DOCSLIB.ORG

Śākyamuni Devotion in Early Medieval Japan and Japanese Buddhist Conceptions of History

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Śākyamuni Devotion in Early Medieval Japan and Japanese Buddhist Conceptions of History Returning to the Founder: Śākyamuni Devotion in Early Medieval Japan and Japanese Buddhist Conceptions of History Luke Noel Thompson Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2017 © 2017 Luke Noel Thompson All rights reserved ABSTRACT Returning to the Founder: Śākyamuni Devotion in Early Medieval Japan and Japanese Buddhist Conceptions of History Luke Noel Thompson This dissertation examines Japanese conceptions of and devotional attitudes toward Śākyamuni (the historical Buddha) during the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. It focuses in particular on a new interest in Śākyamuni that arose in the twelfth century, and argues that this interest was a response to two developments: the appearance of the belief that the world had entered Buddhism’s final age, and the increasingly acute sense that Japan existed at the periphery of the Buddhist world. These two developments evoked in some clerics a sense of distance from the origins of Buddhism and a feeling of helplessness since the final age was a time when soteriological progress was thought to be particularly difficult. Japanese Buddhists were thus faced with a problem: how to proceed given these disadvantageous circumstances? Some clerics found comfort in theories about the Buddha Amida’s ability to take humans away from this world to his pure land, while others turned instead to the Mahāyāna Buddhist idea that humans are born enlightened (and thus need not worry about their personal salvation after all). The monks and texts at the center of my research instead looked to Śākyamuni in an attempt to reconnect with the source of the Buddhist tradition, thereby countering the inevitable decline of Buddhism by linking themselves to, and in some cases recreating, the imagined golden age that Śākyamuni and his Indian environs represented. Table of Contents List of illustrations .……………………………..………………………………… iv Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………….. v Abbreviations ……………………………………………………………………. vii Introduction ………………………………………………………………………. 1 Chapter 1 Śākyamuni in Early Japanese Buddhism ……………………… 21 Śākyamuni-of-narrative: the hagiographical buddha ……………………... 26 Śākyamuni-of-doctrine: the eternal buddha ………………………………. 39 Changing views of history ………………………………………………… 51 The Śākyamuni of Seiryōji …………………………………………….….. 56 Śākyamuni in the Konjaku monogatari shū ……………………………..… 65 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 68 Chapter 2 Jōkei and the Hikekyō ……………………………………………. 70 The Hikekyō ……………………………………………………………….. 76 Previous scholarship on the Hikekyō ……………………………… 84 The influence of the Hikekyō on Jōkei’s conception of Śākyamuni: ties to the Buddhist past …………………………………… 86 Jōkei and Amida ……………………………………………………90 Aspects of the Hikekyō emphasized by Jōkei and what what this tells us about Jōkei’s conception of Śākyamuni ………… 97 Śākyamuni’s jātaka: Samdrareṇu (J. Hōkai) and his 500 vows .…. 98 Śākyamuni’s uniqueness: his character and position within the Buddhist pantheon and our relationship to him…………………101 i The influence of the Hikekyō on Jōkei’s conception of relics: ties to the present and the Buddhist future ………………………………… 107 Relics in the Hikekyō ……………………………………………… 108 Jōkei’s understanding of relics …………………………………… 114 Jōkei’s reading of the Hikekyō and that work’s influence on his understanding of the nature and soteriological role of relics ….. 118 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 124 Chapter 3 Hōkei, his 500 Vows and Śākyamuni as a daimyōjin: The Reception of the Hikekyō between the Tenth and Thirteenth Centuries …………………………………………… 128 Three different receptions of the Hikekyō ………………………… 131 Hōkai and his 500 vows …………………………………………………… 134 The Shaka nyorai gohyaku daigan (kyō) ………………………….. 135 The Shaka nyorai shaku …………………………………………… 144 Śākyamuni as a daimyōjin ………………………………………………… 150 Myōjin, myōjin, and daimyōjin ……………………………………. 153 Origin of the sixteen-character phrase ……………………………. 155 Relationship between buddhas and kami ………………………….. 161 Chūsei shinwa, Chūsei Nihongi …………………………………… 164 The rise of Pure Land Buddhism, and the turn to the other world … 169 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 173 Chapter 4 Vulture Peak in Japan: Importing the Sacred Past into the Defiled Present …………… 175 Vulture Peak: In India and in Japan ………………………………………. 182 Views of Vulture Peak and Śākyamuni as being elsewhere ……………… 187 Rebirth in Śākyamuni’s pure land ………………………………… 188 ii Views of Vulture Peak and Śākyamuni as being here in Japan …………… 197 Jōkei and Mt. Kasagi ……………………………………………… 199 Thirteen-tiered pagoda ……………………………………………. 200 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 208 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………….. 217 Works Cited ………………………………………………………….…………… 227 Appendices ………………………………………………………………………… 257 Appendix 1: Table of quotes from and references to the Hikekyō ………… 258 Appendix 2: Translation of Jōkei’s Gongu ryōzen kōshiki (1196) …………269 Appendix 3: Translation of Jōkei’s Kasagidera jūsanjūtō kuyō ganmon (1198) ………………………………………… 288 Appendix 4: Translation of Jōkei’s Tōshōdaiji Shaka nenbutsu gammon (1202) ……………………………………………… 295 Appendix 5: Translation of tale from Chūkōsen (by 1152) ……………… 304 iii List of Illustrations Manuscript of the Hikekyō, Shōsōin, Nara 139 Standing Śākyamuni statue , Bujōji, Kyoto Prefecture 192 Wooden box, Bujōji, Kyoto Prefecture 193 iv Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to Bernard Faure for his encouragement over the past eight years and for his many insights. Besides providing helpful comments specific to the content of this dissertation, he continuously reminded me through example to ask larger questions of the material. I am also greatly indebted to Michael Como, who spent countless hours helping me to clarify my arguments, structure the dissertation, and render my writing more comprehensible. I have discovered the potential tedium of such work during the past year-and-a-half of helping my own students with their writing, which only increases my gratitude for his efforts to teach me the art of clear thoughts and short sentences. Max Moerman has been very generous with his time and energies during my time at Columbia, kindly looking at my work at various stages and providing academic advice more generally despite having no institutional responsibility to do so. I would also like to thank David Lurie for his involvement at multiple stages of my studies, and Chün-fang Yü and Zhaohua Yang for their help, time, and support. In addition, Haruo Shirane helped me continue my studies in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures when familial circumstances made such continuation difficult. Mark Blum kindly agreed to be on my dissertation committee, and provided useful feedback to my musings very early on in the process. I would also like to thank Brian Ruppert for his encouragement and advice. In Japan Saitō Hideki of Bukkyō Daigaku generously set aside time to read through primary sources with me. Besides sponsoring me, he made every effort to make my stay in Kyoto comfortable and fruitful. Iyanaga Nobumi kindly included me in his seminar in v Tokyo in the summer of 2010 and later in Kyoto. He also provided feedback to many of my inchoate thoughts in person and later via e-mail. Michael Jamentz has been extremely generous with his time both during my stay in Japan and afterwards. Besides introducing me to various archives in the Kansai region and helping me to stumble through facsimiles there, he has been a sounding board for many of my ill-formed ideas. The Japan Foundation, Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (Columbia University), Weatherhead East Asian Institute (Columbia University), and taxpayers of the United State (though the Foreign Languages and Areas Studies Fellowship) all supported me financially during the dissertation period, as well as during my studies leading up to that period. I am incredibly grateful to these institutions. Finally, I would like to thank those in my immediate kinship network: my parents, my parents-in-law, my wife, and my two children. vi Abbreviations BGD Bukkyōgo daijiten 佛教語⼤辞典 DBZ Dainihon Bukkyō zensho ⼤⽇本仏教全書. DKJ Daikanwa jiten ⼤漢和辭典 GR Gunsho ruijū 群書類従 Iwanami BJ Iwanami Bukkyō jiten 岩波仏教辞典 JKS Jōkei kōshiki shū 貞慶講式集. JZ Jōdoshū zensho 浄⼟宗全書 KD Kōshiki dētabēsu. MD Mikkyō daijiten 密教⼤辞典 Mochizuki BD Bukkyō daijiten 佛教⼤辭典 (Mochizuki Shinkō 望⽉信亨, ed.) NBJ Nihon Bukkyōgo jiten ⽇本仏教語辞典 NDZ Nihon Daizōkyō ⽇本⼤蔵経 NKBT Nihon koten bungaku taikei ⽇本古典⽂学⼤系 NST Nihon shisō taikei ⽇本思想⼤系 Oda BD Bukkyō daijiten 佛教⼤辭典 (Oda Tokunō 織⽥得能, ed.) Ono BKD Bussho kaisetsu daijiten 佛書解説⼤辭典 SBD Sōgō Bukkyō daijiten 総合佛教⼤辞典 SNKBT Shin Nihon koten bungaku taikei 新⽇本古典⽂学⼤系 SSS Shinshū shiryō shūsei 真宗史料集成 ST Shintō taikei 神道⼤系 T Taishō shinshū daizōkyō ⼤正新修⼤蔵經 TZ Taishō shinshū daizōkyō zuzō ⼤正新修⼤蔵経図像 (last 15 vols. of Taishō shinshū daizōkyō. Numbered 1–15) Ui BJ Bukkyō jiten 佛教辭典. Ui Hakuju 宇井伯壽, ed. ZGR Zoku gunsho ruijū 続群書類従 ZZGR Zoku zoku gunsho ruijū 続々群書類従 vii Introduction This dissertation examines Japanese conceptions of and devotional attitudes toward Śākyamuni (the historical Buddha) during the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. It focuses in particular on a new interest in Śākyamuni that arose in the twelfth century, and argues that this interest was a response to two developments: the appearance of the belief that the world had entered Buddhism’s final age, and the increasingly acute sense that Japan existed at the periphery of the Buddhist
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Jichihan and the Restoration and Innovation of Buddhist Practice
    Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 1999 26/1-2 Jichihan and the Restoration and Innovation of Buddhist Practice Marc Buijnsters The various developments in doctrinal thought and practice during the Insei and Kamakura periods remain one of the most intensively researched fields in the study of Japanese Buddhism. Two of these developments con­ cern the attempts to restore the observance of traditional Buddhist ethics, and the problem of how Pure La n d tenets could be inserted into the esoteric teaching. A pivotal role in both developments has been attributed to the late-Heian monk Jichihan, who was lauded by the renowned Kegon scholar- monk Gydnen as “the restorer of the traditional precepts ” and patriarch of Japanese Pure La n d Buddhism.，’ At first glance, available sources such as Jichihan’s biograpmes hardly seem to justify these praises. Several newly discovered texts and a more extensive use of various historical sources, however, should make it possible to provide us with a much more accurate and complete picture of Jichihan’s contribution to the restoration and innovation of Buddhist practice. Keywords: Jichihan — esoteric Pure Land thousfht — Buddhist reform — Buddhist precepts As was n o t unusual in the late Heian period, the retired Regent- Chancellor Fujiwara no Tadazane 藤 原 忠 実 （1078-1162) renounced the world at the age of sixty-three and received his first Buddnist ordi­ nation, thus entering religious life. At tms ceremony the priest Jichi­ han officiated as Teacher of the Precepts (kaishi 戒自帀；Kofukuji ryaku 興福寺略年代記，Hoen 6/10/2). Fujiwara no Yorinaga 藤原頼長 (1120-11^)0), Tadazane^ son who was to be remembered as “Ih e Wicked Minister of the Left” for his role in the Hogen Insurrection (115bハ occasionally mentions in his diary that he had the same Jichi­ han perform esoteric rituals in order to recover from a chronic ill­ ness, achieve longevity，and extinguish his sins (Taiki 台gd Koji 1/8/6， 2/2/22; Ten，y6 1/6/10).
    [Show full text]
  • Speech by Ōno Genmyō, Head Priest of the Horyu-Ji Temple “Shōtoku Taishi and Horyu-Ji” (October 20, 2018, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo)
    Speech by Ōno Genmyō, Head Priest of the Horyu-ji Temple “Shōtoku Taishi and Horyu-ji” (October 20, 2018, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo) MC Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today. The town of Ikaruga, where the Horyu-ji Temple is located, is very conveniently located: just 10 minutes by JR from Nara, 20 minutes from Tennoji in Osaka, and 80 minutes from Kyoto. This historical area is home to sites that include the Horyu-ji , the Horin-ji, the Hkki-ji, the Chugu- ji, and the Fujinoki Kofun tumulus. The Reverend Mr. Ōno will be speaking with us today in detail about the Horyu-ji, which was founded in 607 by Shotoku Taishi, Prince Shotoku, a member of the imperial family. As it is home to the oldest wooden building in the world, it was the first site in Japan to be registered as a World Heritage property. However, its attractions go beyond the buildings. While Kyoto temples are famous for their gardens, Nara’s attractions are, more than anything, its Buddhist sculptures. The Horyu-ji is home to some of Japan’s most noted Buddhist statues, including the Shaka Sanzon [Shaka Triad of Buddha and Two Bosatsu], the Kudara Kannon, Yakushi Nyorai, and Kuse Kannon. Prince Shotoku was featured on the 10,000 yen bill until 1986, so there may even be people overseas who know of him. Shotoku was the creator of Japan’s first laws and bureaucratic system, a proponent of relations with China, and incorporated Buddhism into politics. Reverend Ōno, if you would be so kind.
    [Show full text]
  • Korea and Vietnam: Limited War and the American Political System
    Korea and Vietnam: Limited War and the American Political System By Larry Elowitz A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 1972 To Sharon ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to express his very deep appreciation to Dr. John W. Spanier for his valuable advice on style and structure. His helpful suggestions were evident throughout the entire process of writing this dissertation. Without his able supervision, the ultimate completion of this work would have been ex- ceedingly difficult. The author would also like to thank his wife, Sharon, whose patience and understanding during the writing were of great comfort. Her "hovering presence," for the "second" time, proved to be a valuable spur to the author's research and writing. She too, has made the completion of this work possible. The constructive criticism and encouragement the author has received have undoubtedly improved the final product. Any shortcomings are, of course, the fault of the author. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF TABLES viii ABSTRACT xii CHAPTER 1 THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM AND LIMITED WAR 1 Introduction 1 American Attitudes 6 Analytical Framework 10 Variables and Their Implications 15 2 PROLOGUE--A COMPARISON OF THE STAKES IN THE KOREAN AND VIETNAM WARS 22 The External Stakes 22 The Two Wars: The Specific Stakes. 25 The Domino Theory 29 The Internal Stakes 32 The Loss of China Syndrome: The Domestic Legacy for the Korean and Vietnam Wars 32 The Internal Stakes and the Eruption of the Korean War 37 Vietnam Shall Not be Lost: The China Legacy Lingers 40 The Kennedy and Johnson Administra- tions: The Internal Stakes Persist .
    [Show full text]
  • UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Producing Place, Tradition and the Gods: Mt. Togakushi, Thirteenth through Mid-Nineteenth Centuries Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/90w6w5wz Author Carter, Caleb Swift Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Producing Place, Tradition and the Gods: Mt. Togakushi, Thirteenth through Mid-Nineteenth Centuries A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures by Caleb Swift Carter 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Producing Place, Tradition and the Gods: Mt. Togakushi, Thirteenth through Mid-Nineteenth Centuries by Caleb Swift Carter Doctor of Philosophy in Asian Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor William M. Bodiford, Chair This dissertation considers two intersecting aspects of premodern Japanese religions: the development of mountain-based religious systems and the formation of numinous sites. The first aspect focuses in particular on the historical emergence of a mountain religious school in Japan known as Shugendō. While previous scholarship often categorizes Shugendō as a form of folk religion, this designation tends to situate the school in overly broad terms that neglect its historical and regional stages of formation. In contrast, this project examines Shugendō through the investigation of a single site. Through a close reading of textual, epigraphical, and visual sources from Mt. Togakushi (in present-day Nagano Ken), I trace the development of Shugendō and other religious trends from roughly the thirteenth through mid-nineteenth centuries. This study further differs from previous research insofar as it analyzes Shugendō as a concrete system of practices, doctrines, members, institutions, and identities.
    [Show full text]
  • Tourists in Paradise Writing the Pure Land in Medieval Japanese Fiction
    Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 33/2: 269–296 © 2006 Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture R. Keller Kimbrough Tourists in Paradise Writing the Pure Land in Medieval Japanese Fiction Late-medieval Japanese fiction contains numerous accounts of lay and monastic travelers to the Pure Land and other extra-human realms. In many cases, the “tourists” are granted guided tours, after which they are returned to the mun- dane world in order to tell of their unusual experiences. This article explores several of these stories from around the sixteenth century, including, most prominently, Fuji no hitoana sōshi, Tengu no dairi, and a section of Seiganji engi. I discuss the plots and conventions of these and other narratives, most of which appear to be based upon earlier oral tales employed in preaching and fund-raising, in order to illuminate their implications for our understanding of Pure Land-oriented Buddhism in late-medieval Japan. I also seek to demon- strate the diversity and subjectivity of Pure Land religious experience, and the sometimes startling gap between orthodox doctrinal and popular vernacular representations of Pure Land practices and beliefs. keywords: otogizōshi – jisha engi – shaji engi – Fuji no hitoana sōshi – Bishamon no honji – Tengu no dairi – Seiganji engi – hell – travel R. Keller Kimbrough is an assistant professor of Japanese Literature at the University of Colorado at Boulder. 269 ccording to an anonymous work of fifteenth- or early sixteenth- century Japanese fiction by the name of Chōhōji yomigaeri no sōshi 長宝 寺よみがへりの草紙 [Back from the dead at Chōhōji Temple], the Japa- Anese Buddhist nun Keishin dropped dead on the sixth day of the sixth month of Eikyō 11 (1439), made her way to the court of King Enma, ruler of the under- world, and there received the King’s personal religious instruction and a trau- matic tour of hell.
    [Show full text]
  • Kofun Period: Research Trends 20111 Higashikage Yū2
    Kofun Period: Research Trends 20111 Higashikage Yū2 Introduction Kofun period research in the 2011 Fiscal Year was conducted in wide-ranging fashion. In particular, the publication of overviews and comprehensive treatments was rich, and new perspectives were presented alongside syntheses of Kofun period research to date. There was also active research on individual types of artifacts, and based on various regional perspectives. 1. General treatments Shiraishi Taiichirō’s Kofun to Kofun jidai no bunka (Tombs and the Culture of the Kofun Period) is a compilation of previously published articles, which touches not only on the political but also the cultural aspects of the tombs.3 Tsude Hiroshi’s Kodai kokka wa itsu seiritsu shita ka (When Did the Ancient State Emerge?) is a new development of his previously stated arguments for the Kofun period and the early state, and incorporates the results of research of recent years. 4 In a special issue edited by Hirose Kazuo of Kikan kōgaku (Archaeological Quarterly) on the theme of “Looking Systematically at the Kofun Period,” a wide range of perspectives are presented for examining the Kofun period, including not only views from within Japan but also those based in China and the Korean peninsula, as 1 [Trends in Japanese Archaeological Research, 2011, is a partial translation of “Nihon kōkogaku kenkyū no dōkō” 日本考古学研究の動向, in Nihon kōkogaku nenpō 64 (2011 nendoban) 日本考古学年報 64(2011 年度版） [Archaeologia Japonica 64 (2011 Fiscal Year Issue)] (Nihon Kōkogaku Kyōkai, 2013), pp. 1-65. This essay appears on pp. 40-46, under the Japanese title “Kofun jidai kenkyū no dōkō” 古墳 時代研究の動向.
    [Show full text]
  • THE RELIGIOUS and SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE of CHENREZIG in VAJRĀYANA BUDDHISM – a Study of Select Tibetan Thangkas
    SSamaama HHaqaq National Museum Institute, of History of Art, Conservation and Museology, New Delhi THE RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF CHENREZIG IN VAJRĀYANA BUDDHISM – A Study of Select Tibetan Thangkas INTRODUCTION he tradition of thangkas has earned itself the merit of pioneering Tibetan art in the 21st century. The purpose behind the effulgent images Tis not to simply lure worshippers with their exuberant colours and designs; it also follows an intricate system of iconometric and iconologic principles in order to beseech the benefaction of a particular deity. As a result, a thangka is worshipped as a didactic ‘visual aid’ for Tibetan Buddhist reli- gious practices. Tracing the origin of the artistic and socio-cultural practices behind a thangka recreates a texture of Central Asian and Indian influences. The origin of ceremonial banners used all across Central Asia depicts a similar practice and philosophy. Yet, a close affinity can also be traced to the Indian art of paṭa painting, which was still prevalent around the eastern province of India around the Pala period.1) This present paper discusses the tradition of thangka painting as a medium for visualisation and a means to meditate upon the principal deity. The word thangka is a compound of two words – than, which is a flat surface and gka, which means a painting. Thus, a thangka represents a painting on a flat sur- 1) Tucci (1999: 271) “Pata, maṇḍala and painted representation of the lives of the saints, for the use of storytellers and of guides to holy places, are the threefold origin of Tibetan tankas”.
    [Show full text]
  • Representations of Pleasure and Worship in Sankei Mandara Talia J
    Mapping Sacred Spaces: Representations of Pleasure and Worship in Sankei mandara Talia J. Andrei Submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Columbia University 2016 © 2016 Talia J.Andrei All rights reserved Abstract Mapping Sacred Spaces: Representations of Pleasure and Worship in Sankei Mandara Talia J. Andrei This dissertation examines the historical and artistic circumstances behind the emergence in late medieval Japan of a short-lived genre of painting referred to as sankei mandara (pilgrimage mandalas). The paintings are large-scale topographical depictions of sacred sites and served as promotional material for temples and shrines in need of financial support to encourage pilgrimage, offering travelers worldly and spiritual benefits while inspiring them to donate liberally. Itinerant monks and nuns used the mandara in recitation performances (etoki) to lead audiences on virtual pilgrimages, decoding the pictorial clues and touting the benefits of the site shown. Addressing themselves to the newly risen commoner class following the collapse of the aristocratic order, sankei mandara depict commoners in the role of patron and pilgrim, the first instance of them being portrayed this way, alongside warriors and aristocrats as they make their way to the sites, enjoying the local delights, and worship on the sacred grounds. Together with the novel subject material, a new artistic language was created— schematic, colorful and bold. We begin by locating sankei mandara’s artistic roots and influences and then proceed to investigate the individual mandara devoted to three sacred sites: Mt. Fuji, Kiyomizudera and Ise Shrine (a sacred mountain, temple and shrine, respectively).
    [Show full text]
  • Bridging Worlds: Buddhist Women's Voices Across Generations
    BRIDGING WORLDS Buddhist Women’s Voices Across Generations EDITED BY Karma Lekshe Tsomo First Edition: Yuan Chuan Press 2004 Second Edition: Sakyadhita 2018 Copyright © 2018 Karma Lekshe Tsomo All rights reserved No part of this book may not be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage or retreival system, without the prior written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations. Cover Illustration, "Woman on Bridge" © 1982 Shig Hiu Wan. All rights reserved. "Buddha" calligraphy ©1978 Il Ta Sunim. All rights reserved. Chapter Illustrations © 2012 Dr. Helen H. Hu. All rights reserved. Book design and layout by Lillian Barnes Bridging Worlds Buddhist Women’s Voices Across Generations EDITED BY Karma Lekshe Tsomo 7th Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women With a Message from His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama SAKYADHITA | HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I iv | Bridging Worlds Contents | v CONTENTS MESSAGE His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii INTRODUCTION 1 Karma Lekshe Tsomo UNDERSTANDING BUDDHIST WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD Thus Have I Heard: The Emerging Female Voice in Buddhism Tenzin Palmo 21 Sakyadhita: Empowering the Daughters of the Buddha Thea Mohr 27 Buddhist Women of Bhutan Tenzin Dadon (Sonam Wangmo) 43 Buddhist Laywomen of Nepal Nivedita Kumari Mishra 45 Himalayan Buddhist Nuns Pacha Lobzang Chhodon 59 Great Women Practitioners of Buddhadharma: Inspiration in Modern Times Sherab Sangmo 63 Buddhist Nuns of Vietnam Thich Nu Dien Van Hue 67 A Survey of the Bhikkhunī Saṅgha in Vietnam Thich Nu Dong Anh (Nguyen Thi Kim Loan) 71 Nuns of the Mendicant Tradition in Vietnam Thich Nu Tri Lien (Nguyen Thi Tuyet) 77 vi | Bridging Worlds UNDERSTANDING BUDDHIST WOMEN OF TAIWAN Buddhist Women in Taiwan Chuandao Shih 85 A Perspective on Buddhist Women in Taiwan Yikong Shi 91 The Inspiration ofVen.
    [Show full text]
  • Devotion in Buddhism
    DEVOTION IN BUDDHISM BY ANANDA METTEYA (ALLAN BENNETT) A<A< www.astrumargenteum.org DEVOTION IN BUDDHISM There are few circumstances more surprising to the student of comparative religion than the fact that, in the pure Buddhism of the Theravāda, which constitutes the national religion of Burma, he finds exhibited, both in the scriptural sources of the religion, and in the lives of the people who follow it, an all pervading spirit of intense devotion -a spirit of loving adoration, directed to The Buddha, His Teaching and His Brotherhood of Monks, such as is hardly to be equaled, and certainly not to be excelled, in any of the world's theistic creeds. To one, especially, who has been brought up in the modern western environment, this earnest devotion, this spirit of adoration, seems almost the last feature he would expect to find in a religion so intellectually and so logically sound as this our Buddhist faith. He has been accustomed to regard this deep emotion of adoration, as the peculiar prerogative of the Godhead of whatever forms of religion he has studied. So to find it in so marked a degree, in so predominant a measure, in a creed from which all concept of an animistic Deity is absent, appears as well-nigh the most remarkable, as it was the most unexpected feature, of the many strange and novel characteristics of this altogether unique form of religious teaching. That trusting worship, that self abnegating spirit of devotion in which, in the rest of the great world-religions, the devotee loses himself in thoughts of the glory, power and love of the Supreme Being of whom they teach, so far from being absent here, whence all thought of such a Being is banished, actually exists in a most superlative degree.
    [Show full text]
  • Central Asia in Xuanzang's Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western
    Recording the West: Central Asia in Xuanzang’s Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions Master’s Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master Arts in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Laura Pearce Graduate Program in East Asian Studies Ohio State University 2018 Committee: Morgan Liu (Advisor), Ying Zhang, and Mark Bender Copyrighted by Laura Elizabeth Pearce 2018 Abstract In 626 C.E., the Buddhist monk Xuanzang left the Tang Empire for India in a quest to deepen his religious understanding. In order to reach India, and in order to return, Xuanzang journeyed through areas in what is now called Central Asia. After he came home to China in 645 C.E., his work included writing an account of the countries he had visited: The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions (Da Tang Xi You Ji 大唐西域記). The book is not a narrative travelogue, but rather presented as a collection of facts about the various countries he visited. Nevertheless, the Record is full of moral judgments, both stated and implied. Xuanzang’s judgment was frequently connected both to his Buddhist beliefs and a conviction that China represented the pinnacle of culture and good governance. Xuanzang’s portrayal of Central Asia at a crucial time when the Tang Empire was expanding westward is both inclusive and marginalizing, shaped by the overall framing of Central Asia in the Record and by the selection of local legends from individual nations. The tension in the Record between Buddhist concerns and secular political ones, and between an inclusive worldview and one centered on certain locations, creates an approach to Central Asia unlike that of many similar sources.
    [Show full text]
  • Powerful Warriors and Influential Clergy Interaction and Conflict Between the Kamakura Bakufu and Religious Institutions
    UNIVERSITY OF HAWAllllBRARI Powerful Warriors and Influential Clergy Interaction and Conflict between the Kamakura Bakufu and Religious Institutions A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI'I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN HISTORY MAY 2003 By Roy Ron Dissertation Committee: H. Paul Varley, Chairperson George J. Tanabe, Jr. Edward Davis Sharon A. Minichiello Robert Huey ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing a doctoral dissertation is quite an endeavor. What makes this endeavor possible is advice and support we get from teachers, friends, and family. The five members of my doctoral committee deserve many thanks for their patience and support. Special thanks go to Professor George Tanabe for stimulating discussions on Kamakura Buddhism, and at times, on human nature. But as every doctoral candidate knows, it is the doctoral advisor who is most influential. In that respect, I was truly fortunate to have Professor Paul Varley as my advisor. His sharp scholarly criticism was wonderfully balanced by his kindness and continuous support. I can only wish others have such an advisor. Professors Fred Notehelfer and Will Bodiford at UCLA, and Jeffrey Mass at Stanford, greatly influenced my development as a scholar. Professor Mass, who first introduced me to the complex world of medieval documents and Kamakura institutions, continued to encourage me until shortly before his untimely death. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to them. In Japan, I would like to extend my appreciation and gratitude to Professors Imai Masaharu and Hayashi Yuzuru for their time, patience, and most valuable guidance.
    [Show full text]