Popular Buddhist Research Articles

Buddhisme og Singhalesisk folkereligion

The symbolic relationship between the monk (bikkhu) and the lay Singhalese (dāyaka) is analysed and discussed as complementary ways of perceiving the image of Buddha and the Truth taught by Buddha. Buddhist philosophy concerning ‘time’, ‘being’ and ‘causality’ is discussed in order to analyse the complementary relationship between ‘truth’ and ‘illusion’ and between ‘wisdom’ and ‘belief’ which are seen as ways of expressing the relationship between Theravada-Buddhism and popular Singhalese Buddhism. Jacques Lacan’s distinction between ‘l’œil’ and ‘regard’ is introduced in order to fertilize the discussion of the way monks are structuring the conceptual space, which is thought to be a substantial reality by the lay Singhalese.

Text and context: Buddhist sex roles/culture of gender revisited

Drawing on interpretations of popular Buddhist “texts,” a recent analysis of Thai Buddhist conceptions of female gender has questioned the contemporary relevance of a long‐standing sexual division of labor in Thai society based in a view that, in Buddhist terms, women are deemed to be more “attached” to worldly objects than are men. This paper argues that the available evidence supports rather than impugns the view of a Thai sexual division of labor in which men specialize in Buddhist monastic roles and political‐bureaucratic occupations while women specialize in economic‐entrepreneurial activities. Further, it argues that the textual interpretation offered as an alternative to the view of women as relatively “attached” is misleading in that it does not sufficiently address the religious, social, and historical contexts in which the popular texts are found. Viewing the texts in their relevant contexts supports the view that both Buddhist conceptions and the actual situation of women in traditional Thai society is one of relative “attachment” compared to the conceptions and situation of men. Recent changes in Thai society could be seen as having “liberated” women from some traditional limitations and influenced the manner in which women's “attachedness” is manifested in contemporary Thailand. [division of labor, sex roles, textual interpretation, social and cultural change, Buddhism, Thailand]

Perspectives in the study of Chinese Buddhism

If I, first of all, may express my gratitude to the Royal Asiatic Society for its decision to institute this lecture in memory of Paul Demiéville, please believe that this is more than a ritual gesture. He, indeed, was a person to be remembered both as a man and as a scholar. I shall not speak about his human qualities, for it is impossible to do justice to them in a few words. As a scholar, he was a man of astonishing breadth of vision, as is shown by the many different fields which he covered: Chinese philosophy, Chinese literature; historiography; Sino-Indian studies; the history of Chinese Buddhism, to mention only his main fields of interest, all of which were based on a truly stupendous erudition. For in his case breadth was always combined with depth, accuracy, and utter reliability; with the patient and painstaking labour of philology. Needless to say that, faced with the task of giving a lecture that bears his name, I feel both honoured and embarrassed, for I know that I, at best, can only do justice to one of the fields he covered, the study of Chinese Buddhism – an area in which he made bis most outstanding contributions. It is true that in doing so he worked in line with a great tradition in French sinology, alive ever since the heroic times of Stanislas Julien, that had also been carried on by his teacher Édouard Chavannes and his elder colleagues Paul Pelliot and Henri Maspero. However, it remains true that, also in this field, no other scholar has equalled Paul Demiéville in scope and depth, for his studies cover almost the whole field, from the earliest treatises ondhyānato late Chinese Buddhist iconography; from the most sophisticated products of Buddhist philosophy to popular Buddhist literature, and from the most rational type of scholasticism to the utter irrationality of those early Ch‘an masters that were so dear to him. His works constitute a vantage-point from which we can overlook the field, and plan future inroads; and if to-day we see some new perspectives, we can only do so by standing on his shoulders.

Book Review: Buddhists Find Christ: The Spiritual Quest of Thirteen Men and Women in Burma, China, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam: Circle of Harmony: A Case Study in Popular Japanese Buddhism with Implications for Christian Mission: Zen Way. Jesus Way

Book Review: Buddhists Find Christ: The Spiritual Quest of Thirteen Men and Women in Burma, China, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam: Circle of Harmony: A Case Study in Popular Japanese Buddhism with Implications for Christian Mission: Zen Way. Jesus Way

Circle of Harmony. A Case Study in Popular Japanese Buddhism.

Circle of Harmony. A Case Study in Popular Japanese Buddhism.

The Kannonji Temple in Northern Omi and Popular Buddhism

The Kannonji Temple in Northern Omi and Popular Buddhism

The Middle Way of the Jataka Tales

first translated into Sinhalese and then recast into P.li perhaps in the fifth century A.D. or shortly thereafter.It is the Jdtaka commentary that will concern us here. Though the dating of this commentary is uncertain, there is little question that the stories themselves are of ancient lineage since they provide material for the famous bas-reliefs at Bhdrut and Sdnchi as well as the basis for such later collections of Indian stories as the Panchatantra. More significantly, these tales have been a basic instrument of popular education first in India and then in other Buddhist lands down to the present day.2 While there is little question as to the important place this body of material has occupied in the history of popular Buddhism, there has been a persistent doubt as to its importance as a vehicle of significant Buddhist doctrine. The response of

The Popular Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty

The Popular Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty

On the Concept of Hijiri (Holy-Man)

The original meanings of Hijiri have been clarified to some extent by the descriptions in the opening section. Hijiri as a specifically religious concept came into existence in the middle of the Heian Period, succeeding the formed ubasoku(upasaka)zenji group of the Nara Period65), as represented by Gy6gi-bosatsu66) and En-no-ubasoku67). It was gradually formed on the basis of feelings which were common to both the special religious ascetics who had firm faith and strict practices, including the observance of the Buddhist discipline of forbearance and mercifulness, and the religious hermits who had endeavored to achieve a higher form of religious experience and consciousness in the isolated and secluded mountains or hermitages. Buddhism in the Nara Period made a sharp discrimination between state Buddhism and private or popular Buddhism, because it had developed under the patronage and control of the state. The attitude of the government toward private beliefs and practices was negative