Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition
Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition

Author: Keikai

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9780700704491

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

When we read about the profundity and complexity of the Buddhist tradition, we are hard pressed to imagine how the earliest Japanese priests propagated this tradition and how the common people accepted it. Kyokai's collection of 'miraculous stories throw much light on this.

Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition
Miraculous Stories from the Japanese Buddhist Tradition

Author: Kyoko Motomuchi Nakamura

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-09-13

Total Pages: 335

ISBN-13: 1136792538

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This is the first collection of Buddhist legends in Japan, and these stories form the repertoire of miraculous events and moral examples that later Buddhist priests used for preaching to the people. As Kyokai describes his own intentions, "By editing these stories of miraculous events I want to pull the people forward by the ears, offer my hand to lead them to good, and show them how to cleanse their feet of evil" (p.222). Nakamura's book is actually two works in one: first an introduction to the Nihon ryoiki, and then an annotated translation. The introduction analyzes the life of the author and the influence of earlier writings, and provides a valuable synthesis of the world view reflected in the work. The annotated translation renders the more than one hundred stories into English narrative, with copious notes. Difficult terms are identified in the text with the original Chinese characters, while historical matters and Buddhist technical terms are explained in the footnotes.

Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan
Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan

Author: Richard K. Payne

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-08-09

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1350037281

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Language in the Buddhist Tantra of Japan dismantles the preconception that Buddhism is a religion of mystical silence, arguing that language is in fact central to the Buddhist tradition. By examining the use of 'extraordinary language'-evocations calling on the power of the Buddha-in Japanese Buddhist Tantra, Richard K. Payne shows that such language was not simply cultural baggage carried by Buddhist practitioners from South to East Asia. Rather, such language was a key element in the propagation of new forms of belief and practice. In contrast to Western approaches to the philosophy of language, which are grounded in viewing language as a form of communication, this book argues that it is the Indian and East Asian philosophies of language that shed light on the use of language in meditative and ritual practices in Japan. It also illuminates why language was conceived as an effective means of progress on the path from delusion to awakening.