Despite being one of the most influential forms of Japanese Buddhism, the Pure Land tradition, and notably its impact on the development of Japanese cultural history, has often been overlooked outside Japan. Taking into account recent scholarship on orientalism and occidentalism, this book, written from the perspective of the Study of Religions, provides an analysis of the impact that the Pure Land tradition, in particular Shin Buddhism, has exerted on mainstream forms of artistic expression (especially creative arts, literature and the tea ceremony) in modern and contemporary Japan.

Pure Land was one of the main fields of mythopoesis and discourse among the Asian Buddhist traditions, and in Japan of central cultural importance from the Heian period right up to the present. However, its range, inconsistency, variability, and complexity have tended to be misevaluated. The pieces reproduced in this set, organized both chronologically and thematically, have been chosen as linchpin works accentuating the diversity of what evolved under this heading of Buddhism. Special attention is given to the traps into which Western observers may fall, the role of the large True Pure Land (Jōdoshinshū) school, and the richness of Tokugawa and twentieth-century developments. These selections of previously published articles will serve as an essential starting point for anyone interested in this perhaps underestimated area of Buddhist studies.

Examines the history of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism and how orientalist assumptions have caused the West to ignore this important tradition.

National attempts to regulate gambling often run into conflict with the EU’s internal market. This book analyses the approaches taken at the national level against the requirements of EU law in addition to contextualizing a highly polarised debate.

Zen and Japanese Culture is a classic that has influenced generations of readers and played a major role in shaping conceptions of Zen’s influence on Japanese traditional arts. In simple and poetic language, Daisetz Suzuki describes Zen and its historical evolution. He connects Zen to the philosophy of the samurai, and subtly portrays the relationship between Zen and swordsmanship, haiku, tea ceremonies, and the Japanese love of nature. Suzuki uses anecdotes, poetry, and illustrations of silk screens, calligraphy, and architecture. The book features an introduction by Richard Jaffe that acquaints readers with Suzuki’s life and career and analyzes the book’s reception in light of contemporary criticism, especially by scholars of Japanese Buddhism. Zen and Japanese Culture is a valuable source for those wishing to understand Zen in the context of Japanese life and art, and remains one of the leading works on the subject.

Questions of secularity and modernity have become globalized, but most studies still focus on the West. This volume breaks new ground by comparatively exploring developments in five areas of the world, some of which were hitherto situated at the margins of international scholarly discussions: Africa, the Arab World, East Asia, South Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe. In theoretical terms, the book examines three key dimensions of modern secularity: historical pathways, cultural meanings, and global entanglements of secular formations. The contributions show how differences in these dimensions are linked to specific histories of religious and ethnic diversity, processes of state-formation and nation-building. They also reveal how secularities are critically shaped through civilizational encounters, processes of globalization, colonial conquest, and missionary movements, and how entanglements between different territorially grounded notions of secularity or between local cultures and transnational secular arenas unfold over time.

This eclectic, perhaps quirky collection of reflections celebrates a longing to know who we are, who and what God is, and what the world is like. In joy and sorrow, each one mirrors the holiness of life, eliciting reverence--for ourselves, the natural world, and the mystery of what it means to be. Each conveys a sense of awe and wonder while pointing beyond mere observation, a deeper and more profound encounter than may first meet the eye. The faces of poets Mary Oliver and Brian Doyle help illumine the natural world. The faces of prophets Brian Blount, Desmond Tutu, and John Lewis inspire engagement and action. Julian of Norwich continues to astound and astonish with her discerning writings and visions. And the Buddha, in his last hours, admonishes frightened villagers to "make of yourselves a light." Readers will be reminded of faces from the recent pandemic and the grief of suicide together with the joy of new life. In faces known and unknown, this book honors holy faces that grace our lives. These are faces where I see God.

The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism offers a comprehensive collection of work by leading scholars in the field. They examine the historical development of Buddhist traditions throughout the world, from traditional settings like India, Japan, and Tibet, to the less well known regions of Latin America, Africa, and Oceania.

This book is intended to engender debate. Its subject, faith in a modern Buddhist context, almost always carries with it the widespread but erroneous assumption that it is completely unimportant to the Buddhist path. Without really knowing what it is and how it differs from theistic versions, faith has been given a bad name. Moreover, naivety regarding the colonial orientalist agenda and bias of early Zen exegetes in the West has allowed modern Zennists to accept, almost unquestioningly, the view that faith and knowledge occupy opposite ends of the practice spectrum. As a result, trusted and authentic sources of authority, Zen ancestors and sutras, have often been prevented from speaking about a doctrinally sound and legitimate tool of realization mentioned in a stunningly large amount of sutras. It has also resulted in an erroneous and often condescending view of “faith schools” of Buddhism. Now is the perfect time in Zen’s journey in the West to reassess and address these shortcomings.

Shin Buddhism (Jōdo Shinshū), although weakened in many ways by secularization, continues to be a stable presence in Japanese society, as is emblematically shown by the very symmetrical position of the Nishi (Honganji-ha) and the Higashi Honganji (Ōtani-ha) head temples in the center of Kyōto, and by the recent projects for their renovation. This book addresses the need for more academic research on Shin Buddhism, and is specifically directed at describing and analyzing distinctive social aspects of this religious tradition in historical and contemporary perspective. The contributions collected here cover a wide range of issues, including the intersection between Shin Buddhism and fields as diverse as politics, education, social movements, economy, culture and the media, social ethics, gender, and globalization.