Life and Death,Viewd from “Passivity"

Eastern thought states that life and death should be ・accepted as they are. But in thinking about the idea of life and death in Eastern thought, we find it difficult to understand this statement if we look at it objectively or ideologically, or only as eulogizing nature. This paper, therefore, will discuss the issue from a subjec・ tive point of view. First I reconsider the basic idea of nature from its objective aspect, taking into consideration the example of Zhuangzi (壮士). (1) The decision to follow nature is based on the profound awareness of artificiality, from which is directly generated the mind that admires and takes refuge in the functioning. (2) Zhuangzi says that life and death are destined, and he talks of following my destination. His statements show that if we stop complaining about our finiteness ending with death and decide to live accepting the fact of finiteness, true freedom can be obtained. (3) Next i examine the meaning of nature, taking as an example Bankei (盤珪), who kept explaining that to be unborn means to be as it is. Showing that the evidence of being unborn is derived from the fact that the sense organs completely reflect nature, Bankei warns only against grasping the unborn Buddha-mind by the discriminating mind. Namely, he urges us to leave the objective until later. This idea is same as that of Daisetsu Suzuki (鈴木大拙), who insists that intellect itself does not have freedom. (4) The idea of life and death seems to be a very significant theme. It is caused by intellect in which the reflection is leaved out. To Bankei, life and death cannot be an important issue, because he thinks that, since everything manifests itself from itself, all we have to do is accept it. Life and death as described by us are all a fruitless subject of investigation. As we can see from what he preaches to a weeping mother who has lost her child, Bankei tries to accept facts including the sorrow of death and so on, as they are and to avoid confusion by objective treatment or discrimination, on the basis of an accurate understanding of psychology. Since his admonition to be unborn extends to the issue of remembrance, his reaction to life and death becomes a most interesting issue. (5) From a slightly different angle, I think about passivity and elegance, giving the example of Basho (芭蕉) , who was also very cautious about objective treatment. When Basho says, "With regard to a pine, be taught by a pine," he is waiting for nature to manifest itself from itself when he composes his haikus (#1: 1iJ). This is related to his later attitude of composing his haikus which is described as "lightness." Moreover, this "lightness" by passivity, accepting as they are not only landscapes, but also the feeling of loneliness regarding his own death, envelops them with elegance and expresses their meaning. Life and death, therefore, cannot be a significant issue to Basho either. There is a big defference between Bankei and Basho in their ways of expressing passivity. Yet both, paying much attention to the circumstances of the human management of nature, accepted and eulogize the changes of nature. Life and death are included in that acceptance and eulogy