The ultimate purpose of greeting someone is to convey to that person a feeling of gratitude.
On meeting one another we exchange greetings. What is the purport of this ‘greeting’? Usually we don’t know the real meaning of the word nor have we ever stopped to contemplate the essence of a greeting. One in ten people may not even know the actual meaning of the word ‘greeting.’
In a dictionary of classical Chinese, with Japanese explanations, the Japanese word for greeting, aisatsu, is described as follows: ‘to come near and jostle one another.’ Later it changed to a Japanese word meaning ‘to make a bow’ or ‘salute each other.’
In English dictionaries descriptions of various forms of greeting abound but the actual meaning of the word is never made very clear. Actions with no intrinsic meaning, such a greeting one another, become a habit that we keep repeating throughout life without further thought, occasionally jumping to the conclusion that such and such a person doesn’t know the correct procedure for greeting people. It comes as quite a shock to realise that such is the reality of our lives.
Thus, the most frequently used phrase in Japanese for greetings is domo, which is equivalent to the English words, ‘indeed,’ ‘very much,’ ‘quite,’ ‘really.’ Let me take just the formula, “Thank you very much,” as an example. Its Japanese equivalent is domo arigato, arigato meaning “thank you” and domo, “very much.”
Incidentally, I consulted a Japanese Dictionary, Kojien, for the meaning of domo. It says that the word means: ‘not certain but somehow,’ ‘somewhat,’ ‘kind of,’ ‘something or other,’ or ‘without knowing why.’ It is apparently also a leftover from a complete phrase or sentence whose latter part has been dropped, domo being a short version of domo arigato, arigato having been omitted.
Encounter with others, however, is a maturation or fulfillment of our karmic conditions. It can be said, therefore, that, if we truly express our gratitude toward the people we meet, we will be restoring once again the true meaning to the word ‘greeting.’
Chimyo Takehara
挨拶とは、つづまるところ御礼を申すこと
人との出会いの折に交わす挨拶とは、一体何でしょうか。その言葉の意味を分かっている人もいなければ、挨拶の本質など考えたこともない。
「挨拶」という意味を知っている人は、十人に一人もいません。「挨拶」を『漢和辞典』で引くと、「そばに身をすり寄せて押し合うこと。転じて日本語で会釈 すること」と記述してあります。英語の辞書を見ても、挨拶の行為は示してあっても、その意味は必ずしも明確ではありません。
意味不明の行為を平気で日常化し、これを一生の間まま継続し、時には「あの人は挨拶を知らない」と決めつける。これが人生なのかと、改めて驚かされます。
かくて、挨拶の殆どは「どうも、どうも」である。 因みに「どうも」も『広辞苑』でひいてみました。「はっきりはしないが、どことなく。何だか。何かしら。」「用法の後段を略したもの」などとあります。
人さまとの出会いは、宿縁の成就。結局、御礼が言えたとき、挨拶が完成するといえましょう。