Posted for Aniyah...
We Are All Cherry Blossoms-Japanese Transience
Transience
Final Blogpost by: Aniyah Ehiemua (H2)
I briefly touched on the Japanese philosophy of transience and how it plays so many important parts of our lives during midterm presentation. While I did get to explain what the philosophy is and where it originated from, I did not get to touch on exactly how it can affect our perception of how we view death.
In the Western world, death is typically seen as a very depressing and sad thing. We as humans tend to dread death, and we try our hardest to avoid it as much as we possibly can. Whenever we sense that someone is near the end of their lives, we tend to get down in spirit, and our thoughts turn negative. When someone does die, it is almost like time stops, and the world turns gray and somber. It is almost as if there is a rain cloud pooling over our thoughts, and everything has turned pessimistic and negative. We cry and grieve, and piece together funerals for the dead. At these social gatherings (well less social since there typically seems to be a lack of mingling going on), we all dress in our bleak, fancy black clothes and do ourselves up to say goodbye to our deceased loved ones. No matter how many times we try and convince ourselves that death is just a natural part of life and that everyone dies, we still seem to never be prepared enough for the day that it actually happens. It as if the mere thought of someone dying can never amount to the actual event of it happening. Death tends to be mourned in the Western world, and this is why it is a topic that seems to be avoided as much as possible, like politics at the dinner table.
In contrast, however, death and the ending of a life in Japan is not seen in the same way as it is in the Western world. Death is almost celebrated in Japanese philosophy and culture. In the Japanese philosophy of transience, they tend to look deep into the emotions of the deceased things. There are many different pieces that go into the Japanese philosophy as a whole. The three broad categories that it tends to be put in is impermanence (wabi sabi), mono no aware, and aesthetic. All three of these categories beautifully intertwine with one another to create a relationship between the living and the topic of the ending of life. At a young age, it is taught in Japan (more or less in the families that choose to follow this philosophy) that life is a cycle, This cycle starts with the birth of something, it goes through many changes and trials, sometimes loneliness and bareness, and then it ends with death. Instead of being taught to dread this often sad cycle, it is taught to embrace it and show empathy with it. This may seem like an almost absurd way of thinking for some. After all, how can something in life that is so bleak and dark even be remotely celebrated. How is it not almost insane to celebrate such a thing that tends to cause people so much grief and pain? A beautiful example that answers this question perfectly is the tradition of the Japanese Cherry Blossoms. (Below is a fun little informational and some facts about cherry blossoms to further refresh your memory.
While mono no aware and aesthetics are key important points that help to make up transience, the majority of the philosophy is focused on impermanence and wabi sabi.
To briefly touch on mono no aware, it is a concept to say that nothing is everlasting, or in other words, everything has an end, no matter what it is. It almost tells us to think of things that are here before us as impermanent and forever changing.
(some poems and extra information to satisfy your curiosity on this concept):
https://ohthenovel.wordpress.
Summer grasses — the only remains
of warriors’ dreams.
Matsuo Busho
https://www.poetryfoundation.
Most people are familiar with what a cherry blossom is, but in case you are not, it is a beautiful pink and white flower that is native to Japan. It is also known as a Japanese cherry and/or a sakura. It is so symbolic in Japan, that is in fact the national flower. What is interesting and unique about these flowers is that just two weeks after they fully bloom to life in the early spring, they all swiftly and gently fall to the ground, signifying the beautiful end of their life cycle. (By now you should be starting to see where I am going with this, and how it is going to tie into the life cycle of death). These flowers are seen as beautiful feminine energy that is extremely powerful, yet also delicate in contrast.
Beautiful metaphor. We should all aspire to be like cherry blossoms, and grateful for the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteBe sure to sprinkle in some links, for instance when discussing those three categories. Maybe embed the School of Life's video on wabi-sabi... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmHLYhxYVjA