9

9
A 5
9

ORIENTALNOTHINGNESS
K
ohe
iKOKETSU

l
nthiss
hor
tp ap
er1wouldl
iket
oex
pla
inb
rie
ftya
bou
tth p
hil
oso
phyo
fNi
shi
daTanabe
N
ish
itan
iandH is
amatsu
.

World "" Goethe '

sM etaphysical Background" and
1
. NISHIDA'S PHILOSOPHY OF ABSOLUTE "TheU nityo fO pposite
s."Thef i
rsto ftheseanal yzes
t he Mind which c ontainsallr ealitya ccordingt o
NOTHINGNESS Mahayana though t
. The t ite "
l The lntell
igible
Although Kit
aroN ishid
a( 1
870194
5
)i so neo f World" r
' e
ferst ot heimagesandc onceptsp r
e sent
]apan'sgre
ates
tZenB udd
histp hi
los
opher
shisidi
om w ith
i ntheM ind .Accordingt oNi shidatheMindi s
and styleoft hou
ght
-organiz
ationared i
ffi
cul
tf or composedo ff ours eparatelevel
seachs upporte dby
Westr nrea
derstofol
low. t h
en extint hesamewayt ou s
eh iswordsa saf ine
kimonoi slinedw ithsil
k.Fromt heo utermostlevelt o
Typicalo fMahayanaBuddhismi sh isempha- t h
ei nnermostwehave:t heU nivers a
lo f]udgment
si
sont hec on
tradictorya specto fphenomeno thU niversalo fS elf-co
nsciousn
esst heU niv
ersa lo f
log
icalr ea
litywhichi sf i
nall
y" nothingne s
s"o r t h
el nt
elligi
ble Wo rld and t henal e
velc alled
"void
ness." .Everyonewhoi sfamiliarw it h Nothingn ss
.Onef undamentala spe cto fN i
shi da's
lndian and B uddhist p hilos
ophy knows t he p hi
lo so
ph yist hatb eings upportedbyo rh avinga
dif
fic
ultyo fr enderingi nt
o Westernterms and " pl
ace"i nt heU niversaloft hemindi san ecess a
r y
conceptsthoseO ri
entalviewswhicha r
ea scetic
a l prerequis
i t
ef ort hes ta
teo f"being.
ways o fa pproachi n
gs alvati
onr athert ha n The i nnermos tl evelofN othing nessa lt
ho u
g hi t
philo
sophicalc onceptsandt herefor dfya n
a - s u
pportsa l
lt heo the
rs doesn oti t
sel
fr est on
lyt
icale xa
mi natio
n.N ishi
dathought riedw it h a ny
th in
gs oNo th
i ngne
ssc annotbes aidtohav a ny
thehelpofWesternp hilosophytof i
ndanewl ogic " b
eing" andt herforemust be " no n
being"o r N0-
which would a lsoi ncorporates uchv iews. N0 thingnes
s. Ass uchNo thingne
ssi st heu n
disto rt
e d
wondert henthediffi
cult
yi nunderstandin ghim mirroro ft heMindr eft
ecti
nga l
lf init
eo bje
cts.
'The
andh isc onstantc omplaintt hathewasn eve r " e
xternalw orld"o fp ers
onalityandi ndiv
idual
itya r e
understood even by h isb estp upil
sO r
i ne
t a
l s includedi ntheU n
i vers
alo f]udgment .Alldf inab
l e
though they weref amiliarw ithh i
sc ultur
a l phenomena a re" p r
edicates
"o ft heU niversaland
background. .t hef a
ctremainst hatN ishidai s among t hesei st h
ato fselfc on ceivedo fa s an
themostdemandingt hinker]apane verp r od
u c
e individua
lt hin ke.Whati
r sthes ubj e
ct( thin
ker)o f
d
.Tou nderstandhimt her eadermustb ringi n thesep redicatesandhow d oest hec once
pto f an
addit
iont oacompetentknowledgeo fWestern individua
ls e
lf come f orth
? we can answer t h e
s e
andE asternp hilosophyaw illingne
s stot r
yt o questionsbyp ro ceedingtot hes e condl e
velo ft h e
see"thebeyond"whichi sN ishidah imsel
f .The Mindt heU niversalo fS el
f-consciousness
cruxoft hem atteris1thinkthatN ishidawants Ont hes econdl evelconscious
n esso ft heselfa s
tobeau niversalthi nke.Top
r utitb ette
r though "some thingthinking"r athe
rt han" somethingt hought
Nishidawantsi nd
ee dtogiveh i
sl og
ict oOr i
en t
a l "o cc
urs.'Ifthes efir
sttwol eve
lso ft heMindwerea l
l
cul
turehisaim i sa l
sot op laceiti n a world thate xis
tedwemightt hinktherewasad efi
niteand
cul
turet o make i tu nivers .I
al ti st hisb ol d inherentdie rencebetweent hin
kerandt houghtso r
attemptmuchmoret hanhispoeticals t
yleo rh is betweens ubjectando bjec
tbute xplo r
ingf u
rtherwe
over
ly-repe
ti t
iousa ccumulationo fd ialectic
a l discovert heU niversalo ft hel ntlli
gib
le Wo rld
negati
onswhichg ivesrisetot hec omplexityo f where t hesed i vi
sionsa r erased.6 At t hi
sl evel
Nishi
da'st houghtandt hereader'sdiff
icul
t i
es.1 subjectando bjecta recombinedandi n
disting
uishable
from e acho t
h e. Howevert
r h
erei s an a pparent
l
nh s bookl
i nt
ell
igi
bil
ity and th
ePhil
osoph
y0 1 contradictio
ni nt hisU n
iversalbec auselikePlato's
N
oth
ingn
ess.th
erea r
et hr
eee s
say
s:"Theln
tel
ligi
ble world ofi d
east herei ssomei ncon gru
itybetween
1
00 K
ohe
iKOKETSU

whatisandwhato ughttobe.Att hislev

el"inthe goeswheret her
eisn ot
hing
degr
eei nwhicht h
ec o
nscie
nces harpe
nsonef eel
s Andj u
stint h
iscomingfromn othin
gnessand
moreguil
ty."
7A rr
i v
i in
ga ttheinne
r m
ostl e
velofthe goingintonothing
nessther i
st hegent
lesound
MindNo t
hingnessevenmoralc ontr
adicti
onsc e
ase ofhumanity.
toex
ist
.Att hislevelanydis
tinc
tionbetweenvalues YesGoet
he'su n
ivers
alismisjusttheo pp
osit
e
li
kegoodande v
ila reu nd
ersto
oda smeaningle
ss ofthatofS pi
noza.Hisp hi
lo s
ophyo fli
febas
ed
onthiskindo funive
rsalis
md oesnotremindu s
Existenceoft hemoralS el
fmeansc o
nsciou
s- oftheintel
lectu
all o
veo ftheS t
oics a
gebuto f
nesso fone'sowni mperfectionandani nfi
nit
e theloveofMariat heEternal-W
o m
anly.12
stri
vingtowardst heideal
.I nthed egreeinwhich
thec onsci
ences harpen
so n
ef eelsmoreg u
ilty
. I
nt hef ol
lowi
ngl ine
s from F
aust N
ishid
a nd
s
Tos olvet h
isc on
tradictionandt os eethet ru
e i
ndi
catio
nso fth
eNo t
hing
nes
sc on
sti
tutin
gGoet
he'
s
deptho ft h
eS e
lfmeans t or eac
hr el
igiou
s m
etaph
ysicalbackground:
salv
ation.Mancomest oknowt here
albottomo f
theSelfonlybyd en
yin gh i
mselfc om
p l
etely.In "Alleart
hc omprises
thi
ss ta
teo fmindt h
erei sneithergoodn orevil 1ssymbola l
on e;
Byt ranscendin
gevent hei n
telli
gib
leS elfinthe Whatt her
en e'ersuces
dire
ctionofn oe
sis.onef reeson e
selfeveno fthe Asf a
cth e
rei sknown:
fre
ew ill
.Therei snomoreS el
fwhichc ouldsin
. Allpastthehumanly
Even t h
ei deao ft he good i st he shadow of Wroughth ereinl o
ve;
somethingt h
atisw ithoutform8 TheEternal-Womanly
Drawsu sabove".
13
Int h
eendr e
alityist hisf orml
essNo thi
ngnessin
whicht h
ereisnod ierencebetweengoodande v
ilno Inh ise ssy"The U
a nity0 1O t
tosites
"N ishid a
concepti
ono fthes el
fa sani ndivid
ualnod is
tinct
i o
n discus
sest hephilosophyo fNo thingnessasita p
plie s
between subjec
t and o bject nor among a llt h
e top roblemss uchast hea ppa
r entdierencebetween
part
icularpredic
at esoft hU n
iversalo fJudgment. pastandf utu
reandbetweeno neandmany.These
The e ss
ay "Goethe's Metah
ysi
c a
lB ac
kg round
" seeminglya ntit
heticalc once
p tsa re formed int he
wasw rittento showt hat Goethehad an i n
tuitiv
e unityofr ealexperie
n c
e.Thep a
stc onsi
stso fevents
understa
ndingo fNo thingne
ss. alreadyfixedandu nchangeablewhilei nthef utu
r e
Tod epi
cte t
ernityGreeka rti
stsu se
dp er
fectionof an infi
nit
enumber o fp o
tential new formscanbe
formbutO ri
entala rtis" formles
s witheterni
tya conceivedt oe xist
.I n an a bs
tracts enseh i
story
partoft hebackgroundwhich"embracesa llt h
ings progres
sesfromp astt ofuturebutina ctualreali
t y
fromb eh
ind."
10I thasa lsobeens ai
dt hatG o
ethe's thereisonlyt hepresen
t.Onecane xi
stn eith
erint he
poetr
yi sf orml
es s communicating a f e
elingo f pastn ori nt hef uture yeti nformation on t he
ind
ividua
litya ga
in stabackgroundo fNo thingness concret
elyd eterminedp astande xpectationsoft he
Nishidasays: nebulousf utur
ea reo ppositeswhich a r
ec onjoind

onlyint heu n
ityo ft h
emomento fe xpe
rience.
..G o
ethe's pantheism enc
losesi n
div
idual
it y Thisp re
s e
nti sap ointw ithoutd u
ration.Evenan
everywh
ere.Naturei nG oe
the'ssensedoe
sn o t in
finit
elys ho
rtmovementi nanyd ire
ctionw i
llt ake
deny indivi
duality b utp rod
uces somthin g usi n
tot hepasto ffuturebot hofwhicha rebeyond
indi
vidua
le v
eryw he
re. This nat
urei slike an th
erealmo fa ctua
le xperience:wed wellonlyint he
in
fini
tes pace whichi t
sel
ff orml
essproduce s du
ratiori
lessp rese
nt. The "World" p ro
ceeds from
forme ve
rywhere.L ikethemoonlightin"Anden presen
tt op r
esent
. The p oint wheret hei n
defi
nite
Mond"l i
kethes eain"DerF i
scher
"andlikethe fu
t ur
et urnsintounch angeablepastist hemomento f
mistin"Erlkonig"Goe
the's"nat
ure"isess
enti
al- "forming"andi sc alle
dt hep res
ent.Thush istor
yi s
lysomethingthatharmonizesw ithourheart
.ll th
emovementfrom" formed"t o"forming"e x
perienc-
edi nt het imeles
sp r
esent. The forming ( pre
sent)
Goe
the'sNaturebothp
roduc
esande ncl
ose
si n
div
i- includ
esb otht hef oned( pas
t)and t h
eunformed
dua
lformsa tth
esametim
ei nthepan
the
ist
icsense (f
uture)andi st here
foreau nityo fth e
seo ppo
sites.
andass u
chc anno
tbedis
tingu
ishe
dfromB ud
dhist Nishidas a
y s
:
Nothi
ngness
Intheworldasunityofoppo
sitesmovingfrom
Goe
the'suni
versali
smdoesn
otlik
eS pin
oza's theformedtowardstheformingpastandf u
tu re
reduceever
ythingtotheonesubs
tancedenying negatin
ge acho th
erj o
ini nthep res
ent;t he
man;hes eesal
lt h
ingsi
nman. ' .
.ForGoethe prese
nt a
su n
ityofo pposi
tesh as form and
the
reisnoinwardandnooutward; ever
ythingis movesf ormi
ngitse
lffromp re
se nttop re
se nt
asi
ti s
;itcomesfromwherethe
risnothingand Theworldmovesa so n
es i
nglepresen
tfromt he
 ORIENT
ALNOTHINGNESS 1
01

formedt ot h
ef ormin g
.Theformo fthepresent ingando pposi ngGodmeansont heo t
herhand
asunityofo ppo
sitesisas tyl
eo fthep r
oductiv
ity att h
esamet imethatwea rj oi
nedw ithGod
ofthew orld.Thisworldi saworldo fpoie
sis
. Godandwea rei nt h
er elatio
nshipofa bsolut
e
Insuchaworlds eeinganda ctinga r
eau n
ity unityoft heoppositeso ftheo neandt hemany
ofopposi
tes.Formingi sseeingandfroms ee
ing Asi ndi
vidualso ft h
eworldo fu ni
tyo fo p
po-
comes acting. We s e
et h
ingsa c
ting-r
eflec
ting sit
eswe a rei nt hed ept
ho fo uro rigi
ni n
andweformb ecaus ewes e
e.Whenwespeako f contrad
ictionw ithourselve
s.T hisc ont
radicti
on
actin
gweb eginw itht heindivid
uals ubj
ect
.But doesn otdiminishw itht h
ee voluti
ono fcultur
e;
whena ctingwea ren oto ut
sidet heworldbutin ont hecontrarythereitbecomesmoreandmore
theworld.A ctingise ssent
ially" bein
ga cte
d".If obvio
us.I ntheworldo funityofo pp
ositeswhich
oura ctin
gi sn o
tm erelym echanicalo rt el
e- hasitsu n
ityi nt hetranscendenttheprocessof
olo
gicalb utt ru
lyf ormingt hent hef orming acti
on-int
uition and p oie
sis from t he formed
mustbea tthesamet imea" bein
gf ormed".We towards thef orming i
se ssenti
ally a human
areessen
taillyforminga si nd
i v
idualsofaworld prog
ress.Int h
isd ire
ctiontoowedon otj o
inthe
whichformsi t
se
lf.14 absolut
eGo d
.17

Theu ni
tyo foppositspresenta n
othera sp
ectint he Thep as
tandt h
ef ut
urea r
eu nitedint h
ei ns
tanto f
seeming antithe
sis between o ne and many. Zen prese
nte xpe
rienceandint hesamewayt heoneand
schola
rsa ff
irmt h
er ea
l i
tyo faworldo fplura
lityand the many a rec o
njoinedw ithint heu nityoft hat
indiv
idual
ityw hileacknowledgingt heidenti
tyo fal
l moment.Theoner eco
gnizesi t
sel
fi nthemanywho
thi
ngs.T his would a ppeart o be an u nresolvable arei de
ntica
lt oi ti nt hed urat
ionlessp res
ento f
paradox butt he Zen s chola
r s view ita s a mere expennce.
abstr
actio
n.I nt hed urationl
e s
sp r
esentthe whole Inspi
teofc e
rtainobsc
uritiesandseemingv agaries
(one
)cont a
insthep arts(many)andt hepartsmake Nishi
da'sthoughth asmuchm eritfort hestuden
to f
upt hew h
ole. "Theworldwherei nnumerableindi
- Buddhis
tp hilo
sophy.Firs
to fallther
ei stheintera
c
vidua
lsnegatinge acho t
hera r
eu nite
disones ingle tio
nbetweenamindcommittedt oZenI deasandt he
world which n ega
tin gi ts
elf express
esi t
sel
fi n termino
logyo fWesternp h
ilosophica
lt hou
ght
. The
innumerableways."15 mosti mp
ortanta s
pectofN is
h id
a'sp hi
lo s
ophyisthat
Toe xpressitd ierentlyt h
e Buddha Mindp ro hehasframeda llhisideasusiingtheWesternwayo f
ducesam u
ltipli
cityofimagesandr ea
lizesits
elfinal
l think
ingandmanupulatingc on
ceptsexpandingthem
ofthemb utknowingi tsu ltimateunityrecognizes tothei
rf u
rthes
te xte
n si
onandb reakingthroughtheir
that even ther ectiono fi t
sel
fa sas e
p a
rate lim
itati
ons. No E as t
ernt hin
kingo rs pec
ifi
call
y
indi
viduale n
tityd estroysi t
sa ll-in
clusi
veo neness
. Easter
ni de
ashav beena llowe
dandWesternl ogicis
Calli
ngt heone"God"andt hemany"men "N ishi
da alwaysa dhe
redt obutN ish
ida'sp hil
osophycanbe
depi
ctst h
eparadoxwhicht hes upposedlyi n
dividua
l sai
dt obeb asi
callyEastern
.N ishi
d ad oe
sn otattep
t
humanb eings en
seswhenc onfrontedw ithther e
alit
y tocrit
iciz
eo rinterpre
tWesternp h ilos
ophyt hroug
h
ofani ndi
visib
leGodo fwhichhei sane xp
ressionor pre
-exist
ingE ast
e r
nc on
ceptsnord oeshes eekto
manif
estation
.16 The c r
isiso f" conversion
:o ccur
s combineors y
nthesizeEasternandWesterns choo
lsof
whent heegowhichhadc onceivedo fi t
sel
fa s an thought
indi
vidualf ac
est his "God" which m eltsa l
li ndi
-
vidu
alityintoonenessands u
endersitsindivi
duali
- The s igni
ficanc
e o f N ishida'
s p hilosophy
ty
. The Buddha Mindo r No thingne
ssisr ealize
d con
sistsint h
ef ac
tt h
athewast hefi
rstJapanese
whent hi
sabandonmento fe m
p ir
icals e
lfo ccursand whod iscardedtheworko fbei ngonlyap opul
ari-
theiden
tityofthet ru
s el
fw ithGodi sacknowledged zerofWest rnphilosophyandt riedtobuildupa
Nishidasays systemofhisown.Thiss ystemthoughi ncl
uding
the method o f Western p hilosop
hy iss ti
ll
Theworldo funityo foppositeshasi t
su nit
y thorough
lyO rie
ntalinitsthemeandf undamental
ands elf
-iden
tit
yb utn otini t
sel
f.I dent
ityas approa
ch. .
..Nat
urall
yN ishidaisn ott h
eo nly
unit
yo fopposit
esisalwaystranscendentforthi
s onewhoa spire
dt obemoret hanap u r
veyoro f
world
.Thati swhys el
f-forma
tiono ftheworld Western philosophynori s he u niquei nh is
asd etermi
nationw ith
outad eterminingo nei
s Orie
ntala pproach. Ne ver
thel e
sshe must be
sp
iritua.
lThef actt h
att heworldhasu nityand sing
ledo u
tf orhisp er
severanc eint h
et askand
id
entityi nabsolut
et ranscendencemeanst ha
t hi
sp os
itivea cc
omplishment.18
thei ndiv
idual many a rec onf
ron t
edw i
tht h
e
transc
e n
dento ne. and t h
att h
ei nd
ividualis We cans aythat he h
ass urr
enderedh imsel
ftoa
indi
vidualbecauseitconfr
ontst r
a ns
cendenc
e.By c
har
acte
risti
cal
lyWesternwayo fthinkingandt
hus
confr
on t
ingGodwehaveanda rep erso
nality
. p
laci
ngh i
mesel
fint henon
existen
tsot ha
thei sa
ble
Thef actthatwea spersonalSelfareconfront
- t
ot ransc
end Western phil
osophy making itthe
1
02 K
ohe
iKOKETSU

ob
jectofhisembracingac c
epta
nce.Thiscanbedone and i nexpre
ssiblee xperience. The g oal o ft his
on
ly when t hef undamentalg ui
dingp ri
nci
plei s experiencei se nlight enmentand i t
sf ulfillm
enti s
Absol
uteNo thi
ngnessanditisonlyinth
iswayt hat Nirvana. Zen B uddhists tat e
mentsa r
ep rimarily
atruesyn
thes
iso fEasternandWesternphil
osop
hical ind
irectandp a r
a doxicalamethode q
uallyim portant
thou
ghtasopposedt osupe
rfi
cialecl
ecti
cismcanbe inGermanm ysticism.T hisl eadsu stot h
ei d
eat hat
ach
ievedfundamen
ta l
lya tl ea
st
.G .K. Piovesana Hegel r eveal
sag reatm yst i
calh er
itag i nh is
sa
ys: dia
l e
ctica
lm etho d.J apanesep hil
osophyands pec
ifi
cal
lyN ishida'sp hilosophyemployp arad
oxic caland
Nod oub tNi shi
d athe" absolutenothingness
" dia
lectica
ll ogicsbutN ishidad oesn otp a
rt i
cularly
i
samuchmorep rofounde xpressionofr eli
gious uset heprocesso fthesisa n
t i
thesisands ynt
h e
sis.
experiencet hanWesternf or
mul ati
onsb ecause Nishidav iews judgment a sb eing formed by
theretheu niversei sswallowedupandt heego analys
iso ft hei ntui
t i
vew h ole. For examplet he
tooh asd isapp earedo nly howevert o emerge judgment t hath orse
sr uni s formed by h aving
againina nothe rinstanto fthisd a
zzlingo b
scuri
- actual
lys eenah orser un.Thet ruthofajudgment
tyinak i ndo fZen B uddhis
tice n
lightenment
. dependsont hetrutho ft hec ourcefromwhichi twas
MahayanaBuddhismt oos aysthat" theconcrete drawnt hrought h dichotomyo fs ubj
ectandp redi
-
real
ityi st hev oid and t hev o
idc oncrete cateors ubje
ctando bject.Toe stab
lishthet ruthofa
rea
lity"
.. ..ForN is hidatwowayso fknowing- judgmentt hroug hitsdichotomywemustr eferback
thingsarep ossible:oneb eingt hed irec
ta pper
- toi ntui
tionwhich i sc onsideredas elf-
de v
eloping
ceptionoft h
eo bj
ec ttheo thert heknowledge wholes im
i l
art oH eg
e l'sNotion( B
egri.N
) ishid
a
which we can have t hroughs elf-co
nscious says" Allr ealityi si ntuition
"o r" A
llr e a
lityi s
nes
s.. ..I no r
d ertoa voidanyk indo fjudgment immeidatec onsci o
us nS8" i
n esamewaya sHegel
whichc ouldlea veopp os
itionbetweens ub
jectand says"AllisNotion "o r"AllisJudgment "a ndthisis
objec
to rt oo much " bein
g "i nt hejudgment thep rett
y much t he meaning o fN ishi
da'sd ic
t u
m
Nishidat hinkso ft hep redicate ash aving "Consciousnessi s t h e Unique R ealit
y."Professo
r
nothingo ft hee nti
t ati
ven atureo ft hes ubj
ect MataoNodas ays
Thereforeitisat ranscendentalpredicatewhich
preci
selya sa pplicablet os ubjectsw ithoutdis
- Thusp urexperienc
ecomest oc ov
era ctua
lly
tinct
ioncanbec all
e dn othingn
e ss thewholer angeofknowledgep h
ysicalmathe-
This typeo fd ia
l ect
ict hene quip
sN ishid
a maticalandm etaphysica.
lThe" puren
ess"o fit
withal o g
ica blet oe xpres
st he meaning o f inp art means u ltima
t el
yt o be f re
e from
Orient
alc ulturebas eda sitisupont h
ev oidnes
s egoc
entrici
ty.
ofreali
ty.Thisv oidnessitmustbei ns
itdu pon HereN ishida'
st houg
hti sak i
nt othedialect
ic
i
sn ott h
eo ntologicaln othingnesso f Western ofHege.lN ishida'
sp ur
ee xperienceprovestobe
philosophywhichi su sua
llyr enderedinJ apanes
e as p
ont ane
ouslydev l
opingtotali
tywhichi ncl
ud-
by kyomu. Iti sr atherwhat i sc alled mu in eseve nreflec
tivethink
in gasi t
sn e
gativep hase
Japaneset h
ea bsolut epresentw ithalli t
sinclu
- andi ntheendp ureexperienceisident
ifiedwith
siveprocessesandc o n
tradictionswhicheveni n ultimatereal
ity.Thet it
leo foneo fthec hap
ters
it
smostr eli
giousn uan c
esh asn othingtodow it
h inhis" StudyoftheGood"c ha
racteriz
esN ish
ida'
aC hri
stionc oncopti onofGoda sat ranscenden
t spositionsomewhatc rudelya s"Consciou
snessis
andp ersonalbe in
g.19 theUniqueR eal
ity

Secondthereisac lea
ri ndica
tiono ft hebasic ThirdNis
hida'
sw riti
ngshowhowC hris
tia
nt erm
s
compa
tibilityofNishid
a'sandH egel
'sp hil
osoph
ies. lik
eGodc re
ationc
onvers
ionaga
pee
tc.canbeused
Thee ssenc
eo fMahayanaBuddhismi snon-r
ation
ali- byB udd
histstocommunicatei de
astotal
lyoppo
site
tyand Zen isp art
icular
lys o;i nt hi
sr espec
ti t tothoseofo rthodoxChr
isti
ani
ty.Wecancompare
resemble
sm ysti
cism:sinc t
hee s
senceofMahayana theabovetensi nbothreli
gio
na sfo
llows:
Buddhismt ransce
ndsl anguagei
ti s an immediate ?
'

C
hri
sti
ani
ty Buddhism

God Fort
heChri
sti
anGodi
sBe
ing
.(T
ill
ich
's The Buddha awakened t
otheS u
chnes
s
Godi
sBeingit
se
lf
.) whichi
sbeyondBeingandn o
n-B
eing.

The C
hri
sti
an'
s God r
epr
ese
ntse
ter
nal TheB
udd
his
tac
cep
tst
hel
ife
-de
athc
ycl.
l
if
e

Fort
heC
hri
sti
anGodi
sab
sol
ute
lyo
the
r For t
heB ud
dhi
stt
het
rues
elfi
sth
e
Abs
oluteS
elf
 ORIENTALNOTHINGNESS 1
03

C
rea
tio The c reationo ft he world isn ot a Theworldi
s
movemento fGodi nH imselfbut afre
e ne
ith
ergene
rati
venorextin
ctive

0)usade xt
rafi
ndin
gi t
sn e
cessi
tyo nl
yin ne
ith
erconti
nuousn
ord i
scont
in u
ous
Hi slovebutagainnotc a
stinganyd oub
t ne
ith
eronenormany
on H i
ss e
lfsu
c i
ency:t h
e world canno
t ne
ith
ercomingnorgoi
ng
existwithoutGodbutifGodweren otlove
(ass uchi nco
nce
ivable
!) Hec
ouldexist
veryw ellwithou
tt heworld FromBuddhismS
utr
a"
Nag
arj
una
"22

FromK
arlB
art
hC
red
o.21

C
onv
ers
ion Actoftota
lo rglob
alfaithbywhichman Kieisav er
yo ldw ord.Itisrela
tedtothe
rec
ogniz
esC h
ristast h
eLordo fhisli
fe sans
k rit
)ar
avr
ittidefin
eda s"thetw
ining
andi
nanswert otheG ospe
laccept
st h
e abouto rs uddenr ev
ulsionatt hedeep
est
Kingdomwhichi sth
eC hu
rch.C o
nversi
on sea
to fconscious
n es
swhichi stheBud
dhist
toChr
istcoinci
deswithjust
ifi
cati
on momento fc o
nve r
sion"( Chri
stmasHum-
phreysA PopularDictiona
ryofBuddhism
N.Y .1963p.
146)

Agape G
od'
slo
vef
orman;d
ivi
nel
ove J
ihicompassioni
semph
atica
llyaBuddh
i
stc once
pt.J i means "t
ob ri
ngjoyto
oth
er;"h imeans" t
otakeoth
er'
ssu
ffe
rin
g
away.
"

InfactJi
hianda gapear
es im
ilari
nthattheya rebot
hap erf
ectvict
oryovertheeg
o.
Buddh
i sttra
ditio
nh asunde
rstoo
dthatcompassionisthecr
ite
rio
no fwisdommuchas
Chr
istiangnosi
st e
llsusth
atwisdomwithoutloveisbutli
ke"blar
ingbra
sso rcr
ash
ing
cymbal."(1Cor.13 1
)

Grace
Religio
nisthatwhichinspi
resman.Itisani n
spira
tionandase
lf-aw
arenes
swhichcomes
tomanfromana bsolutebei
ng.Itist h
es pi
ritofGodt h
eloveofGodt hemercyo f
Buddha.Inwhatwaycanmanapproacht heAbsolute?Hecanr
elyontheg ui
dancewhich
comest ohimfroma b
solutespi
ritu
albeingsins e
veralwayssuc
ha sgraceth g
ospe
l
revel
ationorBuddha'smercyh i
sm eri
tandh isVow.Manhoweverc annotfin
dt h
is
rel
igioustru
thinh i
mselfi
tmustbecommunicatedt ohimbyt heAbs
olute.Henceo ur
meetingwhicht h
isA b
solutecall
sf oras e
lft
essheartandahumblea t
titud
ew ill
ingto
inqu
irea f
terthetru
th.

TheNembutsu( t
heinvoca
tionoft h
enameo fAmi daBuddha)isthecentr
alp rac
ticeofth e
tar
iki(OtherPower)-way.Howeveri tisn ottheNembutnup ract
iceb u
tf ait
ht ha
tf t
ow s
fromAmida'snamewhicha ss
urss a
lvatio
n.S a
lva t
ionby" Oth
erPower"( ta
rik
i)isthat
theOrigi
nalVowi stheonlycauseoffaithwhichisaa lto
geth
ert h
eg i
ftofAmida.Ont he
tar
iki-
lin
emans eeksonenessthroughthee xt
incti
o noftheEgob ef
oret heoverwhelming
supe
riorO t
h e
rPowerwhereasi nt heselfpower( Jiri
ki)-wa
yhet r
iestob reak
.t h
rough
theEgoi nt
ot heAbsol
ute.Inb o
thc asesthetrans
itionint
otheA bso
lutes ig
nif
iesoneness
whichc o
mprisess e
lf-e
xert
ionandg race.

InChri
stianthe
oloyn
g eedlesst
os aythi
sunit
yi sgua
ranteedbythefac
tt h
atu l
timatl
y
graceaswellasfreedoma refoun
de dinGodandt ha
tt hu
sinth
ewordso fS ai
ntP aul
"Godisallinal
l."I
nB udd
h istunderst
andin
gt ood
elive
ranceorsalv
ationlea
dsi n
tot h
e
sph
ereo fabs
oluteOn
eness.23
 1
04 K
ohe
iKOKETSU

ThroughoutN ishida
' sworksist hebasica s
sumption P
iovs
ana
:
thatt he"Orient
alr elig
ionofN othingness"t eac
hes
thatthesoulisBuddha.24Howeverheremindsu st h
at I
fwet akeN i
shidaa sanexampleandc onsid
er
"'Allisone'd oesnotmeant ha
ta l
la reonew i
thout hise volvingp hilos
ophical t hought we can
dif
fereti
atio
n"25N ishidaw r
itesa boutt heo utsi
de determinethathisgeneralinspirat
ions t
e msfrom
worldn at
ureb io
logica
l ands ociale vo
lutionthe thebackgroundo fMahayanaBuddhismandZen
physic
als cie
ncesindiv
idualhumanb ei
ngsetc.asif No n
etheles
sthisbackgroundd oesnotg iveeven
theywereo bjec
tivelyra
lbutthisseemingdirent
i- ah int why N ishid
ai nh i
ss tudyo f Western
ationismerelyt heseparati
ono findivi
dualt hou
ghts thin
kerss ta
rtedfromJ amesandBergsonwent
withinas i
nglemind.J us
ta sheinsis
tsoni ndiv
iduali throughF i
chteandHegelandproducedi nthe
ty he e m
phaticallyd enies any r ea
ld ist
incti
on end a " lo
gico fn ot
h in
gne ss
" which t hough
betweens u
bjectando bjec
tanda s
sertsthatal
lt hi
ngs ins
piredbymanyo t
heri deasi
sf i
nallyNishid
a's
areidenti
calint heBuddhaM ind.Hes a
ys: own f or
mulation.I no ther wordswe c annot
expla
int hef lo
weringofag r
eatp hilos
opherby
Theo rientalreligio
no fNo thingnessteache s poin
tingtot hecult
uralsoilinwhichhei sr ooted
that iti st hes ou
l which i s Buddha. This i s Wemustgomuchf ur
therandc on
siderwhot ill
ed
neithe
rs p
i r
ituali
smn orm ys
ticism.L ogic
allyiti s tha
ts oi
lwhat r ain
sf el
l uponi tand most
theu n
ityo ftheo ppositesoft hemanyando ne import
anto fall--whatwast hei n
nerqualityof
"Alliso ne"d oesn ot mean t hata lla re one th
es eednamely t hec reat
i v
ity and novela p-
withoutdie r
entia
tion.Itisasu nityofo ppos
it - proachoft hegratthinker
.28
esssen
tiallythatOnebywhicha llt ha
ti sis
Hereist heprinc
ipleoft heorigi
no ftheh i
storic
a l
2
. PHILOSOPHYOFHAJIMETANABE
worlda sthea bso
lutep re
sent.Wea sindividu
al s
oft h
eworldo funityo foppositesarealwaysi n Borni nTokyoHajimeTanabe (1885-1962) was
touchw itht hea bs
olutea lthoughwemayn o t i n
v itedt oKyotoU niversityi n1919andt h
erebecame
evens aythatw a reint ouchw ithit.Itissaid: Nishida'sm ostri llu
s tr
iousd isci
ple.E ventuallyh e
"Hewhos eesandh earsi nthep r
esenti ns
tanc e e s
t ablishedt heso-calledKyotoS choolo fPhilosophy
onlywhati st ohimc lea
randd istin
ctdoesn o t 1wouldl iket od i
s cu
sshowN ish i
daandTanabe
clin
gt oac e
rtainp l
aceb utmovesf ree
lyi nall diffra sf ollows:
tendirectio
ns"I
nt hed e
ptho fs elfco
ntradi
ctio n A) N is hida emphasizes a ction-in
tuition w hile
absolu
telytod ieandt oe nt
ert heprincip
le"alli s Tanabe s tresse
st hes ignifi
c a
nceo fa cti
on-faithi n
one"t h
isandn othingelseisther e
ligiono f reli g
iouse xiste
nce
"i
tist hes o
ulwhichi sB u ddh
a".I tisa lsosaid B) A ctio n
-intuition assumes t h
at we e xista s an
"Youwhoa r
el is
teningtomyp re a
chingyoua re e l
e menti nt hec reat
i vew orld.I na dd
itionTanabe
notthef oure l
ementsbyyoucanu seyourf our alsoc o nsiderst he problem o fd ial
ectico n
lyi n
eleme
nts.Whenyoua reablet ou nderst
andt his rela ti
ont ot hehistor
i ca
lworld Butf
orNishida.t h
e
youw i
llbef r
eet ogoo rt ostay".T hisdoesn ot ideao fac r
eativee lementi nac reat
iveworldl ea
dsto
mean t hec onsci
ousS e
lfwhich i sm erely an ah ist
ori calv iewpo
i ntwheret hep ersp
ectiveo ft h
e
illu
siona
ryaccompanyingo ne;t her
emustbean wholec h angesa tever ymomentandcanbes eenanew
absol
utelyd enyingconversion
.T h ere
forethisis fromad ie ren
ta ng
le.ForTanabeont heotherhand
ana bs
oluteo bjec
tivisminc ont
r asttos p
iritua
l thepathwayt hrought heh istori
calworldi sl ik
ea
ismo rm ysti
cism. Thisa b
soluteo bjectiv
ismi s blin dall eyate veryp ointandi tisw it
hd ecisionand
theb a
sisf ort ru
es cienc asw ella sf ort rue cou raget hatonemustp roce edino rdertof i
ndh i
s
mora
lity. " Soul
" d oes n ot mean s ubj
ective wayo ut.Top utita notherwayTanabes tre
ssesthe
cons
ciousnes
s. "The inward t oo cannot be infinitesi m
ali ncontrastt oN ishida'sinteg
ral
gras
ped".And" nothing"iss t
il
lar lati
ve" non- C) ForTanabet hee thicalv iewpointispredomi
being
"whicho pposes" be
ing".2
6 nan tande veninh islatery earshed evotedhimslefto
thes tud yo fmany r el
igions from an e th
i c
o-soci
al
Thes o
ulo rsel
fistheBuddhaMind:a l
ldierent
ita
- vie wpoin tseekingt or econcilethet ru
tho fth ePure
ti
ono cc
ursi n
sidei
t
.Eventhought h
eZenp hil
osophe
r LandS e ctw itht heZenS ecti nBuddhisma sw ellas
mayd isc
ourselear
ned
lyont h
er e
alit
yofac on
cretel
y wit hth et ruthofChristianity.Howevert heimmedia
di
ffere
ntiat
edworlditisu lt
imate
lyn oth
ing more ter ealiz ati
ono fA bso luteNo thingne
sstakenfrom
thanaworldo fdier
enti
atedideasintheo neall
- ZenBuddhismi st heb asici nf
luenceinallN ishida
's
in
clusi
veBuddhamindwhichi sa f
teral
lo nlyt h
e tho ughtfromb eginningt oends otheq uest
i o
nf orus
es
snti
als e
lfo fth
th
inke
ro fideas
." A
llo bje
ctiv
e wouldbe:Whati sf aitha ccordingtoTanabe?
bein
gh asitsfound
ationi
nt heSlf
."
27 Iff aithi stakeni nt ermso fC h
ristianu nderstand
ingt hent heq ue
stiono fTanabeandN ishidac ouldbe
I
tisa
ppr
opr
iat
etoc
los
eth
iss
ect
ionw
ithG
.K refinedt ot heobjectiont h
ati sN ish
ida'ss y
st emsin
ce
 ORIENTALNOTHINGNESS 1
05

hei gnorethemostb a
s i
cf ac
ti nChristainb e
liefthe
re eff
ectiv
ely w ith o rdinary m ain -
st ream t heolo
gy
isnoroomf o
rf aithi nt h
ef ullChristians ense.1n which throughoutt hec e nt
uries showed a d eep
otherwordsi tc ouldbes aidt ha
tt hesameq uesti
on concernf orn egat
ivet he ologyt h roughi tsb est
arise
s between Tanabe and N ishidaa s between r epr
esentative
BuddhismandC hristian
itywhichdob elongt otwo To d is
cusst h
er ela
tion shi
p between God and
diffe
rentr eli
giouss truct
uresandwhichc annot be absolu
ten othingne
ss thef oll
o w
ing argument i s
reconcil
e dwithe acho therunlessones id eren o
unces b asi
c:I fsomethingi sp ossiblewhichi sn otGodo r
it
sc laimt oabsolutet ruth whichi n
cludesGodt henth atwhichwasc alled"God"
Tanabed idn otbecomeaC hristia
n.Hem entions b efor
eisn otGoda ta l
lsinc enom atterwhatd et
ailed
thats incehewasi nfiue
ncedbyN ishid ahel ea
ned e xplan
ationswemighta tt emptexd efi ti
oneiti s
toward Zen i ntuiti
onand t hereforeh isp articul
ar i mpos
siblef ora ny
t h
ingt oe xi
st which i se i
ther
inter
estinC hri
stianitynaturallyremaineds u
perfi
cial f ur
therbeyondo rcloserw it h
ine i
therf urth
eraway
He s tudiest hec onver
sionso fP ascal Newman o rneareranda tt hesamet imeisn otGod
AugustineandL utherandr eadBarth'sCredoa swel.
l 3) N i
shitani
'sp hilosophyh asa nothers trongpoint
Hea ls
os tudiedK ierkegaardb ute vent henhewas h i
sa trr
actiontor e
ligiou
sp ractice
.N ishitaniislinked
forcedtoc onf
esst hathef e
ltitwasoneo fh i
sweakest w ithseveralgroupsofs cholarswhomakeane ffor
tt o
pointsthatasat e
achero fphilosophyhewasu nable i nc
luder elig
ionsparticularly Zenp ractice
.I nt his
tog ainat rueun derstandin
go fC hrist
ianthought . c onnec
tiont h
enameo fS hin'ich
iHisamatsu( 188
9
Hea lsomentionst ha
ther e
alizedt h
atC a
tholicism 1 9
80) must bem entioned.G raduating from Kyoto
deservess pe
ciala ttent
ion. He e xplai
nsbyn othing U n
iversityhe t oo became a d iscipleo fN ishida
thatProtestantismh asat endencyt oturnawayfrom HoweveronN ishida'
sa dv iceHisamatsup ractice
d
objec
tiver ealit
ys tressi
ngt hei n
terio
r world and Zeni na d
ditiont os tudyingp hilosophy. Het augh
t
subje
ctivef ai
tha l
onew hileC atho
l i
cismu nite
st he Buddhisma ttheU ni
versityd ur
ingt hesamep er
iodof
supernat
u ra
l world o ft hes piri
tw itht hen a
tural timea s Ni s
hitan
i. Hisamatsu wrote on O rient
al
worldandt husf acesh i
storyt hroughthi sunityand nothingnessandanE nglisht rans
l a
tiono fhisa r
ticl
e
inte
rpenetrat
ion.Heo bviouslyhadd iff
icultygrasping calledT he Char
acter
istic0 1O ri
entalN othingnessis
Protesta
ntd iscussi
on especiall
yt hato f Wrede usefuli nu nderstandi
ng both N ishitan
i and H i
sa-
Barthandp artic
u l
arlyt hediscuss
iono ft herelatio
n matus
shi
po fPaul'simageo fChris
tandt hehistoric
al] es
us. Thec haract
eristic
so fOrie nta
ln othingnessacco
rd-
Thereforeinth ndhes ays"1d on
'tbl ieve; p
lease ingt oHisamatusa resix.31
helpmyu nb
elief
."29
1) "The' no
tas ing
let hi
ng'n atureofO r
iental
3
. PHILOSOPHY OF SHIN'ICHI HISAMATSU
No thingne
ssmeanst hata sr e
g ardsthatwhichi s
ANDKEIJINISHITANI
generallysaid'tobe't hereisinandf orOriental
B
efores tudy
ingu nderN ishida Nishit
a n
i( 19
0 0 No thingne
ssn otones i
ngles ucht hing
"( I
I76)32
) was a l
readya t
tractd b yN ie
tzs c
he and "Nothingwhateverwhereverb e i
n gMyselfand
DostoevskitheHolyS cri
pturesandS t.F ranci
so f Myselfb eingn oth i
ng whatever wherever i s
Assisiasw el
la sthetwofamousZenm astersHakuin OrientalNo thi
ng"( ib
id.
).
(1685-1
768)andTakuan( 1573
- 16
45).Thef actt hathe 2) Iti s"likeem pty.space"( I
I80)but" i
ti s
studiedu nderHeideggeri nF reiburgim Br .before n ott hesamea semp ty-spacewhichh asneither
Wo rldWarI Icanbededucedfromh isp ub
l i
cations awarenessn orl i
fe
.O ri
entalNo thingnessist he
themosti mportanto fwhich i s What isR eligion? Onewhoi s'alwaysc l
earlyaware.'T hereforei
ti s
(196
1).Thisi soneo ft h
emostb rill
iantphilosoph
ical c al
l e
d(Mind '
' Self
'ort he'TrueMan'( I
I82)"I
. t
workst ocomeo uto f]apani nyears isw ithou
to b
structiono mnipresenti mp
artial
1wouldl iketoc on
siderhisc omprehensivearticl
es: broadandg re
atfo rmles
sp urewithoutb egi
nn -
1) Nishitani"call
st hefin
alr eal
ity" em
ptiness"and i n
gandw ithoutendt hevo i
dingo fb e
ingandt h e
not" abso
luten othinge
ss"thusi tisu nderstoodthat v oi
d ingofv oid
hec ons
idersitdierentfrom( a)anyformo fnihilis
m 3) Iti sM ind-in-I
tself:1 ti s" in no s e
ns e
(b)Tanabe'sc onceptofa bsolutenothingnessand(c) i nanimatelikeempty-space.No tonlyitisl i
ving
thatwhichhep ur
poselya sso
c iat
esw itht es
h unyata i
ta lsop osse
ssesmind .Nord oesitmerelyp oss
es s
(emptin
ess)i deao fNagarjuna;i no therwordst he mind; i tp osses
ss e
lfc
o
ns c
iousness."( I
I8 6
).
3 4
tradi
tionalZeni nterpre
tationo fnothingness "The t r
u Buddha i sn otw i thout mindb ut
2) N ishi
tania bmitsthatcertaintrendsinChristian possesses mind which i s' w
i tho
ut mind and
typartic
ularlyGermanm yst
i cismleantowardt he with outthought'
isn otw ithouts elf-
awareness
trueabsoluten o
thingness
.Howeverh isi nt
uition
so f butp oss
esses an awareness which i s' wi
thout
thedoctrineofc re
ationinadditiontohisfeelingthat awareness'-ane golesse goisn otw ithoutlif
e
from an o rthodoxv iewpo
in t Eckhart must be butp osses
sesl if
e which i su ngenerated and
consider
edah e
retic prevent him from d ealing unperis
hing."(II87
).35
 1
06 K
ohe
iKOKETSU

4) Iti sSelf: "Speakingi ntermso f' see

ing'
e
dasf
oll
ows
thisMindi st he' activ
es eing
'andn ott hepassive
'beings een
'..
....But when 1s ayh eret h
a tt h
is Ins hortt heJ a panese language has hada t
Mindi sa
ctive'
1meant hatt h
isMindd oesn ot leas
ti nt hep astas tructur eu n
fitfore xpes
slng
obt a
ina s0 1j
ectb uto b
t ainass ubject logi
cal c onc e
pt i
on s
. C ons equently when t he
Itdoesn otmeant hats uchaMindi ss imp l
yt he Japane se adopted t hea l re a
dyh ighly advanced
aspcto f' th
ea ctive
'i ns eparation from ' the conceptual knowldge o f Buddhism nd Con
passiv
e.'I nthisMindt h
e reisnod ualityo f c
tive fucian
i sm.t heymadenoa ttemptt oexpressitin
andp as
siv " (I
I8 8
).3
6 theori g
inalJa p a
ne sel angu age.butu sdChinese
5) Iti st hec omple telyf re
es ubject. (I
I techn
ic alt e
r n
1Sw i thoutm odifica
tion.Againi n
91)
37 Truel ifer
ationi n Buddhism i st obe trans
la tin
gt hec oncept so fWesternl earnigt
n he
thoroughly-Oneself-thisf reedom.I nt histrue ]apane seu sedC hinesec ha ra
cters and didn ot
liferat
ioni n Buddhism d if
fers from s tat
eo f rendert h
e s
ec onc ept
si nto Ja pane
s ed ir
ectly
salvationo freligionslikeC hr
istinity.Evens uch Consequ en
t lyeventodayanymarkedt endency
aB u
ddhis tsecta sth Jo doS hinS ectwhichi n tol og
i ca
l expr ssioni sh ardlya pparentint he
the extemal a s pecto fi ts tateo fs alvati
on Jpanes el anguage41
resemblesC hristianityisdie rentfromC hris
tia Th Japanesep eople.howeveri nt he
irc hara
c

nityt othee xten tthata saB uddhists ectittoo tr

isti
cwayo ft hinking incl
inedtog r
aspt h
is
musthav i tu ltimateb asei nt h
efreedomn ature ordero rlawi nr elati
ont ohumanr latio
nsr a
ther
ofO rient
a lNo th ing
ness.1s h
ou ldliket ocallthis thana salawo fo bjectivet hin
gs.Thist endency
freedom n atu
r eo fO riental No th
i ngnesss ub- hasbe ns trenghtende spec ill
yt hroughthenon-
jectively-subjectivefreedomt hati sabsolutely log
icalc haract ero ft he ]apanese l anguage
subjectiv
ef re
e dom.( I9
I 3
)38 Consequent ly thet hink in g oft he Japanese
6) Iti s" creative"( II 9
4)39 Oriental peopleh asn otbeend evelo pedinano bjectiv
eand
No thingnessist hisMindwhichi stobel ik
e ne
dt o log
icald irection42
the water a ss ubjec
t. The c reativen atu reo f
OrientalNo thingnessi st obei llu
stratedbyt he Asf ara shisreli
gio u
sviewsr e oncernediti
s
relation between t h
e water and t he wave i n clea
rt hatN ishidap referred panentheism t o
whicht hewateri sf o
reve randi ne verywayt h pantheismandt ot hCh ristianu nderstandingof
subje
ct.I f one were t o make a s ubjec
to ft he Goda st r an
s c
endent."
wave which i s produced and d isappears this Religiou sp hil
osoph e
r sr a
thert hans peci
alist
s
wouldbet heo rd i
n a
rys elfofman.I ti sins uchan inp hiloso phyo freligionl ik
eN ish id
aTanabe
ordinarys unject'sr eve
rt ingbackfromwavet o althoug hu ndeniably i n!uenced by C
f hristia
n
water-t hatisr eturningt oi t
ss ou rceandr e exis
tent ialism.a re more i nc
linedt o at y
peo f
emerginga st heT rue-Su bjecto fT rue-Selft hat Buddhis tn othingnessa sp resentedint hecultura
l
thec har
acteristicso fO r
i enta
lNo thi n
gnessmust ]apanes eh erit
age.Nis hitaniK e
ijitooisdefi
nite
b soughtanda r et obef ou
nd.( I
I9 7)
40 lyap ur vey orofanO rien t
a ltypeo fphilosophyof
rli
gion. . .]ji
shidaf o
ri n
stancequalif
iesh i
s
4
. SUMMARY
posit
io na s" panenthei smus" and t herebyd oes
ManyJ apanesep h
iloso pher
sd idmuchmorethan disas
so ciateh i
fir
sel
ffromanyt raditio
nalt yp o
f
simplys pread Westem i deas. The most c reative pantheism I
tmustb ec onfessedhowevert ha
t
thinke
rsamongthemd ete rminedtos up
plywhatt hey themoreonep robesN ishida'smindt emoreone
h
fl
twast h
eb ig
gestl ac
ki nt heOrinta
lp hilo
sophica
l would l ikef u
rtherc larifi
cation on t hi
s key
trad
ition: a newl ogi
c which would a ll
owthemt o conce
pt . But ]apanes t hinkersl ikeN ishida
compete w it
h Western p hiloso
phers on their own refu
set oe nterintot heseu ltimateproblemsand
ground. Toward t hisg oal theb est minds lik
e transmitthemt oreligion.Andh erewee nte
ri nt
o
NishidaSuzukiTanabeHisamatsu and N ishitan
i af i
eldwhichi sn ote asilyd eal
tw it hinWestern
haves pe
ntanda respendi ngag reatdealoft imeand philo
so phi ca
lc ateg
ori eswhichitmustbes aidin
energy passingc annote a
sily cope venw ith Western
To emphasize t heq uestf o
r a new l o
gica sa rel
igio
n .44
char
acteri
sticf eatureo f contemporary Japanes

philosop
hyi stoi nvi
tet heo bjctti
ont hatthisisin Thusi
tise as
ytoasc
rib
etoanO rie
ntalmoodany
dir
ectconf!ic
twitht heo ften-rep
eatedi de
at hatt h
e thoughtwhichhasg
rea
tlyinf
!uencedthei
rphil
oso
phy
Japanes area lm
o s
tc on genita
llya verset ologica
l ofreli
gio
n.Itmustls
obea d mitte
dt ha
taWestern
thin
king. Hajime Nakamura has i n
cludedal o
ng reade
rw il
ln ot
icemanynonlogicalaspct
sinthei
r
chapterinh is The W;~ys 0/ Thinkig 0 1E ast
ern wayo fthinkin
g
PeoPl
eont he"Non-RationalisticT end
encies"o fthe
Japanesepeople
.Theset endnci
escanbesummariz
 ORIENTALNOTHINGNESS 1
07

NOTE:
21
.K arlBarthC d o(NewYork:C harlesScriber's
1. GinoK .PiovesanaR ece t]

/J
an e
seP hilosophi
cal Sons1 96
2)pp.31 -3
2
Thought 1862-1962' .A S uru e
y(Tokyo: E
nderl 22
.C . Hajime Nakamura Ways 0
f 1T h
i nlung0 1
Bookstore 1 968) pp.8
9 -91.S ee a lso c
f. Hans Eas
ter: PeOjl
esd.byP hilipP .Wiener(Hono
Waldenfels A bsolute Nothing ess- Fo
un d
atioS lulu
:East-WestC ente rPress1 964)p5 5p.6
1
loraB ud dhis
tC
hrist
ianD ialoguetrans.byJ .W 2. Cf
3 .H .Dumoulin"GraceandFreedomi nt h
eWay
H eisig(NewYork:P a
ul i
s tP ress1980)pp.35-46 ofS alvationinJ a paneseBuddhism "in e s0 1
2.G .K .Piovesanas ayst hat"Ni shida
'sJ ntell
igib
le RedemJ ti
oned.byR .J .ZwiWerblowsky& C
World stemmdfrom R ic ke 'sD
rt is E e nnt
zs JoucoB leeker( Leiden:E .J.B ri
ll1 9
70)p p
.9 8
d eri nie
lligi
bele
nW elt
"J bid
.p .76 104
3.K itaroN ishida.J n
tel
ligib
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sohy 24
.N ishida.o p.ci.p
t .237

>/N o t
hi ngn
esst ran
s.w ithi ntroductionby R 2.l
5 bidp2 37
S chinizinger(Hon o
lulu:East-W stC enterP ress 26
.l bi
d.p p.237-238
196
6)p p.31-32.34.76.8 9. 27
.l bi
d.p .89
4.J b
id.p. 138. 2. Piovesanao
8 p.cit.p.245
.
5. lbid
..p .71. 2. Cf
9 . Hajime Tanabe "Memento More "P hilo
6.l bid.p.83 sh
o ic
alS t
udies0 1]atanV01 .
I 1959p p.
I-12
7.J bid.p1 26 Cf
. Hans Waldenfels" Absol ute No thingness"
8.l bid.p.126 MonumentaN iTlonicaVo.
1211 966pp.371-382
9.l bid.p.146 30
.C f
.K eijiN ishitani"Whati sR eligi
on" P hi
l o
-
1
0.l bidp1 46 50
Jhic
alS t
udies i
f]a Vo
.III1960pp.21-64
1.J
1 bid.p .149 Seea lsocf.HansW aldenf
el sA bsolut
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2. lbid.pp.157-158 ness-Foundationsl oraB uddh ist-Ch
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3. Jbid
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)pp49-117
1
5.l bid
.p .187 .S
31 hin
'ichi His m atsu "The C h
aracteristi
c o f
1
6. lbid
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f Oriental No thingness"Philos oPhi
calS tudies0 1
1
7.l bid
.p p.234-235 ]apan.VoLI I1 9
60pp6 5-9
7
1
8. Piovesanao p.cit.pp.88-8 9 Cf
. Hans Waldenfels" Absol ute No thingness
"
1
9.J bid
.pp. 108-110 Mo umentaNJ io
nic
aV0.1211 966pp.385-386
2
0. Matao Noda East-West S
ynthesisi nK itaro 32
.J b
id.p .76
Nish id "P
a hilos
oh yEas tand W estVoI .IVNo 3.l
3 bidp8 2
41 955p347 3.l
4 bidp .86
Cf.DavidD ilworth." Nishida'sE arlyP a
nt h
eistic 35
.l b
id.p .87
Voluntarism "PhilosO
lhyE asta d W estV0.120 36
.l b
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N01
.1 970p p
.35-49 3.J
7 bidp. 91
Cf.DavidDilworth"TheI n
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l Formationso f 3
8.J b
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riencei nN ishid aK itaroandWilliam 3
9.J b
id.p. 94
James "M onumenta Nip icaVo. 124NO.I-2 4
0.l b
idp9 7
1969p p.93-1
11. CRecivedJanuary1 71984)