The Oneness of life and its environment (and why it matters to the apparel industry)
依正不二］ ( eshō-funi): Also, non-duality of life and its environment. The principle that life and its environment, though two seemingly distinct phenomena, are essentially non-dual; they are two integral phases of a single reality. In the Japanese term eshō-funi, eshō is a compound of shōhō, meaning life or a living being, and ehō, its environment. Funi, meaning “not two,” indicates oneness or non-duality. It is short for nini-funi, which means “two (in phenomena) but not two (in essence).” Hō of shōhō and ehō means reward or effect. It indicates that “life” constitutes a subjective self that experiences the effects of its past actions, and “its environment” is an objective realm in which individuals’ karmic rewards find expression. Each living being has its own unique environment. The effects of karma appear in oneself and in one’s objective environment, because self and environment are two integral aspects of an individual.
