A Guest Post by Vince Imbat — A Long and Winding Process: Writing Alone and With Others, Anitism, and An Obsession with Ratiocination

One of the truly great pleasures that has come out of my recent work attempting to get out into the world the ideas, work and general example of the of the 20th-century Japanese Unitarian, advocate of a creative, inquiring, free and liberative religion or spirituality (自由宗教 jiyū shūkyō), educator and interfaith pioneer, Imaoka Shin’ichirō [今岡信一良] (1881-1988) out into the world anew, is a developing friendship with a Filipino writer, photographer and walker called Vince Imbat who I met through through the online Kiitsu Kyōkai group we started together just over a year ago. 

Here’s a link to his own webpage which is well worth exploring:

https://vinceimbat.com/

It’s been a joy to see how Vince has begun to walk ever more creatively, inquiringly, freely. liberatively and spiritually into the riches of his own Filipino culture and so give jiyū shūkyō a new, wonderful, local form. I feel absolutely assurred that Imaoka-sensei would have been be thrilled (as, indeed, was I) to read the following, exploratory piece which I hope gives readers of this blog a wonderful example of how jiyū shūkyō is a gentle universalistic spirituality that is able to offer its practitioners ways of making approriate, local footprints rather than imposing upon the world inapproriate, capital “U” Universalist blueprints. 

Another way of putting this is to say that, when practised properly, the mycelium (the universal, underlying, intra-connecting creative, inquiring, free and liberative spirituality) that is jiyū shūkyō, is always able to send up fruiting bodies (whether individual people or communities) that are locally distinctive and unique. The possible local forms of jiyū shūkyō are infinite!

So, to help ease readers into Vince’s own locality, it’s helpful to know that Anitism refers to indiginous Filipino religious, Baguio is a city in the north of the Philippines, the Itneg are an Austronesian indigenous peoples from the upland province of Abra and Nueva Era, Ilocos Norte in northwestern Luzon, Philippines, and “kapwa” is a term that can be translated as “both,” “fellow-being,” or “other” and that it’s an important idea in Filipino culture which refers to the interconnectedness that exists between the self and others — an idea central, of course, to Imaoka-sensei himself.

Lastly, a profound thank you to Vince for giving me permission to reproduce his piece on my blog and for being such an inspiring companion on the jiyū shūkyō way . . .

A Long and Winding Process

Writing Alone and With Others, Anitism, and An Obsession with Ratiocination

An Itneg shaman renewing an offering to the spirit shield (1922, Philippines)   1.1   Ivan Labayne, Beckoning Baguio: Framed in lazy opposites, Manila would be the 9 p.m. start of the party, well-dressed and ready to take in all stimuli while Baguio would be past midnight, inebriated, dulled and possibly reflective, worn down and possibly more honest.   1.2   Walking Beckoning Baguio: But the collation of essays into eight sections I take as a reflection of the tempered nature of walking Baguio. Yeah, walking Baguio can still feel scattered, but it mostly feels arranged. Due to the city's smallness, familiarity with spaces becomes easy, and with that familiarity comes indescribable comfort. In other words, walking Baguio doesn't feel as messy as walking Manila. This comparison is important because Baguio and Manila were the first guinea pigs of American-enforced city planning, the goal of which was to paint in the minds of the newly colonized that everything was okay and beautiful. With this historical knowledge, one might say the Americans found more success in Baguio. Beckoning Baguio is a reminder, though, that the city of pines, as pretty as it is, is mired by the same problems recognizable throughout the country's many urban landscapes. If this is a walking book, then it would move the reader to walk and, specifically, to walk Baguio. When the reader ever reaches that point, I think of no better companion than these essays.     2.1 Swedish proverb: No one becomes a good doctor before he fills a churchyard.   2.2 Journal, 6 October 2024: Raining outside and natural light is scarcer than usual. My mind hasn't been itself lately, even during days when there was sun. My sleep hasn't been the best lately. I relied on melatonin more frequently than usual last month. I continue to struggle with defining what to do in between work. I think I'm going through an important change within or I'm going through something that will spur that change. I am skeptical about whether I am fulfilling (or have fulfilled) my intention for this year: to FOCUS and BE AUTHENTIC. I need to be kind to myself.     3.1   Deene Clark, Writing Alone and With Others: I open the front door and walk into the house. Already, in the hallway, I can smell it, and walking down the hallway and into the living room, the odor is strong: brownies, freshly baked brownies, warm and waiting for us. Such a delight. Such a welcoming, beckoning house to walk into. It says, “welcome”—the brownies do. But of course, if brownies, then a time to eat them, and to chat and laugh and thereby to be at home. There is other food on the table awaiting the mid-evening break: melon, raw carrots, freshly washed grapes, coffee, tea, soda, orange juice and, as I said, chatter and laughter. At the break, we will have been writing together—the ten or twelve of us—for an hour or so, having been invited to respond to some lines from a poem or a book, or to some pictures or to several articles: ancient kitchen utensils, old fashioned toys and children’s books, a line from a song, the song itself. That’s how Pat begins the evening.   3.2   Writing is embodied: Certain positions while writing produce certain emotional responses. How we move our hands, breathe, seated, or how our body is positioned affects what comes out of our mind. The embodied experience of writing is important to consider when writing alone, but it becomes even more important while writing with others. This is because it is when we decide to write together and share that writing that past traumas we have about writing emerge. So when conducting a workshop, it is important to consider: - the place (sights, temperature, sound, wideness, etc.) - the body of the writer - the rules - the prompt     4.1   The question of changing the name of I.A.R.F. [International Association for Religious Freedom] as viewed by Japan Free Religious Association: We have, therefore, always, been a little dissatisfied with the name of I.A.R.F. [actually then still called the International Association for Liberal Christianity and Religious Freedom] which has been un-doubtedly Christian-centric. We can, easily understand that such a Christian-centric attitude is quite natural for European Christians who think much of their past history and tradition, because non-Christian liberals in Japan are also much attached to their own history and tradition. We are, therefore, very anxious to have the word “Christianity” dropped from the name of I.A.R.F. If the word “Christianity” remains un-dropped, we shall be obliged to cancel the invitation of the 19th Congress in 1967 to Tokyo (as I announced unofficially in 1961 at Davos Congress) because non-Christian members of Japan Free Religious Association and religious circles at large in Japan will not cooperate.   4.2   My vision statement: I have brought to life a creative spirituality—a way of life—customized to my needs, personality, and strengths. It is a free and inquiring spirituality that is also anchored to my culture. This creative spirituality informs how I exist in the world—my daily practices, the work that I do, and how I act. While it liberates me, it also strengthens my faith and connection with my kapwa both the human and the non-human. I'm part of a community of individuals walking on the same path who support me in the realization of my vision.     5.1 Shin'ichirō Imaoka: As you read in my Statement of Faith, there is no mention of God. It is a creed without a God. I have faith in self, in other people, in society. There is no God in my creed. However, if one believes that the universe is religion, then if it is necessary to use the word ‘God’, I see no objection. Then man is God, society is God and the universe is God. The founder of Konkokyo, Kawate Bunjiro, pointed out that the kami is dependent on the adherents and the adherents are dependent on the kami. It is understandable how the adherents are dependent on the kami, but it is not clear how the kami is dependent on the adherents unless one realizes that the founder meant that the kami and the adherents are inter-dependent. This can be interpreted as meaning that God depends on the believers, and the believers should be worthy of this regard.”   5.2   Journal, 13 October 2024: Recently, I've been introduced to the idea that animism, which describes precolonial Filipino spirituality, could be a resource for my jiyū shūkyō project, particularly because of its similarities with pantheism. Shinto is also animist but has pantheist elements. If there is liberal Shinto then there could be—at least with my personal jiyū shūkyō project—be a liberal Filipino animism or whatever it is called. In such a progressive remaking of our precolonial spirituality, what I want to emphasize is the pantheistic elements—that nature is divine and that humans are part of that larger nature, intricately connected to it, in fact.     6.1 Henry Bugbee, The Inward Morning: Get it down. Get down so far as possible the minute inflections of day to day thought. Get down the key ideas as they occur. Don’t worry about what it will add up to. Don’t worry about whether it will come to something finished. Don’t give it up when faced with the evidence of miscarried thought. Write on, not over again. Let it flow. ... Give it a chance. ... Let one perception move instantly on another. Where they come from is to be trusted.   6.2   Journal, 14 October 2024: What I've learned from all those writing is that writing for me is an act of reverence. I treat words that come out of me as valuable gems or seeds—miracles waiting to happen. This is an even deeper poetics than a walking poetics. To see my words and my writing as something that could build up a person in any way. The challenge and calling then in terms of writing is how to keep it this way. How can I ensure that how I approach writing as a practice maintains this reverential treatment of it and how can I give birth to words that are truly a balm for others? In addition, how can I build a writing life inspired by a spiritual quest, practice it happily every day, and at its own best time produce nurturing work for those who listen to me?     7.1  Andrew James Brown: [T]he civilised worm is always-already breaking up the soil of a compacted self in a way that doesn’t destroy its integrity as a self, but, instead, is opening it up to allow the inflowing of many new insights and ideas which begins to turn us into what Imaoka-sensei eventually came to call “cosmic human beings” (宇宙人 uchūjin), i.e. human beings who are fully aware of the inter- and intra-connectedness of all things.   7.2   Journal, 15 October 2024: This ikigai and the self behind it is already here. I may not have articulated it well enough but it is already here. What I initially think is my diversion from it to other subjects is the worm breaking it down. I am letting other people in, exploring other communities and perspectives to break the self up.     8.1 Herbert Fingarette: These studies are outcomes rather than realised objectives. In making the journey, I have no aims. These studies are intellectual footprints, not blueprints.   Andy Matuschak: An exhortation. When I find myself lost in tiny details, focused on execution over wondering and big-picture questions, I try to remind myself to get curious. My default mode, having spent so many years as a technologist, is to focus on tasks, on doing, on accomplishing. That’s often necessary to meaningful intellectual creative work, but it’s certainly not sufficient. Too much doing-focus will crowd out the expansive mindset which generates new insights. It’s hard to hear yourself think.   8.2 My jiyū shūkyō: Since creating my jiyū shūkyō will be a long and winding process, it's unwise to treat it like a project. It's best maintained or supervised as a life area. Success in this endeavor isn't measured by finishing or reaching an end point but by maintaining a certain standard. In this case, my standard for my jiyū shūkyō could be something like a portion of my mission statement: "I'm engaged every day in a pursuit of wisdom, meaning, and beauty." Specifically, success in my jiyū shūkyō area includes the following: - maintenance of contemplative practices like seiza and walking - maintenance of mindful reading, journaling, and studying through my talahardin - maintenance of practices through communities and others - maintenance of creative practices involving walking, writing, and photography   But how do I study in a way that makes me feel that I'm not constricted, that I'm allowed to flow and follow my curiosities, while maintaining a measure of focus? In the creation of my jiyū shūkyō, I need to let go of this desire for blueprints. Spirituality and answers to how to live are best left unblueprinted. I should have faith that this process will result to something. As long as I follow my curiosities and authenticity, I will eventually focus.     9.1   Isabelo de los Reyes, Anitismo: The ancient chronicles of Jesuit and Hispanic friars say that upon the arrival of the first Spaniards, the coasts of the Visayas and even in Manila, there were many converts to Mohammedanism, and even more could be found in Mindanao that were converted by the islamic teachers from Borneo. So, if we are to find the true Philippine religion at its purest, we must look to the mountainous regions of the North. Knowing how to distinguish the True Religion from those that were influenced by the Hindu, Mohammedan and Christian grafts can be difficult, but the true Philippine religion is still intact, not only among the Itnegs (Tinguians), but in the legends, advices and superstitions of the Tagalog's, Visayan's, Bicolano's, Kapampangan's, Zambaleno's, Pangasinero's and other Filipino ethnic groups.   9.2   Journal, 18 October 2024: Precolonial Filipino spirituality had Hindu and Buddhist influence. There is some proof that our culture was closely influenced by South Asian culture. Ancient Filipino religion must have been syncretic—a mix of anitism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and some Islam, particularly in the south. One could only imagine what our society looked like without the coming of Christianity. Maybe we are a country of contemplatives, growing up from homes where we both meditated but also believe in Bathala or Laon or Kabunian—perhaps something like Tibetan Buddhism. A mix of animitism and Buddhism would produce something like this. And since none of these ancient religions are colonial, they wouldn't destroy each other. All would've flourished and will have more resources today for creating religions of the future or individual spiritualities.     10.1   Raymond Guess: So the experience I have of my everyday work environment is of a conformist, claustrophobic and repressive verbal universe, a penitential domain of reason-mongering in which hyperactivity in detail—the endlessly repeated shouts of "why," the rebuttals, calls for "evidence," qualifications and quibbles—stands in stark contrast to the immobility and self-referentiality of the structure as a whole. I suffer from recurrent bouts of nausea in the face of this densely woven tissue of "arguments," most of which are nothing but blinds for something else altogether, generally something unsavory; and I feel an urgent need to exit from it altogether.   10.2   Journal, 31 October 2024: In creative writing, the need to produce something that is understandable is akin to an obsession with ratiocination observable in analytic philosophy. A perfectly linear and understandable piece of writing has some semblance to a bulletproof philosophical argumentation. While there is some comfort from reading both pieces, the desire to make sense could be nauseating, especially when most works produced are saturated by this slavery to function and reason.

"Papa Isio" (Dionisio Magbuelas), with two followers in a prison in Bacolod City in 1907. Isio was a religious leader who led anti-colonial uprisings in Negros in 1896. He became the military chief of the municipality of La Castellana under the Cantonal Government of Negros in November 1898. He also fought the American colonizers in 1899-1907. He surrendered on August 6, 1907, and died at the Manila Bilibid Prison in 1911