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Japanese Buddhism Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice – “Funeral Buddhism” – “Community Buddhism” – Pilgrimage

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Page 1: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Japanese Buddhism

Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice – “Funeral Buddhism”

– “Community Buddhism”

– Pilgrimage

Page 2: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

“Community Buddhism”

Annual festivals at local temples– Often relating to local history or the temple’s

history• Takeda Shingen festival, Yamanashi• Taima festival at Taimadera

– Local commemorations of common tradition• eg. O-bon festival

Page 3: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage

Acting out the Buddhist path Aimed at spiritual reassurance Most famous; the Shikoku pilgrimage Most often undertaken by the elderly Other pilgrimages:

– related to Kannon, for example

Page 4: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

The Shikoku Pilgrimage

Page 5: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

The Shikoku Pilgrimage

Page 6: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Practice over doctrine

Practice matters most; always has Many schools/sects of Buddhism

– Differences in practice small

Most people have a formal affiliation with a temple (those statistics), but– Often they don’t know which temple or– What sect it belongs to

Page 7: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Goals of Japanese Buddhism

Care for ancestors A good life after death This-worldly benefits

– Health– Safety– Prosperity

Page 8: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Japanese Conceptionsof the Netherworld

Reincarnation and the six realms– Gods– Humans– Asuras– Animals/beasts– Hungry ghosts– Hell dwellers

Post-death rituals aimed at ensuring the departed moves on

Page 9: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Rise of Japanese Buddhism

Entered Japan ca. 1st-3rd centuries CE from the Asian mainland– Not a unified state, no writing system– As today, Buddhism well mixed with

• Daoism

• Yin-yang belief

• Geomancy (directional taboos)

• Confucianism

Page 10: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

“Formal Introduction” of Japanese Buddhism

Mid 500s, letter from a Korean king to a Japanese emperor

The emperor embraced it but his courtiers resisted it– They feared their prestige would be reduced

Page 11: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

First Buddhist institutions

ca. 600-1000 CE Mainly monasteries Patronized by aristocrats Served official functions

– Most important: state protection

Common people little served by these official institutions

Page 12: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Medieval Buddhism

True or false:Zen is the most popular kind of Buddhism in Japan

False. Zen comes in at number two Most popular: Pure Land

– Begins to develop about the year 1000– Focuses on Amida and posthumous birth into

his Pure Land (Pure Land = heaven)

Page 13: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Medieval Buddhism II

Zen comes to Japan from China about the year 1200

Embraced by the warriors who ruled Japan at the time

However, many warriors held on to older family beliefs and did not embrace Zen

Older schools also thrive, supported by landholdings donated over the years

Page 14: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Buddhism in Modern Japan

Buddhist temples separated from shrines (to kami, Japanese deities)

Buddhism suppressed for a time in the interest of national identity– Stripped of their landholdings– Temple destruction in some areas– Ultimately a failure

Page 15: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

New Religions

Two types:– Those begun by charismatic

leaders claiming special visions and insights•Tenri-kyō, Agon-shū

– Popular lay movements that grew out of older Buddhist institutions•Risshō Kōsei-kai, Soka Gakkai

Page 16: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Agon-shū Leader: Kiriyama Seiyū

Page 17: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Agon-shū Hoshi matsuri — goma ritual

Page 18: Japanese Buddhism  Some kinds of Japanese Buddhist practice –“Funeral Buddhism” –“Community Buddhism” –Pilgrimage

Conclusion

In Japan, the distant goal of awakening (enlightenment) was and is relatively not important

Buddhism in its Japanese form seeks– This-worldly benefits– Salvation in the next life

Visits to temple mostly occasional: a death in the family, festival, pilgrimage, in times of need