The Japanese Arts and Self-Cultivation

Robert E. Carter

Description

It is through the practice of the arts, and not through rules or theory that moral and spiritual values are taught in Japan. Author Robert E. Carter examines five arts (or "ways" in Japan): the martial art of aikido, Zen landscape gardening, the Way of Tea, the Way of Flowers, and pottery making. Each art is more than a mere craft, for each takes as its goal not just the teaching of ethics but the formation of the ethical individual. Transformation is the result of diligent practice and each art recognizes the importance of the body. Training the mind as well as the body results in important insights, habits, and attitudes that involve the whole person, both body and mind.

This fascinating book features the author's interviews with masters of the arts in Japan and his own experiences with the arts, along with background on the arts and ethics from Japanese philosophy and religion. Ultimately, the Japanese arts emerge as a deep cultural repository of ideal attitudes and behavior, which lead to enlightenment itself.

Foreword by Eliot Deutsch

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1.Self-Cultivation

The Bodymind
Unification of Body and Mind
Enlightenment
Meditation as a Path
The Resultant Transformation
Ki
A Brief Map

2. Aikido—The Way of Peace

The Beginnings
Aikido: One and Not One
Aikido and Budo
A Spiritual Way
Aikido and Ethics 
The Value and Worth of the Other
Aikido and Sports 
Yagyu
Letting Go of the Ego

3. Landscape Gardening as Interconnectedness

Prelude
The Shinto Influence
The Buddhist Influence
Zen-Inspired Gardens
Masuno’s Gardens
I and Thou
The Ethics of Gardens

4. The Way of Tea (Chado)—To Live without Contrivance

Background to the Way of Tea
Wabi
Zen and Pure Land
From Sen no Rikyu to Sen Genshitsu XV
Furyu
The Lineage
Beyond Language

5. The Way of Flowers (Ikebana)—Eternity

Is in the Moment
Introduction
Zen and Ikebana
Ikenobo
Shinto and Ikebana
The Koan of Living by Dying and Dying by Living
Reflections of a Pioneer
The Principle of Three
A Culture of Flowers

6. The Way of Pottery—Beauty Is in the Abdomen

Introduction
Non-Dualistic Awareness
Hamada: Teacher and Collector
. . . and Ethics?
Summary

Conclusion

Ethics and Self-Transformation
The Train to Takayama
Attitudes Revisited

Glossary
References
Index

Sujets

• East Asian religions

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 08 novembre 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791479285
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Japanese Arts and SelfCultivation

Robert E. Carter Foreword by Eliot Deutsch

The Japanese Arts and Self-Cultivation

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The Japanese Arts and Self-Cultivation

Robert E. Carter

Foreword by Eliot Deutsch

State University of New York Press

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2008 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu

Production by Diane Ganeles Marketing by Anne M. Valentine

The cover photo is a partial view of Masuno Shunmyo’s “Zen Garden” at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, Canada. It is called WAKEI NO NIWA , which means to understand and respect all cultures. The photo was taken by Robert E. Carter.

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Carter, Robert Edgar, 1937– The Japanese arts and self-cultivation / Robert E. Carter ; foreword by Eliot Deutsch. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7914-7253-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-7914-7254-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Arts, Japanese. 2. Spirituality—Japan. 3. Japan— Civilization—Philosophy. I. Title.

NX584.C36 2007 700.952—dc22

2006101108

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedicated to my beloved family:

Deanie Scott Meredith Rob and Emerson

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C ONTENTS

Foreword by Eliot Deutsch

Acknowledgments

Introduction

C HAPTER O NE : Self-Cultivation The Bodymind Unification of Body and Mind Enlightenment Meditation as a Path The Resultant Transformation Ki A Brief Map

– C HAPTER T WO :Aikido—The Way of Peace The Beginnings – Aikido: One and Not One – – AikidoandBudo A Spiritual Way – Aikidoand Ethics The Value and Worth of the Other – Aikidoand Sports Yagyu Letting Go of the Ego

C HAPTER T HREE : Landscape Gardening as Interconnectedness Prelude – The Shinto Influence The Buddhist Influence Zen-Inspired Gardens

vii

ix xi 1

7 8 10 13 15 16 17 18

21 22 27 30 31 33 37 39 42 46

51 51 54 57 59

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Contents

Masuno’s Gardens I and Thou The Ethics of Gardens

– C HAPTER F OUR : The Way of Tea (Chado)—To Live without Contrivance Background to the Way of Tea Wabi Zen and Pure Land – From Sen no Rikyu Furyu The Lineage Beyond Language

to Sen Genshitsu XV

C HAPTER F IVE Way of Flowers (: The Ikebana)—Eternity Is in the Moment Introduction Zen andIkebana Ikenobo – Shinto andIkebana – TheKoanof Living by Dying and Dying by Living Reflections of a Pioneer The Principle of Three A Culture of Flowers

C HAPTER S IX : The Way of Pottery—Beauty Is in the Abdomen Introduction Non-Dualistic Awareness Hamada: Teacher and Collector . . . and Ethics? Summary

C ONCLUSION Ethics and Self-Transformation The Train to Takayama Attitudes Revisited

Glossary References Index

62 66 70

75 76 80 85 90 92 92 94

97 97 100 101 102 103 108 111 113

117 117 121 124 127 131

135 136 139 143

147 155 163

F OREWORD

Robert E. Carter has written an extremely informative and sub- tle account of the role of the arts in the Japanese tradition as they relate primarily to the ethical orientation and religious values of the Japanese people. The work is written with great clarity and exhibits a sensitive understanding of and often very original take on what for many Westerners is a culture buried in exquisite ob- scurities. Without in any way denying the profound mysteries that inform traditional Japanese art, Carter makes perfectly clear and evident the integral way in which the training in any of the arts is at the same time the crafting of a certain ethical attitude that informs one’s entire manner of being in the world. The Japanese Arts and Self-Cultivationis aimed primarily for nonspecialists in Japanese culture. Nevertheless, the work presents a number of insightful interpretations of key Japanese – aesthetic and metaphysical concepts, such asyugenandki, that a specialist can fruitfully engage. One of the most effective achieve- ments of Carter’s work, I believe, is the way in which he is able to explicate and weave together philosophical background no- tions with detailed descriptions of the intricacies of the various arts that he explored. The first chapter of the book is devoted to a careful philosophical discussion of, for example, the meaning of the idea of the “bodymind,” (the functional inseparability of – the mental and the physical),shugyo, or continual practice and training, and theories of artistry. Carter interprets the meaning of the various arts in Japan as – Ways (do) or disciplines involving a self-cultivating practice that aims to achieve a form ofsatorior enlightenment, one that will allow for a certain openness and ethical sensitivity to others and to the world. Carter characterizes ethics (in “the broadest sense”) as “those attitudes which are significant in the way one lives one’s

ix