抄録
Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945) discussed the terms “invers-correspondence” (gyaku taio) and “ordinariness” (byojo tei) in his last essay: “Bashoteki ronri to shukyoteki sekaikan” (The Logic of Place and Religious World-view).
Nishida’s concept of ordinariness is one key to understanding the goal of his religious philosophy. The word “ordinariness” first appears in the recorded sayings of Chinese Chan (zen) monks. Originally it indicated a life of religious serenity characterized by “not doing” or “not acting” in any special way. Nishida, however, used this word to convey his own thought. In Nishida’s writings the word “ordinariness” refers to the “absolutely free individual being” (zettai jiyu no ko), the “creative individual being” (sozoteki ko), and the “historical individual being” (rekishiteki ko) that is realized through the self-denial of God or the Absolute. In other words, it is an eschatological concept.
In this essay, first I analyze all occurrences of the word “ordinariness” in “Bashoteki ronri to shukyoteki sekaikan” and then I explore the significance of this concept. In this way I clarify Nishida’s religious world-view and the way that it relates to the concrete world. I conclude by discussing the relationship between ordinariness and the concept of faith in Japanese Shin (i. e., Pure Land) Buddhism. Nishida’s philosophy is not mysticism. His religious philosophy is deeply connected to the real world. The concept “ordinariness” indicates that religious beings must work in the actual world and must create the historical world.
