Nishida Kitarō’s Logic of Absolutely Contradictory Self-Identity and the Problem of Orthodoxy in the Zen Tradition

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  • 西田幾多郎の絶対矛盾的自己同一論理と禅の伝統における正教の問題
  • Nishida Kitaro's logic of absolutely contradictory self-identity and the problem of orthodoxy in the Zen tradition

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This article examines the problem of orthodoxy in the Zen tradition from the point of view of Nishida Kitarō’s (1870–1945) logic of absolutely contradictory self-identity (zettai mujunteki jikodōitsu no ronri). By “Zen orthodoxy” I mean a theoretical framework that is used during verification of Zen Enlightenment. Part I of this essay attempts to clarify the meaning of Nishida’s philosophy of absolute nothingness and his logic of absolutely contradictory self-identity. It is a mistake, I argue, to analyze this philosophy of absolute nothingness from the point of view of formal logic or Hegel’s dialectical logic, as seen, for example, in Tanabe Hajime’s (1885–1962) critique of Nishida. Part II uses Nishida’s concepts and theories as useful “tools” for analyzing Zen teaching. Statements on Zen are scattered through Nishida’s writings, and one cannnot find a consistent and systematic discourse on Zen tradition. However, he was convinced that his philosophy related closely to the vision of reality in the Zen tradition as revealed in experience of Enlightenment (kenshō). He makes clear his own definition of kenshō, explaining that “seeing one’s nature” means to penetrate to the roots of one’s own self, to the bottom of absolute contradictory self-identity. In Part III, I maintain that Nishida’s logic of absolutely contradictory self-identity is the key to the inner structure of Zen teaching. His philosophy offers a coherent interpretation of the Zen tradition, answering questions about logic in the masters’ teaching, polemics in the tradition, and the theoretical structure of orthodoxy. Previous studies have overlooked the firm logical structure of absolute contradictory self-identity in Zen. The analysis here leads me to conclude that the main function of the kōan is to describe the nature of reality as revealed in the experience of Enlightenment in compliance with the logic of absolutely contradictory self-identity. Kōans are reflections on this experience, and as such they are direct or indirect paradoxical judgments. As “catalysts of Enlightenment,” kōans bring about a reaction that can be described as a shift from the formal logic perspective to the perspective of the logic of absolutely contradictory self-identity.

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