Buddhism in Japan

This article describes the appearance and the evolution of the Bouddhisme to the Japan.

Introduction

The Bouddhisme was born in India and developed in the remainder of the Asia and in particular with the Japan via the China and of the Korea. The Japanese of the time regarded the continent as superior, and they reflect in place a massive importation of the Chinese things, recopying them, sorting them and sometimes innovating themselves. Among these things, there is of course the Religion: the Taoism, the Buddhism but also of ritual the confucéens. For the Japanese, at the beginning, these currents of thought are only one and even thing declining itself in various manners.

According to the Nihonshôki, the Empereur Kimmei would have received in 552, on behalf of the Korean king Kudara, a gilded statuette of Shaka (representative Çakyamuni) and several rollers of Buddhist writings. The king would have also accompanied the present by a letter praising the merits by the Bouddhisme. The authenticity of this letter is however debatable, insofar as the Chinese translation of the latter only appears well later. One thinks of a forgery written by the authors of the Nihonshôki. Moreover, it is estimated that the Bouddhisme was imported with the Japan quite front 552.

In front of the importance of such a present, the emperor gathered his advisers three, in order to decide on what they should do. Soga No Iname wanted to accept the existence of the Bouddhisme, while Mononobe No Okoshi and Nakatomi No Kamako was against, fearing the revenge on the Kami. Despite everything, the Emperor decided to carry out a test of the Buddhism. In fact, Soga created a monastery in its own residence, in which it placed the statue. But quickly, an epidemic was declared. Mononobe and Nakatomi then ordered to get rid of the statue, which they threw in a channel, and they burned the monastery. Unfortunately, the epidemic was reinforced and a fire was declared inside Imperial palace. One thus hurried to fish out the statue, and misfortunes ended.

However, it will be truly only thanks to the Empereur Yômei, and especially thanks to its son, Shôtoku-taishi that the Bouddhisme will be established definitively in Japan. Indeed, Shôtoku-taishi will comment on many Sûtra S Buddhist and will create many monasteries. With his death, one counted 46 Monastère S.

In 592, after fights of influence with the Shintô, Buddhism was declared religion of State.

It should be noted that the Bouddhisme was introduced by the “top”, in the dominant social classes, before reaching the people, because its relatively difficult lesson could not be yet included/understood by the whole of the population, not well-read woman, of the Japan.

Japanese Buddhism includes/understands 12 principal schools, which one classifies according to their time of appearance:

Nara period

During the Period Nara, birth of the Buddhist schools Kucha (founded on Abhidharma-koça de Vasubandhu), Jojitsu (founded on satyasiddhi-castrated of Harivarman), Ritsu (founded on the observance of the discipline Vinaya of the small vehicle), Hosso (Dharmalaksana " Vijnanavada"), Sanron (on the 3 will sastras fundamental of the school of vacuity " Madhyâmika"), Kégon (founded on the Avatamsaka will sutra ). The four first belong to the Indian tradition of Buddhism; Kusha follows in a completely clear way the tradition of the small vehicle; Jojitsu falls under a zone of transition between small and large vehicle; Hosso and Sanron, just like Kégon which finds its origins in Sérinde and China, belong to the large vehicle.

Heian period

During the Period Heian, one attends the foundation of two new currents by returned monks of China: the Tendaï ( Tien Taï , " celestial terrace " , name of the place where Tiantai), based on the Saddharma pundarika was born the Chinese school will sutra or Sutra of the Lotus , following the voyage of Saichô Kogyo Daishi, and the Shingon, running vajrayana founded by Kûkaï Kobo Daïshi which had gone to China in 804 and brought back the Vajrasekhara of it will sutra that it associated with the Tantra de Vairocana , Mahavairocanabhisambodhi will tantra , to make the base of its teaching of it.

Kamakura period

The time Kamakura is that of the introduction of the Zen coming from China starting from two schools: the Rinzai by the monk Eisaï and the Soto by Dogen. Two currents inspired by the Amidisme Chinese are born, the Jodo under the impulse of Honen and Shin Buddhism by Shinran. At the same time a school develops bearing the name of its founder, Nichiren, which wishes to return to a practice only centered on the Sutra of the lotus, already popularized with the era Heian by the Tendaï. Always at the same period, the Shugendo, way of the ascetics of the mountains, the Yamabushi S, experiences an important development.

Edo period

So that the table is complete, it is still necessary to mention a particular school of Zen, which developed in Japan at the 17th century during the Period Edo: Obaku. It was rested by a Master famous Chinese Chan, Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen), and its Muyan disciple who had fled China with the fall of the Ming in front of the Manchu . Obaku is the transcription of the name of the Huangbo mount in the Fujian where Yinyuan had been abbot, but also the name of the Master of Linji (founder of Rinzai), Huanbo Xiyun, which had settled there. The practitioners of Obaku regarded themselves as disciples of Linji, while including in their practice the Amidisme and of the elements drawn from Semi Zong, Buddhism esoteric Chinese.

Contemporary time

For a few years Japan, inspired in that by the American constitution, has seen a significant development of new religious movements. In general one can classify them in three categories: those of inspiration shintoïste, like Mahikari or Tenrikyo, with at their head a person inspired by a god or a particular kami, and those of Buddhist inspiration based on the Sutra of the Lotus like Buddhism Reiyukai or the Soka Gakkaï, those claiming Buddhism esoteric like Shinnyo. The syncretic ones mixing various aspects are found around an emblematic figure as it was the case for Aum shinrikyo. The situation is still complicated by the fact that the universities, because of the system of the lines, themselves are subdivided in a multitude of schools and currents, with the result that there is currently more than 184.000 religious groups indexed in Japon.Le Buddhism Zen is separated from the Shintoisme. The modern era knows Masters Zen of importance, like Kodo Sawaki or Daiun Harada, but also of the laic and militant Buddhist movements, like famous the Soka Gakkai or the Reiyukai. If Buddhism lost its vitality, Buddhist academic works remain flourishing.

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