Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn

 I was so fortunate to finally meet Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn in person at a private VIP party hosted by
UCSD Medical Center for Mindfulness. We have many mutual friends, but had never met each other in person. Dr. Zinn is an internationally renowned pioneer of MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction), a mindfulness meditation expert and a best-seller author. He lectures around the world.

昨夜、カリフォルニア大学大学病院の主催のプライベート
ディナーにて、世界的に著名なジョン・カバット・ジン博士と
お会いする機会に恵まれました。ジン博士は、MBSR
（マインドフルネスストレスリダクション）のパイオニアで、マインドフル
ネス瞑想のエキスパート。世界中で講演しておられます。

 He received his Ph.D. in molecular biology at MIT, and has been a professor of University of Massachusetts Medical School. He participated in the Mind & Life Institute Conference a few years ago with H.H.The Dalai Lama as its board member to promote dialogues between the world's leading scientists and the Dalai Lama. Dr. Zinn has been teaching that mindfulness meditation is very effective on reducing stress and depression.

ジン博士は数年前に、ダライ・ラマ法王のMind & Life
コンフェレンス（世界をリードする科学者たちと脳と
マインドの研究をする）にも参加しています。
マサチューセッツ工科大学で分子生物学の博士号をとった
ジン博士は、瞑想がいかに脳の働きに良く、鬱病や
ストレス解消に深く繋がっていることを唱えて来ました。

For many years I'd respected his work and commitment, and I was so moved by his warm and kind personality when I talked to him. His lecture on Metta (lovingkindness method) was not only in his eloquent speech, but it was an extension of himself.

Mindfulness was very much in our daily life in Japan a long time ago. Japanese honored spirituality back then. After the World War Two, Japan focused too much only on rebuilding the nation, and somehow we forgot to take our hearts with us. There are more than 30,000 Japanese commit suicide every year, and the number is increasing. Many of them are young kids. I do believe that it is a time to have mindfulness back in our life, and we must really look into it.

Mindfulness originally came from the East (Buddhism). It is ironic that we, the Japanese, have to learn from an Westerner, but the important thing is to find the true happiness in our lives again, and to learn how to obtain it ourselves. It is never too late to be mindful. Never.

以前からジン博士を尊敬していた私は、共通の友人も
多いのに、お会いするのは初めてでした。温かいお人柄
で感激しました。「マインドフルネス」は、かつては日本の
文化にも深く浸透していました。毎年３万人以上が自殺
をしている近代日本で、マインドフルネスの大切さをもう一度
見直せたら、、、と痛感します。
マインドフルネスは、本来は東洋の思想です。
日本人の私たちが、西洋人から学ばなく
てはならないのも皮肉ですが、大事なのは、人々が
「幸せ」を実感できること。その術を学ぶことですよね。
今からでもちっとも遅く無いはずです！