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
According to this idea, generally accepted by common sense, human
actions may be classified under four different heads: (1) Purely good
actions; (2) partly good and partly bad actions; (3) neither good nor
bad actions; (4) purely bad actions. First, purely good actions are
those actions which subserve and never hinder human interests either
material or spiritual, such as humanity and love of all beings.
Secondly, partly good and partly bad actions are those actions which
are both for and against human interests, such as narrow patriotism
and prejudiced love. Thirdly, neither good nor bad actions are such
actions as are neither for nor against human interests--for example,
an unconscious act of a dreamer. Lastly, purely bad actions, which
are absolutely against human interests, cannot be possible for man
except suicide, because every action promotes more or less the
interests, material or spiritual, of the individual agent or of
someone else. Even such horrible crimes as homicide and parricide
are intended to promote some interests, and carry out in some measure
their aim when performed. It follows that man cannot be said to be
good or bad in the strict sense of the terms as above defined, for
there is no human being who does the first class of actions and
nothing else, nor is there any mortal who does the fourth class of
actions and nothing else. Man may be called good and bad, and at the
same time be neither good nor bad, in that he always performs the
second and the third class of actions. All this, nevertheless, is a
more play of words. Thus we are driven to conclude that the
common-sense view of human nature fails to grasp the real state of
actual life.
8. Man is not Good-natured nor Bad-natured, but Buddha-natured.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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