Contemplating the Enlightenment of Śākyamuni [1960] by Imaoka Shin’ichirō (1881-1988)
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(December, Shōwa 35 [1960], “Creation” magazine [『創造』 Sōzō ])
It is said that Śākyamuni [釈尊], realising that the six years of severe ascetic practices [難行苦行] had been a fruitless struggle [無駄骨折], one day, in the early hours before dawn, while gazing up at the light of the morning star [明星の光], sat beneath the bodhi tree [菩提樹下] and attained Enlightenment [悟りを開いた]. Because this event took place on the 8th of December, every year on this day, Buddhists [仏教徒] hold a ceremony called “Rōhatsu” or “Bodhi Day” [成道会]. But also, on the 25th of December, Christians [基督教徒] hold the celebration of Christmas [クリスマス], and so the month of December is, religiously speaking, an extremely meaningful and significant month [宗教的に極めて意義深き月].
What, indeed, was the event of the Śākyamuni’s Enlightenment [成道] (the attainment of awakening [悟を開かれたこと])? Was it, perhaps, a kind of ecstasy [エクスタシー]? Was it, for Śākyamuni, that which could be called the climax of his religious experience [宗教的体験のクライマックス]?
Was his religious life thereafter nothing more than a life of emotional exaltation [感激の生活] dependent merely on the recollection [想出] of that experience? If speculation [憶測] is permitted, then surely there was indeed such an aspect. However, Śākyamuni, at the moment of so-called Enlightenment [所謂成道の瞬間], by no means reached the ultimate goal [究極的ゴール] of religious life [宗教的生活]; was it not rather that he simply changed direction [方向転換をしただけ]—or that he simply set out upon a new start [新しいスタートを切っただけ]? Yet, even if it were only that much, there is no doubt that the significance it contains [包蔵する意義] is inexhaustible [無尽蔵].
It is said that the content of Śākyamuni’s awakening [悟り] was the fundamental principle [根本道理], that is, the Dharma [ダルマ (法)], or truth [真理] itself. However, even this fundamental truth [根本道理] was not something written down at the moment of Enlightenment [成道の瞬間], but was it not likely only revealed for the first time when he delivered his initial discourse [説法], “Turning of the Wheel of Dharma” [転法輪], to an audience [聴衆]? Might it not be the case that it was only upon finding those ready to receive his teachings [説法相手を得たことによって] that the Dharma — which had remained only a vague potential existence [漠然たる可能的存在] — could be articulated [布行する] and embodied in concrete forms [具体化する] such as the Four Noble Truths [四諦], the Eightfold Noble Path [八正道], and the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination [十二因縁]? Moreover, at the same time, Śākyamuni succeeded in gaining several disciples [弟子] or fellow-seekers [同志], and in forming the Saṅgha [サンガ (僧伽)], that is to say, the community [共同体]. This most likely took place at the Deer Park [鹿野苑], and in this way, the Three Treasures [三宝] — the Buddha [仏], the Dharma [法], and the Saṅgha [僧] — came into being, which I believe was an event of truly great significance. For the reason that the Dharma or truth [真理], did not remain merely an abstract principle [抽象的原理], but was embodied in the very person [人格] of Śākyamuni, and moreover, that this did not end in solitary enlightenment and self-complacency [独覚独善], but led to the realisation [自覚] that all sentient beings [一切衆生] likewise attain Buddhahood [仏陀たる], and together realise the Buddha-land [仏国土], that is to say, the ideal cooperative society [理想的共同社会]. Even if provisionally we speak of the Three Treasures, in truth they are One Treasure [一宝]. Just as the Dharma is merely a lifeless abstraction if it remains only Dharma, and only when it is embodied in a living person [生ける人格] does it manifest its significance [意義を発揮する], so too the Buddha [仏陀], without being grounded in the Dharma [法の基礎づけ], remains merely a natural human being [単なる自然人]. And provisionally speaking, the Buddha [仏陀] himself is, by nature, endowed with a social and communal interrelatedness [共同社会的連帯性], and without the Saṅgha [僧伽], that is, his fellow-seekers or community [同志・共同体], he himself could not exist [自らも存立し得ない]. Accordingly, the fact that Śākyamuni became self-aware and became the Buddha [仏陀] means not only that he realised the Dharma [ダルマ・法・真理], but that only by organising the Saṅgha (that is to say, the cooperative society [共同社会]) did he accomplish that awakening [完成した]. Therefore, one must not forget that the Saṅgha [僧伽] has, behind it, or as its foundation, both the Buddha and the Dharma. In other words, the Saṅgha is to be regarded as the archetype [原型] of the Buddha-land [仏国土] or Pure Land [浄土], and like the Treasure of the Buddha [仏宝] and the Treasure of the Dharma [法宝], is truly to be an object of refuge [帰依の対象].
It is taught that Buddhism [仏教] is, in essence, taking refuge [帰依] in the Three Treasures [三宝] of the Buddha [仏], the Dharma [法], and the Saṅgha [僧], but I would like to understand [理会したい] this in the sense I have described above. Provisionally speaking, in the end, I believe that this is the entirety [全貌] of Śākyamuni’s Enlightenment itself. I would like to believe that the entire process [全過程] from Śākyamuni’s quiet sitting beneath the Bodhi tree to the first Turning of the Dharma Wheel at the Deer Park was his Enlightenment. I believe that Śākyamuni’s Enlightenment was not static and momentary [静的・瞬間的], but dynamic and processual [動的・過程的]. It is said that Americans, wishing to view for as long as possible the beauty of the cherry blossoms [桜の花] transplanted from Japan, inject chemical solutions [薬液を幹に注射] into the trunks. While this Greek-like scientific rigour [科学的なギリシャ人らしい態度] may be ingenious, the true nature of cherry blossom [桜の花の本然の姿] lies in its fleeting beauty: not just in full bloom [満開の美], but also the beauty of the falling blossom [落花の美]. We must not forget that beauty resides not only in stillness [静の美] but also in motion [動の美]. In the same way, I would also like to study [学びたい] Śākyamuni’s Enlightenment not as something static, but as something dynamic and processual [動的・過程的].
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity [三位一体] is a teaching concerning God [神に関する教義], and it is something entirely different from the Buddhist taking refuge in the Three Treasures. However, even within Christianity, it is not the case that there is no thought resembling the taking refuge in the Three Treasures [三宝帰依に似た思想]. For instance, according to the Gospel of John [ヨハネによる福音書], Jesus [イエス] is the Logos [ロゴス], that is, the incarnation of the Way [道の化身]. Moreover, the incarnation of the Logos [ロゴスの化身] is not to be limited only to the historical Jesus [歴史的イエス一人に限らるべきで無く]; it is held that Christ [キリスト] already existed even in the Old Testament period of Abraham [アブラハムの旧約時代]. Furthermore, in the Catholic Church [カトリック教会], the thought regarding the Church [教会] as the body of Christ [キリストのからだ] has developed into the doctrine [教理] that “outside the Church there is no salvation” [「教会を離れては救なし」], which is a most interesting fact.
That is to say, according to the Catholic Church [カトリック教会によれば], the Church [教会] is not merely a convenient association [単なる便宜団体] of Christian believers [基督信者], but in a certain sense [或る意味に於いて], the Church [教会そのもの] is itself the Saviour [救主]. The cooperative social character [共同社会的性格] of Christianity [基督教] can be known fully [遺憾なく] through this thought. However, if this thought too degenerates into the self-righteous and exclusivist doctrine [唯我独尊的教義] of defending the present Catholic Church [現実のカトリック教会弁護], then it becomes exceedingly unreasonable [不合理も甚しい].
The relationship between Christ [キリスト], the Logos [ロゴス], and the Church [教会] is strikingly similar [酷似している] to the relationship between the Buddha [仏], the Dharma [法], and the Saṅgha [僧] in Buddhism [仏教]. If Christianity [キリスト教] were to regard its view of God [神観] as something of secondary importance [第二義的なもの], then I believe the two religions would truly return to one [真に帰一する]. Many people would no doubt say that to do such a thing would be fatal [致命傷] to Christianity [基督教], but I myself do not necessarily think so [私自身は必ずしもそうは思わぬ].
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