The Global Environment and Theory of Happiness

Yoichi Kawada

1. Introduction—Lessons from the Great East JapanEarthquake

DAMAGE caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurredon March 11, 2011 originated from the enormous quake itself anddevastating tsunami that followed, but also included widespread radiation contamination that resulted from the accident at the Fukushima
Nuclear Power Plant.
This triple-disaster has left a deep impression on the hearts of all
Japanese people, and one of the first manifestations of an internalchange on a national scale appeared in the form of a drastic shift inattitudes toward the definition of happiness. Many of those who had
previously emphasized the pursuit of materialistic happiness have cometo seek a more spiritual happiness. In other words, the standards forhappiness have become much less dependent on financial gain and theacquisition of goods, and more centered on spiritual and psychologicalforms of happiness such as enrichment of the heart and cherishing thebonds between individuals.
As often is the case following a large disaster such as this, theincidence of those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) and the aggravation of other “ailments of the heart,” including
depression, tend to increase greatly. In order to restore the mental healthof those affected, and to establish a sense of happiness and security, thewarm spiritual support of others are vital.
The people of Japan, having experienced its biggest natural calamity
to date, are 1) beginning to realize the fleeting nature of materialistic
happiness and yearn to enrich the heart, 2) realizing the importance ofdeveloping warm relationships with those around them, and 3) feelingan urgent need to replace the current materialistic civilization that
attempts to rule over nature, with an ecological civilization that respects
the dignity of the spirit and culture. All of these lessons are of criticalimportance for the future of human society.
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the global environment and theory of happiness2. In Search of True HappinessA broad range of wants is inherent within human life from materialistic
desires to spiritual, psychological, societal and religious aspirations, andthe degree of fulfillment of those wants impacts our experience ofhappiness.
Therefore, I would like to turn the discussion toward thepsychological aspects of happiness using Abraham Maslow’s hierarchyof needs as one model of organization of the desires and aspirations
within human beings.

3. Beyond Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow organizes into tiers, various desires within all human beings.
The first tier is composed of “physiological needs.” The second tier iscomposed of “safety needs.” The third tier is composed of “belongingness and love needs.” The fourth tier is composed of “esteem needs.”
Maslow groups the first four tiers as basic needs of human beings. Then,
when these basic needs are met, a fifth tier composed of the “selfactualization need,” is activated. Later in life, Maslow proposed one
more tier above self-actualization, called the “need for self-transcendence,” and together with Stanislav Grof, he helped establish a new
field of psychology called, “transpersonal psychology.”
Using Maslow’s model as a base, I would like to extend on theregions beyond the individual level by borrowing from Buddhist thought
and propose two more tiers above the self-actualization tier when
considering the human desire for growth—i.e. the sixth tier, the need forsymbiosis of humanity, and the seventh tier, the need to connect to a
primordial-cosmic source.

4. Creating a Society of Sustainable Well-being
Buddhist texts reveal a principle needed for human beings to attainhappiness and a true sense of wealth in life.
In the Legacy Teachings Sutra, a passage reads, “observe the lesson of‘contentment,’ as it is the source of wealth, joy and peace. A contented
person is happy, if he be lying down on the ground,”1 and converselystates, “the discontented are poor, having great wealth.”2 This can betaken to mean that “to know contentment” (知足) is to enjoy affluenceand happiness, whereas “to be discontented” is to be poor in heart andunhappy, despite possessing abundant material wealth. If we take thisthe global environment and theory of happiness69

principle of knowing contentment is happiness and wealth, and being
discontented is unhappiness and poverty, and apply it to the seven tiersof the needs hierarchy mentioned earlier, the following analysis will
result.
Knowing contentment means to lead a life in which all seven tiers ofneeds from the depths of our lives are completely fulfilled.
Next, I would like to think about and discuss the seven conditions
necessary for creating a society where well-being can be continuously
sustained.
First, in order for society to fulfill the most fundamental physiologicalneeds, food, water, clothing and shelter must be guaranteed.
Second, meeting safety needs involves providing medical, health careand welfare needs (freedom from illness), as well as freedom from thefear of terrorist attack and crime.
Third, to fulfill love and belongingness needs, a society must guarantee basic education, the freedom to choose one’s occupation, andassistance in receiving the necessary training to develop skills for work.
Essential for this is the creation of a society of mutual trust.
In the fourth tier esteem needs, individuals awaken to their own
dignity, have pride in themselves and enter a phase in which they assert
freedom, equality and other basic human rights.
In order to create a society that supports, activates and strengthens thefulfillment of the fifth tier self-actualization need, a system to protect theunique spiritual legacy of that particular society or ethnic group isneeded. The rich heritage of views on the way of living, value systems,
approaches to life, sense of ethics and morals that are contained within asociety’s culture, art, thinking, philosophy and ethics are all sources ofinspiration for self-actualization. This is why it is necessary for a society
to respect spirituality and morality in general. In addition, the natural
surroundings of one’s immediate environment or a nation are also
sources of inspiration for human life.
The sixth tier of needs, which supports actions for the need forsymbiosis of humanity or the need to contribute to others, is based on
the mutual respect of diverse cultures, ethnic groups, civilizations andreligions, and requires a society rich in tolerance, as tolerance is whatallows symbiosis and co-existence to take place. On this earth, humanity
has created vibrant and diverse ethnic cultures and civilizations, and as
they interacted and intermingled with one another, parts of thosecultures mutually assimilated, but each also maintained theiruniqueness.
When a society lives in symbiosis with nature and communes with it,

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the global environment and theory of happinessand also mutually respects the diversity of cultures, ethnic groups andcivilizations of all its citizens, a “multicultural symbiotic society” can becreated. Then, upon this base, when a network of goodness expands
among the people, the sixth tier need for symbiosis of humanity/theneed to contribute to others can be fulfilled.
And finally, the growth need that manifests from the depths of ourlives expands past the realm of humanity to the realm of the naturalenvironment and then to the realm of the greater cosmos. This leads tothe fulfillment of the seventh tier need, the need to connect to a
primordial-cosmic source. It is religion that fulfills this ultimate need.
Therefore, a society which respects religious sentiment and guarantees
religious freedom is a society that has a basis for sustainable happiness.
“The eternal,” or Dharma (Law), which Shakyamuni Buddha
awakened to is described in the Life Span of the Thus Come One
Chapter of the Lotus Sutra as the Eternal Law which is at one with theEternal Buddha. Nichiren expressed this ultimate law as Nam-myohorenge-kyo.
In the Life Span of the Thus Come One Chapter of the Lotus Sutra,
appears the phrase, “living beings enjoy themselves at ease,”3 describing
a state of life where one has the freedom to fully “enjoy” this life. Fromthe standpoint of the theory of happiness in contemporary society, thisphrase can be interpreted as living a life of freedom in which all seventiers of needs are manifested.
In the same chapter of the Lotus Sutra, appears another phrase, “this,my land, remains safe and tranquil,”4 which in contemporary terms takesform as “guaranteed security” for human beings. In other words, thisphrase can be interpreted to mean a society for the common people
which is free from threats that impede the fulfilling of the seven tiers ofneeds and promotes the fulfillment of those needs—which can further
be interpreted to mean a cultural and societal life that is in harmony with
the natural environment.
Within the realities of contemporary materialistic and scientificcivilization, global citizens work to expand the circle of goodness bymaking concrete efforts to establish a civilization where “living beings
enjoy themselves at ease,” and “this, my land, remains safe and tranquil.” These efforts transform the foundation of civilization to an altruistic one, which then manifests as a sustainable society of well-being richin spirituality and morality.
In modern society, the SGI has endeavored to create a society of wellbeing for all people in the areas of peace, culture and education as anNGO of the United Nations.

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As part of those efforts, the SGI has offered humanitarian aid throughrelief money to victims of the Great Sichuan Earthquake and Cyclone
Nargis which struck Myanmar. In Japan, assistance was offered in theform of opening Soka Gakkai community centers as temporary shelter
to members of the general public and functioning as a distribution center
for relief goods. Members of the Doctor’s Division and Nurse’s Divisionwere dispatched to affected areas and other members helped by transporting relief goods during the Great Hanshin Earthquake and theChuetsu Offshore Earthquake.
Religious organizations throughout Japan mobilized after the Great
East Japan Earthquake to provide relief assistance in various capacities
from offering memorial services for the deceased, collecting financialdonations, engaging in rescue activities, providing temporary housing
and resupplying emergency provisions, to providing mental and emotional support to victims of the disaster. The Soka Gakkai also participatedin all the activities mentioned above.5
In physical and psychological ways, support for earthquake victims
took the form of humanitarian aid, prayers for the deceased, the fulfillment of basic needs and providing of mental health care.
Of the seven tiers of needs, the Great East Japan Earthquake deprivedsurvivors of the basic first tier physiological needs and second tier safety
needs.
However, despite this, people helped each other, believed in eachother, strengthened their mutual bonds of trust and stood up together torebuild what was lost. The third tier love and belongingness needs andthe fourth tier esteem needs were fulfilled by mutually activating thosetiers within each other. There were many who themselves had lost theirhomes, their loved ones and did not have their basic needs met, butstrove to contribute to others. In addition, guided by the need for selfactualization and self-transcendence, there were people all over theworld who awakened to altruistic action. This helped create a network ofgoodness, connecting people throughout Japan as well as the world.
Through this experience of working together, the Japanese have rediscovered the importance of building a society based on trust andrespecting the bonds between people and also recognize the transienceof materialistic happiness.

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NOTES
The Sutra of Buddha’s Last Instruction, ed. and trans. Kaiten Nukariya (Tokyo:Morie Shouten, 1897), p.10 http://kindai.da.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/817596 (accessedon July 29, 2013)
2Ibid.
3
The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, trans. by Watson, B. (Tokyo:Soka Gakkai, 2009) p. 272.
4Ibid.
5
See Higashi Nihon Daishinsai—Soka Gakkai Wa Dou Ugoitaka [The Great East
Japan Earthquake—How the Soka Gakkai Responded], ed. Ushio editorial staff		(Tokyo:Ushio Press, 2011).
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