Review of Making Pilgrimages, Meaning and Practice in Shikoku by Ian Reader

Ian Reader offers a unique and valuable contribution to the academic study of the Shikoku hachijūhakkasho, a pilgrimage to eighty-eight sacred places of Shikoku in honor of the Japanese Buddhist saint Kōbō Daishi (774-835)

Kuiji’s analysis of individual capacities for enlightenment: Philosophical foundations of his Chinese Yogācāra Buddhist tradition

According to Mahāyāna Buddhism as seen in the Lotus Sūtra and many other Buddhist texts revered in Chinese and other East Asian traditions, the Buddha used his insight into each individual’s capacity for understanding, to tailor his teachings about how they should proceed toward overcoming suffering. For this reason, the Buddha is sometimes called the Great Physician, having the ability to diagnose an individual’s case and prescribe a specific remedy. This is the Buddha’s skillful means or skill-in-means (upāya), his expertise in crafting a personal plan for liberation. Thus, the overall ethical imperative is the same regardless of an individual’s aptitude, that is, a Buddha and a Bodhisattva is obligated to save all sentient beings from suffering. However, the specific ethical practices vary according to individual aptitude. Historically, Chinese Buddhists have generally held the belief that all people are endowed with Buddha-Nature, the innate ability to become enlightened. For example, in Chapter 12 of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha predicts the eventual enlightenment of even his antagonistic cousin Devadatta along with others once considered icchantika, deluded people thought to be incapable of attaining liberation. He further explains that some of the things the Devadatta did that appear to be hostile were actually indications that he was a good friend, because they enabled the Buddha to perfect the Six Pāramitās. Chinese Buddhists found theoretical basis for universal Buddha-Nature in Indian Tathāgathagarbha thought, which holds that all beings have within them an innate “womb of the Tathagāta”, the Buddha. However, based on his own study of Sanskrit Yogācāra texts, the famous Chinese Buddhist pilgrim to India, Xuanzang (c. 602–664 CE), opposed this long-held and cherished view of Chinese Buddhism with the theory that instead we have within us a Storehouse Consciousness (Sanskrit: ālayavijñāna) that accumulates the karmic seeds of negative emotions. Accordingly, for those able to do so, dedication to the Buddha’s Noble Path is the means of clearing the impure seeds stored in the ālayavijñāna and tied to individual and social suffering. Likewise, as the Eightfold Path instructs, individuals must help others to do the same. Yet, Xuanzang found that Yogācāra also taught that not all people are capable of transforming the karmic seeds of suffering and thereby attaining liberation. According to this understanding of Yogācāra’s teachings, a person seeking enlightenment must necessarily use skill-in-means to engage others based on their innate capacities, just as the Buddha had done. But what are the categories of human capacities, perhaps used by the Buddha as the Great Physician to prescribe remedies to suffering? Indeed, what is the nature of Buddha-Nature and of transformation? It is necessary to answer these questions in order to apply Yogācāra’s practical ethics to actual individual and group situations. Xuanzang left instructions on how to receive the Bodhisattva Vows to save all sentient beings. He also left a text that lists and explain specific ethical acts that those aspiring toward enlightenment must necessarily put into practice. However, he did not leave the necessary details about individual capacities. According to his closest student and successor of his Chinese Buddhist tradition, Kuiji (632–682), this task was left to him, taught by Xuanzang privately. This paper describes Kuiji’s detailed analysis of individual capacities, which is the philosophical basis of his entire system of enlightenment. Our treatment of his scheme includes a description of his breakdown of (1) Two aspects of Buddha-Nature, (2) Three Steps in the Process of Transformation(3) Two Divisions of the Basis (4)Five Gotras, and (5) Three types of Icchantika. We begin by describing the background to Kuiji’s understanding

Shōnen Nyorai: how Tezuka Osamu reimaged Buddha for Shōnen Manga

This paper examines Tezuka Osamu’s (1928-89) retelling of the biography of the Buddha to appeal to readers of the shōnen genre of manga. Tezuka is a well-known Japanese manga writer and artist, cartoonist, animator, film producer, and activist. In 1972, he began a series of manga adventures in Japan titled Buddha (ブッダ). The series ran to 14 editions in that country, ending in 1983. Subsequently, it was translated and reproduced in eight editions worldwide. This critically acclaimed series, which won the Eisner Award in 2004 and 2005 and Harvey Awards the same years, is considered the last great work in Tezuka’s life. It has spawned two animated movies so far: Buddha: The Great Departure (Tezuka Osamu no budda: Akai sabaku yo! Utsukushiku, 2011) and Buddha 2: The Endless Journey (Tezuka Osamu no Budda: Owarinaki tabi, 2014). A third film is scheduled to be produced. While Astro Boy is Tezuka’s best known work in America, he equally portrays Buddha as an innocent boy who rejects the political intrigues and imperialism drawn around him. In this way, Tezuka’s Buddha retains an original purity in his heart, a Japanese post-war ideal and optimistic portrayal of the future potential of the country and the world. With reference to some of his other works, the paper describes how Buddha represents Tezuka’s own ideas as much as the canonical Buddhist telling of the life story

Xuanzang’s Text of Bodhisattva Precepts

A translation from the Chinese with annotations

Buddhism, Uncertainty and Modernity in A Hometown in Heart

A Hometown in Heart (Maeumui gohyang, 1949), written by Ham Sedeok (1915-1950) and directed by Yun Yonggyu (b.1913), is said to be the first Korean Buddhist film. It depicts Buddhism in a remote mountain region without even electricity. The main character of the film, an orphaned child monk, must decide what to do with his life. This paper argues that the central aspect of the Buddhism-related symbols represent Korean tradition and that the supporting characters represent socio-political forces in post-liberation Korean society just after liberation, pulling the young generation of Koreans in various directions. In particular, the film centers on feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, and avoidance pressing challenges of a rapidly changing world. The authors explore what the film tells us about the filmmakers’ view of these anxieties and the role Buddhism plays in solving them. To this end, the article examines shared motifs found in Korean cinematic history. These motifs include the orphan, nostalgia, modernity, and karma. The article finds that while the film advocates breaking away from tradition to engage the modern industrialized world, it does so by supporting the notion that we all carry the most important aspects of Buddhism within our hearts. This is symbolized in the film by the Heart Sutra and the Red Lotus iconography of Mahayana Buddhism. The article concludes with a comparison of the period-specific elements in A Hometown in Heart and those in its 2002 remake, A Little Monk, directed by Ju Gyeongjung (b. 1959)

Lives of Hindu and Buddhist Saints

A study of lives of individuals related to Hinduism and Buddhism, who are alleged to be “saints” in stories, biographies and autobiographies. These life accounts are compared to archetypes found in canonical sources including the Ramayana, the Bhagavata Purana, and Buddhist Jataka. The class considers the genre of religious biography/hagiography in such terms as intended audience and practical usage of the texts. Students will examine stories about ancient and modern Hindus and Buddhists from India, China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and America