Word 024
In the precinct of Yakushi-ji temple, two pagodas stand facing each other.
The East Pagoda is a national treasure — standing here since the Nara period, over 1,300 years ago. The West Pagoda was reconstructed in 1981.
A first-time visitor might see "two ancient pagodas." Someone versed in architecture might see two entirely different things.
The same scene — yet what each person sees depends entirely on who is looking.
People see the world outside themselves by passing it through themselves as a filter.
And so, without thinking, we tend to judge those around us by our own values and sense of things.
But those around us have their own values — their own sense of things.
It may seem like a small thing,
but whether or not we are aware of this makes all the difference.
The moment we notice our own filter, the world around us softens — just a little.