Since the age of the television, sitting in front of the family altar was no longer a daily ritual. However, skipping a day without sitting in front of the tube was unimaginable. The television soon became the centre of attention in the household, where meals were consumed while watching television. Conversations at the table could no longer be heard.
Television is like a drug, I think. Once you start watching it, you become addicted. You become so caught up in the moving images on TV that you begin to forget that you have an imagination. It's like having your imagination robbed from you. After all, when watching a program on television, what will happen is all decided for you, with sound effects included. If you don't believe me, try watching television with the volume turned off. I found it frustrating. For example, it's like seeing my wife off at the train station. After getting on the train, she would say something to me from inside the train, but not being able to hear her, I would have to try to pick out what she was telling me. On the other hand, when watching a show on television, the image and sounds are all hand-fed to us. What's the bad thing about it? We lose our imaginations and forget to think for ourselves.
I'm not saying that television is bad. Having everything prepared for us makes things all easier to understand. Yes, the television allows us to waste time, be in a different world, and even let us forget about our imaginations.
Someone once said that “the television is like a picture-card show.” But I think differently. The television isn't worth being compared to a picture-card show. Although a picture-card show is entertaining, it still allows us to use our own imaginations.
Our great imaginations, allows us to work our hearts and minds freely. Having an imagination helps us to try to understand and feel each other's pain, sadness, and happiness. However, the television is robbing us of our imaginations and keeping us from being the caring person we want to be. Recently, I've come to hear people making comments like "Children are quiet if they're watching TV," or "The TV is a good baby-sitter." I couldn't believe my ears! It was so upsetting that it made me want to get rid of all the televisions.
I recently heard Kawai Hayao share his comments on picture books that I would like to share with you.
He said, "Picture books are not made for self-reading. Rather, they are for looking at and having them read to us. Picture books create sounds. Looking at the pictures as the words are being read, the words and pictures create an image that allows us to use our imaginations freely."
I think we've all experienced at one time or another, pretending to be driving a car, or a mother cooking up a pretend feast. We were using our imaginations. We weren't playing silently. Playing the role both visually and verbally, we were using our imaginations. That was the first step in the nurturing of our imaginations.
When my imagination gets taken from me, there is an empty feeling, a void in my life. Not only do I lose a part of myself, but I also lose the compassion for others. Some may think that having an imagination isn't important. This makes me worry.
Namo Amida Butsu
Tatsuya Aoki
