Hello there
While I am not Zen, I am Buddhist (Jodo Shinsu or simply Shin) which
is a Pure Land denomination which has an excellent working
relationship with Zen and in some cases, we share the same temple.
Zen Buddhism is sometimes called a religion and sometimes called a
philosophy. Choose whichever term you prefer. In reality it does not
matter in the slightest.
Zen, of course, is not of Japanese origin. Jodo Shinsu, on the other
hand, is.
About 475 A.D. a teacher of the Dharma, Bodhidharma, traveled from
India to China and introduced the teachings of the Sakya (Sakyamuni
Buddha or Sidartha, The Buddha of Our Age) there. In China Buddhism
mingled with Taoism. The result of this mingling was the Ch'an School
of Buddhism. Around 1200 A.D. Ch'an Buddhism spread from China to
Japan where it is called (at least in translation) Zen Buddhism.
At about the same time, Shinran Shonin founded the Jodo Shinsu
denomination in Japan. (1173-1262) so Zen and Shin have sort of grown
up together in that country.
Now before we go any further and confuse the issue, I am not Japanese
but an American convert to Shin. I made that conversion almost 40
years ago from an Eastern Orthodox Christian background. I don't know
how much bearing that will have on your acceptance of the answer but
it does give you some idea of where it is coming from.
As for "yet another example of the Japanese talent for customising
culture to suit local requirements and tastes?" - The answer there
would be yes and no. It would be "yes" in the same manner that the
various churches within the "Greek Orthodox" Church such as the
Russian Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox (my old denomination), Albanian
Orthodox, Finnish Orthodox, etc, etc, all represent local "cultural"
versions of Eastern Orthodoxy, they are not separate churches. They
are all Greek Orthodox with a capital "G" and share one common belief
in spite of cultural differences.
The same is true within Zen. Zen Buddhism in Japan is essentially
Japanese in asthetic but practices a faith that is the same as the
Chinese Ch'an. So just as with Greek Orthodoxy, Zen exists in the
world under more than one name. So we have a double edged blade here.
Did Japan effect Zen or did Zen effect Japan? Most any faith is
customized to fit local requirement and taste. Even fundamentalist
Christianity shows different 'external' forms from one part of the US
to another and from one part of the world to another.
So, we are back to the "yes" word again. (but with restrictions and
limitations) Japan did customize the external practice to local
requirement but only within the parameters already established by the
basic teachings. The teachings are not unique to Japan. And for that
matter, Zen in return changed the cultural landscape of Japan in many
ways. Please don't forget that the history of Buddhism of any kind in
Japan only predates the arrival of Zen and the rise of Shin by a few
centuries which in the history of religion is a very short time. So
when you speak of "more traditional" forms of Buddhism in Japan, there
is little to compare with as Zen, Shin and Nicherin (originating
around the same time) basically are the Buddhist traditions of Japan.
Now if you want to compare Zen to more ancient Buddhist traditions,
Buddhism had a long history of tradition before it ever came to Japan
which explains why it originally arrived in Japan in such a
spectacular fashion. Buddhism became deeply enmeshed in Japanese
culture, influencing religious, artistic and political arenas.
Eventually, Buddhism was adopted by Japanese society and soon it
became difficult to imagine that Buddhism was not an original Japanese
religion. From its difficult beginnings to its adaptation and eventual
dominance in society, Buddhism shaped Japan in many ways throughout
the Nara, Heian, and Medieval periods and continues to influence Japan
today in its ideas, art and traditions. And here we are back to the
same question: Did Japan effect Zen or did Zen effect Japan?
It was 552 CE when Buddhism was officially introduced to Japan by the
king of Paikche, a Korean ruler. The fashion in which Buddhism made
its debut impressed the Japanese. With scriptures, iconography, and
knowledgable priests, the Korean envoy caught the attention and
admiration of the Japanese. Although the reason for the Korean envoy’s
visit was not to spread the religion of Buddhism, but to find support
for a war being fought in Korea, the Japanese began to integrate the
various religious aspects of Buddhism into their culture.
Buddhism, unlike later western religions, was able to integrate and
adapt to the needs of the Japanese people, such as including the
ancient native Shinto religion as part of its own practice. In fact,
the adaptation of Buddhism was accompanied by the adaptation of
Japanese culture to Buddhist influences rather than the other way
around. The influence of Buddhism is greatly seen in the evolution of
Japanese art. "Mono no aware" is a concept that is derived from
Buddhist doctrine, that means something of beauty that will soon fade,
an "awe moment" that can either be good or bad. In literature,
Buddhist ideas, such as mono no aware, pervade stories and poems as in
this excerpt from the Tale of Genji, a Japanese classic "Beauty fades,
beauty passes, However rare, rare it be." This passage discusses the
transitory nature of things, which coincides with essential Buddhist
thought. In the later Ashikaga Shogunate era, the emphasis of Zen
Buddhism influenced the art of the tea ceremony, the No plays, and Zen
landscape painting and landscaping. All of these arts possessed
simplicity and a meditative aspect.
In every one of the major eras of Japan, such as the Nara, Heian and
Medieval periods, Buddhist involvement and ideas changed. Although,
continuing to be a major influence on the Japanese people, the art,
politics and ideas of Buddhism transformed with each new period. The
transformation of Buddhism revealed much about the internal cultural
changes of Japan as well as the different cultural and philosophical
traditions being brought from abroad such as Zen.
In the Nara era, Buddhism was beginning to grow from its beginnings in
the Asuka era and to influence more of the Japanese upper classes. It
also became a political tool to gain power in the court. The Nara
period also saw the integration of Buddhist thoughts to the already
existing Shinto beliefs. Gyogi, a Buddhist monk taught that the
different Shinto gods were actually a manifestation of the Buddha. One
essential feature of the late Nara period was that Buddhist
monasteries began to gain immense political power, much as Christian
monasteries did in the West. The government had been endowing large
sums of money to the monasteries, also as in the West, and all of the
land owned by monasteries was tax-free. The increase in land acquired
by the monasteries was the result of peasants giving their land to the
temples to avoid paying high taxes. The power that Buddhist
monasteries gained during this time made the court nervous and Emperor
Kammu in 794 CE moved the capital from Nara, where the most powerful
monastery was located, to Kyoto so that the influence of the Nara
monks would be broken.
In the Heian era, Buddhism had two great influences, Saicho and Kukai.
Saicho was a monk that had studied in China for a number of years and
brought the Tendai ("heavenly platform") sect of Buddhism back to
Japan. The Tendai sect was revered among the court at this time and
was allowed to ordain monks in the same way as the monks at Nara, but
the Tendai sect was located on Mount Hiei. Kukai had also studied in
China for a number of years and brought back the Buddhist sect of
Shingon ("True Word") to Japan. The Shingon sect was located on Mount
Koya and also rose to power in the courts, but this power created
rivalries between the two sects and began to cause problems at the
capital. It was during the Heian era that poetry and writing became a
favored pastime in the courts, reflecting much of the Buddhist ideals
of impermanence in this art form. In Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji,
we find a scene where Genji losses his lover Yugao in a sudden moment,
implying the impermanence of this world. Although religion as a formal
practice was not as important during the Heian era as in earlier ones,
the ideas that Buddhism propagated remained in the culture.
During the Medieval era in Japan, Samurai, high-ranking warriors,
replaced the sophisticated courtier. With the new culture that was
created, Buddhism was shaped to fit the needs of the warrior class
that emerged. It was in this feudal period that Zen Buddhism became
popular and stressed meditation as a means to enlightenment. The
direct way to enlightenment through meditation appealed to the warrior
class as well as the concentration required to meditate, which was one
of the essentials to being a good warrior. In addition to the
introduction of Zen at this time, a resurgence of other forms of
Buddhism took place. Two Pure Land Buddhist monks became influential
during the Kamakura period, Honen and Shinran. Both Pure Land sects
emphasized the reciting of the Nembutsu, Amida Buddha’s name, but they
differed in the way it was recited. Shinran also developed the idea
that Buddhist monks could be married, have lives outside the
monastery, eat meat and opened the priesthood to women. He was sort
of the Martin Luther of Japan. Shinran is of course the founder of
the Jodo Shinsu denomination to which I belong.
During the time of the Ashikaga Shogunate, Zen painting, the tea
ceremony, and No plays developed. These art forms developed from the
Zen principles of simplicity and meditation. So here, the "yes" I
gave you earlier becomes even more diluted and restricted. These
concepts of simplicity arrived in Japan along with Zen. So the "yes"
is now qualified. Japanese culture did influence Zen. But Zen's
influence on Japanese culture was even stronger.
If you are looking for "an example of the Japanese talent for
customising culture to suit local requirements and tastes," then you
need to look somewhere else. Zen influenced Japan more than Japan
influenced Zen.
If you are looking for additional material about Buddhism and its
cultural influences, may I direct you to some of my previous answers
which may have some bearing on what you are seeking.
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=175339
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=147425
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=65676
websites consulted in composing the above:
http://www.buddhanet.net/sm_history.htm - Buddhanet - many articles
and historic outlines
http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/China/ZenBudd.html - Zen
Buddhism - a source of information about the introduction of Zen into
Japan which will give you some of the finer details of that
introduction - From North Park University
http://www.archaeolink.com - my own website - go to ancient
civilizations and click on ancient Japan. Many sources.
http://www.csuohio.edu/history/japan/japan17.html#Buddhism - Religion
in Japan - From About Japan
Search - Google and my own past answers
Terms - zen buddhism, zen buddhism history, zen buddhism history
japan, zen influence +on japan
If I may clarify anything before you rate the answer please ask.
Cheers
digsalot |
