DOCSLIB.ORG

PACIFIC WORLD Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
PACIFIC WORLD Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies PACIFIC WORLD Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies Third Series Number 13 Fall 2011 SPECIAL SECTION: Recent Research on Esoteric Buddhism TITLE iii Pacific World is an annual journal in English devoted to the dissemination of his- torical, textual, critical, and interpretive articles on Buddhism generally and Shinshu Buddhism particularly to both academic and lay readerships. The journal is distributed free of charge. Articles for consideration by the Pacific World are welcomed and are to be submitted in English and addressed to the Editor, Pacific World, 2140 Durant Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704-1589, USA. Acknowledgment: This annual publication is made possible by the donation of BDK America of Berkeley, California. Guidelines for Authors: Manuscripts (approximately twenty standard pages) should be typed double-spaced with 1-inch margins. Notes are to be endnotes with full biblio- graphic information in the note first mentioning a work, i.e., no separate bibliography. See The Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition), University of Chicago Press, §16.3 ff. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all quotations and for supplying complete references. Please e-mail electronic version in both formatted and plain text, if possible. Manuscripts should be submitted by February 1st. Foreign words should be underlined and marked with proper diacriticals, except for the following: bodhisattva, buddha/Buddha, karma, nirvana, samsara, sangha, yoga. Romanized Chinese follows Pinyin system (except in special cases); romanized Japanese, the modified Hepburn system. Japanese/Chinese names are given surname first, omit- ting honorifics. Ideographs preferably should be restricted to notes. Editorial Committee reserves the right to standardize use of or omit diacriticals. Conventionalized English form of sutra title may be used if initially identified in original or full form in text or note. Editorial Committee reserves the right to edit all submis- sions. Upon request, page proofs may be reviewed by the author. Include institutional affiliation and position, or present status/occupation and place. All manuscripts submitted for publication become the property of Pacific World. By agreeing to publication in the Pacific World, authors give the journal and the In- stitute of Buddhist Studies an unlimited license to publish and reprint the essay. This license includes, but is not limited to, any media format (hard copy, electronic, etc.), and international rights. Copyright remains the author’s. EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Richard K. Payne, Chair David Matsumoto Eisho Nasu Natalie Quli Scott Mitchell ASSISTANT EDITOR Natalie Quli BOOK REvIEW EDITOR Scott Mitchell REVERSE TITLE PAGE iv PACIFIC WORLD Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies Third Series, Number 13 Fall 2011 CONTENTS Forest as Challenge, Forest as Healer: Reinterpretations and Hybridity within the Forest Tradition of Thailand BROOKE SCHEDNECK 1 Awakening Faith in the Pure Land Section of the Qixinlun CHRISTOPHER CALLAHAN 25 Monastic Lineages and Ritual Participation: A Proposed Revision of KURODA Toshio’s Kenmitsu Taisei MIKAËL BAUER 45 Selected Materials for the Study of the Life of Buddha Śākyamuni CHARLES WILLEMEN 67 SPECIAL SECTION: RECENT RESEARCH ON ESOTERIC BUDDHISM The Purification of Heruka: Reflections on Identity Formation in Late Indian Buddhism DAVID B. GRAY 81 A Brief Exploration of Late Indian Buddhist Exegeses of the “Mantrayāna” and “Mantranaya” VESNA A. WALLACE 95 On the Subject of Abhiṣeka CHARLES D. ORZECH 113 The Life of the Tang Court Monk Vajrabodhi as Chronicled by Lü Xiang (呂向): South Indian and Śrī Laṅkān Antecedents to the Arrival of the Buddhist vajrayāna in Eighth-Century Java and China JEFFREY SUNDBERG, IN COLLABORATION WITH ROLF GIEBEL 129 v Ritual Studies in the Longue Durée: Comparing Shingon and Śaiva Siddhānta Homas RICHARD K. PAYNE 223 BOOK REVIEWS Emptiness and Temporality: Buddhism and Medieval Japanese Poetics by Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen STEFFEN DÖLL 263 Yongming Yanshou’s Conception of Chan in the Zongjing lu by Albert Welter COURTNEY BRUNTZ 272 Virtual Orientalism: Asian Religions and American Popular Culture by Jane Naomi Iwamura KENDALL MARCHMAN 277 BDK English TripiṭaKa sEriEs 285 vi Forest as Challenge, Forest as Healer: Reinterpretations and Hybridity within the Forest Tradition of Thailand Brooke Schedneck PhD Candidate, Arizona State University The forest has held an ambiguous and ambivalent place in Buddhist history. It is featured prominently in major moments of the Buddha’s life story as the place of his birth, enlightenment, and death. It is also perceived as a place of fear, resistance, escape, sickness, spirits, danger, and temptation. In contrast to these negative attributes, the forest has been described as a place to encounter nature free from distractions; it embodies solitude, peace, and tranquility. How can one resolve these differing notions? Why does this ambivalence exist? How have all of these meanings changed over time? This essay looks at the rhetoric of the forest in Buddhist thought by tracing the ambivalent attitudes of the forest within the Pāli canon, to meanings of the forest as described in popular Thai forest biographies, and finally to contemporary Buddhist writings, both from Thailand and Western countries. The Pāli canon suggests the best place to prac- tice is the natural world; it is isolating and challenging at first but soon can help transform the mind. The forest tradition of Thailand depicts the forest as more than just isolating, but rather dangerous and fearful. In contemporary times there is hardly any trace of the forest as a fear- ful place because it is instead depicted as sacred, and there is a feeling of merging with the natural world that aids awakening. In his recent book, The Making of Buddhist Modernism, David McMahan points to a change in the meaning of the forest as Buddhism developed. He states that the reverence for nature is not apparent in the Pāli canon, which he finds ambivalent toward the wilderness. There is no appreciation of nature for nature’s sake, no sense that nature is sacred.1 This paper shows how this change, from ambivalence toward nature to nature as sacred, occurred within the forest tradition of Thailand. 1 2 Pacific World The change seen in these conceptions of the forest can be ex- plained by cultural and religious hybridities. Hybridities studies ex- plore the global context in terms of flows of ideas, people, and econo- mies through all forms of media. Marwan Kraidy in her book uses case studies of hybrid cultures to show the wide applicability of hybridi- ties.2 Kraidy finds that hybridity in modern times is not homogenizing but also does not produce complete heterogeneity. In the forest tradi- tion this kind of hybrid formation is apparent where there is a mixing of ideas of the forest as challenging and also peaceful. Both of these ideas are established in the Pāli canon, as this article details, but find more overt expressions when connected with other social discourses. I use hybridity in this broad sense in order to capture the spectrum of mixing that occurs over time during different moments of encounter and exchange. McMahan also uses hybridity to describe Buddhism in North America. He argues that this consists of a hybrid of indigenous Buddhist concepts with discourses of psychology, Romanticism, and science. The result is something neither dominated by Buddhist ideas nor by dis- courses of modernity. Indigenous Buddhist concepts, appropriated in a modern context, reveal a hybrid process drawing on Western ideas and concepts.3 Within the modern-day forest tradition of Thailand modern romanticist ideas of nature are mixed with early Buddhist conceptions that advocate practice in the forest. I conceive of the modern transfor- mation of the forest as a hybrid, bringing together the ambivalence of the early tradition with discourses of modernity. This paper presents how particular manifestations of modernity have created a hybrid un- derstanding of the forest in the Buddhist tradition. FOREST MONK, VILLAGE MONK In early Theravāda Buddhist history there emerged a distinction between monks who practiced in the forest and those who settled in villages and towns. Reginald Ray labels the Buddha and his earliest dis- ciples as saints of the forest and uses their significance to argue that forest renunciants should be represented in a separate category within Buddhist studies, alongside settled monastics and laity. Ray argues that forest renunciants were the earliest paradigm for normative Buddhism, and the only paradigm before the tradition became institutionalized.4 After monasteries became established near villages, the paradigm of town monk emerged. As an ideal type, the forest dweller corresponds Schedneck: Forest as Challenge, Forest as Healer 3 to the vocation of meditation and the village dweller to study of the Buddhist teachings and interaction with the laity. Taylor writes of the history of the forest tradition and how after meeting his teacher, Ajahn Man, Ajahn Mahā Boowa (var. Mahabua) “turned away from scholastic or book pursuits (kanthathura) to kammathaan [practices of the forest monk] practices. This narration of ‘turning away’ from scholastic worldly pursuits is symbolically important in the charisma building of a forest monk.”5 However, these two vocations are not mutually ex- clusive since forest monks may study and village monks may practice meditation and monastics can move between these two roles. Indeed, in response to Ray’s
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Katsushika Hokusai and a Poetics of Nostalgia
    ACCESS: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN EDUCATION 2015, VOL. 33, NO. 1, 33–46 https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2014.964158 Katsushika Hokusai and a Poetics of Nostalgia David Bell College of Education, University of Otago ABSTRACT KEYWORDS This article addresses the activation of aesthetics through the examination of cultural memory, Hokusai, an acute sensitivity to melancholy and time permeating the literary and ukiyo-e, poetic allusion, nostalgia, mono no aware pictorial arts of Japan. In medieval court circles, this sensitivity was activated through a pervasive sense of aware, a poignant reflection on the pathos of things. This sensibility became the motivating force for court verse, and ARTICLE HISTORY through this medium, for the mature projects of the ukiyo-e ‘floating world First published in picture’ artist Katsushika Hokusai. Hokusai reached back to aware sensibilities, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2015, Vol. 47, No. 6, subjects and conventions in celebrations of the poetic that sustained cultural 579–595 memories resonating classical lyric and pastoral themes. This paper examines how this elegiac sensibility activated Hokusai’s preoccupations with poetic allusion in his late representations of scholar-poets and the unfinished series of Hyakunin isshu uba-ga etoki, ‘One hundred poems, by one hundred poets, explained by the nurse’. It examines four works to explain how their synthesis of the visual and poetic could sustain aware themes and tropes over time to maintain a distinctive sense of this aesthetic sensibility in Japan. Introduction: Mono no aware How can an aesthetic sensibility become an activating force in and through poetic and pictorial amalgams of specific cultural histories and memories? This article examines how the poignant aesthetic sensibility of mono no aware (a ‘sensitivity to the pathos of things’) established a guiding inflection for social engagements of the Heian period (794–1185CE) Fujiwara court in Japan.
    [Show full text]
  • River Dhamma
    Arrow River Forest Hermitage Spring/Summer 2019 RIVER DHAMMA ARROW RIVER FRONT PAGE NEWS Abbots’ Meeting at the Hermitage About the Thai Forest Tradition The Thai Forest tradition is the branch of Arrow River is honoured to be hosting the 2019 Theravāda Buddhism in Thailand that most strictly North American Abbots’ Meeting from September upholds the original monastic rules of discipline 4 to 11. Seven abbots from monasteries in the laid down by the Buddha. The Forest tradition also Ajahn Chah tradition from Canada and the United most strongly emphasizes meditative practice and States will gather for fellowship and to enjoy the the realization of enlightenment as the focus of peace and solitude of the Hermitage. monastic life. Forest monasteries are primarily Needless to say, this event is grand undertaking oriented around practicing the Buddha’s path of for Arrow River. We have made a plan of priorities contemplative insight, including living a life of to complete to get things ship-shape for the visit. discipline, renunciation, and meditation in order to As we are an organization with a tight budget and fully realize the inner truth and peace taught by a small group of volunteers, we are looking for the Buddha. Living a life of austerity allows forest some help. monastics to simplify and refine the mind. This refinement allows them to clearly and directly Here’s what you can do: explore the fundamental causes of suffering within 1. Come out to Arrow River to help with their heart and to inwardly cultivate the path preparations. There will be scheduled work leading toward freedom from suffering and days, but you can also come on your own supreme happiness.
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhism in America
    Buddhism in America The Columbia Contemporary American Religion Series Columbia Contemporary American Religion Series The United States is the birthplace of religious pluralism, and the spiritual landscape of contemporary America is as varied and complex as that of any country in the world. The books in this new series, written by leading scholars for students and general readers alike, fall into two categories: some of these well-crafted, thought-provoking portraits of the country’s major religious groups describe and explain particular religious practices and rituals, beliefs, and major challenges facing a given community today. Others explore current themes and topics in American religion that cut across denominational lines. The texts are supplemented with care- fully selected photographs and artwork, annotated bibliographies, con- cise profiles of important individuals, and chronologies of major events. — Roman Catholicism in America Islam in America . B UDDHISM in America Richard Hughes Seager C C Publishers Since New York Chichester, West Sussex Copyright © Columbia University Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Seager, Richard Hughes. Buddhism in America / Richard Hughes Seager. p. cm. — (Columbia contemporary American religion series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN ‒‒‒ — ISBN ‒‒‒ (pbk.) . Buddhism—United States. I. Title. II. Series. BQ.S .'—dc – Casebound editions of Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
    [Show full text]
  • The Island, the Refuge, the Beyond
    T H E I S L A N D AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS ON NIBBANA Ajahn Pasanno & Ajahn Amaro T H E I S L A N D An Anthology of the Buddha’s Teachings on Nibbæna Edited and with Commentary by Ajahn Pasanno & Ajahn Amaro Abhayagiri Monastic Foundation It is the Unformed, the Unconditioned, the End, the Truth, the Other Shore, the Subtle, the Everlasting, the Invisible, the Undiversified, Peace, the Deathless, the Blest, Safety, the Wonderful, the Marvellous, Nibbæna, Purity, Freedom, the Island, the Refuge, the Beyond. ~ S 43.1-44 Having nothing, clinging to nothing: that is the Island, there is no other; that is Nibbæna, I tell you, the total ending of ageing and death. ~ SN 1094 This book has been sponsored for free distribution SABBADÆNAM DHAMMADÆNAM JINÆTI The Gift of Dhamma Excels All Other Gifts © 2009 Abhayagiri Monastic Foundation 16201 Tomki Road Redwood Valley, CA 95470 USA www.abhayagiri.org Web edition, released June 13, 2009 VI CONTENTS Prefaces / VIII Introduction by Ajahn Sumedho / XIII Acknowledgements / XVII Dedication /XXII SEEDS: NAMES AND SYMBOLS 1 What is it? / 25 2 Fire, Heat and Coolness / 39 THE TERRAIN 3 This and That, and Other Things / 55 4 “All That is Conditioned…” / 66 5 “To Be, or Not to Be” – Is That the Question? / 85 6 Atammayatæ: “Not Made of That” / 110 7 Attending to the Deathless / 123 8 Unsupported and Unsupportive Consciousness / 131 9 The Unconditioned and Non-locality / 155 10 The Unapprehendability of the Enlightened / 164 11 “‘Reappears’ Does Not Apply…” / 180 12 Knowing, Emptiness and the
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhist Revivalist Movements Comparing Zen Buddhism and the Thai Forest Movement Buddhist Revivalist Movements Alan Robert Lopez Buddhist Revivalist Movements
    Alan Robert Lopez Buddhist Revivalist Movements Comparing Zen Buddhism and the Thai Forest Movement Buddhist Revivalist Movements Alan Robert Lopez Buddhist Revivalist Movements Comparing Zen Buddhism and the Thai Forest Movement Alan Robert Lopez Chiang Mai , Thailand ISBN 978-1-137-54349-3 ISBN 978-1-137-54086-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-54086-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016956808 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover image © Nickolay Khoroshkov / Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Nature America Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • Just This Is It: Dongshan and the Practice of Suchness / Taigen Dan Leighton
    “What a delight to have this thorough, wise, and deep work on the teaching of Zen Master Dongshan from the pen of Taigen Dan Leighton! As always, he relates his discussion of traditional Zen materials to contemporary social, ecological, and political issues, bringing up, among many others, Jack London, Lewis Carroll, echinoderms, and, of course, his beloved Bob Dylan. This is a must-have book for all serious students of Zen. It is an education in itself.” —Norman Fischer, author of Training in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong “A masterful exposition of the life and teachings of Chinese Chan master Dongshan, the ninth century founder of the Caodong school, later transmitted by Dōgen to Japan as the Sōtō sect. Leighton carefully examines in ways that are true to the traditional sources yet have a distinctively contemporary flavor a variety of material attributed to Dongshan. Leighton is masterful in weaving together specific approaches evoked through stories about and sayings by Dongshan to create a powerful and inspiring religious vision that is useful for students and researchers as well as practitioners of Zen. Through his thoughtful reflections, Leighton brings to light the panoramic approach to kōans characteristic of this lineage, including the works of Dōgen. This book also serves as a significant contribution to Dōgen studies, brilliantly explicating his views throughout.” —Steven Heine, author of Did Dōgen Go to China? What He Wrote and When He Wrote It “In his wonderful new book, Just This Is It, Buddhist scholar and teacher Taigen Dan Leighton launches a fresh inquiry into the Zen teachings of Dongshan, drawing new relevance from these ancient tales.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinese Character
    - ijj. _ TRtrONG e*i HOC sir PHAM TP HO CHI MINH HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION Qlj TAP CHI KHOA HOC JOURNAL OF SCIENCE ISSN. KHOA HOC XA HQl VA NHAN VAN SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES 1859-3100 Tap16,S6 7 (2019): 15-25 Vol. 16, No. 7(2019)- 15-25 Email: tapci)ikhoahoc%hcmue.edu.vn; Website. http:/Ackh.hcmue.edu.vr Research Article LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE'S IDENTITY OF EAST ASIAN COUNTRIES IN "CHINESE CHARACTER CULTURAL SPHERE" IN THE ANCIENT AND MIDDLE AGES Phan Thu Van Ho Chi Minh City University of Education Corresponding author: Phan Thu Van -Email: [email protected] Received: April 18. 2019; Revised' May 21. 2019; Accepted: June 10, 2019 ABSTRACT Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese literature all used Chinese characters, received Chinese literary influence, and tried to create national writing based on Chinese characters' application. In this article, I will delve into the issue of influential language, literature and literaty genres within the Chinese character cultural sphere, while also detailing the specific nature and temperament of the developmental process in regards to each country's literature Keywords: identity. East Asean literature, Chinese character cultural sphere (iH^X'fbS). 1. Introduction Chinese characters are the root of Han culture and are considered the fifth largest invention of the Chinese nation. The four oldest types of scripts that have ever appeared in the world are: the Egyptian script, the Sumerian script, the Babylonian script and the Chinese script, but only Chinese characters are still alive today, all the others are now dead languages.
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhist Bibio
    Recommended Books Revised March 30, 2013 The books listed below represent a small selection of some of the key texts in each category. The name(s) provided below each title designate either the primary author, editor, or translator. Introductions Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction Damien Keown Taking the Path of Zen !!!!!!!! Robert Aitken Everyday Zen !!!!!!!!! Charlotte Joko Beck Start Where You Are !!!!!!!! Pema Chodron The Eight Gates of Zen !!!!!!!! John Daido Loori Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind !!!!!!! Shunryu Suzuki Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening ! Stephen Batchelor The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation!!!!!!!!! Thich Nhat Hanh Buddhism For Beginners !!!!!!! Thubten Chodron The Buddha and His Teachings !!!!!! Sherab Chödzin Kohn and Samuel Bercholz The Spirit of the Buddha !!!!!!! Martine Batchelor 1 Meditation and Zen Practice Mindfulness in Plain English ! ! ! ! Bhante Henepola Gunaratana The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English !!! Bhante Henepola Gunaratana Change Your Mind: A Practical Guide to Buddhist Meditation ! Paramananda Making Space: Creating a Home Meditation Practice !!!! Thich Nhat Hanh The Heart of Buddhist Meditation !!!!!! Thera Nyanaponika Meditation for Beginners !!!!!!! Jack Kornfield Being Nobody, Going Nowhere: Meditations on the Buddhist Path !! Ayya Khema The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation Thich Nhat Hanh Zen Meditation in Plain English !!!!!!! John Daishin Buksbazen and Peter
    [Show full text]
  • REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism, Fall 2019 CRN16061/2 Mark Unno
    REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism, Fall 2019 CRN16061/2 Mark Unno Instructor: Mark T. Unno, Office: SCH 334 TEL 6-4973, munno (at) uoregon.edu http://pages.uoregon.edu/munno/ Wed. 2:00 p.m. - 4:50 p.m., Condon 330; Office Hours: Mon 10:00-10:45 a.m.; Tues 1:00-1:45 p.m. No Canvas site. Overview REL 444/544 Medieval Japanese Buddhism focuses on selected strains of Japanese Buddhism during the medieval period, especially the Kamakura (1185-1333), but also traces influences on later developments including the modern period. The course weaves together the examination of religious thought and cultural developments in historical context. We begin with an overview of key Buddhist concepts for those without prior exposure and go onto examine the formative matrix of early Japanese religion. Once some of the outlines of the intellectual and cultural framework of medieval Japanese Buddhism have been brought into relief, we will proceed to examine in depth examples of significant medieval developments. In particular, we will delve into the work of three contemporary figures: Eihei Dōgen (1200-1253), Zen master and founding figure of the Sōtō sect; Myōe of the Shingon and Kegon sects, focusing on his Shingon practices; and Shinran, founding figure of Jōdo Shinshū, the largest Pure Land sect, more simply known as Shin Buddhism. We conclude with the study of some modern examples that nonetheless are grounded in classical and medieval sources, thus revealing the ongoing influence and transformations of medieval Japanese Buddhism. Themes of the course include: Buddhism as state religion; the relation between institutional practices and individual religious cultivation; ritual practices and transgression; gender roles and relations; relations between ordained and lay; religious authority and enlightenment; and two-fold truth and religious practice.
    [Show full text]
  • The Shôkyû Version of the Kitano Tenjin Engi Emaki: a Brief Introduction to Its Content and Function
    Eras Edition 11, November 2009 – http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/publications/eras The Shôkyû version of the Kitano Tenjin engi emaki: A brief introduction to its content and function Sara L. Sumpter (University of Pittsburgh) Abstract: This article examines the political and social atmosphere surrounding the production of the thirteenth-century hand scroll Kitano Tenjin engi emaki (Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Shrine), which depicts the life, death and posthumous revenge of the ninth-century courtier Sugawara no Michizane. The article combines an analysis of the content and religious iconography of the scroll, a study of early Japanese beliefs in angry spirits of the dead, and a narration of the actual life of Michizane in an attempt to produce a sketch of the rituals and superstitions of Heian and early Kamakura period Japanese society, and to suggest possible functions of the hand scroll that complement them. The hand scroll sets collectively known as the Kitano Tenjin engi emaki (Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Shrine) each tell the story of the life and death of the ninth- century courtier and poet, Sugawara no Michizane (845–903), and of the posthumous revenge undertaken by his vengeful spirit (onryô). According to the scrolls, Michizane was falsely accused of treason by rivals at the Heian court who were jealous of his astronomical rise to power. He was exiled to Dazaifu on the island of Kyushu in 901 and died there two years later in despair. His spirit persisted in seeking retribution against his enemies and in reclaiming his position and honours. He is said to have stalked his numerous rivals in the form of the thunder god (raijin) before ultimately revealing to a frightened court, through a series of intermediaries, the means of his pacification: deification and worship at the Kitano Shrine in Kyoto.1 Today the Kitano Tenjin engi emaki (hereafter referred to as the Tenjin scrolls) number more than thirty extant examples, ranging in date from the early thirteenth century to the nineteenth century.
    [Show full text]
  • Brief History of Dzogchen
    Brief History of Dzogchen This is the printer-friendly version of: http: / / www.berzinarchives.com / web / en / archives / advanced / dzogchen / basic_points / brief_history_dzogchen.html Alexander Berzin November 10-12, 2000 Introduction Dzogchen (rdzogs-chen), the great completeness, is a Mahayana system of practice leading to enlightenment and involves a view of reality, way of meditating, and way of behaving (lta-sgom-spyod gsum). It is found earliest in the Nyingma and Bon (pre-Buddhist) traditions. Bon, according to its own description, was founded in Tazig (sTag-gzig), an Iranian cultural area of Central Asia, by Shenrab Miwo (gShen-rab mi-bo) and was brought to Zhang-zhung (Western Tibet) in the eleventh century BCE. There is no way to validate this scientifically. Buddha lived in the sixth century BCE in India. The Introduction of Pre-Nyingma Buddhism and Zhang-zhung Rites to Central Tibet Zhang-zhung was conquered by Yarlung (Central Tibet) in 645 CE. The Yarlung Emperor Songtsen-gampo (Srong-btsan sgam-po) had wives not only from the Chinese and Nepali royal families (both of whom brought a few Buddhist texts and statues), but also from the royal family of Zhang-zhung. The court adopted Zhang-zhung (Bon) burial rituals and animal sacrifice, although Bon says that animal sacrifice was native to Tibet, not a Bon custom. The Emperor built thirteen Buddhist temples around Tibet and Bhutan, but did not found any monasteries. This pre-Nyingma phase of Buddhism in Central Tibet did not have dzogchen teachings. In fact, it is difficult to ascertain what level of Buddhist teachings and practice were introduced.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mongolian Big Dipper Sūtra
    JIABS Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies Volume 29 Number 1 2006 (2008) The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (ISSN 0193-600XX) is the organ of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Inc. It welcomes scholarly contributions pertaining to all facets of Buddhist Studies. EDITORIAL BOARD JIABS is published twice yearly, in the summer and winter. KELLNER Birgit Manuscripts should preferably be sub- KRASSER Helmut mitted as e-mail attachments to: Joint Editors [email protected] as one single file, complete with footnotes and references, BUSWELL Robert in two different formats: in PDF-format, and in Rich-Text-Format (RTF) or Open- CHEN Jinhua Document-Format (created e.g. by Open COLLINS Steven Office). COX Collet GÓMEZ Luis O. Address books for review to: HARRISON Paul JIABS Editors, Institut für Kultur - und Geistesgeschichte Asiens, Prinz-Eugen- VON HINÜBER Oskar Strasse 8-10, AT-1040 Wien, AUSTRIA JACKSON Roger JAINI Padmanabh S. Address subscription orders and dues, KATSURA Shōryū changes of address, and UO business correspondence K Li-ying (including advertising orders) to: LOPEZ, Jr. Donald S. Dr Jérôme Ducor, IABS Treasurer MACDONALD Alexander Dept of Oriental Languages and Cultures SCHERRER-SCHAUB Cristina Anthropole SEYFORT RUEGG David University of Lausanne CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland SHARF Robert email: [email protected] STEINKELLNER Ernst Web: www.iabsinfo.net TILLEMANS Tom Fax: +41 21 692 30 45 ZÜRCHER Erik Subscriptions to JIABS are USD 40 per year for individuals and USD 70 per year for libraries and other institutions. For informations on membership in IABS, see back cover.
    [Show full text]