“NATURE”: AN EAST ASIAN VIEW Review: 3 meanings of “nature” 4 ways of conceiving of “nature” Buddhism: 3 characteristics of existence I. Nature as process II. Nature as interrelationships III. Natural as action based on true inner nature.

Review: two main meanings of “nature” in Western culture  Dualistic: nature as what is not created, controlled, or changed by humans (nature as opposed to humans or culture).  Monistic: nature as everything in the phenomenal world (nature as opposed to the supernatural).

“Nature” & “natural” in East Asian culture  Adverbial:  Nature refers to one’s true inner nature, and “natural” refers to acting on that true nature (thus “adverbial”).  Everything has its true nature: animals, plants, water, rocks.  Most humans do not act on their true nature because it is clouded by will, reason, desires, & distinctions.

Review: Four major ways of conceiving of “nature” 1. Collection 2. Web of relationships 3. Process 4. Gaia

Review: The three characteristics of reality in Buddhism  Radical interrelatedness  Change, impermanence  Non-self

I. NATURE AS PROCESS 1. The turning of the seasons. 2. The inevitable passing away of things. 3. Creative, chaotic, beautiful change. 4. The process of things coming into being

1. The turning of the seasons  We are always within a particular season, which is always temporary and in the process of becoming another season.  Each season has its own distinctive characteristics.  Animals, plants, people, and human cultural activities co-exist as parts of the turning seasons.

“Another Spring” The seasons revolve and the years change With no assistance or supervision. The moon, without taking thought, Moves in its cycle, full, crescent, and full. The white moon enters the heart of the river; The air is drugged with azalea blossoms; Deep in the night a pine cone falls; Our campfire dies out in the empty mountains.

The sharp stars flicker in the tremulous branches; The lake is black, bottomless in the crystalline night; High in the sky the Northern Crown Is cut in half by the dim summit of a snow peak. O heart, heart, so singularly Intransigent and corruptible, Here we lie entranced by the starlit water, And moments that should each last forever Slide unconsciously by us like water. --Kenneth Rexroth

2. The passing away of things  Mujō: impermanence.  Aware: a bittersweet sorrow at the transience of beauty.  Various forms  Passing away of seasons  Steady aging of beauty  The rise and fall of glory  The imminence of sudden death and destruction

... Believe in all those fugitive Compounds of nature, all doomed To waste away and go out. Always be true to these things. They are all there is Kenneth Rexroth

3. The unpredictable creative and beautiful changes of nature  The unpredictable (“chaotic”) changes from moment to moment that are beautiful and spontaneously skillful like a cosmic artist.  The “Creative” (zōka)

4. The process of things coming into being  “Nonbeing”: a creative, formless dimension of reality beyond space and time, beyond our senses and intellect.  Things arise into form and then disappear again like waves rising from the ocean and then falling away.

II. NATURE AS WEB OF RELATIONSHIPS 1. A metaphysics of interrelatedness. 2. Dynamic interrelationships. 3. Ideal: fulfill one’s niche; fit harmoniously into the system.

1. A metaphysics of interrelatedness  The Western ecological view as metaphysics: the universe is fundamentally a net of relationships and a dynamic system of mutual conditioning.  Interrelatedness is primary, distinctness secondary: our distinctness is our unique set of interrelationships.  “Interbeing”: each of us “interexists” with others.

2. Dynamic interrelatedness  The system is dynamic and ever-changing.  Individuals: everyone’s set of relationships changes from moment to moment.  Whole: each moment is a new web of interdependence.

“Spring” There are no images here In the solitude, only The night and its stars which are Relationships rather than Images. Shifting darkness, Strains of feeling, lines of force, Webs of thoughts, no images, Only night and time aging The night in its darkness, just Motion in space in the dark.

It is a night full of darkness, And space, and stars, and the hours Going by, and time going by, And the night growing old, and all The webs, and nets, of relationships Changing, and it is Spring night In Provence, here where I am, And under the half moon the almond Buds are ready to burst Kenneth Rexroth

THE COMMUNAL CHARACTER OF LIFE All things share these aspects of change: people, plants & animals, mountains & rivers. We are all part of one system. So…

3. Ideal: deeply fitting in  One’s social and spiritual goal is to fulfill one’s particular niche in the system. This is human fulfillment.  Such a fitting-in grounds one in the universe; you find your place rather than impose your desires.  The overriding goal is the harmony of the system (not self-benefit or justice)

III. THE NATURAL: THAT WHICH ACTS ACCORDING TO ITS NATURE  An “adverbial” concept of nature.  All things have an inner nature. To act according to your inner nature is to be natural.

 Humans tend to act on their desires or intentional will rather than their inner nature.  This causes inner disharmony, anxiety, and clumsiness.  It also causes outer disharmony: social disorder.

 The ideal is to act spontaneously out our true nature.  However, this requires great discipline of spiritual practice over long periods of time.  The same is true of other living things. To see the true nature of a pine tree, we need to see an old tree buffeted by cliff winds. Or we need to train it in order to reveal its true nature.