Be Not Defeated
"Be not defeated by the rain" (雨にもまけず) begins an unpublished piece by the Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa. Discovered in a notebook buried in a trunk found in the author's home after his 1933 death, it charts the poet's reflections on hardship and resilience in the face of challenges encountered throughout his life, but could just as readily document the struggles of any being in this world at any point in time.
Our poetic excursions this month have traversed multiple intersecting contemplative paths, ranging from Tang dynasty Chinese hermit sages who ventured along endless trails through wintery mountain landscapes in search of the upper limits of the world, all the way to twentieth century German philosophers of ontology seeking personal retreat in forest huts, even stretching back a thousand some years into the realm of Egyptian-Jewish-inspired ancient Gnostic mystic feminists spontaneously expressing highly unorthodox sorts of paradoxes, to list a few.
Here we undertake the first in a series of articles examining this little known Japanese poem from the perspective of contemporary contemplative ecology. Noting the author's reference to drought and other climatological challenges, we draw parallels to circumstances of degradation affecting the natural world in the present. Not only does Miyazawa poignantly reflect on such environmentally related difficulties, he also demonstrates the capacity to remain resilient in their wake. We thus follow in Miyazawa's footsteps by offering a means to cultivate such resilience, perhaps even to help restore resilience to the natural world. Given the rapid deterioration of the environment in recent years, such resilience is all the more necessary as we move forward in order for a future to be possible. Be not defeated.
Weatherly Whims
Translated by David Sulz, the poem begins with Miyazawa referencing the weatherly whims of the natural world, calling for the cultivation of resilience amidst their cyclic turbulence. Such images make their reappearance later in the poem as well, alongside even more explicit images of suffering.
Be not defeated by the rain,
Nor let the wind prove your better.
Succumb not to the snows of winter,
Nor be bested by the heat of summer.
Such reflections on the weatherly whims of the planet could equally apply to any period of time and extend across the globe, plagued as it has been by natural disasters and, in more recent years, man-made disasters. Even as recently as a few months ago and continuing through the past weeks, the northern hemisphere experienced its hottest recorded summer to date. Meanwhile, despite reduced coverage and attention, the Amazon rainforest continues to burn, while various regions have endured torrential downpour in the form of devastating hurricanes and monstrous typhoons and still others are ravaged by flames swept unpredictably by raging winds.
Be not defeated by the rain...nor bested by the heat of summer. Rather than ignore these trends, which beings have endured for thousands of years and increasingly through the present, Miyazawa wholeheartedly acknowledges their presence, yet asks us not to succumb to them. But how?
Be strong in body,
Unfettered by desire,
Not enticed to anger.
Cultivate a quiet joy.
Count yourself last in everything.
Put others before you.
Watch well and listen closely.
Hold the learned lessons dear.
Rather than leave us in the dark, fortunately Miyazawa offers some suggestions on how to cultivate such resilience amidst turbulence, whether in the form of weatherly whims or the fires burning within.
Desire and Anger
Be strong in body, he says, unfettered by desire and not enticed to anger. Simple advice but with significant depth. We offer an interpretation here.
When under stress, as most will attest, our default response is to seek some form of artificial comfort - whether through over-indulgence in food or drink, mind-numbing media, or other substances used to dull the senses and distract us from the stressful situation at hand. Desire is abused as an escapist outlet.
If at all possible, suggests Miyazawa, remain unfettered by desire. Such indulgences only bind and shackle us.
Of note here is Miyazawa's contemplative background. A devout Buddhist, his personal philosophy entailed perception of the dangers that undergird sense pleasures. Sever such attachments, he suggests.
At the same time, to become averse to the world, angry and repressed, is just as binding and shackling. Letting anger get the better of us, we are defeated. Be unfettered by desire, while also not enticed to anger, advises Miyazawa. Subservient to neither, one is then free.
How does one free oneself from these vices, as they're sometimes called? Desire and anger are natural, visceral responses to environmental opportunities and threats. In some cases, they serve to further our survival. Yet in more cases than not, they hurt us (and others, including the environment) tremendously.
Whatever one's personal philosophy surrounding desire and anger, most will probably acknowledge that they disturb balance and harmony at the very least, destabilizing the capacity to maintain peace of mind.
Rarely are desire and anger overcome overnight. Rather, the process of dampening their intensity and loosening their hold over us is gradual. The practice of silent, sustained meditation, in which one comes face-to-face with the mind in all its raucousness, is one way to intimately familiarize oneself with its inner workings, enabling an understanding that allows for a gradual undoing of conditioned reactions characterized by desire and anger. Through repeated practice (over years, decades, lifetimes if one is willing to entertain such a possibility) the resilience builds.
Realistic Resilience
Yet how can populations already struggling with issues of war, famine, and poverty develop skills such as resilience when the need for it is far more urgent than can be developed gradually? Such an invitation to remain strong despite the storm may be reasonably within reach by those privileged enough to already have their basic needs met, but what of those who struggle day to day under far more precarious conditions?
We hope to crowd-source possible solutions to this question. What can be done to imbue struggling communities with resilience? Rather than a surface solution, we're asking about systemic change. Please contribute to the conversation if this is of interest to you. We actively encourage your ongoing reflections.
Truly, how can a realistic resilience be made possible while acknowledging the severity of issues faced by marginalized communities?
To be continued.
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