There is a certain worldview in Japan that views this world as a place to be despised, whether referred to as the “floating world” or the “sorrowful world,” a world that should be loathed and filled with hardship, a world of impermanence. Many of the classical works studied in high school are based on this worldview, and its influence is strong. This Buddhist worldview of pessimism has been passed down to the Japanese people as a characteristic, both good and bad. Even the beautiful spring scenery in front of us and the feeling that it is like a dream originate from this worldview. Fear and anxiety about death are sensations that cannot be eradicated as long as we are human. These feelings are combined with the Buddhist concept of impermanence to create the Japanese Buddhist worldview of pessimism that is favored by the Japanese people. It is a fact that much of Japanese culture has been created from this Buddhist worldview of pessimism.

この世のことを浮き世とも憂き世とも言い表し、現世を厭うべき世界、辛いことの多い世の中、無常のこの世と捉える世界観が日本の一方にはあります。高校で習う古典の多くはそうした世界観に基づいた出典が多く、その影響が強い様です。こうした仏教的厭世観が良い意味にも悪い意味にも日本人の特質として受け継がれています。今目の前に見る春爛漫の光景も、夢の世界の様に思える心境もそうした世界観から発しています。死に対する恐怖感、不安感は、人である限り拭い去ることができない感覚です。そうした感覚が仏教の無常感と結びつき、日本人好みの仏教的厭世観が生み出されました。日本の文化の多くはこうした仏教的厭世観から生み出されているのも事実です。