Here is my soliloquy.

When it comes to meditation, it is often thought to be something only special people do, but that is not the case. I’ve heard that some people go to learn meditation but can’t stop their wandering thoughts and feel it’s impossible.

We often see people who appear to be meditating gracefully. The idea that masters of meditation do not have wandering thoughts is completely false. Humans cannot help but think, even for a moment.

It would be interesting if we could hear the inner thoughts of those who are considered masters of meditation.

So, there’s no need to worry. There isn’t a single person who doesn’t have wandering thoughts.

Why do I insist that meditation is not just for special people?

I once found it puzzling that a certain person could write fluently about things not found in textbooks or even systematically studied in any academic discipline.

This person didn’t appear to meditate in the traditional sense.

That’s when I realized. This person had spent their childhood running through fields and mountains, diving into the sea, and observing nature meticulously over many years. Therefore, even without sitting still with their eyes closed in what is typically considered meditation, he could connect with unseen essences, drawing information from there.

Meditation is thinking about things that are invisible.

Invisible things exist everywhere. For this person, by observing nature, he could understand the essence of the unseen in his own way. He believes that all things possess consciousness.

Another person I encountered was an engraver. To be precise, this person has already passed away, so I met her through a video.

She left behind works by carving tiny letters into sago palm nuts with a chisel, letters so small we could barely see them even with a magnifying glass. They were beautifully crafted.

As I watched the video of her talking while looking at her sago palm nut works (Shuzenji carving), she said:

“When I’m completely absorbed in my work, I lose track of where I am and who I am. (She described it as a state of no boundaries, everything being part of herself.) Gradually, I come back to myself, realizing, ‘Oh, here’s my hand, here’s my foot.'”

Hearing this, I was deeply moved, thinking this is true meditation.

Being totally absorbed in something is also meditation.

The word “concentration” (集中) means to “gather attention（集）at the center（中）.” The word “center”(中心） is aptly named because it refers to the middle （中）of the heart（心）. Gathering attention（集） in the center of the heart （中心）is precisely what meditation is.

Therefore, there is no need to think of meditation as something special.

This is my soliloquy about meditation.