Do you belong to the satori generation? (warning: the language in this is a little bit difficult)

This article is based upon an article printed in the Japan Times with a similar theme.  My wife emailed it to me recently and I thought it would be an interesting topic for my students. 

Satori is a Japanese word which has now entered the English language, although most English speakers probably don’t know it.  It means “enlightenment.”  Buddhists believe that the goal of life is to reach Enlightenment.  To be enlightened, you should have no desires on Earth: you shouldn’t desire to eat delicious food, or to get a good job etc. 

So what is the “satori generation”?  Well, some people have noticed that many Japanese youngsters, university graduates and recent graduates, are not as active as their parents were when they were younger.  Many say that they are content to live without a girlfriend or boyfriend, and to find a job which pays their bills.  They have less ambition to be rich, to go abroad or to start a family than their parents did.  So you could say that, like Buddhists, they have few desires.  They are the satori generation. 

I wonder if this is also true in my students’ experience.  Do you, or your children, have as many desires as the last generation?  Do people simply have different desires nowadays, which their parents can’t easily understand? 

And if there really is a satori generation, what has caused it?  Is it related to the long decline of the Japanese economy?  Do young people have few expectations that they can get a job as good as their parents got, and so give up trying?  Are there so many kinds of entertainment available at home that young people do not seem active outside their home? 

I am going to stop this article now.  I have lost the desire to continue writing.  I think I can feel the satori flowing through me.

 

Vocabulary:

A Buddhist – A Buddhist is someone who believes in Buddhism.  Buddhism is a religion followed in countries like Thailand and Japan.  Kiyomizu Temple is a Buddhist temple.

A desire – A desire is a feeling that you want something.  John Lennon had a desire for world peace.

To be content – To be satisfied.

A bill – A bill is something that you have to pay.  For example, I have to pay the gas bill and the electricity bill.

An ambition – An ambition is something that you want to achieve, a goal.

A decline – a continuous loss of strength.