Shusaku Endo’s book Scandal discusses the fundamental darkness that resides within the heart or in the Alaya Consciousness. Even though Shusaku was a Catholic yet he found himself to be drawn to Buddhism. In the Preface of his book Damian Flanagan quotes the author:
The biggest difference between Buddhism and Christianity is that Christianity gives great consideration to the relationship between oneself and others, but Buddhism considers the true self within oneself …So I resolved to delve into what in Buddhism is called the Alaya Consciousness or what in Depth Pyschology is called the world of unconsciousness. My novels by virtue of being ‘probing novels, pursuing novels’ had systematically assumed the pattern of probing into others. So this time I thought I would try to write a novel in which I probed for this other self within myself.
While we see glimpses of the author, we are cautioned that the book is about the unconscious mind and a lot of unlikely things happen and meld into each other. It’s important that one read the preface of the book before delving into its dark depths since all that is written is not necessarily about the author himself.
Suguro, a well respected Catholic writer well into the declining years of his life is shocked when a drunk artist approaches him and alleges that they had some wild times in Tokyo’s red light district-Kabuki-cho. Shocked and embarrassed Suguro believes that there is a look alike impostor out to defame him. Far from being a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde story
Scandal explorers the darker aspects people keep hidden away from themselves; whether it be rage, lust or cruelty that even small children are known to express when they taunt the weaker child.
While trying to look for his impostor Suguro and a reporter Kobari who is sniffing around for a story on Suguro’s colorful activities meet women who are in touch with their darker sides like Hina and Mrs Naruse who espouses that beauty is to be found in the darker recesses of the heart and to deny its place in one’s lives reeks of mendacity. Suguro is inevitably drawn to the middle aged lady, Mrs Naruse, and he excuses his need to be in touch with her by saying that a novelist needs to know the darker aspects of humanity. But here is the shining nugget of truth that the Edo wanted his readers to appreciate- for a writer to make his characters dark the writer has to feel the same negative emotions expressed by his characters – be it jealousy, lust, anger or any other sin and it drains the writer’s spirit.
I’m a novelist. A novelist who has to dirty his hands in the deepest recesses of the human heart. I have to thrust my hands in even if I find something there that God could never bless.
Suguro believes that sin is linked to the unconscious mind and salvation can only be found in sin but in a televised interview the interviewer draws parallel between Suguro’s concept of sin to the concept of Alaya Consciousness where the ‘seeds of defilement exist’.
From
Unlocking the Mysteries Of Life and Death : Buddhism in Contemporary World By Daisaku Ikeda The Alaya Consciousness is the store house of karma and it effects the way we perceive reality. All our experiences and actions in both this lifetime and previous ones, whether they are good or evil or somewhere in between are accumulated as seeds in the alaya-consciousness and these seeds in turn direct our future actions. Since karmic seeds are found only in the very deep level of life, they are unaffected by the external world. Nevertheless, there is a reciprocal influence between the seeds lying deep in the alaya- consciousness and the surface levels of consciousness, where the three kinds of action- thinking, speaking and doing- manifest themselves.
At the same time the alaya-consciousness contains not only the individual karma but also the karma common to his or her family and race and even to humanity as a whole
Scandal is Freudian in its flavor. Suguro acknowledges the fear of death, lust for Morita Mitsu the teenager and the need to return to his mother’s womb as negativities that he cannot deny. He finds himself tangled in the world of masochism and snuff, where death and suicide are seen as beautiful aspects of life. He is repulsed and intrigued at the same time.
While Endo plays around with paranormal concepts such as astral projection and doppelganger as alternative explanation for Suguro’s imposter but he doesn’t deviate from the central theme. Suguro finds himself envying his wife who seems to be unaware of her dark side and yet he considers her to be poor in spirit for she has never explored the darker side of her nature and led a life of blissful ignorance.
’In some ways, you are poor in spirit too.’
‘Is that sarcasm?’
‘Not at all. In contrast to you….’ Once again he tried to swallow the words… 'Unlike you, I can never become one poor in spirit. I’m not the man you think I am. I have secrets I have not told you.
By the end of the book when Sugoro finally faces the darkness lies dormant in the recesses of his heart he is doesn’t know how to deal with it. And in that moment of great suffering salvation comes his way, he is bathed in a light of profound love and peace. Facing his fundamental darkness changes Sugoro though he realizes that there are consequences he has to deal with not only as a writer but also as a human being.
The book reflects Edo’s tussle with his faith and also the lack of responsibility he felt towards his readers. At one point when Sugoro’s friend dies in the eulogy he says that his friend Kano
never curried favour with his readers, never ingratiated himself with the times- his was self willed literature that expressed what he felt had to be written. That self will became a way of life for himBeing true to oneself, then obviously comes at a heavy price where one knows one’s basest desires for what they are and realizes that one should not imprisoned by the image the world creates for them. Sugoro in the end decides to unmask the upstanding image of a Christian writer that his readers had of him and write a darker novel truer to his heart.
In fact Endo himself once said that he had to give voice to the other that resided within him – the darker him and hence came about the book –
Scandal , a book that is considered to be the finest of its time in Japanese literature.
Or could it be that she is PREGNANT? 
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