"Budda no Fukuin": The Deployment of Paul Carus's "Gospel of Buddha" in Meiji Japan
Why did the Rinzai Zen abbot Shaku Sōen publish a Japanese translation of the life of the Buddha that had been written by an American philosopher to promote Christian monism? In seeking to answer this question, this paper examines first Paul Carus's mission to overcome the perceived conflict be...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
[1998]
|
| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
Year: 1998, Volume: 25, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 319-344 |
| Further subjects: | B
Zen Buddhism
B Religious Studies B Buddhist Philosophy B Trial in public court B Parliaments B Christianity B Truth |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Why did the Rinzai Zen abbot Shaku Sōen publish a Japanese translation of the life of the Buddha that had been written by an American philosopher to promote Christian monism? In seeking to answer this question, this paper examines first Paul Carus's mission to overcome the perceived conflict between Christianity and science in the late nineteenth century. It then considers how his introduction to Mahāyāna Buddhism through the delegation of Japanese priests to the World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago 1893, resulted in a book that aimed to popularize his vision. Finally, it positions the translation of this book (Budda no fukuin) in the discursive contexts of Meiji Japan for the ideological future of the modern nation to show how it served the aims of the Meiji Buddhist revival. |
|---|---|
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
|