Lecture #12: Japanese Buddhism

Course: Eastern Religious Traditions

Lecture #12: Japanese Buddhism

When Buddhism and Confucianism entered Japan from China, as was pointed out last time, they gradually came to terms and fused with the Shinto ideas of Japan being a sacred people in a sacred land headed by a divine emperor.
The Buddhist accommodation to Shinto was more outstanding because of the cosmic, metaphysical and other-worldly character of Buddhist tradition. Confucian morality harmonized easily with Japanese sentiments.
Japanese did reject Mencius principle of the right of revolution in his concept of the Mandate of Heaven since they felt the ruler divine, and they had never had more than one dynasty on the throne (this being one of their claims to sacredness.)
Buddhism had easily adapted itself to native traditions in other lesser developed countries, but in Japan it faced the problem of a more profound nature in trying to harmonize itself with the deep-rooted sentiment of the sacredness of Japan.
On the folk level, it merged with the life of the people much like in other places.
More sophisticated and philosophical theories were developed, using Mahayana ideas that attempted to demonstrate the essential equality of the Japanese deities with the Buddhist divinities.
In order to spell out the relationship of the two traditions two theories grew up in the 8th century CE. The essential idea contained in both theories held that Shinto deities were fundamentally manifestations in the world of the universal Buddha nature.
Although the buddha-nature was the source of fundamental reality (honji), and the deities were trace manifestations, the relationship was virtually an identification, since the essence of the manifestation is the original source and the two could never be separated.
On the practical and concrete level this meant that specific deities such as the sun Goddess (Amaterasu-o-mi kami and Toyo-uke-o-mikami of the Ise shrine were identical with the great Sun Buddha Mashavairocana. This idea was used to help unify Japan into a centralized state.
Buddhism in Japan came as part of the Chinese civilization and its acceptance was thought to be a mark of a progressive nation.
In China, Buddhism remained institutionally weak and was thought of as a foreign religion. However, in Japan it developed firm organization and institutions which sometimes became threats to the established order.
A key to the understanding of Japanese Buddhism is the recognition that the Japanese awareness of being a sacred people in a sacred land eventually placed its stamp on the universal tradition of Buddhism itself.
In this lecture I will attempt to trace Buddhist involvement in the political affairs of Japan, examine its fusion with the indigenous folk religious and magical perspectives, and look at the emergence of Buddhist schools or sects dominated by the Japanese spirit.

National Buddhism

Buddhism officially entered Japan in 552 CE though it may have been a few years earlier. The king of Kudara in Korea presented the court of Emperor Kimmei with Buddhist images and texts and declared that it would benefit the Japanese people. Though it had already been brought in by Chinese and Korean immigrants, its spread was greatly facilitated by the recognition of its political utility for promoting national interests.
Immediately upon its introduction it became involved in the political rivalry of two clans, one of which supported it and one which wanted to stay with the pure Shinto.
The first major figure to help in the formation of national Buddhism was Prince Shotoku (573-621 CE). He helped the pro-Buddhist clan in establishing a strong central authority. Admiration of China and a desire to restore Japanese fortunes in Korea also motivated him.
The prince was deeply devoted to the teachings of Buddhism and was credited with a 17-point constitution which advocated reverence for the three treasures of Buddhism by all people as the basis of social harmony.
He wrote commentaries on three major Mahayana sutras which helped transform Buddhism from an other-worldly religion to one promoting social harmony in this world. He also emphasized Buddhism as a religion of laymen which greatly influenced later generations.
Following prince Shotoku, Buddhism was subjected to greater control when the T'ang law codes were adopted. Private temples were prohibited, and monks had to be licensed. In addition, thy could not work among the people.
Later, Buddhism was again restored with the idea that the great sun buddha should be the representative.
Hua-yen was adopted which taught that the essence of each thing contained the essence of every other thing. All reality was interdependent and mutually permeating. Hence, the world manifested the Buddha nature combined in a grand harmony. The symbolism of the image and its many surrounding Buddhas carried a political message of the interdependence of the Japanese people and the Imperial house.
Many other schools were introduced over the years and in some cases the monks were militant and hard to control. Emphasis was not on the common people but rather on magical incantations and recitations which would keep Japan secure. They tended to cater to the aristocracy.
Buddhist religion declined in the Tokugawa period (1615 CE) because of earlier attacks on its institutions and its reduction to a mere political tool in an effort to achieve total social stability and harmony. It completely capitulated to secular authority. When the Tokugawa regime was overthrown in 1868 CE Buddhism was widely persecuted as new nationalism and the desire for "pure Shinto' was expressed.
Buddhist leaders joined Shintoists in promoting the new nationalism and thus linked themselves to the political absolutism of the new regime. They were welcomed and have managed to maintain their autonomy though Christianity has been seen as a threat since then.
Thus a major issue confronting the Buddhist sects (of which there are about 75 in Japan alone) has been their own relevance in a rapidly changing and more highly sophisticated, complex, industrial society.

Popular Buddhism

Buddhist influence, widespread in all areas of culture, is readily evident in the arts and literature. It is apparent in language where colloquial terms reflect Buddhist background.
Examples are expressions such as Kara-nembutsu, which means "vain talk" refers to an empty mouthing of the Buddha's name as in pure land tradition. Or Jigo-jitoku which means "it’s your own fault” referring to the Buddhist karmic principle that what one sows one reaps.
Many priests were popular with the people though as a rule, the growth of Buddhism was largely concentrated within the ruling class who displayed their social power thru building temples, sponsoring images, and copying sutras. Monks traveled preaching to the people in spite of restrictions.
Pure Land Buddhism appealed to the common people since all that was required was the recitation of the name of Amida Buddha, its simplicity appealed. This is still the most popular religion in Japan claiming approximately 12 million adherents.
There were other popular Buddhas however with Kuan-yin (Chinese) or kannon in Japanese being one of the most popular as the goddess of mercy. She symbolized the depth of the Buddhas compassion and promised to save men from all forms of calamity and to grant them health, wealth and security in life. She was a male in China but in Japan is considered female.
Taoism imported from China along with Buddhism and Confucianism had popular appeal because of its offering various methods for advancing one's life in this world and attaining longevity or good fortune. Yin/yang magic and divination, astrology, geomancy, and calendrical computations were combined with Buddhism.
Ceremonies for the dead were also a prominent part of Japanese Buddhism with masses for the dead being used to placate the dead spirits and show filial piety.
Considerable criticism has been directed to Buddhism because of its predominant association with death.
The elements of popular religion have penetrated all sects to secure support from the masses.
In the modern era a gap frequently exists between critical intellectual priests and the ordinary persons in relation to the magical and pragmatic features of Buddhism.
In spite of calls for reform and modernization within Buddhism today, the great source of support and strength in the orders still derives from the magical and pragmatic faith which, for lack of a better alternative, supports individuals in dealing with the problems and anxieties of modern life.

Doctrinal Buddhism

The 12th and 13th centuries were part of the most important era in art, literature, and religion. Several Buddhist reformers emerged with a critical spirit and search for truth which could equate them with their European counterparts of the reformation.
In offering Buddhism to the common man, each of these major teachers strove for a simplified doctrine and religious discipline withing the capabilities of the ordinary person. All these individuals came out of the Tendai tradition discussed under China as T'ien’ -t'ai and using the lotus sutra as its central text.
There was a strong tendency to sectarianism based on the conviction that each teacher had discovered the one fundamental truth of Buddhism.

Honen (1133-1212 CE)

He made it clear that the only certain way for ordinary persons in this age to achieve salvation was the recitation of the Buddha's name alone. This rendered all other Buddhist disciplines meaningless.
He was motivated by a deep compassion for the common man and eloquently attacked the aristocratic Buddhism of his time which made salvation contingent on wealth or learning. He felt it was impossible to keep all the precepts of Buddhism. He has been called the "Martin Luther of Asia.”
The essence of his faith and practice were given concisely in the famous "Testament on One Sheet of Paper". In it he says one does not have to have studied all the deep meanings of Buddhism but need only recite the "Namu Amida Budda" without doubt of his mercy whereby one may be born into the Land of Perfect Bliss. All that was required was and is faith.

Shinran

A disciple of Honen. Carried Honen's teachings to extreme.
Insisted that human depravity of people was so great in this last age that it makes it impossible to choose Amida, he must choose you.
Felt it was egocentric to recite name in hope of salvation as that assumed a person could save him/herself. One recited the name in thanksgiving as the merit of Amida was transferred to people and they were saved already. Thus there was nothing one must do to enter the pure land except trust in the merit of Amida.
There are 10 divisions of Shinrans view in Japan with 21,000 temples. There are 9,000,000 adherents for Shinran and 4.2 million for Honen.
They have a congregational type of religion in which people come together to worship Amida.
The difference between Luther's view and Shinran's is that when you are chosen by Amida you are good while Luther says we are never worthy of God saving us.
Amida is not seen as a god but as a person who became a Boddhisatva and did not to attain Nirvana until all sentient beings were saved. He is the "compassionate one."
Ultimate Concern: To attain Nirvana by being born in the western paradise.
Highest Reality hard to say whether it is Amida or Nirvana.

Nichiren (1222-1282 CE)

In the U. S. called Nichiren Soshu, with its Enichizan Myohoji Temple in Los Angeles
Nicheron (1222-1282) was a fisherman’s son and was impressed early by the impermanence of life.
He entered a monastery of the Tendai sect and at first was attracted to Pure Land teaching. But with time he began to doubt that it could bring salvation.
He was disturbed by the many Buddhist sects in the country and felt there should be only one, just as there was only one emperor.
After studying all the various schools, he concluded that only the Lotus Sutra taught the supreme truth of Buddhism.
He connected the fortunes of the country with the nation's lack of clear support for the true form of Buddhism. He felt rather than following the Lotus Sutra the land was overrun with Pure Land teaching.
He predicted that unless the land turned to the true teaching of the Lotus Sutra, it would be overrun by a foreign country.
He advocated the abolition of all other sects and the establishment of his own doctrine.
He believed himself to be the prophet predicted by the Buddha to come in the last age.
He was radical believing it was the governments duty to kill heretics.
He and his supporters were persecuted, attacked by mobs, chased from temples, etc.
When the Mongols invaded Japan in 1274 and 1281 his predictions seemed to be born out and his following grew much larger, though the nation as a whole did not turn to it.
He was moved by strong nationalistic feeling but felt that Buddhism was above the state. He felt that the destiny of the state depended upon its adherence to the true form of Buddhism.

Five sections to the Tendai doctrine.

Humanity as a whole must return to the Lotus Sutra. This meant reciting the title of the sutra, not the name of Amida as in Pure Land teaching.
Japan must straighten out and thus save the whole world.
Felt heaven on earth would come if everyone on earth turned to the teaching of the Lotus Sutra.
By making everyone Buddhist we can again reach Nirvana here on earth.
Highest Reality for him was not Guatoma but rather the cosmic Buddha who stands behind the historical Sakyamuni buddha. The true Buddha is the timeless reality, not a person who at a specific time and place attained enlightenment.

Three great secrets

He established his own Mandala (sacred symbolic diagram) which represented the universal power of the Buddha truth. One meditates upon it for it contains all the teachings of the Lotus Sutra. It is a drawing of reality.
Title of the Lotus Scripture is used as a Mantra. Though it is far beyond the reach of reasoning it must be believed in and recited so when you do you are gathering power contained in the Sutra, which is a verbal form of reality.
Place of ordination since had to have government approval to ordain monks he said only place can be ordained was his monastery but ultimately it is within one’s own body because of the Buddha nature. Government made his monastery a place of ordination after the Mongol invasions.

Soka Gakkai (value creation society)

Is an offshoot of Nicheron founded in 1937. Has known phenomenal growth since WW II.
It is made up of a society of laypeople devoted to service of Nicheron and claims to be the only authorized agent of Buddhism.
Goal is to promote, further and make Nicheron Soshu the religion of the world.
A major reason for its rapid spread is it has addressed itself aggressively to meeting the needs of the new urban dwellers and their problems by providing a personal ethic and sense of meaning. They are aggressive, going out after converts.
Main purpose is to bring peace and happiness to all mankind thru spreading of its doctrine. felt that individual satisfaction comes by following the true religion. It is the obligation of each member to win his family and friends to the faith. The method of winning converts is "Break and subdue" you destroy another's resistance and bring him into religion by argument. There is much intimidation.
Believe Nicheron fulfilled prophecy of future Buddha -- they honor him as the true Buddha.
Evangelism is major task of religion-trying to gain worldwide acceptance of religion.
They stereotype all other religions and examine them in three ways.

Literary group- do they have valid scriptures?
Theoretical-is it consistent with reason and science?
Practical proof-does it really make people happy in daily life?

High priority is given to instruction of members and to discipline.
Worship-- is done daily by each individual and consists of meditation on the sacred Mandala, recitation of the name of the Lotus sutra. No faith needed, just recitation to transform an individual.
Pilgrimage to the head temple in Japan is also needed.
The Clean Government Party formed to have cooperation with the government. Idea is to form "buddhis democracy". It sees itself as the synthesizer of east and west. It is also involved in cultural events. It is a proselytizing mass movement and very big.
Soka Gakai has known a rapid spread among Americans first among service men with Japanese wives, but more recently on the basis of its own religious appeal.
Ultimate Concern is promotion and widespread dissemination of Nicheron
Problem: suffering in the world
Solution: follow Nicheron religion and the lotus sutra
Highest reality: Nirvana.

Zen

introduced to Japan by Eisai who brought the ‘sudden enlightenment’ version of Ch'an from China. It became known as Rinzai Zen in Japan and is the most popular version in the west.
Dogen (1200 – 1253 CE) however, found himself dissatisfied with the religious disciplines of other groups and studied with Eisai. He did not find it satisfying either so went to China where he studied what became known in Japan as Soto Zen or the gradualist approach to enlightenment.
This form of Zen could be expanded to include all people from all walks of life and so became known as "Farmers’ Zen.”
Dogen emphasized the importance of zazen or sitting meditation over all other Buddhist practices. Said that zazen was the process wherein Buddha himself had attained the bliss of enlightenment. One is enlightened while practicing zazen whereas in Rinzai one is enlightened suddenly when the mind realizes the truth of existence, i.e.: the Buddha nature in oneself and all things.
Dogen rejected the Zen principle of a special transmission beyond scripture and thus held scripture to be more important than other schools.
Dogen also denied the theory of the three periods in the decline of Buddhist teaching (Mappo) as emphasized in the Pure Land tradition. felt Buddha's enlightenment and the possibility of realizing it were not affected by time.
The attitude toward life and the world generated in Zen discipline of whatever school has made it significant in the development of Japanese society and culture.
It has been the basis of such military arts as Kendo (swordsmanship) and judo (the way of weakness)
It was attractive to the samurai warrior class.
It has influenced broadly such arts as architecture, gardens, literature, drama, painting, and calligraphy.
The tea ceremony and flower arranging are taught to women with the idea of getting in touch with one’s roots. these are both very important in Japanese society.

Magic

There are two fundamental principles on which magic is based everywhere.
First, that like produces like, effect resembling cause. This is called the ‘law of similarity.’ and
Second: that things which have once been in contact continue ever afterwards to act on each other. This is called the law of contact or contagion.
Practices based on the law of similarity may be termed Homoeopathic Magic while those based on the Law of contact or Contagion, Contagious Magic.

Homoeopathy (sympathetic magic)

Most familiar application is the attempt which has been made in many cultures and ages to injure or destroy an enemy by injuring or destroying an image of him. (voodoo).
Burning an effigy such a Zozobra (old man gloom) which happens in Santa Fe, New Mexico every year is another good example.
The practice of enchantment by means of images was familiar to the wizards of Egypt. A drop of a man's blood, some clippings of his hair, or parings of his nails, a rag of the garment which he had worn, sufficed to give a sorcerer complete power over him.
Homoeopathic magic has also been used for benevolent purposes, if less frequently to facilitate childbirth, procure offspring for barren women, winning love (cupid shooting his arrows into the heart of the one someone wants to win), maintain or restore harmony between husband and wife, heal or prevent sickness, and by hunters or fishers to secure an abundant food supply.
Weather control is part of this type of magic and important that in some tribes the shaman involved is separate office.
Rainmaking involves sympathetic magic and various method are used. Climbing a tree and pouring water on the ground to show the spirits what is wanted, imitating clouds thru dance. If object is to stop rain than they will avoid water and resort to warmth and fire to show they want it stopped.
Some other methods are bathing, women ploughing a field or pretending to plough. Animals are associated with rain, especially frogs and toads.
Similar things are used to attempt to control wind.
In many parts of Europe dancing or leaping high in the air are approved homoeopathic methods of making the crops grow high.
Sympathetic magic does not just have positive precepts; it comprises a very large number of negative precepts, that is, prohibitions. Tells you what to do and what not to do. The positive precepts are charms while the negative are taboos.
The aim of positive magic or sorcery is to produce a desired event; the aim of negative magic or taboo is to avoid an undesirable one.
Among the taboos observed by primitive tribes none is more numerous that the prohibitions against eating certain foods.

Contagious Magic

The most familiar example is the magical sympathy which supposed to exist between a man and any severed portion of his person, such as his hair or nails. So whoever gets possession of human hair or nails may work his will, at any distance, upon the person from whom they were cut.
Other parts which are commonly believed to remain in sympathetic union with the body, after the physical connection has been severed are the navel-string and the after-birth, including the placenta.
There is supposed to be a connection between a man's wound and the agent of that wound so that whatever is subsequently done by or to that agent must correspondingly affect the patient either for good or evil.
This notion is probably founded on the idea that the blood on the weapon continues to feel with the blood in his body.
Finally, magic can be wrought on a man not only thru his clothes and severed parts of himself but also thru the impressions left by his body in sand or earth.
It is a worldwide superstition that injuring footprints you injure the feet that made them. Rheumatic pains are often attributed to this cause in the Australian aborigines.
Thus most primitive peoples (and not so primitive) do not discern the limits of their ability to control nature and thus ascribe to themselves certain powers which should be called supernatural.
Over and above this general supernaturalism, some persons are supposed to be inspired for short periods by a divine spirit, and thus temporarily to enjoy the knowledge and power of the indwelling deity.
From beliefs like these it is an easy step to the conviction that certain men or women are permanently possessed by a deity, or in some other undefined way are endued with so high a degree of supernatural power as to be ranked as gods and to receive the homage of prayer and sacrifice.
Sometimes these share not only religious power but political power as well as the Egyptian pharaoh or the Emperors of China and Japan.
The ancient Germans sometimes worshipped women as true and living goddesses.
One of the more amusing approaches is that among one tribe of Germans (the Gallas) when a woman grows tired of the chores of housekeeping, she begins to talk incoherently and to demean herself extravagantly. This is a sign of the descent of the holy spirit Callo upon her. Immediately her husband prostrates himself and adores her; she ceases to bear the humble title of wife and is called "Lord"; domestic duties have no further claim on her, and her will is divine law.