Hiroshi Motoyama


Hiroshi Motoyama was a Japanese parapsychologist, scientist, spiritual instructor and author whose primary topic was spiritual self-cultivation and the relationship between the mind and body. Motoyama emphasized the meditative practices of Samkhya/Yoga, karma, reincarnation and Hindu theories of the chakras.
Motoyama died in September 2015 at the age of 89.

Theory and Method

Dr. Motoyama's philosophical system was based on his experiences of meditation. His philosophy was based on the idea that no individual philosophical system is without its faults. Because of this, his philosophy appears to be an eclectic blend of seemingly disparate philosophies, but this is far from the case. His system is centralized upon Samkhya philosophy due to its explanatory efficacy, but primarily because of its utilization by Patañjali. Because of the attention to detail found in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Dr. Motoyama emphasizes the eight steps of yogic training. However, he broadens the scope of samkhya here, extending the ultimate beyond the limitations of being. Borrowing from Kitaro Nishida, Dr. Motoyama uses the term basho to define the field that sustains being itself. This basho is beyond the categories of being/non-being and birth/death. One who abandons individuality itself becomes a basho-being by completely annihilating themselves. This is very much in line with the Buddhist Jhānas and the Mahayana notion of Śūnyatā. Thus, basho-being is roughly synonymous with "buddha." The basho is the limit of and that which sustains our universe, beyond which, Dr. Motoyama states, is God. In brief, Dr. Motoyama's system is a synthesis of Samkhya, Buddhism and Shinto that incorporates yogic cultivation, the energy systems of the body-mind as well as faith in God.

Selected English publications