理解力と想像力
Comprehension and Imagination
2025-06-05
When people hear the term "Buddhist practice," some may assume that it involves understanding difficult, otherworldly concepts before one can truly begin to engage in the practice.
However, what a Buddhist practitioner must actually do is to remain "attentive"—and for that, imagination becomes essential.
Of course, for a beginner on the path, it may be entirely unclear what to focus on or how to apply such imagination.
Even so, as one continues steadfastly in the pursuit of inner stillness, merit is gradually accumulated, and the practitioner begins to understand how to exercise imagination in a way that accords with the Dharma.
More concretely, this includes insights such as: one should not be attached to specific methods of practice but instead pursue the truth itself; that truth is not something to be systematically studied or completed, but something that is discovered through insight; and ultimately, that Buddhist practice may be nothing other than a deep realization of what true kindness really is.
In this sense, for example, the idea of NENBUTSU—reciting the name of the Buddha—as a means to know the Buddha's essence, holds a certain degree of plausibility. Yet, in its original form, it is not something fixed or rigid. Rather, it is an act of imagination aimed at understanding the ultimate form of kindness as a human being—indeed, a form of true kindness that transcends the human.
And this non-fixed, fluid approach applies equally to the pursuit of truth and the realization of Nirvana.
Moreover, it must be said that the Buddhist practitioner does not approach Nirvana simply by repeating a routine of imagined possibilities and corresponding practices. Rather, they arrive at liberation by accomplishing an act of imagination that arises in connection with a decisive moment—the opportunity for awakening—and by making an ultimate resolution based on that imagination (a resolution we may call KAKUGO, or spiritual determination).
When that resolution accords perfectly with the Dharma, the practitioner gives rise to a mysterious liberation and ultimately becomes a Buddha.
In other words, while imagination is free at any stage of practice, the imagination that arises at the final stage must be in harmony with truth. And whether it was indeed correct is something that can only be confirmed by the occurrence of awakening (= liberation).
It is for this reason that awakening is said to be the fruit of accumulated merit.
On this point, we find the following law of truth expressed in the early scriptures of the Buddha:
373 When a monk enters an uninhabited, quiet dwelling, calms the mind, and rightly contemplates the truth, a joy arises that transcends the human realm.
374 As one comes to properly understand the arising and cessation of the elements that constitute personal existence, one attains the realization of the law of the Deathless. For those who gain this understanding, it becomes a source of joy and spiritual bliss. (Dhammapada, Chapter 25: The Monk, translated by Hajime Nakamura, Iwanami-Bunko)
Here, “to rightly contemplate the truth” means to successfully carry out a correct act of imagination regarding the truth (= the Dharma).
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