Today We Commemorate

Today We Commemorate

Today we commemorate 1,000 visitors!



Over the past two months since beginning these reflections, we have explored a wide swath of texts, spanning the spectrum of contemplative traditions. These include:

• the Metta Sutta on loving-kindness


• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius as an introduction to Stoicism


• the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali on the turnings of thought


• the Dhātuvibhaṅga Sutta on the currents of construing


• Chan master Huineng's musings that the mind is moving


• indigenous reflections on language in Braiding Sweetgrass by Kimmerer


• contemplative poetry by Hanshan in China and Heidegger in Germany


• unorthodox paradox from the Gnostic tradition


• a Japanese poem on resilience by Miyazawa, and more.

Our subject matter thus far has ranged from contemplative ecology and reflections on the climate crisis to contemplative practices such as meditation on emptiness intended to facilitate a radical shift in our behaviors.

Several new articles are forthcoming this month, including a snapshot of Nāgārjuna's understanding of emptiness and the two truths, Ralph Waldo Emerson's reflections on self-reliance, the Greco-Buddhist metaphor of the chariot from the Milinda Pañha, and Alfred North Whitehead on process metaphysics and its relevance to an understanding of conscious experience, to name a few.

We're always pleased to hear from you, so feel free to leave a comment or contact us directly at unityinplurality@gmail.com at any time. If you have suggestions for other texts and reflections to feature here, please let us know.

Thank you for making it this far with us. We're glad to have you along for the ride.

Be Not Defeated - Humane Humility - Part III

Be Not Defeated

Featured here is the third and final installation of our three-part series of reflections on the poem "Be not Defeated by the Rain" by Japanese Buddhist poet Kenji Miyazawa, who lived in the first part of the twentieth century during a period of rapid modernization in Japan. If you haven't already participated in our discussion of the earlier sections of the poem, feel free to tune in to Part I and Part II for a recap of the conversation.

As we enter the final lap, it may be helpful to note a few additional biographical details about Miyazawa's life that informed his contemplative reflections.

Reflecting his values, including a distaste for the trend of competitive commerce sweeping over the populace, as well as a distaste for the tendency toward seeking riches that preoccupied the lives of so many of his peers, Miyazawa voluntarily spent several months in severe poverty, devoting himself fully to Buddhism while living on the streets of Japan. Rejecting society's materialism, he lived a life of renunciation even after leaving the streets, giving up worldly pleasures in search of a higher happiness. His poem "Be not Defeated by the Rain" reflects this quest.

Times of Drought

Reminding us again of Miyazawa's concern about the ecological conditions of the world, the poem returns to an image already painted in its first few lines. We enter the scene through the poet's reflections, which depict a compassionate resilience in response to hardship. Consider the following.

In times of drought, shed tears of sympathy.
In summers cold, walk in concern and empathy.

Coming full circle to the ecological concerns raised earlier in the poem, here Miyazawa again references the weatherly whims which wash over the face of the earth in the form of drought and other natural disturbances to equilibrium, calling not for stoic indifference to them, but for a wise expression of emotion. Cultivating resilience is anything but a toughening up and stomping down of sentimentality. In fact, it may be the inverse. Perhaps for resilience to be made possible, or moreover, for resilience to be made effective, it has to be made affective. A softening of heart must be undergone.



Cold apathy is unlikely to be effective in the face of such hardship, suggests Miyazawa. In fact, it may backfire and lead to further damage by neglecting to call out the root of the problems facing the natural world and its inhabitants, including us. Notice the juxtaposition in the two images featured in these lines.

First, we are asked to mentally place ourselves in a time of drought. Under such conditions, the earth by every appearance dries up under the scorching rays of the sun. On its face form deep furrows, wrinkles reflecting the cracked surface of the earth. Soil that would otherwise remain moist with recent rain and morning dew instead hardens as the land becomes inhospitable. Plants wither and die from lack of water. Rather than maintain a firm upper lip, our response, writes Miyazawa, should be to shed tears of sympathy. Perhaps such tears metaphorically moisten the earth, restoring life to its otherwise deadened exterior. If we genuinely and wholeheartedly care about the earth, we will cease the behaviors that lead to its demise.

Second, amidst cold summers (another striking paradox) we are called to walk in concern and empathy. Whether the descriptor "cold" is intended as a reflection of either temperature or lack of emotion, the juxtaposition remains salient. In the case of the latter, one may temper such coldness through empathy and concern. A cold summer may perhaps reflect the apathetic non-response to much of the fires and heat waves that sweep across the earth. While certainly there are those who actively work toward solutions to climate change, many remain unconvinced that it warrants any change in their behaviors, privileging their own pleasure above the planet. Also notice that we are asked to walk in concern and empathy. The path of resilience is active, not passive. We are asked to keep going, to move forward rather than stagnate behind.

Humility

Nearing the conclusion of the poem, another strong sentiment finds expression, namely that of humility. Here we find Miyazawa showing his distaste for the ways of the mainstream, preoccupied as it is with fame and fortune. He expresses this sentiment not out of arrogance, but with a sense of humility.

Stand aloof of the unknowing masses:
Better dismissed as useless than flattered as a "Great Man."
This is my goal, the person I strive to become.

Eschewing societally reinforced standards of success such as status, Miyazawa charts his own path instead. Material greatness is the least of his priorities. Rather than seek such prestige through wealth and reputation, Miyazawa purposefully distances himself from this egocentric way of being. Notice that despite the invocation to stand aloof of the unknowing masses, Miyazawa, in the lines just prior, encouraged engaging directly with society in service. The approach here is not to place oneself above society in a holier-than-thou fashion, but to remain engaged in service for the benefit of others out of a humane humility.



To be flattered as a "Great Man" was of no concern to Miyazawa. He would rather have his life and character dismissed as useless, he reflects. Not out for profit or prestige, he preferred to remain humbly in the background, quietly serving others. Still waters run deep, they say.

Indeed, Miyazawa's poetry did not receive much, if any, attention until long after his early death at the age of 37. He wrote the poem "Be Not Defeated by the Rain" as he was dying of pneumonia. It's said that he refused to compromise his values, rejecting the heartier meals offered to him as a potential remedy for his ailment in favor of maintaining his vegetarian diet. He would rather suffer illness than allow another being's life to be taken for the sake of his survival.

"This is my goal, the person I strive to become" mark the final lines of the poem. The sincerity of such an aspiration can be felt throughout. We hope it will be of inspiration to others.

Be Not Defeated - Go Forth in Each Direction - Part II

Be Not Defeated

We continue here with our excursion through the contemplative reflections of Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa in the motivational piece "Be not Defeated by the Rain," picking up from where we left off in our last post which covered the first several lines of the poem.

To catch everyone up to speed (or, rather, to slow down some), we will briefly summarize the main "take-aways" with regard to the first few lines. These reflections set the stage for those to come.

Recall the images evoked by the poem. Miyazawa succinctly takes us through the turmoil of excessive rain, fierce winds, winters beset by blizzards, and sweltering summers burdened with oppressive fever.



First, we heard from Miyazawa that in spite of the rain and wind, regardless of the winter snow or summer heat, one ought to be not defeated. Whatever weatherly whims (as we call them) sweep over us, do not be swept away by them. Pick up the pieces and strive on diligently.

Second, be led neither by desire nor anger, advises the poet. Our default mode of being typically entails being under the command of one or the other of these vices. Indeed, they are counted among the three poisons or unwholesome roots in Buddhist contemplative contexts, and have a similarly negative reputation among others. Uproot these habitual indulgences, Miyazawa tells us.

Third, resilience doesn't come equally as easily to all. We concluded the last piece by reflecting on the struggles faced by those already suffering immense hardship at the basest level, such as in war-torn communities where access to food, housing, and basic safety is precarious at best. To simply tell such communities to cultivate resilience is unlikely to work unless real structural, systemic, societal change is enacted. Yes, change must come from within, but it must also be enacted from without.

Contentment

As we continue our excursion, a major theme of the poem, a major sentiment throughout Miyazawa's reflections, is contentment with simplicity, contentment with little. We turn here to this theme of contentment.

Perhaps reflecting the challenges of his time, the challenges faced by a rapidly modernizing Japan under pressure to conform to European notions of material progress, it appears that Miyazawa resisted many of the incoming trends toward industrialization.

According to research by Melissa Anne-Marie Curley published as "Fruit, Fossils, Footprints: Cathecting Utopia in the Work of Miyazawa Kenji," Miyazawa was a devout Buddhist vegetarian, a teacher of agricultural science, and a utopian social activist, suggesting an appreciation of the natural world and an effort to ameliorate socio-economic disparities. Kilpatrick suggests that Miyazawa was troubled by the values held by his family, among whose main concerns were social status and material wealth. Veering toward another path, Miyazawa opted for renunciation instead. Consider the following lines from his poem.

A thatch-roof house, in a meadow, nestled in a pine grove's shade.
A handful of rice, some miso, and a few vegetables to suffice for the day.

Here, we find references to modest living conditions that are nonetheless full of value. The thatch-roof house is reminiscent of the "ten foot square hut" in another Japanese contemplative's reflections, both of them taking a minimalist form. The meadow, nestled in a pine grove's shade, conjures a landscape that one in the modern world may otherwise take for granted as a weekend get-away before returning to the bustle of the city, where the vivid contours of nature in its myriad hues grow faint as the memory fades with time, buried under more pressing business matters.

This wasn't just the poet's imagined fantasy world. It was the world before him in which he found value without need for modification.

Likewise, with but a handful of rice, some miso, and a few vegetables, the poet is satisfied. No fancy feast is envisioned. The simplest of meals will do. All he requires is that which will sustain him, nothing less, nothing more. Only this meager amount, by most standards, will suffice. He finds contentment with simplicity, contentment with little, with nothing left wanting.

Go Forth in Each Direction

After such reflections on contentment, the poem resumes by painting a portrait of human suffering while offering a means to ameliorate such maladies.

If, to the East, a child lies sick:
Go forth and nurse him to health.

If, to the West, an old lady stands exhausted:
Go forth, and relieve her of burden.

If, to the South, a man lies dying:
Go forth with words of courage to dispel his fear.

If, to the North, an argument or fight ensues:
Go forth and beg them stop such a waste of effort and of spirit.

Every direction we look, we are sure to witness suffering. In each direction, beings endure illness, fatigue, death, conflict and so on. Natural disaster befalls us, much of it being of our own making.



Rather than turn a blind eye to such suffering, we are called to help, to lend a hand to those in need. We are called to go forth in each direction in the spirit of service.

Through what means can this be accomplished?

We'd love to hear your reflections on the practical applications of the poem's message. Leave us a comment below to contribute to this ongoing conversation.