“Some scholars have suggested that the Shakyas, the clan of the historical Gautama Buddha, were originally Scythians from Central Asia, and that the Indian ethnonym Śākya has the same origin as “Scythian,” called Sakas in India.”
Re-evaluating various things lately, this was a job for Philosophy Path (哲学の道) along the eastern mountains of #Kyoto. Writers have asserted that Japan doesn't do #philosophy, mais non. To be sure, Mahayana #Buddhist#ontology eludes our grasp.
Thus, I was #walking along the #path and not #philosophizing per se, but just absorbed in the scenes like these captioned #photos, and that was quite refreshing.
I'd say that bodhicitta (菩提心), consciousness-only, and such metaphysical concepts are indeed Mahāyāna #Buddhist#philosophy, but not #ontology. I alluded to our not being able to grasp it intellectually.
Frankly, I dislike the #Japanese emphasis on 'emptiness' or non-being (無), since we'll have all eternity minus our lifetime for that. I've always been in the kill-the-Zen-master camp. I rebel against their regimentation and the haughty disrepect all gurus have for what naturally wells up in the independent person, who might be #liberated to an extent -- without their knowledge (in both senses), who sees for oneself.
Having said that, if I had to define Mahāyāna ontology, it is in the Heart Sūtra (心経, Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya Sūtra) that #Buddhists here are always chanting, essentially that being and non-being are the same.
The 7-5-3 festival (七五三) started in the Heian or Muromachi Period to pray for the survival of #children, and, like many practices, spread from the aristocracy eventually to all citizens.
Age three for #girls is especially adorable, and our 3/4 #Japanese granddaughter just went through that rite of passage, posing in a #festival kimono.
With deaths in both families this year, it was moved from a Shintō shrine to a #Buddhist temple, reflecting the division of labor served by the two #religions in Japan. We could thus do it up on a mountain in our city (between Ōsaka and Kyōto) and see changing leaves of #autumn early.
All major ceremonies are finally accompanied by a restaurant meal, and the Japanese-style food and service, by normal standards in Japan, were superb.
Our granddaughter, nearly three, also seemed to start realizing that my English and the usual Japanese were different languages (technically, nascent metalinguistic awareness and bilinguality).
Dear family friends here in #Japan, a sumi-e (墨絵) ink painting artist and a Paris chanson singer invited Chisato and me to a unique event in #Osaka. An iemoto of #Japanese dance Nihon buyō (日本舞踊の家元), renowned for onna-gata female roles, led a tribute to #Ukraine, with the heads of lettuce representing skulls, a stark demonstration for #peace. Then singers performed a variety of genres in Japanese, French, English, and Italian, with a skilled electric piano accompaniment - bravo!
It is typically Japanese to combine the traditional with the modern, European with Japanese artistic sensibilities. Many venerable cultures have a sense of time that is more cyclical than linear. In Japanese religion the tendency to agglutinate rather than to choose and exclude is seen in #Buddhist syncretism.
This week I am shifting focus to one of my favorite side interests: #Buddhist#philosophy. Last night I spoke to a mixed audience at a philosophy cafe and I will soon begin an MA tutorial on this topic as well. Please recommend your favorite, accessible, recent, English scholarship on #anatman and dependent co-origination.