The Prayer of Radiant Light and Postscript to the Prayer of Radiant Light [光明祈願の後にそへて] by Nakagiri Kakutarō [中桐確太郎] (1918)
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| The prayer/meditation hall at Ittōen |
A translation of the older Japanese language version of the “Prayer of Radiant Light” made by me and Miki can be found at this link
As I continued to explore the history of Ittōen I came across a book called “Accompanying the Prayer of Radiant Light” [光明祈願にそへて] by Nakagiri Kakutarō whose essays “Spiritual foundations of reconstruction and rebuilding ” [1924] and “The Significance of Seeing God in the Modern Age (In Memory of Tsunashima Ryōsen-kun [綱島梁川君] as a Seer of God)” I translated earlier this year.
In the preface to the aforementioned book Nakagiri Kakutarō tells us that:
The Kōmyō Kigan [『光明祈願』] (Prayer of Radiant Light) was tentatively drafted [起稿した] by a group of our comrades [同人] to serve as a summary of the vow-and-practice [願行の綱要] of the Ittōen [一燈園] community. As noted in its brief introduction [小引], it is merely a product of the drafters’ conscious perspective [識界の現象] and is intended to be provisional [暫定]. Nonetheless, as it stands as the core of our comrades’ vow-and-practice [願行の綱要], and since I was involved in its drafting [起稿], I have chosen it as my theme [主題] to attempt an explanation [説明] of the Ittōen [一燈園] way of life [生活].
The book then begins with a version of the Prayer of Radiant Light (which has a few minor differences to the older version Miki and I translated), which is then followed by a postscript. Since this contains a fair bit of information that is of great interest to me, I publish this draft translation in case it is of interest to anyone else! As always, corrections from competant Japanese readers/speakers positively welcomed.
One quick note. In the postscript you will come across a mention of the Association Concordia [Kiitsu Kyōkai 帰一協會]. This was a secular organisation founded in 1913 by the industrialist Shibusawa Eiichi [渋沢栄一], Anesaki Masaharu [姉崎正治], a professor at the University of Tokyo, and Naruse Jinzō [成瀬仁蔵], president of Japan Women’s University. The English translation of this pre-Pacific War Kiitsu Kyōkai is always Association Concordia. My own free-religious exemplar, Imaoka Shin’ichirō was its secretary, and he continued in this role until the demise of the Association c. 1941/1942. It was not a church, and it did not hold worship services, but within it the underlying unity (kiitsu) of all religions was thought about deeply by all those involved, which included, not only religious figures from Shintō, Buddhist, and Christian circles, together with foreign Christian missionaries, but also scholars, thinkers, and senior figures from politics and economics.
—o0o—
Prayer of Radiant Light (Provisional)
[光明祈願 (暫定) Kōmyō Kigan (Zantei)]
The original Japanese text can be read at the following link:
https://dl.ndl.go.jp/en/pid/969635
The one, non-dual Radiant Light [不二の光明] is like the sunlight that pervades the universe. Where there is an object, it touches it and emits various kinds of light. The Prayer of Radiant Light is merely a phenomenon within the field of consciousness of the person who initiates it. It should be added to and subtracted from; inaccuracies must be corrected, and it can be remade. This is why it is called provisional.
1) May we be reborn and allowed to live by the one, non-dual Radiant Light.
We should first be reborn and revitalised by the one, non-dual Radiant Light [不二の光明], entrusted to God [神] and nurtured by Buddha [仏], aspiring to lead a life that does not hinder others.
2) May we revere the heart of all religions, and participate in the Great Vow of Returning-to-One [帰一の大願 kiitsu no taigan].
By revering the heart of all religions [諸宗の真髄] from all times and places, the one Great Vow should be exactly as follows:
The common vow: the complete attainment of Great Perfect Enlightenment by all.
The particular vow: to bring about true world peace in the days to come.
Without establishing a single religion, and without bias towards a single sect [單に一宗に偏らず], we aspire to look up to the light of the saints from all ages, praise their virtues, and fulfil the tasks they have left behind.
3) May we freely serve others in the spirit of repentance and in gratitude for the gifts we have received.
No one can escape responsibility for the vices/evils [罪悪] and sufferings [苦患] of the world. It is hoped that we will always possess a heart of repentance [懺悔], serve freely at the crossroads, with the mind of Bodhi/mind of enlightenment [菩提心] [and practise], and thus align with the fundamental vow of achieving enlightenment for the universe [法界成就の本願].
4) May we make our way in the everyday world by following the Dharma, the sacred laws of nature.
In accordance with the precepts of natural truth [天真法爾の戒相] and following the six practices of aspiration [六度の行願 — see end note], acting on the true path [真道] in managing our livelihood and industry, we shall demonstrate the way of life that aims to bring about everlasting peace [永久平和]. Thus, we aspire to fulfil the accomplishment of everyday truth for laypeople [在家俗諦].
5) And, in this way, may we return to our home [the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers], always rambling leisurely [逍遥] in the formless paradise [無相の楽園] of Radiant Light.
If one attains a broad perspective, this world is, indeed, a pure land of serene light [ 寂光の浄土], a celestial garden of wonderful joy [妙楽の天園] where the rise of civilisation and the phenomena of evolution, even the pure rules and precepts, are merely a freely playing samadhi [一の遊戯三昧]. Sadly, the nuance of this message goes beyond what words can adequately express or hint at. For the moment, let us simply name this reality as the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers [天華香洞 Tenkakōdō].
The gate of the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers, provisionally named the Garden of the One Light [一燈園 Ittōen], can be seen as a transformational city [化城] established for those who aspire to the path but who yet cannot stand on their own, including the elderly, the ill, and the young. Its standing [その立] depends on the pure donations of joyful giving, and entrance to the garden is granted by following its pure rules.
Standing in the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers, the management and organisation of the entrusted finances and projects is provisionally named the Society for Spreading Light [宣光社 Senkōsha]. The purpose of the Society for Spreading Light is to eradicate the world's delusions, conflicts, and strife, aiming for harmonious homes, well-governed nations, and a peaceful world [齊家治国平天下]. The Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers, the Garden of the One Light, and the Society for Spreading Light are three different things but one substance [ittai 一體], altogether embodying the formless non-duality [無相不二].
[光明祈願の後にそへて]
“To the point of having no choice but to make my robes coarse in order to comfort those who have no robes; to dwell in poverty myself for the sake of those without money; to put no fish or fowl meat in my mouth out of sympathy for the lives of fish, birds and beasts; to distance myself from a sweet family home for the sake of those who have suffered heartbreak. In this way, I have at last become a person of the three robes and one bowl [三衣一鉢]. A person of the three robes and one bowl appears in lay form; I, who am of the lay world and its dust, lead the life of a monk. This is not necessarily said to be an attitude of faith; it is simply that having no other choice, it has become so.”
Who could there be that embodies the words above and practises this knowing action? The answer is my Dharma friend, the Master of the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers [天華香洞主人].
What kind of person is the Master of the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers? The world shall come to know him in due course.
These are words that my elder brother Tsunashima Ryōsen [綱島梁川] spoke more than ten years ago. And now those words are about to become manifest as reality. Who is the Master of the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers? As the representative of the Society for Spreading Light he is called Nishida Ichitarō [西田市太郎]; from the perspective of the Garden of the One Light he is known by the name Tenkō [天香]; and within the Fragrant Cave of Heavenly Flowers he calls himself Tsumi [詰]. He is a person who, even now, is going about his alms-round service [托鉢奉仕 takuhatsu hōshi] at the crossroads, seeking to establish the Six Practices for Ten Thousand Households [六萬行願 Rokuman Gyōgan — see end note].
It has been more than twenty years since I first met Tenkō Tsumi-san [天香詰師] through my brother Kawage [川兄]. Without ever casting aside my rudeness and ignorance, the Master has supported, instructed and guided me with unflagging sincerity, and thanks to him I have reached the present day.
Now the work of the Society for Spreading Light is about to expand greatly, and Dr Nitobe [新渡戸博士] has first introduced it to the Association Concordia [帰一協會 Kiitsu Kyōkai]. At that time, yielding to circumstances beyond my control, I recorded a portion of my observations and impressions, appended them to the Prayer of Radiant Light, and submitted them to Dr Nitobe for his guidance. Though my account is shallow, blunt and cursory, and though I can hardly bear my shame, I reproduce it again below, venturing to commit the fault of doing so without having newly composed it, solely for the sake of fulfilling even a fraction of my repentance and service.
(From Light [Hikari 光], No. 1, November 1920)
(I)
The Prayer of Radiant Light is an outline of the vows and practices that Nishida Tenkō-san [西田天香氏] and his comrades seek to follow. When I first met Tenkō-san more than ten years ago, what struck me with overwhelming amazement was the non-duality [不二] of his faith and his life.
I had once read Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, and when I came especially to that passage which Carlyle declared to be the finest prose in the world (Matthew 6 vv. 24ff), my reverence was unbounded. I wished to follow it just as it was, but when I consulted my former teachers and elders, most of them regarded it as anachronistic and sincerely advised me against it. Unable to hear God directly, I merely accumulated anxieties and passed the days and months in vain.
Then, quite unexpectedly, I encountered Tenkō-san and was able to witness with my own eyes the realisation of such a life. Not only that, but I heard how the account in the Gospel of Mark (10 vv. 29–31) was unfolding almost as a lived reality, and I, for my part, of such shallow knowledge and narrow experience, could not restrain my heart from leaping with amazement, reverence and joy.
When I spoke of this to Tenkō-san, he further explained that the state of mind expressed in the verses of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra [Yuima-gyō 維摩経] resonated with him even more deeply. I then began to examine these matters carefully, and through this gate I also explored the various religions that I had come to know at that time. At the ultimate ground I reached, I was able to revere the fact that all schools share the same essence [真髄], and I marvelled as if for the first time. Seeking the embodiment of this essence, I felt I could discover a partial glimpse of it in the new life that Tenkō-san and his comrades seek to follow.
(II)
I saw that this new way of living was not something arising from the demands of a self seeking to live, but rather a way of life in which one is reborn and allowed to live [生まれ変わり許されて活きる]. I call it a life of formlessness and selflessness [無相無我] grounded in the one, non-dual, thusness [不二一如] of Radiant Light.
In the past, I had understood life as a mysterious and subtle unity of thought and power, and I had sought to establish the true self where ideals are realised as one goes forward. Having been wholly captured by concepts and attached to words, and having come to uniformly dislike and reject such things as selflessness and formlessness, the light of this non-dual formlessness shone before me like a single flash of lightning cleaving the night sky.
At that time, a certain person was advocating something called “Selfless Love” [無我の愛], and the communal life of the Great Sun Hall [Dainichidō 大日堂] had just been dissolved, so I found myself studying the connections and interactions of all these matters together with Tenkō-san, full of various questions and interests. Our studies seemed only to entangle further complications and deepen a fruitless whirlpool. Yet, through Tenkō-san’s practice, I saw one fact after another manifesting.
I saw the difficult family problems that the masters of various sects and schools had given up on become resolved once they brought Tenkō-san in. I saw the entanglements of shops and factories that seasoned and accomplished figures of the financial world had been unable to handle gradually begin to find order through him. I saw even the torments of love which could not be resolved by personalities as pure, translucent and jade-like as any trained by the most refined Christian missionaries regain comfort and courage of heart through this life, so that those involved found satisfaction together.
Even the spontaneous and unfettered rambling [逍遥] that comes close to the deepest realms of Laozi and Zhuangzi sometimes reached an impasse when dealing with the world. Yet through this Way, I saw that they had opened up a state of playfulness even at a dead end. “Life is like algebra: when you divide by zero, even one becomes infinite.” The way of living that Tenkō-san and his comrades seek to adopt is, in effect, the way of dividing by zero. Infinite consequences arise from this. The Garden of the One Light that appears everywhere is a small and humble lamp. The Society for Spreading Light, which is about to arise, may perhaps be a somewhat larger light. There are too many interesting facts to list them all.
(III)
Through this I came to understand that what lies at the source of such facts and constitutes their very life is a life of repentance and service [懺悔奉仕].
For the seated ease [宴坐] of formless non-duality [無相不二] is rambling leisurely [shōyō 逍遥]; it is a freely playing samadhi [遊戯三昧]. Yet, dwelling in selfless thusness [無我一如] within this world that is like a burning house, the great vow of the complete attainment of all [皆倶成就の大願] naturally arises. Participating in the life of humanity, which is heavy with vice and evil [罪悪], the sorrow of repentance and confession [懺悔謝罪] pierces the heart. Hence, this life becomes the alms-round of broken robes and an iron bowl, or the spilling of blood on the cross, or the nembutsu of the medicine of compassion that enters without obstacle, or the nurturing of the holy embryo in concealment beneath a bridge. The practices of the saints must surely be like this.
When one has not yet attained sainthood and yet aspires to manifest the practices of the saints within the very midst of one's livelihood and industry, without departing from the everyday truth of the lay life [在家俗諦], then for the time being we call it a life of repentance and service [懺悔奉仕の生活].
If one were to possess selflessness and non-attachment [無我無執着] even as one’s own, one would, when confronted with those who are attached, feel the fault of possessing that very thing. How much more so for one who has not yet fully attained selflessness and non-attachment. Therefore, return all that one possesses to the Radiant Light (God/Buddha) and demonstrate the reality of repentance [懺悔]. Respond to the needs of those with whom one has karmic connections through a posture of non-attachment, and serve the attachments of the world. If one truly attains non-attachment, the Radiant Light will purify whatever forms of service one undertakes. This is precisely the reason for serving the Radiant Light.
This is sometimes called the alms-round of repentance [懺悔の行乞], or sometimes the mendicant labour of service [奉仕の托鉢]. Circumstances have their favourable and unfavourable aspects; modes of conduct have their active and still aspects. One should not insist on making one thing the only way and condemning another. It is simply that I feel a certain fondness for the mutual interpenetration of faith and practice, and for the non-duality of cultivation and realisation [修證無二]. Therefore, not only do I entrust myself to the next life [来生], but I also entrust all of this present existence [現生] as well. Not only do I play in the dropping away of the individual body [個身脱落], but I also wish to participate in the fundamental vow of the complete attainment of the universe [法界倶成の本願], to follow the formless pure rules [無相の清規], and to live a life of repentance and service that upholds the non-dual precepts [不二の戒相].
I have already emptied myself, responded to the needs of the world, avoided conflict and offered service [奉仕] in my practice. This differs in its essential inclination from a life centred on preaching the teachings and transmitting the Way. That this should differ in such a way is also unavoidable.
(IV)
The life of repentance and service guided by the formless, non-dual Radiant Light seems, at first glance, to contradict the so-called ideas of civilisation and evolution.
I once thought that pursuing ideals infinitely, advancing without end by supporting culture, and thereby fulfilling the work of heaven and exhausting one’s heavenly commission, was the means to accomplish the purpose of human life. When I now came to feel a certain affinity for a life that seemed utterly contradictory, a profound anguish disturbed my heart. The struggle was long-lasting and deeply rooted for me.
However, I now feel that I have come to a small awakening. When the non-dual Radiant Light illuminates, I see the exposure of the error of having given excessive status and value to civilisation and evolution. Remove that error, place them in their rightful position, and give them their proper value. Then civilisation is the Dharma joy, and evolution is one kind of playfulness [遊戯].
Some people say that modern civilisation has reached an impasse. If one truly recognises that it has reached an impasse and wishes to liberate it, one must clarify the reason for the impasse and get to work on that very issue. When the philosopher Rabindranath Tagore came to our country, I visited him together with Tenkō-san at Sankeien in Yokohama and introduced this Way to him, saying: “The way to resolve the impasse of modern civilisation, it seems to me, lies here.” I believe it is timely to repeat these words of introduction here.
Ah — is this a grandiose delusion, or is it the true and correct Way? The answer to this question is to be sought in the life of repentance and service grounded in the non-dual Radiant Light. And I cannot but ask the esteemed and wise assembly for a rigorous critique of this matter.
(December 1918)
Rokuman Gyōgan [六萬行願]—The six practices are: paying homage, “geza” (taking the lower seat, humility), service, consolation, “sange” (penitence), and “gyokotsu” (to do mendicant labour—which we have attempted to capture in the phrase “freely serve” used in the third prayer of the Prayer for Light). And since 10,000 households were counted as a basic unit of this service, it was named “Rokuman Gyogan” (six prayer practice for 10,000).
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