Soetsu Yanagi (author)

Hello everyone, this is Shoji Shimura from Atelier Shimura. I am bringing you the second and final installment of Muneyoshi Yanagi's "The Law of Beauty."

Yanagi Muneyoshi (author) "The Law of Beauty"
publisher: Iwanami Shoten (1995)

【table of contents】
"The Law of Beauty"
"A Wish for No Good or Ugly"
"A Pure Land of Beauty"
"Law and Beauty" and two other stories

 

The beauty of unchanging nature - the appearance of "what exists"

First, let's clarify what "Funi no beauty" is. This is "beauty that transcends beauty and ugliness," that is, the idea that "the natural state" that lies beyond the dualistic view of beauty and ugliness is beautiful.

Yanagi thinks:

"It is fine if things remain as they were originally. It is a return to the original nature of things as they are."

It is only by abandoning our purpose in creating things and returning to their original state that we can get closer to true beauty.

This word "as it is" is a very important keyword that runs throughout this book. We often judge and divide the world based on dualism such as "beauty and ugliness" or "good and evil," in other words, our "discriminatory mind."

Yanagi suggests that we must perceive the truth of existence in a way that differs from the limitations of our occasional perception.

Liberation from attachment and the "beauty of freedom"

So how does this "unrivaled beauty" manifest itself? Yanagi first focuses on the "appearance of nature." He believes that the natural state of nature is a single world of truth, a manifestation of unrivaled beauty.

In Buddhism, there is a term called "jinen honi," which means that something is necessarily the way it is as truth (law).

Now, we are faced with the question of how to approach and express this "true state," the world of truth. In this case, the most important thing is to be free from self-attachment and have a free mind .

This "attachment" is criticized with words like "ego" or "small self." It also includes attachment to the idea of "things." Naturally, only when we are free from all considerations and have an unfettered, unbiased mind can we have a mind that prioritizes "the world as it is," transcending dualistic oppositions.

Yanagi says that what is truly beautiful is "something that is free from the duality of beauty and ugliness," and therefore should be called "the beauty of freedom."

Amida Buddha is also known as "Muge Nyorai (Nyorai Buddha of Unobstructed Light)," and "muge" (unobstructed) captures the state of freedom, unaware of anything and not being held captive. Yanagi wrote that "only freedom is beautiful," and that freedom is "liberation from dualism (dual opposition)."

Realizing "Fugen Beauty" - Relying on Other Power and Mushin

This shows that "having a free mind that is not bound by either of these two things" is crucial to creating beautiful things.

So how can we achieve this "unity of beauty"? The goal is to have a "free and unrestricted mind," but it's not easy to achieve this on your own.

Yanagi founded the Mingei movement, but in his later years he looked back on the movement and described its early days. He said that a certain dogmatism had developed and a dark side had emerged. Yanagi pointed out that the attitude and dogmatism of Mingei had crumbled, and that it was heading in the opposite direction from the "spirit of freedom" and "unfettered spirit" that people are currently wavering towards.

An unfettered mind must also be free from depressing, dogmatic thinking.

This is true of any spiritual movement: its founders begin by criticizing existing thinking, but once the movement is established, it becomes a form of conventional thinking.

Suffering due to other power and the Ido tea bowl

Is it possible for humans to have a free mind, perhaps even to settle in the world of truth? Yanagi's answer to this difficult question is "other power," which is the foundation of Pure Land Buddhism.

This "difficulty caused by other forces" is something Yanagi consistently emphasizes throughout this book.

Even if you say that, it may be hard to believe at first.

Yanagi says that here we can see evidence of the power of "other power" at work , which goes beyond the creator's intentions (self-power) .

The state of mindlessness and the "trap of artificiality"

As the example of the Ido tea bowl shows, it is important to abandon "artificiality" in the pursuit of "trying to do things well," and this leads to the state of "mindlessness" and the land discussion.

Again, "mindless" does not mean having no thoughts. Mindlessness is a state of mind that is free from attachments, free from thoughts of the present .

However, the negative effects of the act of making something - weaving a loom if it's a loom, or abandoning the potter's wheel if it's pottery - have the power to bring you closer to a state of mindlessness. When you weave, you become one with the loom for a moment, and a free flow of ideas wells up in your mind.

This is not something that can be explained in words, but rather you will have to put it into practice and feel the changes in your own mind.

Trying hard to "let go of artificiality" and "become mindless" can actually become a new "artificiality."

Everyday "calmness" and "the Pure Land of Beauty"

How can we somehow escape this trap of "artificiality trying to escape from artifice"? Here, Yanagi preaches the importance of "normal mind." "A natural mind," an everyday mind that is not conscious of anything special.

This calmness is not something that only those who make things can achieve.

In these everyday actions of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, we focus our minds on the task at hand and, through the repetition of these actions without making judgments about whether they are good or bad, we can practice becoming a better version of ourselves.

Living our daily lives properly is one way to free ourselves from our creative pursuits.

Yanagi calls the world where this "unrivaled beauty" is realized the "Pure Land of Beauty." It is a world that exists when you create things in a state of mindlessness, looking at things with an unrestrained mind.

Yanagi explains what this "Pure Land of Beauty" is like: "In the Pure Land of Beauty, there is no difference between genius and mediocrity, wise and foolish, clever and shrewd, noble and humble, or beautiful and inferior. This does not mean that everything is the same, but that even if each thing is frightening, each thing is perceived as beautiful."

Just as Buddha nature resides in all living things, everything is already made to be beautiful. Yanagi says that this has already been achieved through the power of others, as seen in the "vow" of Amida Buddha.

The question is whether we believe this. If we return to the "world as it is," we can naturally create beautiful things.

This "Pure Land of Beauty" is a world where there is no distinction between genius and average person, or between skilled and unskilled, and everyone is recognized as beautiful "just as they are."

Yanagi then takes this argument to the extreme: "You don't think that there is a true power between faith and disbelief."

Where is the Pure Land of Beauty?

Finally, there is the question of where the "Pure Land of Beauty" is. Yanagi argues that it is not somewhere far away, but that it can be realized "here and now" if only we change our awareness .

The core of Yanagi's thinking is the observation that the Pure Land of Beauty is not a distant utopia that will be reached sometime in the future, but is realized "right before our eyes."

Yanagi uses the word "Edo" (polluted land) as the opposite concept of "Pure Land." The world we live in (Edo) is imperfect and absurd in many ways, yet also very fulfilling.

"When we truly separate ourselves from the contaminated soil, that contaminated soil actually rolls and connects directly to the Pure Land, so the Pure Land, which is the actual fact of the matter, also becomes a place of the present."

The moment I truly hate (dislike) the absurdity and sadness of this wealth, the possibility of entering paradise arises.

The fact that the current situation is filled with ugly things is, in other words, an opportunity to yearn for a "Pure Land of Beauty." The stronger one's aversion to absurdity and ugliness, the stronger the opportunity to move toward a Pure Land of Beauty.

Mingei as a spiritual movement

The question is, "Are we somehow achieving spiritual awakening?" This spiritual awakening is realizing that this "shore" (the impure world of reality) and the "other shore" (the pure land of beauty) are not separated, but actually overlap.

The traditional explanation in Pure Land Buddhism is that one awakens to the truth the moment one sincerely wishes to "leave the impure world and long for the Pure Land" (leave the impure world and long for the Pure Land), but here Yanagi introduces the "power of things" as the opportunity for this awakening.

Mingei items, made with a "natural, innocent heart," contain the "power of beauty" to awaken us spiritually. This is the most fundamental role of Mingei.

The folk art objects that Yanagi treasures and that are made by nameless artisans give us concrete understanding that can awaken our spiritual awareness.

The Mingei movement was not merely an antithesis to modernization, which temporarily emphasized the importance of handcrafts. Yanagi states in "The Law of Beauty" that it was originally conceived as "a movement to enter the invisible world through objects," or "a spiritual movement that considers things from this dual standpoint."

The Dharma of Beauty - Wishing for the salvation of all living beings

The phrase "the teachings of beauty" or "religion of beauty" refers to a path that leads through objects to the invisible world, the world of other power.

Yanagi’s Buddhist aesthetics are centered on Pure Land thought, but his greatest characteristic is his awareness of the seemingly invisible world and its great power in an “age of no faith” in which traditional religions have placed so much emphasis.

For modern people who cannot believe in the invisible world, a modern religious practice can be achieved by looking at the spiritual world that lies behind the concrete objects in front of them. This is the "Dharma of Beauty."

Yanagi ultimately wishes to use this "dharma of beauty" to save all living beings. Finally, he reflects on this wish as follows:

"The reason I focused on formulating these thoughts was because I aspired to build a kingdom of beauty. The existence of such a kingdom must guarantee the salvation of all living beings. No matter who makes what, if it is not designed to be absorbed into the world of beauty as it is, it will be impossible to identify the principle by which folk art, often made by little-known craftsmen, is inevitably saved. It is not that each individual becomes a great artist and achieves this result. All will be saved as they are. Without this fact, what hope is there?"

Shortly after finishing this book, Yanagi made a decision. His final words can be considered a testament to his determination and are extremely encouraging for those involved in manufacturing.

In today's capitalist society, the meaning of handcrafted products is gradually being lost. However, handcrafted products are not only sufficient for everyday use, but also allow the maker to experience a spiritual awakening by creating something that is "as it is," a world of truth. Perhaps Yanagi Soetsu's greatest achievement was that he made it clear that this is the true meaning of handcraft and the true meaning of manufacturing.

Thank you for watching. From next time, we will be presenting "Japanese Spirituality" by D.T. Suzuki.

This is a reading guide by Shoji Shimura (CEO of Atelier Shimura).
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