James C Dobbins
Oberlin College, Religion, Emeritus
Images of the Buddha are everywhere—not just in temples but also in museums and homes and online—but what these images mean largely depends on the background and circumstance of those viewing them. In Behold the Buddha, James Dobbins... more
Images of the Buddha are everywhere—not just in temples but also in museums and homes and online—but what these images mean largely depends on the background and circumstance of those viewing them. In Behold the Buddha, James Dobbins invites readers to imagine how premodern Japanese Buddhists understood and experienced icons in temple settings long before the advent of museums and the internet. Although widely portrayed in the last century as visual emblems of great religious truths or as exquisite works of Asian art, Buddhist images were traditionally treated as the very embodiment of the Buddha, his palpable presence among people. Hence, Buddhists approached them as living entities in their own right—that is, as awakened icons with whom they could interact religiously.
Dobbins begins by reflecting on art museums, where many non-Buddhists first encounter images of the Buddha, before outlining the complex Western response to them in previous centuries. He next elucidates images as visual representations of the story of the Buddha’s life followed by an overview of the physical attributes and symbolic gestures found in Buddhist iconography. A variety of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and other divinities commonly depicted in Japanese Buddhism is introduced, and their “living” quality discussed in the context of traditional temples and Buddhist rituals. Finally, other religious objects in Japanese Buddhism—relics, scriptures, inscriptions, portraits of masters, and sacred sites—are explained using the Buddhist icon as a model. Dobbins concludes by contemplating art museums further as potential sites for discerning the religious character of Buddhist images.
Those interested in Buddhism generally who would like to learn more about its rich iconography—whether encountered in temples or museums—will find much in this concise, well-illustrated volume to help them “behold the Buddha.”
ISBN 9780824879990
Dobbins begins by reflecting on art museums, where many non-Buddhists first encounter images of the Buddha, before outlining the complex Western response to them in previous centuries. He next elucidates images as visual representations of the story of the Buddha’s life followed by an overview of the physical attributes and symbolic gestures found in Buddhist iconography. A variety of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and other divinities commonly depicted in Japanese Buddhism is introduced, and their “living” quality discussed in the context of traditional temples and Buddhist rituals. Finally, other religious objects in Japanese Buddhism—relics, scriptures, inscriptions, portraits of masters, and sacred sites—are explained using the Buddhist icon as a model. Dobbins concludes by contemplating art museums further as potential sites for discerning the religious character of Buddhist images.
Those interested in Buddhism generally who would like to learn more about its rich iconography—whether encountered in temples or museums—will find much in this concise, well-illustrated volume to help them “behold the Buddha.”
ISBN 9780824879990
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Eshinni (1182–1268?), a Buddhist nun and the wife of Shinran (1173–1262), the celebrated founder of the True Pure Land, or Shin, school of Buddhism, was largely unknown until the discovery of a collection of her letters in 1921. In this... more
Eshinni (1182–1268?), a Buddhist nun and the wife of Shinran (1173–1262), the celebrated founder of the True Pure Land, or Shin, school of Buddhism, was largely unknown until the discovery of a collection of her letters in 1921. In this study, James C. Dobbins, a leading scholar of Pure Land Buddhism, has made creative use of these letters to shed new light on life and religion in medieval Japan. He provides a complete translation of the letters and an explication of them that reveals the character and flavor of early Shin Buddhism. Readers will come away with a new perspective on Pure Land scholarship and a vivid image of Eshinni and the world in which she lived.
After situating the ideas and practices of Pure Land Buddhism in the context of the actual living conditions of thirteenth-century Japan, Dobbins examines the portrayal of women in Pure Land Buddhism, the great range of lifestyles found among medieval women and nuns, and how they constructed a meaningful religious life amid negative stereotypes. He goes on to analyze aspects of medieval religion that have been omitted in our modern-day account of Pure Land and tries to reconstruct the religious assumptions of Eshinni and Shinran in their own day. A prevailing theme that runs throughout the book is the need to look beyond idealized images of Buddhism found in doctrine to discover the religion as it was lived and practiced.
Scholars and students of Buddhism, Japanese history, women’s studies, and religious studies will find much in this engaging work that is thought-provoking and insightful.
ISBN 9780824828707
After situating the ideas and practices of Pure Land Buddhism in the context of the actual living conditions of thirteenth-century Japan, Dobbins examines the portrayal of women in Pure Land Buddhism, the great range of lifestyles found among medieval women and nuns, and how they constructed a meaningful religious life amid negative stereotypes. He goes on to analyze aspects of medieval religion that have been omitted in our modern-day account of Pure Land and tries to reconstruct the religious assumptions of Eshinni and Shinran in their own day. A prevailing theme that runs throughout the book is the need to look beyond idealized images of Buddhism found in doctrine to discover the religion as it was lived and practiced.
Scholars and students of Buddhism, Japanese history, women’s studies, and religious studies will find much in this engaging work that is thought-provoking and insightful.
ISBN 9780824828707
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"The most complete and important book on the early history of Shin Buddhism to appear in English. . . . No other work in English combines the biography of the founder with such a detailed study of the complex development of Shin Buddhism... more
"The most complete and important book on the early history of Shin Buddhism to appear in English. . . . No other work in English combines the biography of the founder with such a detailed study of the complex development of Shin Buddhism from its simple beginnings as a small, rural primarily lay Buddhist movement in the 12th century to its rapid growth as a powerful urban religion in the 15th century." Choice
A Choice Outstanding Academic Book
ISBN 9780824826208
A Choice Outstanding Academic Book
ISBN 9780824826208
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Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki was a key figure in the introduction of Buddhism to the non-Asian world. Many outside Japan encountered Buddhism for the first time through his writings and teaching, and for nearly a century his work and legacy... more
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki was a key figure in the introduction of Buddhism to the non-Asian world. Many outside Japan encountered Buddhism for the first time through his writings and teaching, and for nearly a century his work and legacy have contributed to the ongoing religious and cultural interchange between Japan and the rest of the world, particularly the United States and Europe. This second volume of Selected Works of D. T. Suzuki brings together Suzuki’s writings on Pure Land Buddhism. At the center of the Pure Land tradition is the Buddha Amida and his miraculous realm known as paradise or “the land of bliss,” where sentient beings should aspire to be born in their next life and where liberation and enlightenment are assured. Suzuki, by highlighting certain themes in Pure Land Buddhism and deemphasizing others, shifted its focus from a future, otherworldly goal to religious experience in the present, wherein one realizes the nonduality between the Buddha and oneself and between paradise and this world. An introduction by James C. Dobbins analyzes Suzuki’s cogent, distinctive, and thought-provoking interpretations, which helped stimulate new understandings of Pure Land Buddhism quite different from traditional doctrine.
ISBN 9780520268937
ISBN 9780520268937
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Kuroda Toshio (1926-1993) was a historian of Japan’s medieval period who has greatly influenced, if not reshaped, the field of Japanese history with several innovative theories. His ideas went against the grain of existing... more
Kuroda Toshio (1926-1993) was a historian of Japan’s medieval period who has greatly influenced, if not reshaped, the field of Japanese history with several innovative theories. His ideas went against the grain of existing twentieth-century scholarship, and hence were revolutionary and controversial. In particular, Kuroda’s views on medieval religion shifted the focus from the so-called new schools of Kamakura Buddhism which had dominated scholarship up to that point. These schools stand as Japan’s most prominent forms of Buddhism today, but in the medieval period their influence was not yet pervasive. Kuroda sought to identify the predominant form of religion then by exploring the place of religion in medieval Japan’s social, political, and intellectual world. The conclusions he arrived at challenged the conventional wisdom among scholars. He asserted that it was not Buddhism’s new schools but the old ones, what he called kenmitsu 顕密 (exoteric-esoteric) Buddhism, that pervaded the medieval scene and set the standard for religion. Moreover, Shinto did not exist as a separate medieval religion, but was submerged in this kenmitsu religious culture. Furthermore, the entire kenmitsu worldview functioned as an ideological foundation for the social and political order, providing it with a rationale and giving it cohesion. Thus religion did not stand apart from the world as a realm of pure ideas, but was fully integrated into all levels and dimensions of medieval Japan. With these claims—which were in fact incorporated into an even broader interpretation of medieval life and social organization—Kuroda revealed himself to be a historian and theoretician of the first order, displaying formidable powers of conceptualization and wide-scale interpretative vision.
ISSN 0304-1042
ISSN 0304-1042
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University of Hawai'i Press. Edited by John Breen, Sueki Fumihiko, and Yamada Shōji.
ISBN 9780824893675
ISBN 9780824893675
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University of Hawai'i Press. Edited by Mark L. Blum and Michael Conway. ISBN 9780824892074
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University of California Press. Edited by James C. Dobbins. ISBN 978-0-520-26893-7
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Hōzōkan. ISBN 978-4-8318-7702-4 C3015
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Brill. Edited by Phyllis Granoff and Koichi Shinohara. ISBN 978-90-04-23200-6
Shibunkaku Shuppan. ISBN 9784784216369
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University of Hawai'i Press. Edited by William M. Bodiford. ISBN 9780824881535
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Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College
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Stanford University Press. Edited by Robert H. Sharf and Elizabeth Horton Sharf. ISBN 9780804739894
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University of Hawai'i Press. Edited by Richard K. Payne. ISBN 9780824820787
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Wisdom Ocean Publications. Edited by Kenneth K. Tanaka and Eisho Nasu. ISBN 978-0-9658062-1-3
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Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha. Institute of Jodo Shinshu Studies, Hongwanji International Center
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Chronicle Books. Edited by Seattle Art Museum. ISBN 978-0877014614
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Nagata Bunshōdō
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Translated and Adapted by James C. Dobbins
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Translation by James C. Dobbins
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Translation by James C. Dobbins
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Translation by James C. Dobbins
Translation by James C. Dobbins
Translation by James C. Dobbins. Medieval Japan was dominated by a religious system, the so-called ken-mitsu system, which provided a cohesive ideological structure for its social and political order. It arose against the backdrop of... more
Translation by James C. Dobbins.
Medieval Japan was dominated by a religious system, the so-called ken-mitsu system, which provided a cohesive ideological structure for its social and political order. It arose against the backdrop of the medieval estate system and the emerging peasant class. The core of the kenmitsu system was esoteric beliefs and practices, around which the different exoteric doctrines of Tendai and other schools coalesced. Esoteric practices were thought to embody the truths of Mahāyāna Buddhism, but also to provide thaumaturgic means to control the ominous spirit world recognized by society. The teachings and practices of Pure Land Buddhism were born out of this system, and the Tendai doctrine of original enlightenment (hongaku) was an archetypal expression of it. The kenmitsu worldview provided the ideological basis for the medieval Japanese state, and was integrated into its system of rule. *This article is a translation of the introduction and part 1 of Kuroda Toshio's essay "Chūsei ni okeru kenmitsu taisei no tenkai" 中世における顕密体制の展開.
Medieval Japan was dominated by a religious system, the so-called ken-mitsu system, which provided a cohesive ideological structure for its social and political order. It arose against the backdrop of the medieval estate system and the emerging peasant class. The core of the kenmitsu system was esoteric beliefs and practices, around which the different exoteric doctrines of Tendai and other schools coalesced. Esoteric practices were thought to embody the truths of Mahāyāna Buddhism, but also to provide thaumaturgic means to control the ominous spirit world recognized by society. The teachings and practices of Pure Land Buddhism were born out of this system, and the Tendai doctrine of original enlightenment (hongaku) was an archetypal expression of it. The kenmitsu worldview provided the ideological basis for the medieval Japanese state, and was integrated into its system of rule. *This article is a translation of the introduction and part 1 of Kuroda Toshio's essay "Chūsei ni okeru kenmitsu taisei no tenkai" 中世における顕密体制の展開.
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Translated, Adapted, and Expanded by James C. Dobbins
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Translation by James C. Dobbins and Suzanne Gay. Reprinted: (1) Shinto in the History of Japanese Religion: An Essay by Kuroda Toshio. In Religions of Japan in Practice. Edited by George Tanabe. Princeton University Press, 1999. 451-467.... more
Translation by James C. Dobbins and Suzanne Gay. Reprinted: (1) Shinto in the History of Japanese Religion: An Essay by Kuroda Toshio. In Religions of Japan in Practice. Edited by George Tanabe. Princeton University Press, 1999. 451-467. (2) Shinto in the History of Japanese Religion. In Religion and Society in Modern Japan. Edited by Mark R. Mullins, Shimazono Susumu, and Paul L. Swanson. Asian Humanities Press, 1993. 7-30.
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Oxford Research Encyclopedias. https://oxfordre.com/
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Oxford Research Encyclopedias. https://oxfordre.com/
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Jonathan Silk, Editor-in-Chief. Richard Bowring, Editor.
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Robert E. Buswell, Jr., Editor-in-Chief. Macmillian Reference USA and Thomson/Gale. ISBN 0-02-865718-7. https://ia802900.us.archive.org/23/items/encyclopediaofbuddhism_202003_515_o/Encyclopedia%20of%20Buddhism.pdf.... more
Robert E. Buswell, Jr., Editor-in-Chief. Macmillian Reference USA and Thomson/Gale. ISBN 0-02-865718-7.
https://ia802900.us.archive.org/23/items/encyclopediaofbuddhism_202003_515_o/Encyclopedia%20of%20Buddhism.pdf. https://www.academia.edu/5485657/Encyclopedia_of_Buddhism_Vol_I_and_II_Edited_by_Robert_E_Buswell
https://ia802900.us.archive.org/23/items/encyclopediaofbuddhism_202003_515_o/Encyclopedia%20of%20Buddhism.pdf. https://www.academia.edu/5485657/Encyclopedia_of_Buddhism_Vol_I_and_II_Edited_by_Robert_E_Buswell
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Oxford University Press. Edited by John Bowker. ISBN 978-0192139658
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Mircea Eliade, Editor-in-Chief. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0029094808
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Oxford Bibliographies (online). "Buddhism." Edited by Courtney Bruntz. www.oxfordbibliographies.com