「語り得ないもの」を語ること -アイヌ・ル・クダート・ハマダーニーの例を通じて-

抄録

Mystics often express in their writings how difficult, rather how almost impossible it is to tell what they want to tell based upon their own mystical experiences. However, many of them dare to try. Thus some questions can be asked, such as why they have to tell or how they tell.
'Ayn al-Quda t Hamadhani (d. 525/1131) is one such mystic. In his work Zubdat al-Haqa'iq, Hamadhani not only confess that impossibility, but also consciously analyzes from a linguistic point of view why it seems impossible. His aim is tell about the events of the above-reason region, or the region of wisdom, since he is earnest about leading reasoning people from the region of reason to the above-reason region. However, such a transcendental region is beyond language delimitation. It is impossible to express it as it is by normal language. Therefore, he is forced to write using a special method of expression, namely “metaphorical expressions (tashabuh, mutashabih etc.)”. He says that he needed much effort to make his language express the true state of affairs within the above-reason region as accurately as possible, even if it could never transmit the real facts of that region.
As some features of this method of expression, I will give three examples. The first type is applying one term to what are, in a true sense, different meanings between the two regions. The second is applying schemes of the events within the region of reason to those within the region of wisdom, the third is through apophatic wording and contradictory statements, proving the region of wisdom transcends the bounds of the region of reason. Sometimes using philosophical or theological terms and notions, Hamadhani seems to pursue the possibility of linguistic expression through them.
These “metaphorical expressions” are an incentive for the reasoning person to attain the above-reason region. However, these are only clnes on how to do so. Hamadhani gives his readers repeated warnings not to stay within the range of “metaphorical expressions”, and recommends them to come to believe in the above-reason region blindly. This belief is the final condition for attainment of the region.
Consequently, I would like to say it is worthwhile to grasp how to comprehend mystical texts, for we can get hints here to help us decide how we should face the texts and finally head for the reality the existence of which the texts suggest.