Glossary
K
Kokoro (心) literally means “heart-mind.” As suggested by this translation, a person’s kokoro is the thinking and feeling essence of being. It is the heart that experiences and responds to the goings-on of life and, if properly cultivated, awakens to our true nature.
M
Mitate (見立て) is a Japanese aesthetic device of using one thing to stand in for another. A shadow may become a mountain, a branch a figure, a tiny garden an expansive literary vista. With its multidimensional layering of meanings, mitate gives our imaginations greater expanses to roam as we explore the essence of a subject.
Mujōkan (無常観) is the Buddhist awareness that everything in existence is in a constant state of change. Everything, from the sparkle of a tear to the warmth of a smile on a summer day, the life of a person, or a star, is ephemeral. Mujōkan teaches us that clinging to things and wishing them to remain permanently as they are is futile and a source of suffering. Rather than seeking immutable beauty, mujōkan in Japanese aesthetics is an experience of the beauty of impermanence: a heartfelt apprehension — and appreciation — of things just as they are in each moment of our lives.