Posted by Click here to get a free newsletter Zen and a Way of sustainable prosperity: Balance, financial success, and sustainability with the secrets of the Japanese Omi-merchants.
I am happy that Takashi Inui scored an equalizing goal at the World Cup soccer match against Senegal yesterday, because he is from Shiga Prefecture.
I have been discussing similarities and differences between Ikigai Diet and Whole food plant based diet in the last few posts. Today I would like to point out that Ikigai Diet focuses on social friendliness since it is a Sanpo-Yoshi diet.
What is Sanpo-Yoshi?
Sanpo-Yoshi is a philosophy of Omi-merchants who were considered to be the most successful merchants in Japan from the medieval period to 18th century. This philosophy stated that every business the Omi merchants conducted needed to be beneficial to the seller, the buyer, and society in general. In short, a business must result in a three-way satisfaction.
Sanpo means three directions and Yoshi means good or happy and Sanpo-Yoshi contains three Yoshi.
Urite-Yoshi: This means the seller is happy
Kaite-Yoshi: This means the buyer is happy
Seken-Yoshi: This means society is happy.
This is a concept in business, but we can apply it in other fields, too. For example, in ZENWSP, we apply it in pursuit of happiness.
Jibun-Yoshi: I am happy
Aite-Yoshi: You are happy
Seken-Yoshi: Society is happy.
You, in this case, means people around you such as your family. When you feel Ikigai, it is better to feel it in an activity which doesn’t just make you happy, but also makes your family happy. For example, instead of feeling your Ikigai in playing golf, which either you do alone or with your co-workers, you can feel your Ikigai in going for walks with your family. In this way you can feel happy and so can your family. It also makes society happy since it is environmentally friendlier than playing golf on a golf course, which was probably built by destroying a forest.
Another example is that instead of finding your Ikigai in your work and giving 100% of your time and energy into it, which is often described in the context of Ikigai as in Japanese craftsmanship, you can find your Ikigai in the work-style that includes time for your family. Instead of finding your Ikigai in achieving perfection as a craft, and not paying attention to other elements such as the ingredients, you can shift your focus to your ingredients being environmentally friendly or not.
What is Sanpo-Yoshi diet then?
It applies to diet, too. By eating delicious food, you can make you happy so that it can be Jibun-Yoshi(I am happy), but it may not make others happy. Therefore it may not be Aite-Yoshi. On the other hand, if you eat natural food, it makes you healthy, and it will make you happy. Usually, it makes people around you healthy and happy, as well, because what you eat influences your family and friends. If you cook a healthy meal and invite your friends over, your friends can become interested in your cooking style. By eating well, you will be mentally and physically integrated, and be a positive person to hang around with. Therefore it can be Aite-Yoshi, too.
How about Seken-Yoshi, then? Can eating natural food be society friendly? The food we eat is related to the way we produce food, and the way we grow food influences the environment and our social structure. So, what we eat affects society.
In Ikigai Diet, we recommend that you eat organically grown food or naturally grown food, because you can support organic farming or natural farming which are much better for our environment.
Another thing we recommend is that you eat locally grown food. By eating locally, you are helping to reduce our energy consumption to transport food. It also promotes localization of our economy which is much more sustainable than the globalized economy.
While Whole food plant based diet’s main focus seems to be on health, Ikigai Diet focuses on achieving a total happiness. Well, it is part of Zen and a Way of Sustainable Prosperity after all, it isn’t just a diet, it is a way of living.
Omi-merchant's way of Sustainable Prosperity 