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.

May 24 (Class 1 only): Zoom meeting with Professor Watts to introduce class

Unit 1: Understanding Japanese Society through a Buddhist Lens 

May 31 (Class 1):  A Brief History of Japanese Buddhism & the civilizational culture of Buddhism meets Japan’s particular cultural identity

• Introduction to Course: Read the Course Overview & Requirements & Final Project pages on this site
• Class Issue: Around 500 BCE, Shakyamuni Buddha taught 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
• Lecture: The Civilizational Culture of Buddhism meets Japan’s particular cultural identity in Ways of Thinking about Religion and Culture (PDF)

May 31 (Class 2):  Buddhist Social Analysis & The Present Crisis in Japanese Society: The Disconnected Society 無縁社会

• Class Issue: The Buddha summarized the goal of his teachings as the end of suffering. In order for Buddhism to be relevant for Japanese society today, it must understand what is the suffering of its people. In this class, we will learn the Buddha’s classic structure for understanding his entire teachings in the Four Noble Truths and then see how it can be used to understand the biggest social problems facing Japan, perhaps most succinctly summarized in the concept of The Disconnected Society (無縁社会 mu-en shakai)? 
• Lecture: The Four Noble Truths: A Buddhist Approach to understanding self and society
• Video: NHKドキュメンタリ：無縁社会 (NHK Documentary: The Disconnected Society) 45 mins. During the video takes notes using the Iceberg of Dukka from the Buddhist Social Analysis model
• Conclusion: Reflection on The Matrix of Social Problems in Japan

Homework for 6/7, Unit 1 Report:

• Finish constructing an Iceberg of Dukkha on core Japan social issues and problems and write a 1 page analysis referring to the 3 areas of direct dukkha, structural dukkha, and cultural dukkha. See the tutorial on “How to make an Iceberg of Dukkha”
• Read this brand new article from the AP: Young Japan priests try to breathe life into fading Buddhism – Malcolm Foster (AP June 13, 2020)

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

June 7 (Class 1): 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. 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

June 7 (Class 2) : 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 6/14:

• Read the first third of Reconstructing Priestly Identity and Roles in Contemporary Japan and the Development of Socially Engaged Buddhism (PDF:WattsOkanoJSEB)
• Read: Journey Through Dukkha on the suicide prevention priests
• Read: From a Disconnected Society to an Interconnected One by Rev. Shunei Hakamata

June 14 (Class 1&2): 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“
• Video: 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: The Problem of Suicide in Japan & Buddhist Priests Confronting the Situation (PDF) Click here for audio lecture that goes with PDF
• Conclusion: from the 2nd to 4th Noble Truths with the Suicide Prevention Priests & Analysis with Rev. Shunei Hakamata’s article
• Special Guest Speaker for Zoom class on 7/5: Rev. Soin Fujio, Rinzai Zen priest who works in counseling and suicide prevention. See his profile in the article Journey Through Dukkha 

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

June 21 (Class 1): Rural Decline, Migrant Laborers, Poverty & Homelessness

• 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. 
• Video: 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: 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 7/19: 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