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April-June 2008, Volume 35(PDF) Cover: Nikkosan Chuzenji, one of the April-June 2008 Vol. 35 paintings by Josaku Maeda (1926-2007), depicting more than a hundred of the sa­ cred places in Japan associated with the bodhisattva Kannon. Maeda was a noted DHARMA WORLD artist well known for his modern man­ for Living Buddhism and Interfaith Dialogue dalic paintings and served as president of the Musashino Art University, Tokyo. The series of his paintings of Kannan were in­ spired by his pilgrimages to the temples CONTENTS on the Saigoku, Bando, and Chichibu cir­ cuits of Kannan sites. Acrylic on canvas. 130 x 80.3 cm. Photo: Kazuhiro Komuro. The Many Forms of the Bodhisattva Kuan-yin Courtesy of Yamagen Co., Ltd. One by One, Becoming a Hand on the Thousand-Armed Kannon by Yoshiko Izumida 3 ill, The Compassion and Wisdom of Kuan-yin by Gene Reeves 4 :1: Kuan-yin Devotion in China by Chiin-fang Yii 9 The Many Forms and Functions of Kannon in Japanese Religion and Culture DHARMA WORLD presents Buddhism as a by Mark R. Mullins 13 practical living religion and promotes in- terreligious dialogue for world peace. It "Deeply Female and Universally Human": espouses views that emphasize the dignity The Rise of Kuan-yin Worship in America by Jeff Wilson 21 of life, seeks to rediscover our inner na- ture and bring our lives more in accord Kuan-yin Devotion in China 9 Becoming One with Kann on, the Bodhisattva of Compassion with it, and investigates causes of human by Yasuaki Nara 29 suffering. It tries to show how religious principles help solve problems in daily life Mindfully Invoking Kannon's Power by Ryokan Ara 31 and how the least application of such ~ ] principles has wholesome effects on the Kannon's Compassion: The Thinking of Rev. Nikkyo Niwano world around us. It seeks to demonstrate & by Michio T. Shinozaki 33 truths that are fundamental to all religions. Essays Mindfully Invoking Kannon's Power 31 The Dancing Gods of Mount Chokai: The May Festivals ofWarabioka and Fukura by Gaynor Sekimori 38 Publisher: Yukio Yokota Director: Akitaka Tsumuraya "Until ... the Morning Star Rises in Your Hearts" Senior Editor: Koichiro Yoshida by Notto R. The/le 45 Editor: Kazumasa Osaka Editorial Advisors: Reflections Gene Reeves, Yoshiaki Sanada, Michio T. Daily Prayers, Daily Reverence by Nichiko Niwano 43 Shinozaki Copy Editors: Lotus Sutra: A Modern Commentary (93) Stephen Comee, William Feuillan The Threefold Editorial Staff: The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law Chapter 13: Exhortation to Hold Firm (2) Toshihiko Nishina, Katsuyuki Kikuchi The Dancing Gods of Subscription Staff: Kazuyo Okazaki Mount Chokai 38 by Nikkyo Niwano 46 DHARMA WORLD is published quarterly by Kasei Publishing Company, 2-7-1 Wada, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 166-8535. E-mail: [email protected] Copyright © 2008 by Kasei Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Printed in Japan by Komiyama Printing Company. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please provide both old and new addresses. Six weeks' advance notice is requested. Requests for permission to reprint all or part of any article in this issue must be made in writing to the editor ofDHARMA WORLD. DHARMA WORLD is published in cooperation with the lay Buddhist association Rissho Kosei-kai. Rissho Kosei-kai wel­ comes access from readers of DHARMA WORLD to its English-language website, which provides up-to-date information about current events and activities of the organization. Anyone interested can browse it by accessing the URL: http:/ /www.rk-world.org/ Readers can also learn about the organization directly from the branches, liaison offices, and sister organizations at the addresses listed below. Rissho Kose:i-ka:i Geneve Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Church of Hawaii Risho Kossei-kai do Brasil 1-5 route des Morillons 2280 Auhuhu Street, Pearl City, HI 96782 Rua Dr. Jose Estefno 40, Vila Mariana P.O. Box 2100, CH-1211, Geneva 2, Switzerland U.S.A. Sao Paulo-SP, CEP 04116-060, Brasil Tel: 41-22-791-6261 Fax: 41-22-710-2053 Tel: 1-808-455-3212 Fax: 1-808-455-4633 Tel: 55-11-5549-4446 Fax: 55-11-5549-4304 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.rkhawaii.org www.rkk.org.br Rissho Kosei-kai of New York Rissho Kosei-kai Maui Dharma Center 320 East 39th Street Rissho Kosei-kai 1817 Nani Street of Taipei, Taiwan New York, NY 10016, U.S.A. 4F, No. 10 Hengyang Road Tel: 1-212-867-5677 Fax: 1-212-697-6499 Wailuku, Maui, HI 96793, U.S.A. Tel: 1-808-242-6175 Fax: 1-808-244-4265 Jhongjheng District [email protected] Taipei City 100, Taiwan R.O.C. Tel: 886-2-2381-1632 Fax: 886-2-2331-3433 Rissho Kosei-kai Kona Branch Rissho Kosei-kai of Chicago 73-4592 Mamalahoa Highway 1 West Euclid Avenue Kailua, Kona, HI 96750, U.S.A. Mt. Prospect, IL 60056, U.S.A. Rissho Kosei-kai of Tainan, Taiwan Tel & Fax: 1-808-325-0015 Tel & Fax: 1-847-394-0809 No. 45, Chongming 23rd Street [email protected] East District, Tainan City, 701 Rissho Kosei-kai of Hong Kong Taiwan R.O.C. Flat D, 5/F, Kiu Hing Mansion, 14 King's Road Tel: 886-6-289-1478 Fax: 886-6-289-1488 Rissho Kosei-kai of San Francisco North Point, Hong Kong, China 1031 Valencia Way, Pacifica, CA 94044, U.S.A. Tel: 852-2-369-1836 Fax: 852-2-368-3730 Tel: 1-650-359-6951 Fax: 1-650-359-5569 Rissho Kosei-kai of Pingtung, Taiwan [email protected] Rissho Kosei-kai of Bangkok No. 4, Lane 60, Minquan Road, Pingtung City Thai Rissho Friendship Foundation Pingtung County 900, Taiwan R.O.C. Tel: 886-8-734-1241 Fax: 886-8-733-0774 Rissho Kosei-kai of Seattle's 201 Soi 15/1, Praram 9 Road, Bangkapi Buddhist Learning Center Huaykhwang, Bangkok 10310, Thailand Tel: 66-2-716-8141 Fax: 66-2-716-8218 28621 Pacific Highway South Rissho Kosei-kai of Mongolia [email protected] Federal Way, WA 98003, U.S.A. 39A Apartment, Room Number 13 Tel: 1-253-945-0024 Fax: 1-253-945-0261 Olympic Street, Khanuul District [email protected] Rissho Kosei-kai of Kathmandu Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Ward No. 3, Jhamsikhel, Sanepa-1, Lalitpur Tel & Fax: 976-11-318667 Kathmandu, Nepal Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Church of [email protected] Tel: 977-1-552-9464 Fax: 977-1-553-9832 Los Angeles [email protected] 2707 East First Street Rissho Kosei-kai of Sakhalin Los Angeles, CA 90033, U.S.A. 1-72 Amyrskaya Street, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Tel: 1-323-269-4741 Fax: 1-323-269-4567 Rissho Kosei-kai of Colombo 693000, Russian Federation [email protected] No. 18, Anura Mawatha, Off Anderson Road Tel & Fax: 7-4242-43-78-56 www.rk-la.com Kalubowila, Dehiwala, Sri Lanka Tel: 94-11-2763035 Fax: 94-11-4205632 [email protected] Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Church of Korean Rissho Kosei-kai 423, Han-nam-dong, Young-san-ku San Antonio Rissho Kosei-kai of Delhi Seoul, Republic of Korea 6083 Babcock Road Delhi Dharma Center Tel: 82-2-796-5571 Fax: 82-2-796-1696 San Antonio, TX 78240, U.S.A. B-117 (Top & Basement Floors), Kalkaji krkkl [email protected] Tel: 1-210-561-7991 Fax: 1-210-696-7745 NewDelhi-110019, India [email protected] Tel: 91-11-2623-5060 Fax: 91-11-2685-5713 [email protected] International Buddhist Congregation Rissho Kosei-kai ofDharma Center of Oklahoma of Rissho Kosei-kai 2745 N.W. 40th Street Rissho Kosei-kai of Bangladesh SF, Fumon Hall, 2-6-1 Wada, Suginami-ku Oklahoma City, OK 73112, U.S.A. 79 Chanmari Road, Lalkhan Bazar Tokyo 166-0012, Japan Tel & Fax: 1-405-943-5030 Chittagong, Bangladesh Tel: 81-3-5341-1230 Fax: 81-3-5341-1224 [email protected] Tel: 880-31-2850238 [email protected] www.rkok-dharmacenter.org [email protected] www.ibc-rk.org 2 DHARMA WORLD One by One, Becoming a Hand on the Thousand-Armed Kannan by Yoshiko Izumida he bodhisattva Kannon has been known for a long perfect one's character, the pairs "philosophy and life," time, not only to members of the various sects of "thought and personal experience," and "theory and actual­ TBuddhism, but also to the many Japanese who are ity" should each be combined. I began to study the Lotus not religious. I would even say there are almost no Japanese Sutra because I found the interpretation of the Lotus Sutra who have not seen an Eleven-Headed Kannon statue or a by our founder, Rev. Nikkyo Niwano, to be similar to the Thousand-Armed Kannon statue. beliefs of Froebel. Furthermore, I have heard that the bodhisattva Kannon Later I was appointed the head of a school for girls whose is widely familiar to foreigners as well. Through pictures of teaching was based on the spirit of the Lotus Sutra. While Buddhist statues and paintings, Kannon, who is portrayed performing those duties, I was invited to become involved as female rather than male, is apparently viewed as a sym­ in the activities of the Women's Committee of the Japanese bol of tolerance and maternal, feminine tenderness. As seen Committee of the World Conference of Religions for Peace. in the worship of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Catholicism as So not only am I studying the doctrine of the Lotus Sutra, I well, the tasks of women-giving birth, raising children, have also become involved in practical activity.
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