Le sūtra des contemplations du Buddha Vie-Infinie: essai d’interprétation textuelle et iconographique par Jérôme Ducor, Helen Loveday (review)

Abstract

situated to the north rather than the west of the Chahar, whereas the most important Western Mongolian group, the Zunghars, are not mentioned despite their significance for Qing empire-building. The chronology of Japan’s k ominka 皇民化 policy in Korea (pp. 187–190) remains unclear to non-specialists—one could be led to believe that it took place much earlier than the 1930s. Marx never theorized about ‘‘a shift of real power from the crown to the dollar’’ (p. 197); in fact, he saw all political systems (including that of feudalism) as part of a superstructure determined by the relations of production. And finally, DuBois gives the impression that Tibet was an autonomous entity within China between 1912 and 1950, rather than a de facto independent state, even though it did not comprise all ethnic Tibetans and the diplomatic and legal foundations of Tibetan independence were disputed by China. Secondly, these problems spill over into the conceptual realm. The ‘‘Unity of the Three Teachings’’ (sanjiao heyi 三教合一) is taken at face value rather than as a propagandistic device (pp. 34–36); and even if one believes that most Chinese ways of ‘‘doing’’ religion can be subsumed under Daoism (as the discussion on pp. 25– 30 appears to indicate), the concept of ‘‘folk religion’’ or ‘‘popular religion’’ deserves at least a critical mention. In the discussion of the relationship between religion and politics in the twentieth century, the all-important distinction between ‘‘religion’’ and ‘‘superstition’’ does not feature at all, although it underlay the religious policies of both Nationalists and Communists. Thirdly, the book’s focus on exemplary cases and individual actors and organizations also has as its downside the occasional lack of systematic discussion. While DuBois does mention the ‘‘new religions’’ in post-1900 Japan, he fails to comprehensively discuss the Chinese ‘‘redemptive societies’’ (which are in some ways their counterpart) and even the ‘‘new-new religions,’’ despite their upsurge in post-war Japan being a consequence of the dismantling of state Shint o, which is described at some length. In a few instances, this also affects chapter organization. The chapter on Chinese Communist religious policy contains a lengthy description of the campaign against one particular organization, the Yiguandao, while we learn virtually nothing about the sea change in religious policy after 1978 and the ensuing ‘‘religion fever.’’ This is not to downplay the merits of the book: DuBois provides a fresh look at East Asian history that establishes religion’s rightful place therein for a broader audience. His study is highly informative and provides intriguing and insightful details for both specialists and non-specialists. On the other hand, it is far from comprehensive and must be read with a pinch of salt. THORALF KLEIN Loughborough University JÉRÔME DUCOR AND HELEN LOVEDAY, Le s utra des contemplations du Buddha VieInfinie : essai d’interprétation textuelle et iconographique. Turnhout (Belgium): Brepols, 2011. 466 pp. J69 (pb). ISBN 978-2-503-54116-7 This weighty volume, coauthored by two prolific scholars accomplished in different fields, really combines two books in one. The first portion, by Ducor, BOOK REVIEWS 119 provides a copiously annotated French translation of one of the central texts of East Asian Buddhism, The S utra on the Visualization of the Buddha of Infinite Life Preached by the Buddha (Foshuo guan wuliangshou Fo jing 佛說觀無量壽佛 經, T.12.365), whose translation from Sanskrit into Chinese is usually attributed to K alaya sas (Jiangliangyeshe 畺良耶舍) in 424. The text was extremely important in China from the sixth through the tenth centuries and was later canonized by H onen 法然 (1133–1212) of the Japanese Pure Land School (and its progeny, the True Pure Land School) as one of the ‘‘three s utras on the pure land’’ (j odo sanbu ky o 淨土三部經). The s utra is famous for its narrative of King Aj ata satru (Asheshi 阿闍世) nearly killing his father and imprisoning his mother, S akyamuni Buddha’s preaching of sixteen different objects of contemplation to help the mother make present the western pure land of Amit ayus Buddha, the exhortation to chant the name of Amit ayus, and the ranking of practices and their respective forms of rebirth into three major grades, each with...