„Trawy i drzewa, kraje i ziemie, wszystkie osiągają oświecenie” (sōmoku kokudo shikkai jōbutsu) – początki idei powszechnego oświecenia w Japonii

The article reflects on the phrase ’plants and trees, lands and soil — all will attain Buddhahood’ (Jap. sōmoku kokudo shikkai jōbutsu) which became very popular in Japanese Buddhism (Tendai school) and Japanese literature (e.g. in Nō dramas). The implied idea expresses the belief in universal enlightenment that all beings, both sentient and insentient, animated and inanimate, will attain Buddhahood (enlightenment). The phrase was often cited in sermons as if it were a passage from the Buddhist sutra. The author traces the beginnings of the presence in Japan of the Buddhist idea of universal enlightenment and analyses the meaning of the phrase. She looks for explanations which are found in the early and medieval works of Japanese Buddhist monks (Annen, Genshin, Dōgen). The farther development pf the idea, in particular with the reference to the Zen and Tendai schools, as well as the question of Japanese approach to nature, will be subject of future research.