Some more information on the term “Daiseimei” [大生命]—“Great Life”

In my short thought for the day written for Easter Sunday 2026 (which I published yesterday) I talked a little about Imaoka Shin’ichirō’s use of the term “Great Life”— Daiseimei [大生命], a term which, from at least the 1950s onwards, he would expand (in a very Bergsonian way) to, “the Great Life of free and unobstructed creative evolution” [自由で無碍な創造的進化の大生命]. I confess to finding this a very amenable term, at least in the way that Imaoka-sensei uses it, i.e. in a pantheistic and immanentist fashion. It strikes me that, just maybe, some of you will also find it amenable and that you might like to know a little more about the use of the term in modern Japan. To this end, I direct you to an interesting essay from 2001 called “Images of God in Japanese New Religions” by Robert Kisala, and, in a moment, I’ll reproduce the short section from it relating directly to the “Great Life”.

But, before I do that it’s important to know that Imaoka-sensei’s articulation of free-religion ([自由宗教] jiyū shūkyō), and his associated community, the Tokyo Kiitsu Kyōkai (帰一教會 Returning-to-One Gathering), clearly belongs to the New Religions Movement in Japan, and as Kisala points out, “Despite the various religious traditions that they reflect, and the innovations introduced by their founders, these groups share much in common, most fundamentally a common worldview based on the popularization of common Confucian, or more specifically Neo-Confucian, principles in the eighteenth century.” Kisala then goes on to write:

The world is seen as an interconnected whole, and activity on one level will affect all other levels. Therefore, a transformation on the most immediate level of the inner self ill have repercussions within one’s family, the surrounding society, and eventually on the universe as a whole. Consequently, emphasis is placed on individual self-cultivation, centering on the virtues of thankfulness, sincerity, and harmony. When confronted with some hardship or misfortune, the believer is called upon to reflect on his or her daily life and relationships within the family, with neighbors, and with coworkers. Have you been appropriately thankful for favors received, most basically for the gift of life itself? Are your relationships marked by sincerity, or have you rather been the cause of disharmony by the assertion of selfish desire? Such reflection should lead to a change of heart, a process that implies that any situation can be transformed through a change in attitude—from one of forgetfulness to thankfulness, from selfish desire to meekness.

This worldview is thus fundamentally optimistic regarding the possibilities of personal transformation and the enjoyment of concrete benefits in this world. A group of Japanese scholars of the New Religions (Tsushima et.al.1979) have called this a vitalistic worldview, emphasizing the abundance of life. They describe this view as follows:

‘...all things are harmonious, interdependent, mutually sympathetic, and constantly growing. From the standpoint of each component of the cosmos, especially that of human beings, the universe or the world is seen as the source from which all living things spring. Hence, the universe will also be imaged as a beneficial and gracious entity which gives each individual being eternal and ultimate life.’
                                                                                               (Tsushima et.al 1979，p. 143)

As one element of his worldview, these scholars have identified belief in some kind of “primary religious Being.” This Being can be either personal or impersonal, is often described as a life-force that pervades the cosmos, and often has both monotheistic and transcendent as well as pantheistic and immanent characteristics.

‘Despite the wide variety of names by which the various primary religious Beings are known, their characteristics and functions are remarkably similar. In the first place, they are considered to be the Original Life which bears and nurtures all things. Moreover, they are perceived as the Great Life” (daiseimei) of the universe, to which all living things are returned and unified. ...The religious Being is thus thought of as a motherly being who affectionately nurtures all things, rather than controlling and ruling over them. 
     The Beings can be regarded as monotheistic and transcendent, existing outside all things since they produce them. In their nurturing function, however, they should also be recognized as pantheistic and immanent, omnipresent in all things and therefore providing an internal and undying life force.’
                                                                                               (Tsushima et.al 1979，p. 144)