In all likelihood, it was the Buddhism scholars commonly designate 'esoteric Buddhism' th... more In all likelihood, it was the Buddhism scholars commonly designate 'esoteric Buddhism' that had the greatest geographical spread of any form of Buddhism. It left its imprint not only on its native India, but far beyond, on Southeast Asia, Central Asia, including Tibet and Mongolia, as well as the East Asian countries China, Korea and Japan. The modern study of esoteric Buddhism and the Buddhist tantras has been dominated by two grand narratives. On the one hand, scholars of Buddhism cited the tantras as evidence of the decay of Buddhism from a pristine rationalist beginning. On the other hand some have privileged relatively late tantras as embodying the most advanced insights of Buddhism. It seems that there are at least eight different contextual applications, each with its own significance, distinct from other such contextual applications. These eight are institutions, ideology, doctrine, practice, praxis, art, architecture, material culture, pantheon, and texts. Keywords: Buddhist tantras; esoteric Buddhism; Mongolia; Southeast Asia
Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2021
This is a critical reflection in three steps. In the first step we argue that there is a signific... more This is a critical reflection in three steps. In the first step we argue that there is a significant difference between Buddhist praxis in exchange economies and in capitalist economies. The second step seeks to expose the conceptual framework of modern capitalist economies, explicating the neoliberal ideology that has become naturalized as simply a value-free description of the human condition, and the consequent values defined by a neoliberal conception of individual 'flourishing'. Neoliberal ideology can be seen in particularly clear form in rational choice theory, which has been applied as an economic theory of religion. The third step is an examination of how Buddhism is represented in the context of the preconceptions and values of neoliberal ideology.
(ProQuest: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.) Bernhard Scheid and Mark Teeuwen, ed., The Cult... more (ProQuest: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.) Bernhard Scheid and Mark Teeuwen, ed., The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion London: Routledge, 2006, xvii + 397 pp. £85.00, hardcover, ISBN10: 0-415-38713-2; ISBN13: 978-0-415-38713-2. WHILE focusing on Japan, this collection of fifteen essays investigates one of the central issues for the study of esoteric and tantric Buddhism more generally-the meaning of secrecy (mitsu ...; or himitsu ...) as that concept is understood and as it functions within the tradition. At the same time this is an issue relevant to a much wider set of inquiries in religious studies generally. When, as is noted here by Teeuwen (p. 172), manuals for the performance of esoteric rituals are available on the shelves of libraries-and of bookstores-the significance of the concept of secrecy takes on a different nuance from that common in Western religious culture. For the latter, the understanding of occult or esoteric is commonly taken to mean a salvific teaching or practice that is only accessible to initiates, that is, it is to be kept hidden or concealed from non-initiates. Following an introductory essay by Teeuwen in which he provides the reader with an overview of the subject and an introduction to the contents of the collection, there are three articles that provide important context for the balance of the collection. The first is Albert de Jong's "Secrets and secrecy in the study of religion: Comparative views from the Ancient World" which gives us an introduction to the topic as broadly conceived in religious studies and exemplifies by drawing examples from the ancient west, mystery cults such as those of Pythagoras or of Hermes Trismegistus. In the context of the ancient world, de Jong usefully distinguishes between secret knowledge, secret rituals, and secret identities. The second article in this section is "The problem of secrecy in Indian Tantric Buddhism" by Ronald M. Davidson. Davidson begins with a critique of some of the conceptions of secrecy that have been attributed to Buddhism, specifically Edward Conze's characterization of the issue. (It is worth noting in this regard that Conze's own ideas of secrecy seem to have been formed by his involvement with Western occultist traditions. Significantly, in his autobiographical writings he referred to himself as a "gnostic.") Davidson then goes on to examine the rhetoric and practice of secrecy as found in several texts, including the categorization of secrets into "naturally secret, hidden and obscure" that is found in the Guhyagarbha. Important for the understanding of secrecy in tantric Buddhism is Davidson's (convincing) conclusion that it is a "self-perpetuating strategy that ensured its continued independent maturation" (p. 74). "Myth and secrecy in Tang-period Tantric Buddhism" by Martin Lehnert is the third of the contextualizing articles. Lehnert attempts to move the discussion forward "from the problems of tenet classification, lineages of esoterism and sectarian history." What is then revealed is "that secrecy took on a ubiquitous yet multifarious status as an organizing policy" (p. 79). He then explores these various thematics, including technical and moral qualifications of the practitioner, religious authority through transparency and concealment, and the limitations of linguistic communication in esoteric ritual. The second section, "Japan's medieval culture of secrecy," comprises eight essays. Fabio Rambelli examines the role of secrecy from the perspective of "the esoteric episteme and esoteric rituals" (p. 107), as well as discussing the training process that Shingon initiates underwent. Central to this is an understanding of the different hermeneutic levels employed within the tradition as ways to generate and systematize meanings-from explicit, denotative meanings to those that are most secret. Also of importance is Rambelli's extension of the system of stages of initiation (kanjo . …
This essay is an inquiry into the religio-cultural background of the opposition to ritual evidenc... more This essay is an inquiry into the religio-cultural background of the opposition to ritual evidenced by many adherents of Buddhist modernism. This background can be structured by three different kinds of questions—historical, philosophical, and cultural.
Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Graduate Theological UnionThe Indian religious traditions, i... more Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Graduate Theological UnionThe Indian religious traditions, including Buddhism, are generally characterised by an understanding of the problematic character of the human condition as ignorance (avidya) instead of sin, as in Christianity.1 The centrality of ignorance in defining the problematic character of the human condition creates a dramatically different religious dynamic—a religious dynamic that is fundamentally concerned with epistemological issues rather than with moral ones. In Indian discussions of the limits of religious knowledge, the shared intellectual framework was the idea of means of valid knowledge (pramāṇa). While other religio-philosophic traditions in India accepted testimony (śabda) as an autonomous (i.e., irreducible) means of valid knowledge, Buddhist epistemologists rejected it. Having rejected the idea that testimony is an autonomous means of valid knowledge (śabdapramāṇa), an alternative explanation for the authority of t...
Drawing on practices and teachings from Daoism, neo-Confucianism, and tantric Buddhism, Yoshida K... more Drawing on practices and teachings from Daoism, neo-Confucianism, and tantric Buddhism, Yoshida Kanetomo (1435–1511) created the system of Yuiitsu Shintō, also known eponymously as Yoshida Shintō, all the while making claims for Shintō as the world’s original religion. Important for the establishment of Yoshida Shintō was the creation of a program of rituals. This essay examines one of the three rituals created for the Yoshida ritual program, the Yoshida Shintō goma ritual, which hybridizes tantric Buddhist ritual organization and Daoist symbolism. A pragmatics of ritual is developed as a means of identifying the factors that Yoshida felt were salient in presenting the goma as a Yoshida Shintō ritual.
A collection that brings together studies of the history, textual tradition, and contemporary int... more A collection that brings together studies of the history, textual tradition, and contemporary interpretation of Shin Buddhism by scholars in the field of Pure Land Buddhist studies.
This essay examines a variety of dysfunctional consequences of employing modern nation-states as ... more This essay examines a variety of dysfunctional consequences of employing modern nation-states as the default organizing category for Buddhist studies regardless of the period being studied. Two of these consequences are directly related to one another: conflating contemporary nation-states with religious cultures, and equating religious and ethnic identities. Additionally, the organizing category tends to privilege some particular tradition as representative of or the essence of Buddhism in a specific nation-state, marking that tradition as uniquely authoritative. More broadly, research is constrained within the boundaries of nation-states, and the continuity of Buddhist traditions that cross nation-state boundaries is obscured. At the same time artificial continuities are retrospectively imposed, and the tradition comes to be defined by forms located at the center of political power. The work of four contemporary scholars is discussed as exemplifying the arguments for and value of ...
Buddhists across Asia have often sought to die, as the Buddha himself is said to have done, with ... more Buddhists across Asia have often sought to die, as the Buddha himself is said to have done, with a clear and focused mind. This study explores the reception and development in early medieval Japan (roughly, tenth through fourteenth centuries) of the ideal of “dying with right mindfulness” (rinjū shōnen) and the discourses and practices in which it was embedded. By concentrating one’s thoughts on the Buddha at the moment of death, it was said, even the most evil person could escape the round of deluded rebirth and achieve birth in the Pure Land; conversely, even the slightest mental distraction at that juncture could send the most devout practitioner tumbling down into the evil realms. The ideal of mindful death thus generated both hope and anxiety and created a demand for ritual specialists who could help the dying to negotiate this crucial juncture. Examination of hagiographies, ritual manuals, doctrinal writings, didactic tales, diaries, and historical records uncovers the multipl...
In all likelihood, it was the Buddhism scholars commonly designate 'esoteric Buddhism' th... more In all likelihood, it was the Buddhism scholars commonly designate 'esoteric Buddhism' that had the greatest geographical spread of any form of Buddhism. It left its imprint not only on its native India, but far beyond, on Southeast Asia, Central Asia, including Tibet and Mongolia, as well as the East Asian countries China, Korea and Japan. The modern study of esoteric Buddhism and the Buddhist tantras has been dominated by two grand narratives. On the one hand, scholars of Buddhism cited the tantras as evidence of the decay of Buddhism from a pristine rationalist beginning. On the other hand some have privileged relatively late tantras as embodying the most advanced insights of Buddhism. It seems that there are at least eight different contextual applications, each with its own significance, distinct from other such contextual applications. These eight are institutions, ideology, doctrine, practice, praxis, art, architecture, material culture, pantheon, and texts. Keywords: Buddhist tantras; esoteric Buddhism; Mongolia; Southeast Asia
In all likelihood, it was the Buddhism scholars commonly designate 'esoteric Buddhism' th... more In all likelihood, it was the Buddhism scholars commonly designate 'esoteric Buddhism' that had the greatest geographical spread of any form of Buddhism. It left its imprint not only on its native India, but far beyond, on Southeast Asia, Central Asia, including Tibet and Mongolia, as well as the East Asian countries China, Korea and Japan. The modern study of esoteric Buddhism and the Buddhist tantras has been dominated by two grand narratives. On the one hand, scholars of Buddhism cited the tantras as evidence of the decay of Buddhism from a pristine rationalist beginning. On the other hand some have privileged relatively late tantras as embodying the most advanced insights of Buddhism. It seems that there are at least eight different contextual applications, each with its own significance, distinct from other such contextual applications. These eight are institutions, ideology, doctrine, practice, praxis, art, architecture, material culture, pantheon, and texts. Keywords: Buddhist tantras; esoteric Buddhism; Mongolia; Southeast Asia
Hualin International Journal of Buddhist Studies, 2021
This is a critical reflection in three steps. In the first step we argue that there is a signific... more This is a critical reflection in three steps. In the first step we argue that there is a significant difference between Buddhist praxis in exchange economies and in capitalist economies. The second step seeks to expose the conceptual framework of modern capitalist economies, explicating the neoliberal ideology that has become naturalized as simply a value-free description of the human condition, and the consequent values defined by a neoliberal conception of individual 'flourishing'. Neoliberal ideology can be seen in particularly clear form in rational choice theory, which has been applied as an economic theory of religion. The third step is an examination of how Buddhism is represented in the context of the preconceptions and values of neoliberal ideology.
(ProQuest: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.) Bernhard Scheid and Mark Teeuwen, ed., The Cult... more (ProQuest: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.) Bernhard Scheid and Mark Teeuwen, ed., The Culture of Secrecy in Japanese Religion London: Routledge, 2006, xvii + 397 pp. £85.00, hardcover, ISBN10: 0-415-38713-2; ISBN13: 978-0-415-38713-2. WHILE focusing on Japan, this collection of fifteen essays investigates one of the central issues for the study of esoteric and tantric Buddhism more generally-the meaning of secrecy (mitsu ...; or himitsu ...) as that concept is understood and as it functions within the tradition. At the same time this is an issue relevant to a much wider set of inquiries in religious studies generally. When, as is noted here by Teeuwen (p. 172), manuals for the performance of esoteric rituals are available on the shelves of libraries-and of bookstores-the significance of the concept of secrecy takes on a different nuance from that common in Western religious culture. For the latter, the understanding of occult or esoteric is commonly taken to mean a salvific teaching or practice that is only accessible to initiates, that is, it is to be kept hidden or concealed from non-initiates. Following an introductory essay by Teeuwen in which he provides the reader with an overview of the subject and an introduction to the contents of the collection, there are three articles that provide important context for the balance of the collection. The first is Albert de Jong's "Secrets and secrecy in the study of religion: Comparative views from the Ancient World" which gives us an introduction to the topic as broadly conceived in religious studies and exemplifies by drawing examples from the ancient west, mystery cults such as those of Pythagoras or of Hermes Trismegistus. In the context of the ancient world, de Jong usefully distinguishes between secret knowledge, secret rituals, and secret identities. The second article in this section is "The problem of secrecy in Indian Tantric Buddhism" by Ronald M. Davidson. Davidson begins with a critique of some of the conceptions of secrecy that have been attributed to Buddhism, specifically Edward Conze's characterization of the issue. (It is worth noting in this regard that Conze's own ideas of secrecy seem to have been formed by his involvement with Western occultist traditions. Significantly, in his autobiographical writings he referred to himself as a "gnostic.") Davidson then goes on to examine the rhetoric and practice of secrecy as found in several texts, including the categorization of secrets into "naturally secret, hidden and obscure" that is found in the Guhyagarbha. Important for the understanding of secrecy in tantric Buddhism is Davidson's (convincing) conclusion that it is a "self-perpetuating strategy that ensured its continued independent maturation" (p. 74). "Myth and secrecy in Tang-period Tantric Buddhism" by Martin Lehnert is the third of the contextualizing articles. Lehnert attempts to move the discussion forward "from the problems of tenet classification, lineages of esoterism and sectarian history." What is then revealed is "that secrecy took on a ubiquitous yet multifarious status as an organizing policy" (p. 79). He then explores these various thematics, including technical and moral qualifications of the practitioner, religious authority through transparency and concealment, and the limitations of linguistic communication in esoteric ritual. The second section, "Japan's medieval culture of secrecy," comprises eight essays. Fabio Rambelli examines the role of secrecy from the perspective of "the esoteric episteme and esoteric rituals" (p. 107), as well as discussing the training process that Shingon initiates underwent. Central to this is an understanding of the different hermeneutic levels employed within the tradition as ways to generate and systematize meanings-from explicit, denotative meanings to those that are most secret. Also of importance is Rambelli's extension of the system of stages of initiation (kanjo . …
This essay is an inquiry into the religio-cultural background of the opposition to ritual evidenc... more This essay is an inquiry into the religio-cultural background of the opposition to ritual evidenced by many adherents of Buddhist modernism. This background can be structured by three different kinds of questions—historical, philosophical, and cultural.
Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Graduate Theological UnionThe Indian religious traditions, i... more Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Graduate Theological UnionThe Indian religious traditions, including Buddhism, are generally characterised by an understanding of the problematic character of the human condition as ignorance (avidya) instead of sin, as in Christianity.1 The centrality of ignorance in defining the problematic character of the human condition creates a dramatically different religious dynamic—a religious dynamic that is fundamentally concerned with epistemological issues rather than with moral ones. In Indian discussions of the limits of religious knowledge, the shared intellectual framework was the idea of means of valid knowledge (pramāṇa). While other religio-philosophic traditions in India accepted testimony (śabda) as an autonomous (i.e., irreducible) means of valid knowledge, Buddhist epistemologists rejected it. Having rejected the idea that testimony is an autonomous means of valid knowledge (śabdapramāṇa), an alternative explanation for the authority of t...
Drawing on practices and teachings from Daoism, neo-Confucianism, and tantric Buddhism, Yoshida K... more Drawing on practices and teachings from Daoism, neo-Confucianism, and tantric Buddhism, Yoshida Kanetomo (1435–1511) created the system of Yuiitsu Shintō, also known eponymously as Yoshida Shintō, all the while making claims for Shintō as the world’s original religion. Important for the establishment of Yoshida Shintō was the creation of a program of rituals. This essay examines one of the three rituals created for the Yoshida ritual program, the Yoshida Shintō goma ritual, which hybridizes tantric Buddhist ritual organization and Daoist symbolism. A pragmatics of ritual is developed as a means of identifying the factors that Yoshida felt were salient in presenting the goma as a Yoshida Shintō ritual.
A collection that brings together studies of the history, textual tradition, and contemporary int... more A collection that brings together studies of the history, textual tradition, and contemporary interpretation of Shin Buddhism by scholars in the field of Pure Land Buddhist studies.
This essay examines a variety of dysfunctional consequences of employing modern nation-states as ... more This essay examines a variety of dysfunctional consequences of employing modern nation-states as the default organizing category for Buddhist studies regardless of the period being studied. Two of these consequences are directly related to one another: conflating contemporary nation-states with religious cultures, and equating religious and ethnic identities. Additionally, the organizing category tends to privilege some particular tradition as representative of or the essence of Buddhism in a specific nation-state, marking that tradition as uniquely authoritative. More broadly, research is constrained within the boundaries of nation-states, and the continuity of Buddhist traditions that cross nation-state boundaries is obscured. At the same time artificial continuities are retrospectively imposed, and the tradition comes to be defined by forms located at the center of political power. The work of four contemporary scholars is discussed as exemplifying the arguments for and value of ...
Buddhists across Asia have often sought to die, as the Buddha himself is said to have done, with ... more Buddhists across Asia have often sought to die, as the Buddha himself is said to have done, with a clear and focused mind. This study explores the reception and development in early medieval Japan (roughly, tenth through fourteenth centuries) of the ideal of “dying with right mindfulness” (rinjū shōnen) and the discourses and practices in which it was embedded. By concentrating one’s thoughts on the Buddha at the moment of death, it was said, even the most evil person could escape the round of deluded rebirth and achieve birth in the Pure Land; conversely, even the slightest mental distraction at that juncture could send the most devout practitioner tumbling down into the evil realms. The ideal of mindful death thus generated both hope and anxiety and created a demand for ritual specialists who could help the dying to negotiate this crucial juncture. Examination of hagiographies, ritual manuals, doctrinal writings, didactic tales, diaries, and historical records uncovers the multipl...
In all likelihood, it was the Buddhism scholars commonly designate 'esoteric Buddhism' th... more In all likelihood, it was the Buddhism scholars commonly designate 'esoteric Buddhism' that had the greatest geographical spread of any form of Buddhism. It left its imprint not only on its native India, but far beyond, on Southeast Asia, Central Asia, including Tibet and Mongolia, as well as the East Asian countries China, Korea and Japan. The modern study of esoteric Buddhism and the Buddhist tantras has been dominated by two grand narratives. On the one hand, scholars of Buddhism cited the tantras as evidence of the decay of Buddhism from a pristine rationalist beginning. On the other hand some have privileged relatively late tantras as embodying the most advanced insights of Buddhism. It seems that there are at least eight different contextual applications, each with its own significance, distinct from other such contextual applications. These eight are institutions, ideology, doctrine, practice, praxis, art, architecture, material culture, pantheon, and texts. Keywords: Buddhist tantras; esoteric Buddhism; Mongolia; Southeast Asia
notes for presentation at American Academy of Religions, 2018, Denver, on chapter from Gereon Kop... more notes for presentation at American Academy of Religions, 2018, Denver, on chapter from Gereon Kopf, ed., Dao Companion to Japanese Buddhist Philosophy, Springer
review of Buddhism Under Capitalism, ed. Richard K. Payne and Fabio Rambelli, written by Michael ... more review of Buddhism Under Capitalism, ed. Richard K. Payne and Fabio Rambelli, written by Michael J. Walsh
Buddhism: New Perspectives on a Dynamic Tradition uses contemporary and historical perspectives t... more Buddhism: New Perspectives on a Dynamic Tradition uses contemporary and historical perspectives to map out the diversity of secularization processes in Buddhism, and introduces crucial topics for scholars and Buddhist practitioners interested in the secularization discourse. This collection of thirteen essays includes perspectives and in-depth analyses by contemporary academic scholars and Buddhist practitioners, both lay and monastic, covering disciplines and subject areas such as Buddhist studies, religious studies, social sciences, psychology, education, psychotherapy, economics, management, and material culture. The book's main goal is to provide a "snapshot that is multidimensional in nature" (6), and to address an intended readership of academic scholars and Buddhist practitioners. Both objectives are achieved through the diversity of subject areas covered and contributors included. In his introduction, Richard K. Payne acknowledges the inherent challenge a collection on such a complex subject faces, pointing out that "the concept of the 'secular' is perhaps one of the most overtheorized categories in the study of religion." He offers the reader some orientation in this "dark and tangled conceptual wood" (4) by addressing the relationship of several essential terminologies and concepts. Payne
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