Contemporary Buddhism in Japan & Asia

Japanese Buddhism and Social Suffering: Fall 2020 Revised

Course Plan

Due to the COVID-19 situation, the course will be completely on-line with no physical class time and the field trips will unfortunately be cancelled.

Unit 1: Understanding Japanese Society through a Buddhist Lens 

October 1:  A Brief History of Japanese Buddhism & the civilizational culture of Buddhism meets Japan’s particular cultural identity

  • Send me an e-mail at wattsj@z6.keio.jp and I will send you the class Zoom link for our class discussion starting tomorrow October 1st!
  • Introduction to Course: Read the Course Overview & Requirements & Final Project pages on this site
  • Class Issue: Around 500 BCE, Shakyamuni Buddha discovered a radical new way of understanding the meaning of life, which he taught to all genders and classes. His teachings known as Buddhism spread across India and all of Asia providing a “civilizational culture” of transcending racial and national boundaries under the idea that all sentient beings may attain enlightenment. Japan has a long history as an insular, island nation. How did Japan first take in this massive “civilizational culture” distilled through both Indian and Chinese thought, and how has it adapted it to its own particular cultural identity? 
  • Lecture: A Brief History of Japanese Buddhism (PDF) Click here for the audio lecture that goes with the PDF
  • Lecture2: The Civilizational Culture of Buddhism meets Japan’s particular cultural identity in Ways of Thinking about Religion and Culture (PDF)

October 8 & 15:  Buddhist Social Analysis & The Present Crisis in Japanese Society, The Disconnected Society 無縁社会

Homework due on 10/22, Unit 1 Report:

Unit 2: From “Funeral Buddhism” to End-of-Life Care & Suicide Prevention 

October 22: The Present Crisis in Japanese Buddhism 

  • Class Issue: Japanese Buddhism today is facing a number of crises, most succinctly described in the term “Funeral Buddhism” (葬式仏教 soshiki bukkyo) which is a pejorative term criticizing monks and temples with only being concerned about doing funeral rituals for financial payment. This class will provide a special expert on the issue to describe in detail the problems of Japanese Buddhism today. He will also attempt to answer the questions: Does Japanese Buddhism have any ability or potential to confront the real sufferings of the people and help solve them? If NOT, why? What are the problems in the Buddhist world that prevent it from being socially relevant? IF YES, why? What are the potential in the Buddhist world that can empower it to help contribute to a better society?
  • Special Lecture: Rev. Yoshiharu Tomatsu (Directer General of the All Japan Buddhist Federation and Board Member of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, Keio graduate, Harvard M.Div.) will present on the Present Crisis in Japanese Buddhism <– see the video lecture on this link. (For more background info, see parts of his talk in this power point on The Japanese View of Life and Death)
  • Reflection: The Matrix of Problems in the Japanese Buddhist World

October 29: Dying and Grieving in an Aging Society & the Potential of Buddhist Chaplaincy

  • Class Issue: Japanese Buddhist priests are well known for their presence after someone has died, but can they be there to support the terminally ill and their loved ones before death takes place? These lectures will look at how Buddhists around the world are reviving their ancient roles and re-training themselves as compassionate guides for the dying and bereaved. We will begin to see how Buddhists in Japan are confronting the suffering of an aging society and providing support and guidance to realize the 3rd and 4th Noble Truths.
  • Review: the Four Noble Truths (II): The Diamond Pyramid of Nirvana
  • Lecture: Dying and Grieving in Contemporary Buddhism (Part I) & End-of-Life Care at the Kosei Vihara Hospice (Part II) (PDF) Click here for entire audio lecture to go with PDF
  • Conclusion: The Emergence of Buddhist Chaplaincy Around the World & Its Potential for Japanese Society (Part III – this is included in the above PDF and audio lecture)

Homework for 11/5:

November 5 & 12: Journey through Dukkha: The Practice of the 4 Noble Truths by the Suicide Prevention Priests of Japan

  • Class Issue: The two crises of Japanese Buddhism’s increasing marginalization in only taking care of the dead (soshiki bukkyo) & Japanese society’s pandemic of “disconnected death” (muen-shi) come together in the problem of suicide, which rapidly increased from the collapse of the economy in the late 1990s. Here and there, in local settings, individual Buddhist priests began to grapple with the 1st Noble Truth of suffering and encounter the suicidal who were desperate for a sympathetic person who would listen to them. By the early 2010s a non-sectarian movement of these priests was forming and today is the most powerful example of socially engaged Buddhism in Japan. 
  • Opening article: read this latest feature from the Japan Times “Suicide in Japan: Seeking to part the dark clouds as pandemic threatens recent progress“
  • In Class Video for 11/5: The Departure – a profile of the work of suicide prevention priest, Rev. Jotetsu Nemoto 90 mins. During the video takes notes using the Iceberg of Dukka & the Diamond Pyramid of Nirvana from the Buddhist Social Analysis model
  • Lecture for 11/12: The Problem of Suicide in Japan & Buddhist Priests Confronting the Situation (PDF) Click here for audio lecture that goes with PDF
  • Special Guest Speaker for Zoom class on 11/12: Rev. Soin Fujio, Rinzai Zen priest who works in counseling and suicide prevention. See his profile in the article Journey Through Dukkha 

Homework for 11/19, Unit 2 Report:

Unit 3: The Costs of Economic Development in Rural & Urban Communities & Buddhist Kaihotsu 開発 Development 

November 19: Rural Decline, Migrant Laborers, Poverty & Homelessness

  • Class Issue: In this unit, we begin to tie together many of the structural and cultural causes of individual suffering in the Disconnected Society (mu-en shakai). From the emptying out of the traditional farming communities in the countryside and the mass relocation of people into the cities, we see some of the early roots of the Mu-en Shakai in the two-tiered labor system of the economy and the exploitation of blue-collar labor. One Buddhist response to this situation has been the Hitosaji Association supporting the homeless in Northeast Tokyo and trying to build new forms of interconnection (yu-en) in post-industrial Japan.
  • Lecture: From Disconnection (mu-en) to Interconnection (yu-en): A Buddhist Path through Rural Decline, Migrant Laborers, Poverty &amp; Homelessness & the The Activities of the Hitosaji Association (PDF) click here for audio lecture
  • Video (on your own time): The Nuclear Ginza 26 mins. During the video takes notes using the Iceberg of Dukka from the Buddhist Social Analysis model

November 26:  Nuclear Energy & the Eco-Temple

  • Class Issue: The Mu-en Shakai perhaps reaches its zenith with the 3/11 Triple Disaster and ongoing nuclear problem in Fukushima. This incident has presented a serious challenge to Japanese Buddhists who since the end of WWII have tried to avoid entanglement in issues perceived as political and anything critical of national development policy. This unit reviews their response and then looks at the inspiring work of Rev. Hidehito Okochi to build a participatory, democratic, and ecological society in Japan and abroad. 
  • Lecture: Buddhist Engagement with the Nuclear Crisis and Rev. Okochi’s Eco-Temple Activities (PDF) click here for audio lecture
  • Special Guest Speaker for Zoom class on 11/26 starts at 18:30-20:00: Rev. Caitlin Stronell, Shinto priest and anti-nuclear activist working at the Citizen’s Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo.

Homework for 12/3, Unit 3 Report:

Unit 4: From Buddhist Holy War to Prayers for Peace

December 3 & 10: War and Peace in Japanese Buddhism 

  • Class Issue: In this unit, we complete the journey from the individual to the collective or social by looking at the ultimate of political and national issues, war & peace. We first take a critical look into Japanese Buddhism’s support for militaristic nationalism from the Meiji Period to the end of WWII. We then look at its complicated development since that time with many Buddhist groups becoming active in “peace activities” yet very few facing the political issues that make the real foundations of peace. 
  • In Class Video for 12/3: Zen and War We will watch during class Zoom time. During the video takes notes using the Iceberg of Dukka from the Buddhist Social Analysis model
  • Lecture for 12/10: Lotus Sutra Social Activism in Contemporary Japan (PDF) click here for audio lecture plus videos of previous peace demonstrations with Nipponzan Myohoji
  • Special Guest Speaker for Zoom class on 12/10: Rev. Yoshiharu Tomatsu (Director General of the Japan Buddhist Federation and Board Member of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, Keio graduate, Harvard M.Div.) will answer questions and have a discussion on this week’s themes

Homework for 12/17, Unit 4 Report:

Unit 5: A Buddhist Vision for Japan

December 17 Normal class is cancelled, see below

  • NEW REPLACEMENT CLASS: The Japan Network of Engaged Buddhists (JNEB) will host its first national conference on this day beginning at 10:00 and ending at 17:30. It will be held in Kyoto but will be made available to both national and international audiences with simultaneous translation from Japanese to English, free of charge. The conference will have speakers who are active in many of the themes from throughout this course. As national coordinator for JNEB, Prof. Watts will be busy all day with this conference and our normal Zoom class is cancelled. You are highly encouraged to attend some or all of this conference and then write your final paper as a critical reflection on it. See full details of the conference on this link and then register with me
  • Class Issue: In this last unit, we will take a final, comprehensive view of the Iceberg of Dukkha in Japan and then look at the potentials of Buddhism to offer a future vision and path for Japanese society, specifically through the work of Prof. Jun Nishikawa, the late professor of development economics at Waseda University
  • Lecture: The Final Iceberg of Japanese Dukkha & the Potential of Japanese Socially Engaged Buddhism (PDF) click here for the audio lecture

Homework for 12/24 –> deadline extension is now January 7th, Unit 5 Report:

  • Reading: The Choice of Development Paradigms in Japan after the 3/11 Fukushima Nuclear Disaster by Jun Nishikawa
  • NEW FINAL REPORT: Two choices:1) write a 1-2 page report on the conference on above OR 2) review and then chart the various activities by Japanese engaged Buddhists to engage in 3rd and 4th Noble Truths of holding actions, alternative structures and shifts in consciousness (culture). Add some of your own recommendations and design your own Diamond Pyramid of Nirvana for Japan’s future (include a single diamond of nirvana chart) with just 1 page of written text