Human Development
Mono no aware
Description:
Essentially a deep, empathetic appreciation of the ephemeral beauty manifest in nature and human life, and possibly encompassing the whole range of human emotions. It encourages a perception of human reality imbued with elegant beauty and Buddistic pessimism. This experience is usually tinged with a hint of sadness when it focuses on the beauty of impermanence and on the sensitive capability of appreciating that beauty. It may be accompanied by admiration, awe, or even joy. The deep feeling is not an emotion deriving from someone's idiosyncracy, but rather is held to be a feeling which emerges from the hearts of sensitive people under given circumstances. As a purified exalted feeling, it is close to the innermost heart of people and of nature. A person who understands mono no aware is a more complete individual because he is more perceptive, empathetic and capable of understanding the reality of the human condition.Context:
A literary and aesthetic ideal cultivated during the Heian period of Japan (794-1185). Revived by the writings of Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801).<