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Title: My Socialism Author: Takagi Kenmyo (Ensho) Date: 1959 Language: en Topics: Buddhism, anti-war, Japan, Japanese anarchism Source: http://www.nembutsu.info/indshin/readings/EB-TakagiKenmyo.pdf Notes: Takagi Kemmyo (1864–1914) was a Jodo Shinshu cleric from Higashi Hongaji, expelled from the order because of his involvement in the socialist-anarchist movement. He was tried and convicted for seemingly fabricated charges of conspiring against the emperor’s life and died in prison, allegedly at his own hand. Translated by Robert F. Rhodes.
temple, Enshozan Josenji. This essay is one of two pieces of Takagi
Kenmyo’s extant writings, which was discovered by Yoshida Kyuichi among
Takagi’s confiscated papers and published for the first time in Yoshida
1959, listed in the bibliography below. According to Takagi’s own note
attached to the paper, “This draft was complete in the… month of Meiji
37 (1904).” The translation is based on the amended text found in Takagi
Kenmyo Tsuito Shukai, ed., Enshoki kiroku, pp. 19–25, also listed below.
Parenthesis in the translation indicates words added by the translator,
while square brackets indicate passages found in brackets in the
original text.
My socialism does not derive from that of Karl Marx. Nor does it follow
from Tolstoy’s pacifism. I do not seek to interpret it scientifically
and propagate it throughout the world, like Mr. Katayama,[1] Kosen,[2]
or Shusui.[3] However, I have a faith that is mine alone, which I have
put down on paper as I intend to put it into practice. Though my
friends, the readers, may oppose my position and subject it to laughter,
what follows is something of which I am firmly convinced.
I do not feel that socialism is a theory, but rather a kind of practice.
One person says that it is a prophetic call for social reform, but I
think socialism is the first step (towards such a reform). Thus we hope
to put it into practice as extensively as possible. I think we need to
reform the social system rapidly and change the social structure
completely from the ground up. Yet another person is propagating
socialism as a political theory. However, I consider socialism to be
related much more deeply to religion than to politics. In proceeding to
reform society, we have to, first of all, begin from our own
spirituality. Hence I should like to set forth the gist of my faith and
practice just as I understand it, without borrowing from past systems of
those socialists who are my so-called elders.
I shall discuss socialism by dividing it into two parts. The first is
the object of faith while the second is the content of faith. The first
(part on the) object of faith will be further divided into three
sections: (1) the doctrine (2) the teacher and (3) society. Next the
second (part on the) content of faith will also be further divided into
two sections: (1) the revolution of thought and (2) practical action.
What, then, do I mean by the doctrine, which is the first (topic
concerning) the object of faith? It is Namu Amida Butsu. “Namu Amida
Butsu” is an Indian word, and it is truly the saving voice of the
Buddha, which shines like a light in the dark night, protecting us with
absolute equality. Even though it is working to provide peace and
comfort to intellectuals, scholars, government officials and the
wealthy, Amida’s main concern is with the common people. (Namu Amida
Butsu) is the mighty voice that grants happiness and comfort to ignorant
men and women.
Expressed in Japanese, Namu Amida Butsu is the voice calling on us not
to worry because the transcendental being of universal good called Amida
Buddha will save us, and to have no fear because he will protect us. Ah!
It’s Namu Amida Butsu that gives us strength and life!
It is truly the absolute transcendental compassion. It is the Buddha’s
universal love. We can only be appalled by those who delight in hearing
that Namu Amida Butsu is a command to killing. This evidently goes to
show that only a few people in our country have understood either
religion or Namu Amida Butsu.
In short, I think that Namu Amida Butsu refers to peace and comfort as
well as salvation and happiness provided equally to all. How can we
misunderstand this Namu Amida Butsu to be a command to subjugate the
hated enemy?
I have heard Dr. Nanjo[4] speak several times (where he exhorted his
audience by saying) “if you die, you will go to the Pure Land, so (don’t
worry about your life and) attack the enemy!” Did he stir up feelings of
hostility (in his audience)? (If so) isn’t this pitiful?
Second, the teacher [meaning the “teacher of human beings”] refers to my
ideal person. First is Shakyamuni. Each of his works and phrases
reflects his theory of individualism. But what about his life? Casting
away his royal rank, he became a mendicant monk, all for the purpose of
removing suffering from and giving happiness to people. He spent his
entire life with only three robes and a begging bowl, and died under the
bodhi tree. At the time of his death, even birds and animals wept in
sorrow. Wasn’t he a great socialist of the spiritual realm? [Though his
socialism is not identical in theory with that of the Heiminsha[5] or
that of the followers of Chokugen.[6]] He thought little of social rank
or status. (Through his teachings). he reformed part of the social
system of his time. Indeed, there is no question that he succeeded in
changing a number of things.
Although I could name a number of teachers in India and China. I shall
not mention them here. In Japan, people like Dengyo (767–822),[7] Kobo
(774–835),[8] Honen (1133–1212),[9] Shinran (1173–1262),[10] Ikkyu
(1394–1481),[11] or Rennyo (1415–1499)[12] all reserved their deepest
sympathy primarily for the common people. In particular, when I remember
that Shinran spoke of “fellow practitioners walking together in the same
direction” and stated that “the venerable titles of monks and priests
are used for serfs and servants,”[13] I realize that he was really not
only deeply sympathetic towards the common people, but that he was also,
without a doubt, a socialist who realized a life of non-discrimination
in the spiritual realm. [However, even this is different from the theory
of present-day socialists.] In light of these points, I declare Buddhism
to be the mother of the common people and the enemy of the nobility.
Third is society, which refers to the ideal world. What do you all
think? I consider the Land of Bliss (i.e. the Pure Land) to be the place
in which socialism is truly practiced. If Amida is endowed with the
thirty-two marks,[14] the novice bodhisattvas who gather (in the Land of
Bliss) are also endowed with the thirty-two marks. If Amida is endowed
with the eighty minor marks,[15] the practitioners in the Land of Bliss
are also endowed with the eighty minor marks. If Amida enjoys delicious
meals of a hundred flavors, sentient beings (of the Land of Bliss) also
enjoy delicious meals of a hundred flavors. If Amida is the “sublime
unity of the accommodated body and the fulfilled body,”[16] then the
practitioners are also “sublime unity of the accommodated body and the
fulfilled body” (Those born in the Land of Bliss) gain supernatural
powers identical with those of Amida Buddha — Including the ability to
see anything at any distance, the ability to hear any sound at any
distance, the ability to go anywhere at will, the ability to know the
thoughts of others, the ability to recollect their own former lives and
of others — and, realizing that “the Buddha mind is the mind of great
compassion,” become beings who continually fly to other lands in order
to save people with whom they are karmically related. This is why it is
called the “Land of Bliss.” In truth, socialism is practiced in this
Land of Bliss.
We have never heard that beings in the Land of Bliss have attacked other
lands. Nor have we ever heard that they have started a great war for the
sake of justice. Hence I am against war (with Russia).[17] I do not feel
that a person of the Land of Bliss should take part in warfare.
[However, there may be those, among the socialists, who advocate the
opening of war.] [This refers to Mori Saian (1871–1938).[18]]
I shall now discuss the section of the content of faith: the revolution
of thought. Specialists (of Shin Buddhist doctrine) wrangle over this
point, speaking of “taking refuge (in Amida Buddha) in one instant of
thought” or the “practitioners faith.”
As I have stated above, when we come to seek the ideal world upon
receiving instructions from teachers like Shakyamuni, and reflect deeply
within our minds by hearing the voice of the savior Amida calling to us,
we then gain peace of mind, feel great joy and become vigorous in
spirit.
This is truly so. We live in a country where the common people in
general are sacrificed for the fame, peerage and medals of one small
group of people. It is a society in which the common people in general
must suffer for the sake of a small number of speculators. Are not the
poor treated like animals at the hands of the wealthy? There are people
who cry out in hunger; there are women who sell their honor out of
poverty; there are children who are soaked by the rain. Rich people and
government officials find pleasure in treating them like toys,
oppressing them and engaging them in hard labor, don’t they?
The external stimuli being like this, our subjective faculties are
replete with ambition. This is truly the world of defilement, a world of
suffering, a dark night. Human nature is being slaughtered by the devil.
However, the Buddha continually calls to us: “I shall protect you, I
shall save you, I shall help you.” People who have discovered this light
have in truth gained peace and happiness. I believe that they have been
released from the anguish that makes them turn away from the world and
have gained hope.
Our thoughts cannot but change completely: “I will do what the Buddha
wishes me to do, practice what he wishes me to practice and make the
Buddha’s will my own will. I will become what the Tathagata tells me to
become.” This is the time of great determination!
Second, practical action. Since the revolution in thought discussed
above is the result of a profound empathy with the Buddha’s universal
love, we need to open ourselves up to the Tathagata’s mind of
compassion. [“Open ourselves up” or “bear with patience”? Perhaps it is
better to use the expression “truly recognize here, rather than “bear
with patience.”][19] We must practice it. Even a haughty
seventy-year-old marquis who has received the Grand Order of the
Chrysanthemum cannot be called an ideal human as long as he treats a
pretty seventeen or eighteen-year-old like a toy. Even though a general
may have been victorious in war, if he pays no attention to (the number
of) soldiers dead or wounded, he is not worth a penny to us. A person
who beats a child just for peeping into a nobleman’s house is truly
despicable.
No, we do not wish to become recipients of the Grand Order of the
Chrysanthemum, generals or noblemen like them. We are not laboring in
order to become such people. The only thing I wish is to accomplish
through my great energy and labor is progress and community life. We
labor in order to produce and we cultivate our minds so that we can
attain the Way. But look at what’s happening! We cannot help but lament
when we hear that religious functionaries are praying to gods and
Buddhas for victory. Indeed, a feeling of pity arises in my heart and I
am sorry for them.
We must take our stand within this world covered over by darkness, and
propagate the saving light, peace and happiness (of Namu Amida Butsu).
Only then can we fulfill our great responsibility. My friends! Pray
recite this “Namu Amida Butsu” with us. Cease taking pleasure in victory
and shouting “banzai.” This is because “Namu Amida Butsu” is the voice
that leads everyone equally to salvation. My friends! Pray recite this
“Namu Amida Butsu” with us, cast off your aristocratic pretensions and
cease looking down upon the common people. This is because Namu Amida
Butsu is the voice of expressing sympathy with the common people. My
friends! Pray recite this “Namu Amida Butsu” with us, remove all
thoughts of the struggle for existence from your minds, and exert
yourselves for the sake of community life. This is because people who
recite Namu Amida Butsu are included among the inhabitants of the Land
of Bliss. Inasmuch as this is what the nembutsu signifies, we must
process from the spiritual realm and completely change the social system
from the ground up. I am firmly convinced that this is what socialism
means.
In closing, I wish to cite a passage from one of Shinran Shonin’s
letters, which is (often) quoted in pro-war arguments, and ask my
friends, the readers, to see if it advocated the opening of hostilities
or whether it is a gospel for peace.
The Go-Shosoku-Shi (A Collection of Letters), first column, right-hand
section of the fourth page (the first part is abridged), states:
“In the final analysis, it would be splendid if all people who say the
nembutsu, not just yourself, do so not with thoughts of themselves, but
for the sake of the imperial court and for the sake of the people of the
country. Those who feel uncertain of birth should say the nembutsu
aspiring first for their own birth. Those who feel that their own birth
is completely settled should, mindful of the Buddha’s benevolence, hold
the nembutsu in their hearts and say it to respond in gratitude to that
benevolence, with the wish, “May there be peace in the world, and may
the Buddha’s teachings spread!”[20]
Alas, this is an example of the old adage that “fear makes us see
monsters in the dark.”[21] Although the passage above is a gospel for
peace, have people mistaken it for the sound of a bugle commanding us to
attack the enemy? Or did I mistake the bells and drums of battle for
injunctions for peace? I shall leave it up to my friends, the readers,
to decide.
However, I am fortunate in that I hear both bugles and bells of battle
as gospels for peace. Many thanks. Namu Amida Butsu.
Hirota, Dennis, et al. 1997. The Collected Works of Shinran, 2 Vols.
Kyoto: Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha.
Takagi Kenmyo Tsuito Shukai, ed. 1998. Enshoku Kiroku (Record of the
Memorial Service for Ensho), Hikone, Shiga Prefecture: Fusanbo, 1998.
Yoshida Kyuichi. 1959a. “Uchiyama Gudo to Takagi Kenmyo no chosaku (The
Writings of Uchiyama Gudo and Takagi Kenmyo)”, Nihon rekishi, 131 (May
1959), pp. 68–77.
Yoshida Kyuichi. 1959b. “Kotoku jiken to bukkyo (The Kotoku affair and
Buddhism)” in his Nihon kindai bukkyoshi kenkyu (Studies in the History
of Modern Japanese Buddhism), Tokyo: Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1959, pp.
434–548.
[1] Katayama Sen (1859–1933), an influential socialist activist and
leader of the Japanese trade union movement.
[2] Refers to Sakai Toshihiko (1871–1933) also known as Sakai Kosen, a
leading socialist who started the Heimin Shinbun with Kotoku Shusui in
1903.
[3] Refers to Japanese anarchist Kotoku Shusui (1871–1911)
[4] Nanjo Bun’yu (1847–1927). A scholar and priest of the Otani branch
of Jodo Shinshu. He was one of the first to undertake the study of
Sanskrit Buddhist texts in Japan. From 1903 to 1923, he served as
president of Otani University.
[5] A socialist organization created by Kotoku Shusui and Sakai
Toshihiko in 1903, which published the weekly Heimin Shinbun (Commoner’s
News). However, the newspaper was forced to close down in 1905 due to
government repression and lack of resources.
[6] Another socialist weekly, which took the place of Heimin Shinbun
after its closure. In eight months the newspaper was also banned by the
government.
[7] Refers to Saicho, the founder of the Tendai school. The imperial
court posthumously granted him the title of Dengyo Daishi (Master who
Transmitted the Teachings)
[8] Refers to Kukai, also known as Kobo Daishi (The Master who Spead the
Dharma). Founder of the Shingon school.
[9] Founder of the Jodo school
[10] Honen’s disciple and founder of the Jodo Shin school.
[11] A popular Rinzai Zen monk known for his eccentric behavior.
[12] The eighth abbot of Honganji of the Jodo Shin school.
[13] Paraphrase of the second and third lines of the 12^(th) verse of
Gutoku hitan jukkai (Gutoku’s Lament and Reflection) which is part of
Shinran’s Shozomatsu wasan (Hymns of the Dharma Ages). Cf. The Collected
Works of Shinran, vol. 1, p. 423
[14] Thirty-two distinguishing marks which all Buddhas are said to
possess on their bodies.
[15] Eighty minor physical characteristics which all Buddhas are said to
possess.
[16] All Buddhas are said to possess three bodies: (1) the accommodated
body (Nirmana-kaya) or the body with which Buddhas manifest themselves
to save sentient beings, (2) the fulfilled body (Sambhoga-kaya), or the
body which Buddhas receive as the result of their past practices, and
(3) the Dharma body (dharma-kaya), or the body of Buddhas identified
with the Dharma itself. In Pure Land Buddhism, there was a major
controversy over whether Amida Buddha should be understood as the
accommodated or fulfilled body. On this point, Shinran states as follows
in the preface to the Chapter on True Realization in the Kyogyoshinsho.
“Amida Tathagata comes forth from suchness and manifests various bodies
— fulfilled, accommodated, and transformed.” The Collected Works of
Shinran, vol. 1, p. 57
[17] The Russo-Japanese war (lasted from February 1904 to September
1905)
[18] Journalist and priest of the Shingon school. Publisher of the
newspaper Muro shinpo.
[19] This is Takagi’s editorial note to himself
[20] The Collected Works of Shinran, vol. 1, p. 560.
[21] A well-known phrase from the Lieh-tzu.