3 Lessons on Beauty

In 1900, Nishida Kitaro published one of his first original essays titled An Explanation of Beauty. In the essay, Kitaro argues for the relationships between beauty, pleasure, muga and truth.

Beauty and Pleasure

Beauty is not pleasure. If beauty is pleasure, then all that is beautiful is pleasurable, and all that is pleasurable is beautiful. However, Kitaro argues that although all that is beautiful is pleasurable, not all that is pleasurable is beautiful:

“The sense of beauty is pleasure, but the reverse is not always true. Everyone would agree that no matter how much pleasure things such as fame, wealth, food and drink give us, we do not at all consider them aesthetic pleasures.”

Beauty and Muga

Beauty is muga. Kitaro defines muga as “pleasure detached from the ego […] of the moment, when one forgets one’s own interest such as advantage and disadvantage, gain and loss”. If beauty is muga, then all that is beautiful is muga, and all that is muga is beautiful. On the one hand, Kitaro argues that all that is beautiful is muga:

“Only this muga is the essential element of beauty; when this is lacking, no matter what kind of pleasure you feel, it cannot give rise to the sense of beauty.”

On the other hand, Kitaro also argues that all that is muga is beautiful:

“Even if a man is an artist of outstanding genius, no one who is mean of heart has ever become a great master. In contrast, however, when we are not in the least restricted by thought of self, not only does pleasure give rise to a sense of beauty, but everything that was originally unpleasant undergoes a complete change and provides aesthetic pleasure.”

Beauty and Truth

Beauty is caused by intuitive truth. Kitaro defines intuitive truth as “a kind of truth that comes as a sudden stimulus from the depths of the heart” and “cannot be expressed in words”. Kitaro argues that if we experience an intuitive truth, then we are detatched from our ego:

“Occasionally, people vainly esteem logical truth and reject intuitive truth as being the mere fancy of poets. However, in my opinion, this intuitive truth is attained when we have separated from the self and become one with things. In other words, it is a truth seen with the eyes of God.”

If so, then because detachment from the ego is muga, the experience of intuitive truth causes the experience of muga and therefore beauty. Indeed, Kitaro concludes:

“If I may summarize what has been said above, the feeling of beauty is the feeling of muga. Beauty that evokes this feeling of muga is intuitive truth that transcends intellectual discrimination. This is why beauty is sublime.”