The prime minister's appearance as Mario at the Rio Olympics has amused the world. We know now that Abe is willing to put on any cosplay outfit that can help boost people's interest in Japan and its economy. Daruma, the Indian Buddhist monk (Bodhidharma in Sanskrit) who introduced Zen to the East is another local hero's outfit that he may want to consider to re-energize Japanese corporate culture.
More than a religion or a philosophy, Zen is a radical approach that has colored the Japanese way of life with a touch of absolute. In 1938 for the original edition, and 1959 for the revised version, the Japanese philosopher D.T. Suzuki published his work "Zen and Japanese culture," in which he explained the profound influence Zen has had on Japanese culture.
This Zen from Japan has contributed greatly to the introduction and now flourishing of contemplative practices in Western countries. Japanese monks have paved the way for Europe, America and Oceania. They have established Zen centers and temples, taught meditation techniques, and explained their views and understandings of true happiness and the path that leads to it. Along with other Zen schools from Korea and Vietnam, and the Tibetan and other South and Southeast Asian Buddhist traditions, the Zen of Japan that landed as an intriguing "Oriental" ancestral practice about 100 years ago has now taken root on Western shores and has become an inspiring way of life for many.