The Philosophy of No-Mind

Nishihira Tadashi, one of Japan’s leading philosophers, introduces the deeply experiential philosophy of losing yourself in the reality of the present, guiding us through a concept found at the centre of Eastern spiritual thought. Translated into English for the first time, Tadashi defines no-mind, Mushin, as something arising after something is extinguished. He addresses each of the tension points that give the term its vitality: is it attained by waiting or by practice? Can it ever be reconciled with social ethics? Is it self-affirmation or self-negation, stillness or activity? His thorough account of the Japanese philosophy of no-mind pulls together the historical and philosophical threads and covers the history of Zen Buddhism, the philosophy of D.T. Suzuki and Takuan’s treatise on swordsmanship. He discusses its everyday usage in Japanese and its old usage as an insult, following its transformation into a positive meaning via Zen. Alive to the complexities of translating no-mind into English, Tadashi’s introduction makes the essential connection of no-mind to the paradoxical task of becoming human.