The Aesthetics o f Decay
T h e Ja p a n e se aesthetics o f Wabi-Sabi am o n g various in te rp re ta tio n s can b e u n d e rs to o d as well in th e sense o f - » co n tem p o rary a e sth e tic ism w hich advocates th e disso lu tio n o f th e d istin c tio n b etw een a rt a n d life.«1 T h e c o n c e p t o f W abi, w hich d ev elo p ed its positive a n d p ro fo u n d m e a n in g u n d e r a s tro n g in flu e n c e o f Z en B uddhism , can b e tran slate d as »loneliness; insuffi
ciency, re fin e d poverty; a h u m b le life in so litu d e w ith n a tu re as c o m p a n io n ; to le a d a solitary life, c o n te m p la tin g n a tu re a n d a p p re c ia tin g th e sp iritu al a n d ae sth e tic values u n d erly in g insufficiency.«2 W abi-Sabi, th e two c e n tra l co n c ep ts o f Ja p a n e s e aesthetics, can be fo u n d alread y a t th e tra n sitio n o f C h in ese p a in tin g to Ja p a n . In th e ir la te r d e v e lo p m e n t th e c o n c e p ts have b e e n re m o d e le d in a sp e c ific ja p a n e se way, so th a t today only th e ir J a p a n e s e c h a ra c te r is b e in g stressed.
If we lo o k b ack in to C hin ese philosophy, in w hich th e Ji (in J a p a n e s e Sabi) o rig in ates, we com e across it in th e sense o f ab so lu te q u ie t, tra n q u il
ity a n d peacefuln ess. However, if we try to system ize so m e o f th e c o m m o n m ean in g s o f this n o tio n , we com e fro m a b ro a d a p p a re n t h e te ro g e n e ity in to sed im en tal th o u g h t w hich a p p ro a c h e s th e tra n q u il s u p p o rt as a p o te n tia l position o f ch ange, nam ely m ovem ent, w hose m over itself re m a in s u nm oved.
In D aoism , we co m e across th e n o tio n o f ji in th e Dao d e jin g , as well as in Z h u a n g Zi.
D ao d e ji n g (25)
» T h ere was so m e th in g fo rm e d o u t o f chaos, T h a t was b o rn b efo re H eaven a n d E arth.
Q u ie t a n d still! P u re a n d deep!
It stan d s o n its own a n d d o e s n ’t ch an g e.
It can be re g a rd e d as th e m o th e r o f H eaven a n d E arth . I do n o t y et know its n am e:
I ‘style’ it ‘th e W ay’.
1 Amy N ew m an, »Aestheticism, Fem inism , an d the Dynamics o f Reversal,« in Aesthetics in Feminist Perspective, ed. H ilde H ein an d Carolyn Korsm eyer (B loom ington and Indianapolis: In d ian a University Press, 1993), 193.
2 Setsuko Kojima an d G ene A. C rane, A Dictionary of Japanese Culture (Tokyo: T h e Ja p an Tim es, 1987), 380.
W ere I fo rced to give it a nam e, I w ould call it ‘th e G re a t’.« . . . s th a t is solitary q uiet, tran q u il, voiceless, spaceless. In Z h u a n g Zi th e sam e c h a ra c te r ap p ears in th e co n n e c tio n with the state o f q u ie t tranquility a n d peacefulness.
In T ian d ao it ap p ears in re latio n with the »absence o f activity - q u ie t sitting«.
In B uddhism we com e acrossji as peace, silence, calm in co n n e ctio n with nirvana. It is used, in a sense, to extinguish various u nn ecessary ru m in atio n s, so th a t th e u ltim a te reality co u ld s p rin g o u t. T h e variou s co m p lex ities o f m ean in g s th a t a p p e a r in B udd hism cou ld b e u n ite d in th e follow ing catego ries:
-c a lm , silent, m u te, sad, tranquil, d eserted ; -tra n q u ility a n d silence o f the tru th
- i n c o n n e c tio n w ith th e tru e wisdom as yoke o f two virtues (tru th a n d intelligence) th a t sh o u ld in B uddhism lead o n e to salvation
- t h e tran sitio n in to n irv an a - th e state w ith o u t tro u b les a n d sorrow s, w ith o u t th e m ovem ents o f tim e - the c o n d itio n fo r d e lig h t in p ea ce a n d n ir
vana.
A c co rd in g to its m e a n in g Sabi is Ji. It expresses th e lib e ra tio n o f th e h u m a n p a th fro m sorrow a n d torm ents. It is in te re stin g th a t th e o th e r pos
sible translations - silence, sadness, a b a n d o n e d state, loneliness, neg lig en ce, m elan ch o lic standstill - lead us to the w orld o f n irvana, w hich in its essence is n o t som eth in g jo y fu l. It is the n o tio n o f spiritual c o n d itio n o f w ithdraw al, lib
era tio n from p e rp le x e d reflections. At th e d esc rip tio n o f th e place, th e ch a r
ac te r is used as d esig n atio n o f entirely silent, m o u rn fu l place w ith o u t peo p le.
W h en th e landscapes are d escribed th e ch a rac te r is used fo r a tran q u il, silent, d e se rte d c o n d itio n w ith o u t any voice, sh ap e o r form . In an artistic sense it reveals th e im pression entirely voiceless a n d shapeless, a n d as a p o in t w here everything is ex tin g u ish ed a n d th e re in n o existence left.
In th e works o f early N eo-C onfucians (b ro th e rs C hen g ) J i a p p e a rs in c o n n e c tio n with th e d e m a n d o f rem o ving th e tu rb u le n t th o u g h ts as:
- t h e e n tire tranquility a n d peace
- o n e sh o u ld wait u n til the p o in t w here everything is ex tin g u ish ed a n d th e absolute q u ie t is achieved
- o n e sh o u ld k eep th e in n e r peace an d p ro te c t o n ese lf from in n e r m ove
m en ts
-w ith this ex p e rie n c e a n d feeling you can re ach w hatever place w ith o u t o b stru ctio n s a n d re m a in tranqu il, u n ex cited . T his is th e way to accom plish th e e n tire w orld.4
3 Lao-Tzu, Te-Tao Ching, trans. R obert G. H enrichs (New York: B allantine Books, 1989), 77.
4 Ercheng quanshu f it suoyin (Complete works o f the Brothers Cheng), ed. Zhu Xi (Tokyo:
C h u b u n shup p an sh a, 1979).
T h e n o tio n o f J i as a c o n d itio n e m p tie d fro m every th in g - th e p o in t w h ere every thing is ex tin g u ish ed , w h e re o n e can fin d tran q u ility a n d peace, leads us to th e aim o f various yogic o r m editative te c h n iq u e s, w h ich sh o u ld h e lp us to achieve th e tra n sc e n d e n c e o f logical, discursive p a tte rn o f sea rch in g a n d gets to a basis fo r a d iffe re n t a p p ro a c h w ith on eself. It is th e loss o f Ego a n d th e re tu r n in to th e c o n d itio n w h e re th e body a n d m in d a re still u n ifo rm . T h e r e is n o a n ta g o n ism o f b o d y a n d sou l, sin ce in th is state o f egolessness th e state o f vacuity is ach ieved. »A esthetic ekstasis«5 is n o t only
» stan d in g a p a rt fro m self«, b u t re a c h in g th e state o f tra n s c e n d in g th e Ego.
T h e b o rd e r b etw een th e o u te r w orld a n d o n e s e lf is o v erco m e — o r b e tte r said, b etw een th a t w hich co n d itio n s us to th in k a b o u t th e e x te rn a l existen ce o f »external« w orld, th e p rocess in w hich m in d ’s false n o tio n a b o u t » o n e ’s«
body, w hich c a n n o t be s e p a ra te d fro m all th e re st is o verco m e. T h e logic starts a t th e p o in t w h e re th e body a n d m in d are s e p a ra te d a n d is re la te d to th e level o f in telle ct, w hereas th e bo d y sh o u ld re p re s e n t th e affective side o f h u m a n personality. In th e re alm o f W abi-Sabi, however, th e Sabi K okoro is cultivated. T h e n o tio n o f K okoro leads to th e tran s-ling uistic s p h e re in w hich »the d o m a in o f in te rn a l la n g u a g e co in cid e s w ith th a t o f ‘co n scio u s
n ess’«.u K oko ro itself »in its b ro a d sense,... signifies th e w ho le d o m a in o f in n e r subjectivity covering b o th th e ‘not-yet-activated’ a n d ‘already -activ ated ’, th e g ro u n d a n d its m anifestation, in c lu d in g im ages, ideas, th o u g h ts, feelings a n d em o tio n s,« 7 th e n o tio n o f Sabi K oko ro d ep icts th e h u m a n m in d , w hich is re le ased fro m p ro fa n e e n g a g e m e n ts, fa r away fro m th e n o ise o f th e w orld dw elling in th e re alm o f m ystical silen ce a n d p ea ce. T his c o n d itio n is th e lib e ra tio n fro m h u m a n sorrow a n d gloo m y ru m in a tio n .
To give o n e s e lf en tire ly w ith o u t any se c o n d th o u g h t, b u t still stay tra n quil, u n e x c ite d , this is the basis fro m w hich o n e ca n re a c h th e e n tire w orld.
T h e c o n d itio n o f c o m p le te tra n q u ility a n d th e e x p e rie n c e o f J i is th e c o n d itio n fo r a n y th in g c o m in g in to b e in g . A n o th e r d im e n s io n o f B u d d h ist n o tio n o f J i a n d in la te r d e v e lo p m e n t Sabi is im p o rta n t, n am ely th e o n e w h e re th e c o n d itio n is re a c h e d w h e re th e r e is n o altern ativ e o r d iffe re n tia tio n an y m o re . H ow d id th e J a p a n e s e u n d e r s ta n d th e n o tio n s o f life a n d d e a th in this c o n te x t, o n th e level o f re a liz a tio n o f th e tru th in th e sense o f a psychophysical aw areness far above th e p u r e in telle ct? It is n a m e ly th e sp iritu al level o n w hich th e b ifu rc a tio n s o f good-evil, black-w hite, b eau tifu l-
5 H ilde H ein, »Refining Fem inist Theory,« in Aesthetics in Feminist Perspective, ed. H ilde H ein an d Carolyn Korsmeyer, 11.
B T oshihiko an d Toyo Isutsu, The Theory o f Beauty in the Classical Aesthetics o f Japan (T he H a g u e /B o s to n /L o n d o n : M artinus N ijhoff P ublishers, 1981), 10.
7 Ibid., 8.
ugly, life-d eath a re o v erco m e since it o p en s u p th e way o f tra n s c e n d e n c e in a sense o f th e w isdom o f u ltim ate reality. It is th e level far b ey o n d th e o n e d e s c rib e d in N ietzsc h e as »Life itse lf re c o g n iz e s n o solidarity, n o ‘e q u a l r ig h ts ’, b etw een th e h e a lth y a n d th e d e g e n e ra te p a rts o f an o rg anism : o n e m u st excise th e la tte r - o r th e w hole will p erish . - Sym pathy fo r d e c a d e n ts, e q u a l rig h ts fo r th e ill-constituted - th a t w ould b e th e p ro fo u n d e s t im m o rality, th a t w o uld be a n tin a tu re itself as m orality!«8 It is r a th e r a n activity w hich leads o n e to a tra n sra tio n a l level, w hich is n o t in fe rio r to th e ra tio n a l c o g n itio n , since it en co m p asses all kinds a n d g rad es o f e x p e rie n c e .
We m u st take in to co n sid e ra tio n the fa ct th a t in th e re alm o f B u d d h ist aesth etics, p artic u la rly in th e d o m a in o f W abi-Sabi, ra tio n ality as su ch do es n o t o ffer us universal, c o m m o n , a n d g enerally valid sta n d p o in t, sin ce m an y aspects o f th e c o n c e p ts u n d e r investigation can b e e x p e rie n c e d in m e d ita tio n a n d n o t u n d e rs to o d ju s t w ith know ledge, by p u re e ru d itio n . T h ey a p p e a r by follow ing a rad ical em p irical e x p e rie n c e - e x p e rie n c e o f intuitive re c o g n itio n o f th e th in g s in th e ir u n d iffe re n tia te d unity. In th e p ro c ess o f su ch an e x p e rie n c e , th e level o f tran q u ility is re a c h e d , th e ab so lu te q u iet, Sabi a n d voidness th a t are th e basis o f th e p ro fo u n d e s t a n d m o st im p o rta n t insights. O n e o f th e m b ein g the n o tio n o f d e a th a n d decay w hich in th e ligh t o f o n e n e ss o f th in g s a n d events n ev e r g a in e d negative c o n n o ta tio n , o r to say it w ith Z h u a n g Zi: »Life is th e c o m p a n io n o f d e a th , d e a th is th e b e g in n in g o f life. W ho u n d e rsta n d s th eir workings? M an ’s life is a co m in g to g e th e r o f b re a th . I f it com es to g eth er, th e re is life; if it scatters, th e re is d e a th . A n d if life a n d d e a th a re c o m p a n io n s to each o th er, th e n w hat is th e re fo r us to b e an x io u s ab o u t?« 1' It is th e a ttitu d e w hich is in ac co rd w ith th e n o tio n o f in te rre la te d n e ss o f everything: »T he ten th o u s a n d things are really o n e. We lo o k o n so m e as b ea u tifu l b ecause they a re ra re o r u n ea rth ly ; we lo o k o n o th e rs as ugly b ecau se they are foul a n d ro tte n . B ut th e foul a n d r o tte n m ay tu rn in to th e ra re a n d u n earth y , a n d th e ra re a n d u n e a rth ly m ay tu rn in to th e fo u l a n d ro tte n . So it is said, You have only to c o m p re h e n d th e o n e b re a th th a t is th e w orld. T h e sage nev er ceases to value o n e n e ss.« 10
In th e B u d d h ist c o n te x t th e m etaphysical n o tio n o f im p e rm a n e n c e , tra n sie n c e o r e p h e m e ra lity was created . It s u p p o rts th e B u d d h ist id e a th a t all m aterial things are co n sid ered to have com e in to existence th ro u g h som e cause a n d are su b je c te d to th e process o f c re a tio n , ab id in g , tra n sfo rm a tio n
8 F riedrich N ietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. W alter K aufm ann an d R. J. H ollingdale (NewYork: R andom H ouse, 1967), 734.
9 C huangT zu, The Complete Works, trans. Burton Watson (NewYork: C olum bia University Press, 1968), 235.
10 Ibid., 236.
a n d e x tin c tio n . T his process, m oreover, is cyclical: all th in g s a re b o r n a n d d ie o ver a n d over again. T h e cycle o f re b irth can b e e sc a p e d only by elim i
n a tin g all desire a n d thus attain in g n irvana o r en lig h te n m e n t, th e only stable, n o n tra n s ie n t state. Such an a ttitu d e is p re s e n t in th e ae sth e tic s o f classical Ja p a n e se w orks like The Tales oflse, a n d it also m akes it possible to fin d beauty in its v an ish in g a n d to a c cep t th e fact th a t th e tran sien c e a n d ev a n escen ce o f all th in g s m ak e everything even m o re beau tifu l.
T h e Ja p a n e s e m o d el has n o t o ffe re d any illusions. A t v ario u s stages o f J a p a n e s e h isto ry it was felt necessary to e d u c a te p e o p le in c o n fro n tin g th e inevitability o f c o rp o re a l d e a th . T h e re fo re th e tem p le im ages w ere fo rm e d w hich a re very n a tu ra listic a n d th e re fo re even m o re persu asiv e th a n th e frescoes o f th e D e ath d a n c e in E u ro p e , w h ere d e a th takes th e fo rm o f th e sk eleto n . T h e J a p a n e s e im ages take a d iffe re n t fo rm a n d have a slightly dif
fe re n t id e a b e h in d th em . T h e fact th a t h u m a n ity is s e n te n c e d to d e a th a n d to im p e rm a n e n c e is show n by th e tem p le im ages, w hich d e p ic t th e e n tire pro cess o f d ecay o f th e h u m a n corpse, fro m d e a th to final d isin te g ra tio n . Such was ju s t o n e o f the ways in w hich th e d e e p acceptance o f d e a th has b e e n show n in th e re alm o f aesthetics in th e Ja p a n e s e history. T h e o th e r o n e is th e tra d itio n o f w riting th e d e a th p oem s, th e p o em s in w hich th e B u d d h ist m onk, p h ilo so p h e r o r p o e t expressed his views o n life a n d d e a th o n th e verge o f his own d e a th . U sually they w ere w ritten by Z en m o nks, so m e o f w hich w ere b eliev ed to have th e pow er o f p re d ic tin g th e ir own m o m e n t o f d e a th . T h e poem s show us th e a ttitu d e o f th ese B u ddhists tow ards d e a th , w hich is n o t s o m e th in g u n e x p e c te d , an e v e n t w hich th ey w ould w a n t to evade o r p o stp o n e.
T h e blossom b ec am e o n e o f th e d o m in a n t sym bols o f th e tra n sie n c e o f h u m a n ex isten ce a n d its beauty. In various stages o f th e y ear it g o t e ith e r th e u n d e r to n e o f h o p e , lo n g in g o r sadness, d e p e n d in g o n th e stage in w hich th e blossom has b ee n . U nlike E u ro p e w hich ch e rish es th e stage o f th e full- blossom a n d In d ia w hich w o rsh ip p e d th e blossom itself, J a p a n d e v e lo p e d a d e e p ae sth e tic s o f d e a d blossom s lying o n m oss o r stones. T h is re flects th e w orsh ip o f th e e n tire life-cycle, in c lu d in g th e stage o f d e c o m p o sitio n a n d decay, a n d d o es n o t w orship on ly yo u th , vigor a n d vitality.
T h e aloness, so litu d e , w hich is n o t loneliness, w ith its n eg ativ e c o n n o tatio n has b e e n cultivated as th e way o f positive a lie n a tio n .11 In th e d e a th p o em s, also it is an im p o rta n t u n d e r to n e , since it m akes us aw are o f th e fact th a t d e a th is th e very m o m e n t w hich is essentially e x p e rie n c e d by e a c h in
11 F u tin g L iao , »Positive A lienation a n d its R eflection in Taoist T h o u g h t,« International Sociology, Vol. 4, No. 1 (M arch 1989), 5-17.
dividual alo n e, w ith o u t th e in te ra c tio n with th e o th e rs w hich ch a rac te rizes th e life. T h e ja p a n e s e a ttitu d e tow ards d e a th , o r b etter, tow ards a c c e p ta n c e o f it in all its m an ifestatio n s, in clu d in g th e stages o f d isso lu tio n a n d decay, h a s o fte n b e e n u n d e r s to o d w rongly, like c e rta in m o rb id m y sterio u s a n d eso teric p ractice. However, it cultivates th e sense o f beauty, w hich is p re s e n t also in th e d e a th p o em s, based o n th e eq u ilib riu m a n d eq u a n im ity a n d o n subjective fulness o f A wareness, b o rn from a specific fo rm o f c o n te m p la tio n , w hich en a b le s a c o n tin u ity b etw een th e in n e r a n d o u te r sp ee ch o f th e p o et.
T his can be e x p e rie n c e d only o n the basis o f e n lig h te n m e n t, a state in w hich th e co n sciou sness has lib e ra te d itself from any form o f th e o re tic a l ru m in a tio n a n d has re a c h e d th e n a tu ra l sim plicity very close to th e D aoist p ra ctice o f wu-wei, th e ab se n ce o f any fo rm o f in te n tio n a l activity, w hich in flu e n c e d also th e ir a ttitu d e tow ards d eath: »I received life because the tim e h a d com e;
I will lose it b ecau se th e o rd e r o f things passes on. Be c o n te n t w ith this tim e a n d dwell in this o rd e r a n d th e n n e ith e r sorrow n o r jo y can to u c h you. In a n c ie n t tim es this was called the ‘freein g o f th e b o u n d ’. T h e re are th o se w ho c a n n o t free them selves, b ec au se they are b o u n d by things. B u t n o th in g can ever win ag ain st H eav en - th a t’s th e way it’s always b e e n . W h a t w ou ld I have to re se n t? « 12
Sabi, w hich in its la te r d e v e lo p m e n t has b e e n c o n n e c te d w ith sim ple, ru stic u ten sils fo r th e tea cerem ony, can be tra n sla te d as: »patina; aged ness;
so litary look; rustic sim plicity; th e q u ie t b eau ty o f th in g s in a state o f n a tu ral decay; active a p p re c ia tio n o f th e value o f thing s seem ingly negative, su ch as rusticity, agedness, loneliness, deficiency«13 has b e e n cultivated also in th e la n d sca p e p ain tin g . T h e solitary angler, n ev er seen from th e fro n t, en c lo se d a n d s u rro u n d e d in th e haze, re p re s e n ts th e tra n q u il beau ty o f a h ig h ly re alized m a n a n d his place in th e C osm os in d e so latio n a n d so litu d e , co v e red w ith a p a tin a o f simplicity. S triking, with th e a ir o f n atu ra ln ess, tra n s c e n d in g th e n o tio n o f w h a t w ould be called th e poverty th a t is, in d iffe re n t to m a te ria l luxury. In th e m id st o f life b u t still far fro m o th e rs, d ista n c e d fro m th e m , as to be fishing, diving d ee p ly in to th e u ltim a te reality h o ld in g to it in its suchness. D eeply aw are o f th e fact th a t w h e n we m o st badly n e e d a n e ig h b o u r, we always h a p p e n to be a lo n e , h e sits in th e b o at, k n o w in g th a t th e p a th o f discovery has to b e w alked by each o f us alo n e. W h a t w ou ld be ca lle d his ow n Self has b e e n id e n tifie d with th e u ltim ate reality w hich left n o ro o m fo r feelin g lonely. E verything was o n e a n d realizin g this, o n e is n o t se p a ra te d from an y th in g anym ore. In this realm o f n o n a tta c h m e n t n o th in g
12 Chuang Tzu, The Complete Works, 84-5.
13 Setsuko Kojima and Gene A. Crane, A D ictionary o f Japanese Culture, 278.
ness b e c a m e th e basis o f ex isten c e a n d th e d is tin c tio n o f h im a n d o th e r d isa p p e a re d . K now ing his own h e a rt, h e was p u rs u in g th e activity n o t yet d iffe re n tia te d in to this o r that. T h e re h e was m e e tin g w ith o rig in al face.
W ith n o ex p ectatio n s a n d h o p es from the O th e r a n d fo r th e fu tu re , the fish erm a n , solitary angler, knows th a t it is n o t th e virtue, w h ich is th e basis o f h u m a n re la tio n sh ip s, b u t insufficiency. V irtue b e in g distinctively h u m a n a n d very lim ited , sh a p in g th e tem p o rally ag re e m e n ts th a t re g u la te p e o p le ’s c o m in g to g eth er, b e in g to g e th e r a n d se p a ra tin g d u rin g th e ir m o m e n ta ry e x isten c e in th e flow o f eons. W ith this re alizatio n , th e re is n o sp ac e fo r m o u rn in g a n d reco v ery fro m it, sin ce th e so litary a n g le r re p re s e n ts th e u n lim ite d sp iritu al richness o f th e realized m an , th e quality o f sato ric aw are
ness. T h e re fo re , h e is able to place his life in th e p r o p e r re la tio n to th e universe. L e a d in g a solitary life h e c o n tem p lates th e en o rm ity o f all th in g s a n d his ow n pow erlessness. In his e m b o d im e n t o f W abi-Sabi, h e re p re s e n ts th e re fin e d poverty a n d rustic simplicity, th e p ro fo u n d a e sth e tic a p p re c ia tio n o f poverty, deficiency, loneliness, agedness. T h e re is n o th in g to te n d to o r aim at, n o re m o te n ess a n d n o h o rizo n s o f the fu tu re w ell-being an y m o re.
Still, th e m in d is d ire c te d to infinity, free from fru stratio n s cau sed by lim ita
tions, aw are o f th e p e rm a n e n t ch anges o f n a tu re as well as th e o n es in to u ch w ith it. T h e tra n sie n c e gives th e d e e p a p p re c ia tio n o f th e life as su ch , its sh o rtn ess a n d ea ch a n d every m o m e n t in it. As th e in h a b ita n t o f th e w orld o f Wabi-Sabi, his state goes beyond con ceptualization , b ey o n d b ein g g rasp ed by th e w ords, since it tran scen d s the expression. S ubtle in tu itio n gives ro o m fo r n a tu re to apply p a tin a o f age a n d a p p reciate all tra n sfo rm a tio n s as b e in g ea ch in them selves beautiful.
T h e aesthetics o f decay, so well expressed in th e Sino-Japanese co n cep ts o fW ab i-S abi(ji), as well as in th e tra d itio n o f Ja p a n e se d e a th p o em s, d irects us to th e fact th a t th e so lu tio n o f th e existence puzzle is n o t to b e se a rc h e d fo r outside, b u t in o u r heart-m inds. T h e p ure, absolute reality in its suchness, as revealed to th e e n lig h te n e d m in d is beyond th e d istin c tio n s as: b e a u ti
ful-ugly, good-bad, death-life, Wabi a n d Sabi. T h e re fo re it gives n o ro o m fo r th e illusions, since it re p re se n ts th e so b e rin g down fro m th e im p o is o n m e n t o f th e existential illusions. Various tech n iq u es o f achieving h arm o n y a n d th e practices o f p u rific a tio n o f o n e ’s h e a rt fo rm ed p a rt o f th e re alm o f a e s th e t
ics in th e S ino-Japanese trad itio n . T h e individual sp irit has b e e n d e v e lo p e d by m in d -e x p a n d in g exercises, a n d th e sense o f th e illu sio nary S elf o r Ego has b e e n u n d e r c u t th ro u g h th e d ire c t ex p e rien ce o f th e u niv erse a n d o n e ’s place in it. S uch a process is d ev elo p ed o n a level d iffe re n t fro m th e logi- cally-discursive o n e , w hich in th e B u d d h ist co n tex t gets tra n s c e n d e d by th e switch o f consciousness, w here the distinctions reveal them selves as illusion-
ary a n d arbitrary. D e ath p o em s p o in t a t th e lib e ra tio n fro m th e b o n d s o f d e a th a n d life by th e d e e p in sig h t in to h u m a n existen ce, w hich is e x p e ri
e n c e d o n th e level w h e re o n e teach es »with th e voice o f silen ce« .14
The initial stage o f my research o f Wabi-Sabi has been conducted in 1989-90 while I ivas the Japan Foundation Felloiu to which I zvish to express my appreciation.
14 Japanese D eath Poems, ed. Yoel Hoffmann (Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle, 1986), 91.
