Naikan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Naikan (Japanese: 内観, lit. 'introspection') is a structured method of self-reflection influenced by Shin Buddhist principles. The term first appears in the work of the Shin Buddhist thinker Kiyozawa Manshi (1863–1903) to refer to a form of ethical and religious introspection.[1] The practice of naikan was taken up by Kiyozawa's followers and developed in numerous directions.
Influenced by these modern developments, as well as by his experiences in ascetic practice, the Shin Buddhist cleric Rev. Yoshimoto Ishin (1916–1988) developed a form of therapy in the 1940s which he also called naikan.[2][3]
Kiyozawa Manshi’s philosophy, called Seishinshugi, articulated a vision of spiritual discipline grounded in introspective self-cultivation, rigorous philosophical inquiry, and a reorientation of Shin Buddhist thought. His 1901 essay “Seishinshugi” defined this program, while his concurrent leadership in the newly established Shinshū University signaled an effort to distance Shin Buddhist thought from the conservatism of Kyoto’s clerical institutions. Kiyozawa himself identified the Āgamas, Epictetus, and the Tannishō as foundational sources that exemplified uncompromising dedication to the pursuit of the highest good. Kiyozawa advanced an array of neologisms, including naikan-shugi, to describe a disciplined interior practice in which truth is disclosed through self-reflection and then enacted in conduct.[1] This served as the basis for a broader Shin Buddhist modernism in which genuine religious experience grounds ethical and social life. Kiyozawa stressed an ascetic, inwardly detached orientation that renounces dependence on worldly identities and securities, arguing that only such inner renunciation allows entry into the “divine ground” of religion.[1]
Yoshimoto Ishin was a businessman and devout Jodo Shinshu Buddhist who, as a young man, had engaged in an ascetic practices called mishirabe which involved sensory deprivation, by dwelling in a dark cave without food, water or sleep. Wishing to make such introspection available to others he developed Naikan as a less difficult method which he first introduced to young people who had been incarcerated for committing crime and social disturbances. Yoshimoto removed the extreme austerities once associated with mishirabe and organized Naikan around three core questions: what one has received from others, what one has given in return, and what burdens one has imposed.[3] Later the practice was introduced to the general public. Naikan practitioners claim that Naikan helps people understand themselves and their relationships.
The mishirabe practices which influenced Naikan therapy are also still conducted in a religious context within some Jodo Shinshu temples and communities but the harsh, ascetic nature of Yoshimoto Ishin's original practice is unusual given the Jodo Shinshu rejection of self-power practice.
Today, there are around 30 Naikan centers in Japan, and it is used in mental health counseling, and in rehabilitation of prisoners.[2] The practice has also taken root in Europe, with Naikan centers now established in Austria and Germany.[2][4][5]
