Buddhism in Japan
The influence of Buddhism in Japan is reflected in many aspects of its society throughout history; from its culture, art and architecture, passing through its system of values, its philosophy and its spirituality, coming to forge its character.
The vast majority of Japanese practice both Buddhism and Shinto, the country's indigenous religion. According to data from 2010, some 45,820,000 inhabitants declare themselves Buddhists, the equivalent of 36.2% of the population.
History
Evolution of Buddhism until its arrival in Japan
Following the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhism spreads in India and other Asian countries, giving rise to different interpretations of the texts that promulgate its message. Two main currents are born that treat Buddhism differently: Theravada, which is established in Sri Lanka, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand and is based on following the Buddha's doctrine, paying special attention to the study of the precepts and monastic life; and the Mahayana, which was born as a secular movement that interpreted the texts more as a method than as a philosophy without treating Buddha as a deity and which would expand from the I A.D.E. in Central Asia, China, Korea and Japan.
The first Mahayana missionaries penetrated China during the Han Dynasty by sea, reaching the southern regions of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, and through the Silk Road, reaching the eastern regions until reaching the Han capital of Luoyang, where in the year 68 A.D. the Temple of the White Horse would be established. Having been almost a contemporary of Confucius, Buddhism would not be widely accepted in the country until the fall of the Han, which would lead to the need for the Chinese population to welcome the new foreign faith.
The arrival from India in the V century of Bodhidharma would mean a change in the perception of Buddhist precepts and the birth of Chan Buddhism. Unlike other previous missionaries, Bodhidharma does not pretend to be received with enlightened honors but questions the scriptures and established doctrines.
Upon his arrival in southern China, Bodhidharma is invited by Emperor Wu, who seeks his blessing after investing heavily in spreading Buddhism. Bodhidharma would make him aware of the error of seeking salvation through the worship of the sacred and seeing that his company could not be carried out in the state of the Liang, he would continue his march until he reached the state of the Wei to finally settle. in Shaolin. Bodhidharma's way of teaching, based on asking questions that helped to find enlightenment instead of explaining problems, would be one of the foundations of Zen Buddhism. Subsequently, Bodhidharma's teachings were disseminated by the different patriarchs who succeeded him, who, over time, merging the principles of primitive Mahayana Buddhism with Taoist ideas, gave rise to Chan Buddhism.
Kofun Period (250 to 552)
In the Book of Liang of the Twenty-four Histories, a Chinese text that is the only reference of the time since the Japanese had not yet mastered writing, there is evidence of the settlement of Buddhists in Japan.
Asuka Period (552 to 710)
In the year 552, Syong-Myong, king of Paekche (one of the three kingdoms that made up Korea), sends a series of gifts to Kinmei as a token of gratitude for his collaboration in the war against Silla. These were based on an image of the Buddha cast in gold and copper and texts with sutras written in Sanskrit, and attached a letter in which King Syong-Myong expressed his admiration for Buddhism and the political expediency of adopting the new religion.
Emperor Kinmei kept aloof from Buddhism and handed over the image to Soga no Iname, who was in charge of managing the investments of wealthy immigrants and a member of the Soga family with close ties to Korean courts. They embraced Buddhism and brought together three nuns who, after receiving education in Korea, would be in charge of managing the Buddhist temple that Soga no Umako had built.
Until then, the religion practiced in Japan was Shinto and some families of the Japanese elite such as the Mononobe and Nakatomi, who based their lineage on a supposed descent from the Shinto kami, They were threatened by Buddhism. Tensions between the Soga family and those of Mononobe and Nakatomi would result in an armed conflict in which the Soga would emerge victorious and gain control of the imperial family with which they would become related.
With the seizure of power by Empress Suiko, Soga no Umako's niece, and thanks to the dedication of Prince Regent Shotoku, Buddhism would be definitively established in Japan. Considering the emperor as a direct descendant of Amaterasu, makes the two religions, Buddhism and Shinto, integrate without detriment to either. Shotoku would be considered a divinity after his death, and his life would be told with many parallels to that of Siddharta Gautama.
Nara Period (710 to 794)
In this Period the number of temples experienced a great growth and the emperors Tenmu and Monmu, after embracing Buddhism, laid the foundations of state patronage. This patronage gave rise to six schools: Ritsu, Jōjitsu and Kusha belonging to Theravada Buddhism and Sanron, Hossō and Kegon following guidelines of Mahayana Buddhism.
Rulers found the Buddhist ideal that the benevolent rule of a monarch brought heaven on earth, a concept that added legitimacy to their rule, especially appealing.
As early as 627, Japan had 46 Buddhist temples, 816 Buddhist monks, and 569 Buddhist nuns.
Heian Period (794 to 1185)
During the Heian Period, the Tendai and Shingon schools were created.
In the year 794 Saicho founded the Tendai school in Hiei, which bases its philosophy on the Lotus Sutra and the Chinese Tiantai treatises on meditation techniques. It is believed that the idea that Kyoto was the settlement as the new capital was due to him after applying feng shui techniques.
Kūkai founded in the year 816, with the help of Emperor Saga, a monastery on Mount Koya and established the Shingon sect. He was one of the emissaries sent to China along with Saicho and follows the doctrines of esoteric Vajrayana Buddhism. In 921 he was awarded the posthumous title of Kōbō-Daishi “ Great teacher who spreads Buddhism everywhere ”.
Kamakura Period (1185–1333)
At this time, new sects very different from those that appeared in Nara appeared, with simpler doctrines that would facilitate their arrival to the most popular classes. These new forms of Buddhism are much more personal and intimate, and vindicate the value of women, guaranteeing them equal opportunities for religious salvation, denied until then. Two great currents emerge: Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism.
Pure Land Buddhism
Pure Land Buddhism is based on the nenbutsu or cult of Amida Buddha (bodhisttva Dharmakara), hero of the Pure Land Sutra (Daimuryoju-kyo in Japanese). Genshin was the main architect of the expansion of the Amida cult that arrived from China in the year 847.
Pure Land Sect (Jodo-Shu)
Honen (1133-1212) was the founder of the Pure Land sect. After studying the Visualization Sutra of the Pure Land, written by Shandao, Honen comes to the conviction that the constant recitation of the nenbutsu is the key to salvation as a promises Amida Buddha. Currently, this sect has 6,500,000 followers in Japan and is, along with the True Pure Land sect, the one with the largest number of followers.
True Pure Land Sect (Jodo Shin-shu)
Shinran (1173-1262), a disciple of Honen and also trained in the Tendai discipline taught on Mount Hiei, was the founder of the True Pure Land sect. He based his difference on the fact that he did not believe in the advisability of repeating the nenbutsu , but considered that a single show of sincere devotion to Amida Buddha was enough. He determined that the priests could marry and the leadership assumed hereditary character. Today, this sect has 13,000,000 followers.
Stormy School (Ji-Shu)
Ippen Shonin (1234–1289) founded the third of the Pure Land schools of Buddhism. From a wealthy family, he renounced his fortune to become an itinerant preacher after receiving in a dream an oracle from Gongen, divinity kami and manifestation of Buddha essence. He based his existence on emulating Buddha Shakyamuni, renouncing all material goods, detaching himself from egoistic existence. He attracted a large number of followers in a short time and they formed the "Tempestiva" or Ji-shu sect. It currently has between 300 and 400,000 followers.
Zen Buddhism
Zen Buddhism was the other great religious current that enjoyed great diffusion in this period and acted as a bridge between the traditional sects and the new ones. It had some very important sects such as the Rinzai and the Sōtō, which exerted a great influence on the samurai philosophy.
While the Pure Land sect emphasizes the worship of Amida and the recitation of nenbutsu, the Zen schools focus on individual personal effort to achieve enlightenment ( satori) through meditation (zazen). According to the Sōtō sect, it is the practice of meditation that provides enlightenment. The Rinzai sect seeks to speed up this process by adding a koan (problem intended to be solved through the use of meditation). It is estimated that followers of different Zen sects make up ten percent of registered Buddhists in Japan.
During the Hojo regency of Kamakura, Zen was patronized, as it was considered to transmit the revitalizing Chinese culture and it raised the cultural level of the shogunate over the imperial court of Kyoto.
Rinzai Zen School
The Rinzai lineage of Zen came to Japan from China at the hands of Eisai (1141-1215). Trained on Mount Hiei, after making a pilgrimage to China, he set out to build the first Zen temple in Kyoto, meeting with the refusal of the Tendai sect. He wrote the Propagation of Zen for the Security of the Country (Kozen gokokuron), which stated that Zen was the way to know the true nature of consciousness and contained the teaching on how to eliminate the ego; to promote Zen was to promote selflessness, which according to Eisai would facilitate the creation of a peaceful society. Finally, in 1202, the shogunate granted him permission to build the Ken'ninji Zen temple in Kyoto, where a young Dogen would go to practice zazen.
Sōtō Zen School
Dogen (1200-1253) was ordained on Mount Hiei of the Tendai sect at the age of thirteen and a year later became Eisai's disciple in Ken'ninji. In 1225, after traveling to China, Dogen took Rujing ( Nyojyo ) as a teacher with whom he established a close relationship and under his guidance he achieved enlightenment. In 1228 he returned to Japan and in 1233 he founded the Koshoji temple in Uji introducing the tradition of the Caodong lineage (Sōtō in Japanese) of his master Rujing. The writing of sermons and guidelines addressed to his disciples would end up becoming the Treasury of the vision of the true Dharma (Shōbōgenzō).
Dogen was of the belief that meditation was not done in order to achieve enlightenment, but that the practice of zazen was the end in itself, so he did not see the use of koan. Practicing meditation properly helped to be in tune with the nature of the original Buddha.
Nichiren Buddhism
Like other contemporary religious leaders, Nichiren (1222-1282) was trained on Mount Hiei, where he forged his conviction that the Lotus Sutra contained the true teachings of the Buddha. A charismatic preacher, he attracted a large following, especially wealthy landowners. In 1257, after a series of natural calamities and the social and political crisis that the country was experiencing, Nichiren concluded that they were due to the disappearance of the practice of perseverance and sacrifice as shown in the Lotus Sutra, attributing these misfortunes to the practice of the nenbutsu of the Pure Land. After the Mongol invasion attempts of 1268 and 1281, his accusations against the Pure Land sects increase and he is banished several times.
Muromachi (or Ashikaga) Period (1336–1573)
The Muromachi Period saw Shinto and Buddhism merge. The Tendai and Shingon sects, whose founders Saicho and Kukai professed a deep respect for the indigenous kami of Japan, encouraged the incorporation of Shinto deities into their institutional framework. The victories obtained against the Mongol invasions of 1274 and 1281 by two separate typhoons led to the belief that Japan lived under the protection of the kami divinities that sent the divine wind (kamikaze).
Some sects of the Kamakura Period created their own religious militias when the country fell into the hands of warlords. The Nichiren and Pure Land sects come into conflict with each other and with the Nara sects; It is normal for temples to have their own military units made up of soldier-monks.
In 1549 Christianity was introduced into Japanese religion by Francisco Javier, a Jesuit missionary who came to the island with the aim of evangelizing it. In the campaign for the unification of Japan, Oda Nobunaga encounters fierce opposition from the Pure Land community and decides to lay waste to Mount Hiei, killing anyone in his path. His rejection of the Buddhist sects caused him to patronize Christianity.
Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573–1600)
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Nobunaga's successor, adopts Christianity in the first instance but some customs and practices carried out by some converts and the accumulation of power they displayed, make him publish an edict ordering to leave Japan to the missionaries. After being appeased by Valigniano, the prohibition is not carried out, but the knowledge of the intentions of the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs to conquer Japan, and the clandestine entry of Franciscans into the country, unleash Hideyoshi's anger and he punishes resident Christians using Inquisition techniques.
Tokugawa Period (1600–1868)
The danka system, which forces families to become protectors of their local temple as proof of rejection of Christianity, turned Buddhist temples into institutions. Some 1,600 temples received the unconditional support of the population. In addition, there was an obligation to collaborate in the expenses of the temple and to attend its acts.
Obaku Zen Sect
Ingen Ryuki (1592-1673), learned and enlightened Chan master, arrives in Japan after being invited and after an audience before the shogun, who is so impressed that he decides to cede land to him so he can build a monastery. His doctrine combined nenbutsu with zazen. His followers currently number 350,000 and make up 8.5 percent of Japanese Buddhists.
Meiji Restoration (1868–1912)
With the transfer of power from the shogunate to the emperor, some influential politicians promote the separation of Shinto and Buddhism, unleashing a wave of anti-Buddhist violence in various parts of Japan. Faced with the acts of vandalism by the Shintoists, the government determined that "separation" did not equate to "destruction."
As State Shinto was established, the Buddhist sects were forced to adapt. Rinzai Zen and Soto Zen were modernized by adopting Western ideas but maintaining their Japanese identity. Edicts were passed allowing monks to eat meat and marry. These measures, along with the spread of State Shinto, were definitive in demystifying Buddhism and marginalizing it.
Japanese Buddhist schools
After the Meiji Restoration, 13 Buddhist schools divided into 56 branches were registered, during World War II they were reduced to 28. The regulating law was revoked and their return is currently allowed
Nara Period
Hosso
Founder: Xuanzang (玄奘 Genjo in Japanese), China, c. 630 AD C.
Chinese name: Faxiang (法相), "The character of dharma"
Arrives in Japan: with Dosho, 654 d. C.
Main Influences: Sanron, Zen
Doctrine: Yuishiki (consciousness only)
Basic text: Jo yuishikiron (成唯識論)
Kegon
Founder: Dushun (杜順, Dojun in Japanese), China, c. 600 c.
Chinese name: Huayan (華厳)
Arrives in Japan: with Bodhisena, AD 736. c.
Main influences: Hosso
Doctrine: Shihōkai (四法界)
Basic text: Avatamsaka Sutra (Kegonkyo 華厳経)
Ritsu
Founder: Daoxuan (道宣, Dosen in Japanese), China, c. 650 d. c.
Chinese name: Lü (律), "Vinaya"
Arrives in Japan: with Ganjin (鑑真), 753 AD. c.
Doctrine: Vinaya (the monastic rules in the Tripitaka)
Basic text: Dharmaguptavinaya (Shibunritsu 四分律)
The Heian Period
Esoteric schools
Monastic schools (密教, mikkyo in Japanese) belong to the Vajrayāna (Diamond Vehicle) school of Buddhism, also known as Tantric Buddhism.
Tendai
Founder: Zhiyi (智顗, Chigi in Japanese), China, c. 550 d. c.
Chinese name: Tiantai (天台), named after the founding temple
Arrives in Japan: with Saichō (最澄), 807 AD. c.
Doctrine: Sandai (三諦, "Triple Truth")
Basic Text: Lotus Sutra (Hokkekyo 法華経)
Shingon
Founder: Kukai (空海), Japan, AD 816. c.
Japanese name: 真言, "True Word"
Main influences: Tantra
Doctrine: Vajrayāna/Tantra (right-handed, in the sense of "using the right hand")
Fundamental texts: Mahavairochana Sutra (Dainichikyo 大日経), Diamond Sutra (Kongokyo 金剛経)
Nichiren Buddhism
Founder: Nichiren Daishonin, 1253 AD. C.
Japanese name: 日蓮, "Sun Lotus"
Main Influences: Tendai
Doctrine: Nam Myoho Renge Kyo (南無妙法蓮華経)
Basic Text: Lotus Sutra (Hokkekyo 法華経)
From the Kamakura period to the present
The Kamakura period witnessed the arrival of the two schools that have probably had the greatest impact on the country: the Amidist Pure Land school, which emphasized salvation through belief in Amitābha and is to today the largest Buddhist school in Japan (and throughout Asia); and the more philosophical school of Zen, which was quickly adopted by the upper classes and had a profound impact on Japanese culture.
Amidist schools
Fuck off
Founder: Huiyuan (Eon in Japanese), China, c. 400 d. c.
Chinese name: Jingtu Pure Land
Arrives in Japan: with Honen, AD 1175. c.
Doctrine: Nembutsu ("prayer to Buddha")
Basic text: Infinite Life Sutra (Muryojukyo)
Jodo Shin
Founder: Shinran, 1224 AD. c.
Japanese name: "The True Pure Land"
Main influence: Jōdō
Doctrine: shintai zokutai ("Certain truth, common truth")
Basic text: Infinite Life Sutra (Muryojukyo)
Zen schools
Soto
It is a school of Zen Buddhism that focuses on the practice of Shikantaza zazen (just sitting) to achieve satori (enlightenment)
Rinzai
School of Zen Buddhism that proposes to achieve satori (enlightenment) the Kōan exercises (teachings in the form of riddles)
Obaku
Brief timeline
- 654 - Dosho takes Hosso (Faxiang) to Japan.
- 736 - Bodhisena takes the Kegon (Huayan) school to Japan.
- 753 - Ganjin takes Ritsu (Lü, Vinaya) to Japan.
- 807 - Saichō takes Tendai (Tientai) to Japan.
- 816 - Kukai founded Shingon school.
- 1175 - Honen takes the Jōdō school to Japan.
- 1191 - Eisai takes Rinzai (Linji) to Japan.
- 1227 - Dōgen takes Soto (Caodung) to Japan.
- 1253 - Nichiren founded the school Nichiren.
- 1654 - Ingen takes Obaku (Huangbo) to Japan.
Buddhism arrived in Japan in the year 572, when the Koreans arrived in Nara to present the eight doctrinal schools. The Nara schools eventually waned in influence and the schools that still stand are:
- Zen (Soto Zen, Rinzai Zen and Obaku).
- Shingon, Japanese tantric Buddhism, founded by Kukai.
- Jōdō or Pure Earth School, founded by Honen.
- Jodo Shinsu or the school of the True Pure Land, founded by Shinran.
- Tendai, founded by Saichō.
- Nichiren, founded by Nichiren