ＵN ＦIORE DAL DOLORE NASCERA （A flower will be born from pain.）
I saw, for the first time, the original Spanish lyrics of "El condor pasa" whichi was sung in English by Simon and Garfunkel a long time ago. And I especially was moved by the part of the lyrics which became the title of this passage. I understand that in the past South American people were invaded by foreign powers, and they must have experienced unbearable sorrows. And I have nticed by the phrase "A flower will be born from pain" that we share same mentality with South American inhabitants, maybe because of the same ancestory like North America's native Americans,who migrated to American continent, which is different from modern Westerner's positive thinking. I felt that this phrase, "the flower came out of sorrow" exactly showed it. I myself have spent several years in foreign countries like The U. S. and Israel, but by living there and knowing the local people I felt "sorrow" didn't carry any positice aspect because of their cultural back ground. Over there, only happy life is what they count, not a sad and unfortunate life. However, traditionally it is different in Japan. Sorrow is not denied. In recent TV historical drama "13 samurais of Kamakura", it showed Kamakura's younger brother Yoshitsune who was killed by treason planed by Kamakura but as a hero of tragedy. And, also in other cultural factors of Japan, even the phrase "sympathy for the weak and suppressed" was created in remembrance of him. This phrase presents and donates values for the sorrow. For example, many youths scattered their lives at the battle front of the Pacific War, but common people thought that the sorrow caused by their death was not invain. rather became the source of power that encouraged the postwar reconstruction of the bomb ruined land. The sorrow was not a useless emotion. Because it is based on sacrifice. The life cycle on earth is also managed by sacrifice as we all know. The Oriental thought has grasped it lomg time ago. Things that recent Japanese young people prefer are tinted by Western thought, which lleads to the full bloom of poitive, bright, powerful thinking, and having fun (an achievement of Yoshimoto commedy industry?) . Success, being excellent at something, having good reputation , and being cheerful is not a bad thing, but problem is that this society presents them as the absolute values. But is this really the value system everybody should follow? I doubt it. Because, as same as tha laws of nature, the positives cannnot exist without negatives. Briefly, in the calculating formula, only adding does not make equation possible. Plus plus plus means nothing. Also happiness plus happiness means boredom.In the natural world, on the contrary, there is no life of growth without sacrifice. Trees give their life and fertilize the soil, and the water from the forest which is nourished flowes into the Ocean to provide plankton for fishery products. We human being get the sacrificial life of fish and the domesticated animals, to keep our metabolism going. Therefore, I think that it is correct that not only Oriental human being sheds tears over the sacrificial tragedy of the life from old days, but also find values in such things as "a flower born from pain" here. I felt the meaning of UN FIORE DAL DOLORE NASCERA (the flower comes out of sorrow) is theologically very significant. And that's not the end of the story. I assume that a person who understands Christianity would notice that the word DOLORE is connected with Via Dolorosa (the street of sorrow in which Christ carried a heavy cross on his back ). Yes, it is exactly that. The Christian root of thinking is based on the cross of the sorrow. And it is our sorrow that Christ put on himself and suffered. There is a work of art, in the West though, which gave value in the matter of sorrow. It is "Pieta" which is a sculpture by Michelangelo. The word "Pieta" means pious condolences. Actually, sorrow. So,it shows sorrow of Maria embracing her bruised and dead son, Jesus Christ , on her knees. As for the sorrow, ancient people knew that it was not only sublimated by accidental events but was the bedrock of life. The South American people knew it too. Therefore, UN FIORE DAL DOLORE NASCERA (the flower comes out of sorrow) touches my soul. The current Japanese Christian theology is the application of Western theology which tend to ignore the factor of sorrow, but the theological composition that was attempet by using the concept of sorrow that Mr. Kazo Kitamori proposed in "The theology of the pain of God" was actually very worthy try of application of Oriental thought in theology. To put it precisely, even in the Western thelogy the concept of negative is not unpresedented. For example, the concept of existence of God can only be understood by the negative mark such as the footprint left on the sand. according to Karl Barth who was sort of a champion of modern Western theology. And, I think, this foot print is the cross, so what I suggest is not so far from the thought of Barth. Actually, other than theology, Shakespear appriciated the factor of sorrow in his taragedies. Other than that, the theology that inclines to human happiness or success is only a product of the human optimism, not of a thelogy of the cross. Today, I reflect on the words of UN FIORE DAL DOLORE NASCERA (the flower comes out of sorrow),because that same flower bloomed in my soul when I came to know Christianity in my younger days.Those days I was full of sorrow but in the cross I found hope. St. Paul also writes abou it . "I have deep sorrow, and has the pain that it is constant in my heart", (Romans9:2) Not only that, he also states, "I seem to be sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing,and yet possessing everything". (2Cor6:10) In other words,St. Paul had the flower which sprang out from the soil of sorrow. A flower will be born from pain. This is our common heritage. (If you have any comments, please let me know by E-mail.) Thank you.