SUZUKI ; And another thing. I don't much care whether transmigration can be ' 1 proved scientifically or philo s ophically or not. Let each do his own work. I ' m content just to go through all those experiences-becoming a dog, cat, flower, star, rock, chair. . . . I t is quite interesting, and even stimulating. So whenever people ask me about transmigration I wonder what it is that makes them get so intet:ested in this question. This is a question one has to decide within oneself. It is not a matter that others can resolve for you. It's a strange thing how much we all depend on others. Perhaps as long as we live in society we have to be dependent on each other. We go to others an d abide by whatever judgment they give us. But at least with this one question let us not rely on others bu t decide the matter for ourselves, an d enjoy trisna. Traditionally, trisna is painted in a bad light. But actually without trisna f .1 wecannot live . I t is riot something undesirable, it is a good thing, a very, very good thing indeed . Because of it we are able to experience all kinds of beings, from the lowest to th e highest forms of existence. If there is a heaven or heavenly beings, we ca n experience them within ourselves, too. We don't have to go from this state to another state after death, or even before death, or before birth. We experience all these things in ourselves every moment of ou r lives. That is what is most interesting. An d to appreciate that all these things are in ourselves is the real blessing of life. So, instead of saying life is a tragedy an d having a pessimistic view of life, let us enjoy life an d appreciate what a good thing it truly is. Thank you. On th e Doubt in Our Heart NISHIDA KIT ARC> ON A SPRING DAY like this the fields turn into a broad expanse of green, dotted with small wild flowers in full bloom. An d in the afternoon the boastf ul skylark, with fluttering wings, chirps in the clear blue sky . Then in the evening, the hazy moon hanging serenely over the mountain peaks is a scene which is just indescribable. An d we, inhabiting this beautiful world, gather with ou r good friends or hare the comforts o f a happy home and family. Repeating over an d over daily routine-waking, working, eating, sleeping-our sixty or seventy years of life are spent, teeth fall out, vision dims and, finally, cremated, we depart as a puff of smoke. Our ancestors also spent their lives in this manner, an so will ou r descendants. The world has always been like this, an d it seems the direction in which ou r lives proceed has already been determined. Looking at it in this way, life seems simple an d pleasant, and there shouldn't be any doubt or dissatisfaction with it. And yet, there is something in the depths of ou r heart which, because of its self-reflective nature, won't allow us to be content with this kind of life an d then die. At present, with th e study of matter becoming more precise each day, we ca n calculate right down to the split second when a star will become visible in the sky, an d determine the wavelength of light or electricity. The advances in knowledge are so amazing that every single phenomen on in the universe seems clear, as though there weren't one mystery left. • The essay translated her e ; " Jinshin no Giwaku" A ' C . ( 7 ) f i H ~ in Nishida Kitar6 Zenshl1, Vol. 13, Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo, 1979, pp. 85-89, was written and first published in 1903 in the Hoku s hinkai journal. It was one of the la s t es says before Nishida's epoch-making Zen no Kenkyl1 (A Stud y of Good); for further biographic a l background, see V. H. Viglielmo, "Nishida Kitar6: The Early Years," in Tradition and Moderni z a tion in Japanese Culture, edited by Donald H. Shively (Princeton University Pre ss , 1971) , pp. 507-562. Footnotes have be e n provided by the translators . We wou l d like to thank Tokiwa Gishin for his help during the preparation of this manuscript. 6 7
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