Jōkei and the Rhetoric of "Other-Power" and "Easy Practice" in Medieval Japanese Buddhism
In medieval Japan, Hōnen and Shinran appropriated the rhetoric of "other-power" and "easy-practice" to validate their radical doctrines and draw dividing lines between themselves and the established schools of the day. In this essay, I argue that these are not useful categories f...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2002]
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
Year: 2002, Volume: 29, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 67-106 |
| Further subjects: | B
Enlightenment
B Religious Studies B Religious rituals B Soteriology B Bodhisattva B Devotion B Vows B Karma |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | In medieval Japan, Hōnen and Shinran appropriated the rhetoric of "other-power" and "easy-practice" to validate their radical doctrines and draw dividing lines between themselves and the established schools of the day. In this essay, I argue that these are not useful categories for understanding the religious dynamics of the period. Like the rhetorical distinctions of Mahāyāna/Hīnayāna and sudden/gradual in earlier Buddhist debates, these polemical labels had only a marginal relationship to the schisms of the day. An examination of the writings and practices of Jōkei (1155-1213), a prominent monk of the Hossō school and contemporary of Hōnen, reveals that "other-power" and "easy-practice" were, in fact, valued features on both sides of the debate. As a representative of "established" Buddhism, Jōkei was not unique in this respect, but he serves as a useful example to problematize the frequent adoption of these categories in interpretations of "Kamakura Buddhism." |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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