Jōkei and the Rhetoric of "Other-Power" and "Easy Practice" in Medieval Japanese Buddhism

In medieval Japan, Hōnen and Shinran appropriated the rhetoric of "other-power" and "easy-practice" to validate their radical doctrines and draw dividing lines between themselves and the established schools of the day. In this essay, I argue that these are not useful categories f...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Ford, James L. 1957- (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Nanzan Institute [2002]
Dans: Japanese journal of religious studies
Année: 2002, Volume: 29, Numéro: 1/2, Pages: 67-106
Sujets non-standardisés:B Enlightenment
B Religious Studies
B Religious rituals
B Soteriology
B Bodhisattva
B Devotion
B Vows
B Karma
Accès en ligne: Volltext (kostenfrei)
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Résumé:In medieval Japan, Hōnen and Shinran appropriated the rhetoric of "other-power" and "easy-practice" to validate their radical doctrines and draw dividing lines between themselves and the established schools of the day. In this essay, I argue that these are not useful categories for understanding the religious dynamics of the period. Like the rhetorical distinctions of Mahāyāna/Hīnayāna and sudden/gradual in earlier Buddhist debates, these polemical labels had only a marginal relationship to the schisms of the day. An examination of the writings and practices of Jōkei (1155-1213), a prominent monk of the Hossō school and contemporary of Hōnen, reveals that "other-power" and "easy-practice" were, in fact, valued features on both sides of the debate. As a representative of "established" Buddhism, Jōkei was not unique in this respect, but he serves as a useful example to problematize the frequent adoption of these categories in interpretations of "Kamakura Buddhism."
Contient:Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies