Philosophy of finiteness and infiniteness
In this section I interpret the dialectic of finiteness and infiniteness of the concept of inochi metaphysically, and elucidate its inner structure.
Inochi must possess the characteristics of both finiteness and infiniteness. This seems to suggest that A is B and not B. Hence the necessity of making clear the logical relationship between ‘finiteness’ and ‘infiniteness’ in relation to the concept of inochi. [105/106]
Let us take the example of a flower. There is a flower before me. The word ‘a flower’ suggests that I should understand it as an individual inochi being. This flower will shrivel and die someday. When it dies, nothing else will be able to die for it. The flower must die its own death, only once, and never live again the same existence in this world. This means that the whole life and death of this flower is irreplaceable. This suggests further that every moment of its life is irreplaceable because no other flower will be able to live again the same course of life as this flower. Inevitable death makes every moment of life irreplaceable for an inochi being. Therefore, irreplaceability, derived from the finiteness of time and space, must be considered to be one of the most basic features of inochi. This was, in fact, supported by many of the questionnaire responses and found often in the publications.
Now let us regard this flower from another angle. This flower is living now because a part of its life was passed down from its ancestors in the form of a seed. Without its ancestors and their seeds, this flower would not exist at all. This flower will also distribute its own seeds before dying, and some of them will grow to be flowers somewhere on this earth. Even if it doesn’t distribute seeds, the influences of its photosynthesis and metabolic functions will have irreversible effects on the environment, and these effects will cause other small effects in succession, forever, throughout the universe. Moreover, in order to live, this flower has to exchange air, minerals, and other chemical matters with the environment and other creatures. Without the web of inochi beings surrounding it this flower cannot live. We consider interrelatedness of this kind, derived from the infiniteness of time and space, to be another most basic feature of inochi.
>> To read more please visit:
The Concept of Inochi, Part 2
(1991)
(You can read the entire text)
Inochi must possess the characteristics of both finiteness and infiniteness. This seems to suggest that A is B and not B. Hence the necessity of making clear the logical relationship between ‘finiteness’ and ‘infiniteness’ in relation to the concept of inochi. [105/106]
Let us take the example of a flower. There is a flower before me. The word ‘a flower’ suggests that I should understand it as an individual inochi being. This flower will shrivel and die someday. When it dies, nothing else will be able to die for it. The flower must die its own death, only once, and never live again the same existence in this world. This means that the whole life and death of this flower is irreplaceable. This suggests further that every moment of its life is irreplaceable because no other flower will be able to live again the same course of life as this flower. Inevitable death makes every moment of life irreplaceable for an inochi being. Therefore, irreplaceability, derived from the finiteness of time and space, must be considered to be one of the most basic features of inochi. This was, in fact, supported by many of the questionnaire responses and found often in the publications.
Now let us regard this flower from another angle. This flower is living now because a part of its life was passed down from its ancestors in the form of a seed. Without its ancestors and their seeds, this flower would not exist at all. This flower will also distribute its own seeds before dying, and some of them will grow to be flowers somewhere on this earth. Even if it doesn’t distribute seeds, the influences of its photosynthesis and metabolic functions will have irreversible effects on the environment, and these effects will cause other small effects in succession, forever, throughout the universe. Moreover, in order to live, this flower has to exchange air, minerals, and other chemical matters with the environment and other creatures. Without the web of inochi beings surrounding it this flower cannot live. We consider interrelatedness of this kind, derived from the infiniteness of time and space, to be another most basic feature of inochi.
>> To read more please visit:
The Concept of Inochi, Part 2
(1991)
(You can read the entire text)
posted by Masahiro Morioka at 11/16/2006 07:09:00 AM
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