Beautiful Foolishness of Things

Have you heard of "Beautiful Foolishness of Things"? This was a remark of Okakura Tenshin, one of those Japanese who tried to explain Japanese culture after Japan encoutered the West. He condensed something Japanese into the expression. I think it is marvelous.

Can you guess what it means? Anyway, that remark reminded me of the conversation between Smith and Neo in the culminating part of The Matrix: Revolution. Smith saw Neo being beaten but trying to fight, and said, "Why, Mr.Anderson? Why, why, why? Why do you do it? Why, why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your survival?"

You may more easily understand the meaning of Okakura's remark if you replace "fighting" with "surviving." This is one of the most difficult questions human beings have ever had. Smith continues to ask,

Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom or truth? Perhaps peace? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. Temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to jusitify an existence that is without meaning or purpose! And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointess to keep fighting. Why Mr. Anderson? Why do you persist?

I agree with Smith choosing the word "persist" because I don't know why I try to survive. What answer can you give Smith and me? Few persons know exactly where they are in a etaphysical sense, but some of you can persist in stating "Because I choose to (survive)" like Neo answers there.

Well, what do you think many of you would do in this kind of uncertainty? I think many of them have to try to find what is secure in this world on which to establiish their own lives, so what matters most to them should be whether they can be satisfied or not.

They are mortal and temporal, so you will be nothing as things will be, but so long as you live you want to do something that will satisfy you. In this sense, you are foolish, but don't you think they may look beautiful in cherishing their tiny limited lives? At least, some Japanese think so. This philosophy lies behind Japanese culture, according to Okakura Tenshin.

In Faulknerian expression, "between nothing and grief, I will take grief."