Comments on: Japanese Buddhism in the Community http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2012/07/19/japanese-buddhism-in-the-community/ My life as a father, Buddhist, Japanophile and Koreaphile. Mon, 23 Jul 2012 02:00:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Doug 陀愚 http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2012/07/19/japanese-buddhism-in-the-community/#comment-10702 Sat, 21 Jul 2012 17:07:39 +0000 https://nihonshukyo.wordpress.com/?p=14780#comment-10702 Hi Johnl,

Sorry for the late reply.

I definitely see what you are saying. Most of my experience is with Jodo Shinshu priests who are definitely lay priests (they do not take any precepts per se), while other traditions such as Tendai and Shingon do take the Bodhisattva Precepts.

Traditionally though, in Japanese monastic tradition, they did take the original 250 or so vows, with the Bodhisattva Precepts as a supplement. Tendai turned this around and made the Bodhisattva Precepts the sole source of monastic discipline. This is explained in the link provided above under “history”.

But in any case, you have a great point: while training, they definitely live a monastic life, in keeping with Buddhist tradition. It’s the life-style afterwards (owning land, being married, etc) that in my opinion makes them lay followers more than monastics.

In non-Japanese traditions, if a monk/nun leaves the monastic training, they become a lay follower, so it seems to me that this same logic would hold true with the Japanese tradition. While they have training and provide a valuable service to the community, once they re-enter lay-life, they are lay priests.

I guess it’s an issue with semantics though. In Japanese, both monastics and lay priests are considered “obosan” so I guess the issue is with English (how do you express the same concept in English). :p

]]> By: johnl http://japanlifeandreligion.com/2012/07/19/japanese-buddhism-in-the-community/#comment-10693 Fri, 20 Jul 2012 10:42:46 +0000 https://nihonshukyo.wordpress.com/?p=14780#comment-10693 I don’t think obosan can be considered a lay priest. Yes, you are right that they don’t follow the vinaya, but they are not exactly laic either. I think they have a certain set of bodhisattva vows that is less strict than the traditional vinaya. Maybe this needs to be discussed?? My impression is that most would-be clerics train while living as monastics. Then, they return to a non-monastic lifestyle. As for the history, there are two important factors–Shinran, the founder of Josho Shinshu, felt that priests should have families so they would be closer to their parishioners. That would be around the 13th century, I think. Then, in the Meiji era, 19th century, there was some fear that temples had too much power. So, the government decided that ‘allowing’ priests to marry would weaken their power (and it was more of a command than a choice). Personally, I have no problem with married priests, drinkers, whatever. The key point is how they help people; actual teaching/sermons, conducting funerals and other ceremonies, and encouraging appropriate community activities. Also, I would say that in general, Japanese priests get along well with monastics in other traditions. Anyone who has corrections or more details, please chime in!

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