Something interesting that I found.

From Master Deshimaru (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taisen_Deshimaru),



That is the whole problem of civilization. Which is better, the old civilization or modern civilization? It's a false problem, because we cannot know the answer. In the beginning the inner brain was highly developed; with civilization the outer envelope has grown larger. As the outside grows, the inside atrophies, the two are out of balance, the nerves are out of balance, and we see mental illness and neuroses and madness, as in the case of Nietzche and many philosophers. Modern education addresses itself solely to the outer brain. How can we strengthen the inner brain? I have seen the cave paintings of Lascaux and Tassili. Thousands of years ago, in those caves, men made drawings, paintings, that are beautiful and delicate. I like them better than Picasso's. Human evolution is a great problem. Our intelligence has increased enormously since the Middle Ages, but where is wisdom? What is evolution today? Our muscles are growing weak and our brains too. People are not progressing, even though their intelligence and knowledge are progressing. The West must grow strong. Its religion is not the same as in Asia and Africa, but I hope they will merge together. The Africans are combative; that is the characteristic of the desert, and religion is strong there. The Mohammedans fight and organize. Orientals are calmer; that comes from the influence of the monsoons, the rains that lay everything to waste so that people have no choice but to be patient. Buddha did not like fighting. He wanted peace. So Buddhism grew and influenced the whole of Asia. What is the way to find true peace for the whole of mankind? Our environment is buffeted by political problems. We need to take in the beneficial waves and refuse the harmful ones. That is why effort is important, too, a new effort, a new type of effort. Europeans do not make enough effort, they tire quickly. That is also why practicing zazen is important. If you practice zazen you can make an effort. I think that even in Africa not many young people are capable of great effort. They're strong but not strongly motivated. What must we do in order to be able to make an effort? What is the relationship between activity - and aggressiveness? If you are very active you need to get rid of your energy and if you use it to do harm it becomes aggressiveness, which is not good; If a person becomes aggressive you should counter with wisdom. I have never said that people should be aggressive. They should practice wisdom and create true activity. We need to create balance; wisdom without any activity to express it leads to bestiality. It is important that we do not behave like animals, but also that we are not just spiritual, like ghosts. Only balance matters, only that - is the direction of evolution.