Ideology and Religion in the Life of a Samurai
Research Question Overview
Human life changes every thousand years, every century and every day. However, psychological aspects such as moral principles, ethics and relations between people remain more or less the same. In some social groups the values are so highly esteemed that they influence the culture of a whole nation for centuries. One such group in Japan is samurai warriors. The aim of this work is to provide the most complete and accurate discussion of the samurai ideology, to study its origins, specificity and role in the history and culture of Japan. The topic of my research remains actual as the influence of the history of the military class that existed for over a thousand years was so strong in Japan of the past that without it is impossible to understand the history, traditional culture, and every facet of today's life of modern Japan. But the study of the ideology of the samurai is not only interesting from a historical, but also from a philosophical perspective. After all, the word samurai symbolizes not only a professional soldier, artfully destroying any target. It is also associated with Bushido, the samurai code of honor, the ease with which a human being encountered danger, and also the traditional rite of seppuku by means of which a person willingly and consciously took his life by his own hand.
In addition, nowadays same as before, the Japanese society honors medieval warriors, expressing it in carrying out numerous festivals devoted to samurai stories. As in the past, these holidays are aimed at educating the youth in the spirit of the samurai tradition, reminiscent of the warriors class of the past. Although formally samurai and was cancelled in the second half of the 19th century, Japanese society today actually values many principles of the military class of the previous centuries (Josephson 38).
One of the topics I am going to focus on in my research is the philosophical and religious aspect of the samurai worldview. Samurais, among other things, are known for their loyalty, fearlessness, and ability to concentrate. For achieving the required level of control over the body and the mind samurais were practicing not only martial arts but meditation as well. I am going to discuss Buddhism, and in particular one of its forms called Zen.
One of the main attracted characteristics that attracted samurai to the teachings of Zen is their simplicity. A samurai did not want to burden his mind by the study of religious literature. Zen Buddhism appealed to samurais because it was instrumental in honing their self-control, composure, will power—the qualities so necessary for a professional warrior (Religion and Zen).
In conjunction with the self-discipline and communication are other quality imparted to soldiers by Zen practices. Among them is the unquestioning obedience to the master and the military commander. Zen methods greatly improved the military and sportive capabilities of the samurai. The decisive role in fencing, archery, and hand-to-hand fighting, swimming and other disciplines was attributed to mental faculties to a greater extent that those of body. Mental poise and self-control, developed by Zen practices, is prevalent here (Religion and Zen).
The main method (way to know the truth) in the training system for Zen was meditation that is contemplation in a sitting position, in a very relaxed posture with legs crossed, emptying the mind any thoughts. Thus, the religious system played a decisive role in the formation of the ideology of the samurai. Among the main principles of the samurai morals are the following: loyalty to the master, politeness, courage, truthfulness, simplicity and abstinence, contempt for personal gain and money. All these principles were easily dealt with due to the attitude to death. The code instructed that if a samurai had two options, then he had to choose the one that lead to death. And precisely because of this a samurai could bear the stresses of his life. The samurai ideology has infiltrated the mentality of the nation, and its characteristics remain relevant to this day.
Along with the above mentioned basic principles the samurai ethics included a number of minor ones that are inextricably linked with the main and defining the actions and behavior of the samurai. The ability to control themselves and manage their feelings was brought by samurais to the greatest perfection. Mental health is an ideal of bushido, the samurai ethics therefore treated this principle as a virtue and highly valued it. A clear illustration of the ability of self-control is the samurai ritual of seppuku.
The attitude of the samurai to death, repeatedly celebrated in literature and repeatedly confirmed with historical examples is certainly not something exclusive to the peoples of the Far East. On the contrary, it was natural for the whole Taoist-Buddhist philosophy and the worldview, determining the life of a person as a link in an endless chain of rebirths. The intrinsic value of life on earth was very low for a devout Buddhist of any kind. Buddhist thesis of the impermanence of all things is the basis of all of Japanese culture.
Methodology
The primary sources I will use, the ones that incorporated all the ideas from various religious and philosophical influences, are documents and legends related to Bushido Code, as well as researcher’s works and books on the topic. Also, among the primary sources, it is important to use diaries and letters of samurais and their contemporaries from various periods in the history of japan and compare them. The secondary sources such as books on Japanese history will help us to learn about the mentality of samurai warriors is the historical context, namely, the financial status of the warriors and what wars they had to wage for their masters. I am going to use books and scholarly articles on Zen Buddhism, Shinto and Confucianism to demonstrate the framework of the Samurai thoughts. Also I will try to show how meditation helped them to become more disciplined and made them fearless in the face of death.
Terminology
Samurai is and armed warrior coming from aristocracy of Japan. Samurai were singled out a special class during the reign of Minamoto house in the feudal Japan. This period is considered the golden age of the samurai.
Bushido is the code of samurai. They were never officially written down and were passed orally. The highest bushido value was the loyalty to the overlord, whith whom a bushi (warrior) was in a relationship of patronage and service, and the honor of carrying arms was the privilege of a professional soldier, rather than the idea of loyalty to the monarch and patriotic attitude towards Japan. The principle of loyalty was expressed in selfless service to the overlord and relied on the provisions on loyalty, drawn from of Shinto, Buddhist Zen in the transience of all earthly things, which augmented the samurai spirit of sacrifice and fear of death, and the philosophy of Confucianism, make loyalty of the first virtue. The moral code of the samurai of feudal era, made emphasis also on vendetta, which Bushido justified as a form of moral satisfaction. Fidelity to the overlord demanded vengeance for the insult of the master, etc (Samurai and Bushido).
Seppuku is a rite inextricably linked and closely related to bushido as part of morality. Ritual seppuku appeared in the class of warriors at the times formation and development of feudalism in Japan. Samurai or other representatives of the higher strata of Japanese society committed suicide by seppuku in the case of damage to their honor, committing indecent act (infamy in accordance with the rules of bushido warrior code), in the case of the death of his overlord, or when the rite was the form of punishment for a crime. According to Buddhist philosophy, in particular Zen teachings the heart and abdomen are considered the core, the central point of human life and thus the seat of life.
Thus, the Japanese regard the abdomen as an internal source of emotional existence, and opening it by seppuku is like opening their secret and true intentions as a proof of the purity of thoughts and aspirations (Samurai and Bushido).
Zen Buddhism is a Chinese and Japanese version of Buddhism stripped of most Indian and Tibetan symbolism. Zen focuses on meditation and calming of the mind. The less thoughts distract a samurai the better he can focus of serving hi overlord. Also Buddhism in general deals with the fear of death, which was crucial for samurai to become a fearless warrior.
Shinto is traditional religion of Japan, based on the animistic beliefs of the ancient Japanese that worshiped many deities and spirits of the dead. It developed with a significant influence of Buddhism. Shinto is the state religion since the Meiji Restoration until 1947. Currently Shinto is an integral part of Japanese culture.
Works Cited
“Religion and Zen Buddhism in Medieval Japan.” Fsmitha. Web. 28 February 2016
Josephson, Jason Ānanda. The Invention of Religion in Japan. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. Print.
“Samurai and Bushido.” History. A+E Networks, 2009. Web. 28 February 2016
