I. The impact of popular Buddhism in medieval Japan
A. cultural homogeneity
religious practice?
news, stories and troubadours
temples and iconography
B. human behavior
the threat of Hell?
ideas of equality
II. An oversimplified history of Buddhism
A. Buddhism as a western construct?
B. Gautama Siddhartha, ca. 6th c. B.C.E.
karma: past actions
samsara: cycle of life, death and rebirth
nirvana: breaking the cycle/Heaven
Boddhisatva: buddhas/saints
C. Buddhism in China, ca. 2nd c. C.E.
karma and fate
samsara and Taoist immortality
nirvana and enlightenment [Ch'an]
Boddhisatva and local gods: Kuan-yin [Kannon]
D. Buddhism in Japan
Buddhism as a western construct?
elite era, ca. 6th c.-1185
Tang dynasty Buddhism
Shingon and Shinto equivalents
Tendai and Mt. Hiei
popular era, Kamakura onwards
Kamakura Buddhism and the Protestant Reformation
Buddhism and Shinto
relations between sects
III. Amida Buddhism [Pure Land]
A. Amida [Amitabha]
god of compassion
nembutsu
B. Honen, 1133-1212
son of a local chieftain
orphaned at age 8
learning about forgiveness
Mt. Hiei
disciples and divisions
faith and sincerity
knowledge, skill and capacity
politics and jealousy
banishment and death
C. Shinran, 1173-1263
following the master into exile
putting away the monk's robes
marriage, celibacy and faith
salvation and everyday life
automatic salvation and sincerity
D. Ippen, 1293-1289
dancing nembutsu
the Ippen scroll
IV. Zen Buddhism [meditation]
A. Eisai, 1141-1215
Rinzai sect
Hojo Masako and Shingon
tea and meditation
sudden enlightenment
B. Dogen, 1200-1253
Soto sect
study in China
zazen and meditation
zazen and equality
gradual enlightenment
C. Common themes
satori: enlightenment/finding one's Buddha nature
koan and warrior koan
D. Attraction to/for the samurai?
which samurai?
belief and patronage [the Hojo and the shugo]
samurai values
self reliance and self-awareness
physical and mental discipline
scholarly debate: Zen masters
E. the Zen aesthetic
the Chinese connection; international trade
tea ceremony
Japanese gardens
ink painting: literacy and spontaneity
V. Nichiren Buddhism
A. Nichiren, 1222-1282
class background?
Mt. Hiei
the lotus sutra
mappo: the end of Buddhist law
"Praise to the lotus sutra"
Japan as the home of true Buddhism
Nichiren as the greatest Boddhisatva
rabble-rousing at Kamakura
purifying Buddhist beliefs
The Mongols are Coming!
exile and martyrdom
Nichiren among the people
the Mongols and vindication
B. Nichiren and Pure Land Buddhism
different nembutsu
national identification
evangelism and internationalism
intolerance?