Encounter With Enlightenment: A Study of Japanese Ethics (S U N Y Series in Modern Japanese Philosophy)

Examines the influence of Shintoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism on Japanese ethics, with implecations for our understanding of various social, economic, and environmental problems. ENCOUNTER WITH ENLIGHTENMENT: A Study of Japanese Ethics 5 Contents 9 Foreword 13 Acknowledgments 33 Introduction: Contrasts and Ideals 37 MANY “EASTS,” MANY “WESTS” 41 THE CRITICAL PATH 42 1. The “Do Nothing”and the Pilgrim: Two Approaches to Ethics 47 ON THE NATURE OF THE WILL 50 THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE EVERYDAY WORLD 52 THE WILL IN EASTERN THOUGHT 54 WU-WEI AND NON-DOING 59 EVIL 60 ON HUMAN HEARTEDNESS 62 A RADICAL INTERDEPENDENCE 63 THE MORALITY OF ENLIGHTENMENT 65 CONCLUSION 67 2. The Significance of Shintoism for Japanese Ethics 71 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SHINTO ̄ PERSPECTIVE 72 SHRINE SHINTO ̄ (COMMON SHINTO ̄) 75 IN THE BEGINNING 76 KAMI AND EVIL 79 ATTITUDES, VIRTUES, AND RITUALS 83 THE CONNECTION TO ANCESTORS 85 THE WAY TO THE FUTURE 86 REFLECTIVE EPILOGUE 89 THE ECOLOGICAL DIMENSION 92 ETHICS AND NATURE 97 SHINTO ̄ AND ZEN 98 3. Confucianism and Japanese Ethics 99 THE CONFUCIAN SELF 101 ORIGINAL HUMAN GOODNESS 103 THE IMPORTANCE OF SINCERITY 105 SELF AS FIELD 106 SPONTANEITY 108 CONFUCIANISM IN JAPAN 109 4. Buddhism and Japanese Ethics 113 INTRODUCTION 113 THE BEGINNINGS 115 BUDDHISM AND MORALITY 116 THE GROUND OF MORALITY 122 WHAT HAPPENED TO NIRVA ̄NA? 124 ETHICS AND ENLIGHTENMENT 126 THE BODHISATTVA 128 THE PATH OF THE BODHISATTVA 130 5. Zen Buddhism and Ethics 135 ZEN AND ENLIGHTENMENT 137 EVIL AND ZEN 141 THE CAT AGAIN 144 SEEING INTO ONE’S OWN NATURE 145 WHY SHOULD ONE BE MORAL? 146 CATS! CATS! CATS! 148 ZEN AND NATURE 151 AND IF THE CAT WERE NOT A CAT? 153 6. The Fundamentals: Modern Japanese Ethics 159 NINGEN 162 THE ONE AND THE MANY 164 ETHICS 166 TOWARDS NOTHINGNESS 168 SINCERITY 171 ETHICS AS CONTEXTUAL 172 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FAMILY 179 THE COMPLEXITY OF CLIMATE 180 7. An Ethics of Transformation: Nishida, Yuasa, and Dogen 185 THE NEED TO DIFFERENTIATE 194 WHY THE ONE DIFFERENTIATES 195 THE NATURE OF GOOD CONDUCT 199 FROM SELF TO NO-SELF 201 ON SELF-CULTIVATION 206 DOGEN 210 DOGEN ON THE “NOW” 215 Conclusion: The Mutuality of Learningin a Global Village 219 SOCIAL ETHICS 224 FINAL REFLECTIONS 230 ECOLOGICAL ETHICS, EAST AND WEST 234 Notes 239 Selected Bibliography 267 Index 281 A 281 B 282 C 283 D 284 E 285 F 286 G 286 H 286 I 287 J 288 K 288 L 288 M 288 N 289 O 290 P 291 R 291 S 291 T 292 U 293 V 293 W 293 Y 294 Z 294 In Encounter with Enlightenment, Robert E. Carter puts forth the East, and specifically Japan, as a source of possible solutions to the world's social, economic, and environmental problems. Not only is the book a sustained scholarly analysis of both the religious and philosophical roots of Japan's distinctive ethical approach to life, but it also provides the Western reader with a context for understanding Eastern values—values that although familiar to the West tend to be deemphasized. Encounter with Enlightenment begins a horizontal fusion between East and West, and establishes a common ground for mutual understanding and for working toward an ethical approach that could resolve some of the earth's difficulties. Examines the influence of Shintoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Zen Buddhism on Japanese ethics, with implications for our understanding of various social, economic, and environmental problems.