Thoughts on Moksa

Esho Yamaguchi

Moksa (emancipation) is used according to the Indian philosophic term (in : mokkha), connoting the contemporary conception of "emancipation of man". As is known, moksa, as denoted in Indian philosophy, influenced the his- tory of thoughts of Japan through . In the Buddhist , moksa is manifested as emancipation (解 脱Gedatsu); it corresponds to nirvapa (浬

Nehan). Its central thought played a leading role for many hundreds of years in the development of the history of Japanese thoughts. However, the situation is different in contemporary thoughts. In contemporary thou- ghts,it appears that for the purpose of human emancipation, a campaign for reform of the social structure is emphasized; to destroy the social structure built by historical religions. The emancipation and mentioned in Buddhism is thought to be irrelevant. A qnestion arises whether or not the moksa of Buddhism can positively contribute to the emancipation of man. But leaving this problem aside, moksa occupied a central position not only in Buddhism, but in the various thoughts of Indian philosophy, and played a prominent role in the development of Indian thought. This serves as a prognostication of the future characteristic of Indian thoughts. How- ever, this does not mean that moksa is peculiar to Indian philosophy without any universality. Rather, standing on a universal dimension, it widely eman- cipates all living things; therefore it attempts to emancipate all human beings. According to the arya- of Buddhism the catuh-satya CSI Shi-tai), the fundamental truth that we know, has a double causa and effect rela- tionship, and is systematically organized. The double cause and effect rela- tionship is the karmic relations which manifests the actual existence of -1008- Thoughts on Moksa' (E. Yamaguchi) (24) the 'duhkha of all sentient beings and the karmic relations to manifest the idealistic existence of the nirodha of duhkha, i. e., the eradication of suffer- ing. These two types of cause and effect, originally was formed by the wis- dom of the Buddha's enlightenment, and the purpose was "to change illu- sion into enlightenment" (転 迷 開 悟Tenmei-kaigo); it shows the actual exis. tence of the suffering of sentient beings and the idealistic existence of the nirodha of duhkha. Simultaneously, there is manifested the way for sentient beings in the actual existence of duhkha to attain an idealistic existence which is the nirodha of duhkha; clearly, the purpose is for the moksa of sentient beings. In this case, the moksa of sentient beings is to clarify the path of the nirodha of duhkha, and would be realized by its practice, but the precondition is the poignant pranidhana of eternal emancipation of one's self from dnhkha and the cause of duhkha. If there is no pranidhana of this type, it would not be possible to arrive at the idealistic existence of the nirodha of duhkha by manifesting duhkha with the cause of duhkha, and the nirodha of duhkha with the path of the nirodha of duhkha. The important thing is the pranidhana of the nirodha of duhkha of sen- tient beings; i. e., the pranidhana of moksa of sentient beings; and this pranidhana upholds the teachings of the fundamental truth (arya-satya, the ). The tradition of the arya-satya becomes for the first time, the non-diminishing light (the ultimate teacher) for sentient beings by this pranidhana. In this case, the pranidhana of sentient beings is literally the pranidhana of sentient beings and the arya-satya- -the nirodha of duhkha of sentient beings; i. e., because it is the pranidhana of moksa, it originates from the enli- ghtened wisdom of the Buddha. The nirodha of duhkha of sentient beings; i.e., with the purpose of moksa, the purpose of the wisdom of the Buddha is activated. The Buddha will not cease until all sentient beings attain the nirodha of duhkha, and the Buddha will not rest until all sentient beings complete moksa, so there is a selfless (egoless) mendicancy. And the tea- chings of the , arya-satya has been unfolded, so the pranidhana of -1007- (25) Thoughts on 'Moksa' (E. Yamaguchi) sentient beings ultimately relies on the purpose of the wisdom of the Bud- dha's enlightenment; i.e., it relies on the prapidhana-, (発 願 心) of the pranidhana of the moksa of sentient beings. Let us say, arbitrarily that the pranidhana of sentient beings is concerned with a single nirodha of duhkha of sentient beings. In the case of a single nirodha of duhkha of sentient beings, if the pranidhana of sentient beings listen to the teachings of arya-satya and is illuminated by arya-satya, the pranidana of sentient beings is embraced by the heart of pranidhana requiem of the Buddha. Then, all the nirodha of duhkha of sentient beings are ques- tioned of the pranidhana, criticized, and are placed in position. And yet, a singular nirodha of duhkha of senient beings always becomes respectively separate by the different nature of a singular duhkha of sentient beings-, and deviating from pranidhana, by the standpoint of the sentient being him- self, he is able to do it autocephalously. The duhkha of sentient beings. are in common conceptively on the points of birth, old age, sickness, death, separation from loved ones, contact with resentful and hateful ones, unfulfil- led desires, and , etc., but usually by the individuality of each sentient being respectively, it becomes an event of individual counseling, and coun- seling of personal affairs. Though special cases, generally, we deviate from arya-satya, and seek an independent solution. However, if the single duhkha of a sentient being is the same as the duhkha of all sentient beings, the nirodha of duhkha must be devised to match the nirodha of duhkha of all sentient beings. It is indisputably sug- gested in the deeds of Gautama Sakyamuni; i. e., the fact of experiencingg the incident of leaving through four gates, before becoming a priest, and the process of: entering the' priesthood, searching for the dharma. and enlightenment, after becoming a priest. The motive of Gautama Sakyamuni'sa becoming a priest, 'as is well-known, after seeing birth, old age, illness, and death, was to loose the duhkha of all living things; and of all sentient beings. This shows that the motive of Sakyamuni's taking the tonsure iss not a problem of duhkha of Sakyamuni as an individual, but the standpoint of Sakyamuni's tonsure transcends Sakyamuni as an individual before his -1006- Thoughts on Moksa' (E. Yamaguchi) (26) tonsure. To rephrase it, the moksa of duhkha of all sentint beings is not from the standpoint limited to the laymen, but transcends the standpoint qof an individual; this is the standpoint of a priest who ponders on the prob - lem of duhkha of all sentient beings. The purpose of tonsure of Sakyamuni -was to determine such contents of priesthood. Therefore, the practice and :search for the dharma after the tonsure of Sakyamuni as a sramana (samana) is a process transcending Sakyamuni as an individual before taking the tonsure; and it can be said that the enlightenment of Sakyamuni manifests the objective to loose the duhkha of all sentient beings. The purpose of Sakyamuni's undergoing tonsure, search for the dharma, and enlightenmenment becomes all the more clearer when compared to the dharma of asrama. Asramal) partitions the entire life of a human be- ing into four periods; brahmacaryn, grhastha, vanaprastha, and samnyasin, . and resolves to find the meaning of studies and practices, but on the point of largely dividing life into the early and latter part, its characteristic is manifested. The first half of one's life is a period when one matures-into an adult and positively participates in the productivity of society. Studies and practices find their purposes in the mortification of , and the grhastha as presiding priest. Then, in the latter half of one's life, one retires from the active partipation of society and vows for a super-social universal value; i. e., the reality of an eternal life ; in a word, one engages in a new study and practice. This significance is manifested in the cogita- tion and search for the dharma in vanaprastha, and the mendicancy and =evangelizing in samnyasin. In this case, in contrast to manifesting a standpoint of restriction to a layman; i. e., a personal life of a sentient being restricted to his home and family in the first half of his life, if one regards that the latter half manifests a standpoint of surmounting these circumscriptions and takes the tonsure, it is found that the tonsure of Sakyamuni would correspond to the

1) 1st, Brahmacarin, student of the Veda'; 2nd, grhastha, '; 3rd, vanaprastha, "anchorite'; 4th, samnyasin, abandoner of all worldly concerns. (Cf. Monier-Williams, Skt-Eng. Dic., p. 158.) -1005- 27) Thoughts on Moksa' (E. Yamaguchi) dharma of asrama. By corresponding to the dharma of asrama, Sakyamuni digressed from the dharma of a layman, and predilicted the way of a priest. Sakyamuni chose the way of the priesthood because as long as he lived by the dharma of the laity, he could not solve the problem of duhkha con- fronting all sentient beings, so already at this time, there was the determi- nation of pranidhana of "eradicating duhkha and attaining happiness" ; to loose the duhkha of all sentient beings. Moreover, this pranidhana according to the former Muni, was in indomitable exertion-state2>. It is clear that this means that Sakyamuni's search for the dharma and his practices after taking the tonsure did not cease despite the fact that he was not satisfied with the various and tapas which were popular during those times. As a priest; i. e., sramana, his inner thoughts and re- flection of atman (self) was transmitted without interruption, and this ulti- mately led to enlightenment. However, the question arises that if the enlightenment of Sakyamuni sig- nifies the moksa of duhkha of all sentient beings, why are not the present duhkha of sentient beings not eradicated? Does the enlightenment of Sa- kyamuni actually signify the moksa of duhkha of all sentient beings ? This is the problem. For the enlightenment of Sakyamuni to mean the moksa of duhkha of all sentient beings was, until now, the self-evidence of the enlightenment of Sakyamuni. This self-evidence, because it is a self-evidence, signifies the moksa of duhkha of all sentient beings, and though it was not in the frame of proof or non-proof, there was a strong repuest from Brahma- (Brahman), which represented all sentient beings, to preach to all sentient beings what

2) In this case, we should pay attention to the tale of Toshin-gako (投 身 餓 虎)

of Sessen-doji (雪 山 童 子) and the vow of Dharmakara Bhiksu (法 蔵 比 丘). Sessen-do ji, the young ascetic in the Himalayas, searched the dharma at the risk of his life (cf. Mahaparinirvana-, Fascile 13). And the vow of Dhar- makara Bhiksu is found in the Sukhavati-vyuha-sutra (A. Ashikaga's Ed., pp. 8ff.). -1004- Thoughts on 'Moksa' (E. Yamaguchi) (28) needed to be preached, and after mature deliberation, it is said that it was finally decided to preach to all sentient beings. Such transition from self- evidence, when combined with later "preaching of the dharma", signify the steps to non-retrogression: the moksa of duhkha of all sentient beings is vowed so all sentient beings can attain emancipation, and there is assurance through self-evidence that enlightenment will eradicate duhkha. When this is compared to the dharma of asrama, it is found that the path of priesthood of Sakyamuni is a development from the "vanaprastha" which is the result of enlightenment, to "sarhnyasin", the mendicancy dharma ; this can be viewed that the selfless-ego, compassionate practice towards all sentient beings had commenced. In this case, the pranidhana of moksa of all sentient beings-Though in poisonous worlds, I will be assiduous, till the end, there will be no regrets (Otherwise, I will not be enlightened)3)-this vow is the impetus of the mendi- cancy and preaching dharma and we must remember that this pranidhana equally transfers its merits to us, sentient beings. On this point, it must be kept in mind that enlightenment and the preaching of the dharma is the expression of compassion of the wisdom of the Buddha's enlightenment. If this is not kept in mind, we cannot understand that this is the compassion- ate act of the Tathagata's returning of -transference. Thus, we would probably not be able to understand the meaning that enlightenment and preaching the dharma is to eradicate the duhkha of all sentient beings. In this case, though it may be looked upon as truth, the arya-satya of duhkha of all sentient beings, can never become the arya-satya of the Tathagata Buddha; thus it will not mean that the enlightenment and preaching the dharma will eradicate the duhkha of all sentient beings. Until now, we received the truth of duhkha as individual sentient beings respectively, and we could not sufficiently understand the duhkha of the arya-satya of all sentient beings. However, the pranidhana merit-transference of moksa of all sentient beings is our answer to moksa, and when we re-

3) Here we should remember the vow of Dharmakara Bhiksu. -1003- (29) Thoughts on Moksa' (E. Yamaguchi) cognize that this has been already given to us, we also can recognize that the duhkha of ourselves will be eradicated because arya-satya is concerned with the eradication of duhkha of all sentient beings. However, in this case, we must note that the arya-satya of all sentient beings, generally speaking, is in samsara, (Rinne 輪 廻), the world of all sentient beings. The arya-satya of duhkha, as the duhkha of all sentient beings, characterizes primarily the world of samsara of all sentient beings. Therefore, when we respectively place us as a link to the world of samsara, duhkha literally approaches us as arya-satya, and at the moment this is understood, there is established the pranidhana of true moksa for ourselves. Anyhow, the writer sought to clarify that moksa is restricted to the era- dication of duhkha ands) that the moksa of eradication of duhkha was esta- blished by the pranidhana of moksa by purva-acarya. Also, the eradication of our duhkha, called moksa, is established by the merit-transference of pranidhana of moksa by purva-acarya, but the precondition is that it must be understood that the satya of samsara is given for us by purva-acarya; this is the arya-satya of duhkha. Ultimately, together with the arya-satya of duhkha, moksa is our arya-satya based on the returning merit-transfence of the compassionate acts of purva- acarya and Tathagata. The writer wanted to clarify that to believe in this is a great joy and happiness.

1) With regard to this point of view, we, have to see the history of Indian philosophy, for instance, Veda, Upanisad, sramanism, Buddhism, darsana and so froth.

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