You are Responsible for People living in Diverse Areas of the Globe
–I look forward to your life of Service as New Sophians–

First of all, Sophia University faculties and staff extend our sincere heartfelt sympathies to the people suffering from the Tohoku-Pacific Coast Earthquake (Tohoku district- Off the Pacific Ocean Earthquake) and the large tsunami following the earthquake.

I would like to begin by commending all you graduates who have reached the point of completion of your studies, and my heartfelt gratitude also goes out to your parents.

The fact that all of you will leave this university today in order to take your first steps as youthful forces in our society, is undoubtedly the result of the great efforts you have put in so far. All the same however, we should not forget that it is also the outcome of the immeasurable love given to you by your parents, since the day you were born. This is something I like you to bear in mind, and to think about with gratitude.

To you, who will depart today, I have three little requests. My first request may sound rather mediocre and trite, but it is as follows. I would like you to face all your hopes and dreams in a spirit of assurance and bravery. You have great prospects lying deep within you. The type of life you hereafter choose to lead depends entirely upon you. When we say that a person leads an independent life, what we usually mean is that first of all, a person is economically self-reliant. Second, a person leads the kind of life wherein he or she is not beholden to anyone in any way. Third, wherever a person happens to be employed it personally creates networks of love, and fourth, a person goes out of a way to make the acquaintance of older people who could fulfill the role of preceptors, and relies upon the guidance for the future. The fifth would be the fact that a person never evaluates itself by the standards of others, nor measures itself using another person’s yardstick. In life, as you know, there are occasions when you have no choice but to struggle. Hence, if a moment ever arises when a fighting spirit refuses to well up within you, then take a look at the other fighters gathered around, and try to learn from them. Always remember, that on leaving the university, you will never find anyone who can reveal to you your genuine feelings and dreams, and there exists no mirror that will reflect them to you. Indeed, if you really wish to know what they are, you have no choice but to begin the quest from yourself. If I may put it a little more philosophically, it should be as though questions such as these, namely, ‘how shall I live, what do I love the most,’ and, ‘what do I really wish to do,’ are incessantly pounding against your heart. Hopes and dreams should be realized through hard work, and through advancing steadily onwards in fairness and integrity. In other words, hopes and dreams are things not to be abandoned, but to be realized.

I would like you Sophians to bear in mind that the scale you use to evaluate your results, should never be based on neither economism nor mammonism. Rather, focus your gaze upon the world, and hasten to the aid of the distressed and downtrodden sections of society.

My second request is the following. Adopt a mindset like this: ‘for the world and for humankind,’ and when working, do so with the certitude that even a single person can cause a transformation in society. We have an inclination to talk a lot about the problems of society, but most people do little about it. We get tense over issues concerning us directly, however trifling they may be, and yet, when it comes to a matter concerning society, we instantly tend to adopt a critical attitude. The adage, ‘for the world and for humankind,’ appears now to be obsolete, and more and more people tend to adopt the posture that they have no links with society.

How happy a person who waits a little for the other, who lends a helping hand to the other, and who leads a life of concern for others! For a person to survive, I believe there are three essential things. First, a person should be able to do on its own, any work directly linked to itself. Second, a person should be the person having a good relationship to others. That is, a person should be the person who has concern for the other, to the extent of saying to anyone on occasion words like, “What’s up?” And third, a person should be the person who believes in giving and taking, a ‘second chance.’

We have indeed reached a stage where we have stopped caring for each other, and now, sad to say, instances of people taking their own lives, are not uncommon. In fact, people have reached a stage where they have virtually given up on their neighbor, and when asked for help, they usually answer with statements such as, “What do you expect me to do? I can’t do much.” Yet, if there were a single person who was prepared to work for the world and for humankind, society would transform. Indeed, I wish there were more who believed in the possibilities of a single individual.

I appeal to you all to strive on behalf of the marginalized sections of society, and to focus on doing little acts of kindness. I have long insisted that what Sophia needs, is a spirit of unstinted service. Perhaps some of you are tired of my saying the same thing over and over again, but, if ever you offer assistance to another, I entreat you not to do so with the expectation of receiving any form of recompense.

Desiring the wellbeing of another, will lead ever more to your own wellbeing. There is a fable of Aesop the slave that exemplifies this point well. On a certain occasion, a rat happened to carelessly run over the body of a sleeping lion. The lion awoke, seized the rat, and was all set to gobble it up, but on seeing the rat he realized that a creature as tiny as this could never satisfy his hunger, and so he allowed it to escape. However, some days later the lion himself happened to get caught in a net laid as a trap by human beings, and since he was hanging in midair and unable to move, he began to roar. On hearing the roar the rat hastened to the spot, and with his little teeth it began to gnaw the net, and in due course it gnawed through the net completely and set the lion free. This story spells out the point I wished to make.

My third request to you concerns the fact that Sophia is a Catholic university, and that the Jesuit fathers of the Society of Jesus constitute the core of the spiritual legacy of its foundation. This spiritual legacy has been steadily maintained as an unchanging principle, during these hundred years of the university’s history. If I were to mention a special trait of Sophia, it is the fact that for a period of two or even three years, our students undergo serious and rigorous training. Both the staff and the students discuss issues seriously, and tackle their research in a committed manner. By responding to each and every student’s academic concerns, future plans, and other such issues in an earnest and cordial manner, the members of the staff seek to turn out into the world students who are, so to say, ‘hand-molded.’ There are perhaps those who view a university like ours as being somewhat odd, and some may even regard us as being stubborn. Nevertheless, we may boast that we grant every one of our students the type of education, of which they might feel justifiably proud. Despite its small size, it is still an institute unique in the world, and we earnestly hope that it continues to remain so.

Our graduates, who by today number over ten thousand, are active in all areas of the globe. They continue to propagate the spiritual legacy of Sophia’s foundation, which is a spirit of service. As I stated earlier, I pray that you all turn out into outstanding global citizens and first-rate people of the world, the type of men and women who will transform into action the fruits they have gained in the university, and who will strive for the service of humankind. All of us care for you, and we place our hopes in you.

Prof. Yoshiaki Ishizawa
President
Sophia University
March 23, 2011