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 some scholars that erroneously maintain that Zen is based
on the doctrine of unreality of all things expounded by Kumarajiva
and his followers. Ko-ben,[FN#202] known as Myo-ye Sho-nin, said 600
years ago: "Yang Shan (Kyo-zan) asked Wei Shan (I-san): 'What shall
we do when hundreds, thousands, and millions of things beset us all
at once?' 'The blue are not the yellow,' replied Wei Shan, 'the long
are not the short. Everything is in its own place. It has no
business with you.' Wei Shan was a great Zen master. He did not
teach the unreality of all things. Who can say that Zen is
nihilistic?"
[FN#202] A well-known scholar (1173-1232) of the Anatamsaka School
of Mahayanism.
Besides the Four Alternatives, Zen uses the Five Categories[FN#203]
in order to explain the relation between reality and phenomena. The
first is 'Relativity in Absolute,' which means that the universe
appears to be consisting in relativities, owing to our relative
knowledge; but these relativities are based on absolute reality. The
second is 'Absolute in Relativity,' which means Absolute Reality does
not remain inactive, but manifests itself as relative phenomena. The
third is 'Relativity out of Absolute,' which means Absolute Reality
is all in all, and relative phenomena come out of it as its secondary
and subordinate forms. The fourth is 'Absolute up to Relativity,'
which means relative phenomena always play an important part on the
stage of the world; it is through these phenomena that Absolute
Reality comes to be understood. The fifth is the 'Union of both
Absolute and Relativity,' which means Absolute Reality is not
fundamental or essential to relative phenomena, nor relative
phenomena subordinate or secondary to Absolute Reality--that is to
say, they are one and the same cosmic life, Absolute Reality being
that life experienced inwardly by intuition, while relative phenomena
are the same life outwardly observed by senses. The first four
Categories are taught to prepare the student's mind for the
acceptance of the last one, which reveals the most profound truth.
[FN#203] Go-i in Japanese, mostly used by the So-To School of Zen.
The detailed explanation is given in Go-i-ken-ketsu.
17. Personalism of B. P. Bowne.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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