GAMAN - tolerate discomfort

In Japan we often hear and use the word 我慢 “GAMAN". I just googled it and it says:
Gaman (我慢) is a Japanese term of Zen Buddhist origin which means "enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity". The term is generally translated as "perseverance", "patience", or tolerance.

Wow, that sounds very Japanese.

I remember when I was little my sister and I will get into the bathtub and when the water was too hot we would sing the “GAMAN song” and endure the hot water until we got comfortable.

We are taught from when we are young to endure what might be uncomfortable and follow orders.

I remember when I moved from the States to Tokyo and had to endure many uncomfortable situations like having to clean the classroom and restroom of our school every day, follow strict school rules that didn’t make any sense to me, and often times got rebellious.

Because this attitude is deeply knitted into the Japanese culture, Japanese people follow rules. Sometimes too much, in my opinion.

But maybe because I have been brought up with this GAMAN culture, it baffles me that some people don’t want to GAMAN putting on a mask for a few minutes while they do some shopping…

Like my teacher always says, “too much of a good thing is bad.”

Maybe too much GAMAN is not healthy, but a little dose of GAMAN is sometimes needed.