Protestant Perspectives on Ancestor Worship in Japanese Buddhism: The Funeral and the Buddhist Altar

Abstract

When Buddhism first entered China, severe criticism was heaped on its lack of filial piety. The lack of filial piety arose primarily from Buddhism's maintenance of monastic life for the clergy. Monasticism meant that Buddhist monks left their homes and could not care for their parents in their old age. Celibacy meant that children were not fathered to continue the family line. Not only did the lack of children bring the family line to an end, but it also brought to an end the entire genealogical tree of ancestors from time immemorial and meant that no more worshipers were brought into the world. Filial piety was the foundation of Confucian ethics. Ancestor worship was the core of filial piety. The Buddhists defended their position by pointing to the many sutras recommending filial piety, by emphasizing the example of Gautama Buddha, who went to the Trayastrimsa heaven to preach to his mother after his enlightenment, and by forging apocryphal literature stressing filial piety. They argued that their brand of filial piety-in which the monk transforms himself through Buddhist enlightenment into a tool for the salvation of his parents-was superior to that of Confucianism.1 They also questioned why they should give special attention only to the parents of this life when surely all living beings have been their parents at one time or another in the countless cycles of reincarnation.2 After prolonged social pressure and several persecutions, Buddhism slowly accommodated itself to Chinese tradition, adopting features of ancestor worship. The first step was the participation of Buddhist monks at memorial services for imperial ancestors. The first credible evidence of this practice is the memorial service held in the imperial precincts during the reign of Chung-tsung (684-709) in 706, during which monks joined in a vegetarian feast and incense burning. Beginning with the reign of Hsuantsung (713-755), such services spread throughout the empire.3 Having begun with imperial ancestors, the next step was Buddhist memo-