In keeping with Shinto tradition, every twenty years the Ise Jingu Shrine in Japan is completely torn down and rebuilt identically on a plot facing the previous one. The purpose of this practice is to pass on building and craft skills from one generation to the next. During the reconstruction, three generations come together: the sixty-year-olds who teach, the forty-year-olds who, having learned, build the new temple, and the twenty-year-olds who observe and learn. While participating in one of these ceremonies, renowned architect Mr. Renzo Piano began to reflect on the importance of passing on a lifetime of learning to new generations. The following is an excerpt from one of his speeches where he shares his thoughts.

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"When I turned sixty, which was a long time ago, I traveled with my wife to Japan and visited the Ise Jingu Shrine. Do you know why the Ise Jingu Shrine is important? The shrine is torn down and rebuilt from scratch every twenty years. Here in the West, "eternity" means constructing buildings that last forever; in the East, eternity means rebuilding over and over the same structures forever. During the construction of the Ise Jingu Shrine, young people come to the site to learn the work. Later, when they reach about forty years of age, they are the ones who build the shrine. Finally, when they grow old, they teach the new generation what they have learned and practiced earlier in their lives. This process is a great metaphor for life: initially, you learn, then you practice, and lastly, you teach. It is the young people who ensure the future of humanity. They are like messages we send to a future world we will not see. It isn't the seniors holding the young people on their shoulders; rather, it is the young people lifting us seniors on their shoulders, allowing us to catch a glimpse of a world we won't be able to see."
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