A Synopsis of Zen

Religious Studies Review, 2006

ritual place), to major citywide events like the Sakae festival, offer people "culturally significant ways of constructing meaning and power." Kawano provides a wealth of evidence that this is, in fact, the case. What is less successful is her theoretical perspective. When she tries to explain how rituals have the power to produce "engaging moments of personal significance," she is far from clear about how they preserve a "spiritual" way of experiencing the world that is somehow different from "secularism." Perhaps her problem lies in these terms, so freighted with Western baggage that they get in the way of understanding her larger pointshow Japanese religiosity is somehow distinctive in its practices and how it has persisted despite the dramatic changes of modernity, albeit in dynamically new guises.

A Thousand Cranes: Treasures of Japanese Art, 1987

Chronicle Books. Edited by Seattle Art Museum. ISBN ‏978-0877014614

Buddhism was first introduced to Japan in the sixth century C.E. and by the end of the thirteenth century all the major sects that now exist had been established. This essay traces the origins of the major Japanese sects and the circumstances of their foundation, as well as introducing some of the most significant of the many different Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

2nd graph of published article can work as abstract: In addition to domestic forces, cross-cultural influences shaped ideas, practices, and views of Buddhism. Ambiguities in the title of this article are intended to reflect both how influences from beyond Japan, such as Western scholarship about Buddhism and interest in the Theravāda tradition, expanded notions of Buddhism in Japan and how Japanese Buddhists in turn exerted influence beyond their nation by reforming the representation of their tradition abroad. In order to illustrate both directions of influence and types of expansion, I will make reference to Kiyozawa Manshi and Shaku Sōen. There are significant differences between these well-known Meiji Buddhist figures, but each exemplifies a keen awareness of religious and intellectual movements beyond Japan—of both other schools of Buddhism and Western traditions—and each forges rhetorical links between science and Buddhism in order to propel Japanese Buddhism through the tumultuous cross-cultural currents of the Meiji era.

Based on the premise that there is no single and homogeneous Japanese Buddhism but a multifaceted religious tradition resulting from a long history of adaptations and cross-cultural interactions, this chapter explores some aspects of Buddhism in Japan, including Buddhism-based new religious movements, in connection to the challenges of contemporary society. These include the structure of today’s temples in terms of membership and activities, issues of politics and social engagement closely linked to the role of Buddhism in the public sphere, the innovative ways through which Buddhist institutions are reacting to a deeply mediatized society, and overseas developments. Before proceeding to the contemporary period, the chapter provides a brief overview of the historical developments of Buddhism from its inception to the postwar period.

2013

Author(s): Lazopoulos, George | Advisor(s): Barshay, Andrew E | Abstract: This dissertation is a critical history of Buddhist thought in Japan from 1868 to 1931. During this time, many intellectuals became fascinated with the Buddhism of Japan's medieval period. Some saw it as a form of religious experience that could overcome the modern problem of alienated existence. Others declared that the cultural history of medieval Japanese Buddhism held the essence of Japanese cultural authenticity. These philosophical and historical interpretations of Buddhism together constituted a modern cultural discourse that I call Japanese Medievalism: a romantic vision of medieval Japan as a world of Buddhist spirituality. This dissertation traces the evolution of Japanese Medievalism, reconstructs its main arguments, and examines its ideological significance as a cultural artifact of modern Japan. Japanese Medievalism had an ambiguous ideological function. On the one hand, it was a religious rev...

Focusing upon the cultural milieu of East Asia, this special issue aims to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the prevailing views on the history and philosophy of Buddhism in East Asian regions, especially concentrating upon its developments in China and Japan.

Religious Studies Review, 2011