Dependent origination and the dual‐nature of the Japanese aesthetic

Asian Philosophy 7 (2):123 – 132 (1997)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

As most commentators on Japanese aesthetics agree, the Japanese aesthetic is pervaded by a profound affirmation of things in their suchness or original uniqueness, and at the same time is tinged with an element of sadness or melancholy. While the responses of affirmation and melancholy seem rather subjective and may—at first glance—appear inconsistent with Buddhist notions like anatman, or non-self and the Buddhist demand for non-attachment, I shall argue that a more careful reading of certain Buddhist doctrines, specifically the doctrine of dependent origination or pratitya-samutp da, reveals that the basic tenets of Buddhism are not only consistent with these sorts of subjective responses, but in fact serve to help explain the dual nature of the Japanese aesthetic. Accordingly, I shall suggest that given the undeniable influence Buddhism has had on Japanese culture, it seems likely that the doctrine of dependent origination is not only compatible with, but also contributed to the formation of what we regard as the Japanese aesthetic.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,221

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

The theory of beauty in the classical aesthetics of Japan.Toshihiko Izutsu - 1981 - Hingham, MA: distributors for the U.S. and Canada, Kluwer Boston. Edited by Toyo Izutsu.
Early meanings of dependent-origination.Eviatar Shulman - 2008 - Journal of Indian Philosophy 36 (2):297-317.
Melancholy as an aesthetic emotion.Emily Brady & Arto Haapala - 2003 - Contemporary Aesthetics 1.
Kierkegaard and Japanese thought.James Giles (ed.) - 2008 - New York: Palgrave-Macmillan.
Everyday Aesthetics.Yuriko Saito - 2007 - Oxford, GB: Oxford University Press.
Environmental ethics from the japanese perspective.Midori Kagawa-Fox - 2010 - Ethics, Place and Environment 13 (1):57 – 73.

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-02-01

Downloads
44 (#316,309)

6 months
3 (#439,232)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

References found in this work

Being and nothingness.Jean-Paul Sartre - 1956 - Avenel, N.J.: Random House.
Religion and Nothingness.Keiji Nishitani - 1982 - University of California Press.
Religion and Nothingness.David Edward Shaner - 1987 - Philosophy East and West 37 (4):458-462.

View all 8 references / Add more references