Spirituality of Japanese Buddhism considered from enlightenment of nonsentient beings

Abstract

(1)Buddhist Spirituality requires Wisdom and Compassion as its indispensable components. The reason is that when Gautama Siddhārtha / Gotama Siddhattha, the founder of Buddhism, led an ascetic life seeking for a way to overcome the suffering of the four inevitables in human life (birth, aging, sickness, and death), he gained Wisdom to overcome the suffering and became enlightened by acquiring Compassion (mettacittaṃ vibhāvetvā, Aṅguttara-Nikāya. IV, p.89G). Therefore, in Buddhism, Wisdom and Compassion that compose Spirituality are considered to be inseparable.(2)Wisdom and Compassion are emphasized even in Japanese Buddhism. The author will indicate in Japanese Buddhism the equation «Spirituality = Wisdom + Compassion» on the basis of the view of nature and life.(3) There are two reasons for taking up the view of nature and life:① The author believes the view of nature and life are extremely important when thinking about the future world.② The view of nature and life in Japanese Buddhism are significantly different from that in another type of Buddhism such as Indian Buddhism, Theravāda- Buddhism,and Tibetan - Buddhism and the author believes that the difference has potential for some contribution to the world of the 21st century.It is the thought «Enlightenment of nonsentient beings» that most clearly characterizes the view of nature and life in Japanese Buddhism.(4) Then, why the thought was created in Japanese Buddhism and inherited to the present day? Consideration of this question is also the subject of this paper.