There exists a somewhat unspoken, but yet still consensual agreement within the philosophical community that up to date, the world has seen only three considerably independent philosophical traditions. These philosophical traditions are inherently either Greek, Chinese, or Indian. It is from these philosophies that such philosophies as the Japanese philosophy emerged. In the course of her history, the Japanese have ably come up with a distinct philosophy of their own, but even this largely borrows from outside sources. These sources have at times been originally Chinese, whilst at other times, they’ve been traditionally Western. However, and quite notably, the Japanese usage and interpretation of these foreign sources is uniquely distinct. Perhaps, the most peculiar thing about Japanese philosophy is that even its inceptors prefer for it to remain communally owned, shying away from assuming honorific titles for their creations. This sharply contrasts with the preferences of other non-Western philosophers with regards to the adoption of honorific titles, relative to their philosophical inceptions. Additionally, Japanese philosophers, more often than not, make certain to set themselves apart even from some of the cultures that might have influenced their thought, and this avoids any kind of detraction from the uniqueness of their culture. Japanese philosophy is not only the brainchild of Japanese sociocultural and political leaders and scholars, but is also, the product of this group’s integration of nonnative traditions with indigenous philosophical and religious traditions. Japanese thought and Buddhism, two non-Western philosophies, are extensively based on the logical interpretations of time and knowledge. This paper gives a comparison of the two.
Western philosophers, in the same way as Japanese philosophers, have already determined detailed responses to metaphysical, aesthetic, ethical, and as well, epistemological questions . However, these thoughts set themselves apart from each other with respect to their presumptions in regard to the best manners in which to approach any of the aforementioned questions. Often, Japanese thoughts fail to address independent substances, preferring instead, to seek an understanding of ways in which the opposites of matter and mind appear. Conversely, philosophical Buddhism strives to reconcile the differences between such like opposites. Japanese thoughts are as a matter of fact, only but explanations of the complexities and of apparently opposite thought (Piovesana, 2013). Buddhism arrived in Japan at around the same time as Japanese thought, but it has had a more significant influence on Japanese life. This is due especially to the increased prominence of Buddhism in China at around the same time that China and Japan came into contact with each other
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Enormous difficulties on the part of the Japanese people, regarding their reading of Chinese texts, muzzled the growth of Confucianism within Japan. The two languages are completely different in terms of phonetics, and this is despite their similarity in terms of characters. It took very many years for this language barrier problem to be resolved, and this enabled the Japanese greater access to originally Chinese informational sources. In the same way as Confucianism in China, Buddhism played a very critical role with regards to Japanese education, and this went on for very many years. The ruling classes and the military elite received their education in Buddhist schools. The Japanese, in keeping with their traditional preference for aestheticism, almost entirely refuted any metaphysical, transcendent or otherworldly realities. Instead, they took up the here and now phenomenal, glorifying it for its sanctified regard for aestheticism. The strong idea that the phenomenal world, complete with the changes that it had continued to experience, was just but a false way of viewing the ultimately eternal reality, gained acceptance, and was incorporated into the most sophisticated form of Buddhism, which had emerged in China (McMullin, 2014). This theory resulted from the logical conclusion that save for the Buddha reality, nothing else exists in the world. Therefore, even dualism itself cannot provide clear contrasts of the ordinary physical world with the Buddha reality. In which case, ordinary existence might be considered as a misrepresentation of the Buddha reality. Seeing as this outlook compared favorably with Japanese predispositions, Japanese philosophers took up the development of Buddhism respectful to it.
The philosophy of Japanese thoughts has in the course of the years, been marked by fie evolutionary phases. These are: the ancient period, classical period, the medieval period, early modern period, and the modern period. This periodical development mark the significance of time in the logical Japanese representation of their philosophy. Of these ages, the ancient period is popular for its obsession with state organization and also, with Sinicization. This period lasted from the seventh through to the ninth period. The two main systems of intellect, Buddhism and Confucianism, were imported into Japan partly from China, and also from Korea. Buddhism provided philosophical meaning of the inner self and most especially, of its working, whilst Confucianism covered the social self, as this had a very great influence on political structures and on the patterns of formal behavior. Buddhists took up the fervent practice of introspected self-cultivation, and through it, strove to devise sought to devise creative avenues for the expression of artistry and powerful wonderworks. Buddhism and just as well, Confucianism, positively correlate with indigenous Japanese myths, as they both emphasize native animism, and have divine origins that emphasize a mutual relationship between humanity and nature. (Nelson, 2013). The cultural practice of Buddhism in Japan was mainly embraced in the seventh and in the eighth centuries. The main thematic expressions of this philosophy have had far-reaching consequences on the worldview of Japan. Such Buddhist notions as emptiness, dependent co-origination, impermanence, and self-insubstantiality inspired the understanding of self as existing in regard, not in disregard of the social and natural world. Besides, these notions explain the Japanese vision of the world as being eternally responsive to change.
The ninth century marked the beginning of a period of reinforced classicism. This period remained vibrant, but only up to the late twelfth century. During this era, Japanese thinkers made extensive efforts with regards to their literature, leading to the development of schools that really, were a construction of sophisticated doctrinal and practical systems. The Buddhist cross-section of these thinkers promoted a domineering kind of philosophical esotericism, and this contributed to the introduction of two or more ideas that had a lasting impact with respect to Japanese thought. The first one of these ideas is the belief that all phenomena are an expression of cosmic activities, and this was initially represented by an enlightened Buddha, Dainichi Nyorai. Therefore, the entire cosmos was fully reflected in each and every phenomenon. The second one of these ideas was of the opinion that, enlightenment could be attained, not by mere conceptual acts, but by the transformation of the full complex of the body, spirit, and mind. This in turn, could only have been possible with the strong dedication to ritualized practices. Thus, quite deductively, this tradition was insightfully an incarnate activity as well as an intellectual function. During this era, the Japanese represented their sense of courtly refinement in terms of charm and elegance. Additionally, such values as sensitivity and poignancy were blended into a complex mix of animistic ancient sympathies with naturally occurring phenomena.
The late twelfth century marked the advent of the medieval phase of Japanese culture. This was an era of political as well as social upheaval and it lasted up until the sixteenth century. For instance, the court life lost its significance, by and large courtesy of the dissolution of aristocratic power. Additionally, and owing to the recurrence of natural disasters and warfare, quite a good number of the Japanese abandoned the cosmic vision of Japanese thinkers. Relatively, many people now craved for a religious philosophy that would greatly influence their life towards a calming peacefulness. Kamakura philosophers shared concerns that in fact, were simplifications of Buddhism, thusly, increasing its reception amongst all peoples, in spite of the classes into which they might have been stratified. This period marked the birth of religious forms of life that are still popular with Japanese audiences today. Additionally, Japanese cultural assumptions, even today, are explainable by the philosophical bearings of this time. In this era, Buddhism was, to very great extents, wedded to Japanese practices and thoughts. This period marked very little critical development of Confucianism as a philosophy.
The early phases of the modern period of Japanese philosophy occasioned a shift in sociopolitical governance towards efficiency, and this explains the peacefulness and stability that this phase is well renowned for. During this time, Confucianism gained a lot of prominence, but only with regards to its principles that held unification and political centralization in high regards. Consequently, and owing to the aforementioned political stability, commerce thrived, empowering the merchant class over other classes and also, marking a rise in terms of literacy levels. Notably, of the masses that sought knowledge, the Samurais used theirs to show the ideals of personified virtue, firm loyalty, and stoic self-control. These ideals almost naturally conformed with Confucian properties and to Buddhist self-discipline. At this point, it should be noted that Confucian thinkers can be classified in two major groups. This classification is highly dependent on their sources of inspiration. The first group obtains a lot of its inspirations from Chinese thinkers and includes Japanese philosophers who put a lot of work towards the promotion of their work. It consists of thinkers who believed that Japanese Confucianism, for it was over dominated by an almost abstract overemphasis on metaphysical principles, was a faulty representation of the structure of universal forces. Some of these thinkers, in view of making Confucianism more practical, came up with a naturalistic philosophy, placing more emphasis on given vital forces than on the principles of everyday life. The second wing of Confucians encompasses the developers of the tradition that’s more commonly known as the school of ancient learning. These Japanese thinkers were of the opinion that the theories of vital force, together with metaphysical principles, were major alterations of the ideas of Confucius, who preoccupied himself with the development of human social capital, as this was necessary to the maintenance of social order. Therefore, these scholars wished for a reincarnation of ancient, classical Confucianism, as this provided a correlation between social harmony and basic virtues.
Confucianism, in its initially unadulterated form, had made sure to avoid metaphysical speculations. Confucians disagree with Buddhists, for quite unlike in Buddhism, in Confucianism, the inner nature of everything is the central tenet of virtuous human-heartedness. Regarding this philosophy, human beings considerably differ from all other forms of creation, seeing as the nature of human beings is displayed in a manner that’s not only clearer, but also more accessible and prominent, relative to the other creatures. The logic holds that the world is held in a controlled balance by the Meta of human-heartedness. This human power, in just as much as it was for the control of the world, also was a metaphysics principle for the maintenance of universal governance. Thusly, Buddhism and Confucianism, as they share common origins, continue to manageably and peacefully coexist with each other. However, some political leaders still use the differences that set the two philosophies markedly apart to foment social divisions for their own gain. For this reason, Buddhism may be perceived not as just spiritual, but also as metaphysical, personal, and otherworldly. Conversely, Confucianism has come to be perceived as humanistic and as well, this worldly, for it is focused on sociopolitical concerns. This explains the prominence of Confucianism as compared to Buddhism in Japan; however, this change was more pervasive and extreme in China. Confucianism has in the wake of all of this, receive a lot of praise, reportedly for its supreme rationale, pragmatism, and humanism while Buddhism has been degraded for its perceived emotional, social, and superstitious uselessness (Watanabe, 2012).
Japanese thought and Buddhism in as much as they’re both non-western philosophical systems, bear numerous similarities and differences. The Japanese philosophies are largely modifications, relative to the forms in which they were first introduced into the country. The two philosophical systems are both central components of Japanese cultural History.
References
McMullin, N. (2014). Buddhism and the State in Sixteenth-century Japan . Princeton University Press.
Nelson, John K. Experimental Buddhism . University of Hawai'i Press, 2013.
Piovesana, G. K. (2013). Recent Japanese Philosophical Thought 1862-1994: A Survey . Routledge.
Watanabe, H. (2012). A history of japanese political thought: 1600-1901 (No. 321.01 (52)(091)). International House of Japan,.
