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Vol.47
Beyond Expections |
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July 09,2018 |
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This is a story that I heard at a lecture by a monk when I was in my 40s.
A career bureaucrat who just joined the then Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry after graduating from the University of Tokyo visited a prefecture near the Kanto area for inspection.
When being taken to a rice paddy field by the director of the prefectural capital office, he pointed at the field, saying, "What are these?" The director thought this bureaucrat was joking and answered, "These are rice plants," hoping this was some kind of mistake. Unfortunately, however, his reaction was "Oh, these are the rice plants."
After hearing this story, I tried to imagine this young man's background.
(1) He never joined the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry with an interest in agriculture.
(2) He spent his youth on studying to enter the University of Tokyo.
(3) He rarely watched news or went traveling or camping with his family.
(4) He was probably raised in an environment with little nature.
For the director, this experience must have been "beyond expectations," which are the words often used in recent years.
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