[music]

When people think about Japanese

discipline, they [music] often imagine

strict rules, harsh training, and

forcing yourself to do difficult things.

They picture samurai warriors enduring

pain without showing any emotion or

monks sitting in meditation for hours

without moving. But true Japanese

discipline is something much deeper and

much gentler than this image suggests.

It is not about punishing yourself or

following orders from others. It is

about building a certain kind of mind

that naturally moves toward what is

right and what [music] is good. This

inner discipline is what allowed

ordinary Japanese people to rebuild

their country after devastating wars. It

is what allows craftsmen to spend

decades perfecting a single skill. It is

what creates the sense of order and

consideration that visitors to Japan

often notice and admire. Today, I want

to share with you six principles that

form the foundation of the Japanese

discipline mindset. These are not rules

that [music] someone forces you to

follow. They are ways of thinking that

once you understand them change how you

move through the world. One, Otento sama

is always watching you. In Japan, there

is an old teaching that parents have

passed down to children for many

generations.

It is the idea of otentos sama which

refers to the sun but means something

much more than just the bright light in

the sky. Otento sama represents a kind

of divine witness that sees everything

you do even when no other person is

around. When Japanese parents teach

their children about Otento sama, they

are saying that you should behave well

not because someone might catch you, but

because your actions are always seen by

something greater than yourself. This

teaching answers one of the most

important questions about character. How

do you act when nobody is watching? Many

people behave well when others can see

them because they want to look good or

avoid punishment. But when they are

alone, they cut corners, tell small

lies, or do things they would be

embarrassed for others to see. Their

good behavior is just a performance for

an audience. The person who lives with

Otentto sama in their heart is

different. They act the same whether

they are in a crowded room or completely

alone in their house. They do not cheat

even when cheating would be easy and

safe. They do not leave a mess for

others to clean up, even when no one

would know who made it. This is because

their standard of behavior does not come

from fear of being caught. It comes from

a desire to be a person of genuine

integrity. Someone whose private self

matches [music] their public self. When

you live this way, you develop a deep

sense of selfrespect that cannot be

shaken by what others think of you. You

know who you are because you have proven

it to yourself through countless small

choices made when no one else was

looking. Two, accumulating toku through

daily actions.

There is a concept in Japanese thinking

called toku, which can be translated as

virtue or moral merit. But toku is not

just an abstract idea about being a good

person. It is thought of as something

real that you accumulate through your

actions like deposits in an invisible

bank account. Every time you do

something kind, honest, or helpful, you

add to your toku. Every time you work

hard without seeking recognition, you

add to your toku. Every time you choose

the right path, even when the wrong path

would be easier, [music] you add to your

toku. This accumulated toku is believed

to bring good fortune into your life.

Though not always in obvious or

immediate ways. More importantly, it

shapes who you become as a person.

Someone with great toku carries

themselves differently. They have a kind

of quiet confidence and inner peace that

comes from knowing they have lived well.

[music] The opposite is also true. When

you act selfishly, deceive others, or

take shortcuts that harm people, you

spend your toku. You might gain

something in the short term, but you

lose something more valuable that is

much harder to replace. This way of

thinking changes how you approach small

daily decisions. Instead of asking what

can I get away with, you ask what will

add to my toku. Instead of doing the

minimum required, you look for

opportunities to contribute more than

expected. The samurai understood this

principle deeply. They knew that their

character was being built through every

action, not just the big dramatic

moments. The warrior who was sloppy in

small things would be sloppy when it

[music] mattered most. The warrior who

was honorable in private would be

honorable on the battlefield. Think of

your toku as something you are building

every single day. Each choice either

[music] adds to it or takes away from

it. Over a lifetime, these small

deposits [music] create the fortune of a

life well-lived.

Three, the Sakura mindset of beautiful

impermanence.

Every spring, people across Japan

[music] gather to watch the cherry

blossoms bloom. This tradition is called

hanami and it has been part of Japanese

culture for over a thousand years. But

here is something important to

understand. The cherry blossoms are only

at their peak beauty for a few days. A

week or two after they bloom, the petals

fall and scatter in the wind. The

spectacular display is gone until the

following year. This is exactly why the

Japanese treasure them so much. The

blossoms are precious because they do

not last. Their impermanence is not a

sad thing to be ignored. It is the very

source of their beauty and meaning. The

Sakura mindset applies this

understanding to all of life. Everything

beautiful, everything valuable,

everything you love will eventually pass

away. Your youth will fade. Your loved

ones will grow old. Opportunities will

come and go. Nothing stays the same

forever. A person without this

understanding wastes their life assuming

there will always be more time. They put

off important [music] things and take

precious people for granted. They chase

after permanent security that does not

exist and [music] feel anxious when life

keeps changing. A person with the Sakura

mindset lives differently. They

appreciate what they have right now

because they know it will not last

forever. They tell people they love them

today instead of assuming there will be

another chance. They give full attention

to experiences instead of half-heartedly

going through the motions. This mindset

also creates resilience when difficult

times come. When you understand that

everything passes, you know that hard

times will pass too. The pain you feel

today will not last forever, [music]

just as the joy you feel today will not

last forever. This knowledge helps you

endure difficulty without being

destroyed by it. The cherry blossoms

teach us to embrace life fully while we

have it and to let go gracefully when

the time comes.

Four, never forget your shin. There is a

Zen teaching called shin which means

beginner's mind. It refers to the

attitude of openness, eagerness and lack

[music] of fixed ideas that a true

beginner brings to learning something

new. When you are a complete beginner,

you know that you do not know. You

listen carefully because you understand

that others have knowledge you lack. You

try things without worrying about

looking foolish. You ask questions that

an expert might be too proud to ask. You

remain humble because you have no

achievements to make you arrogant. This

beginner's mind is actually a tremendous

advantage for learning and growth. The

problem is that most people lose it as

they gain experience [music] and

knowledge. As people become more skilled

in something, they often become close to

new ideas. They think they already know

the answers, so they stop asking

questions. They become protective of

their expertise and resist anything that

challenges what they believe. Their mind

becomes fixed and rigid instead of open

and flexible. The teaching of Shoshin

tells us to guard against this hardening

of the mind. No matter how much you

learn, no matter how skilled you become,

you should maintain the openness and

humility of a beginner. In Japan, even

great masters continue to call

themselves students. A craftsman who has

worked for 50 years still approaches

each day ready to learn something new. A

martial artist with decades of training

still practices the most basic

techniques with full attention. This is

not false modesty. It is a recognition

that there is always more to learn. That

even familiar things can reveal new

depths when approached with fresh eyes.

When you maintain your shin, you

continue growing throughout your entire

life. The moment you decide you have

learned enough is the moment you stop

developing as a person. Five. Gmon

through every difficulty. The Japanese

word gammon refers to enduring difficult

circumstances with patience and dignity.

It means bearing what must be born

without complaining, without losing your

composure and without giving up. This

does not mean pretending that hardship

does not exist or that pain does not

hurt. It means accepting reality as it

is and continuing forward despite the

difficulty. It means not making your

[music] suffering into a burden for

others through constant complaints or

dramatic displays. Throughout Japanese

history, people have faced tremendous

hardships, including wars, natural

disasters, and periods of great poverty.

The spirit of G helped them survive

these times without falling apart. They

endured what could not be changed while

working to improve what could be

changed. G is closely connected to inner

strength but it is a quiet strength

rather than a loud one. The person

practicing gum does not announce their

struggles or seek sympathy. They simply

keep going day after day trusting that

persistence will eventually lead

somewhere better. This does not mean you

should never ask for help or share your

struggles with trusted [music] people.

There is wisdom in knowing when you need

support. But garment teaches us not to

be defeated by difficulty, not to give

up when things become uncomfortable, and

not to waste energy on complaints that

change nothing. Modern life is full of

small discomforts and frustrations that

tempt us to complain, quit or look for

easy escapes. The practice of gan builds

the endurance to stay with difficult

things long enough to see them through.

Six, fall seven times, rise eight. There

is a Japanese saying that goes nana

korobi yaoki which means fall seven

times get up eight. This teaching

captures the spirit of resilience that

is central to the Japanese disciplined

mindset. The numbers are not meant to be

taken literally. The point is that no

matter how many times you fall down, you

get up one more time. As long as you

keep rising, you have not truly failed.

True failure only happens when you stay

down and stop [music] trying. This

saying acknowledges something important

about life. You will fall. You will

fail. You will face setbacks [music]

and defeats and disappointments. This is

not a sign that something is wrong with

you or that you should give up. It is

simply how life works for everyone. The

samurai trained constantly and constant

training meant constant mistakes. They

did not expect to perform perfectly

every time. They expected to fall, learn

from the fall and rise again with

improved skill and understanding. This

mindset removes the fear of failure that

stops so many people from even trying.

When you know that falling is part of

the process, you become willing to take

risks and attempt difficult things. Each

failure becomes information that helps

you improve rather than evidence that

you should quit. The person who has

fallen seven times and risen eight has

developed something that the person who

never fell cannot have. They have proven

to themselves that they can survive

failure. They know from direct

experience that getting knocked down is

not the end. This knowledge gives them

courage to [music] keep going when

others would give up. These six

principles are not separate ideas but

parts of a single way of being. The

person who remembers that Otento sama is

watching will naturally accumulate toku

through right action. The person with a

sakura mindset will maintain shin

because they know their time to learn is

limited. The person who practices gin

will rise after every fall because

giving up is not an option they allow

themselves. Together, these principles

create what we might call a disciplined

character. Not discipline in the sense

of harsh rules enforced from outside,

but discipline as an inner quality that

guides you toward your best self. You do

not need to master all six principles at

once. Choose one that speaks to you and

bring it into your daily life. Let it

become part of how you think and act.

Then, when you are ready, add another.

Over time, these ways of thinking will

become natural to you. You will not need

to remind yourself to [music] practice

them because they will simply be who you

are. Thank you for learning about the

Japanese discipline mindset with me

today. I hope these ancient principles

help you build the inner strength and

character you're seeking. Take good care

of yourself.