AN INTRODUCTIONTO ZEN BUDDHISM
ordinary "hearing".^ Consciousness issomething like percep-
tion,andjustasthelatterissubjectedtoconditionsandlimits,
soisconsciousness.Forinstance,onecanbeconsciousatvarious
stages, ina narrower or widersphere,moresuperficially or
moredeeply. Thesediflferencesofdegreeare,however, often
differencesofcharacter,inthattheydependcompletelyupon
thedevelopment ofthepersonality
—
thatistosay, uponthe
natureoftheperceivingsubject.
Theintellecthasnointerestintheconditionoftheperceiving
subject,insofarasthelatterthinksonlylogically.Theintellect
isofnecessityoccupied withthedigesting ofthecontentsof
theconsciousness,andwiththemethodsofdigesting. Itneeds
a philosophicalpassiontoforcetheattempt toovercomethe
intellectandtopushthroughtoperceptionoftheperceiving.
Suchapassion,however,is practicallyindistinguishablefrom
religiousmotivepower,andthiswholeproblembelongs,there-
fore,to thereligious transformationprocess, which isincom-
mensurablewithintellect.Antiquephilosophyisundoubtedly
toagreatextentattheserviceofthetransformationprocess,
which can be said less and less of the new philosophy.
Schopenhauer is implicitlyantique. Nietzsche's J^arathustra is,
however, no philosophy buta dramatictransformation pro-
cess, which has completely swallowed up intellect. It is no
longeraquestionofthought,butinthehighestsenseofthethinker
ofthought—andthisoneverypageofthebook.Anewman,a
completelytransformedman,istoappearonthescene,onewho
hasbrokentheshelloftheoldmanandwhonotonlylooks
upona newheavenanda newearth,buthascreatedthem.
AngelusSilesius has expressedit rathermoremodestly than
Zarathustra:
MeinLeibisteinSchal,indenteinKQchelein
VomGeistderEwigkeitwillausgebriiUtsein.
(Mybodyisashell,inwhichachickenwillbehatched
fromthespiritofeternity.)
SatoricorrespondsintheprovinceofChristianitytoareligious
transformation experience. As there are, however, various
(^1) Suzukisaysofthischange,"Theearlierformofcontemplationisfor-
saken...thenewbeautyofthe'refreshingmind*orthe'gUtteringjewel'."