Bringing Zen Home

by Arai, Paula

• ISBN13: 9780824835354
• ISBN10: 0824835352
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-10-31
• Publisher: Univ of Hawaii Pr

Summary

Based on extensive fieldwork, Nature's Embrace reveals the emerging pluralization of death rites in postindustrial Japan. Low birth rates and high numbers of people remaining permanently single have led to a shortage of ceremonial caregivers (most commonly married sons and their wives) to ensure the transformation of the dead into ancestors resting in peace. Consequently, older adults are increasingly uncertain about who will perform memorial rites for them and maintain their graves. In this study, anthropologist Satsuki Kawano examines Japan's changing death rites from the perspective of those who elect to have their cremated remains scattered and celebrate their return to nature. Book jacket.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Prologue	p. xiii
Mapping the Terrain	p. 1
The Way of Healing: Yudo	p. 29
Personal Buddhas: Living with Loss and Grief	p. 65
Domestic Zen: Living Esoteric Wisdom	p. 108
The Healing Power of Beauty	p. 167
Revealing the Healing Realm of Zen	p. 204
Notes	p. 217
Kanji Glossary	p. 241
Bibliography of Sources Cited	p. 245
Index	p. 255
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.