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【この本はマジで劇薬】「10回読んでもまだ興奮する、異常な本でした。値段が10倍だったとしても　私が絶対買う本。自分とか、ないから。教養としての東洋哲学」【本要約】 — Transcript

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0:01I imagine some of you have said "back
0:04to reality" when leaving Disneyland.
0:08But, in truth, we aren't actually
0:10returning to reality. At Disneyland, we
0:13believe in the fiction of Mickey Mouse;
0:15at work, we believe in the fiction of
0:18bosses and employees. When you leave
0:21Disneyland, you are simply moving from
0:23one fiction to another. What if someone
0:27with no girlfriend insisted, "I am a
0:29boyfriend"? That would be a bit creepy,
0:32right? You'd have to ask, "Whose
0:35boyfriend are you?" The concept of a "
0:37boyfriend" only exists because there is
0:39another person involved. Boyfriends and
0:41girlfriends are illusions within each
0:43other's minds. Precisely because they
0:46are illusions, you become a married
0:48couple through marriage and complete
0:50strangers again through divorce. Hello,
0:52everyone. Thank you so much for always
0:55watching. I'm Tami from the Book-Ya
0:58Channel. Today, I would like to
1:01introduce the book "Eastern Philosophy
1:04as a Liberal Art for the Jobless"
1:06written by B Shinmei. Now, when most
1:10people hear the word "philosophy," they
1:12think of Western philosophy. I'm sure
1:16many of you have heard names like Kant,
1:19Hegel, or Nietzsche at least once.
1:22However, Western philosophy isn't the
1:24only thing we should be studying in
1:26this day and age. In fact, Eastern
1:29philosophy is a way of thinking that is
1:32incredibly useful for us. That said, I
1:34suspect most people don't really have a
1:37clear image of what Eastern philosophy
1:39is. The main theme of Eastern
1:42philosophy is exploring what our "true
1:44self" is. While Western philosophy asks
1:48how the world is constructed. Or who
1:52God is—focusing on things outside of
1:54oneself—Eastern philosophy focuses on
1:57the self. Rather than thinking about
2:02how to change the world, it looks at
2:04your own mind and how you perceive
2:05things. The greatest thing about
2:10Eastern philosophy is that its
2:12fundamental theme is how we should live
2:14. If I had to summarize Eastern
2:18philosophy in one word, it is a
2:20philosophy for finding peace of mind.
2:24Whether you are unemployed, divorced,
2:26or a shut-in, it can help you find
2:28peace. Even those who feel their life
2:32is at rock bottom due to struggles with
2:34work or relationships can find relief.
2:36That is exactly what Eastern philosophy
2:39is. Today, I would like to introduce
2:41one philosopher who represents Eastern
2:43philosophy and delve into their ideas.
2:47It’s a very intriguing topic, so I
2:49would be delighted if you stayed with
2:51me until the very end. Also, if you
2:53find this book interesting after
2:55watching this video, I would be happy
2:57if you checked the link in the
2:58description to pick up a copy. Now,
3:01here is our agenda for today. In
3:03Chapter 1, it’s so shocking it will
3:05make you tremble. It has finally been
3:07proven that this world is fiction and
3:09that everything is emptiness. In
3:12Chapter 2, I will provide a thorough
3:15explanation on the theme that once
3:17people understand the meaning of "
3:19emptiness," their lives change in
3:20frightening ways. Let’s get started
3:26with our first topic: the proof that
3:28this world is fiction and everything is
3:30nothingness. Now then, have you ever
3:36heard the name Nagarjuna? I imagine
3:40very few of you have. Unless you have
3:43studied Buddhism in detail, it is
3:45likely a name you are hearing for the
3:47first time. On the other hand, everyone
3:51has certainly heard the name Buddha,
3:53right? Buddha refers to Shakyamuni, the
3:57founder of Buddhism. Nagarjuna was a
4:01figure who refined the teachings of the
4:04Buddha 700 years later. To describe
4:08Nagarjuna in one word, he was an
4:10incredibly sharp genius. He was so
4:14formidable that he actually defeated
4:16the philosophers of India at the time
4:18in debate one after another. The author
4:21of this book says that whenever they
4:23look at Nagarjuna, they are reminded of
4:25a certain person. As the keyword "
4:27debate" suggests, that person is
4:29Hiroyuki, the founder of the online
4:31bulletin board 2channel. Hiroyuki is a
4:34brilliant IT entrepreneur and is also
4:37known as the "King of Debate." He has
4:40an image of finding flaws in others '
4:42arguments and logically tearing them
4:44apart. In other words, Nagarjuna was
4:46the Indian version of Hiroyuki, the
4:49Indian King of Debate. So, what kind of
4:51life did Nagarjuna, the king of
4:53philosophy in India, lead? Actually,
4:56historical records known as the "
4:58Biographies of Bodhisattvas" reveal
5:00some shocking dark history. Nagarjuna
5:02was known as a genius from a very young
5:05age. He had three close friends who
5:08were also geniuses, and they were
5:10always together. This group of four
5:13geniuses was incredibly arrogant and
5:15full of themselves. Records show that
5:18they actually looked down on everyone
5:20else to an extreme degree. However,
5:23people who are good at academics have a
5:25weakness that never changes throughout
5:27time. That is, they have absolutely no
5:29luck with the ladies. Even though they
5:31were incredibly smart, they couldn't
5:33attract women at all. And as it always
5:36has in every era, youthful desire tends
5:38to run wild. Using his innate intellect
5:42, Nagarjuna learned how to become
5:44invisible and broke into the king's
5:46harem. Then, he proceeded to have
5:49relations with the women in the harem.
5:51Because they were too flashy with their
5:53activities, they were caught when it
5:55was discovered that someone invisible
5:57was inside. The enraged king ordered
5:59hundreds of his soldiers to lock all
6:01the doors and swing their swords around
6:03wildly. The strategy was that even if
6:05they couldn't see them, if they kept
6:07swinging their swords, they would
6:09eventually strike someone. Nagarjuna's
6:11three close friends were killed in an
6:14instant, but he alone managed to
6:15survive. He managed to avoid the blades
6:20by clinging tightly to the king's side.
6:23This young man, Nagarjuna, who was
6:25brilliant but morally bankrupt, began
6:28to reflect on himself after this
6:30incident. Having lost his three best
6:33friends because of his own actions, he
6:35changed his way of life. He entered the
6:38path of Buddhism and decided to live
6:39for the sake of the world and other
6:41people. It could be said that
6:43Nagarjuna’s life is a testament to
6:45the fact that even if a person’s
6:47character is beyond redemption, they
6:49can still change. The fact that he
6:52wasn't a noble person from the start is
6:54part of what makes Nagarjuna such an
6:56interesting figure. By the way, the era
6:59in which Nagarjuna lived was about 700
7:01years after the Buddha had passed away.
7:04At that time, Buddhism was facing a
7:06major crisis. The teachings of Buddha
7:10were originally very simple. To put
7:13Buddha's teaching in a word, it is that
7:15there is no self. However, for some
7:18reason, 700 years later, it became
7:21demonically complex. Buddha taught that
7:25by observing your own mind, you can
7:27realize there is no self and find
7:29relief. But once Buddha was gone,
7:34people were confused, unsure if they
7:36really understood what "no self" meant.
7:41So, later scholars set out to explain
7:43Buddha's teachings more accurately.
7:47Over 700 years, scholars engaged in
7:49great debates, and the teachings were
7:51compiled into one work. It is called
7:55the Abhidharma Mahavibhasha Sastra.
7:57Believe it or not, this book consists
8:00of 200 volumes. Such teachings could
8:02never reach the general public. Back
8:05then, there were many people who
8:06couldn't even read. As a result,
8:09Buddhism became extremely inaccessible,
8:12and the people drifted away. To put it
8:16another way, it’s like a dating
8:18master teaching you how to be popular,
8:20only for his students to write a 200-
8:23volume thesis on what being popular
8:25actually means. This could be called
8:29the least popular behavior imaginable.
8:32The state of Buddhism was just the same
8:34. Despite the Buddhism master, Buddha,
8:38teaching that there is no self, his
8:40disciples wrote 200-volume theses on
8:43what Buddhism or the self is. By doing
8:47so, they ended up drifting furthest
8:49from the teaching that there is no self
8:51. It was in this critical situation for
8:55Buddhism that the Indian Prince,
8:57Nagarjuna, appeared. Nagarjuna was not
9:00just a genius. Having entered the path
9:05of Buddhism after the dark history
9:07mentioned earlier, he wasn't someone
9:09who only thought about Buddhism in his
9:11head. He dismissed all 700 years of
9:17debate as trivial wordplay and reached
9:19a shocking conclusion. Thanks to
9:24Nagarjuna, the Buddhist teachings that
9:26had swelled to 200 volumes were reduced
9:29to just a single character. That one
9:33single character is "ku." In other
9:36words, it means that this entire world
9:38is "ku." Thus, Buddhism became a super
9:41simple teaching once again, spreading
9:44widely as a Mahayana Buddhism that
9:46anyone can learn. Most Japanese
9:49Buddhism is also this Mahayana Buddhism
9:51. So, what exactly is this "ku"? What
9:56does it mean to say this entire world
9:58is "ku"? Let me introduce a quote from
10:02Nagarjuna. He states that this world
10:08exists only in the mind, appearing just
10:10like a phantom. Saying everything is a
10:15phantom means this world is entirely
10:17fiction. With this one phrase, the
10:20meaning of "no-self," which the Buddha
10:23taught, suddenly becomes easy to
10:24understand. An example of fiction would
10:27be Mickey Mouse. If you were asked
10:31whether Mickey Mouse exists, how would
10:33you answer? He exists in everyone's
10:36hearts, but he isn't real, is he?
10:40However, it feels somewhat wrong to say
10:42that Mickey Mouse doesn't exist
10:43anywhere at all. You cannot say he
10:46exists, yet you cannot say he doesn't.
10:48This exquisite feeling is exactly what
10:51"ku" is. In short, Nagarjuna's teaching
10:54is that this world is like Disneyland.
10:59Everyone knows that Disneyland is a
11:01world of fiction. No one gets angry
11:05when they see Mickey Mouse in the park,
11:07shouting that it's a fake because
11:09there's a person inside. But what does
11:13it mean for this entire world to be
11:14Disneyland and fiction? Nagarjuna
11:18states that this world arises from
11:20language. This world is a phantom
11:23created by the magic of words. For
11:26example, please look at this image.
11:28Looking at him normally, he’s just a
11:30man you could find anywhere, right? But
11:33what if we add the words "total assets
11:35of 5 quadrillion yen" here? The magic
11:38of words is truly terrifying, isn't it?
11:41Just a moment ago, he was an ordinary
11:44middle-aged man, but suddenly he seems
11:46like someone with an extraordinary
11:48presence, doesn't he? The image itself
11:51has not changed at all. The only thing
11:54that changed is that the words "total
11:56assets of 5 quadrillion yen" were added
11:59to it. Yet, to our eyes, they appear as
12:02if they were completely different
12:04people. The illusions created by the
12:07magic of language like this are
12:08incredibly powerful. Seeing things as
12:11they truly are is actually very
12:13difficult. Examples demonstrating this
12:16magical power of language exist
12:18everywhere in our society. For instance
12:21, everyone’s favorite: fried chicken.
12:23"Fried chicken" is such a cute and
12:25delicious-sounding name, isn't it?
12:28I’m sure many people feel an urge to
12:30eat it when they see it in a shop. But
12:33try to think about it calmly for a
12:35moment. The true nature of fried
12:37chicken is a chicken carcass. However,
12:41by wrapping that carcass in packaging
12:43and calling it "fried chicken," a
12:45friendly and pop illusion emerges. If
12:49the package labeled it as "deep-fried
12:51chicken carcass," the impression of the
12:53same product would be completely
12:55different. We are so helpless in the
12:59face of the magic of language. Thus, it
13:02can be said that this world is governed
13:04by the magic of language. And we, too,
13:07use this magic of language without even
13:10realizing it. We use words to name the
13:13world and live under the belief that
13:15those names truly exist. Now, let’s
13:18return to the story of Nagarjuna, the
13:21great Indian philosopher. If it were
13:23Nagarjuna, he would describe a couple
13:25like this. They are walking through a
13:28world of illusions born from
13:29interdependent relationships. What
13:32could that possibly mean? It means that
13:35a boyfriend and girlfriend are
13:36illusions born from mutual dependence.
13:40What if someone who doesn't have a
13:41girlfriend claimed, "I am a boyfriend"?
13:44That would be a bit scary, wouldn't it?
13:46The question would be, "Whose boyfriend
13:48are you?" A boyfriend only exists when
13:51there is a partner. A "boyfriend" does
13:54not exist as a standalone entity. "
13:57Boyfriend" and "girlfriend" are
13:59illusions existing within each other's
14:01minds. It means that we cast the magic
14:04of language on each other to create a
14:06world of illusions. Only when two
14:10people recognize each other as
14:11boyfriend and girlfriend is that
14:13relationship born. Because it is an
14:16illusion, human relationships are
14:18always changing. A stranger becomes a
14:20friend, and then they become a
14:22boyfriend. If you marry, you become a
14:24couple; if you divorce, you become
14:26complete strangers again. It is not
14:29just boyfriends and girlfriends who are
14:31illusions in this way. Frighteningly
14:33enough, this applies to all human
14:35relationships. Let’s start with
14:37family. Here is a little quiz for you.
14:41Who was born first, the older brother
14:43or the younger brother? You might be
14:45angry, asking if I'm mocking you with
14:47this question. Normally, you would
14:49think the older brother was born first,
14:51right? However, according to
14:53Nagarjuna's philosophy, the older and
14:55younger brothers were born at the same
14:57time. What on earth does that mean? The
14:59older brother and the younger brother
15:01are the same as the boyfriend and
15:02girlfriend mentioned earlier. They
15:04depend on each other to exist. For
15:06example, let’s assume you are an only
15:09child. At that point, you are not
15:11anyone’s older brother. But suppose
15:14your mother suddenly gives birth and
15:15you get a younger brother. At that very
15:18moment, you become an older brother. In
15:20other words, the older brother is born
15:22at the same time the younger brother is
15:24born. It would be scary if someone with
15:26no younger brothers or sisters claimed,
15:28"I am an older brother." The existence
15:30of an "older brother" only holds true
15:32because there is a younger brother or
15:34sister. Father and child are the same.
15:37Your father was also a baby once. Your
15:41father wasn't a father from the time he
15:43was a baby. He became a father because
15:46you were born. In other words, the
15:49moment a child is born, the father is
15:51born simultaneously. Even if he existed
15:54as a human before, the role of "father"
15:57cannot exist without a child. Thus,
16:00even father and child are illusions
16:03created by depending on one another.
16:06One could say that family consists of
16:08strangers acting as a family to become
16:10a family. Your parents, their parents,
16:13and people all over the world are all
16:15playing the role of family. This is the
16:17same as the costumed characters at
16:19Disneyland. When you marry, you become
16:21family; when you divorce, you become
16:24strangers. If you think about it that
16:26way, you can see that family is not an
16:28immutable existence, but a fiction. If
16:31family is a fiction, then companies are
16:34even more of a fiction. A company is
16:35just something that is acknowledged to
16:37exist if you submit the paperwork to
16:39the legal affairs bureau. A company
16:41that didn't exist yesterday can exist
16:43starting today if you just follow the
16:45procedures. It's just that everyone in
16:48society has decided to agree that it
16:50exists. It is a fiction based on that
16:52kind of premise. If a company is a
16:54fiction, then naturally all human
16:56relationships within it are also
16:58fictions. If you are an employee, try
17:00to remember the first day you met your
17:02company president. The president might
17:04look more powerful than the employees,
17:06but from the perspective of emptiness,
17:08they are equal. The president is called
17:10a "representative director," but in
17:12short, it is just a role. It is just as
17:15illusory as Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse
17:18can exist because everyone thinks that
17:20he is Mickey Mouse. If no one thought
17:23he was Mickey Mouse anymore, he would
17:25just be a person in a costume. The
17:28president is the same way. They can
17:31exist as a president because everyone
17:33thinks of them as the president. Let's
17:36take this logic a step further. If a
17:38company is empty, then from the
17:39perspective of Nagarjuna, a nation is
17:41also empty. Have you ever heard of a
17:44country called the Principality of
17:45Sealand? There is a fortress about the
17:49size of a tennis court in the sea, 10km
17:51off the coast of England. One day, a
17:55person who occupied this fortress
17:57declared the founding of a new country.
18:00This is the Principality of Sealand.
18:03However, other countries did not
18:05recognize Sealand as a nation.
18:07Therefore, although it is called a
18:09country, it is merely self-proclaimed.
18:11You cannot become a country unless
18:13other countries recognize you. It’s
18:16like claiming "I am a boyfriend" when
18:18there is no partner. But what if Japan
18:23were to declare that it recognizes
18:24Sealand as a nation? At least in its
18:29relationship with Japan, Sealand would
18:31be treated as a nation. In other words,
18:34even nations can be said to be fictions
18:36that are established by recognizing
18:38each other, like a boyfriend and
18:40girlfriend. Even an existence that
18:43seems huge and absolute like a nation
18:45is, from the viewpoint of Nagarjuna,
18:47empty. To summarize the flow so far,
18:50from the perspective of Nagarjuna, this
18:53world is like Disneyland. Family,
18:56companies, and nations are all fictions
18:58. We live within them, playing various
19:02roles such as father, employee,
19:04president, or Japanese citizen. Some of
19:08you may have said the words, "I'm
19:10returning to reality," when leaving
19:12Disneyland. Leaving the magic kingdom,
19:16you feel a sense of despair knowing you
19:18have to return to the reality of your
19:20commute tomorrow. But in truth, we
19:24aren't actually returning to reality.
19:27At Disneyland, we believe in the
19:29fiction of Mickey Mouse; at work, we
19:31believe in the fiction of being bosses
19:33or employees. When you leave Disneyland
19:37, you are simply moving from one
19:38fiction to another. Now, let's take a
19:42moment to summarize the contents of
19:44Part 1. Summary of Part 1. In Part 1,
19:47we introduced the following points.
19:49Nagarjuna, known as the king of debate,
19:52entered the path of Buddhism after a
19:54great mistake in his youth and
19:56condensed complex teachings into the
19:58single character of "Emptiness." We are
20:01not absolute entities, but rather live
20:03our lives playing various roles. We
20:07explained that human relationships,
20:09companies, and nations are fictions
20:11born from language and mutual
20:13recognition. Now, we will move on to
20:15the next chapter, titled: The moment
20:16you understand the meaning of "
20:18Emptiness." Many people find their
20:20lives changing in terrifying ways. I
20:22will now proceed with the explanation
20:24of this theme. So, we have understood
20:29so far that the world we think exists
20:31is entirely fiction. However, the true
20:36brilliance of the philosophy of
20:37Emptiness starts right here. Until now,
20:41we talked about how human relationships
20:43and nations are fictions, but from here
20:45, I want to take it further and explain
20:47how even objects themselves are
20:49fictions. Take a cup, for example. If
20:53you have ever tried pottery, you know
20:55that a cup is originally just clay. You
20:59knead the clay, spin it on the wheel,
21:01shape it, and fire it to make a cup.
21:04The shape has changed into a cup, but
21:06it remains clay at its core. The moment
21:09we give it the name "cup," what was
21:11once just clay begins to appear to us
21:13as a cup. In other words, a cup is also
21:16an illusion created by the magic of
21:18language. As proof, the "cup"
21:20constantly changes depending on your
21:22relationship with it. If you fill it
21:24with water to drink, it is a cup, but
21:26if you put flowers in it, it becomes a
21:28vase. If you line it up in a store to
21:30sell, it becomes a product, but if you
21:32discard it, it becomes trash. Even
21:35though the object itself hasn't changed
21:37, just by changing its relationship
21:39with people, its name changes too. From
21:42this, you can understand that an object
21:44like a cup is also an illusion. And
21:48interestingly, the cup and we ourselves
21:50exist by depending on each other. It's
21:53not that I unilaterally look at an
21:55object and decide to call it a cup. In
21:58fact, the cup also helps create the
22:00existence of "me." What does that mean?
22:04For example, look at this image. It's
22:07an image of me, looking as if I'm
22:09drinking coffee at a stylish cafe. If
22:12you are holding a cup in a beautiful
22:14cafe, you somehow look like a stylish
22:16person, don't you? But what if, in this
22:19image, I were holding a lump of dirt
22:21instead of a cup? I would look quite
22:24strange, wouldn't I? If you saw someone
22:27holding dirt in a cafe, you would
22:29wonder what on earth they were doing.
22:32However, if you think about it calmly,
22:34holding a cup with a smug look in a
22:36cafe is essentially the same as holding
22:38dirt. In other words, what I'm saying
22:41is that because there is a stylish cup,
22:44the persona of a stylish "me" is born.
22:47It’s not just that we give meaning to
22:50objects; the objects also give meaning
22:52to us. Furthermore, if you expand from
22:55the small perspective of a cup to a
22:57larger perspective, everything is
22:59fiction. For instance, what about
23:01buildings? According to Nagarjuna, the
23:03buildings standing in the city are also
23:05illusions. A building is made out of
23:07concrete. To put it simply, concrete is
23:09made by mixing and hardening sand,
23:12stones, and so on. In that sense, it
23:14isn't much different from the cup
23:15mentioned earlier. Roads are also made
23:18of sand and stones in the same way.
23:20Let's take a look at a photo of a city
23:22like Tokyo. When skyscrapers are lined
23:24up, it looks like a very artificial
23:27space, doesn't it? But if you trace it
23:30back to the materials, you realize that
23:32the city is made of dirt and stone.
23:36Essentially, it hasn't changed much
23:38since the days when people built houses
23:40out of mud and stone. Now, it is just
23:43being made huge and processed
23:45beautifully. Roads, too, are just
23:48materials laid on the ground with lines
23:50drawn on them. In short, a town is an
23:53illusion. They only appear to be
23:56completely different things because we
23:58give them names like Tokyo, roads,
24:00apartments, or office buildings. So,
24:05what would happen if all these
24:06illusions disappeared? Would nothing be
24:10left? No, that’s not it. Everything
24:13is connected. This is called "engi"(
24:15dependent origination). It means that
24:18all things are connected through
24:19relationships. If everything in this
24:23world is "ku"(emptiness), then
24:25everything does not exist separately.
24:28In truth, there are no absolute
24:30boundaries anywhere in this world. If
24:34we look at each thing carefully, we can
24:36see that the boundaries we take for
24:38granted are illusions. For example,
24:42what about a mountain? Where does a
24:45mountain actually begin? Looking at a
24:48picture of Mount Fuji, it’s easy to
24:50see, but as you approach the foot of it
24:53, it becomes unclear what is Mount Fuji
24:55. The skirts of a mountain spread out
24:58indefinitely. Beyond that, even the
25:00town is made of the same earth. In that
25:04sense, it is like a continuation. When
25:08we make a map, we just decide that this
25:10point is Mount Fuji and arbitrarily
25:12draw a boundary line. Nature itself
25:16does not have a line drawn that says
25:18Mount Fuji ends here. In other words,
25:22boundaries are illusions, and
25:23everything is connected. Let’s think
25:26from a much larger perspective. You
25:28likely feel a very clear boundary
25:30between Japan and the United States.
25:33Japan and the United States are
25:34separated by the vast ocean called the
25:36Pacific. Some may think this is a
25:39natural boundary created by the sea, so
25:41it can’t possibly be an illusion.
25:44However, the ocean is just a giant
25:46puddle on the surface of the Earth. The
25:49ground also continues all the way to
25:50the ocean floor. Thinking of it that
25:52way, all countries are connected by the
25:54ground and the sea. Mount Fuji is
25:57connected to New York, Paris, and even
25:59the South Pole through the ground.
26:01Conversely, even in Japan, if you
26:03follow the ground beneath your feet, it
26:05eventually connects to Mount Everest.
26:08Thinking about it this way, you can see
26:10that the borders we perceive are an
26:12illusion. Furthermore, the boundary
26:14between mountains and rivers is also an
26:16illusion. You’ll notice it when
26:18climbing a mountain; mountain trails
26:20are quite damp. Even when it’s sunny,
26:22there are places where the ground is
26:24soaking wet, aren’t there? Mountains
26:25absorb rain, so they contain water
26:27throughout their entire structure.
26:30There are spots here and there where
26:32that water trickles out from between
26:33the soil. Then, those small streams
26:36gather in lower areas, gradually
26:38growing into a river. So, at what exact
26:42moment does a mountain become a river?
26:44Up to here is mountain. There is no
26:46clear point where it suddenly becomes a
26:48river. In other words, there is no
26:51distinct boundary between mountains and
26:53rivers. And surprisingly, the boundary
26:55between the mountains and yourself is
26:57also an illusion. You can understand
26:59this clearly by looking at the movement
27:01of water. Water first exists in the sky
27:03as clouds. Then, the clouds turn into
27:06rain, and that rain pours down onto the
27:08mountains. That water flows through the
27:10mountains and eventually becomes a
27:12river. Water is drawn from rivers and
27:15flows into your homes through pipes and
27:17such. Then, if you put it in a cup and
27:21drink it, the water becomes a part of
27:23your body. It is said that 70%of our
27:26bodies are made of water. This means
27:30when you drink water, the water forming
27:32your body might have been a cloud just
27:33a little while ago. It might have been
27:36rain, or it might have been a mountain.
27:39Drinking water means the clouds are
27:41becoming you. It means the rain is
27:44becoming you, and parts of the
27:45mountains and rivers are becoming you.
27:49And the water that leaves your body
27:50will eventually flow to somewhere else.
27:54Thinking that way, the boundary between
27:56where nature ends and you begin isn't
27:58so clear either. If you think about it
28:02this way, the way you see the world
28:04should change significantly. In fact,
28:06even the boundary between yourself and
28:08the outside world, which we take for
28:11granted, is an illusion. Furthermore,
28:13you will realize that the boundary
28:15between the universe and yourself is an
28:17illusion. We cannot survive without the
28:20sun. If the sun were to disappear,
28:22plants would no longer be able to
28:24photosynthesize. If plants could not
28:27survive, the entire ecosystem would
28:29collapse. Air, water, and food—
28:33everything we need to live—is deeply
28:35connected to the sun. In other words,
28:39we do not exist independently from the
28:41universe. We exist right here thanks to
28:44our relationship with countless things,
28:46such as the sun, the Earth, the air,
28:48and water. Thinking this way will give
28:51you the sensation of being connected to
28:53the universe all at once. Now, based on
28:55what we've discussed so far, I think
28:57you might be starting to understand the
29:00concept of "emptiness." Emptiness does
29:03not mean that nothing exists. The names
29:07and boundaries we believe absolutely
29:09exist are actually just illusions born
29:11from relationships. It is the idea that
29:15, in reality, everything exists while
29:17being interconnected. And from here, we
29:21enter the most interesting part of
29:23Eastern philosophy. What kind of view
29:26does someone who has realized emptiness
29:28see? Emptiness cannot truly be
29:32explained by words alone, but a certain
29:34sutra actually describes the world of
29:37enlightenment in great detail. Because
29:41of that, even ordinary people like us,
29:43who have not achieved enlightenment,
29:45can get a glimpse into that incredible
29:47world. Chandrakirti, a successor to
29:50Nagarjuna, wrote in his work, the
29:52Prasannapada, that one can see
29:54everything through the "one." It sounds
29:57a bit mysterious and truly
29:58characteristic of Eastern philosophy,
30:00doesn't it? For example, let's say we
30:02have a single grain of rice here. It
30:04means that a person who has realized
30:06emptiness sees the entire universe in
30:08this one single grain of rice. For
30:10those of you who have followed along
30:12with the content so far, these words
30:13shouldn't be too difficult to
30:15understand. This grain of rice could
30:17not grow without the sun. Without
30:20clouds and rain, it would not be able
30:22to receive water. Without mountains and
30:24rivers, that water would never reach
30:26the rice paddy. Without the work of
30:29soil, insects, and humans, this grain
30:31of rice could not exist. If farmers
30:34didn't grow it, this grain of rice
30:36would never have come before you. In
30:39other words, the connection to the
30:41entire universe is condensed into a
30:43single grain. Seeing everything through
30:46"emptiness" is exactly that. At first
30:49glance, it is just a small grain, but
30:51if you carefully trace its background,
30:54it connects to the sun, clouds, and
30:56rain. Furthermore, it also connects to
30:58humans and society. To the eyes of the
31:01general public, this grain of rice is
31:03just a grain of rice. If it is in a
31:05bowl, it looks like nothing more than
31:07part of a meal, but from the world of
31:09emptiness, this grain is the universe
31:11itself. Nagarjuna also said something
31:14similar. He said that the Buddha taught
31:18through two truths: conventional truth
31:20and ultimate truth. In conventional
31:23truth, a grain of rice is just a grain
31:25of rice. If you say "this is rice," the
31:27matter ends there. But in the ultimate
31:30truth, a grain of rice is connected to
31:32everything. And seeing these two
31:34perspectives simultaneously is the
31:36vision of one who has realized
31:38emptiness. Just because you are
31:40enlightened doesn't mean you suddenly
31:42stop seeing the grain of rice. It
31:44doesn't mean you start claiming "this
31:46is the universe, so it's not rice." The
31:48grain of rice looks like a grain of
31:50rice as usual. But at the same time,
31:52you can see that the grain is connected
31:55to the entire universe. It means living
31:58in the everyday world while also seeing
32:00the connections that lie beneath. This
32:03can be said of all existence. A cup,
32:06fried chicken, and even yourself are
32:08all connected to everything. As long as
32:10things exist through dependent
32:12origination, everything is a part of
32:13the universe. In that sense, the grain
32:16of rice, the cup, and yourself are all
32:18the same in that they are ultimately
32:20the universe. That is why those who
32:22have reached ultimate enlightenment see
32:24everything in this world as connected,
32:26to the point where a cup is oneself, a
32:28grain of rice is a cloud, and a
32:30mountain is fried chicken. At this
32:32point, it starts to feel like you don't
32:34know what I'm talking about, doesn't it
32:36? You probably think there's no way a
32:38mountain and fried chicken could be the
32:40same thing. But for an enlightened
32:43person, everything in the world is not
32:45seen as completely separate, but as one
32:47connected existence. They see the
32:50differences between each, but at the
32:52same time, they understand that
32:54everything is connected deep down. How
32:56do you feel after hearing this so far?
33:00Some of you might feel a strange sense
33:02that you are the universe itself. On
33:05the other hand, you might think there's
33:07no point in thinking about such things.
33:10However, this way of thinking is
33:12extremely useful in everyday life. For
33:16example, let's say you're stressed to
33:18death over a report that you have to
33:19finish by tomorrow. Or maybe you had a
33:23bad experience at work and can't stop
33:25thinking about your relationships there
33:27. At times like that, what if you
33:30considered that you are a part of the
33:32universe, and that the problem in front
33:34of you and your boss are all connected?
33:38Wouldn't the problems that felt like
33:39the end of the world just a moment ago
33:41start to look a little smaller? What's
33:43great about Eastern philosophy is that
33:45it doesn't engage in philosophy just
33:47for the sake of philosophy. It doesn't
33:50exist to ponder difficult things just
33:52to say, "Look how smart I am." It
33:55always has the purpose of helping you
33:57find relief. So what can we learn from
34:00the philosophy of emptiness? It's that
34:04all the worries we carry are fiction.
34:08For example, if your friend was crying
34:10while searching their room for 5
34:12quadrillion yen, what would you think?
34:16You'd worry about their mental state,
34:17right? If you don't operate on the
34:20assumption that 5 quadrillion yen
34:22exists, the worry of not having it
34:24wouldn't arise. This is an extreme
34:26example, but when you realize that "
34:28having" and "not having" are fiction,
34:30the true nature of our worries becomes
34:32clear. For example, what about the
34:34worry of not having a boyfriend? This
34:38worry is born from the assumption that
34:40having a boyfriend is the norm or that
34:42you'd be happier with one. Babies don't
34:45worry about not having a boyfriend, do
34:47they? There is no baby crying and
34:50wondering why they don't have a
34:51boyfriend. This is because the premise
34:54that one "should" have a boyfriend
34:56simply does not exist. In short, what
34:58creates suffering is not the reality of
35:01being single. It is the internal
35:03setting you have created that deems
35:05that state a problem. The same applies
35:08to not having money. A small child with
35:11only 500 yen might think they are
35:13incredibly wealthy. Conversely, someone
35:17with 50 million yen might feel poor if
35:19everyone around them is a billionaire.
35:22Thus, all worries are fiction, and
35:24everything is empty. We start by
35:27creating our own settings, such as "I'm
35:30no good because I'm bad at
35:31communicating" or "I can't be happy
35:33because I have no money." Then, we
35:36continue to suffer by convincing
35:38ourselves that these settings are facts
35:40. However, if the initial premise
35:42collapses, the conclusions drawn from
35:45it also crumble. In other words, by
35:47removing the premises that created your
35:49worries one by one, those worries
35:51themselves can no longer exist.
35:53Nagarjuna called these mistaken
35:55premises "prapanca." Simply put, it
35:59means trivial or meaningless thoughts.
36:03We often appear to be tormented by
36:05reality itself, but in truth, we are
36:08being tormented by settings created in
36:10our own minds. We get trapped inside
36:15the trivial thoughts we created
36:17ourselves and find ourselves unable to
36:19get out. That is the nature of us
36:22humans. Nagarjuna's concept of
36:25emptiness is actually a tremendously
36:27positive philosophy. It does not mean
36:30that because everything is an illusion,
36:32nothing you do matters. It is actually
36:34the opposite. Most of the worries
36:37causing you pain are not unchangeable
36:39realities. They are merely fictions
36:44born from boundaries you drew yourself
36:46or settings you made up in your head.
36:50If that's the case, then you can just
36:51change those settings. You should be
36:54able to see that, since no worries can
36:56truly hold up, you are going to be
36:58absolutely fine. Now, I would like to
37:02summarize the contents of Part 2 at
37:03this point. Part 2 Summary. In Part 2,
37:06we explained the following points. "
37:10Kuuto" is the concept that there are no
37:12absolute boundaries between objects or
37:14ourselves, and that everything exists
37:16in interconnection. I explained that
37:20even a single grain of rice is
37:21connected to the universe, and that
37:23worries about having or not having are
37:25illusions born from comparison and
37:27assumptions. We tend to be bound by the
37:32self-imposed rules of how life should
37:34be, but even that suffering is not an
37:36unchangeable reality. If you are
37:40troubled by something right now, please
37:42try questioning just once if it is
37:44truly a fact. In that moment, a new
37:47world that you couldn't see before
37:48might come into view. I hope today's
37:51video will be helpful to all of you.
37:54That is all for today. If you liked
37:56this video, please click the like
37:58button and subscribe to the channel. I
38:00also run other useful channels, so
38:02please check the links in the
38:04description box. Please also check out
38:07the latest video and recommended video
38:08shown on the screen now. Thank you for
38:11listening today.

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