Editing SG31SBE-T (section)

=== The Transformation of the Economic System is Essential ===
'''B:''' Then, from what you have said, is the concrete problem advocated by the Revitalized Buddhist movement ultimately the need for “a new religion integrated with the needs of the present age”?

'''A:''' Exactly. As I said before, generally speaking, economic relationships regulate our thought and action. Under the present profit-oriented…

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…capitalist economic system, antisocial egoism is naturally mass-produced. That is why I regard the transformation of this mechanism as a fundamental problem.

'''B:''' I asked you this before, but isn’t the proper function of religion nevertheless a spiritual one?

'''A:''' There is some truth in that. But the moment religion fixes itself exclusively in that role, it acquires the first qualification of a religion in the service of established power, and then becomes capable of reactionary preaching. If you could guarantee, for people in general, that they could perform hard physical labor even when hungry and remain mentally clear even when deprived of sleep, then I would accept your argument.

'''B:''' But many accomplished people have managed to transcend adverse circumstances. Doesn’t that show that spiritual power can rise above environment? And haven’t extraordinary powers of mind sometimes developed precisely under difficult conditions?

'''A:''' That is precisely the stock-in-trade of establishment preachers. Of course, there is the saying, “Extinguish the mind, and even fire becomes cool.” <ref>“Extinguish the mind, and even fire becomes cool” (shintō mekkyaku sureba hi mo mata suzushi 心頭滅却すれば火もまた涼し) is a traditional expression for transcending physical suffering through mental composure, famously associated in Japan with the Zen monk Kaisen Jōki 快川紹喜 (d. 1582), who is said to have uttered it as he faced death by fire at Erinji.</ref> But, as I have repeatedly said in this conversation, I am speaking generally. Ordinary people tend to lack constancy of mind when they lack a secure livelihood. You can argue as you do now because you have no anxiety over food and clothing. But imagine yourself being hounded by the need to obtain today’s bread: a religion of spiritual bliss would inevitably become a secondary concern.

''Human beings, after all, exist within nature. Just as pine branches exposed to the sea wind are shaped in much the same way, we too are generally subject to the influence of our environment. It is therefore impossible simply to ignore those influences and speak only of ideals. Is this not precisely why the Confucian tradition could say:''

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''“When the granaries are full, people know propriety and decorum”?''<ref>A well-known maxim from the Guanzi 管子, “Mumin” 牧民: 倉廩実則知礼節 (“When the granaries are full, [the people] know ritual propriety”). Traditionally associated with Guan Zhong 管仲 (d. 645 BCE), it expresses the idea that material security is a prerequisite for moral and social order. Seno’o invokes the maxim here to support his increasingly materialist insistence that religious or ethical transformation cannot be separated from the economic conditions of everyday life.</ref>'' Unless the movement to establish a true Buddha-land takes this objective reality of human nature as its point of departure, it will remain an eternal dream.''