Hi everyone.

Recently, the world was enveloped in deep sorrow as the cathedral of Notre Dame collapsed in flames.
While I myself found this event a sad thing, I also had a different feeling; a sense of Mujyo (=無常観).
This is not something unique to Japan, rather it is an old say in Buddhism.
However, there are many events in Japan related to this which I would like to write about in this article.

1. The sense of Mujyo

As already mentioned, Mujyo is one of the important principals in Buddhism.
Usually expressed as 諸行無常, it means that all things move on and changes its shape and nature.
In other ways, it is expressed as; all that lives perish, all that possess a shape brake in the end.
So, in Buddhism, nothing goes on for internity but changes over time.

Seeing the cathedral fall apart, I saw a representation of this concept.
No matter how hard we try to preserve and protect this beautiful building, the break down was inevitable.
I'm not saying that we should not recover the cathedral; recover is just another process of the changing 'shape' and 'meaning' of the cathedral.

NotreDame20190415QuaideMontebello (cropped)
The burn down of Notre Dame cathedral

2. The story of Ikkyu

One of the famous story related to Mujyo is the story of Ikkyu.
While only a child in a Buddhist temple to become a monk, Ikkyu (=一休) was much cleaver than his colleagues.
One day, when the high monk (their teacher) went out, one of Ikkyu's colleague broke a precious bowl that was given to the high monk from the ruler of the country at the time.
Such an incident meant there is a high risk of expulsion, but Ikkyu knew what to do.

When the high monk came back, Ikkyu was sitting in front of a sculpture of Buddha.
He explained that he was thinking about the meanings of Mujyo.
The high monk explained that it meant all things are subjected to change, and sometimes it is important to not get attached to them.
With that, Ikkyu revealed the broken bowl saying that the event was inevitable, and the monk had nothing to say about it.
This story is partly modified and enjoyed by many Japanese (especially children).

備前金彩茶碗
Image of what Japanese bowls looked like

3. The story of Taira family

Another famous story related to Mujyo is the story of Taira family.
As explained in my earlier article (Japanese monsters, ghost stories and gods), the story of Taira is about how the family gained huge powers to control many parts of Japan until they were driven to near extinction of the family line.
Here is the introduction part that talks about Mujyo
祇園精舎の鐘の声 諸行無常の響きあり
沙羅双樹の花の色 盛者必衰の理をあらはす
奢れる人も久からず ただ春の夜の夢のごとし
猛き者も遂にはほろびぬ 偏に風の前の塵におなじ 
Basically, it talks about how even the strongest of the people will eventually die as if they are dust in the wind.
The story not only writes about the advance and collapse of the Taira family but also the fall of the aristocracy and the advancement of Samurai.
This is mainly because the Taira had a strong connection with aristocrats.
The story passes on the lessons that should be learned from the fall of the Taira.
...

So here was the story of Mujyo from Buddhism.
It is a difficult topic and may be difficult for non-Buddhists.
However, if you found it interesting or want to know more, please like share or leave a comment!

See you.

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