Trevor Leggett was head of the Japanese Department of the BBC and this  is a part of one of his broadcasts

ZUBARI September 1988

Hullo listeners!

Nearly all of us at some time, contradict what we are saying by our actions. I remember seeing a Japanese business man shouting with rage at the time of the Shuntō (annual wage negotiations).

’They don’t sit down and think quietly! They just shout.’ I thought to myself: ‘He himself is just shouting.’

Sometimes we see slogans by pacifist groups – ‘We must fight for peace.’ It is doubtful whether peace can be attained by fighting. I heard an old Kendo master once say: ‘The only real peace and safety is to have friends. And we cannot make friends by using swords.’

I remember that Gandhi, shortly before he was killed at the age of 79, had announced he was very healthy and would live to the age of 120.

An Indian scholar mentioned this to me, and said ironically: ‘The Mahatma is beginning to be senile.’

He meant that to make prophecies such as living to 120 years was already a sign of declining mental clarity. So, Gandhi must already be failing in health.

It is a very wise remark. A truly healthy person does not talk about health; he is unconscious of his good health, and is interested in what he is doing. When he begins to talk about health, he is beginning to become unhealthy.

Well listeners’ – I will not ask you how you are feeling. Don’t think about it!

© Trevor Leggett