Japanese Buddhism Puns

Hi friends,

I'm an unaffiliated Buddhist living in Japan and looking for a community to join.

Those of you who follow a Japanese school: which one do you follow and for what reasons did you choose that one over others? How do the practices/doctrines/... suit you personally?

Good afternoon. Has anyone read this book? If so, how does it compare to other works about Honen, such as Buddhist Saint and Traversing the Pure Land Path? The info online is scarce.

Thank you!

Namu Amida Butsu

LinFamy is super funny Japanese YouTuber: if you like self deprecating humor in a kind of John Oliver mixed with South Park style. He’s channel is mostly about Japanese history and he has many videos about Buddhism. The level of knowledge he has it is evident he follows Buddhism himself (if I was to guess one of the Nichiren school).

Between the jokes he actually delivers substantive explanations and insights.

The video below is an example about Zen. Only reason I picked this one is it’s the Mahayana tradition I am most familiar with. (If you only have a 5 mins to spare my fav part: 7:35-11:35).

Light and beginner friendly way to learn some Buddhist history.

https://youtu.be/5Nk8pygcTaw

I have no idea where to even begin. Thank you so much for your help!

I recently made my way through Peter Harvey's Introduction to Buddhism and found an interesting line about Japanese Pure Land Buddhism:

>Ryōyo (1341–1420) developed the idea that the Pure Land is in fact everywhere, and is to be entered by a changed attitude of mind during life, rather than at death.

The source for this is a single paragraph in the intro to a 1925 translation of a biography of Honen Shonin, and suggests that the 7th Patriarch of Jodo-Shu, the second largest pure land sect in Japan, disavowed the typical pure land idea that enlightenment can only come from waiting to die and being reborn in Amitabha's pure land. I've inquired with a few temples about this to no avail, and basically all the information I've seen about Jodo-Shu (and Jodo Shinshu for that matter) suggest that entering the pure land during life is not part of official doctrine.

That said, does anyone have information about Ryoyo (also known as Ryoyo Shogei) and historical belief in entering the pure land during life? Does Jodo-shu actually believe that, and did Ryoyo really believe that?

English language resources on Jodo-shu are already few and far between, and the few articles I've found on Ryoyo online are either about his reformation of monastic codes or the fact that he wrote one of the first accounts of eating noodles in Japan. Any information or leads would be much appreciated--and maybe inspire me to start my Pure Land practice again. Thank you!

Not too well know outside Japan, Shingon is a form of Tantric Buddhism focused on Rituals, Secret Mantras and Initiations: Japanese folklore links Shingon with Magic and Psychic Powers.

I know that there are various branches of Shingon but only a very, very few are represented outside Japan.

BOOKS? VIDEOS? PERSONAL EXPERIENCES?

https://preview.redd.it/8dw5h1e8z6b71.jpg?width=474&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=346eac7a239a55fc91e29a32324c2e62611b0bca

Shinto is the state religion, the Emperor managed to keep and justify his title as descendant of Amaterasu, all other religions are firmly stamped out of the Co-Propserity Sphere, with Buddhism being probably the only one allowed, especially in China.

And yet I can't remember even a single mention of either of them anywhere in the Sphere, other than the Emperor being basically in a gilded cage by game start. Even if a victorious Japan completely stomps all over naturalism by industrializing everywhere, there should at least be some mentions of the shrines, and maybe some events of rooting out western faiths and movements.

"The return of the Fumi-e."

I don't know if all of these are related, it may be too difficult to know. It is interesting that there is a similar word that touches all of the major religions.

I’m going to be doing a project for my Folklore class on Rakugo. I know it was invented by Buddhist monks to make more interesting sermons. I’m curious about the link between Humor and Japanese Buddhism. Getting a first hand source would be best in my opinion. Thank you all

The government of the Meiji era profoundly altered Japanese society, turning it from a secluded shogunate into a modern nation-state. This involved radical initiatives such as abolishing the samurai class, but also more baffling initiatives such as Shinbutsu Bunri (meaning "Separation of Shinto and Buddhism").

"Shinto" in the name that was given to an amalgamation of local animistic beliefs as it increasingly coalesced into a more coherent whole. Shinto started being referred to as such around the same time Buddhism first spread into Japan from China during the 6th century. As time went on, the two religious currents came into close contact — at turns cooperative and conflictual — and influenced each other in both style and content. By the 8th century, "shrines-temples" housing both a Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple had become a common feature of the religious landscape of Japan. This proximity resulted in further interactions and the solidification of a shared cosmology; a Shinto kami could be recognized as a bodhisattva or a Buddhist edifice be assigned a tutelary kami, for instance. This highly syncrectic development went on and eventually, Shinto and Japanese Buddhism grew so closely intertwined that it had become difficult to neatly separate the two. That didn't stop the Meiji government from attempting to do exactly that.

In 1868, the government moved to "Discard Buddhism and Destroy Gautama". What started as an attempt to control the national-religious narrative by enforcing sudden cultual segregation rapidly radicalized into a much more coercive campaign. In the ensuing violence, temples were annihilated by the thousands, monks were defrocked and forcibly converted, lands were seized to be repurposed and precious artefacts were completely destroyed. By 1872, some places in Japan (especially the former Satsuma domain) had become dangerously close to being "Buddhism-free". And then, as suddenly as it had started, the government admitted it had failed in its project to eradicate Buddhism — and the Shinbutsu Bunri campaign faded into obscurity. Most Buddhist institutions would eventually go on to enthusiastically support the Japanese government's nationalist militarization a mere few decades later.

My question is... why? Why all of this? It all seems so baffling from a modern perspective. Why try to separate Shinto and Buddhism in the first place, when religious syncretism had been an integral part of Japanese culture for centuries? Why do it so r

I am really desperate for help, so I hope someone can help me. I am writting an essay for university about Japanese buddhism sects. What are the main sects I sould write about? (Sorry about my bad english)

The user or users making these arguments are adherents of Chan/Zen rather than Buddhists trying to excommunicate.

I particularly interested in religious social movements and demographic shifts. I have academic access to a wide range of sites so don’t worry about that. Any help is welcome, thanks!

I recently made my way through Peter Harvey's Introduction to Buddhism and found an interesting line about Japanese Pure Land Buddhism:

>Ryōyo (1341–1420) developed the idea that the Pure Land is in fact everywhere, and is to be entered by a changed attitude of mind during life, rather than at death.

The source for this is a single paragraph in the intro to a 1925 translation of a biography of Honen Shonin, and suggests that the 7th Patriarch of Jodo-Shu, the second largest pure land sect in Japan, disavowed the typical pure land idea that enlightenment can only come from waiting to die and being reborn in Amitabha's pure land. I've inquired with a few temples about this to no avail, and basically all the information I've seen about Jodo-Shu (and Jodo Shinshu for that matter) suggest that entering the pure land during life is not part of official doctrine.

That said, does anyone have information about Ryoyo (also known as Ryoyo Shogei) and historical belief in entering the pure land during life? Does Jodo-shu actually believe that, and did Ryoyo really believe that?

English language resources on Jodo-shu are already few and far between, and the few articles I've found on Ryoyo online are either about his reformation of monastic codes or the fact that he wrote one of the first accounts of eating noodles in Japan. Any information or leads would be much appreciated--and maybe inspire me to start my Pure Land practice again. Thank you!

The government of the Meiji era profoundly altered Japanese society, turning it from a secluded shogunate into a modern nation-state. This involved radical initiatives such as abolishing the samurai class, but also more baffling initiatives such as Shinbutsu Bunri (meaning "Separation of Shinto and Buddhism").

"Shinto" in the name that was given to an amalgamation of local animistic beliefs as it increasingly coalesced into a more coherent whole. Shinto started being referred to as such around the same time Buddhism first spread into Japan from China during the 6th century. As time went on, the two religious currents came into close contact — at turns cooperative and conflictual — and influenced each other in both style and content. By the 8th century, "shrines-temples" housing both a Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple had become a common feature of the religious landscape of Japan. This proximity resulted in further interactions and the solidification of a shared cosmology; a Shinto kami could be recognized as a bodhisattva or a Buddhist edifice be assigned a tutelary kami, for instance. This highly syncrectic development went on and eventually, Shinto and Japanese Buddhism grew so closely intertwined that it had become difficult to neatly separate the two. That didn't stop the Meiji government from attempting to do exactly that.

In 1868, the government moved to "Discard Buddhism and Destroy Gautama". What started as an attempt to control the national-religious narrative by enforcing sudden cultual segregation rapidly radicalized into a much more coercive campaign. In the ensuing violence, temples were annihilated by the thousands, monks were defrocked and forcibly converted, lands were seized to be repurposed and precious artefacts were completely destroyed. By 1872, some places in Japan (especially the former Satsuma domain) had become dangerously close to being "Buddhism-free". And then, as suddenly as it had started, the government admitted it had failed in its project to eradicate Buddhism — and the Shinbutsu Bunri campaign faded into obscurity. Most Buddhist institutions would eventually go on to enthusiastically support the Japanese government's nationalist militarization a mere few decades later.

My question is... why? Why all of this? It all seems so baffling from a modern perspective. Why try to separate Shinto and Buddhism in the first place, when religious syncretism had been an integral part of Japanese culture for centuries? Why do it so r