“Ichi go ichie e” – a Japanese expression meaning every meeting is a once in a lifetime opportunity (and how to use it)
TEA, BUDDHISM, PROFESSOR KURIYAMA
1.) The expression has its origins in the Japanese tea ceremony and the Buddhist idea of the evanescence of life.
2.) I learned it from a Harvard senior, Camille Jania, when I asked her what was the most memorable idea from any course she ever took at Harvard.
3.) Ichi go Ichie was the parting message of Professor Kuriyama in his final lecture in a course on Asian medicine.
This idea reminds me of these lines from the Analects of Confucius:
“Walking with three people, I find my teacher among them. I choose what is good in them and follow it and that which is bad in them and change it.”
YOUR TURN:when you read, find the main idea; if you ever speak about
anything, make sure you accent the most important idea.