若気の至り
Errors of youth
2025-05-07
When people are young, they are often full of passion, ambition, confidence, and may feel that truth lies in unconventional things. As a result, some may have earnestly pursued misguided paths.
In terms of the path to awakening (= liberation), this might mean becoming absorbed in meditation or yoga, taking an interest in martial arts, or even devoting oneself to a religion (= non-Buddhist teachings).
However, all of these—and many other such pursuits—are ultimately unrelated to the path of awakening and are of no use in attaining Nirvana. To put it plainly: they are a waste of time.
Even so, truly intelligent people gradually begin to sense that such things are likely unrelated to the Buddha’s path. As they grow older, they start to seek the true teaching—the genuine truth—from the depths of their hearts.
In doing so, they accumulate merit and gain clear insight. Eventually, they encounter the Buddha’s path, awaken genuine faith, and as their merit continues to grow, they proceed toward Nirvana.
At that point, they come to recognize that their earlier pursuits, unrelated to the Buddha’s path, were merely the folly of youth.
However, there are those who never encounter the Buddha’s path, and even if they do, they fail to recognize it as the path of truth. As a result, they stray from the way, misstep, and after wandering for a long time, they end up in unfortunate realms they never imagined.
In short, only those who have come to walk the correct path are able to understand their past foolishness as the errors of youth. Fools, on the other hand, never come to know their own ignorance—not even at the end of their lives.
On this point, the primitive scriptures of the Buddha offer the following principles:
171 Behold this world: it is like a royal chariot, beautifully adorned. Fools become attached to it, but the wise do not cling.
172 Even one who was previously lazy and negligent, if they later abandon indolence, will shine in this world—just like the moon emerging from behind clouds.
173 One who once acted wickedly, if they later make amends through good deeds, will also shine in this world—like the moon released from clouds.
174 This world is shrouded in darkness. Few there are who clearly discern the truth. Like birds escaping a net, only a rare few reach the heavens. (Dhammapada, Chapter 13: The World – Translated by Nakamura Hajime, Iwanami-Bunko)
Errors of youth are something anyone may experience, but only those with true awareness recognize their folly, accumulate merit, and ultimately reach Nirvana—the supreme state of human existence.
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