Realism (4)

In the Euro-American civilizations, since the Ancient Greco-Roman Civilizations, even though the Idealism and Materialism have been maintained as the fundamental philosophies of human civilizations for thousands of years, in the case of Realism I think that it has been completely forgotten for thousands of years. And when I have thought the reason why I think so, I thought that it has come from the historical facts that in Euro-American Civilizations, the philosophy of Realism has been thought as only the scientific Realism, that is just Materialism, and another Realism is called the naive Realism. In other words I am afraid that in Euro-American Civilization, people usually think that Realism must be only the schientific Realism, and another Realism has been thought as Naive Realism, , which usually children have, and could not recognized as an affirmative Realism in philosophy until the 20th Century.

But in the 20th Centuries we, human beings, have got enormously developed psychology and physiology. In the psychology Sigmund Freud (1869~1939) has found the existence of the non-consciousness in our body and mind, and he has found some kind of enormously important facts, which has been keeping the cause of finding the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS.) later.

And relying upon the finding ANS in our human body and mind, we have begun to notice the existence of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the existence of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) in our human body and mind, and furthermore that we, human beings, have possibility to keep our ANS balanced.

We, human beings, should not necessary to become gods, but we, human beings, should never become animals. We, human beings, should just become human beings themselves. Therefore we can think that Buddhism is just a philosophy, which recommend us to become just human beings.

But how can we become human beings? To such a question Gautama Buddha answeres to us, "Please practice Zazen." By practicing Zazen we can make our ANS balanced. And if we make our ANS balanced, we can become human beings without using so long time. And if we continue such a habit everyday, we can keep our body and mind just the same as human beings everyday. Therefore we can think that Gautama Buddha has teached us to become human beings by practicing Zazen everyday, and we think that we, human beings, might be happy when we are realizing ourselves as human beings. I think that Gautama Buddha has recommended us to practice Zazen, because it might be that the most happy life might be just to live as human beings, and at the same time it might be human duty to live in their happy life as human beings.

The Philosophy of Action (3)

In the Four Philosophies I explained that the Four Philosophies are Idealism. Materialism, Philosophy of Action, and Reality. However among them the Philosophy of Action is very important in Buddhism. Because Idealism and Materialism are very famous in Greco-Roman Civilization, and so those two fundamental philosophies are also very fundamental in Euro-American Civilizations.

But in the case of Philosophy of Action it is almost impossible for us to find it in Greco-Roman Civilization, or Euro-American Civilization. Because the Philosophy of Action has been established by Gautama Buddha about 4th or 5th Centuries B.C., but the teachings of it have been so difficult, and so the true meaning of the Philosophy of Action hasn't been understood for 24, or 25 Centuries. In other words the true meaning of the Philosophy of Action has been understood in the 20th Century for the first time.

The original words of the Philosophy of Action in Sanskrit is nirodha-satya. And the word nirodha means "restraint, check, or control," and so it suggests self-regulation. Therefore in 20th Century it has meaning of the balanced state of the autonomic nervous system. And the Sanskrit word satya means true, the true philosophy, or the Truth itself. So the meaning of nirodha-satya expresses the philosophy of self-regulation, or the Philosophy of Action.

In Euro-American Civiliazation, I think that the value of consideration and perception are so high, but the vulue of Action can not be separated from consideration or perception, and so even in the modern age, the concept of Action has not been separated from consideration or perception so clearly.

And even in Ancient India, it is very rare for people to separate Action from consideration or perception too. Therefore since 13th, or 12th Century B.C. ago , even in India there was a very spiritual religion called Brahmanism existed, and at the same time when a little before Gautama Buddha was born, there was a materialistic philosophy called the Six Non-Buddhist Thinkers. Therefore at that time the spiritual religion called Brahmanism and the materialistic thinkers' of the Six Non-Buddhist Thinkers, were fighting with each other between the two.

And iust at that time Gautama Buddha was born. Therefore Gautama Buddha himself also worried about so much enormously contradictory two thoughts of Brahmanism and the Six Non-Buddhist thinkers, and after many years of his enormous efforts, Gautama Buddha has found his own solution relying upon the Philosophy of Action.

Gautama Buddha has thought that even though people revere consideration by the brain, but the consideration is just the motion of brain cells, and so we can say that consideration can never be Reality, and at the same time our human perception is just the excitement of our sense organs, and so perception also can never be Reality, but our Action at the present moment can be the true Reality, which actually exists in this Real World absolutely.

I never have any kind of racial discrimination

Recently my old two acquaintances proclaimed cooperatively utilizing their acquaitance's blog that I have some kind of posibility to have a tendency of racial discrimination, but I have never have such kind of tendency completely at all.

I think that such a kind of behavior to utilize other's blog is very coward and tricky.

I never have any kind of racial discrimination at all.

I love all human beings to revere absolutely, and so I would like to proclaim the simple facts clearly.

The Rule of Cause and Effect (2)

In the Theory of the Four Philosophies, the second one is the Rule of Cause and Effect. In the second parts of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha taught us the materialistic side of this world. He affirmed the real existence of real world, which suggests the real external world, where we are just living even today.

Even nowadays, we are always living in the materialistic external world too, and in the materialistic world we are governed by the Rule of Cause and Effect. And the establisher of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha, also affirmed that this world had been governed by the natural Rule of Cause and Effect from the eternal past to the limitlessly long future.

In the case of usual religions, usually they believe in the eternity of God, but it is not sure whether they believe in the natural Rule of this world perfectly, or not.
But in the case of Buddhist Thoughts we believe that this world, where we are just living now,
is just following the Rule of the Cause and Effect absolutely. Therefore we can think that we, living beings, and all things and phenomena, are always governed totally by the Rule of Cause and Effect absolutely.

But at the same time, when we believe in the absolutely governed Universe by the Rule of Cause and Effect, it is perfectly impossible for us to affirm the perfect freedom of human beings in the Universe at all. Because if we accept the perfectly governed situations of human beings by the cause and effect, it will become perfectly impossible for human beings to enjoy their human freedom. Because if human beings have been govered their future by the present, and if the present of them have been governed by their past, then the fate of human beings have been governed by the eternal past, and so there might be no chance for human beings to be free from the eternal past, and so our human life has been governed by the eternal past, and so it might become true that we, human being, since the eternal past, could never have any human freedom at all.
And if we accept the conclusion that we, human being, can never have any freedom since the eternal past, it might be perfectly impossible for us to be moral at all. Because when we, human beings, do not have any freedom to behave ourselves, it might be perfectly impossible for us to behave ourselves morally. Because without the freedom of our human behavior, it might be perfectly impossible for us to behave ourselves morally.

The Theory of Four Philosophies (1)

It is said that when Gautama Buddha had his first Buddhist lecture at Mrgadava, he preached the Theory of Four Philosopies and the Eight Noble Truth. And among them I think the Theory of Four Philosophies are very important, because the Theory of Four Philosophies are fundamental basis of Gautama Buddha's Buddhist thoughts.

The reason, why the Theory of Four Philosophies are so important, comes from that Buddhism is just Realistic Philosophy. If Buddhism were not Realistic Philosophy, it is not necessary for us to explain Buddhism on the basis of the four philosophies. Because if Buddhism were not realistic philosophy, it is never necessary for Buddhism to be explained by four philosophies. But in the case of Buddhism it is just the Realistic Philosophy, and so if we want to explain Buddhism utilizing only one kind of philosophy, it is perfectly impossible for us to clarify the meaning of Buddhism at all. Because the Reality itself is the very inclusive and complicated philosophy. In other words Reality seems to be limitless, and it is also very complicated. Therefore if we want to realize the true meaning of Reality utilizing only one simple philosophical basis, it might be completely impossible for us to clarify such a kind of Realistic Buddhism on the basis of only one philosophy.

Therefore Gautama Buddha found that if we want to explain what this world is, or what this Universe is, it is necessary for us to utilize the four kinds of philosophies one by one. The four philosophies are (1) Philosophy of Pain, or Duhkha-satya, (2) Philosophy of Accumulation, or Samudaya-satya, (3) Philosophy of Self-Regulation, or Nirodha-satya, and (4) Philosophy of Morals, or Marga-satya.

(1) The Philosophy of Pain is another name of Idealism. Because idea always suggests perfect situation of each idea, but such kind of perfect situation of idea does never exist in the real world, and so if we pursue such a kind of perfect idea, we are alway disapointed by the real facts that idea can never be realised on the earth at all. Therefore when we have found the real situation that idealistic philosophies are always pursuing the ideal or perfect situation of concepts, which can never be realized on the earth at all. And so idealism has been repreasented by the name of "philosophy of pain" in the Ancient India.

(2) The Philosophy of Accumulation can be interpreted as Materialistic philosophy today. Because in Ancient India there had been Materialistic Philosophers, who were called the Six Non-Buddhist Thinkers a little before Gautama Buddha's had been born, and they denied the real existence of idea, but they believed in the real existence of Matter. They believed in the real existence of Matter as accumulation of molecules, and so we can interprete that the Six Non-Buddhist Thinkers might be Materialistic philosophers, who were thinking that Matter might be accumulation of molecules in Ancient India.

(3) But in the case of Gautama Buddha, he noticed that Idealism is just a philosophy, which has been considered by only human brain, and so Idealism can never be the Truth.
And at the same time Materialism has been produced by relying upon human perception, and so whether Materialism, in which we have believed the real existence of Matter, might be very unreliable, because whether it might be not sure that what we perceived actually existing, or not.
Therefore Gautama Buddha denied the real existence of both idea, and matter, and he insisted the existence of the Real Action at the present moment. He thought that it was not sure whether idea really exists, or not. Because the existence of idea might be only motion of our brain cells in our Brain, and so the real existence of idea might be doubtful.
However at the same time he doubted whether Matter really existed on the earth, or not. Because Matter were just sense stimuli on the sense organs.
And because of such a reason Gautama Buddha established the Philosophy of Action as the third philosophy of Buddhism. He thought that both Idea and Matter could never be Real Entities at all, and the Real Entity must be our Human Action at the present moment.
And furthermore he thought that our Action at the present moment was just the same as the Universe itself.

(4) Therefore we can say that our balanced Action at the present moment is just the Truth, and the Universe at the present moment is also just the Truth. In other words we are just acting as the Truth at the present moment, and the whole Universe is also moving as the Truth at the present moment.
And by practicing Zazen when we can make our ANS balanced, and then we can realize just the Truth at the present moment, and so we can do Action at the present moment, and we have become the Truth itself. And furthermore the Whole Universe can become the Truth, and so the Reality itself is just the Truth actually.

Shobogenzo and Realism

When I have begun to read Shobogenzo for the first time I was 16 tears old. And at that time I was thinking that Buddhism maight be a kind of idealism, because at that time religions usually belonged to some kinds of idealism. Therefore I thought that even if it is not idealism, Buddhism might be a kind of nihilism.

But actually I have read Shobogenzo in Japanese again and again about for 30 years, I was very surprised that the fundamental philosophical thoughts of Shobogenzo could never be idealism, or nihilism, but it was just Realism.

Having got the idea that Shobogenzo is an philosophy of Realism, I could find the reason why Gautam Buddha insisted that if we are sincerely wanting to get the true meaning of Buddhism, it is necessary for us to think about all kinds of philosophical problems totally on the basis of Four Kinds of the Noble Truth. At that time reading Master Dogen's interpretation, I have had much doubt whether it is inevitable for us, if we want to understand the meaning of Buddhism, is it actually necessary for us to utilize four kinds different philosophies to use, or not? Such a kind of doubt has occured in my mind so strongly.

But after having read Shobogenzo so many times, I have gradually begun to understand the necessity for us to think about all philosophical problems on the basis of The Four Noble Truth, or the Theories of The Four Philosophies, if we want to consider any kind of philosophical problem on the basis of Realism.

Noticing such facts, I always admire and revere Gautama Buddha's genius, and at the same time I always feel enormus thanks to Master Dogen's efforts, which have clarified the important relations between Gautama Buddha's Realism and The method of Four Noble Truth.