Kitaro Nishida introduced into the system of his philosophy various concepts of many western philosophers. He tried to join togehter the western philosophy and the experience of enlightment from Zen-buddism. As he felt unsatisfied with the philosophy of Kant, he sought for other models to systematize his own philosophy. He found many similar points to his system in the philosophy of Fichte and that of Plotin. He got the concept of "self-consciousness" from Fichte, and that of "the inteligible cosmos" from Plotin. In the system of Nishida, "self-concsiousness" works as an agency to transcend to the inteligible cosmos. But the inteligible cosmos of Nishida is not like that of Plotin. In the system of Nishida, the inteligible cosmos is not a place where IDEAI are existing as the forms of NOOS, but a place where IDEAI are looked as SKIAI (shadows) of Absolute Nothingness. And there in the inteligible cosmos of Nishida, IDEAI are looked as values, i.e. truth, goodness, beauty. But as these values are only shadows, the consciousness must transcend to the "TOPOS of Absolute Nothingness", which is the antithesis of TO HEN (The One) of Plotin. And there the three values are unified. Absolute Nothingness is the basic concept of Zen-buddism.
