Cancellation of this Series

I believe there may have been some readers who've been concerned about the interruption or break between my journal entries. Due to many factors, I've decided to suspend this series for now. I'd like to thank all you readers for allowing me to ramble on about everything--from new scientific technology and issues dealing with the environment, personal miscellaneous writings, things that happened at home, eating habits, to puns--during this past year and a half. The feedback that I received from you was what helped me continue this for as long as I have. It was the biggest source of encouragement for me. The entries in this series became two books, Shokan Zakkan Part 1 and Shokan Zakkan Part 2, so it was by no means a waste.

It's not that the feedback from readers has stopped. The biggest reason for my deciding to suspend this section is that because I can no longer continue to provide both articles and drawings for the entries. And I've also come up with something else I'd like to do. Those who have their own website can, I'm sure, understand, but it takes a lot of time and energy to maintain a site. If one begrudges this, it soon becomes "old" and "covered with cobwebs"--a "haunted house" that no one will want to visit. So, before that happens, it's probably best to announce that "This house is closed."

I am going to suspend with the regular entries to this site, but, when I have something to say, I intend to write elsewhere in another section. Although I don't have too many occasions to draw any more, I will probably share new drawings with you on another page, too.

It's been a year since the terrorist attacks on the United States. It's wonderful that we were able to observe the "First Anniversary" of that event without a repetition of what happened then. However, without having confirmed or captured the person or persons responsible for this horrendous crime, President Bush has clearly defined his plans to attack a "new enemy" and is seeking people to endorse this. On the other hand, it also seems that the United States is refusing to deal seriously with global warming. War is the most direct way of destroying nature, and, at the same time, destroys the minds and physical bodies of all people involved as well. When we think of it in these terms, I would really like the leaders of all nations to assist and ensure that humankind does not go in this direction of "destruction."

Shouldn't we who believe in God try to believe even more completely and totally in Him? We cannot believe in a "God" who loves a particular group of people, and hates, curses, and murders others. That is simply trying to justify belief in a "deluded self" in the name of God. If God, omnipotent and omniscient, creates "enemies" and "evil", or allows for "enemies" and "evil", then there is no way that we humans, who are neither omnipotent nor omniscient, can win against the "enemy" or destroy "evil." In other words, there will be no peace on this earth with that kind of belief or religion. So, it's up to us--we must go beyond belief in that kind of prejudiced and biased God, and spread the belief that "God does not create evil" throughout the entire world.

- MT