Buddhist Association Research Articles

The Beginning of Japanese Buddhist Journals in Taiwan during the Japanese Colonial Period: The Background of the Newsletter <i>Taiwan Kyō-hō</i>

This paper examines the publication history of the newsletter Taiwan Kyō-hō. At the start of Japanese rule in Taiwan, which began in 1895, monks from various schools—including the Sōtō, Jōdo, Jōdo Shinshū Honganji-ha, and Shingon sects—accompanied the Japanese military to Taiwan and competed for local followers. One of the most active monks was Chinryu Sasaki of the Sōtō school. Sasaki not only established the Dainippon Taiwan Library and Dainippon Taiwan Buddhism Association, he also founded a school to teach local children Japanese to contend against the Taiwan Buddhist Association formed by the other three schools.

Bringing Buddha to the City: Metropolitan New Orleans and Vietnamese Buddhist Communities

AbstractIn contrast to claims of the secular city, the cityscape of New Orleans has long been shaped by the power and visibility of its Catholic institutions. These institutions played an early role in resettling Vietnamese refugees after 1975, and even today, the most prominent Vietnamese institutions are Catholic churches. Not all Vietnamese in the metropolitan area, however, identify as Catholic. I focus on the efforts of one Buddhist association to build a worship hall in greater metropolitan New Orleans in order to understand how a minority group inscribes its place within the cityscape. Because the construction project requires more financial support than the congregants alone can provide, fundraising efforts must appeal to larger audiences. Through these appeals, I show how the construction of the worship hall involves not just Buddhist placemaking practices but Vietnamese diasporic ones, underscoring the transnational dynamics of religion in the global city. [Diaspora; Buddhism; Placemaking]

Religious Identity in Hanoi, Vietnam Today

Hanoi is home of many major religions in Vietnam. Religious activities are more active, diverse, abundant and become more orderly. From an overview of the religion appearance in Hanoi, this thesis provides some of the religious features in Hanoi. At the same time, the thesis studies the process of formation, development and main activities of some typical religions in Hanoi in the current context such as Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Caodaism, Baha'i Faith, Islam and the Buddhist association of Theravada - Minh Su Dao. Thereby, we can see that the activities of the religions in Hanoi city are always diverse, abundant and have a direct influence on the life of the people in Hanoi city.

The Chinese Mahayana Buddhist Community in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor

Abstract
 This study offers an observation on contemporary Chinese Mahayana Buddhist community in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia. The author focuses on the contemporary Chinese Mahayana Buddhist community in Malaysia as represented by the three selected Chinese Mahayana Buddhist temples in Jalan Kelang Lama of Kuala Lumpur, and Shah Alam and Ampang of Selangor. The methodology that is employed in this research is qualitative methodology that includes interviews and non-participant observation on the members of Malaysian Chinese Mahayana Buddhist temples and organizations in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. Although generalization cannot be made to other Buddhist associations outside Shah Alam and Kuala Lumpur, findings indicate that the Malaysian Chinese Mahayana Buddhist is an organized association and there are many programs and activities offered to its members.
 Keywords: Ethics, Mahayana Buddhism, Chinese, Philosophy, Malaysia

고려 태조대 ‘대구 달성’지역 불교계의 동향

고려 태조대 ‘대구 달성’지역 불교계의 동향

The Relationship between the State and the Buddhist Community in Modern China: Critical Review of Selected Literature

The paper treats the challenges and transformations of the Buddhist community in China on its way to the present state, both in national and international terms. The research focuses upon the dynamics of the relationship between the state and religion in China – from the demise of the empire to the present, with special emphasis upon the period of the People’s Republic of China. This review of the relevant literature concentrates upon the anthropological paradigms treating the relationship between state and religion, as well as upon state, political and religious institutions – national, provincial, municipal. Two concrete examples are presented of the renowned Buddhist monasteries – Nanputuo and Shaolin. Special attention is paid to the Buddhist Association of China and its role in the negotiation between the state and party organizations and Buddhist monasteries.

Trend of Buddhist Students in Japan from the Colonial Joseon: Focused on Joseon Students Who Studied and Propagated Buddhism in Japan from ‘Joseon Buddhist Association’

Trend of Buddhist Students in Japan from the Colonial Joseon: Focused on Joseon Students Who Studied and Propagated Buddhism in Japan from ‘Joseon Buddhist Association’

El budismo en el discurso político chino: construcción de una narración patriótico-religiosa

Tres son las grandes persecuciones que el budismo debió enfrentar y superar en la historia de China y variadas las maneras en que ha debido crear un discurso que se adecúe a las circunstancias culturales y políticas para sostener su doctrina. A principios del siglo XX se destaca un discurso modernizador, para luego adecuar los conceptos religiosos a la ideología comunista. En la actualidad, el budismo debe responder a la política patriótica del “Sueño Chino”. En este texto se pretende analizar la narración político-religiosa por medio del uso de conceptos e ideas que circulan en los medios de comunicación y conferencias que la Asociación Budista de China difunde al pueblo creyente.

The Origins and Historical Changes ofChosun Buddhist Association during theJapanese Colonial Period ― Focusing on the composition and the personal history of Chosun Buddhist Association's officers

The Origins and Historical Changes ofChosun Buddhist Association during theJapanese Colonial Period ― Focusing on the composition and the personal history of Chosun Buddhist Association's officers

THE CONSTRUCTION PROCESS OF THE MEMORIAL HALL (COMPLETED IN 1930) FOR GREAT KANTO EARTHQUAKE

This paper considers the design process of the Memorial Hall for Great Kanto Earthquake, which constructed in 1930. Tokyo Metropolitan Government planned a park and the Memorial Hall to commemorate the earthquake and the victim at the old army clothing depot (Honjo Ward), the most severely damaged area by fire whirlwinds. The Memorial Hall is well known for Chuta Ito's design based on the traditional Japanese style, entirely different from the design of the Prizewinners in the Competition. In prewar period, it was common that the design of the Prizewinners in the Competitions changed willfully by the host organization. However, it was unclear how many times the Memorial Hall's design changed to Ito's, which have evaluated as ‘Nihon-Shumi(Japan-Taste)’ style. Therefore, for this study, the main purpose is to clarify the process of the Memorial Hall's design changes through its design process. In this study, the news articles are used as the main requirements to analyze the general's opinion about the construction of the Memorial Hall, and 198 pieces of articles were collected by the newspaper; Asahi, Yomiuri, Tokyo Nichinichi, Miyako which published in Tokyo and throughout Japan, from 1923 to 1930. As a result, it clarifies that the Memorial Hall's design changed 8 times, and Toshikata Sano and Chuta Ito led the design change. First, Toshikata Sano who was a director, Bureau of Transportation Tokyo Metropolitan Government, wanted to get the idea about the Memorial Hall's design and the way of pray for victims of earthquake through the Competition. Sano wanted modern design to the Memorial Hall, so he recommended the modern design that won the first prize in the competition. However, the Buddhist Association, patron on the construction plan of the Memorial Hall, wanted Japanese Buddhist temple style to the Memorial Hall. In addition, many inhabitants in Honjo Ward wanted the Memorial Hall's design as the Japanese ossuary. Therefore, The Great Kanto Earthquake Association decided to change the Memorial Hall's design based on the traditional Japanese style by making several consultations. Finally, Ito designed the Memorial Hall. The design mixed various design style; Japanese Buddhist temple, Chinese Buddhist temple, Indian Buddhist temple, and Classicism. From these design process, it makes clear that the public wanted the new religious architecture based on traditional Japanese style to Memorial Hall for Great Kanto Earthquake, and the Memorial Hall constructed to reflect the public opinions and Ito's design concept; eclecticism, also ‘Nihon-Shumi(Japan-Taste)’ style.

From Comrades to Bodhisattvas: Moral Dimensions of Lay Buddhist Practice in Contemporary China, by Gareth Fisher. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press; Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2014. x+263 pp. US$50.00/HK$390.00 (cloth).

<i>From Comrades to Bodhisattvas: Moral Dimensions of Lay Buddhist Practice in Contemporary China</i>, by Gareth Fisher. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press; Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2014. x+263 pp. US$50.00/HK$390.00 (cloth).

Buddhist Stone Sutras in China: Shandong Province eds. by Wang Yongbo and Tsai Suey-Ling

Reviewed by: Buddhist Stone Sutras in China: Shandong Province eds. by Wang Yongbo and Tsai Suey-Ling Bart Dessein (bio) Wang Yongbo and Tsai Suey-Ling, editors. Buddhist Stone Sutras in China: Shandong Province, volume 3. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag; Hangzhou: China Academy of Art Press, 2017. xv, 512 pp. Hardcover €160.00, isbn 978-3-447-10813-3. After the publication of Volume 1 (2014) and Volume 2 (2015), this is the third volume in the series on Buddhist sutra inscriptions engraved on rock cliffs in Shandong Province. Whereas the first volume on Shandong discussed the sites in Dongping and in Pingyin, that is, the area on the northwestern edge of the highlands around lake Dongping (see my review in China Review International 20, no. 3&4), and the second volume described and studied the inscriptions on Mount Yi, Mount Tie, Mount Ge, and Mount Gang—four mountains around the present-day city of Zoucheng, the home of Mencius (372–289 b.c.e.), located at the base of the foothills to the southwest of the Shandong highlands, south of Qufu and east of Jining city (see my review in China Review International 21, no. 2)—the inscriptions that are discussed in this volume are situated in the area from Yellow Stone Cliff (Huangshiya) in the north, that is, just southeast of Shandong's capital city Ji'nan, to Mount Long in the southwestern highlands of Shandong, that is, some 150 kilometers to the south of Yellow Stone Cliff. Inclusive of Yellow Stone Cliff and Mount Long, this geographical area contains nine sites: Yellow Stone Cliff, Mount Long, Mount Jian, Mount Yang, Culai, Fenghuang, Shuiniu, Ziyang, and Mount Tao. The inscriptions in these sites all date from the sixth century c.e., that is, the Northern Qi (550–577) and Northern Zhou (557–581) dynasties. The inscriptions on Mount Jian and Mount Yang, two mountains situated in the middle of the area, are no longer extant. For Mount Yang, only one inscription is recorded: a passage of 98 characters from the "Sutra on the Great Perfection of Wisdom Spoken by Mañjuśrī", Saptaśatikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra (on which more is discussed further). Of the texts on Mount Jian, rubbings have been made before their destruction in the 1960s. In these rubbings, the [End Page 308] name of Lady Zhao (died 575 or 576) figures. Lady Zhao was the wife of Tang Yong (before 532–581), an eminent political figure of the Northern Qi dynasty known as a supporter of the Buddhist cause (p. 8). While the name of Lady Zhao and of General Hulü Wudu (died 572) are the only two names mentioned in the Shandong inscriptions, we also know from other historical sources the names of the donors (communities of people organized in Buddhist associations, as well as individuals) who are mentioned in the eight surviving votive inscriptions (six of which are still in situ, and two of which are only preserved in rubbings) of Yellow Stone Cliff, giving us insight into the connection of these caves to the capital city Luoyang, where, under imperial auspices, work on the monumental sculptured grottos at Longmen had recently started (p. 164). Among the individual donors of Yellow Stone Cliff, we reckon Qifu Rui, the Governor of Qi Prefecture, and Yao Jingzun, the Governor of Wei Commandery. Their donations are dated 26 April 539. As suggested by Zheng Yan, "This may have been the official revival of Buddhist activities at the site after the dynastic rule had changed in 534 from the Northern Wei to the Eastern Wei" (p. 167). The principal donors connected to Mount Culai were Wang Zichun who served as Magistrate of Liangfu County, and a certain Rectifier Hu Bin (p. 247). A similar local connection between the Buddhist community and officialdom can also be deduced from the inscriptions in Shuiniu, where two local families dominate the inscriptions: the Yang and Shu families. The Yang family was overall more powerful, but at least one individual from the Shu family acted as Great Chief Overseer, a function that comprised management responsibilities in a Buddhist association (p. 422). These inscriptions offer the opportunity to compare history as...

Moloka‘i Kannon

Moloka‘i Kannon John Clark (bio) In 2004, while researching a book I wrote called Guardian of the Sea: Jizo in Hawai‘i, I interviewed Rev. Shugen Komagata several times at the Wahiawa Rusenji Soto Mission. During one of our talks he told me his grandfather, Bishop Zenkyo Komagata, then the head of the Soto Mission of Hawai‘i, had established Guzeiji Soto Mission of Moloka‘i in 1928. Rev. Komagata also mentioned that the Guzeiji temple had opened a satellite chapel at the leprosy settlement in Kalaupapa with a special statue called the Moloka‘i Kannon. In 2015, while I was researching a book on Kalaupapa, I visited Rev. Komagata, now Bishop Komagata, at his office in the Soto Mission of Hawai‘i headquarters on Nu‘uanu Avenue. When I asked him to tell me about the Moloka‘i Kannon, he provided the information that follows. When the first Pan-Pacific Congress of the Young Men’s Buddhist Association was held in Honolulu during the summer of 1930, one of the delegates from Japan was Rev. Chiyu Misawa. A representative of Tsurumi Girls High School in Yokohama, he boarded for three weeks at the Soto Mission of Hawai‘i in Honolulu. During his stay in Hawai‘i Rev. Misawa visited the leprosy settlement at Kalaupapa to pay [End Page 141] his respects to the memory of Father Damien, who was well known in Japan. While he was there, he met Japanese patients who asked him to send them a statue of Kannon from Japan to help fulfill their religious needs. Kannon is a Buddhist deity, a bosatsu, or bodhisattva, who, as a model of love and compassion, is special to those who are suffering. Click for larger view View full resolution On November 9, 2010, Bishop Shugen Komagata and his wife Faye visited Tsurumi High School in Yokohama, Japan, the home of the Moloka‘i Kannon. Courtesy of Bishop Shugen Komagata. When Rev. Misawa returned to Japan, he conducted a successful fund raising campaign at Tsurumi Girls High School and used the donations to commission a statue of Kannon from Zuiun Yamamoto, a prominent Buddhist sculptor. When Yamamoto finished the statue, Dr. Daijo Ohinata delivered it to Hawai‘i. Earlier on April 25, 1928, the Soto Mission of Hawai‘i had opened a temple in Kaunakakai, the Guzeiji Soto Mission of Moloka‘i, with a full-time minister. The minister and members of his congregation delivered the statue of Kannon to Kalaupapa and installed it in a building that served as a satellite [End Page 142] chapel. It is now known as Buddhist Hall. During the years that followed the enshrinement of the statue, successive Buddhist ministers and visiting ministers continued to provide services to the patients. In the absence of a permanent minister Kalaupapa staff member Sachihito Kamemoto and his wife took care of the chapel and the statue, while the Guzeiji temple in Kaunakakai continued an annual tradition of presenting New Year’s mochi to the Japanese patients. When the need for Buddhist services at Kalaupapa finally ended, the statue was returned to Guzeiji Soto Mission of Moloka‘i, where it remained for 15 years. In October 1996, it was moved to the Soto Mission of Hawai‘i in Honolulu. Due to the statue’s extraordinary value, which was estimated then to be $100,000, the headquarters decided to return it to the original donor, which is Tsurumi High School today. It was sent back to the school in March 1997, where it was enshrined in their auditorium. It is still known as the Moloka‘i Kannon. [End Page 143] John Clark John Clark is co-editor of The Hawaiian Journal of History. He is also the author of a series of books on Hawai‘i’s beaches and shoreline place names published by the University of Hawaii Press. Copyright © 2016 The Hawaiian Journal of History

The mystical interlinks: Mechanics, religion or optics?

The beauty of this world relies on a fact that there is always this or that mystical interlink among different fields, one concept in a specific realm shines out with great brilliancy in another totally different territory. Catenary is the curve that a free-hanging chain assumes under its own weight, which is thought to be a “true mathematical and mechanical form” in architecture. The catenary shape could also be found in the silk of a spider’s web, but no significant phenomena have ever been observed in optics. Pu et al. [1] recently demonstrated that nanostructured catenaries could be used to construct ultrathin and lightweight optical devices, which are the key of the next-generation integrated photonic systems. This new finding is an excellent demonstration of how natural phenomena could inspire the development of modern optics. Interestingly, the operating bandwidth of the new optical devices could cover the entire electromagnetic spectrum ranging from microwave, terahertz, infrared, to the visible regime. Similar to the “catenary of equal strength”, the phase gradient of the optical catenary is equal everywhere, which is a direct outcome of its special geometric shape. Based on the metasurface-assisted law of reflection and refraction, many novel optical elements, such as flat lenses, axicons, and prisms, could be realized with an excellent performance far beyond their traditional counterparts [2]. The abundant new physics and novel applications make the “catenary optics” as an important advancement in the field of optics as well as nano-photonics. Besides the “catenary” shapes, “gammadion” shape has also been used for the design of metasurface. As we know, gammadion is the symbol of Buddhist Associations, which symbolizes the four cardinal corners of this world. Wang et al. [3] reported that gammadion structure embedded with a pair of splits, as a simple and compact structure, can be applied to make efficient optical devices. By purposely changing the relative split positions at certain arms to selective excitation of different resonance modes in the gammadion metamaterials, THz wave amplitude manipulation, as well as broadband static resonance tunability at the resonance frequency, can be theoretically and experimentally achieved. By combining the concept of catenary structures and gammadion structures, one would be able to design optical devices with complex exotic functionalities. Their methodologies, delivered results, and what’s more, the philosophy for getting the inspiration, would stimulate broad interest for the researchers in other field as well.

The Body Incantatory: Spells and the Ritual Imagination in Medieval Chinese Buddhism by Paul Copp (review)

sources in particular represents a wealth of new historical material that was not widely available to scholars even a few years ago. The second part of the book, “Entry into History,” covers the period up to Xuyun’s death in 1959, with chapters 7 through 10 following him as he takes up abbacies at temples across eastern and southern China, with the final three chapters narrating his life in the first decade of the People’s Republic. Chapter 7 covers Xuyun’s abbacy at Gushan, where he revised monastic discipline, added new buildings , and reorganized temple finances, prompting a “revolt” on the part of the conservative community. Chapters 8 and 9 follow him to Nanhua Temple 南華寺 and Yunmen Temple 雲門寺 in northern Guangdong 廣東, the restoration of which he oversaw in the 1930s and 1940s, and addresses such topics as the role of religion in the politics of the wartime era and the adaptation of the Buddhist community to the new People’s Republic. Xuyun’s “apotheosis” arrives as he lends his authority to the re-organization of Chinese Buddhists under the new government in the early 1950s, leading to the formation of the Chinese Buddhist Association (Zhongguo Fojiao xiehui 中國佛教協會) in 1953. The conclusion examines a few accounts related by Xuyun’s students and disciples regarding his supernatural powers of seeing the future and other abilities, and the importance of these retold tales to the construction of his “sainthood.” Campo stresses the importance of this hagiographic representation since it is the narrative that will be transmitted down through the ages. In her analysis, the author incorporates a wide range of research sources, including articles from Chinese Buddhist periodicals published from the 1920s to the 1950s, collected letters, Xuyun’s published works, reprinted archival materials, temple and other types of gazetteers, as well as an array of academic secondary literature. Campo’s writing pays careful attention to secondary figures, historical context, doctrinal and ritual explanations, and displays sensitivity to the important details in a vast corpus of material. This book should be consulted by anyone interested in the religious history of modern China, as it addresses the crucial question of how religious communities actively construct their eminent leaders by arranging historical elements into a hagiographic framework. Campo’s dual-sided approach reaffirms the importance of the narrative transmitted by the community, while maintaining a critical distance by contrasting that narrative with historical materials. This meticulous study ought to inspire other scholars to adopt a similar approach in their own work on modern figures, balancing the hagiographic persona with well-grounded documentary research to uncover the structures beneath these constructed notions of sainthood. GREGORY ADAM SCOTT University of Edinburgh PAUL COPP, The Body Incantatory: Spells and the Ritual Imagination in Medieval Chinese Buddhism. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014. 400 pp. US $55, £38 (hb). ISBN 978-0-231-16270-8 The topic of dhāraṇı̄ has long vexed modern scholars of Buddhism, who for over a century have attempted to account for the wide range of meanings and associations attached to this highly polysemous term within the various levels of Buddhist REVIEWS 201 discourse. The copious collection of dhāraṇı̄ scriptures translated into Chinese during the medieval period has been the focal point for ongoing discussions over the relationship of dhāraṇı̄ with exoteric Mahāyāna Buddhism on the one hand and the esoteric Vajrayāna traditions on the other. Paul Copp’s recent work, The Body Incantatory: Spells and the Ritual Imagination in Medieval Chinese Buddhism , is an important and thought-provoking contribution to this conversation. Eschewing the method of broad philological surview in favor of close readings of selected texts and—more importantly—material objects, Copp successfully illuminates several oft-overlooked aspects of medieval Chinese dhāraṇı̄, and in the process brings to light new insights on the permutations of both Buddhist and Chinese religious cultures. The main premise of Copp’s study is that dhāraṇı̄ were more than just “incantations ” whose powers were actualized solely through oral intonation. Rather, the material record reveals that medieval Chinese Buddhists commonly employed dhāraṇı̄ in written forms, and such usages constituted a point of contact between Chinese Buddhism and a larger...

Remaking Ancient Virtues for the Virtual World

This article explores the use of communication technology for the dissemination of Buddhist narratives in post-Mao China. It presents a case study of how a thousand-year old Buddhist Longquan Monastery located in the outskirts of Beijing became an avant-garde of modern Buddhism in China with the help of communication technology. The analysis focuses on online rhetoric of Master Xuecheng, the abbot of Longquan and president of China's Buddhist Association, and new media strategies used by the proponents of modern Buddhism to form connections and to create new meaning. The author seeks to determine (a) whether new identities concerning citizenship and nationalism are forged; and (b) whether technology serves as a platform to popularize Buddhism online and offline. The argument is made that by constructing rhetoric that links technology with Buddhism and utilizing new media, the monks of Longquan strive to constitute the religious authority of modern Buddhism and its spiritual leader, Master Xuecheng.

The growth of a Taiwanese Buddhist association in China: Soft power and institutional learning

This article looks at Ciji (Tzu Chi), a Taiwanese Buddhist charity which has been active in China since 1991. Ciji’s presence in China is all the more remarkable in view of outbreaks of crises in relations across the Taiwan Strait as well as the religious nature of the organization. The article first addresses the issue of Taiwan’s soft power in its relations with China and suggests the possibility that Ciji’s activities in Taiwan have shown China the benefits of a liberal policy towards religion in that charitable activities carried out by religious organizations complement the government’s social policies. The second section chronicles Ciji’s presence in China since 1991 and shows that local governments have their own reasons for welcoming Ciji’s volunteers. The third section compares and contrasts state approaches in China and Taiwan with respect to the provision of social services by religious organizations and notes that even if local governments in China are learning about the benefits of a more open policy in their dealings with Ciji, the central government has not adopted the liberal approach of the Taiwanese government in the regulation of religion.

The Forms of Existence and Characteristics of the Buddhist Associations in Medieval Korea

香徒에 대한 최초의 기록은 김유신의 낭도를 미륵향도라고 한 사례이다. 이러한 향도를 역사학 분야에서는 주로 향촌(지연)공동체로 파악하는 경향이 주류를 이루고 있다. 물론 향도는 지역을 기반으로 한 것이기에 그러한 성격을 가지고 있다. 그러나 신앙공동체적인 성격이 더 두드러진 것으로 생각한다.<BR> 향도는 향을 매개로 한 신앙조직이다. 향은 초기에는 왕실과 귀족에게 독점되어 불교의식과 治病, 산천에 제사를 모실 때에만 사용되었다. 이러한 향을 보편적으로 사용하게 되면서 향도를 조직한 구성원들의 신분과 계층은 상층 지배층에서 중간 신분층과 민으로까지 확대되었다. 김유신의 용화 향도 단계에서 신라통일기를 이어 고려중기까지는 향도를 주도한 사회계층은 상층 신분층과 토호층이었으며, 여기에 물론 다수의 민들이 동참하는 형식을 취했을 것이다. 그러다가 고려중기 이후 향의 사용이 보편화되면서 향도는 상당히 분화가 이루어져 민들도 독자적으로 향도를 결성할 수 있게 되었다. 고려말에는 매향이 해안지역에 한정되긴 했지만 상당히 보편화되었던 것도 이러한 사정을 말해준다.<BR> 물론 향도는 일차적으로 향을 매개로 한 신앙공동체로서 존재하였지만, 일부 상당히 큰 규모의 경우는 향도를 주도한 세력들이 지역공동체를 대표하는 인물들이었기에 그 지역을 통괄하고 영향력을 행사하는 기능을 수행했을 가능성은 충분히 예상할 수 있다. 그렇다고 향도의 본질적인 성격을 지역공동체와 연결하는 것은 수긍하기 어렵다.<BR> 어떻든 향도는 불교의 신앙결사의 한 형태이며, 구성원들의 자발적인 참여에 의해 조직된 특징이 있다. 향도의 궁극적인 목적은 수행을 통해 解脫?涅槃에 이르는 것이었다. 아울러 향도는 造石?造像?造塔?造鐘 등 불교의 상징 조형물의 조성이라는 직접적인 목표를 갖고 있었다. 따라서 사업 추진을 위한 재원의 공동 마련이 핵심적 내용이었으며, 사찰에서 주관하는 각종 행사에 헌신적인 참여와 지원, 그리고 장기적인 念佛 수행의 계획 등으로 나타나기도 하였다.<BR> 이러한 향도는 고려후기를 지나 여말선초에 이르면 불교가 퇴조함에 따라 향도의 성격이 변질된다. 이러한 중에 일부 도서와 해안 지방을 중심으로 민간신앙적 요소와 미륵신앙이 결합한 埋香 신앙이 유행하였다. 곧 신앙공동체로서 향도의 기능이 유지되기도 하였다. 그러나 전반적인 추세는 성리학이 지배하는 사회 속에서 불교적인 요소를 탈각해가면서 본래부터 포용하고 있던 민간신앙만이 강조되는 방향으로 나아갔다. 곧 향도는 불교적인 요소는 사라지고 ‘祀神團體的’인 기능이나, 향촌사회의 상부상조하는 ‘契’의 성격을 갖는 존재로 변신하게 되었다.

Review of: Duncan Ryuken Williams and Tomoe Moriya, eds., Issei Buddhism in the Americas

Duncan Ryuken Williams and Tomoe Moriya, eds., Issei Buddhism in the Americas Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2010. 216 pages. Cloth, $70.00; paper, $25.00. isbn 978-0-252-03533-3 (cloth); 978- 0-252-07719-7 (paper). This volume joins a growing body of literature in English on Buddhism outside Asia, particularly in the United States, but is distinct in two ways. It covers topics beyond American Buddhism to include two essays, one on the Canadian and the other on the Brazilian experience. Secondly, it focuses on the pioneer or the first generation (issei) Japanese Buddhists. Consequently, virtually all of the eight articles, by established authors on both sides of the Pacific, take up topics from the late 1800s to World War ii. And they seek to do so, as noted by the editors, to avoid the simplistic framework of both a Japan-centered diaspora model and an Americacentered assimilationist model in an effort to retell a part of American religious history from the perspective of those whose homeland is not Europe but Asia. volume is divided into four parts, the first of which is Nation and Identity. In the first essay, Can I Put This Jizo Together with the Virgin Mary in the Altar? Creolizing Zen Buddhism in Brazil, Cristina Rocha discusses Japanese Brazilians who participate in two religious customs of Buddhism and Catholicism. For example, a third-generation woman, Nicia Takeda, observes both a seventh-day mass for her deceased mother at a Catholic Church and a forty-ninth day service at a Zen temple. Nicias' mother was a Catholic but had carried on the practice of taking care of the Buddhist altar at home. She is not an exception as many Catholic Japanese Brazilians continue to observe Buddhist practices as a way staying connected to familial and cultural roots. Rocha opts to use creolization rather than syncretism or hybridity for these practices of religious blending. essay further discusses the phenomenon where a growing number of Japanese Brazilians (80 percent being Catholic) are turning to Buddhism for not only cultural connection but also for its enhanced prestige within Brazilian society. Masako Iino's essay, and the Japanese Canadian Community in British Columbia, provides a glimpse into the Japanese Buddhist experience in Canada. It focuses on the first thirty years of the twentieth century, with particular attention paid to two publications, Otakebi (A War Cry) and Buddha, published by the Young Buddhist Association. Like the Buddhists in the U.S., Canadian Buddhists struggled with discrimination and tensions with Japanese Christians, which forced them to rely on Bukkyokai (Buddhist organizations) for their spiritual, cultural, and social needs. As Japan became more militarized through the 1930s, the Japanese Canadians felt greater pressure from not only the larger Canadian society but more importantly within themselves to realize their identity. They expressed their concerns in the above publications as they sought ways to be good Canadians equal to other races by cultivating their self-esteem through Buddhism at the Bukkyokai. first essay in Part Two (Education and Law) is by Noriko Asato and is entitled The Japanese Language School Controversy in utilizes newly-discovered Japanese sources to tell a more detailed story about the struggles of the Japanese language schools in Hawaii run by Buddhist temples during the first two decades of the twentieth century. These schools played a vital role in the missionary work of Buddhist priests. As they sought to expand their schools, the Buddhists were confronted by two foes, the dominant political groups and the Japanese Christians. When these groups blocked Buddhist efforts on the grounds that the schools were anti-American, Bishop Yenmyo Imamura of the Honganji Mission countered that the language schools were actually a means of Americanizing the Buddhist children. Even though in 1927 the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Buddhist-run language schools, the controversy ensued until the schools were completely shut down due to the war. …

AN EMERGING CIVIL SOCIETY: THE IMPACT OF THE 2008 SICHUAN EARTHQUAKE ON GRASS-ROOTS ASSOCIATIONS IN CHINA

The western China, especially near the Wenchuan region witnessed a terrible earthquake in the year 2008, which led to some severe damage in the country. Several interviews and studies are conducted to explain the impact of this Sichuan earthquake on the development of the various grass-root associations present in the country.