Daisetsu Suzuki (author)

Hello everyone. This is Masashi Shimura from Atelier Shimura. Today, I'll be introducing the first half of Daisetsu Suzuki's "Japanese Spirituality." The Iwanami Bunko edition of "Japanese Spirituality" is famous, but it's also published by Kadokawa Sophia Bunko. The latter has detailed explanations and is relatively easy to read. Today, I'll be introducing the contents of this book in detail.

Daisetsu Suzuki (author) "Japanese Spirituality"
Publisher: Iwanami Shoten (1972)

【table of contents】
Introduction - Japanese Spirituality
Part 1: The Kamakura Period and Japanese Spirituality - Emotional Life
Part 2: The Emergence of Japanese Spirituality - The Stirrings of Japanese Spirituality and Buddhism
Part 3: Honen and the Nembutsu Chanting - The Fall of the Taira Clan
Part 4: Myokojin - Akao's Doshu
Commentary...Hideo Shinoda

Overall structure of "Japanese Spirituality"

First, let me explain the overall structure of this book. "Japanese Spirituality" is a work that discusses how Japanese spirituality has historically become self-aware and has manifested itself in concrete terms. The book is made up of five parts.

Part 1: The Kamakura Period and Japanese Spirituality
Daisetsu Suzuki sees the Kamakura period in particular as a period of "self-awareness" of Japanese spirituality in Japanese history, marking a turning point.

Part 2: Manifestation of Japanese Spirituality
It is argued that this Japanese spirituality manifested itself in a concrete and pure form in Buddhism, particularly Pure Land thought and Zen.

Part 3: Honen and the Nembutsu
Within Buddhism, the focus is first on the Jodo sect, and the chanting of the name of Amida Buddha by its founder, Honen Shonin, is introduced as a representative example of Japanese spirituality.

Part 4: Myo Kojin
Myokonin are not people who are knowledgeable in academics or doctrine, but rather lay believers who live devoutly in the streets. Through their way of life, the practical and experiential aspects of spirituality are highlighted.

Part 5: Zen in the Diamond Sutra
Finally, I will analyze Zen philosophy, which is based on the Diamond Sutra. While extremely difficult to understand, I will present its underlying logic of "sokuhi" as an intellectual expression of Japanese spirituality.

By dividing the chapters in this way, D.T. describes how Japanese spirituality gradually took shape, starting from the Kamakura period.

From Japanese Spirit to Spirituality: Overcoming Dualism

Now I will move on to the main topic. First, I would like to start with the theme of "From the Japanese spirit to spirituality, overcoming dualism." I will discuss how Daisetsu sought to overcome dualism.

The reason why D.T. Daisetsu chose to use the word "spirituality" rather than "spirit" is deeply connected to the historical context in which this book was published in 1944. It was the final stage of the Pacific War, and Japan's defeat was becoming increasingly likely. In opposition to the "Japanese spirit" theory that was promoted as an ideology during the war, D.T. Daisetsu presented "Japanese spirituality" as the true state of the Japanese heart, with an eye toward Japan's postwar reconstruction.

In particular, in the preface to the new edition written after the war, he wrote that due to his strong sense of discomfort with the pressure from the military and the nationalism and totalitarianism that lay behind it, he felt a strong need to discover something called Japanese spirituality and, through that, to project Japan's true image to the world.

According to Daisetsu, the word "spirit" in "Japanese spirit" is premised on a dualistic worldview that divides things into two, such as "mind and body." In contrast, the word "spirituality" expresses a relationship that transcends dualism, in which two things are "ultimately not two but one, and at the same time one and yet two."

This is a different way of thinking from European thought, which tends to analyze things in a dualistic way, and D.T. tried to express it with the word "spirituality."

From this spiritual perspective, it is said that the world will "change from the dualistic world of the past to one of mutual compromise and cancellation, to one of mutual yielding and exchange, of mutually inclusiveness (a relationship in which everything blends and influences each other without any conflict)." In other words, rather than fighting, opposing binary entities complement each other, merging while maintaining their conflict. D.T. Suzuki called the logical structure of this non-dualistic worldview the "logic of immediacy and nonmediacy." This logic of immediacy and nonmediacy forms the intellectual core of this book.

Encountering Spirituality: Awakening from Limitations

Next, let's look at the triggers that give rise to this spirituality. Spirituality is not an abstract concept, but rather an experiential process in which each of us encounters our own inner spirituality.

So how do we encounter our inner spirituality? Paradoxically, D.T. says that spiritual awareness does not arise from a peaceful and stable life. Rather, spiritual awareness begins when we deeply reflect on this world, when we face various adversities such as life's hardships and suffering, when we keenly feel the weight of our own karma, and when we feel an earnest urge to break free from that karma.

For example, consider an episode involving my grandmother, Fukumi Shimura. She says that when she was creating one of her early masterpieces, "Autumn Mist," she felt "at a state of desperation." She had divorced, left her children in Tokyo, and returned to Omihachiman, where she had neither the skills nor the funds to pursue a career in dyeing and weaving. In such a desperate situation, she pondered how she could convey her feelings in this one kimono. It was a moment that seemed to condense the anguish of a desperate life, the complete opposite of a comfortable one.

However, in that extreme situation, Fukumi encountered her inner self and her spirituality, and the resulting work, Autumn Mist, was so powerful that it made Fukumi's mother, Yutaka Ono, say, "You couldn't create a better work than this." It can be said that it is in the midst of hardship and adversity that we have the opportunity to encounter our own inner spirituality.

D.T. Suzuki points out that we do not encounter spirituality through mere intellectual work. Rather, it is in our own raw reality, in a certain deep despair, that spiritual awakening is born.

Meeting with the Great Compassionate and "Born Twice"

In Daisetsu's words, when we encounter beings who transcend our own limitations in these extreme situations, namely "great compassionates" (beings like Amida Buddha or bodhisattvas), we are reborn, our self-awareness changes, and we awaken to religious consciousness. Therefore, people who are pushed into extreme situations paradoxically encounter great compassionates, and this gives them the opportunity to be reborn.

This is not limited to Buddhism. For example, in his book "Varieties of Religious Experience," the American psychologist and philosopher William James introduced the idea of ​​"twice-born" as one type of religious consciousness. This refers to people who are very pessimistic about the present world and feel that they must be reborn again in order to be happy.

There is a deep commonality between this idea of ​​being born twice and what Daisetsu Suzuki said about encountering great beings in desperate situations. We must experience despair in this world at least once. (Personally, I feel that this is very similar to the thinking of Michiko Ishimure.) In any case, those who find themselves in desperate situations have the possibility of meeting great beings of compassion that they would not encounter in their everyday lives.

By passing through such a deep abyss of negation, a state of mind of the soul that paradoxically affirms the present world is born.

The origin of spirituality: "earthiness" and the reality of life

Related to this is the issue of the origins of spirituality. D.T. repeatedly emphasizes that spirituality is by no means an abstract concept. Rather, he argues that spirituality has a very "earthy" quality.

Daisetsu states that "spirituality is reluctant to leave the earth, anywhere, anytime." The earth he refers to here does not just refer to the physical land. The concrete reality of life in which each of us puts down roots and lives is itself earthiness.

As I mentioned earlier, encountering one's own spirituality in marginal situations is possible precisely because spirituality is rooted in the concrete realities of life. Spirituality is not found in abstract speculations or doctrinal systems, but in the actual experience of living life.

Considering this, it may be that spiritual awareness is actually distant from educated people. I would like to emphasize here that concepts and knowledge can actually hinder an encounter with spirituality.

Awakening in the Kamakura Period

Daisetsu also discusses when historically this awakening of the earth, or the awakening of Japanese spirituality, occurred. He argues that it did not occur in the aristocratic culture of the Heian period, but first occurred with the transition to samurai culture in the Kamakura period. The aristocrats in the capital of Kyoto had very little connection to the land and lived in an idealistic culture. In contrast, the Kamakura samurai lived lives rooted in the land and were constantly forced to face the realities of life and death. He says that it was in the extreme circumstances of each samurai and the lives of peasants rooted in the land that the innate Japanese spirituality took root and awakened.

In particular, Honen and Shinran, who are Jodo sect figures we will look at next, also deepened their own ideas while living in the countryside away from Kyoto. This is also evidence of how spirituality is earthly and can only be understood through concrete daily experience.

Two Manifestations of Japanese Spirituality: Jodo and Zen

Next, let us consider Jodo sect and Zen as concrete manifestations of Japanese spirituality. D.T. stated, "Jodo sect thought and Zen represent Japanese spirituality in its purest form."

What forms of expression did this Japanese spirituality take in concrete historical reality? D.T. classifies it into two categories: "emotional (emotional) expression" and "intellectual (intellectual) expression." He positions Pure Land Buddhism (Jodo sect) as the prime example of emotional expression, and Zen as the prime example of intellectual expression.

Jodo sect ①: Honen's single-minded chanting of the Nembutsu

First, let us look at the emotional expression of spirituality in Pure Land Buddhism. This is the highlight of the book, and it is also the point that Yanagi Soetsu was so impressed with and later linked to the idea of ​​folk art.

In particular, Daisetsu states that the core of Pure Land Buddhism lies in Honen's "single-minded nembutsu." According to Daisetsu, the center of Pure Land thought is not the goal of going to paradise, but the act of nembutsu itself. This is a very important point. Nembutsu is not chanted as a means to an end, but the act of chanting the nembutsu itself is the end.

Daisetsu also stated, "The center of Pure Land thought is the nembutsu, not rebirth in paradise. ... If one is thinking of rebirth while chanting the nembutsu, then the nembutsu is not pure, it is not absolute. ... The nembutsu itself is important. Only the nembutsu with a single mind is important." If one chants the nembutsu with the intention of attaining rebirth in paradise, then the nembutsu is not pure. This state of single mind, where intellect and thought are cast aside and one simply chants the nembutsu, is called "a foolish person who knows nothing," but in this single-minded chanting of the nembutsu, Daisetsu Suzuki saw an expression of pure Japanese spirituality.

Jodo Sect 2: Shinran's "For One Person"

Shinran took this idea even further, writing the following in his Tannisho:

"If we carefully consider Amida's vow of contemplation for five kalpas, we can see that it was made solely for Shinran alone."

Five kalpas is an extremely long period of time. If we think about it carefully, this wish (original vow) that Amida Buddha has contemplated for all eternity was made solely for Shinran alone.

What does this "for Shinran alone" mean? At first glance, it may sound like a selfish expression like "Amida Buddha prayed for me," but that is not the case. In fact, it is the opposite.

For whom was Amida Buddha's wish to meditate for five kalpas? It was for me. These words show a thorough recognition that "I am an ordinary person, a sinner, who cannot be saved."

When people talk about ordinary people or sinful beings, they tend to take it as a general term without considering themselves. However, Shinran is acknowledging here that he himself is a sinful being.

This is a painful self-awareness of one's own sinfulness, in which one comes to realize that Amida Buddha's compassion applies to oneself. Specifically, it was in the midst of the various despairs and hardships that Shinran experienced in his own life that he first came to realize that Amida Buddha's original vow was "made for someone like me." It is said that it was particularly his life of exile in Echigo, where he was rooted in the earth, that brought Shinran to this state of mind.

This painful self-awareness led to an awakening to his own spirituality. D.T.S. expressed this as "experiencing the trans-individual through the individual." Through his own individual existence, he experienced something spiritual that transcended those limitations. By encountering his own limitations, he encountered something trans-individual, something spiritual that transcended those limitations.

When we think about it this way, we can say that when we encounter hardships in life, when we feel despair, or when we become painfully aware of our own sinfulness, those are actually the moments when we come closest to spirituality.

Myokojin: Followers of experience and practice

In the tradition of Pure Land thought, Daisetsu further argues that the "Myo-ko-nin" are the best embodiment of this spirituality. The Myo-ko-nin are primarily lay followers of the Jodo Shinshu sect, but they are by no means versed in doctrine or scripture. They are people who apply their faith to every aspect of their lives and truly live by relying on other power. Daisetsu states that these people are the closest to Japanese spirituality.

D.T. quoted the words of Asahara Saichi, one of the Myokonin, saying, "Those like us who live only on letters tend to be abstract about everything and do not savor it. A person like Saichi, who has little connection with letters, avoids scrutinizing words and speaks of everything based on his own experience."

This is a scathing criticism that intellectuals live only on the written word and have become conceptual. They do not think about things in the context of their own lived experiences. This is a criticism of idealism and an absolute trust in the lived experiences. D.T. argues that experience is crucially important rather than ideas.

Zen and the "logic of 'soku-hi'"

So far, we have looked at the "emotional expression" of Japanese spirituality, such as Jodo Shinshu. On the other hand, there is the other "intellectual form of expression," Zen. Here, the issue of the "logic of identity and non-identity" finally comes into play.

Zen expresses spirituality intellectually. D.T. explains the logical structure of this spirituality using the concept of "the logic of identity and non-identity" extracted from the Diamond Sutra.

The logic of Sokuhi is a way of thinking that cannot be grasped by so-called European formal logic. The "law of contradiction" in formal logic states that "A cannot be non-A," meaning that if one of two opposing things is true, the other is false. However, the reality of the world cannot be fully grasped by such a law of contradiction. The logic of Sokuhi attempts to grasp the way that reality exists.

Affirmation through negation

For example, Daisetsu states:

"When we see a mountain, we say it's a mountain; when we face a river, we say it's a river. This is our common sense. However, in Prajna-based thought, mountains are not mountains, and rivers are not rivers; therefore, mountains are mountains, and rivers are rivers. ... All of our words, ideas, and concepts are like this; only through negation can they enter into affirmation; this is the true way of looking at things; and this is the nature of Prajna logic."

It's a riddle-like phrase. This becomes clear when you consider the relationship between reality and words (concepts).

Words and concepts are abstractions from reality, and words and concepts themselves are by no means the world itself. Here, "a mountain is not a mountain" means that the concept or word "mountain" is not the actual mountain itself.

We normally live in a world of concepts, such as "it is a mountain" or "it is a river." However, unless we first deny these concepts and ideas, we will not be able to encounter the real world that lies beyond. Our ego is trapped in the prison of our ideas, so we must first deny these ideas.

By denying what we perceive as a "mountain," we can encounter something indescribable and real, and encounter the true mountain. This is what is meant by "entering affirmation only through negation."

As long as we perceive things, words and concepts inevitably arise. However, in order to encounter the true world, it is necessary to put these everyday acts of perception into parentheses and negate them. This is also known as the "logic of Prajna."

The Resonance between the State of Fuji and Nishida's Philosophy

This logic of Prajna, or the logic of sameness and non-dualism, is said to reach the state of non-duality.

The state of non-duality is a state before dualistic oppositions arise, where if there is no discrimination, there are no contradictions or conflicts, and the world simply exists as it is. When discrimination enters the picture, value judgments arise, dualism arises, and various conflicts arise. The logic that can reach such a world before recognition is what Daisetsu calls the logic of soku-hi.

This is a very intellectual way of putting it. The story of Shinran mentioned earlier was an experience in the reality of life, where one encounters one's own spirituality while reaching an existentially extreme situation. In contrast, this is an intellectual approach in which one encounters spirituality through the logic of immediacy and non-immediacy, which goes beyond ordinary acts of cognition.

This idea resonates deeply with the idea of ​​"absolute contradictory self-identity" of Nishida Kitaro, Suzuki's classmate from their days at Kanazawa Fourth High School (Shiko) and lifelong friend. Nishida Kitaro's idea of ​​absolute contradictory self-identity is also a philosophical expression of the state of non-duality, the world as it is, in which the various contradictions caused by discernment actually become one world while still embracing those contradictions. Although Suzuki and Nishida differed in their approaches - Buddhist thought and Western philosophy respectively - it can be said that the themes they explored were very similar.

"People" and the Unhoused Way of Life

The subject who has such a spiritual experience is called "nin" in the Diamond Sutra. This idea of ​​patience, as indicated by the words in the Diamond Sutra, "When there is no place to dwell, one's mind should be born," says that it is in a mind that is not attached to anything, in a way of life of "muju," that a spirituality that transcends the individual emerges.

This person is a subject who lives a life of abode, free from attachment to anything. This is also reflected in the following poem by Shido Bunan, a Zen monk from the Edo period: "Living while still dead, I have become a complete dead person, and am able to do as I please." This means being alive yet completely like a dead person, and it expresses the state of mindlessness, where ego, ego-attachment, and selfishness have all disappeared. And only when one reaches this state does one become able to behave freely.

This is called "Jinen Ho-ni," the state of mind of a person who has reached their true, natural state. This idea of ​​abandoning egoism is connected to the "mindless mind" of Mingei. This is also why Yanagi Muneyoshi argued that people who create truly beautiful Mingei products are people who practice this state of Jinen Ho-ni.

Solitude and leaping forward: leaping forward with the help of others

So far, we have seen that Japanese spirituality began with the manifestation of earthiness during the Kamakura period, and that there are two ways of encountering it: one based on a sense of life (Pure Land), and the other based on an intellectual aspect such as the logic of "soku-hi" (absolute non-existence).

Finally, I would like to touch upon the concept of "cross-examination" in Shinran's thought, which D.T. Suzuki once again focuses on. The earlier discussion of "for Shinran alone" refers to a very individual and solitary relationship, in which one is isolated from everything and is connected to Amida Buddha alone. This is called fundamental loneliness, and it can be said that such a person is a spiritual person.

What is needed to break through from this desperate loneliness to a new dimension of spirituality? What is needed to open up from fundamental loneliness to a new dimension of spirituality is the concept of "cross-cutting."

Horizontal transcendence means a leap made by the power of others. In contrast to this is the idea of ​​self-power. If "vertical transcendence," or the path of self-power (the path of holiness), is the awakening to spirituality through step-by-step vertical training, then horizontal transcendence is a "leap made by the power of others," or the path of other-power (the path of pure land), in which an ordinary person, while remaining an ordinary person, is saved in one fell swoop by the power of others that transcends humanity.

This path of relying on others differs from the path of relying on one's own power in that it is the idea that ordinary people can be saved in one go by a great being that transcends one's own existence. Rather than resolving the contradiction between oneself and the Buddha, the path of encountering inner spirituality while still holding on to that contradiction can be said to be the idea of ​​transcending oneself.

This article is the first half of Suzuki Daisetsu's book "Japanese Spirituality." In the next part, I will discuss the final conclusion of this book.

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