Bringing Zen Home the Healing Heart of Japanese Women’S Rituals
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BRINGING ZEN HOME THE HEALING HEART OF JAPANESE WOMEN’S RITUALS s* ■ ^ ; ZM*' * m %• Ikfa 'A ••K'C •*'/■• ->v ' ■■■ ' -'• ■.’ ' ■" ' *&*f .*v- j&T'L.:’'- :&{*S, £$£>; ■ ; vV-' ^ :0'i M'c: V s* * ‘ Vv^ r & 7M fiH? Hi' _mi_ m%rM : svvC " PAULA ARAI of Zen in 5fclies v. , at the heart ?abia Arai discovered in her ;erme research on the ritual lives of Ijist feywomen. She reveals a vital ..tream of religious practice that flourishes \ outside the bounds of formal institutions through sacred rites that women develop md transmit to one another. Everyday of beauty through the arts of tea ceremony calligraphy poetry, and flower arrange¬ ment becomes a rite of healing. Bringing Zen Home brings a fresh perspective to Zen scholarship by uncov¬ ering a previously unrecognized but none¬ theless vibrant strand of lay practice. The creativity of domestic Zen is evident in the ritual activities that women fashion, weav¬ ing tradition j*-wpij| asense of wholeness and midst of ill¬ ness, loss, and ai Bringing Zen Home * Bringing Zen Home The Healing Heart of Japanese Womens Rituals Paula Arai University of Hawai'i Press Honolulu © 2011 Paula Arai All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 654321 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Arai, Paula Kane Robinson. Bringing Zen home : the healing heart of Japanese women’s rituals / Paula Arai. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8248-3535-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Zen Buddhism—Japan—Rituals. 2. Buddhist women—Religious life—Japan. 3. Healing—Religious aspects—Zen Buddhism. 4. Zen funeral rites and ceremonies. I. Title. BQ9270.2.A73 2012 294.3’438—dc23 2011017005 All photographs are by the author. University of Hawai'i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources. Designed by inari Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc. For Kenji, my beloved son, whose name means health and compassion Contents Foreword, by Nara Komyd Yasuaki ix Acknowledgments xi Prologue xiii Chapter i. Mapping the Terrain 1 Chapter 2. The Way of Healing: Yudd $®}1t 29 Chapter 3. Personal Buddhas: Living with Loss and Grief 65 Chapter 4. Domestic Zen: Living Esoteric Wisdom 108 Chapter 5. The Healing Power of Beauty 167 Chapter 6. Revealing the Healing Realm of Zen 204 Notes 217 Kanji Glossary 241 Bibliography of Sources Cited 245 Index 255 Foreword I first met Paula Arai in the winter of 1988 upon the introduction of Aoyama Shundo, a former student of mine who has now become a re¬ nowned abbess of the Zen nuns’ training monastery, Aichi Senmon Nisodo. At that time, Ms. Arai was a young rising scholar doing research for her first book on Zen nuns. She has kept me apprised of her work dur¬ ing engaging conversations in my offices and temple, and in coffee shops. Now Dr. Arai has fulfilled her promise by producing not only a singular volume on the history and practices of Soto Zen nuns, but also by writing this book in which she sheds further light on the practices and concerns of women, this time illuminating women in the home. Her original scholarly work makes an important contribution to our understanding of Japanese Zen Buddhist culture, especially in how traditions both continue and change in contemporary society. Bringing Zen Home provides a view of lay Buddhist practice in contem¬ porary Japan with a depth of ethnographic detail that will enable the readers to feel they are visiting a Japanese lay Buddhist home. Arai breathes life into practices that have not yet received scholarly attention. Her focus on domes¬ tic ikatei) Zen enables us to see distinct Buddhist expressions in Japanese culture. Her analysis of the healing paradigm in Zen is particularly insight¬ ful. It displays keen insight into Dogen’s teachings, and into how those teachings are lived out in ritualized activities in the home. A central ritual focuses on the home altar where ancestors are revered as enlightened. This is an important feature of Japanese Buddhist practice about which I have held particular interest from a comparative Buddhist perspective. Arai’s analysis of the practice of honoring ancestors as enlightened concludes that partici¬ pants experience the deceased as personal Buddhas: she has discovered how rituals help people cultivate intimate relationships with the enlightened X Foreword ancestors that foster their healing. This is a novel interpretation of Buddha nature, distinct to Japanese Buddhist practice. Establishing personal Bud¬ dhas reveals profound insight into the nature of grief and human relation¬ ships. No matter how technologically efficient we become, we must come to terms with death. We will never overcome the need for grieving. The wis¬ dom of how to grieve in a way that integrates death into life is encoded in domestic rituals. Arai’s book provides a rich view of Zen Buddhist values, practices, and wisdom, especially in the home where daily activities make up the fabric of life. Arai’s research on domestic rituals is a timely and welcome develop¬ ment, for Japan has been rapidly and steadily changing. Wisdom culti¬ vated over centuries is documented in this volume, which helps preserve the knowledge. Perhaps sharing these gifts of healing wisdom with the English-speaking world also will give rise to innovative practices that will transform in culturally adaptive ways. Nara Komyo Yasuaki Former Chancellor of Komazawa University Former President of Komazawa University Professor of Buddhist Studies Head Priest of Hosei-ji Temple Tokyo,Japan Acknowledgments It is a joy to express my deep gratitude for the large circle of people in¬ volved in this book. First, to the twelve women whose wisdom and spiritual practices fill these pages, I offer my work as tribute and thanks. Although I cannot mention them by name, each one is written on my heart. I owe infinite homage to two female leaders of the Nagoya Zen community who con¬ tributed unstintingly to my development as a scholar and a person: Aoyama Roshi illumined my work and my life with her blazing wisdom; and Kito Sensei, my personal bodhisattva, has been an enduring source of guidance and radiant compassion. An ocean of thanks to Miranda Shaw for her peerless editorial skills and for her paradigm-shifting scholarship on Buddhist women. Her opus on Buddhist goddesses opens a landscape of gender discourse and devo¬ tional healing practices that has helped me view the women in my study in a broad, cross-cultural context. A mountain of gratitude to Ines Talaman- tez for her nonpareil mentoring and the model of her pioneering work on Mescalero Apache culture and groundbreaking theoretical work on the ethnography of indigenous peoples. No project can come to fruition without the kindness of others. For assistance in Japan, I am indebted to the Yanai family and the Skrzypczak family, especially to Mari for her babysitting. The Sugiura family wel¬ comed me and my son Kenji into their home in Nagoya, making it possible for me to conduct my field research for the past twelve years. Their gener¬ osity of heart supported me through many challenges, and this book could not have become a reality without their profound support. Robin Morgan and Hideko Shimizu also offered invaluable spiritual counsel and suste¬ nance over the years. XII Acknowledgments I received indispensable institutional and financial support from Aichi Senmon Nisodo, Nanzan University, the Fulbriglit Foundation, the Ameri¬ can Council of Learned Societies, Vanderbilt University, Carleton College, the Mellon Foundation, and Louisiana State University Board of Regents. For lending insights on Japanese Buddhism that honed my study in fruitful ways, I give nine bows of deep respect to Nara Komyo Yasuaki, Fujii Masao, and Victor Hori. Special thanks are due to Nara Yasuaki for gra¬ ciously writing the Foreword. To Sascha duLac for her expertise in neuro¬ psychobiology, I bow in heartfelt thanks. Jess Lionne, Paul Ramsour, Anne Dutton, Laurie Pullen, Dee Doochin, and Beth Conklin brought the schol¬ arly eye of their respective fields to bear on the manuscript, improving the clarity of style and refinement of content. Their friendships place the aca¬ demic work in a meaningful and humanitarian context that makes each step along the way an opportunity for deepening our connections. Thanks to edi¬ tor Patricia Crosby for her invaluable support. I thank my sisters—artist Lucy and weaver Wendy—for sharing the journey of our family, which provides a well of experience and insight from which I draw deeply. My father’s fascination with the human condi¬ tion and kindness of heart inspire and guide me, especially now that he has become one of my personal Buddhas. This book began amid the sublime experience of giving birth to Kenji while caring for my dying mother. Living in that space between birth and death opened me to the depths of sorrow and heights of joy that inhabit the realm of healing. My mother blessed me with unconditional love, while Kenji buoyed me with his purity of spirit throughout the fourteen years it took to complete this book. I cannot thank him enough for the patience, understanding, strength, and good humor he exhibited as he learned to do laundry, sweep floors, cook, take out the trash, mow the lawn, and tend to his own needs at a tender age. The poignant image of him at Logan Airport pulling a wheeled suitcase twice his weight at the age of two is seared into my heart. Too, I’ll never forget the evening when, at the age of seven, he scrambled eggs for our dinner when I was exhausted. I am honored, Kenji, that you chose to share the healing journey of this lifetime with me.