$78 Million lost and found!!!!
It has been five months since the deadly tsunami and earthquake struck Japan. So many lives tragically lost to this natural disaster… and so many things destroyed. However, it is during this time that the Japanese showed the world what strength, unity and ethics truly mean. Through their example, we know that every individual’s role in social responsibility can lighten a huge burden in times of crisis.
After the tsunami hit, the Japanese picked up their feet and started spending months clearing up the chaos that remained. Many personal belongings were recovered amongst the rubble… photo albums, clothes, books, DVDs, furniture pieces…
Amongst those items, there were also safety deposit boxes and countless purses and wallets. It would normally be easy to assume that if these items were unaccounted for, then it naturally becomes a matter of “finders keepers”. That’s for most people… the Japanese, however handed them to the authorities to be identified and returned to it’s rightful owner. Up to date, a total sum of $78 million in cash has been found in the wreckage and turned in!!
Approximately 5,700 safes were washed up along the coastline. One safe alone was said to contain $1 million! It is common practice for the people living in the coastal regions to keep large amounts of money. This is due to the nature of their trade which is to deal in cash transactions.
Specialists were hired to crack safes open, and the respective owners were contacted based on the personal information contained inside.
It is wonderful to see people practicing integrity and honesty no matter what the circumstances are. Even in the face of hardship, the Japanese demonstrated something many of us privileged citizens find difficult. This type of rare integrity is most inspiring and one that we all can adopt into our lives.
Tsem Rinpoche
(Source: Gawker, “Japanese Quake Survivor Have Returned $78 million in Lost Cash”, http://gawker.com/5832083/japanese-quake-survivors-have-returned-78-million-in-lost-cash)
there is saying, if its not yours, is not yours…. if you have the heart to take the money that you found during a disaster, then ppl will do back the same to you….
these group of honest people deserved to be rewarded ….
yup honesty and integrity is always the best policy. We should emulate the good attributes of the japanese people especially WTSHF “when the s**t hit’s the fan”.
It’s so refreshing to see acts of such solidarity and consideration for others of this size. As the old saying goes, “morality is how you conduct yourself when no-one else is looking,” and the people who returned the valuables to the authorities have really presented to the rest of us a quality that is far more valuable than any amount of wealth.
I’ve recently been thinking of the tragic events that struck the Japanese people and today is also the tenth anniversary of 9/11. As horrific and indescribable these events were, the thing that really stands out in my own thoughts is the unwavering compassion that lies deep in the heart of humanity. The amount of people who gave and continue to give so much to help others in need when there is that need of help and support is nothing short of overwhelming. It reaffirms a faith in our common humanity when we realise that we all strive for happiness and peace and, when called for, most of us will do whatever we can to help those who find themselves in times of difficulty to re-build their lives and send them on the path back to a sense of happiness and peace. Long may such acts continue.
Kind regards,
Sandy
Thats something to be admired about the japanese. Even the Koreans to a certain extend have the same type of ethics. I went to a market in Korea once and the store owner just left it unattended for a period of time, they dont worry about their stuff being taken from their stalls.
I can’t find that in my country.
Thank you very much for sharing this piece of news that I have not read in the net or papers. I really like the Japanese for their discipline although many Asians dislike them because of the WWII and the Japanese occupation and many suffered under the Japanese rule. Sometime it make me think is their Karma that they are strike by Natural disaster and it is through disaster that you see Unity and Humanitarian. But it is sad that why do we have to wait for disaster to strike before we see these kindness and compassion and unity. Sad but on the other hand I am glad the founders of the $$$$$ are turned in for they know Greed will not take them anywhere better then to go through what we have to go through. With Much Love and Respect.
I think this kind of good quality seem like our Buddhism philosophy. Practice and apply it in our daily live, wonderful!
Integrity and honesty of Japanese, even a huge tragedy has happened all the Japanese still holding it with firm, I am really respect on this point of view.
I feel that the generally Japanese is brought up in a culture of strong sense of community comes first before personal gain. They are hardworking bunch of good people. We can see that tsunami has swept away their belongings, destroyed their homes and lives. Natural disaster does not care who you are.
What little they have with them, and what they can find back means a lot to them.
Thank you Rinpoche.
When the disaster happened, everyone helped in many ways, you can actually read it from the papers or even watch the news. I am so happy that these people helped especially in recovering all those lost belongings and returning it to the owner. May the Tsunami victims recover as fast as they can so that they lead a normal life again.