0:00:08.760,0:00:11.013
(Japanese) Good Morning.

0:00:11.013,0:00:12.686
How are you?

0:00:12.686,0:00:13.929
Once again.

0:00:13.929,0:00:15.359
How are you?

0:00:15.359,0:00:17.619
Ok, that's all the Japanese.[br](Laughter)

0:00:17.619,0:00:20.119
I have a question for you.

0:00:20.119,0:00:21.829
And here's the question.

0:00:21.829,0:00:23.599
What inspires you?

0:00:23.599,0:00:25.009
Or that is,

0:00:25.009,0:00:28.989
what is it about Japan, Japanese culture[br]that inspires you?

0:00:28.989,0:00:31.049
Whether you are Japanese[br]or not Japanese,

0:00:31.049,0:00:32.539
I'm sure you could answer that.

0:00:32.539,0:00:34.019
How about the guys from Dubai?

0:00:34.019,0:00:35.474
Thanks for coming, by the way.

0:00:35.474,0:00:38.552
What inspires you?[br]What brought you to Japan?

0:00:38.552,0:00:40.082
(Audience) It's a long story.

0:00:40.082,0:00:42.992
It's a long story. This is TEDx.[br]We don't have time for that.

0:00:42.992,0:00:45.702
Ok, let me tell you my story.

0:00:45.702,0:00:48.132
For me, it's nature.[br]I mean, there are many things.

0:00:48.132,0:00:50.033
And of course family is most important.

0:00:50.033,0:00:53.203
But the close second is the nature[br]in Japan. And it's gorgeous.

0:00:53.203,0:00:57.223
Even Japanese who move away from Japan[br]always talk about, you know,

0:00:57.223,0:00:59.428
"I really miss the nature."

0:00:59.428,0:01:02.238
And they also say,[br]"I miss the Onsen (hot spring)."

0:01:02.238,0:01:04.738
So it's not just nature,[br]but the special connection

0:01:04.738,0:01:08.398
that Japanese have developed[br]over hundreds of years with nature, right?

0:01:08.398,0:01:10.868
You can see that in this picture here.

0:01:10.868,0:01:13.488
And of course historically,[br]a traditional culture,

0:01:13.488,0:01:15.778
it's changed after World War II,[br]things changed.

0:01:15.778,0:01:17.398
Now we are kind of going back,

0:01:17.398,0:01:21.268
but traditional architecture[br]didn't deny nature.

0:01:21.268,0:01:22.258
It brought it in.

0:01:22.258,0:01:24.080
It says, "We are connected to nature".

0:01:24.080,0:01:25.410
The materials are natural,

0:01:25.410,0:01:27.460
and we want to see nature and bring it in.

0:01:27.460,0:01:30.321
And if you look at the traditional[br]Zen arts, of course,

0:01:30.321,0:01:32.625
Sado (tea ceremony),[br]Sumie (Indian-ink drawing),

0:01:32.625,0:01:34.725
Ikebana (flower arrangement),[br]and on and on.

0:01:34.725,0:01:37.725
These are all about nature,[br]very much inspired by nature.

0:01:37.725,0:01:40.002
The subject is often nature.

0:01:41.186,0:01:42.954
And, in the martial arts as well.

0:01:42.954,0:01:45.365
I know some of you study[br]some of the martial arts.

0:01:45.365,0:01:48.033
Aikido is the one that's closest to me.

0:01:48.033,0:01:51.647
And if you study the martial arts,[br]the masters always talk about the nature.

0:01:51.647,0:01:55.594
How we can learn from nature,[br]nature is always speaking to us.

0:01:55.594,0:01:58.494
Of course this isn't my phrase.

0:01:58.494,0:02:02.689
This is Ueshiba Sensei (Master)[br]who you may know better

0:02:02.689,0:02:04.825
as Ou Sensei who invented Aikido.

0:02:04.825,0:02:07.634
As he says,[br]"Nature is always speaking to us."

0:02:07.634,0:02:09.824
For example, he said,

0:02:09.824,0:02:13.101
"Everything, even the mountains,[br]rivers, plants, and trees -

0:02:13.101,0:02:15.263
everything should be our teacher."

0:02:15.263,0:02:18.643
He talked about the stream[br]in the mountain, for example.

0:02:18.643,0:02:22.433
It winds its way through the rocks.[br]It finds its way.

0:02:22.433,0:02:24.063
It's shapeless. It's formless.

0:02:24.063,0:02:25.383
But without complaint,

0:02:25.383,0:02:28.453
somehow it finds its way[br]down the mountain, right?

0:02:28.453,0:02:31.443
"You should be like water"[br]as Bruce Lee said.

0:02:31.443,0:02:33.053
"Be like water, my friend".

0:02:33.053,0:02:34.873
And of course this is my favorite one.

0:02:34.873,0:02:37.153
He said, "Study the teachings[br]of the palm tree".

0:02:37.153,0:02:38.553
Oh sorry, not the palm tree.

0:02:38.553,0:02:41.855
Sorry, I used to live in Hawaii.[br]Well, but the palm tree is good, too.

0:02:41.855,0:02:44.945
The pine tree, and the bamboo.[br]I should come to rehearsal.

0:02:44.945,0:02:46.275
And the plum blossom.

0:02:46.275,0:02:48.475
These are called[br]the three friends of winter.

0:02:48.475,0:02:50.275
Maybe you've heard of it this way.

0:02:50.275,0:02:53.045
For example, the plum blossom[br]is hardy and elegant.

0:02:53.045,0:02:55.155
It comes out early before spring has come,

0:02:55.155,0:02:56.452
it's actually out there.

0:02:56.452,0:02:59.052
Like a leader saying,[br]"Spring is coming, don't worry."

0:02:59.052,0:03:00.782
"I'm here now and I'm beautiful".

0:03:00.782,0:03:04.059
And then, of course the pine tree[br]which is actually all year around.

0:03:04.059,0:03:06.169
It's beautiful like trusted friend,

0:03:06.169,0:03:09.049
it's sturdy, and it's always there.

0:03:09.049,0:03:12.269
So I really think that nature[br]is a great teacher for us.

0:03:12.269,0:03:15.099
It is the best teacher actually,[br]that I found.

0:03:15.099,0:03:16.841
That's what Japan has taught me.

0:03:16.841,0:03:20.971
So if I can go back to the slide[br]that I screwed up before.

0:03:20.971,0:03:25.181
It is the bamboo, to me,[br]that is the one element in Japan I think,

0:03:25.181,0:03:28.606
that sort of represents[br]what the Japanese spirit is,

0:03:28.606,0:03:32.800
what the Japanese spirit has taught me[br]through art and many other things.

0:03:32.800,0:03:35.787
So let me tell you why I think that.[br]I used to live in Osaka.

0:03:35.787,0:03:38.667
Anyone from Kansai? Kansai-jin?

0:03:38.667,0:03:41.107
Bochi-bochi yana (dialect in the region).[br](Laughter)

0:03:41.107,0:03:43.347
I'm from Osaka, is a big city[br]if you don't know,

0:03:43.347,0:03:45.873
watching from around the world,[br]bigger than New York.

0:03:45.873,0:03:46.848
It's a massive city.

0:03:46.848,0:03:47.580
We like to say,

0:03:47.580,0:03:49.960
"Kitanai machiyakedo".[br](Although the city is messy)

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But it's great, I love living there.[br]But we moved.

0:03:52.310,0:03:54.600
We built a house in Nara in the mountains.

0:03:54.600,0:03:57.940
It's sort of like moving[br]from Manhattan to Connecticut.

0:03:57.940,0:04:01.110
But there is more bamboo,[br]and fewer volvos.

0:04:01.110,0:04:04.080
And we have a lot of deer,[br]but that's another presentation.

0:04:04.080,0:04:05.250
That will be next week.

0:04:05.250,0:04:06.850
I don't want to talk about deer.

0:04:06.850,0:04:08.290
I want to talk about bamboo.

0:04:08.290,0:04:10.870
This was my view for many years[br]from my home office.

0:04:10.870,0:04:13.860
I work from home a lot of the time.[br]It has its own inspiration.

0:04:13.860,0:04:16.960
A lot of people out there.[br]So I went from that to this.

0:04:16.960,0:04:19.770
This is a picture as we are still[br]constructing our house.

0:04:19.770,0:04:21.780
And that's the view outside my office now.

0:04:21.780,0:04:26.740
There are no people there, just bamboo.[br]So it's been a couple of years.

0:04:26.740,0:04:28.560
I've always been interested in bamboo,

0:04:28.560,0:04:32.040
but in the last couple of years[br]I really began to talk to the bamboo.

0:04:32.040,0:04:34.670
So this is what it looks like[br]out around our house.

0:04:34.670,0:04:38.150
I go jogging through here, go hiking,[br]sometimes just standing

0:04:38.150,0:04:40.490
and speaking with the bamboo.

0:04:40.490,0:04:43.870
So, I have 10 lessons from bamboo,[br]but actually this is TEDx.

0:04:43.871,0:04:46.680
So I don't have much time. So just nine.

0:04:46.680,0:04:48.880
See me in the break for the others.[br](Laughter)

0:04:48.880,0:04:52.730
Ok, the first one is to remember[br]what looks weak is actually strong.

0:04:52.730,0:04:54.320
Bamboo is incredibly strong.

0:04:54.320,0:04:58.300
Pound for pound, stronger than steal,[br]in terms of tensile strength,

0:04:58.300,0:05:00.170
stronger than concrete in many ways.

0:05:00.170,0:05:02.910
This is not Japan by the way[br]but in many Asian countries,

0:05:02.910,0:05:03.910
you can use it as scaffolding.

0:05:03.910,0:05:05.390
It's amazingly strong.

0:05:05.390,0:05:09.060
This is a little video I took[br]in my backyard just to show.

0:05:09.060,0:05:11.420
This is small bamboo[br]but it's very very hard,

0:05:11.420,0:05:14.220
and yet flexible and hollow[br]as you can tell.

0:05:14.220,0:05:17.010
But in the western world[br]at least where I grew up,

0:05:17.010,0:05:19.190
the idea to be strong[br]is you have to be big.

0:05:19.190,0:05:21.820
Like the redwood.[br]"Be big and powerful and strong".

0:05:21.820,0:05:25.460
But as we know and I learned[br]in 1980 if you remember.

0:05:25.460,0:05:27.570
when Yoda says "Size matters not", right?

0:05:27.570,0:05:29.466
(Laughter)

0:05:29.466,0:05:33.210
"Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you?"

0:05:33.210,0:05:35.650
"Hmm?"[br](Laughter)

0:05:35.650,0:05:39.380
"Anyway you should not.", right?[br]That was 1980, some of you remember that.

0:05:39.380,0:05:42.110
But you know, I grew up in Oregon[br]in the United States.

0:05:42.110,0:05:45.640
So there's a lot of tree Karma in me.[br]And a forest is great.

0:05:45.640,0:05:49.040
But the forest is kind of[br]a dark and scary place, too. Right?

0:05:49.040,0:05:50.990
Kind of weird things can happen there.

0:05:50.990,0:05:53.100
Your parents say,[br]"Be careful in the forest".

0:05:53.100,0:05:55.900
But the bamboo forest is different.[br]It lets in the sun.

0:05:55.900,0:06:01.010
So metaphorically, this is the idea[br]"finding strength in light".

0:06:01.010,0:06:04.260
So there's strength and kindness[br]and compassion and cooperation.

0:06:04.260,0:06:08.570
This is very much an Eastern idea.[br]Particularly a Japanese idea, I think.

0:06:08.570,0:06:12.100
You have to be strong to cooperate.

0:06:12.100,0:06:15.440
The second thing is, of course[br]bamboo bends, but does not break.

0:06:15.440,0:06:17.840
And we should be like that as well,[br]shouldn't we?

0:06:17.840,0:06:20.760
So this is the video I took again.[br]There you can see.

0:06:20.760,0:06:23.910
This is not a very windy day[br]but even on a very very windy day,

0:06:23.910,0:06:27.170
the bamboo would just kind of[br]go with the flow. And so should we.

0:06:27.170,0:06:30.580
That's something that Japanese[br]culture has taught me through the years.

0:06:30.580,0:06:32.680
If you try to fight against it, of course,

0:06:32.680,0:06:35.660
then the results are not always good.

0:06:35.660,0:06:38.516
Number three is to be deeply rooted[br]yet flexible.

0:06:38.516,0:06:41.484
So I can talk forever about this,[br]but you see the baby bamboo.

0:06:41.484,0:06:44.540
Their roots are already very very[br]deep and wide.

0:06:44.540,0:06:48.140
This picture is in my neighborhood.[br]As you can see, surrounded by bamboo.

0:06:48.140,0:06:50.060
So the bamboo is there.

0:06:50.060,0:06:54.740
It's flexible, but the metaphor is we need[br]to establish roots in our community.

0:06:54.740,0:06:56.070
We are losing some of that.

0:06:56.070,0:06:59.690
But in the old days, even before[br]the formal schools, we had education.

0:06:59.690,0:07:01.310
That was the job of the community.

0:07:01.310,0:07:03.790
So I think this is something[br]bamboo teaches us.

0:07:03.800,0:07:05.470
Be deeply rooted in your community.

0:07:05.470,0:07:09.650
And also you can remain flexible[br]and creative and international.

0:07:09.650,0:07:11.770
Also if you go into the bamboo forest,

0:07:11.770,0:07:14.090
you will learn to slow down[br]your busy mind.

0:07:14.090,0:07:18.320
which is ever more important today[br]when we have so much information.

0:07:18.320,0:07:22.630
The Taoist wisdom says, "We cannot see[br]our reflection in running water.

0:07:22.630,0:07:25.820
It is only in still water[br]that we can see".

0:07:25.820,0:07:29.690
And when I go into to the bamboo,[br]or when you go into the bamboo forest,

0:07:29.690,0:07:31.210
you can find inspiration there.

0:07:31.210,0:07:33.070
This is where great ideas come from.

0:07:33.070,0:07:35.980
Shaun Clee, says "We do know where[br]great ideas come from,

0:07:35.980,0:07:37.800
but they don't come from your laptop".

0:07:37.800,0:07:40.150
So I'm very happy to see[br]no laptops are open here.

0:07:40.150,0:07:42.630
That's amazing.[br]No one told you that? I don't think.

0:07:42.630,0:07:44.640
That's great.[br]If you go to some companies,

0:07:44.640,0:07:46.740
I won't mention names,[br]like Google and so on.

0:07:46.740,0:07:49.780
But if you go there to present,[br]every laptop is open. Right?

0:07:49.780,0:07:52.061
So I think this is great.[br]This is the TED sprit.

0:07:52.061,0:07:53.831
Be here now, be somewhere else later.

0:07:53.831,0:07:56.441
And the bamboo teaches us that.

0:07:56.441,0:07:57.931
Sorry Google.[br](Laughter)

0:07:57.931,0:08:01.421
Anyway, number five,[br]Bamboo teaches us to always be ready.

0:08:01.421,0:08:03.361
So this is a quote from Furuya sensei.

0:08:03.361,0:08:07.811
He passed away, but he was a great[br]Aikido master from Los Angels, actually.

0:08:07.811,0:08:10.741
As he said, "The warrior -"[br]that is the warrior of peace -

0:08:10.741,0:08:13.401
"like the bamboo,[br]should be ever ready for action".

0:08:13.401,0:08:16.551
So through practice, through education,[br]we make ourselves ready

0:08:16.551,0:08:19.431
for any situation that we may find.

0:08:19.431,0:08:22.121
The sixth thing is to find wisdom[br]within emptiness.

0:08:22.121,0:08:24.121
Now, Zen talks all about emptiness.

0:08:24.121,0:08:27.171
We can be here until the cows come home,[br]talking about emptiness.

0:08:27.171,0:08:30.631
So, I just want to talk about one aspect[br]so I can quote Bruce Lee.

0:08:30.631,0:08:33.161
As he said, "Empty your cup[br]so that it may be filled".

0:08:33.161,0:08:34.557
Too many of us are like this.

0:08:34.557,0:08:37.617
We are already filled up[br]with preconceived notions and prejudice.

0:08:37.617,0:08:41.487
We can't learn anything new[br]until we first empty our cup.

0:08:41.487,0:08:46.707
And of course, my favorite master,[br]master Yoda said the same thing.

0:08:46.707,0:08:50.097
So let's all say this together[br]in the Yoda voice. Se-no,

0:08:50.097,0:08:54.577
"You must unlearn[br]what's you have learned."

0:08:54.577,0:08:57.657
Hm, that's very good.[br](Laughter)

0:08:57.657,0:08:59.657
Ok. Number seven,

0:08:59.657,0:09:03.317
and this is something in Japanese culture[br]you learn very early on,

0:09:03.317,0:09:08.637
is the idea of committing yourself[br]to continual growth and personal renewal.

0:09:08.637,0:09:13.547
For example, if you look at the bamboo,[br]it can grow sometimes up to a meter a day

0:09:13.547,0:09:15.807
if you can believe that,[br]some kinds of bamboo.

0:09:15.807,0:09:18.787
Over 100 feet, over 35 meters or so.

0:09:18.787,0:09:21.787
And this is not Japanese.[br]This is a Chinese Kotowaza (Proverb).

0:09:21.807,0:09:24.757
But I think you can understand[br]the Kanaji (Chinese character).

0:09:24.757,0:09:28.047
It says, "Even a 100 foot stock of bamboo[br]can progress one more step".

0:09:28.047,0:09:32.168
So the Japanese idea is,[br]"If you think you have arrived,

0:09:32.168,0:09:34.521
You've already begun your decline".

0:09:34.521,0:09:35.831
You are never satisfied.

0:09:35.831,0:09:39.511
If you ask these great Zen masters,[br]or a martial arts master,

0:09:39.511,0:09:42.541
"Oh, you are so great,"[br]and he'll say, "Not yet".

0:09:43.071,0:09:46.391
This is a very powerful lesson,[br]I think for many of us from the West.

0:09:46.391,0:09:49.291
Never be satisfied.[br]To always try to get a little bit better.

0:09:49.291,0:09:51.661
Then of course, the bamboo is wonderful

0:09:51.661,0:09:54.521
for expressing its usefulness[br]through simplicity.

0:09:54.521,0:09:57.261
And as Furuya sensei[br]says the same thing.

0:09:57.261,0:10:00.491
The bamboo does this. We should do it.[br]The world is so complicated.

0:10:00.491,0:10:04.731
We can differentiate ourselves[br]and be more useful if we simplify things,

0:10:04.731,0:10:05.961
which isn't easy to do.

0:10:05.961,0:10:07.501
You know this Kanji, right?

0:10:07.501,0:10:09.471
This is one form of simplicity.

0:10:09.471,0:10:12.811
This here, that's Take, bamboo at the top.

0:10:12.811,0:10:14.567
So, actually in Kanji,

0:10:14.567,0:10:17.678
there are hundreds of characters[br]that have bamboo in it.

0:10:17.678,0:10:19.250
But this is the essence.

0:10:19.250,0:10:21.562
Bamboo is very much associated[br]with simplicity.

0:10:21.562,0:10:25.420
You see the bamboo here, right,[br]and the whisk of course and the mat.

0:10:25.420,0:10:27.916
Bamboo is absolutely everywhere[br]in Japanese culture

0:10:27.916,0:10:29.752
and in Asia in general.

0:10:29.752,0:10:32.940
I just took this picture a few days ago.[br]This is my friend's scarf.

0:10:32.940,0:10:34.385
We were talking about bamboo,

0:10:34.385,0:10:36.414
she took off her scarf from Italy,

0:10:36.414,0:10:39.025
100 percent bamboo -[br]it's absolutely everywhere

0:10:39.025,0:10:40.725
and of course this is my neighbor.

0:10:40.732,0:10:42.890
I don't know where he got[br]the bamboo legally.

0:10:42.890,0:10:45.528
Anyway, he's making a fence.[br](Laughter)

0:10:45.528,0:10:47.159
I noticed something was missing.

0:10:47.159,0:10:50.921
Even making a fence with bamboo -[br]it's amazingly useful and it's beautiful.

0:10:50.921,0:10:52.378
We should be like that.

0:10:52.378,0:10:57.992
The final thing is bamboo teaches us[br]to unleash our power to spring back.

0:10:57.993,0:11:01.175
This is very very important[br]now more so than ever.

0:11:01.175,0:11:02.435
Here you can see a photo.

0:11:02.435,0:11:04.314
This is bamboo in the foreground,

0:11:04.314,0:11:09.166
lots of heavy snow, it bends over[br]as it accumulates ice it'll bend,

0:11:09.166,0:11:13.049
sometimes it'll bend even all the way over[br]and touch the ground on the other side

0:11:13.049,0:11:16.041
but in the spring it bounces back.

0:11:16.041,0:11:17.166
We should be like that.

0:11:17.166,0:11:20.511
Many people right now are going[br]through a kind of winter of their own.

0:11:20.511,0:11:23.511
This reminds me of this Kotowaza.[br]Everyone knows this one?

0:11:23.511,0:11:26.141
How many people can actually read this?

0:11:26.141,0:11:28.560
Seino "Nanakorobi yaoki".

0:11:28.560,0:11:31.499
Wow, this is great audience![br]It didn't work in Paris, I tried.

0:11:31.499,0:11:33.169
(Laughter)

0:11:33.180,0:11:35.286
But this is really the essence[br]of the bamboo.

0:11:35.286,0:11:38.098
This is the essence of what Japanese[br]culture has taught me.

0:11:38.098,0:11:42.056
And this reminded me[br]of the great American philosopher

0:11:42.056,0:11:44.640
Rocky Balboa.[br](Laughter)

0:11:44.640,0:11:48.080
(Music: Theme of Rocky)

0:11:48.084,0:11:51.072
You can put your hands together.[br]It's alright.

0:11:51.072,0:11:54.776
(Clapping)

0:11:54.776,0:11:56.180
All right.

0:11:56.181,0:12:00.947
Rocky said, this was in his latest movie,[br]Rocky 37 or whatever it was.

0:12:00.947,0:12:01.777
(Laughter)

0:12:01.777,0:12:04.110
He said, "It ain't about how hard[br]you can hit,

0:12:04.110,0:12:05.960
it's about how hard you can get hit

0:12:05.960,0:12:07.323
and keep moving forward,

0:12:07.329,0:12:09.480
how much you can take[br]and keep moving forward.

0:12:09.480,0:12:11.530
That's how winning is done."

0:12:11.530,0:12:13.871
That's kind of Zen in it's own way.

0:12:13.871,0:12:15.361
That's the American version of

0:12:15.361,0:12:18.821
"Fall down a thousand times,[br]get up a thousand and one,

0:12:18.821,0:12:20.827
but never never ever give up."

0:12:20.827,0:12:23.721
All right, so what are the lessons[br]from the bamboo then?

0:12:23.868,0:12:27.493
First of all, flexibility[br]and adaptability.

0:12:27.493,0:12:29.704
When you asked me[br]what is Japanese character[br]

0:12:29.706,0:12:31.582
these words come to mind.

0:12:31.582,0:12:33.632
And this boils down into one single word

0:12:33.648,0:12:37.535
which to me describes bamboo[br]and describes Japanese character[br]

0:12:37.543,0:12:41.183
which is resilience[br]and to never never give up.

0:12:41.184,0:12:43.793
So be like the bamboo, my friends.

0:12:43.793,0:12:45.751
Be like the bamboo.

0:12:45.755,0:12:48.182
Japanese: Thank you very much.

0:12:48.182,0:12:51.290
(Applause)

0:12:51.290,0:12:52.058
Thank you.