Konjo by Sandeep Goyal

Author:Sandeep Goyal
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Collins
Published: 2014-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

26

CHOOSE YOUR MOUNTAIN

If there is one regret that I will always have, it is that despite my two-decade relationship with Japan, and perhaps, a hundred trips to Tokyo, I never climbed Mt Fuji.

In Dentsu, every new batch of management trainees (200 plus, every year) go through the ritual of climbing the mighty mountain, soon after they join the company. Every summer, all the newly elected members of the Board at Dentsu (and perhaps most other large companies) climb Fuji san in thanksgiving. Every year, around 200,000 climb Japan’s highest peak in hopes of catching the goraiko (Buddha’s halo) as the sun first appears on the horizon. The climbing tradition dates to A.D. 663, when, according to legend, an unknown monk first reached the summit for penance and prayers. The 12,389-foot mountain is not very far from Hakone, which itself is about an hour away from Tokyo. I got to the base camp, called Station 5, where most hikers/climbers of all ages kick off their ascent. But an unseasonal blizzard kept us from going any further. My luck!

The Mt Fuji climb is as much adventure as it is perhaps sacred. Though I never made the mountain top, I picked up a very interesting article on the importance of Mt Fuji and the lessons thereto. Unfortunately, I do not know the exact source of the article (originally in Japanese), but a Japanese associate was kind enough to translate it for me. I will share here some of the lessons from the climbing of the mountain, as an illustration of Japanese thinking and philosophy:

Dream big, pursue your passion: Mt Fuji is not Everest. Yet, the climb is tough and arduous. Most Japanese climb Fuji at least once in their lifetime. Some do it more often, more as thanksgiving, or on the fulfilment of a dream. For most Japanese, the climb up the mountain is all about dreaming big, and making it happen.

Pack light: Climbing the mountain is a lesson in non-attachment. The trick in the climb is to find a way to make your backpack light enough so that you can climb without breaking your back. At the same time, you have to take into account the extreme cold at the summit, which requires thick clothing. The Japanese interpret this at a different philosophical plane. As per them, it is a hard and heavy life when you get attached to material possessions. One can also get attached to outcomes, ideas, thoughts, people and even concepts. This becomes hard because we place a lot of our own meaning and expectations into these things and it eventually has a way of distorting our perception. Non-attachment is a mindset. It is different from detachment because it does not make you emotionally paralysed but instead encourages you to avoid over-thinking, obsessing or worrying. It is a call to be present in the moment, to let go and let be.

Talk to strangers: The mountain climb is a lesson in connecting with others. What normally happens at Mt Fuji

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