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Lesson 2  Traditional Religion−Buddhism

Buddhism [仏教]とは

According to tradition, the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Siddhartha [喬荅摩悉達多], was born about 446 BC as the first son of King Suddhodana [浄飯王] of the Sakya [釈迦] clan at the castle Kapilavastu [迦毘羅衛], located in the center of the clan's domain in what is now Nepal. Some scholars, however, place the birth- date as much as a century earlier. Although raised in luxury, at age 29 he left home [四門出遊] to seek an answer, through renunciation, to the problem of human existence. After completing six years of asceticism, he experienced enlightenment [正覚] at Buddhagaya [仏陀伽耶] beneath the bo tree [菩提樹], becoming the Buddha [仏陀] (one who has awakened to the truth). Thereafter, until his death [入滅] at Kusinagara [拘尸那掲羅] at the age of 80, he traveled throughout central India sharing his wisdom [転法輪]. He became known by the honorary name Sakyamuni [釈迦牟尼] (the sage or holy one from the Sakya clan).

History of Japanese Buddhism [日本仏教略史]

According to one of Japan's earliest chronicles, the Nihon shoki [日本書紀], Buddhism was officially introduced into Japan [仏教公伝] from Korea in 552, when the king of Paekche [百済王] sent a mission to the emperor of Japan bearing presents including “an image of Sakyamuni in gold and copper” and “a number of sutras.” However, Current scholarship favors another traditional date for this event, 538.

The Soga family [蘇我氏] argued that Japan should accept Buddhism. Others, particularly the Mononobe family [物部氏] and the Nakatomi family [中臣氏], claimed that the native gods would be offended by the respect shown to a foreign deity. Buddhism was publicly accepted after the Soga family's political and military defeat of the Mononobe and became prominent in the 7th-century reign of the empress Suiko [推古天皇](reign 593-628). Her regent, the devout Prince Shotoku [聖徳太子], is considered the real founder and first great patron of Buddhism in Japan. He established a number of important monasteries, among them Horyuji [法隆寺] and Shitennoji [四天王寺].

Studies of Buddhist teachings began in earnest as six prominent schools [南都六宗] were introduced from China during the 7th and the early 8th centuries. In the Nara period 710-794), especially under the aegis of Emperor Shomu [聖武天皇] (reign 724-749), Buddhism was promoted as the state religion. Official provincial monasteries [国分寺] and nunneries [国分尼寺] were established in each province. At Todaiji [東大寺], the head monastery [総国分寺], an enormous image of the Buddha was erected.

Early in the Heian period (794-1185), the Tendai sect [天台宗] and Shingon sect [真言宗]　were introduced to Japan. They received support principally from the ruling aristocratic class. At the beginning of the Kamakura period, Zen [禅] Buddhism was introduced from China and was especially favored by the dominant military class. The popular sects of Nichiren [日蓮宗] and Pure Land Buddhism [浄土仏教] emerged around the same time.

Under the Tokugawa shogunate, Buddhism and its network of temples were used to eradicate Christianity, but Buddhism also came under the strict regulatory power of the shogunate. While sectarian divisions that had been established in previous times continued, there were also modernizing tendencies. Another sign was the movement to return to the true meaning of Buddhism as revealed in the original Sanskrit texts. After the Meiji Restoration (1868), the government sought to establish Shinto as the national religion [国家神道], and many Buddhist temples were disestablished [廃仏毀釈]. Since then, Buddhist organizations have survived by adjusting to the developments of the modern age.

After World War II, many religious groups among the so-called new religions [新興宗教] were organized as lay Buddhist movements.

Several characteristic tendencies can be seen in the history of Japanese Buddhism: (1) an emphasis on the importance of human institutions; (2) a nonrational, symbolic orientation; (3) an acceptance of the phenomenal world; (4) an openness to accommodation with ancient shamanistic practices and Shinto; and (5) the development of lay leadership.

Statistically, Japan is a country of Buddhists. More than 85 percent of the population professes the Buddhist faith. Buddhism in Japan maintains some 75,000 temples with nearly 200,000 priests.

Buddhist architecture [寺院建築]

By the 8th century a complex of temple buildings consisted of seven basic structures [七堂伽藍], as follows; the pagoda [塔], the main hall [金堂], the lecture hall [講堂], the bell tower [鐘楼], the sutra repository [経蔵], the dormitory [僧坊], and the dining hall [食堂]. The most important of these structures were the main hall, the lecture hall, and the multistoried pagoda, where sacred relics, believed to be pieces of the historical Buddha’s remains [仏舎利], were enshrined.

The Four Principal Types of Buddhist Deities [仏像四型]

It was about 500 years after Buddha’s death that the first statue of him was made, because the idol worship had been forbidden in earliest times.

In Japanese Buddhism, Buddhist Deities are divided into four principal groups: nyorai [如来], bosatsu [菩薩], tembu [天部], and myoo [明王]. Each group has a specific vocabulary of costume, stance, and symbolic gesture represented in paintings and sculpture, and individual deities within each group have tradition identifying attributes.

A nyorai is a Buddha and is generally shown in plain monk’s raiment, without decoration.

Bosatsu are compassionate beings who have postponed their own enlightenment in order to save others. Generally a bosatsu is a shown dressed in clothing that might be worn by a prince: elaborate robes, accessories such as a sash and scarf, and jewelry, which often includes a crown.

Tembu are deities introduced into the Buddhist pantheon from non-Buddhist religious traditions, most importantly those of pre-Buddhist India. Most gods in this class are guardian deities, usually depicted in warrior dress, with weapons in their hands.

Myoo, warlike deities representing the luminescent wisdom of the Buddha, were introduced into the Japanese Buddhist pantheon with arrival of esoteric Buddhism in the 9th century.

Jizo bosatsu [地蔵菩薩]

One of the most popular bosatsu in Japanese Buddhism. Jizo is usually represented as a monk with a jewel[宝珠] in one hand and a staff[錫杖] in the other. Jizo’s vow to aid and benefit all suffering beings has made him an object of popular veneration from Heian period onward. Jizo is often syncretized with native deities. He is particularly regarded as the savior of children and those beings suffering in hell.

Next Lesson  Traditional Religion−Zen and Shugen-do