New Year's Naikan Exercise from the Asala Center
What have I received from this person/thing?
What have I given this person/thing?
What harm or trouble have I caused this person/thing?
These are the three questions of Naikan. Naikan is a reflective practice given to us by the Japanese culture. New Year's Eve is a wonderful time to introduce oneself to Naikan in order to consider the year we are leaving and set intentions for our next year ahead of us. In Naikan reflection, we aim to create a more whole picture of what has been going on in our lives. Often in Western culture, we have already identified what harm has come to us through some person or some event. Naikan balances our perspective by showing us what we have received from others and what harm we may have caused others. You are invited to try on this practice tonight, and please feel free to contact the Asala Center for more information on Naikan, which is a part of Constructive Living instruction.
Asala Center invites you to use Naikan on the following subjects. A good beginner's time for Naikan reflection is 10 minutes per subject. In the ten minutes, can you silently answer all three questions to yourself? Naikan uses specific, concrete answers rather than abstractions. For instance, you want to focus on the individual bowl of soup that your father gave you this year rather than “love” or “his time.” You may write down what you find, but typically this exercise is done seated with eyes closed.
- Pick any family member, and answer the Naikan questions above, focusing things done in 2009.
- Pick a person with whom you have had conflict or trouble this year, and answer the Naikan question, focusing on things done in 2009.
- Pick something specific such as a body part, your car, your Christmastree... something specific of your choosing. Focus on things done in 2009.
An abbreviated example would be: “I gave my mother a raincoat to borrow when it was raining on my birthday. My mother cooked for me and my spouse on my birthday, a meal which included chicken, bread, [the list continues as best you can remember]. I caused my mother trouble on my birthday by running late, which caused the bread to cool and kept my parents waiting on me.”
