When you look at Western spiritual teachings or the teachings of Indian yoga or Vedanta, you often see statements like, "The body is not me."

On the other hand, in Japan, you often hear statements like, "The mind is not me."

In reality, both are not the true self. However, the concept of the body being separate from the self is a relatively straightforward idea, while the concept of the mind being separate from the self is more subtle. Both need to be transcended, but it seems that in Western and Indian cultures, the discussion often starts with the body. The idea that the body is not the self is something that resonates more with Westerners or people other than Japanese. Many Japanese people tend to think that the mind is their true self, so even if they are told that the body is not the self, they might simply accept it with a "Well, maybe. Perhaps that's the case," and then ask, "So what? What's the point?" I remember seeing people who imported Western or Indian spiritual teachings occasionally boast about the idea that "the body is not the self," but to the listeners, it often felt like, "So what?" Of course, nowadays, with the abundance of information available on YouTube, you rarely see people boasting about such things. Moreover, Japanese people rarely have the opportunity to think that the body is themselves, so when they are told something they haven't consciously thought about, they might think, "Maybe the body is me?" However, fundamentally, Japanese people do not think that the body is themselves. However, the situation is different in other countries.

Nowadays, there is a lot of information available, but in the past, when Westerners heard about the idea that "the body is not me" in spiritual teachings, they might have thought, "Oh, is that so?" In fact, when you read books, you can find stories about Western saints who were perplexed by such statements. That was probably the norm. For people who are not involved in spirituality, such statements are often dismissed with a "That's not possible. The body is me." However, even within the realm of spirituality, especially in the past, such statements were not often openly discussed. It seems that Westerners and other people from overseas often struggle with the question of whether the body is themselves, while Japanese people often struggle with the question of whether the mind is themselves. Even within the context of spirituality, the starting point of their struggles is different.

Regarding the physical body, people from Western countries and other overseas regions often struggle with the concept of whether the physical body is "themselves." When it comes to the physical body, it doesn't lead to the same "Well, that's obvious, but what's the point?" that Japanese people might have. Instead, they tend to deny it, become confused and unable to move forward, or, if they have studied spirituality, they simply intellectually accept it and stop there. It's less likely that they will move on to the next topic like Japanese people, who might think, "Well, that might be true. Is that all there is? So, what's the main point?"

For people from Western countries and other overseas regions, the physical body and the sense of "I" are often closely linked, so it's unclear whether they understand these kinds of discussions or whether they get stuck at that point.

However, in the case of Japanese people, the physical body and the "I" are not inherently linked. Therefore, when they are told in imported Western spiritual teachings or in Indian philosophies like Vedanta that "the body is not me," they tend to think, "Well, I suppose so. Is that it?" and want a more clear explanation. For Japanese people, the body is not considered to be the "I" to that extent, so even if they are told such things, they may become confused in a different way. Especially when someone who has studied abroad explains it with a sense of superiority, the confusion deepens. Of course, recently, even if someone is Japanese, they may have been influenced by Western values, so they may not react with the same surprise as before, and may react in the same way as people in the West. If that is the case, it is sad that such people, even though they are Japanese, have somewhat regressed.

In spirituality, in reality, there are two things being said: the body and the mind (the thinking mind, which in yoga is referred to as Buddhi, Manas, or Chitta, and its inverse reaction, the ego or sense of self, called Ahankara).

However, even though both of these are being discussed, the emphasis placed on each varies by region, which is an interesting reflection of the average level of spiritual understanding in that region.