The Religion of the Samurai: A Study of Zen Philosophy and Discipline in China and JapanNukariya, Kaiten
Religion
The Religion of the Samurai: A Study of Zen Philosophy and Discipline in China and Japan
Nukariya, Kaiten
Buddhism -- China; Buddhism -- Japan; China -- Religion; Human beings -- Origin; Japan -- Religion; Zen Buddhism
There are, according to Zen, the four classes of religious and
philosophical views, technically called the Four
Alternatives,[FN#201] of life and of the world. The first is 'the
deprivation of subject and the non-deprivation of object' that is to
say, the denial of subject, or mind, or Atman, or soul, and the
non-denial of object, or matter, or things--a view which denies the
reality of mind and asserts the existence of things. Such a view was
held by a certain school of Hinayanism, called Sarvastivada, and
still is held by some philosophers called materialists or
naturalists. The second is the 'deprivation of object and the
non-deprivation of subject'--that is to say, the denial of object, or
matter, or things, and the non-denial of subject, or mind, or
spirit-a view which denies the reality of material object, and
asserts the existence of spirit or ideas. Such a view was held by
the Dharmalaksana School of Mahayanism, and is still held by some
philosophers called idealists. The third is 'the deprivation of both
subject and object'--that is to say, the denial of both subject or
spirit, and of object or matter-a view which denies the reality of
both physical and mental phenomena, and asserts the existence of
reality that transcends the phenomenal universe. Such a view was
held by the Madhyamika School of Mahayanism, and is still held by
some religionists and philosophers of the present day. The fourth is
'the non-deprivation of both subject and object'--that is to say, the
non-denial of subject and object--a view which holds mind and body as
one and the same reality. Mind, according to this view, is reality
experienced inwardly by introspection, and body is the selfsame
reality observed outwardly by senses. They are one reality and one
life. There also exist other persons and other beings belonging to
the same life and reality; consequently all things share in one
reality, and life in common with each other. This reality or life is
not transcendental to mind and body, or to spirit and matter, but is
the unity of them. In other words, this phenomenal world of ours is
the realm of reality. This view was held by the Avatamsaka School of
Mahayanism, and is still held by Zenists. Thus Zen is not
materialistic, nor idealistic, nor nihilistic, but realistic and
monistic in its view of the world.
[FN#201] Shi-rya-ken in Japanese, the classification mostly made use
of by masters of the Rin Zai School of Zen. For the details, see
Ki-gai-kwan, by K. Watanabe.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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