Dying
cricket –
how full of
life, his song.
(Basho)
Facing death
Japanese
samurai used to contemplate death.
This was not some morbid fixation.
Admitting their own mortality forced the warriors to accept that life is a
precious and fleeting gift.
They regarded the cherry blossom as a
symbol of this insight.
Cherry blossoms bloom for a brief period and then fall at the very height of
their beauty.
To the samurai this was a melancholy reminder of
death amidst life.
It was an example of great beauty and sadness.
This poignant insight into life and death allowed the samurai to live their lives more fully; they realised that death could come at any moment.
It is
not for nothing that the samurai have chosen for their truest symbol the
fragile cherry blossom.
Like a petal dropping in the morning sunlight and floating serenely to earth,
so must the fearless detach himself from life, silent and inwardly unmoved.
(Eugen Herrigel)
Cherry blossoms
Cherry blossoms were seen to possess natural
beauty and grace.
The word 'beauty' does not refer simply to the appearance of the flower; it
captures the sense of
dignity and strength contained within something so
fragile and fleeting.
'Grace' is a word seldom considered in our times.
It can mean a variety of things: compassion, kindness, goodwill, elegance
and beauty of movement.
For the samurai, grace meant
rectitude.
Rectitude can be defined as
appropriate conduct; considering how your
behaviour affects other people and seeking to do what is right.
The cherry blossom is a reminder that our life will not last.
In the face of death, is there any need for pettiness,
argument, callousness and
cruelty?
If you accept death, does that change how you live?
Nothing that we
consider important will last - especially ourselves.
Tai chi
The tai chi diagram contains
yin and yang.
Most people see yin and yang as being opposites, but they are not.
One cannot exist without the other.
They are part of the same whole; in the way that light would be meaningless
without darkness.
John Lash said:
How can life have meaning without death?
How can joy have meaning without sadness?
Page created 8 May 2000