Buddhist News from Japan

A couple good articles came out recently in the Asahi Shinbun newspaper I wanted to share on similar topics:

The first article deals with a recent renovation of the Hosso sect’s home temple of Kofukuji which has undergone major renovation. The highlight of this renovation is the new display of an ancient statue of a Buddhist asura or fighting spirit in Buddhist cosmology. Asuras are roughly analogous to the Titans in Greek mythology. In the same way, Devas of Buddhist/Hindu cosmology are roughly analogous to the Greek Gods and the Asuras and Devas are similarly at war.¹ I was excited about this as I plan to go to Japan next month, and I am very eager to visit Nara and both the temples of Todaiji and Kofukuji. My decision to visit Kofukuji came after reading about Yogacara Buddhism in a book written by Rev. Tagawa, the abbot of Kofukuji.

Speaking of Todaiji temple, they are celebrating the annual Fire and Water Rite known as shuni-e (修二会), according to the other article. Shunie is probably one of the oldest Buddhist rites still practiced in Japan, though it’s almost entirely unknown int he West. I learned about it only from my own research in Professor Abe’s book about early Japanese Buddhism, which I used in turn to write the Wikipedia article almost from scratch (sadly it’s a terse article). The fire and water rites are part of an elaborate repentance ceremony devoted toward Kannon Bodhisattva, and also features a lot of Shinto elements as well due to the legend of the Wakasa Well. The Well is where water is drawn every year to make offerings to Kannon Bodhisattva, and was said to be a gift from a Shinto kami who had been late to attend a meeting. In penance, he split a rock in two to provide water for the ceremony.² I would love to attend the Shunie ceremony just once in my life, as so much tradition from early Nara Buddhism has been preserved, but obviously this year I will be coming to Japan a bit late. Maybe next time.

Anyways, enjoy!

Namu Amida Butsu

P.S. I was tempted to title this post “news from the motherland” as “motherland” is a joke I often tease my wife with since she’s from there, and she married someone fascinated by the culture. Frankly it just sounded better than the more dry “Buddhist News from Japan”, but then I realized no one would get the joke but me. Inside jokes are stupid anyway.

¹ Also, no, the Buddha is not a god. In fact, being reborn as a deva, asura or whatever, despite having some advantages over humans, is still seen as problematic because one’s lifespan, while very long, is still limited, and divine beings are still subject to all the other conditions of life: dissatisfaction, stress, etc. Even the gods must die, in other words, and usually they are reborn as something lower because there’s nowhere “upward” to go anymore. Buddhism seeks to go beyond the endless cycle of rebirth to something beyond description.

² Yet another fascinating example of how Buddhism and Shinto blend together in Japanese culture.