The Good Samaritan

Attributed to the writings of Luke, in the New Testament:

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn in Jericho and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

I`ve been thinking and talking a lot about this lately. Here is a summary of one differences that I see:

In America, people are rude but kind. Someone might push you over "if they had a good reason" but if you fall, someone would pick you up. Americans can be rude, confrontational and violent. Yet the "Good Samaritan" concept is definitely obvious in volunteerism, charitable donations, institutionalized social services, and random acts of kindness.

In Japan, people are polite but unkind. No one would ever push you over, but if you fell on your own no one would help you stand up again. People see someone in need and just walk on by. Japanese people think it is better if you get up on your own; leaving you to get up alone is less embarrassing and proves you are strong. In Japan there are strict rules about polite interaction, required greetings, gift exchange, and even a whole different conjugation of language used when speaking with someone higher on the hierarchy. There is no theft and very little corporate corruption. And yet the country does not prioritze social services, and charities are rare and underfunded. Citiczens do not wish to inconvenience one another or drain from the collective funds.

I talked with a Australian friend who has lived in Japan for a number of years. The other day at the gymn, she fell and was on the floor in pain for several minutes. Three women saw her fall but averted their eyes and didn`t offer help. The next day, confused and frustrated, she spoke with a Japanese coworker about the incident. He explained that perhaps the witnesses were flustered because she is a foreigner? Perhaps they thought she was embarrassed, and their silence was encouragement for her to get up on her own? The coworker was not surprised or apologetic for the ladies` actions: he thought this was culturally appropriate. However, the next week this same coworker fell on the busy streets of Sapporo and broke his ankle. No one offered to help him. Later my friend asked "don`t you wish that someone would have helped you?". He grunted in frustrated assent.



Post Script: I love the story of "The Good Samaritan". Yet I do not quote the Christian scriptures in order to say that Japan's lacking in kindness is necessarily related to its lacking in Christianity. On the contrary, many inhumane acts (war, murder, intolerance) have been committed in the name of the Christian religion. Buddhism, wide-spread in Japan, teaches intense self-reflection in the search for spiritual purity and compassion. I believe both Christianity and Buddhism can inform people toward a path of loving-kindness.