Causality, Zen, and Philosophy

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Causality, Zen, and Philosophy

Causation refers to the relationship in which one event affects another, and causality will be studied in fields such as physics, science, psychology, and philosophy. Causality is said to be a reciprocal relationship in which cause produces effect and effect produces cause.

Zen is a branch of Buddhism, such as the Chinese Zen sect and the Japanese Zen sect, which aims at enlightenment of truth and intuitive insight through direct experience through practices such as meditation and zazen (Zen meditation).

Philosophy is the study of human knowledge, existence, morality, and truth, using logical and critical thinking to tackle abstract questions. It comes from various traditions, including ancient Greek philosophy, Western philosophy, and Eastern philosophy, and includes fields such as metaphysics, ethics, and epistemology.

The causal approach emphasizes logical analysis and the scientific method, while the Zen approach emphasizes intuition and direct experience. It can also be said that they are concepts from different domains with different perspectives and related to different cultures and disciplines, such as philosophy, which focuses on human experiences but also emphasizes the logical analysis of those experiences.

However, Zen practice and Zen insight can also prompt philosophical reflection on causality. In Zen practice, through direct experience, one may transcend the superficial causal relationships of things and gain intuitive insight, which may lead to a new perspective and understanding of causality that transcends conventional concepts and logic. Through Zen practice, one may also gain deep insights into the workings of the mind and the causal relations of the mind, which may provide new perspectives on philosophical questions.

Zen practice and Zen insight may also offer direct experiential answers to philosophical questions. Because Zen practice pursues direct experience without being limited by concepts or words, it may offer practical insights through direct experience to philosophical questions that are limited to explanation by words or concepts. This can lead to new perspectives and deeper understanding of philosophical questions.

In this article, I would like to consider in particular the relationship between causality and Zen.

I have previously discussed causality in terms of machine learning. The correlation between the consumption of chocolate and the Nobel Prize can be seen in the data, but as a practical matter, it cannot be considered that eating chocolate will win you the Nobel Prize, but rather that it may appear that way by chance due to the influence of other factors. This “cause and effect” is one of the most important themes in Buddhism and philosophy.

For example, in the world of Zen, being trapped in the world of cause and effect is considered to be one of the vexations. There is a teaching that we should not try to understand all of it, or subjectively/emotionally extract and emphasize only some of it, or forcefully give meaning to what we cannot understand, but consciously ignore it. (Furaku-Inga)

For example, in the world of philosophy, causal semantics is discussed in which the meaning of something is defined by the existence of a causal relationship between things. The notion that the meaning of things is defined by some kind of basis is also found in Saussure’s structuralist interpretation of language, which shows that if we completely ignore causality, we will not be able to do even the natural act of recognizing something.

For example, in the famous Zen koan “Mumonkan”, “Hyakujo Yako”, there is a story about a man who answers “Furaku-Inga” and falls into the body of a wild fox, and who hears “不昧因果” and escapes from the body of a wild fox. If we completely ignore cause and effect, we will become a beast that cannot recognize things, and if we do not get caught up in cause and effect (acknowledge the existence of cause and effect), we can become a person (be able to recognize things).

What should we do if we are neither caught up in nor ignore cause and effect? For example, as expressed in the phrase “Nichi nichi ze koi nichi,” one should live a carefree life, enjoying each day without falling into the trap of cause and effect. Various ways of life have been advocated.

As I mentioned in my previous article, “Mu-Ka-Fu-Ka,” it would be best if we could live a life of maximum immersion and enjoyment in the “now” while looking toward a future of infinite possibilities. In the world of Zen, it is said that in order to achieve this, it is important to immerse oneself 100% in the role that one is currently carrying and to play with it.

A person is like a chest of drawers with countless drawers, and all the drawers in the chest are possibilities. In everyday life, opening a few of these drawers is enough, but if you are willing to take on the challenge and open the taller drawers or the drawers farther away, you will expand yourself and enjoy the infinite possibilities.

Life is a daily practice.