기무라 다이켄 『원시불교사상론』의 유정론(有情論)과 의지주의

Abstract

Taiken Kimura (木村泰賢) was a distinguished Buddhist scholar active during Japan's Taisho period. As a monk affiliated with the Japanese Soto Zen, he completed his education in the Department of Indian Philosophy at Tokyo Imperial University. Subsequently, he pursued further studies in Europe, including stints in England and Germany. During his European sojourn, he authored On Primitive Buddhist Thought (Genshi bukkyō shisōron), which was published in Japan in 1922. Within this publication, Kimura posited that both Primitive Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism were underpinned by voluntarism. He underscored Mahayana Buddhism's continuity with Primitive Buddhism. Kimura extensively employed voluntarism to analyze the Twelvefold Dependent Origination in Primitive Buddhism. Notably, he associated the concept of “ignorance”(avijjā) within the Twelvefold Origination with “blind will”, a notion articulated by Schopenhauer.
 Central to Kimura's perspective was the belief that the essence of sentient beings lay in desire, constituting the driving force behind life's activities. He identified two desires within the Twelvefold Dependent Origination, “craving”(taṇhā) and “ignorance”(avijjā), understanding them as manifestations of will. According to his viewpoint, the life activities of sentient beings unfolded as expressions of desire or will.
 Nevertheless, Kimura contended that desire transcended its role as a mere producer of “defilements” (kilesa), extending into an absolute “actual reality”(dharmatā). He frequently associated the concept of “nibbana without residue”(anupdisesanibbana) or absolute “actual reality” with the will, sometimes identifying it as a material or metaphysical reality. His theoretical framework could be characterized as a form of Metaphysics of Will. Drawing from the apparent reality of sentient beings as driven by desires, Kimura aimed to elucidate not only the life activities of sentient beings amid suffering but also to expound upon the absolute world that transcends suffering.