou, Psychospiritual Health, and Salvation - Reflection of the Gospel Narrative for the 28th Sunday Year C

We all want to be happy. In particular, Christians desire salvation. 

Atheists may think that they can attain happiness through their own efforts, not needing God. But, Christians believe that we cannot be truly happy without God’s grace and mercy, as we cannot be saved without God’s such care. We humbly understand that we cannot save ourselves – no matter how hard we work and no matter how pious we may be. To Christians, it is an ego-driven illusion to believe that our efforts alone are all needed to save ourselves. Such a belief totally ignore or discount grace and mercy of God. 

Buddhists, especially those in the Japanese Shin Buddhism, also share a similar belief that we cannot be saved by our own efforts along but with the immeasurable light of Amitabha Buddha’s mercy. This Buddhist concept is called “Tariki Hongan” in Japanese Buddhism term, meaning that we, the bompu (ordinary people with problems of kleshas) are saved Amitabha Buddha’s salvific desire. Just as Christians believe that God’s mercy is necessary to be saved, no matter how diligent and pious we maybe, Buddhists believe that Amitabha Buddha’s mercy is necessary to be saved. This acknowledgement of our need for mercy of greater being, such as Christ or Amitabha Buddha, also leads us to humility.

Both Christianity and Buddhism teach us that our own efforts alone cannot make us truly happy as these alone cannot save us. No matter how wise we, the humans, may become, and no matter how diligent we work with our advanced wisdom and knowledge, we still cannot attain truly meaningful life, peace, and contentedness. 

Human wisdom, knowledge, and our own work alone will only get us to increase our desire more and more, thus, resulting in more dissatisfaction and frustration, because our desire outgrows our satisfaction. And, this was the problem that Bro. Leo had, as I explained in my last blog entry, “St. Francis as a Morita Therapy Practitioner – A Case Study of Bro. Leo”(10/13/13). Because of his ignorance (one of the Three Poisons in Buddhist teaching) to the truth in our need for God’s grace and mercy in attaining our goals and satisfying our desires, Bro. Leo locked himself in his attachment to the ego, resulting in his frustration and depression. In response, St. Francis guided him to realize that he needs God’s grace and mercy in order to attain what he was seeking happily, along with his efforts and fidelity. And, this awakening led Bro. Leo to alleviation of his psychospiritual distress. 

Think about the reality of the 21^st highly advanced health care system today. Medicine as a science is far better from what it was 20 years ago, even a decade ago. It is true that more and more patients, who could have been dead, are now able to live, because of the advance in medicine. Far more past incurable diseases are now curable. But, we still have many diseases and illnesses that cannot be cured with the highly advanced medicine. And, ironically, today’s advanced health care has brought new unprecedented challenges, such as new difficult infectious diseases due to overuse of antibiotics. Such diseases can be very grave. This is just one aspect to humbly acknowledge that human wisdom, knowledge, and efforts alone cannot bring complete happiness and salvation. It is a reminder that we do need a help from God. Along with our wisdom, knowledge and diligent efforts, as well as our faith, we do need God’s grace and mercy in order for salvation, which literally means the fullness (restoration or redemption of the fullness).  That is why a good health care system always comes with compassionate and competent a pastoral and spiritual care program.

With this acknowledgement, it is helpful to read and reflect the Gospel story for the 28^th Sunday Year C – Luke 17: 11-19.The Gospel story begins with a story about ten lepers, who were desperately begging mercy of Jesus, as he was their last hope. In biblical context, leprosy means hopelessness, because it was an incurable and untreatable disease at that time. Even the top doctor, with all his wisdom, knowledge, and skills, could not cure this disease. So, these ten lepers had to place their last hope on Jesus. Otherwise, these lepers could have been perished already in irreversible despair before knowing Jesus’ coming – if they had nothing to hope for, beyond doctor’s care and all human wisdom. 

The lepers were also outcast, totally cut-off from the rest of the world. Nobody dared to even think of talk to them as they were afraid of getting infected with this incurable disease. They were hopelessly waiting to die in despair, along with agony in all the painful symptoms. No doctor can do anything. Not to mention, they cannot heal themselves.

This aspect of the lepers is actually a metaphor to ordinary people, us, in the Christian theological context. We, as sinners, have our own faults and shortcomings – problems and struggles, no matter how hard we work and pray – no matter how faithful we think we are. Even we have received the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the mark of the Original Sin remains. Thus, we carry the disposition to sin and sin again. In a way, we go through a vicious cycle of sin and absolution through the Sacrament of Reconciliation until the Lord calls us for the judgement. This aspect of Christianity is similar to Buddhist teaching of reincarnation, which is a vicious cycle of birth and rebirth with suffering through the six realms – hell, hunger, animality, anger, humanity, and heaven, until attaining Nirvana, breaking free from the wheel of samsara, the vicious cycle of reincarnation, upon attaining the status of Bodhi with enlightenment and the status of Buddha with awakening.

In Christian belief, until our souls is completely purified in purgatory, ordinally sinners may not rest in the Kingdom of God, heaven.  Similarly, in Buddhist belief, until we, the bompu, the ordinally people with kleshas, resolve ego and overcome kleshas, and attaining the Nirvana and Buddhahood by awakening to the Dharma truth.  Whether it is the Kingdom of God or Nirvana, attaining this ultimate freedom from any influence of sin or kleshas is our soteriological goal. Thus, entering into the Kingdom for Christians or into the state of Nirvana for Buddhists is the salvation, the attaining the fullness and freedom. Until we reach the Kingdom or the state of Nirvana, we continue to struggle with “indelible” or “incurable” influence of sinful disposition or kleshas, either of which can bring suffering. And, human wisdom and intervention alone cannot solve this problem. Only the salvific mercy of God or the merciful light of Amitabha Buddha can resolve this problem with cyclical nature. Thus, in this regard, we, the sinners and bompus, are all like the lepers in the Gospel story, needing grace and mercy of the greater being, God the Christ or Amitabha Buddha. 

In seeking and begging God’s mercy, some “faithful” and “pious” people become angry at God to a point of breaking away from God in resentfulness, because they feel that their faithful efforts are not rewarded at all. Sounds familiar? 

Even though they do not necessarily distance themselves from God, some of those who are disappointed about their efforts and faith, may sink into despair, like Bro. Leo.

In my last blog entry, “St. Francis as a Morita Therapy Practitioner – A Case Study of Bro. Leo”(10/13/13), I described that Bro. Leo’s depression was due to his narcissism-driven ignorance of the truth through some clinical and pastoral perspectives, drawing upon psychology and theology. And the truth that Bro. Leo was not aware of was that he cannot attain his goal: the purity of heart through his efforts and fidelity alone as these will not bear fruits unless we humbly open ourselves to the Lord’s grace and mercy, while finding our true identity in the fullness of Christ. 

Bro. Leo was depressed because his efforts to attain his goal: the purity of heart only put him deeper in his psychospiritual distress. And, what was behind this was Bro. Leo’s mistaken thinking that his own efforts and fidelity were what he needs to attain his goal: the purity of heart for his salvation. The problem with this was that Bro. Leo was not aware of the truth that no efforts of our own are truly helpful unless we gratefully accept Christ the Lord as our brother, friend, and savior – unless we find our true self in Christ, receiving His grace and mercy with joy and gratitude.  According to St. Francis, this is how we attain the purity of heart, as Christ, the one we find our identity in, seeking His grace and mercy, is the ultimate pure of heart. 

But, those who are not aware of this may experience frustration as Bro. Leo did, finding their own efforts only to make their lives more miserable. 

One contributing factor for Bro. Leo’s suffering was his unawareness of his need of Christ’s mercy. It was what St. Francis guided Bro. Leo toward in order to liberate him from his psychospiritual distress. 

Speaking of unawareness, it can also lead us to become indifferent to gratitude, like the nine lepers, who did not express their gratitude to Jesus in the Gospel story. Such persons may become aware of their own needs, such as needs of healing, and express their needs, as the lepers in the Gospel story begged. But, they are not sensitive enough to have a sense of gratitude for what they receive. 

In healthy interpersonal exchanges and relationships, it is not all about asking and receiving but also giving and giving back. We must be sensitive not only to our own needs but also what others need. When we receive, we must be sensitive enough to give something back – at least, to give thanks. 

In the Philippines, there is this concept called “utang-na-loob”, which literally means “debt to the inner self”, and, in Japan, there is this concept called “giri ninjou”(義理人情), which literally means “duty and compassion”.  These Asian concepts are about what we are expected to do upon receiving. Both of these teach us the virtue of returning favors. 

As long as we practice these virtues of returning favor, the circles of good wills will not be broken. And, in doing so, we are not to return favors as obligations but out of willingness and with joy. This is what is expected on us, as the Gospel story indicates. 

In the Gospel narrative, Jesus healed ten lepers on his way to Jerusalem from Galilee.  These lepers were pleading to Jesus from a distance. “Ἰησοῦ  (iesou…Jesus), ἐπιστάτα (epistata…master), ἐλέησον (eleeson…have mercy on) ἡμᾶς (hemas…us)” (Luke 17:13).  In the time of Jesus, lepers were outcast and the untouchable.  They were to die in isolation. But, when they learned about Jesus, the lepers were putting their last hope on Jesus as they must have heard about his healing power.  Their very last resort was the ἔλεος (eleos…mercy, compassion) of Jesus.  And, they got what they hoped for as Jesus healed them all, as “eleos” of Christ is the only hope for the hopeless.  But, out of these ten lepers, who were healed by Jesus, only one, a Samarian leper, came back to Jesus and thanked him, while the other nine lepers never thanked him. 

In terms of salvation, aren’t we all like the lepers, who were begging the “eleos” of Christ, crying, Ἰησοῦ  (iesou…Jesus), ἐπιστάτα (epistata…master), ἐλέησον (eleeson…have mercy on) ἡμᾶς (hemas…us)”, because we always plead, Κύριε, ἐλέησον”(Kyrie Eleison!...Lord have mercy!), at every Mass.  Whenever we make a plea, “Kyrie Eleison”, we are also humbly acknowledging that we need the Lord’s mercy because we cannot save ourselves, no matter how much effort we make and how pious we may be. In Catholicism, salvation is like “Tariki Hongan” (enlightenment through the mercy of Amitabha Buddha) of Japanese Shin Buddhism, possible only though the mercy of Christ the Lord.  Thus, in order to be saved, we are all like the ten lepers in need of healing, pleading for mercy. 

So, which leper are you?

One of the nine lepers, the Samaritan, who never thanked Jesus? Or, the Samaritan leper, who thanked Jesus?

This Gospel story is pretty much straight-forward. There is no hyperbolic expression.  Thus, it is easy to figure out which leper you are. 

It is always a good practice to reflect on a scripture passage in this way – placing ourselves, our own lives, in the context of the scripture narratives. A University of Chicago Catholic theologian, David Tracy, calls this kind of practice, “mutually critical correlation”, an attempt to understand Christian text through our own lived life experience, mutually and critically correlating our lived life experience to the scriptures “ (“Particular question within general consensus” in “Consensus in Theology? A Dialogue with Hans Küng and Edward Schillebeeckx”, ed. Leonard Swidler) .  This way, the scripture is not an irrelevant text only for those who have studied theology but rather becomes a resourceful text to draw upon meaning of life. 

If I asked you which leper you would identify yourself with in public or in group, you would probably say, “the Samaritan one”, because the Gospel narrative describes him as the one Jesus was pleased with. In fact, though all of these ten lepers were healed, only the Samaritan leper was saved upon thanking Jesus (Luke 17: 19) .  

We must be honest in identifying which figures in the biblical narrative we may be. It is not to be confused with who we want to be. 

It is important that we first examine our own lives. 

So, are you generally happy? Or, do you find something to complain and grumble about more often than something to be grateful and happy about?  Do you always find some time to write letters, respond to phone calls and emails? Or, are you too busy to keep up with all the messages you receive in your smart phones? 

We must really look into how we live every day. 

If you happen to be a kind of person, who find more things to complain about but hardly find anything to be grateful about, then, chances are, you are more like the nine lepers, who did not come back to Jesus and thanked. Maybe these lepers were “too busy” to thank Jesus. 

But, no matter how busy you are, if you always find time to return phone messages, emails in timely manner, then, you also find more things to be thankful for, then, you are more like the Samaritan leper, who managed to find a time to visit Jesus and thank him. 

It is important to note in the Gospel narrative that only the one who took time and made efforts to thank Jesus was saved, though all ten lepers were healed by Jesus.

It is like these words of Jesus – Many are called but only few are chosen (Matthew 22:14).  So, we can say,” many are healed but only few are saved”. And, those few who are saved make special efforts to thank God for all He does, no matter how small God’s grace may be at a time. Such a thankful person has a high level of mindfulness. It takes an advanced degree of mindfulness to recognize even a small thing to be thankful for and to express appreciation. 

Giving thanks is what the Samaritan leper did, and he was saved, not just healed.

Are you a person, who is always grateful for what you have, mindful of every single blessing you receive, no matter how small it may be? Or, are you a person, who tends to see what you don’t have and feel unhappy about your life? 

If you fall into the former, then, you are likely to identify yourself with the Samaritan leper, and on your way to salvation. But, if you are the latter, then, you are more like the nine lepers who never expressed their gratitude to Jesus. 

The question: whether we are like the Samaritan leper or the other nine lepers – whether we are like a person who recognize more blessings and things to be thankful for or like a person who see what lacks in life and complain, is like the question: whether you see a glass half full or half empty. Namely, this is a matter of our attitude and the way we perceive the reality. 

To see a glass half full or half empty is a metaphor often used in cognitive and cognitive-behavior therapy. It is also used to explain how cognitive therapy works. 

Like the Rorschach ink-blot projective test to assess personality, this question of whether to see a glass half-full or half-empty is to see if our cognitive scheme is more prone to find things to complain about or to find things to be grateful for. From a developmental psychological perspective, the cognitive scheme that enables to see more blessings than deficiencies in life and express gratitude is likely to have had a healthy mother-child attachment formation during early life. On the other hand, the cognitive scheme that tends to see a glass half-empty tends to suggest that the person has had frustrating early childhood because of his or her mother’s excessive love, which contributed to develop narcissistic personality as a result of a pathological attachment process. 

As adult Christians, it is important to read biblical stories to reflect our own life experiences on or to correlate our own lived life experiences with. 

As a pastoral psychologist, I often invite my clients to juxtapose their own lived life experiences to certain biblical narratives, such as this Gospel story, to see which biblical characters they identity themselves with, in order to clinically and spiritually assess their psychospiritual wellbeing. 

Ultimate goal for pastoral psychological services is to guide clients to be and stay on the right path of salvation. This path of salvation is the path of what Jung calls individuation – the path to grow into the fullness. To put this in a pastoral theological perspective, the fullness that we are to become is the fullness in the mystery of Christ, finding our true identity beyond our own selves but in the fullness of Christ.  As I pointed out in my blog entry, “St. Francis as a Morita Therapy Practitioner – A Case Study of Bro. Leo”(10/13/13), it is how St. Francis guided Bro. Leo through his pastoral psychological intervention, applying some principles of Morita Therapy, which bears some Zen Buddhist spirituality, to overcome his ego-attachment narcissism by finding his real self in the fullness of Christ. 

This way, Bro. Leo began to see his own shortcomings not as something to reproach himself and get depressed about himself but as a reason to be more intimately united with Christ, holding his fragmented aspects of self as a new clay is applied to seal the cracks of old rusty Japanese tea bowl, resulting in the “wabi-sabi”kind of aesthetic new value. And, new outcome is definitely something to be thankful for. 

With this recognition, what Bro. Leo used to see as something to be resentful about in him was transformed into something to be grateful and to express his gratitude to Christ for holding him like a beautiful “wabi-sabi” Japanese tea bowl.

In fact, the “wabi-sabi” Japanese tea bowl with marks of cracks filled with new clay is like the image of the fullness of the risen Christ. It is because the risen Christ, who is completely transcendental across time and distance, maintains the wounds from the Crucifixion, which are the powerful reminder that he suffered and died. But, in the Catholic tradition, we kneel before the Crucifix, because it reminds us of what we are truly grateful for – the redeeming us from the path toward condemnation. Thus, the indelible marks of his wounds in the fullness of the risen Christ, like the marks of the cracks of a Japanese “wabi-sabi” tea bowl, is something we treasure and express our gratitude for. Thus, in finding our true identity in this image of the fullness of Christ with the marks of his wounds, we become able to see what we used to complain about as something to be grateful for. And, this shift in perspective is a transformation of our cognitive scheme – a change in the way we perceive the reality.  This way, pastoral counseling can help to transform those who identify themselves with the nine lepers into persons who are more like the Samaritan leper. 

The bottom line is mindfulness that enables us not only to recognize our needs – what we need to receive, but also to recognize what others need and what pleases those who have given us something. In our giving back, it does not have to be something with equal value or above. This is not about equitable exchanges. It is about returning our gratefulness. After all, who won’t feel happy to hear “Thank you!”? 

In our relationship with God, there is no way we can return all the favors that God has done for us – all the graces we have received from God – in an equitable way.  What we can give back is so limited. But, unless we suffer from “gratitude deficiency” because of our lack of awareness and sensitivity, then, all we have to give back is our sincere thanks. 

When we go to God’s alter and receive the Sacrament of Eucharist, we don’t say “Thank you” but we say ‘Amen!”. But, we say ”Amen!” with our gratitude, as the word, “Eucharist” means “giving thanks”. 

The Eucharist is, indeed, a kind of gift, to which we cannot practice “utang-ng-loob” or “giri ninjou” in an equitable manner. We have no ability to match the magnitude of this God’s gift, the Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ, in our practice of “utang-ng-loob” and “giri ninjou”. But, if we are mindful and sensitive enough to empathize God, who gives this precious grace out of His love, then, it is our heart of compassion that prompts us to express our gratitude in place of giving back an equal or above value gift – just as the Samaritan leper returned to Jesus and gave thanks to him. 

Now we know that what we need for our salvation is our heartfelt expression of gratitude. And, it is also an indication of our psychospiritual health.

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In expressing our gratitude, we can put our grateful heart in this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K44trVhtZX4