Born, grow, give birth, age, and die

Hence, we can propose the two requirements for the concept of inochi as follows.

(1) Inochi must be a phase in which things are born, grow, give birth, age, and die.
(2) Inochi must possess the characteristics of both finiteness and infiniteness.

All things in the universe which satisfy both these requirements should then be identified as inochi beings. This formula can thus be understood as a proposed definition of inochi. However, it should be noted that this concept or definition of inochi does not cover all usages of the word ‘inochi’ to be found in the questionnaire responses and publications. It is impossible to discover a simple set of formulae which covers all usages of inochi. Rather I suggest that this proposed definition be regarded as a basic guideline for the use of the term in research and discussions on the topic (52). Since this definition is open to free criticism, it may be altered in the future.

We should keep in mind that this formula, determined by the above requirements, stands for only the necessary conditions of the concept of inochi. Hence I will now turn to the topic of the essence of the concept of inochi.

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The Concept of Inochi, Part 2
(1991)
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