D.T. Suzuki Museum; The World Is Connected

I'm not really into those TV programs that focus on what foreigners find impressive about Japan. I've always felt uncomfortable with the idea that Japan is a safe country, has beautiful traditions, delicious cuisine and so on. I’ve never figured out why I feel this way, but when I went to the D.T. Suzuki Museum in Kanazawa and stood at the Water Mirror Garden there, finally my question was answered.
D.T. Suzuki was a Buddhist philosopher who spread the ideology of Zen overseas. Although it’s a small museum, I saw many international tourists there which showed the high interest in Zen.
What moved me was the story about when he was struggling to find an English translation for the Japanese word “玅”(myo), which defines all the events which happen in a human life, and he found that Shakespeare's “O wonderful, wonderful, and most wonderful wonderful! And yet again wonderful...” was the best translation.
D.T. Suzuki seems to have deliberately used the kanji “玅” rather than “妙” which is commonly used now, and encompasses the meanings “mysterious”, “beautiful”, or “excellent”. I had always thought that the English word “wonderful” simply meant “extremely good”, but when I looked at it more closely, I realized that “wonder” (mysterious) and “full” were combined. A-ha!
I like the idea that life is a series of beautiful things and hardships that are worthwhile overcoming. However, I believe life is also full of mysteries and uncontrollable aspects, life isn’t just about overcoming.
Zen may have originated in Japan, but we can feel this deep sense of “玅” in the same way in English too. So that's how it is; everything in the world is connected. I was so happy when I understood this. Looking back, maybe I've been feeling more disconnected from the world due to the type of TV program which portrays “what foreigners are impressed about Japan”.
Several weeks have passed since I visited the museum, but the word still lingers with me, “keep calm” and “mindlessness”. If I don’t have unnecessary fears in my life and value those words, my mind will always be at peace.