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
These two theories are not only far from throwing light on the moral
state of man, but wrap it in deeper gloom. Let us raise a few
questions by way of refutation. If man's fundamental nature be good,
as Mencius maintains, why is it easy for him to be vicious without
instruction, while he finds it hard to be virtuous even with
instruction. If you contend that good is man's primary nature and
evil the secondary one, why is be so often overpowered by the
secondary nature? If you answer saying that man is good-natured
originally, but he acquires the secondary nature through the struggle
for existence, and it gradually gains power over the primary nature
by means of the same cause, then the primitive tribes should be more
virtuous than the highly civilized nations, and children than grownup
people. Is this not contrary to fact?
If, again, man's nature is essentially bad, as Siun Tsz holds, how
can he cultivate virtue? If you contend that ancient sages invented
so-called cardinal virtues and inculcated them against his natural
inclination, why does he not give them up? If vices be congenial and
true to man's nature, but virtues be alien and untrue to him, why are
virtues honoured by him? If vices be genuine and virtue a deception,
as you think, why do you call the inventors of that deceiving art
sages? How was it possible for man to do good before these sages'
appearance on earth?
3. Man is both Good-natured and Bad-natured according to Yan
Hiung[FN#163] (Yo-yu).
According to Yang Hiung and his followers, good is no less real than
evil, and evil is no more unreal than good. Therefore man must be
double-natured-that is, partly good and partly bad. This is the
reason why the history of man is full of fiendish crimes, and, at the
same time, it abounds with godly deeds. This is the reason why
mankind comprises, on the one hand, a Socrates, a Confucius, a Jesus,
and, on the other, a Nero and a Kieh. This is the reason why we find
to-day a honest fellow in him whom we find a betrayer to-morrow.
[FN#163] Yan Hiung (died A.D. 18) is the reputed author of Tai Huen
(Tai-gen) and Fah Yen (Ho-gen). His opinion in reference to human
nature is found in Fah Yen.
This view of man's nature might explain our present moral state, yet
it calls forth many questions bard to answer. If this assertion be
true, is it not a useless task to educate man with the purpose of
making him better and nobler? How could one extirpate man's bad
nature implanted within him at his origin? If man be double-natured,
how did he come to set good over evil? How did he come to consider
that he ought to be good and ought not to be bad? How could you
establish the authority of morality?
4. Man is neither Good-natured nor Bad-natured according to Su Shih
(So-shoku).[FN#164]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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