Hiroshi Motoyama
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was a Japanese parapsychologist, scientist, spiritual instructor and author whose primary topic was spiritual self-cultivation and the relationship between the mind and body. Motoyama emphasized the
meditative Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
practices of Samkhya/
Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...
,
karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
,
reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...
and Hindu theories of the chakras. Motoyama died in September 2015 at the age of 89.


Theory and Method

Dr. Motoyama's philosophical system was based on his experiences of meditation. His philosophy was based on the idea that no individual philosophical system is without its faults. Because of this, his philosophy appears to be an eclectic blend of seemingly disparate philosophies, but this is far from the case. His system is centralized upon Samkhya philosophy due to its explanatory efficacy, but primarily because of its utilization by
Patañjali Patanjali ( sa, पतञ्जलि, Patañjali), also called Gonardiya or Gonikaputra, was a Hindu author, mystic and philosopher. Very little is known about him, and while no one knows exactly when he lived; from analysis of his works it i ...
. Because of the attention to detail found in the
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras ( aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ...
, Dr. Motoyama emphasizes the eight steps of yogic training. However, he broadens the scope of samkhya here, extending the ultimate (the isolated
Purusha ''Purusha'' (' or ) is a complex concept whose meaning evolved in Vedic and Upanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means the cosmic being or self, awareness, and universal principle.Karl Potter, Presuppositions of Ind ...
) beyond the limitations of being. Borrowing from Kitaro Nishida, Dr. Motoyama uses the term to define the field that sustains being itself.Being and the Logic of Interactive Function This ''basho'' is beyond the categories of being/non-being and birth/death. One who abandons individuality itself becomes a ''basho-being'' by completely annihilating themselves. This is very much in line with the Buddhist
Jhāna In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind ('' bhavana''), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, "burn up" th ...
s and the
Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...
notion of
Śūnyatā ''Śūnyatā'' ( sa, शून्यता, śūnyatā; pi, suññatā) pronounced in English as (shoon-ya-ta), translated most often as ''emptiness'', ''vacuity'', and sometimes ''voidness'', is a Buddhist concept which has multiple meani ...
. Thus, ''basho-being'' is roughly synonymous with "buddha." The ''basho'' is the limit of and that which sustains our universe, beyond which, Dr. Motoyama states, is God. In brief, Dr. Motoyama's system is a synthesis of Samkhya (atheistic), Buddhism (non-theistic) and Shinto (theism) that incorporates yogic cultivation, the energy systems of the body-mind as well as faith in God.


Selected English publications

*Science and the Evolution of Religion: The Way to World Religion. Translated by Arthur H. Thornhill III. (2009) *Karma and Reincarnation: The key to Spiritual Evolution & Enlightenment. Translated by Rande Brown Ouch. (2009) *Being and the Logic of Interactive Function. Translated by Shigenori Nagatomo & John W. M. Krummel. (2009) *Motoyama Meridian Exercises for Ki Practice with Kiyomi Kuratani. (2009) *Varieties of Mystical Experience I: Path to Self-Realization (Volume 1). (2006) *What Is Religion?; Religion for a Global Society. Translated by Lee Seaman. (2006) *Awakening of the Chakras and Emancipation. (2003) *Religion and Humanity for a Global Society. Translated by Shigenori Nagatomo & David E. Shaner. (2001) *Comparisons of Diagnostic Methods in Western & Eastern Medicine: A Correlation Between KI Energy And Environmental Conditions. Translated by? (1999) *Measurements of Ki Energy Diagnoses & Treatments: Treatment principles of Oriental Medicine from an Electrophysiological Viewpoint. (1997) *A Study of Yoga from Eastern & Western Medical Viewpoints. (1993) *Toward a Superconsciousness: Meditational Theory and Practice. Translated by Shigenori Nagatomo & Clifford R. Ames. (1990) *Theories of the Chakras: Bridge to Higher Consciousness. (1988) My copy indicates 1981 *Science and the evolution of consciousness: Chakras, ki, and psi. Translated by Rande Brown. (1978) *Hypnosis and Religious Super-Consciousness. (1971) *The Correlation Between Psi Energy and Ki: Unification of Religion and Science. (1971)


References


External links


California Institute of Human Science Website - Biography

Science & Medicine: Volume 6 Number 4: Page 48 (August 1999). Article on application of AMI.

A short interview with Dr. Motoyama from ''Spiritual.com.au''


{{DEFAULTSORT:Motoyama, Hiroshi 1925 births 2015 deaths Buddhist writers Japanese indologists Parapsychologists