哲学の道 - The Philosopher’s Walk

On the Eastern side of Kyoto, as the land begins to slope upwards, you’ll find The Philosopher’s Walk. It’s a path that follows a canal lined with cherry and maple trees, so that in spring delicate pink blossoms abound, and in autumn vibrant orange and red leaves carpet the stones.

Time moves slowly on the walk. It’s not hard to imagine the scholars of earlier times strolling along in their brilliant kimono, tweaking their latest poems. For a thousand years the seasons have inspired great art in Kyoto. (Thankfully the city was spared in the war)

And yet inspiration is to be found everywhere, not just in beauty. Soi 33 (where I’m currently staying) provides it’s own flavour of inspiration.

Today there was a new security guard downstairs. As I approached he gave me a full military salute. Standing bolt up right, he snapped his heels together with a metallic clink and issued a large “Sawadee Krap” (formal greeting in Thai) as he brought his arm forcefully down from his forehead.

I couldn’t stop smiling. I felt like I should give him a tip I was so impressed. I just sheepishly bowed.

I’ve always wondered about those security guards, don’t they get painfully bored? They must, and yet here was this guy giving it his absolute best. I felt deep admiration for him. He may be doing a simple job, but with that attitude I figure it won’t be long before he’s doing something better. Or perhaps he’ll stick with it. If he makes everyone’s day like he did mine, is it not enough?

I admire him especially because I was never that diligent.

As I exit the building and turn left towards Sukhumvit road, thick smoke hangs in the air. A combination of smog and charcoal burnt by the street-food vendors. Along with this I’m hit with the heat of the afternoon, the smell of grilled meat, perfume from the girls that adorn the front of the massage parlours and the stench of garbage and stagnant water. All in all, the perfect remedy for the ennui that comes from our safe and predictable lives in the West.

In this heavy atmosphere, people line the street waiting for their next customer. The motorbike taxi driver in front of the 7/11, the man deep-frying chicken in hot oil, and the women in heels and colourful dresses. Each has something to sell. But it strikes me that they have a lot of downtime in-between.

I walk past one massage parlour with about six women out the front, I manage to get by without any sales pitches thrown my way. Mostly because they are all looking down at their phones. I realise that’s what they are almost always doing. Occasionally they are chatting, or eating together. But a lot of the time, it’s the phone. That’s what almost everyone seems to be doing in their spare time these days. Now I suppose one of them might be reading a Thai translation of War and Peace on their phone, but I doubt it. What would change for them if instead of looking at cat videos during their spare time they read books?

A lot I imagine. Knowledge has an almost unlimited capacity for changing our lives. But instead of using their spare time to learn what they need to, most just seek out entertainment to pass the time, or escape the pain of their circumstances.

If there is one superpower in life, it is learning. And it is available to everyone. Especially now. The smartphones that we all hold, even the unfortunate people working the street, provide access to all the information we could ever need.

Philosopher means philo (friend) sophia (wisdom), friend of wisdom.

Wisdom is to be found on every street. All we need to do is orient ourselves towards it.

I’d much rather The Philosopher’s Walk in Kyoto, but then I’ve learnt things walking the Bangkok version that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

For me personally it’s been a long road. I spent much of my 20’s following the wrong people. But I saw the results as reflected in myself and changed course. The proof is in the pudding. The pudding in this case being yourself. You can only ever be as good as the ingredients that go into the mix.

Having said that, there are many smart, well educated people that do incredibly stupid things (guilty as charged). But you can’t expect perfection in life. You just have to give yourself the best chance possible. Put the odds in your favour. And the best way that I’ve found to do that is learn, continuously. I’ll still make mistakes, but at least not the same ones over and over. And if I read enough about other people’s mistakes, perhaps I don’t have to make them myself.

Things get tough when we stop learning. It’s as if the heat gets turned up over time, until we finally realise we better crack open a book, or talk to someone who knows better about the problem we’re having.

Maybe I’m superstitious, but I feel that being a friend of wisdom casts a protective spell over us in life.

Similarly, mastering a particular skill might have the same kind of effect. Since becoming extremely good at any one thing requires a certain level of understanding about life itself.

None of this is immediately obvious when we start out. The effects of learning are non-linear. And the benefits are only realised later on. All of which makes the cat videos incredibly enticing, and War and Peace, not so much.

But if we can just turn towards this longer term outlook, then every walk can be under the cherry blossom and autumn leaves.