Having found this course through Bion, I attended the first lecture last night. I will attempt to summarise the main insights from each session as the year progresses.
The speaker for the first three is Thomas Newhall, who teaches at the graduate center at Tokyo University with a specialism in medieval Chinese monastic texts and practice. His background is BA (Oberlin, USA), MA (Fo Guang, Taiwan), MA (Tokyo, Japan) & PhD (UCLA, USA).
Lecture 1 - overview
Buddhism in Japan and not Japanese Buddhism is his prefered term. The difference is that Buddhism in Japan is not as unique as many think it is. His example for this point is the syncretic accommodation that Buddhism made with Shinto, absorbing many deities into a Buddhist world view whether for good or ill. He made clear that this was equally true in China and Korea and not a new development in Japan. However, his main example was the way in which Indian Buddhism enthusiastically embraced many Hindu deities, illustrating that this has been a feature of Buddhism from the very start. Attached is a chart I created months ago to illustrate this point in my tour guiding work.
First Wave - Asuka Period (583 - 710)
Is this new imported deity useful to achieve 'X'?, ie Buddhism as new magical system for worldly gain.
Second Wave - Nara Period (710 - 794)
First Buddhist Institutions set up - the Six Nara schools - although three are Hinayana and there are Mahayana, but all are solidly focussed on Indian texts, including the Vinaya, Abhidharma, Heart Sutra, Flower Garland Sutra and Yogacara philosophy. Each school focussing on one of the above.
Third Wave - Heian Period (794 - 1185)
Both Tendai (Saicho with the Lotus Sutra) and Shingon (Kukai with tantric and esoteric practice) are building on a far more Chinese style and content than the second wave. The Chinese Lotus Sutra is more of a paraphrase than a translation of the Sanskrit that still exists. Equally, the tantrism of Shingon is based on a Chinese reworking of the practices absorbed into Indian Buddhism from Hindiusm.
Fourth Wave - Kamakura Period (1185 - 1333)
All of these innovations arose from Tendai trained teachers and as such are more deeply rooted in Chinese Buddhism than Indian. They are practices suited to 'The End Times' that people thought they were living in. Streamlined simple single practice schools that focus on either chanting or zazen.
Fifth Wave - Edo Period (1603 - 1868)
The state co-opts Buddhist institutions as a de facto civil service to help manage the nation with temples and clergy involved in tax collection, census taking, suppression of deviant religious forms and providing elementary school age education. Politcially astute but spiritually suffocating.
Post 1868 to be covered later.
IMG_5670.jpg
The speaker for the first three is Thomas Newhall, who teaches at the graduate center at Tokyo University with a specialism in medieval Chinese monastic texts and practice. His background is BA (Oberlin, USA), MA (Fo Guang, Taiwan), MA (Tokyo, Japan) & PhD (UCLA, USA).
Lecture 1 - overview
Buddhism in Japan and not Japanese Buddhism is his prefered term. The difference is that Buddhism in Japan is not as unique as many think it is. His example for this point is the syncretic accommodation that Buddhism made with Shinto, absorbing many deities into a Buddhist world view whether for good or ill. He made clear that this was equally true in China and Korea and not a new development in Japan. However, his main example was the way in which Indian Buddhism enthusiastically embraced many Hindu deities, illustrating that this has been a feature of Buddhism from the very start. Attached is a chart I created months ago to illustrate this point in my tour guiding work.
First Wave - Asuka Period (583 - 710)
Is this new imported deity useful to achieve 'X'?, ie Buddhism as new magical system for worldly gain.
Second Wave - Nara Period (710 - 794)
First Buddhist Institutions set up - the Six Nara schools - although three are Hinayana and there are Mahayana, but all are solidly focussed on Indian texts, including the Vinaya, Abhidharma, Heart Sutra, Flower Garland Sutra and Yogacara philosophy. Each school focussing on one of the above.
Third Wave - Heian Period (794 - 1185)
Both Tendai (Saicho with the Lotus Sutra) and Shingon (Kukai with tantric and esoteric practice) are building on a far more Chinese style and content than the second wave. The Chinese Lotus Sutra is more of a paraphrase than a translation of the Sanskrit that still exists. Equally, the tantrism of Shingon is based on a Chinese reworking of the practices absorbed into Indian Buddhism from Hindiusm.
Fourth Wave - Kamakura Period (1185 - 1333)
All of these innovations arose from Tendai trained teachers and as such are more deeply rooted in Chinese Buddhism than Indian. They are practices suited to 'The End Times' that people thought they were living in. Streamlined simple single practice schools that focus on either chanting or zazen.
Fifth Wave - Edo Period (1603 - 1868)
The state co-opts Buddhist institutions as a de facto civil service to help manage the nation with temples and clergy involved in tax collection, census taking, suppression of deviant religious forms and providing elementary school age education. Politcially astute but spiritually suffocating.
Post 1868 to be covered later.
IMG_5670.jpg