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Japanese writer
Akira Doujimaru
akiradoujimaruATinfoseek.jp
wrote this very interesting introduction
to his translation of A Yiddishe Medina by Israel Shamir
into Japanese. In it, he finds a Buddhist analogy to the
interpretation of the Cross, connects 9/11 with Pearl Harbor,
and is doing an important cross-cultural interpretation of the
ideas we deal with. His explanation of myth and demonisation is
particularly poignant. In a personal letter Akira wrote:
An Introduction to
Introduction
The great ancient Chinese philosopher,
Confucius, taught us, “Do not do unto others
whatever you wouldn’t want others do unto you”, while Jesus
said, “Do unto others like you'd have them do unto you” The
former fought a bad will and the latter promoted a good will.
I think we don’t have to talk about human
virtues too much. A rose is beautiful and this is its natural
gift, so we only need to watch out for its thorns. Human virtues
will naturally appear; so we just have to attend to the vices
and bad will. Maybe my Western readers will be upset because
I’ve referred only to vices without extolling any virtue. It
might be a cultural gap.
Now in Japan and elsewhere in the world,
so-called liberalists are boasting that they are doing what they
want others to do to them, but actually they do what they don’t
want others to do to them. Many of them are not intentionally
bad, they even think that they are helping people, but actually
they are robbing the people’s wealth and their right of
self-determination. Their “good will” is only a camouflage but
it can be used efficiently as an excuse.
Israel Shamir is said to be a "self-hating
Jew" but self-hating is always the starting point of Buddhism,
as the historical Buddha was a great self-hater! And so might be
I.
A Japanese
Introduction to A Yiddishe Medina
by Akira Doujimaru
Lately I
translated Israel Shamir’s essay, ”A
Yiddishe Medina”
into
Japanese,
to which I added
a brief remark
for Japanese readers. The following is the translation of this
introduction into English. Here I’ve made some
[additional information and explanations in red] and
rewritten some passages for foreign readers.
(I’ve linked many
words in this translation to the websites as references, mainly
in English but some in Spanish.)
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“A Yiddishe Medina”
is still shining with the author’s intelligence and benevolence
though its original text was written a little after 9/11 in
2001. Israel Shamir says, “In
a way, this
essay sums up much of my writing.”
It is not a
simple criticism of the Jews and the USA. We can find his calm
and penetrating view on “Judeo-American” civilization, seeking
for methods to examine and neutralize fatal poisons it exudes.
His writings are challenging but sensitive works groping in the
darkness of the age for an alternative form of civilization
to sustain human existence in the future.
At the same time,
however, we should recall that we Japanese exhibited a lot of
evil in some similar ways, and also realize that any people of
the world may display their brutality when it isn’t
adequately checked. Without this consideration, we might
only demonize Jews and Americans after reading Shamir’s works,
and this attitude will just increase the tragedies of the world.
Everyone, without exception, can be demonic unless we are
fully aware of the human vices and make efforts to control them.
Proceeding from this
basic viewpoint, I’ll present a brief argument about how human
vices appear in the idea of vengeance, acts of demonisation and
political mythology. As a practical example, I want to adopt the
famous event that directly motivated Shamir to write this work,
say, the events of 9/11, which was one of the most
important lessons for all human beings. I hope these short
remarks will serve as a hint to look for a spirit of mutual
prosperity and co-existence, “the New Meaning of Cross”
by Shamir.
Vengeance
Shamir starts
his work with an analysis of the idea of ‘vengeance’ that
seriously intoxicates a part of the Jews, but before I read his
essay, it had been the United States that I would think of on
hearing the word ‘vengeance.’
It is well known
that the United States has often rushed into wars being
possessed by ‘revenge fever’ after certain attacks
on it. “Remember the Maine!”, “Remember Pearl Harbor!”, and now
“Remember 9/11!” The spirit of vengeance seems to pierce
through the main events in the US history. As the leading
fellows of PNAC (Project for a New American Century) had
notified beforehand, and as a lot of Americans are beginning to
recognize today,
9/11 was nothing but “A New Pearl Harbor.”
[To
Americans, I’m sorry, but, to be very frank, I cried, “Shit!
They’ve done it again!” as soon as I saw Mr. Bush shout “War!”
after 9/11.]
“We are the
victims!! We must take revenge!!” For a long time I didn’t
understand at all why Americans so often begin to blindly dash
holding up such a radical theory. But if America has been “A
Yiddishe Medina (Jewish State) ” with the Messiah of
Vengeance, as Shamir says, then I may find a certain solution on
my problem and understand that our country fell into Roosevelt’s
trap to be the object of the Messiah’s sword; the result in his
case being Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
[I
don’t want to express a bitter feeling about it to American
people. I only wish to know how and why so many people
(including the victims in Pearl Harbor) really had to die.]
Long ago, when I
read the Bible, I found that the Old Testament is decorated with
the idea of a “chosen people” and hatred towards other peoples’
culture; its god sometimes orders his people to destroy other
religions and exterminate other peoples. Likewise, the
Apocalypse in the New Testament, which a great many Christians
in the USA deeply believe in, is filled with the spirit of
vengeance: the extermination of peoples, except “the chosen
one”, and expulsion of the others to hell. These are only old
myths, but, if a lot of people are still occupied with those
disgusting ideas and tie them with modern world history, such
religions are far from the understanding of those who were
brought up in Buddhist and Shinto culture
[i.e. non-monotheist culture]
like me. And now, Shamir shows us modern versions of the Old
Testament and the Apocalypse.
Needless to say,
the idea of vengeance isn’t monopolized by Jews or Americans but
is common to every people on the planet. In Japan revenge was a
holy obligation for any member of the ruling class, called
Samurai,
when his lord, father or an elder brother was killed unjustly
[this avenging custom was called “Adauchi”].
Also the custom of revenge was widely observed among the
Mediterranean peoples, meanwhile, whenever ancient Chinese
rulers executed someone, they also killed all his family members
and relatives because they feared their revenge. All in all, the
revenge of victims to their assailants has been taken as very
natural all over the world even if “a messiah” is not assumed.
However,
Vengeance of this “Yiddishe Medina” seems to be a little more
complicated than that of “Forty-seven
Ronin”
and of Edmond
Dantès, for it sometimes involves a series of demonisations and
even a process to form a certain mythology. Allow me to further
examine this remarkable phenomenon:
Demonisation
Shamir points out that
demonisation by Jews is an act of cruelty that can be extremely
harmful for the world, but it is not uniquely theirs. As a
matter of fact, the Japanese considered Americans and British as
‘devils’ and ‘beasts’ some decades ago
[in the Pacific War, 1937-1945: how
contradictory that name is!]. But we need not think about
old days, for we closely observed a practical example of
demonisation and myth fabrication only some years
ago,
where
still
unproven
“Islam-terrorists”
were demonized in mythic proportions. That was a really
important experience to find so many special lessons for our
future, so I’m going to put my observation briefly in order.
First, after 9/11
any rational thread of thinking was erased
and only naked bellicosity was praised.
Let’s look into the official interpretations on the 9/11, which
many Americans still believe as truth.
[I
know that American readers would get angry with my words, but
once you watch your leaders’ attitudes calmly and objectively,
you will notice three, four or more points written below are
reasonable.]
How astonishing!
Even if :
(1)
it is clearly
contradictory to the LAWS OF PHYSICS
(the manner of
the WTC buildings’ collapse!),
(2)
what cannot happen DID
happen
(cell
phone calls
from more than 30,000 feet above!),
(3)
what must exist DID
NOT exist
(almost no wreckage of the planes in
the Pentagon
and
Pennsylvania!),
(4)
what cannot exist DID
exist
(the “exit
hole”
of the Pentagon!, intact
passport and ID card of a “terrorist”
found in the ruins of WTC and Pentagon!),
(5)
what must not be done
WAS done
(the
immediate removal and disposal
of a lot of the physical evidence of the crime!),
(6)
what must be done WAS
NOT done
(disappearance of the air defense system over New York and
Washington!),
(7)
what is impossible WAS
possible
(the technically perfect piloting of jumbo jets
by those miserably unskillful beginner pilots!),
(8)
IT’S OK! NEVER MIND!
HEY! LET’S GO TO TAKE REVENGE!
(At last,
"It
Doesn't Matter Even If There Was A Conspiracy Behind 911",
Noam Chomsky, December 2006)
Since then,
those who question or doubt
this official story,
with only a
bit of reason, have also been demonized as “conspiracy
theorists”(??), especially by
the leftist apostles of “freedom and democracy”
[in Japan, too!].
Then the
subject and the object of the verb “demonize” were expanded
conveniently from individuals to groups. The targets of the
demonisation in “the war on terror” were not only the particular
terrorists or “Al
Qaeda”,
but also all of those who were thought as their “sympathizers”,
and countries, particularly Afghanistan and Iraq, then Iran.
And, after all, all Muslims? Now it may be possible to burden
them with the collective sin of “terror” openly as a
target of ‘OUR revenge.’ And who are “we”? First
the USA, then all Western countries and finally “all
humanity.”(?!)
Furthermore, in
the case of 9/11, all of those things were evolved into a
certain mythology, but before treating it, we should realize
that demonisation is always accompanied with the intention to
destroy another society and to rule its people. Demonisation
is the most important method of conquering others.
All human cruelties are contained in its blind and limitless
expansion.
Mythology
Until just a few
decades ago, the Japanese emperor had been given a particular
position and special meaning. “Ten-no
Heika
(H.M. the Emperor) is a sacred being and his authority is
inviolable. Japan is a divine country.”
Doubting
or even
questioning this was a crime of
‘lese majesté.’
The government and the authorities dug up an ancient Japanese
myth and tied it with the national essence, “Kokutai”,
then the newly fabricated religion was united with politics.
Japanese people were forced to believe that “Ten-no Heika
is a descendant of a god who long ago came down to Japan from
heaven!”, and many of them were obedient
[just like many Christian Zionists
in the USA strongly believe in divinity of the state of Israel].
Of course not every Japanese believed that myth, but this
mythology caused a wave of mass murders in many Asian countries
and the destruction of our own nation.
This Japanese history suggests the fate of a people haunted
by a myth.
After 9/11,
however, how many nations can laugh at our silliness?
This is a
story of “the American god of democracy, freedom and
justice who fights the devil of terrorism.”
The next objects of my
observation are the facts seen during the fabrication of this
political mythology. Here I outline them.
(1)
Thorough destruction of physical evidence
: the US and NY City authorities
got rid
of almost all physical evidence of the crime immediately from
the Ground Zero and the Pentagon without any serious
investigation.
(2)
Thorough covering on information and data
: enormous quantity of the video images and photos were seized
by the FBI, and
audio tapes of
interviews with air traffic controllers on-duty on 9/11 were
intentionally destroyed etc..
(3)
Thorough neglect of scientific laws
: the media and publishers forcibly spread a lot of
junk science theories,
just as “vertical collapse by gravitation” that can never
explain
actual collapsing
of the WTC buildings, or airplanes that “vanished into dust
after the crush”, and so on.
(4)
Thorough misleading by
false information
: the authorities and the media, simultaneously, vastly and
innumerably, repeated “Al
Qaeda and Islam terrorists”
without any concrete evidence,
thus continuing to brain-wash people.
(5)
Thorough threatening
to silence the questions and doubts
: the commentators and the critics in various fields threatened
those who questioned or doubted the official theory, labeling
them “conspiracy theorists”, isolating them, and exerting
serious pressure in every office, school and circle to crush
skeptical voices.
Thus,
the great myth of terror
was established. Strictly speaking, this is a different type of
myth from the Japanese one, I know, but both give some
particular persons or groups a special position and meaning,
which must not be doubted (as myths generally insist). In
fact, the myth of terror gave the USA ‘a particular position
which permits it to do whatever it wants,’ and at the same
time, persons, groups or countries regarded to have any
relationship with “terrorists”, are turned into ‘those whose
blood is permitted to shed.’
Consequently, the
“Messiah of Vengeance” has been sipping hundreds of thousand
victims’ blood in Afghanistan and
Iraq,
destroying their societies and cultures,
and would continue drinking blood from now on. Parallel to it
and all over the world, many
Muslim citizens
have been
arrested
and
killed in
many
unclear and
questionable
cases.
Especially
in the Western World,
the eyes of ‘the
Big Brother’
are forever watching over the
planes,
trains, streets,
internet and everywhere;
fascism is becoming omnipresent
every time “terrorism”
comes up.
Probably this situation will continue to grow and new targets of
demonisation on which to “take revenge” will be found one after
another so that the myth may continue to be held. (Degrading
Hollywood films will be support it.)
A few parts of the
scenario have already been
abandoned by the authorities
in some countries, and also a part of the big lie called “the
war on terror”
was revealed by
the stupid failure of two British spies.
Nevertheless,
despite a lot of cracks and open seams ,the myth is still doing
well. One of the gravest things of all is that the world has
been pulled back to the time before Galileo by
the serious neglect
of
objective scientific laws.
What actually collapsed vertically was, probably, not the WTC
but human brains!
Anyway, the works
of demonisation and the process of the mythologizing were
broadcasted live to whole the world and everybody became a
witness. Of course, the real criminals who carried out
these terrorist acts are
those who have led “the war on terror”.
Sooner or later, they will realize the 9/11 was not only
a great success but, at the same time, a great mistake
because they, themselves, have openly displayed all of
their skills.
[As
‘side effects’, thanks to the 9/11, many people in the world
have already known the real meaning of Pearl Harbor!]
The New Meaning of Cross
Perhaps
people of the world
would continue watching and recording the full catalogue of
human vices emitted by “Judeo-American” civilization, which also
could provoke other peoples’ vengeance, demonisation and myth.
Behind this phenomenon there must be some political intention
and economical interest of some powerful groups, who are
greedy, cruel and
arrogant.
However, even if it comes to us calling itself ‘freedom’,
‘liberalism’, ‘democracy’, ‘justice’ and so on, its hidden face
will soon be revealed, and this experience will give us
precious wisdom for the future.
Buddhism teaches us
the human vices as “SAN-DOKU (Three Poisons)” or
a bundle of three evil branches, “TON-JIN-CHI”:
the first “TON” means ‘avarice’ and ‘greed’: the
second “JIN” will correspond to ‘fury’, ‘hatred’
and ‘cruelty’: the third “CHI” includes
‘foolishness’, ‘ignorance’, ‘vanity’ and ‘arrogance’. These
three are connected with each other, and then can grow rapidly
and infinitely in some positive feedback reactions if they
aren’t checked adequately. Now I realize these Three Poisons
are immensely expanded in all of the ‘vengeance’,
‘demonisation’ and ‘myth fabrication’ I’ve mentioned
above, and also in all the evil, fraud and stupidity of all
human beings, including Americans and Jews, without any
exception. It is one side of real humanity: all humanity can’t
necessarily be praised.
[I’ll think in the Buddhist manner, but many Christian saints
and thinkers have talked about Original Sin, and also, I
believe, Judaism and Islam, all traditional religions and wisdom
in the world, too, have a lot of references about human vices
and cruelties. You should think for yourself.]
Naturally, human
vices can be controlled although they cannot be eliminated. Or
some of them could even be converted into lovely, beneficial
characters. At the beginning of this note I said, “His writings
are challenging but sensible works groping in the darkness of
the age for an alternative form of civilization that can sustain
humanity's existence in the future. ” As Israel Shamir says in
his essay:
Thus, we
should look for a synthesis of the four tendencies: the organic
native love of nature, local roots and tradition, social
communal justice for all mankind, love of life and
entrepreneurship; and spirituality. They would present the new
meaning of Cross, and bring mankind to its unity in spirit,
while preserving its beautiful variety.
Of course we
should! And at the same time, we should look very carefully at
our own evil and foolishness in order to make checkpoints that
prevent them from directly appearing. Only if
all of us, including Americans and Jews, have the courage to do
so (and I
believe this is only way to establish social communal justice
for all mankind) will
we be able to overcome today’s crisis and to seek for
an alternative
form of civilization, and its basic spirit of mutual
prosperity and co-existence, according to Shamir, “the New
Meaning of Cross.”
This must be the real meaning of “human dignity.” In
addition, the participation of Asians, including Japanese, will
be indispensable to a movement in which
the Eastern civilizations should play one of the most
important roles.
[I’ve learned the Spanish history in which Muslims, Christians
and Jews lived together peacefully in the Islam era (and
Christian conquerors destroyed it!), which might indicate that
mutual
prosperity and co-existence are possible even within monotheist
cultures. Nevertheless, today some powerful people are loudly
shouting “clash of civilizations!” They are simply
expanding the Three Poisons as I mentioned above. This should be
considered the real crisis.]
Lastly, I want
to present a wonderful image. In the precincts of
Kiyomizu-dera
[Buddhist Temple in Kyoto]
there is a sanctuary of Shinto called “Jishu-jinja” and
the people who come to worship at the temple will visit here,
too. Until the end of the
Edo period
(1603-1867), the co-existence of a Buddhist temple and a Shinto
sanctuary on the same grounds was very common, and Buddhist
priests often served concurrently in the Shinto shrine. When
Buddhism came to Japan about 1,500 years ago, there were some
conflicts between the native gods and Buddha as a newcomer god,
but soon they invented pretty solutions: the gods became patrons
of Buddha, Buddha authorized the gods, and the gods reigning in
the land sometimes became the landowner of a temple and so
Buddha was a tenant. With these methods they could become
peaceful and respectful to each other. Adding to that, the Hindu
gods who came together with Buddha were also welcomed as
sub-members of the Japanese gods’ circle under the condition
that they not exhibit their brutality but supply people with
happiness and prosperity.
[There are many
opinions about this Japanese syncretism of Buddhism and Shinto,
but it is true that the Japanese people have been equally
worshipping both.]
Sad to
say, Japan began to rush onto the road of imperialism just
after the government of Meiji period (1868-1912)
decided on
the separation of Shinto from Buddhism,
then Shinto was tied to the ‘Ten-no Myth’
forming a new religion that was more hierarchic and singular.
The result was one of the most monstrous disasters for both
foreigners and our own people.
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About the author;
Akira Doujimaru is a Japanese writer living in Spain. Contact :
akiradoujimaru@infoseek.jp
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