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Spring 2020, Volume 47(PDF) Jodo Shu Buddhism Japan’s First Independent Pure Land Denomination Th e Jodo Shu Research Institute was founded in 1989 in Minato Ward, Tokyo, by unifying the three research organizations of the Jodo Shu Buddhist denomination, which had been operating separately. Th ey had been concentrating on religious doctrines, dissemination activities, and rituals and ceremonies. Japan was at that time becoming an information-driven society in the increasingly globalized world, and the aging of the country’s population was advancing. Under those situations where things and events were changing in various ways, the Jodo Shu Buddhist denomination combined the three fi elds of research in order to propagate the teachings of Jodo Shu Buddhism while responding to those changes. Th e changes in society will bring challenges that no one has ever experienced. Th e research activities of the Institute are not limited to simply promoting basic studies on the denomination’s doctrine, dissemination, and rituals, but should also actively become involved in studying various issues arising from the present-day society as its research projects. For instance, at the beginning of its foundation, when the issue of transplanting organs from brain-dead individuals was being debated, the Institute began to tackle the issue from the perspective of how medical treatment should be related to religion. Th e Institute is composed of some twenty-fi ve researchers. For each research project, a study team is set up, which can call, as needed, collaborators from the outside to discuss the project. It is required that each team present the fruits of its study in a period of two years. Th e Institute dealt with fi ft een research projects during the fi scal year of 2018–2019. Th ey included multilingual translation of the texts used for the Jodo Shu Buddhist rituals and ceremonies, and translation of the literary works by Honen Shonin, the founder of the Jodo Shu Buddhist denomination. In addition, as the Institute is recently required to study how the Jodo Shu Buddhist denomination should cope with the government’s policies, it has been playing an increasing role as a think tank for Buddhist denominations. Th e Jodo Shu Research Institute Meisho Kaikan 4th Floor, 4-7-4 Shiba Koen, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0011 Tel: 81-3-5472-6571 Fax: 81-3-3438-4033 SPRING 2020, VOL. 47 FEATURES: Violence in Buddhism 2 Nonviolence and the Attainment of Peace in Dharma World presents Buddhism Buddhism as a practical living religion and by Masashi Hashimoto promotes interreligious dialogue 3 Violence in Buddhism—with an for world peace. It espouses views Emphasis on Early Buddhism that emphasize the dignity of life, by Elizabeth J. Harris seeks to rediscover our inner nature and bring our lives more in accord 7 Buddhism and Violence in Photo: AFP / AFLO with it, and investigates causes of Deep-South Th ailand human suff ering. It tries to show by Pinit Ratanakul how religious principles help solve 11 Can We Aim for the Future with problems in daily life and how the Others? Toward Bodhisattva least application of such principles Ethics has wholesome eff ects on the world by Fumihiko Sueki around us. It seeks to demonstrate truths that are fundamental to all 14 Buddhists and Violence in religions, truths on which all people Myanmar: A Confl icted can act. Situation by Leo D. Lefebure Publisher: Koichi Saito Director: Naoki Taketani 18 All Causes Are Good Causes: Th e Liberating Power of Holistic Senior Editor: Kazumasa Osaka Causality in the Lotus Sutra Editor: Katsuyuki Kikuchi by Dominick Scarangello Editorial Advisors: 26 Rissho Kosei-kai’s Approach to the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons Dominick Scarangello, Miriam Levering, Michio T. Shinozaki by Kosho Niwano Copy Editors: 31 No Regrets DeAnna Satre, Stephen Comee, by Nikkyo Niwano Catherine Szolga 34 Illuminating One Another in Dialogue: Editorial Staff : Interreligious Perspectives through the Prism of the Lotus Sutra Kensuke Osada, Mariko Kawamoto by Paride Stortini Subscription Staff : Kazuyo Okazaki 41 Making Off erings to “Buddhas” Layout and Design: Abinitio Design by Nichiko Niwano THE THREEFOLD LOTUS SUTRA: A MODERN COMMENTARY Cover: Photos: Shutterstock.com 42 Th e Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law Photoshop work by Abinitio Design Chapter 27: Th e Story of King Resplendent (2) Dharma World is published semiannually by Rissho Kosei-kai International, Fumon Media Center 3F, 2-7-1 Wada, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 166-8537. E-mail: [email protected]. Copyright © 2020 by Rissho Kosei-kai International. 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 of Dharma World. FEATURES Nonviolence and the Attainment of Peace in Buddhism by Masashi Hashimoto Masashi Hashimoto is the director of Lay Mahayana Buddhists are not the same as the lay the Chuo Academic Research Institute believers of early Buddhism. Making our aspiration for of Rissho Kosei-kai in Tokyo. enlightenment manifest, we must make every effort to bring FƗWXGGLVD DERXWSHDFHLQWKH6D۸JKDRIWKH)RXU'LUHFWLRQV VDূJKD), that is, the world in which we live. structure between the ordained and the lay, and the Sa˳gha laid emphasis on diff erent ways of character building I have been asked by the editors of translated into Chinese, this word was according to their diff erences. Dharma World to write the foreword rendered into compounds such as jimie While the Buddha taught the ethic to this issue, with its theme “Violence (Jpn., jakumetsu), literally “tranquil and of a general, common nonviolence, in Buddhism.” However, Buddhist doc- extinguished,” and jijing (Jpn., jakujō), he also showed ordained Buddhists trine and “violence” (hi˳sā) are not con- “quiescence,” both of which refer to the seeking liberation the way to not cepts that can be discussed together. Th e ideal inner realm that Buddhists aspire committing evil deeds. But as his- decision of the editors to take up the to. However, śānti was originally used tory demonstrates in respect to lay theme of violence was probably related in Buddhism to refer to the attainment believers, there were limitations to in part to their concern over the violent of peace within the early Sa˳gha, the the spiritual influence of even the expulsion of the Rohingya people at the community of those who had left sec- Buddha, for he was unable to pre- hands of the Myanmar military aft er ular life. vent the massacre of the Śākyans by 2016, fuelled by a Buddhist nationalism Th e purpose of the Sa˳gha was to the advancing armies of King Viʽū- that has turned into a political ideol- preserve an ideal environment where ʽabha. ogy. those who had attained spiritual We lay Mahayana Buddhists are not While there are texts demonstrating liberation, as well as those who were the same as the lay believers of early the universal truth of Buddhism, such yet to attain enlightenment and were Buddhism. Unlike Sectari an Buddhism, as the Dhammapada (verse 130), that still striving for liberation, could live which attributed enlightenment only to say we should not kill, simply enumer- together in accordance with the Buddha’s the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, ating such texts containing the Buddha’s teachings. Th us it was also known as Mahayana Buddhism tells us that anyone teachings over time and place will not samagga-sa˳gha (harmonious Sa˳gha). at all can become a buddha. Th is means suffi ce to demonstrate that Buddhism Should disputes arise in the Sa˳gha, a that not only the ordained but also we is a teaching of nonviolence (ahi˳sā). kind of criminal procedure code called lay Buddhists must aspire to perfect- I believe that the most urgent task the Samathakkhandhaka was brought ing ourselves. Making our aspiration for all Buddhists, including me, is to into play to resolve the confl ict and for enlightenment manifest, we must question again our own attitude toward return the Sa˳gha to its ideal of peace. make every eff ort to bring about peace the issue of violence and to sharpen our Buddhist monks and nuns, who in the Sa˳gha of the Four Directions awareness of ourselves as Buddhists pro- were forbidden to cook for themselves, (cātuddisa-sa˳gha), that is, the world fessing nonviolence. depended on gaining the trust of lay in which we live. Today when we talk about the believers in order to be able to continue Herein lies the reason that it is the Buddhist idea of peace, we oft en begin their religious training, receiving off er- task of each and every Buddhist to think by using the Sanskrit word śānti (Pali, ings of left overs by begging. Th is inev- carefully about their attitude toward the santi). When Buddhist texts were itably led to the development of a dual issue of violence. ≥ 2 Dharma World Spring 2020 FEATURES Violence in Buddhism—with an Emphasis on Early Buddhism by Elizabeth J. Harris Elizabeth J. Harris is Honorary Senior Buddhists appeal to two strands within Buddhist text and Research Fellow at the Edward tradition to either oppose or justify the use of violence. The Cadbury Centre for the Public ¿UVWVWUDQGLVWKHPRUDOLQMXQFWLRQWKDWYLROHQFHVKRXOGQHYHU Understanding of Religion, University be met by violence. The second is that defensive violence is of Birmingham, with a specialism in necessary in exceptional circumstances, for example, if there 7KHUDYƗGD%XGGKLVPDQG%XGGKLVW is a threat to the nation or to Buddhism. Christian relationships. She is former president of the European Network of Buddhist-Christian Studies and is Introduction: In the south, government forces were currently an international adviser to An Illustration from fi ghting the militant Sinhala youth group the Society for Buddhist-Christian Sri Lanka the Janatha Vimukti Peramuna (JVP— Studies.
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