Buddhism in the Modern World Adaptations of an Ancient Tradition

by Heine, Steven; Prebish, Charles S.

• ISBN13: 9780195146981
• ISBN10: 0195146980
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-11
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The history of Buddhism has been characterized by an ongoing tension between attempts to preserve traditional ideals and modes of practice and the need to adapt to changing cultural conditions. Many developments in Buddhist history, such as the infusion of esoteric rituals, the rise ofdevotionalism and lay movements, and the assimilation of warrior practices, reflect the impact of widespread social changes on traditional religious structures. At the same time, Buddhism has been able to maintain its doctrinal purity to a remarkable degree. This volume explores how traditionalBuddhist communities have responded to the challenges of modernity, such as science and technology, colonialism, and globalization. Editors Steven Heine and Charles S. Prebish have commissioned ten essays by leading scholars, each examining a particular traditional Buddhist school in its culturalcontext. The essays consider how the encounter with modernity has impacted the disciplinary, textual, ritual, devotional, practical, and socio-political traditions of Buddhist thought throughout Asia. Taken together, these essays reveal the diversity and vitality of contemporary Buddhism and offer awide-ranging look at the way Buddhism interacts with the modern world.

Author Biography

Steven Heine is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Asian Studies at Florida International University. Among his many publications are Dogen and the Koan Tradition (1994), Japan in Traditional and Postmodern Perspectives (1995), The Zen Poetry of Dogen (1997), Shifting Shape, Shaping Text (1999), The Koan: Texts and Contexts in Zen Buddhism (OUP, 2000), and Opening a Mountain: Koans of the Zen Masters (OUP, 2002). Dr. Heine was recently awarded the Kauffman Professorship in Entrepreneurship Studies at the Florida International University Business School.
Charles S. Prebish is Professor of Religious Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. He is the author or editor of many books, including Historical Dictionary of Buddhism (1993), A Survey of Vinaya Literature (1994), Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America (1999), and Westward Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Asia (2002). He is a founding co-editor of the online Journal of Buddhist Ethics.

Table of Contents

Contributors,	ix
Introduction: Traditions and Transformations in Modern Buddhism,	3	(6)
1. Aniconism Versus Iconism in Thai Buddhism,	9	(18)
Donald K. Swearer
2. The Modernization of Sinhalese Buddhism as Reflected in the Damhulla Cave Temples,	27	(18)
Nathan Katz
3. Varying the Vinaya: Creative Responses to Modernity,	45	(30)
Charles S. Prebisk
4. Master Hongyi Looks Back: A Modern Man Becomes a Monk in Twentieth-Century China,	75	(50)
Raoul Birnbaum
5. Transitions in the Practice and Defense of Chinese Pure Land Buddhism,	125	(18)
Charles B. Jones
6. Won Buddhism: The Historical Context of Sot'aesan's Reformation of Buddhism for the Modern World,	143	(26)
Bongkil Chung
7. Abbreviation or Aberration: The Role of the Shushõgi in Modern Soto Zen Buddhism,	169	(24)
Steven Heine
8. "By Imperial Edict and Shogunal Decree": Politics and the Issue of the Ordination Platform in Modern Lay Nichiren Buddhism,	193	(28)
Jacqueline I. Stone
9. The Making of the Western Lama,	221	(28)
Daniel Cozort
10. "Liberate the Mahabodhi Temple!" Socially Engaged Buddhism, Dalit-Style,	249	(32)
Tara N. Doyle
Index,	281