Steven Heine
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195305708
- eISBN:
- 9780199784776
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195305701.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book provides a comprehensive examination of the diverse writings of Dōgen (1200-1253), the founder of Sōtō (C. Ts’ao-tung) Zen Buddhism in Japan. Dōgen is especially known for introducing to ...
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This book provides a comprehensive examination of the diverse writings of Dōgen (1200-1253), the founder of Sōtō (C. Ts’ao-tung) Zen Buddhism in Japan. Dōgen is especially known for introducing to Japanese Buddhism many of the texts and practices that he discovered in China. The context of Dōgen’s travels to and reflections on China are reconstructed by means of a critical look at traditional sources both by and about Dōgen. While many studies emphasize the unique features of Dōgen’s Japanese influences versus traditional Chinese models, this book calls attention to the fusion of Chinese and Japanese elements in Dōgen’s religious vision. It reveals many new materials and insights into Dōgen’s main writings, including the multiple editions of the Shōbōgenzō, and how and when this seminal text was created by Dōgen and edited and interpreted by his disciples. This book provides the reader with a comprehensive approach to the master’s life works and an understanding of the overall career trajectory of one of the most important figures in the history of Buddhism and Asian religious thought.Less
This book provides a comprehensive examination of the diverse writings of Dōgen (1200-1253), the founder of Sōtō (C. Ts’ao-tung) Zen Buddhism in Japan. Dōgen is especially known for introducing to Japanese Buddhism many of the texts and practices that he discovered in China. The context of Dōgen’s travels to and reflections on China are reconstructed by means of a critical look at traditional sources both by and about Dōgen. While many studies emphasize the unique features of Dōgen’s Japanese influences versus traditional Chinese models, this book calls attention to the fusion of Chinese and Japanese elements in Dōgen’s religious vision. It reveals many new materials and insights into Dōgen’s main writings, including the multiple editions of the Shōbōgenzō, and how and when this seminal text was created by Dōgen and edited and interpreted by his disciples. This book provides the reader with a comprehensive approach to the master’s life works and an understanding of the overall career trajectory of one of the most important figures in the history of Buddhism and Asian religious thought.
Jeff Wilson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195371932
- eISBN:
- 9780199870967
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195371932.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Buddhism
This chapter describes the situation of mizuko kuyō in Japan, the country of its origin. A common but also contested rite, mizuko kuyō has been used by Japanese male Buddhist priests as a way to ...
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This chapter describes the situation of mizuko kuyō in Japan, the country of its origin. A common but also contested rite, mizuko kuyō has been used by Japanese male Buddhist priests as a way to condemn promiscuous women and make money, while women have sought relief from symptoms believed to originate in spirit attacks and to reestablish ties broken by abortion. Despite widespread disapproval of abortion in Japan, it remains a common practice, and there are no serious movements to outlaw it. This chapter also provides a brief history of the relationship of abortion and religion in America. Abortion was initially outlawed for medical, rather than religious, reasons, but since its re-legalization in 1973, abortion has become a key issue of American religion and politics. Finally, methods used in this study are discussed.Less
This chapter describes the situation of mizuko kuyō in Japan, the country of its origin. A common but also contested rite, mizuko kuyō has been used by Japanese male Buddhist priests as a way to condemn promiscuous women and make money, while women have sought relief from symptoms believed to originate in spirit attacks and to reestablish ties broken by abortion. Despite widespread disapproval of abortion in Japan, it remains a common practice, and there are no serious movements to outlaw it. This chapter also provides a brief history of the relationship of abortion and religion in America. Abortion was initially outlawed for medical, rather than religious, reasons, but since its re-legalization in 1973, abortion has become a key issue of American religion and politics. Finally, methods used in this study are discussed.
Jonathan Stalling
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780823231447
- eISBN:
- 9780823241835
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823231447.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry
This chapter fundamentally challenges both Ezra Pound's representation of the text and American literary criticism's reduction of Fenollosa to a naïve positivist by revealing the essay's function in ...
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This chapter fundamentally challenges both Ezra Pound's representation of the text and American literary criticism's reduction of Fenollosa to a naïve positivist by revealing the essay's function in Fenollosa's peculiar Buddhist mission. Far from an abstract “Buddhist reading” of Fenollosa's poetics, this chapter, grounded in the details of his specific historical and cultural engagements, reveals a poetics tied closely to an unusual school of Japanese Buddhism known simply as “New Buddhism”, which Fenollosa himself had a role in founding. In short, this chapter fundamentally redirects the principal manifesto of American Modernism against the grain of Pound's modernist desire for ontological coherence to reveal a heterocultural deconstructive poetics that was articulated over a half century before the rise of postmodern poetics.Less
This chapter fundamentally challenges both Ezra Pound's representation of the text and American literary criticism's reduction of Fenollosa to a naïve positivist by revealing the essay's function in Fenollosa's peculiar Buddhist mission. Far from an abstract “Buddhist reading” of Fenollosa's poetics, this chapter, grounded in the details of his specific historical and cultural engagements, reveals a poetics tied closely to an unusual school of Japanese Buddhism known simply as “New Buddhism”, which Fenollosa himself had a role in founding. In short, this chapter fundamentally redirects the principal manifesto of American Modernism against the grain of Pound's modernist desire for ontological coherence to reveal a heterocultural deconstructive poetics that was articulated over a half century before the rise of postmodern poetics.
Michael I. Como
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195188615
- eISBN:
- 9780199851751
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195188615.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Prince Shōtoku, the purported founder of Japanese Buddhism, was one of the greatest cultural icons of pre-modern Japan. The cult that grew up around his memory is recognized as one of the most ...
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Prince Shōtoku, the purported founder of Japanese Buddhism, was one of the greatest cultural icons of pre-modern Japan. The cult that grew up around his memory is recognized as one of the most important religious phenomena of the time. This book examines the creation and evolution of the Shōtoku cult over the roughly 200 years following his death—a period that saw a series of revolutionary developments in the history of Japanese religion. It highlights the activities of a cluster of kinship groups who claimed descent from ancestors from the Korean kingdom of Silla. It places these groups in their socio-cultural context and demonstrates their pivotal role in bringing continental influences to almost every aspect of government and community ideology in Japan. It argues that these immigrant kinship groups were not only responsible for the construction of the Shōtoku cult, but were also associated with the introduction of the continental systems of writing, ritual, and governance. By comparing the ancestral legends of these groups to the Shōtoku legend corpus and Imperial chronicles, the book shows that these kinship groups not only played a major role in the formation of the Japanese Buddhist tradition, they also to a large degree shaped the paradigms in terms of which the Japanese Imperial cult and the nation of Japan were conceptualized and created.Less
Prince Shōtoku, the purported founder of Japanese Buddhism, was one of the greatest cultural icons of pre-modern Japan. The cult that grew up around his memory is recognized as one of the most important religious phenomena of the time. This book examines the creation and evolution of the Shōtoku cult over the roughly 200 years following his death—a period that saw a series of revolutionary developments in the history of Japanese religion. It highlights the activities of a cluster of kinship groups who claimed descent from ancestors from the Korean kingdom of Silla. It places these groups in their socio-cultural context and demonstrates their pivotal role in bringing continental influences to almost every aspect of government and community ideology in Japan. It argues that these immigrant kinship groups were not only responsible for the construction of the Shōtoku cult, but were also associated with the introduction of the continental systems of writing, ritual, and governance. By comparing the ancestral legends of these groups to the Shōtoku legend corpus and Imperial chronicles, the book shows that these kinship groups not only played a major role in the formation of the Japanese Buddhist tradition, they also to a large degree shaped the paradigms in terms of which the Japanese Imperial cult and the nation of Japan were conceptualized and created.
Brian Daizen Victoria
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195372427
- eISBN:
- 9780199949618
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372427.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This essay focuses on Japanese Buddhism, including Zen, to demonstrate that Buddhism, like all of the world’s major faiths, does indeed have a long historical and doctrinal connection to violence. In ...
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This essay focuses on Japanese Buddhism, including Zen, to demonstrate that Buddhism, like all of the world’s major faiths, does indeed have a long historical and doctrinal connection to violence. In Buddhism’s case, such doctrines as karma, rebirth, skillful means (upāya), compassion, selflessness (anātman), and samādhi -power, each a core Buddhist teaching, have long been used to justify violence and warfare.Less
This essay focuses on Japanese Buddhism, including Zen, to demonstrate that Buddhism, like all of the world’s major faiths, does indeed have a long historical and doctrinal connection to violence. In Buddhism’s case, such doctrines as karma, rebirth, skillful means (upāya), compassion, selflessness (anātman), and samādhi -power, each a core Buddhist teaching, have long been used to justify violence and warfare.
Jacqueline I. Stone and Mariko Namba Walter (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824832049
- eISBN:
- 9780824869250
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824832049.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This introductory chapter offers an understanding of death and the afterlife in Japanese Buddhist thought and practice, and cites three themes: first, the continuity and change over time in Japanese ...
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This introductory chapter offers an understanding of death and the afterlife in Japanese Buddhist thought and practice, and cites three themes: first, the continuity and change over time in Japanese Buddhist death-related practices and views of the afterlife; second, the dual role of Buddhist death rites in both addressing individual concerns about the afterlife, and at the same time working to construct, maintain, and legitimize social relations and the authority of religious institutions; and finally, Buddhist death rites as a locus of “contradictory logics,” bringing together unrelated, even opposing ideas about the dead, their postmortem fate, what the living should do for them, and what constitutes normative Buddhist practice.Less
This introductory chapter offers an understanding of death and the afterlife in Japanese Buddhist thought and practice, and cites three themes: first, the continuity and change over time in Japanese Buddhist death-related practices and views of the afterlife; second, the dual role of Buddhist death rites in both addressing individual concerns about the afterlife, and at the same time working to construct, maintain, and legitimize social relations and the authority of religious institutions; and finally, Buddhist death rites as a locus of “contradictory logics,” bringing together unrelated, even opposing ideas about the dead, their postmortem fate, what the living should do for them, and what constitutes normative Buddhist practice.
Melissa Anne-Marie Curley
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780824857752
- eISBN:
- 9780824873653
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824857752.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Historian Ienaga Saburō turned to religion in search of a way to resist the ultranationalism of his day. He discovered in Japanese Buddhism what he termed a logic of negation, first articulated by ...
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Historian Ienaga Saburō turned to religion in search of a way to resist the ultranationalism of his day. He discovered in Japanese Buddhism what he termed a logic of negation, first articulated by Shōtoku Taishi and eventually made thoroughgoing in the religion of Shinran. He understood this logic of negation as informing both retreat from society and confrontation with society. Ienaga continued to explore this logic of negation after the war, criticizing mainstream Buddhism for its accommodation of state interests but praising some Buddhist activists and reformers for carrying into the present what Ienaga considered to be Shinran’s legacy. The logic of negation also informed Ienaga’s own stance toward the state, as he entered into a decades long confrontation with the Ministry of Education over textbook censorship. Ienaga’s postwar career models the kind of critical utopianism that his contemporary Theodore Adorno called for in the aftermath of the war.Less
Historian Ienaga Saburō turned to religion in search of a way to resist the ultranationalism of his day. He discovered in Japanese Buddhism what he termed a logic of negation, first articulated by Shōtoku Taishi and eventually made thoroughgoing in the religion of Shinran. He understood this logic of negation as informing both retreat from society and confrontation with society. Ienaga continued to explore this logic of negation after the war, criticizing mainstream Buddhism for its accommodation of state interests but praising some Buddhist activists and reformers for carrying into the present what Ienaga considered to be Shinran’s legacy. The logic of negation also informed Ienaga’s own stance toward the state, as he entered into a decades long confrontation with the Ministry of Education over textbook censorship. Ienaga’s postwar career models the kind of critical utopianism that his contemporary Theodore Adorno called for in the aftermath of the war.
Mark Michael Rowe
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226730134
- eISBN:
- 9780226730165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226730165.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book is a study of contemporary Japanese Buddhism and the care of the dead. It shows how religious, political, social, and economic forces over the course of the twentieth century led to the ...
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This book is a study of contemporary Japanese Buddhism and the care of the dead. It shows how religious, political, social, and economic forces over the course of the twentieth century led to the emergence of new funerary practices in Japan and how this has made the care of the dead the most essential challenge to the continued existence of Japanese temple Buddhism. This challenge extends beyond the economic, demographic, and social forces of change into the realm of more existential doubts about the role of the tradition and the true meaning of Buddhist understandings of death. Secondarily, it is a study of the primary overseers of shaping tradition within Japanese Buddhism today; of the interplay and tensions between Buddhist ideals, as reflected in the activities of Buddhist intellectuals; and the often conflicting practical needs of temple priests in the context of their daily responsibilities as caretakers for the dead.Less
This book is a study of contemporary Japanese Buddhism and the care of the dead. It shows how religious, political, social, and economic forces over the course of the twentieth century led to the emergence of new funerary practices in Japan and how this has made the care of the dead the most essential challenge to the continued existence of Japanese temple Buddhism. This challenge extends beyond the economic, demographic, and social forces of change into the realm of more existential doubts about the role of the tradition and the true meaning of Buddhist understandings of death. Secondarily, it is a study of the primary overseers of shaping tradition within Japanese Buddhism today; of the interplay and tensions between Buddhist ideals, as reflected in the activities of Buddhist intellectuals; and the often conflicting practical needs of temple priests in the context of their daily responsibilities as caretakers for the dead.
Mark Michael Rowe
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226730134
- eISBN:
- 9780226730165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226730165.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter endeavors to trace the main historical circumstances—from the Tokugawa era up to the present day—that have led to this dire assessment of Japanese Buddhism. The “death” of Buddhism ...
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This chapter endeavors to trace the main historical circumstances—from the Tokugawa era up to the present day—that have led to this dire assessment of Japanese Buddhism. The “death” of Buddhism covers three related connotations: the fundamental and long-standing relationship between Buddhist temples and death rites, the negative perceptions of this funerary Buddhism, and, finally, the fear that the tradition may not merely be dying but may be going extinct. Much of this historical overview focuses less on the explicitly “Buddhist” aspect of mortuary practices than on the social, economic, and legal developments that have had the greatest impact on temples. The intention here is not simply to decenter Buddhist sectarian or doctrinal history but rather to consider equally relevant forces such as changes in the civil code, postwar land reforms, new family structures, and the perennial desire for social status.Less
This chapter endeavors to trace the main historical circumstances—from the Tokugawa era up to the present day—that have led to this dire assessment of Japanese Buddhism. The “death” of Buddhism covers three related connotations: the fundamental and long-standing relationship between Buddhist temples and death rites, the negative perceptions of this funerary Buddhism, and, finally, the fear that the tradition may not merely be dying but may be going extinct. Much of this historical overview focuses less on the explicitly “Buddhist” aspect of mortuary practices than on the social, economic, and legal developments that have had the greatest impact on temples. The intention here is not simply to decenter Buddhist sectarian or doctrinal history but rather to consider equally relevant forces such as changes in the civil code, postwar land reforms, new family structures, and the perennial desire for social status.
Pamela D. Winfield
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199753581
- eISBN:
- 9780199332519
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199753581.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This study crosses the disciplinary lines of religious studies and art history/visual studies as it juxtaposes and qualifies two representative voices for and against the role of imagery in the ...
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This study crosses the disciplinary lines of religious studies and art history/visual studies as it juxtaposes and qualifies two representative voices for and against the role of imagery in the enlightenment experience. Kūkai (774–835) believes that real and imagined forms are indispensable to his new esoteric Mikkyō method for “becoming a Buddha in this very body” (sokushin jōbutsu), yet he also deconstructs the significance of such imagery in his poetic and doctrinal works. Conversely, Dōgen (1200–1253) believes that “just sitting” in Zen meditation without any visual props or mental elaborations can lead one to realize that “this very mind is Buddha” (sokushin zebutsu), but then he also privileges select Zen icons as worthy of veneration. In considering the nuanced views of these two premodern Japanese Buddhist masters, this study updates previous comparisons of Kūkai’s and Dōgen’s oeuvres and engages both their texts and images together for the first time. It thereby liberates them from their respective sectarian scholarship that has pigeonholed them into iconographic/ritual vs. philological/philosophical categories, and it restores the historical symbiosis between religious thought and artistic expression well before the nineteenth-century invention of the academic disciplines of religious studies vs. art history. Theoretically speaking as well, this study breaks new methodological ground by proposing space and time as organizing principles for analyzing both meditative experience, as well as visual/material culture, and it presents a broader vision of how Japanese Buddhists themselves understood the role of imagery before, during, and after awakening.Less
This study crosses the disciplinary lines of religious studies and art history/visual studies as it juxtaposes and qualifies two representative voices for and against the role of imagery in the enlightenment experience. Kūkai (774–835) believes that real and imagined forms are indispensable to his new esoteric Mikkyō method for “becoming a Buddha in this very body” (sokushin jōbutsu), yet he also deconstructs the significance of such imagery in his poetic and doctrinal works. Conversely, Dōgen (1200–1253) believes that “just sitting” in Zen meditation without any visual props or mental elaborations can lead one to realize that “this very mind is Buddha” (sokushin zebutsu), but then he also privileges select Zen icons as worthy of veneration. In considering the nuanced views of these two premodern Japanese Buddhist masters, this study updates previous comparisons of Kūkai’s and Dōgen’s oeuvres and engages both their texts and images together for the first time. It thereby liberates them from their respective sectarian scholarship that has pigeonholed them into iconographic/ritual vs. philological/philosophical categories, and it restores the historical symbiosis between religious thought and artistic expression well before the nineteenth-century invention of the academic disciplines of religious studies vs. art history. Theoretically speaking as well, this study breaks new methodological ground by proposing space and time as organizing principles for analyzing both meditative experience, as well as visual/material culture, and it presents a broader vision of how Japanese Buddhists themselves understood the role of imagery before, during, and after awakening.
Mark Michael Rowe
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226730134
- eISBN:
- 9780226730165
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226730165.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Despite popular images of priests seeking enlightenment in snow-covered mountain temples, the central concern of Japanese Buddhism is death. For that reason, Japanese Buddhism's social and economic ...
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Despite popular images of priests seeking enlightenment in snow-covered mountain temples, the central concern of Japanese Buddhism is death. For that reason, Japanese Buddhism's social and economic base has long been in mortuary services—a base now threatened by public debate over the status, treatment, and location of the dead. This book explores the crisis brought on by this debate and investigates what changing burial forms reveal about the ways temple Buddhism is perceived and propagated in contemporary Japan. It offers an account of how religious, political, social, and economic forces in the twentieth century led to the emergence of new funerary practices in Japan and how, as a result, the care of the dead has become the most fundamental challenge to the continued existence of Japanese temple Buddhism. Far from marking the death of Buddhism in Japan, the book argues, funerary Buddhism reveals the tradition at its most vibrant.Less
Despite popular images of priests seeking enlightenment in snow-covered mountain temples, the central concern of Japanese Buddhism is death. For that reason, Japanese Buddhism's social and economic base has long been in mortuary services—a base now threatened by public debate over the status, treatment, and location of the dead. This book explores the crisis brought on by this debate and investigates what changing burial forms reveal about the ways temple Buddhism is perceived and propagated in contemporary Japan. It offers an account of how religious, political, social, and economic forces in the twentieth century led to the emergence of new funerary practices in Japan and how, as a result, the care of the dead has become the most fundamental challenge to the continued existence of Japanese temple Buddhism. Far from marking the death of Buddhism in Japan, the book argues, funerary Buddhism reveals the tradition at its most vibrant.
Paul B. Watt
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824856328
- eISBN:
- 9780824869038
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824856328.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
The True Pure Land sect of Japanese Buddhism, or Shin Buddhism, grew out of the teachings of Shinran (1173–1262), a Tendai-trained monk. Shinran held that even those unable to fulfill the ...
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The True Pure Land sect of Japanese Buddhism, or Shin Buddhism, grew out of the teachings of Shinran (1173–1262), a Tendai-trained monk. Shinran held that even those unable to fulfill the requirements of the traditional Buddhist path could attain enlightenment through the experience of shinjin, “the entrusting mind”—an expression of the profound realization that the Buddha Amida, who promises birth in his Pure Land to all who trust in him, was nothing other than the true basis of all existence and the sustaining nature of human beings. Over the centuries, the subtleties of Shinran's teachings were often lost. Rituals developed to focus one's mind at the moment of death so one might travel to the Pure Land unimpeded, and an artistic tradition celebrated the moment when Amida and his retinue of bodhisattvas welcome the dying believer. Many Western interpreters tended to reinforce this view of Pure Land Buddhism. This book introduces the thought and selected writings of Yasuda Rijin (1900–1982), a modern Shin Buddhist thinker affiliated with the Ōtani, or Higashi Honganji, branch of Shin Buddhism. Yasuda sought to restate the teachings of Shinran within a modern tradition that began with the work of Kiyozawa Manshi (1863–1903) and extended through the writings of Yasuda's teachers Kaneko Daiei (1881–1976) and Soga Ryōjin (1875–1971). For them, and Yasuda in particular, Amida did not exist in some other-worldly paradise but rather Amida and his Pure Land were to be experienced as lived realities in the present.Less
The True Pure Land sect of Japanese Buddhism, or Shin Buddhism, grew out of the teachings of Shinran (1173–1262), a Tendai-trained monk. Shinran held that even those unable to fulfill the requirements of the traditional Buddhist path could attain enlightenment through the experience of shinjin, “the entrusting mind”—an expression of the profound realization that the Buddha Amida, who promises birth in his Pure Land to all who trust in him, was nothing other than the true basis of all existence and the sustaining nature of human beings. Over the centuries, the subtleties of Shinran's teachings were often lost. Rituals developed to focus one's mind at the moment of death so one might travel to the Pure Land unimpeded, and an artistic tradition celebrated the moment when Amida and his retinue of bodhisattvas welcome the dying believer. Many Western interpreters tended to reinforce this view of Pure Land Buddhism. This book introduces the thought and selected writings of Yasuda Rijin (1900–1982), a modern Shin Buddhist thinker affiliated with the Ōtani, or Higashi Honganji, branch of Shin Buddhism. Yasuda sought to restate the teachings of Shinran within a modern tradition that began with the work of Kiyozawa Manshi (1863–1903) and extended through the writings of Yasuda's teachers Kaneko Daiei (1881–1976) and Soga Ryōjin (1875–1971). For them, and Yasuda in particular, Amida did not exist in some other-worldly paradise but rather Amida and his Pure Land were to be experienced as lived realities in the present.
Christopher Ives
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824833312
- eISBN:
- 9780824870126
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824833312.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter outlines Ichikawa's analysis of issues that lingered after 1945 and analyzes whether postwar Zen thinkers have reflected on their wartime political stances and on that basis expressed ...
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This chapter outlines Ichikawa's analysis of issues that lingered after 1945 and analyzes whether postwar Zen thinkers have reflected on their wartime political stances and on that basis expressed contrition, accepted responsibility, and criticized postwar vestiges—including State Shinto, the imperial ideology, and imperialism. Hovering over Zen and other sects of Japanese Buddhism is the issue of the extent to which their leaders should bear responsibility for Japan's expansionist imperialism and the Fifteen-Year War. This normative question raises the empirical question of what Buddhists have done since 1945 about their possible war responsibility (senso sekinin), and whether postwar Buddhists have formulated systems of social ethics rigorous enough to preclude future political stances reminiscent of Imperial-Way Buddhism.Less
This chapter outlines Ichikawa's analysis of issues that lingered after 1945 and analyzes whether postwar Zen thinkers have reflected on their wartime political stances and on that basis expressed contrition, accepted responsibility, and criticized postwar vestiges—including State Shinto, the imperial ideology, and imperialism. Hovering over Zen and other sects of Japanese Buddhism is the issue of the extent to which their leaders should bear responsibility for Japan's expansionist imperialism and the Fifteen-Year War. This normative question raises the empirical question of what Buddhists have done since 1945 about their possible war responsibility (senso sekinin), and whether postwar Buddhists have formulated systems of social ethics rigorous enough to preclude future political stances reminiscent of Imperial-Way Buddhism.
Michael Como
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824829575
- eISBN:
- 9780824870560
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824829575.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religious Studies
This chapter examines the role of continental conceptions of spirit pacification in shaping the founding legend of Japanese Buddhism. It argues that because the establishment of the Buddhist ...
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This chapter examines the role of continental conceptions of spirit pacification in shaping the founding legend of Japanese Buddhism. It argues that because the establishment of the Buddhist tradition was deeply rooted in political violence and the subsequent need to propitiate hostile spirits, the tradition encountered a recurring “Atsumori effect,” in which the gods of the vanquished claim the attention of the victors. Reading the founding legend of Japanese Buddhism in this light, the text examines the role of the vanquished Mononobe kinship group in the construction of the emerging Japanese Buddhist tradition. Focusing on the cultic practices of the Mononobe and their affiliated kinship groups, the chapter details a pervasive pattern of rites of spirit pacification based upon the Chinese cults of the Queen Mother of the West and the Weaver Maiden and the Cowherd.Less
This chapter examines the role of continental conceptions of spirit pacification in shaping the founding legend of Japanese Buddhism. It argues that because the establishment of the Buddhist tradition was deeply rooted in political violence and the subsequent need to propitiate hostile spirits, the tradition encountered a recurring “Atsumori effect,” in which the gods of the vanquished claim the attention of the victors. Reading the founding legend of Japanese Buddhism in this light, the text examines the role of the vanquished Mononobe kinship group in the construction of the emerging Japanese Buddhist tradition. Focusing on the cultic practices of the Mononobe and their affiliated kinship groups, the chapter details a pervasive pattern of rites of spirit pacification based upon the Chinese cults of the Queen Mother of the West and the Weaver Maiden and the Cowherd.
John K. Nelson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824838331
- eISBN:
- 9780824870942
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824838331.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This book documents a sense of what is happening on the front lines as a growing number of Buddhist priests try to reboot their roles and traditions to gain greater significance in Japanese society. ...
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This book documents a sense of what is happening on the front lines as a growing number of Buddhist priests try to reboot their roles and traditions to gain greater significance in Japanese society. It profiles innovative as well as controversial responses to the challenges facing Buddhist priests. From traditional activities (conducting memorial rituals; supporting residences for the elderly and infirm; providing relief for victims of natural disasters) to more creative ones (collaborating in suicide prevention efforts; holding symposia and concerts on temple precincts; speaking out against nuclear power following Japan’s 2011 earthquake; opening cafés, storefront temples, and pubs; even staging fashion shows with priests on the runway) more progressive members of Japan’s Buddhist clergy are trying to navigate a path leading towards renewed relevance in society. An additional challenge is to avoid alienating older patrons while trying to attract younger ones vital to the future of their temples. The work’s central theme of “experimental Buddhism” provides a fresh perspective to understand how priests and other individuals employ Buddhist traditions in selective and pragmatic ways. Using these inventive approaches during a time of crisis and transition for Japanese temple Buddhism, priests and practitioners from all denominations seek solutions that not only can revitalize their religious traditions but also influence society and their fellow citizens in positive ways.Less
This book documents a sense of what is happening on the front lines as a growing number of Buddhist priests try to reboot their roles and traditions to gain greater significance in Japanese society. It profiles innovative as well as controversial responses to the challenges facing Buddhist priests. From traditional activities (conducting memorial rituals; supporting residences for the elderly and infirm; providing relief for victims of natural disasters) to more creative ones (collaborating in suicide prevention efforts; holding symposia and concerts on temple precincts; speaking out against nuclear power following Japan’s 2011 earthquake; opening cafés, storefront temples, and pubs; even staging fashion shows with priests on the runway) more progressive members of Japan’s Buddhist clergy are trying to navigate a path leading towards renewed relevance in society. An additional challenge is to avoid alienating older patrons while trying to attract younger ones vital to the future of their temples. The work’s central theme of “experimental Buddhism” provides a fresh perspective to understand how priests and other individuals employ Buddhist traditions in selective and pragmatic ways. Using these inventive approaches during a time of crisis and transition for Japanese temple Buddhism, priests and practitioners from all denominations seek solutions that not only can revitalize their religious traditions but also influence society and their fellow citizens in positive ways.
Lori Meeks
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824833947
- eISBN:
- 9780824870737
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824833947.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter examines how the monastic order viewed women and the problems surrounding their ordination during the years preceding Eison's decision to create an ordination platform for women at ...
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This chapter examines how the monastic order viewed women and the problems surrounding their ordination during the years preceding Eison's decision to create an ordination platform for women at Hokkeji in the 1240s. In his Shōbōgenzō, Zen master Dōgen speaks for his concern about the authenticity of Japanese Buddhism. According to Dōgen, that many Japanese priests are ignorant of true Buddhism is evident from the fact that they are overzealous in their service of high-ranking female patrons, a situation that “true” followers of the Buddha should recognize as humiliating. His writings further reveal two anxieties which can also be found in contemporaneous monastic texts: concerns about the propriety of close relationships between the sangha and rulers of state, and uncertainties regarding the authenticity of Japanese nuns.Less
This chapter examines how the monastic order viewed women and the problems surrounding their ordination during the years preceding Eison's decision to create an ordination platform for women at Hokkeji in the 1240s. In his Shōbōgenzō, Zen master Dōgen speaks for his concern about the authenticity of Japanese Buddhism. According to Dōgen, that many Japanese priests are ignorant of true Buddhism is evident from the fact that they are overzealous in their service of high-ranking female patrons, a situation that “true” followers of the Buddha should recognize as humiliating. His writings further reveal two anxieties which can also be found in contemporaneous monastic texts: concerns about the propriety of close relationships between the sangha and rulers of state, and uncertainties regarding the authenticity of Japanese nuns.
Donald F. McCallum
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824831141
- eISBN:
- 9780824869922
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824831141.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
Few periods in Japanese history are more fascinating than the seventh century. This was the period when Buddhism experienced its initial flowering in the country and the time when Asukadera, Kudara ...
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Few periods in Japanese history are more fascinating than the seventh century. This was the period when Buddhism experienced its initial flowering in the country and the time when Asukadera, Kudara Odera, Kawaradera, and Yakushiji (the “Four Great Temples” as they were called in ancient texts) were built. These structures have received only limited attention in Western literature, primarily because they are now ruins. This book seeks to restore the four great temples to their proper place in the history of Japanese Buddhism and Buddhist architecture. Three of the temples have been studied archaeologically, but one, Kudara Odera (the first royal temple in Japan) has until recently been known only through textual references. A series of digs carried out between 1997 and 2001 at Kibi Pond yielded what are thought to be the remains of Kudara Odera. A platform, the appropriate size for a large pagoda, has been uncovered at the site, indicating the reliability of the textual sources. These results have necessitated a rethinking of early Buddhist architecture in Japan. The book gives the first detailed account in the English language of these excavations. It considers historiographical issues, settings and layouts, foundations, tiles, relics, and icons and allows readers to follow their chronological evolution. The book looks at broader political and religious developments that serve as a context for the study. It further makes an effort to unify data on great royal temples in China, Korea, and other parts of Japan.Less
Few periods in Japanese history are more fascinating than the seventh century. This was the period when Buddhism experienced its initial flowering in the country and the time when Asukadera, Kudara Odera, Kawaradera, and Yakushiji (the “Four Great Temples” as they were called in ancient texts) were built. These structures have received only limited attention in Western literature, primarily because they are now ruins. This book seeks to restore the four great temples to their proper place in the history of Japanese Buddhism and Buddhist architecture. Three of the temples have been studied archaeologically, but one, Kudara Odera (the first royal temple in Japan) has until recently been known only through textual references. A series of digs carried out between 1997 and 2001 at Kibi Pond yielded what are thought to be the remains of Kudara Odera. A platform, the appropriate size for a large pagoda, has been uncovered at the site, indicating the reliability of the textual sources. These results have necessitated a rethinking of early Buddhist architecture in Japan. The book gives the first detailed account in the English language of these excavations. It considers historiographical issues, settings and layouts, foundations, tiles, relics, and icons and allows readers to follow their chronological evolution. The book looks at broader political and religious developments that serve as a context for the study. It further makes an effort to unify data on great royal temples in China, Korea, and other parts of Japan.
Jiang Wu
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199393121
- eISBN:
- 9780199393152
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199393121.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter focuses on the transformation of Huangbo monastery in Fuqing into a dharma transmission monastery during the late Ming and early Qing period under the supervision of Yinyuan. After ...
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This chapter focuses on the transformation of Huangbo monastery in Fuqing into a dharma transmission monastery during the late Ming and early Qing period under the supervision of Yinyuan. After introducing the history of Huangbo monastery in Fuqing, this chapter explains the formation and function of a typical “dharma transmission monastery” through selecting lineage holders as abbots, compilation of lineage genealogy, and regulation of a community of dharma heirs, which were typical measures among Chan teachers in China to establish their spiritual authenticity and authority. Yinyuan was an exemplar in maintaining such a monastery and brought the practice of dharma transmission to Japan, having an enormous impact on Japanese Buddhism.Less
This chapter focuses on the transformation of Huangbo monastery in Fuqing into a dharma transmission monastery during the late Ming and early Qing period under the supervision of Yinyuan. After introducing the history of Huangbo monastery in Fuqing, this chapter explains the formation and function of a typical “dharma transmission monastery” through selecting lineage holders as abbots, compilation of lineage genealogy, and regulation of a community of dharma heirs, which were typical measures among Chan teachers in China to establish their spiritual authenticity and authority. Yinyuan was an exemplar in maintaining such a monastery and brought the practice of dharma transmission to Japan, having an enormous impact on Japanese Buddhism.
Tetsuro Watsuji
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824835101
- eISBN:
- 9780824868505
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824835101.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
In 1223 the monk Dōgen Kigen (1200–1253) came to the conclusion that Japanese Buddhism had become hopelessly corrupt. He undertook a dangerous pilgrimage to China to bring back a purer form of ...
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In 1223 the monk Dōgen Kigen (1200–1253) came to the conclusion that Japanese Buddhism had become hopelessly corrupt. He undertook a dangerous pilgrimage to China to bring back a purer form of Buddhism and went on to become one of the founders of Sōtō Zen. Seven hundred years later, the philosopher Watsuji Tetsurō (1889–1960) also saw corruption in the Buddhism of his day. In his search for Japan's intellectual past, Watsuji discovered writings by Dōgen that had been hidden away by the monk's own sect. Watsuji later penned Shamon Dōgen (Dōgen the monk), which single-handedly rescued Dōgen from the brink of obscurity, reintroducing Japan to its first great philosophical mind. This book is the first English translation of Watsuji's landmark text, which delves into the complexities of individuals in social relationships, lamenting the stark egoism and loneliness of life in an increasingly Westernized Japan. It considers the nature of faith and the role of responsibility in Watsuji's vision of Dōgen's Zen. It also examines the technical terms of Dōgen's philosophy and the role of written language in Dōgen's thought.Less
In 1223 the monk Dōgen Kigen (1200–1253) came to the conclusion that Japanese Buddhism had become hopelessly corrupt. He undertook a dangerous pilgrimage to China to bring back a purer form of Buddhism and went on to become one of the founders of Sōtō Zen. Seven hundred years later, the philosopher Watsuji Tetsurō (1889–1960) also saw corruption in the Buddhism of his day. In his search for Japan's intellectual past, Watsuji discovered writings by Dōgen that had been hidden away by the monk's own sect. Watsuji later penned Shamon Dōgen (Dōgen the monk), which single-handedly rescued Dōgen from the brink of obscurity, reintroducing Japan to its first great philosophical mind. This book is the first English translation of Watsuji's landmark text, which delves into the complexities of individuals in social relationships, lamenting the stark egoism and loneliness of life in an increasingly Westernized Japan. It considers the nature of faith and the role of responsibility in Watsuji's vision of Dōgen's Zen. It also examines the technical terms of Dōgen's philosophy and the role of written language in Dōgen's thought.
Steve Bein
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824835101
- eISBN:
- 9780824868505
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824835101.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Buddhism
This chapter discusses Dōgen's views about moral excellence. For Dōgen, dominating one's innate desires was a necessary condition for embodying the truth. Once innate desires have been conquered, ...
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This chapter discusses Dōgen's views about moral excellence. For Dōgen, dominating one's innate desires was a necessary condition for embodying the truth. Once innate desires have been conquered, even the tiny world within each of us can reveal a state of limitless freedom. Whereas Shinran simply preached the possibility of forgiving evil, Dōgen emphasized strong self-discipline through the precepts. Japanese Buddhism used the idea of “innate desires as buddhahood” to create a certain harmony between everyday practices and Buddhist ideals. Dōgen makes a distinction between the excellences of the clergy and the excellences of laypeople. This chapter also considers what Dōgen has to say about filial piety, absolute truth, and following Buddha's way.Less
This chapter discusses Dōgen's views about moral excellence. For Dōgen, dominating one's innate desires was a necessary condition for embodying the truth. Once innate desires have been conquered, even the tiny world within each of us can reveal a state of limitless freedom. Whereas Shinran simply preached the possibility of forgiving evil, Dōgen emphasized strong self-discipline through the precepts. Japanese Buddhism used the idea of “innate desires as buddhahood” to create a certain harmony between everyday practices and Buddhist ideals. Dōgen makes a distinction between the excellences of the clergy and the excellences of laypeople. This chapter also considers what Dōgen has to say about filial piety, absolute truth, and following Buddha's way.
