Contemporary thought in Soto Zen Buddhism : an investigation of the publications and teachings of the sect in the light of their cultural and historical context
This thesis examines the contemporary thought and themes in the teachings of the Soto Zen Buddhist sect in Japan. It first seeks to draw the parameters within which the sect functions, at the interstices of an historical tradition in Buddhism and a national and religious culture in Japan. The sect has remained within the Mahayana Buddhist mainstream in its assimilation of Japanese traits, and it is this ability to assimilate and adapt that has been at the core of the sect's growth as a Japanese religious sect of Buddhism. This ability to adapt is shown in the modern age and is seen to have had a formative influence on the structure of the sect's belief and teaching for the modern age: this trait is one that has been part of the sect since its very earliest days in Japan. In this context, the contemporary publications of the sect are analysed. An appendix provides a detailed summary of them. Methodological works, aimed at the specialist priesthood, are analysed to show the basic intent of the sect's thinkers, and the aims they espouse. These focus on two areas: those who are members of the sect in a social setting and those who have no interest in the social side of religion but have in the more specialist
Reader, Ian John
Philosophy
Contemporary thought in Soto Zen Buddhism : an investigation of the publications and teachings of the sect in the light of their cultural and historical context. This thesis examines the contemporary thought and themes in the teachings of the Soto Zen Buddhist sect in Japan. It first seeks to draw the parameters within which the sect functions, at the interstices of an historical tradition in Buddhism and a national and religious culture in Japan. The sect has remained within the Mahayana Buddhist mainstream in its assimilation of Japanese traits, and it is this ability to assimilate and adapt that has been at the core of the sect's growth as a Japanese religious sect of Buddhism. This ability to adapt is shown in the modern age and is seen to have had a formative influence on the structure of the sect's belief and teaching for the modern age: this trait is one that has been part of the sect since its very earliest days in Japan. In this context, the contemporary publications of the sect are analysed. An appendix provides a detailed summary of them. Methodological works, aimed at the specialist priesthood, are analysed to show the basic intent of the sect's thinkers, and the aims they espouse. These focus on two areas: those who are members of the sect in a social setting and those who have no interest in the social side of religion but have in the more specialist
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