"Buddhism in Japan: From Nara to Zen"

M. R. Mulford©

Buddhism reached Japan from India via China in the 6th Century. Instrumental in its introduction was the Japanese involvement in Korea with its concomitant communications between the king of Paekche and the emperor of the Yamato state. The emperor was taken with Buddhism, considering it to be of value in support of the state. However, some of the uji felt this new religion posed a threat to the legitimacy of the Japanese hierarchy, since that hierarchy was based on the indigenous Shinto religion. In Shinto sin, sickness and death were taboo subjects. Conversely, Buddhism, although it presents a "life is suffering" pessimistic attitude, was able to deal with these subjects because it gave hope.(1) It brought the ideas of life after death, heaven and hell, et cetera, which are not found in Shinto. This outlook also brought a sense of moral restraint and responsibility which was largely lacking in Shinto. However, the initial attitude toward Buddhism was to use it for material gain; such as with rituals of incantation, e.g., praying for rain, good health, to ward off disasters, etc., rather than for religious or spiritual enhancement. The goal of the early sects was the understanding of the universe and thus they were extremely esoteric and difficult to comprehend, confining the religion to initiates and clerics.(2) The Soga clan supported Buddhism's introduction and, by extension, the emperor. By the end of the century, Soga victories and doctrinal accommodations between the two religions had made Buddhism more acceptable and, indeed, had brought it a position as the state religion.(3)

The Japanese aristocracy was actually more eager and accepted Buddhism more wholeheartedly than China, since Buddhism also carried Chinese culture with it, particularly writing. The elite in Japan were enamored of all things Chinese. In fact, Buddhism was identified with Chinese culture, which, at the time was considered to be the most advanced in East Asia. At Buddhism's introduction Japan had no written literature, historical records, codified laws, tradition of philosophy, arts or science. China had all of that and the wonderfully hierarchical ideology of Confucius.(4)

In China the ethical principles espoused by Confucius had long been part of the fabric of daily social, cultural and political life. The family was at the center of Confucianist doctrine. The patriarchal Japanese society and its Shinto religion could readily identify with this perspective, since it admits ancestor worship and insists on the idea of filial piety and duty. Moreover, these concepts writ large are a strong argument for the structure of the Japanese government of the time. The notion of the emperor as patriarchal head of the Japanese family had been fostered and Confucianism supported it. Thus, Confucianism also transferred easily to Japan with a few adjustments and further reinforced the rapidity of the acceptance of Buddhism.(5)

The ascension of Shotoku Taishi, his 17 articles, based on the combination of Buddhist and Confucian foundations and his writings on Buddhism propelled the religion into acceptance by the aristocratic class. By the 8th Century it was firmly ensconced as the state religion supported by the aristocracy and supporting the now centralized state. Although Buddhism did provide for individual liberty, this was not emphasized until much later as it did not fit in with the aristocratic use of Buddhism to support the state. There was an almost symbiotic relationship between the government and Buddhism, in that the religion imparted hierarchical structure to religion and that was echoed in the government structure of the time. Moreover, Buddhism was also used as an extension of the power of the state.(6) The idea behind this was that the emperor was an intermediary for the "harmony of the Buddha" and in control of it, thus having the effect of his power being granted by the Buddha.(7)

Buddhism was, however, associated primarily with the ruling class and due to the complexity of the doctrine at this time was unable to move down the social ladder to become a truly popular religion. The peasants and artisans, which made up the bulk of the population, continued to practice their Shinto beliefs on a day to day basis. Shinto and Buddhism did come to coexist later through a fusion in which the Japanese were able to reconcile the various dogmas of the two religions with the Shinto gods being subsumed into the Buddhist pantheon. This is called Honji-suijaku. It holds that the Buddhas are the basic background (honji) and are made manifest (suijaki) in kamis. According to Hall, these features created the three most prominent effects of this first wave of Buddhism in Japan. It brought a heightened moral sense and new beliefs, it was a vessel in which Chinese civilization was conveyed to Japan and it obtained power in the political arena almost immediately.(8)

Aside from the political scene it also influenced society. One of the beliefs of Buddhism is in the transmigration of souls. Thus, when someone dies the body is left an empty shell. This belief stopped the kofun building dead.(9) Further, it initiated the arts of painting and sculpting of the human figure. It led to temple construction and irrigation improvement. Buddhist temples were also places of learning in contrast to the purely religious Shinto shrine, but, education was kept a prerogative of the priests and court.(10) This early Buddhism in Japan laid the foundation for its emergence as a popular religion later.(11)

There is a dichotomy here that provides insight into the Japanese ability to tolerate seemingly contradictory ideas in their society without the disruption that one would expect. The Japanese build graves in their belief in ancestor worship to have spirit of dead help the living; but in this they are inconsistent with their Buddhist beliefs because they espouse both transmigration of souls (the spirit leaving the body) and spirits staying with the body (shrines to the dead, graves and ancestor worship). Thus they have integrated an imported belief with a home grown one which contradict each other and yet each coexists simultaneously and are accepted as naturally congenial.(12) In most other societies this would provide enough impetus for several wars.

This first blooming of Buddhism was called the Nara period, after the first imperial capital city. The demise of the Nara sects which arose during this period is attributable to their descent into corruption, interference in politics and their special privileges, particularly immunity from taxation.(13) They were also affected by the moving of the capital to Heian (Kyoto). At Heian a new sect, Tendai, founded by Saicho, arose in the 9th Century. This sect offered a Chinese conglomeration of Buddhism and Taoism with its fundamentals grounded in the Lotus Sutra (the Lotus Sutra will figure prominently in a future popular sect, as we shall see). Its tenets stressed that the combination of works or personal effort, meditation and wisdom was the path to enlightenment. This presented a much more inclusive philosophy than had the Nara sects and thus gained popularity in relation to them. It included the idea that enlightenment could be attained by everyone and the universality of the Buddha. This is not to say that it became a popular religion at this time. Rather, there was still a limited appeal to the religion due to its continuing esoteric nature and its dependence on clergy and ritual. So it remained the province of the aristocracy, and yet did show some expansion.(14)

Another sect also came to prominence in the Heian Period and its name was Shingon. It was founded at essentially the same time as Tendai by Kukai. It followed a much more metaphysical line, emphasized estheticism, used mysticism and talismans and specifically strove to exclude the uninitiated. It urged a life of high morality and meditation which emulated the Buddha's. It did, however, state that enlightenment can come in one's lifetime and that life is art. This is central to Shingon. In addition it leads to the development of an offshoot which is a reaction to Tendai and a refinement of Shingon called Jodo.(15)

Both Tendai and Shingon remained the province of the elite, provided for the perpetuation of the stability of the political order and continued a set of established moral teachings. These were the effects that were desired by the aristocracy and Buddhism helped deliver them for a number of centuries. The political stability and the influence of Buddhism and Chinese culture generated a great intellectual and cultural flowering called the Heian, again after the capital city. The influence of Buddhist thought which postulated that nature, art and religion were one gave this movement added impetus. Even the clerics contributed; e.g., Kukai developed the Japanese syllabary (kana).(16)

The years passed. As it seems all cultures and states do, the Heian began to descend into decadence. By the end of the 11th Century corruption and vice were rampant. A general malaise gave rise to millenarian prophesies of doom. Due to fundamental problems in the organization of the government; such as, neglect of the kubenden system and the rise of the schoen, power was devolving to the local level from the national. The Nara sects had long been in eclipse and Shingon and Tendai were isolated in the capital, out of touch or corrupt.(17) Curiously, these millenarian prophesies were correct, for in the next century the government and Buddhism would undergo massive changes that would significantly alter the face of Japan.

In the 12th Century came the collapse of the imperial court and the establishment of the bakufu government. Thus was ushered in the feudal age of Japan. And like the Middle Ages of Europe, this age saw a great religious awakening. The introduction of the kana had an enormous effect by increasing literacy immensely thus assisting in the dissemination of religious thought. In a very short period there was, in Japan, an outburst of growth in Buddhism from the sects of the time into a popular religion, which contrasts with its previous incarnation as an aesthetic cult and a branch of the state. It was almost as if it had reached critical mass and exploded. Buddhism assumed a more Japanese character as it fused with Shinto and simplified its tenets. These new movements of the Kamakura awakening were an attempt to revive Buddhism in Japan and correct the decadence into which Tendai and Shingon had fallen. The reaction against the Heian period Buddhism of Tendai and Shingon gave a brief revival to the Nara Sects; but, most importantly, it gave birth to the new offshoots of Amida (Jodo and Shinjodo), Nichiren and Zen.(18)

It must be said that prior to this point these new sects were not unknown. However, they were considered to be variations of the existing sects and were encompassed within them. Jodo's foundation had been laid by Genshin in "Essentials of Salvation" in the middle of the 10th Century.(19) While Zen had been introduced even earlier, around the 8th Century, but had not had much impact before. It was seen as a discipline within other sects, not as a sect unto itself.(20) Nichiren sprang from Tendai.(21) However, now, they developed into their own separate sects to the detriment of their progenitors.

Jodo was based on the belief in Amida (Buddha Amitabha), the Buddha of the Pure Land (jodo) and his vow to save all sentient beings. It was founded in 1175 by Honen Shonin. In opposition to the existing sects, Jodo held that one was unable to achieve salvation through his own efforts. A person's hope for salvation, which was rebirth in the Pure Land after the death of the body, lay in his/her faith in Amida's vow and was to be expressed by his/her repetition of the name of the Buddha. Until this time Buddhism had rested on the foundation of man's ability to attain enlightenment through his own efforts and, possibly, in his own lifetime. Honen postulated that man could not reach enlightenment through his own efforts but only salvation through reliance on another; i.e., the mercy of the Amida Buddha. In fact, he warned of the possibility that one could become ensnared by the sin of pride while trying to reach nirvana through self enterprise. This is the first instance of a salvific Buddhist sect. And with its emphasis strictly on faith, the individual's repetition of the nembutsu Amida (name of Amida), indeed it discouraged reliance on any other Buddhas and religions. In its contention that nothing else was necessary for salvation, one can see its attraction for the population.(22)

There was now no need for temples, priests, monasteries or rituals. No longer was it necessary for priests to be celibate or separate, they had only to lead a moral life. This brought the clergy into the midst of the people. The adherents became evangelical and moved out among the people, using dance, music, art, literature, any means at their disposal to spread the word. Another aspect of this sect was that it held that everyone, even women, is equal in the eyes of the Buddha as long as they believe. These properties made this style of Buddhism much more accessible and understandable to the common people and led to wholesale adoption by the populace.(23)

Shinran, a pupil of Honen, further refined the Jodo beliefs by arguing that a single, sincere evocation of the Buddha's name was sufficient for salvation. He also held, as did Honen, that priests should be religious leaders in the community and live a regular life, not in monasteries, practicing celibacy or under strict discipline. Indeed, there was no particular need for a priest at all. This offshoot was named True Pure Land (Shinjodo).(24)

Many of both Shinran and Honen's early congregations were particularly democratic. In fact, the Jodo sect was not really formally organized until the 17th Century. It was spread by Honen's disciples, including his son. It did not overtly affect the practice of other sects and so, when there was persecution, as there was from time to time, it could be practiced underground. Ironically, both these sects, Jodo and Shinjodo, became very popular with a large number of temples and priests.(25)

The religious implications between early Buddhism, in both the stages we have seen, contrast sharply with the newly developed sects of Amida in the Kamakura period. First the early Buddhism accentuated the attainment of enlightenment in this world versus rebirth in the land of bliss in the new sects. Early Buddhism stressed reliance on self for enlightenment and the new sects emphasized reliance on another, a salvific Buddha. In the new sects there is a monotheistic tendency that suggests only one Buddha is needed while previously there had been a polytheistic attitude with multiple Buddhas.(26) With the unique outlook that the Japanese brought to these concepts they could now believe that everyone who died became a Buddha. The Japanese word for the dead today is hotoke, which is Japanese for Buddha. They also believed wholeheartedly (here a fusion of Buddhism with Shinto or ancestor worship) that if you are reborn in Pure Land you could return in spirit to help on earth.(27)

Additionally, more secular considerations appeared. Where the early Buddhism in Japan had been identified with the elite, ruling class, the changes which brought about Jodo, et cetera, can be said to be a "popular" movement brought on by social change.(28) Evidence of this movement is the change to a more local focus in society, the change of government from Kyoto to Kamakura, the change from a Chinese style, centralized and bureaucratic government to a feudalistic one and the change to a more literature populace. Moreover, one of the larger motivating factors exciting the new interest in Buddhism was a desire to move away from the decadence and vice of the Fujiwara(29) Regency into a more moralistic time.

Hall points out that the changes in Buddhism which contributed to its popular success were ones that resemble Christianity. The single salvific deity, the concepts of heaven, hell and the path to salvation, the stress on faith rather than effort and the rise in public displays of religious zealotry are highlights of these similarities.(30)

Another sect of importance to us is that of the Lotus Sutra which appeared about a century after Jodo. This sect often takes the name of its founder, Nichiren. He established it in 1253. Similar in nature to Jodo in its salvific base, it differed in a number of distinct and significant areas. In religious terms, it returned to the Lotus Sutra (Nahm yoho ringe kyo) of Tendai (although the form was much simplified so as to appeal to a broader constituency) as the basis for salvation. However, the sect is probably most notable for Nichiren's attitudes as much as anything else. Although there had been some small amount of intolerance to and persecution of religion in Japan up to this time, it was mostly of a limited nature and usually motivated by the venal self-interest of the persecutors. Nichiren differed in that he insisted that the Lotus Sutra was the path to salvation and that all other religions, sects or beliefs were false and should be destroyed. He openly excoriated the people and the government for reliance on other sects and prophesied calamities if everybody did not follow him. This was significant in that it is the first instance of institutional intolerance for religion in Japan. Further, he said that the "false" sects were detrimental to Japan, the government and its people. Thus, he was the first to equate spiritual well-being and the well-being of the state. He believed that Japan was the home of true Buddhism, that it had reached its zenith there and that Japan should lead the world to Buddhism. Obviously, he was very nationalistic and this stance, his militance and his confidence won him many adherents from the bushi and others. His personal history is as interesting as his policies. He was condemned to death, escaped the blade and was exiled. He was recalled from exile with the advent of the Mongol threat. Remarkably, after that he seems to have lost his proselytizing zeal and is little heard of later. However, his prophesy of disaster for Japan did come true; not with a Mongol victory, but with centuries of internecine warfare which developed shortly thereafter.(31)

The impact on society of these sects was momentous. It changed Buddhism from a religion of the elite into one which, with its fusion with Shinto, appealed to the average Japanese. It brought about the time of greatest growth for Buddhism in Japan. After this period, Buddhism was thoroughly entwined in the warp and woof of the tapestry of Japanese daily life. As an arm of the state, Buddhism and its monasteries had wielded much temporal power and influence, although not as an earthly government as in Europe, but it had not permeated the whole society. After this, even though its temporal power was broken with the rise of the Yoritomo bakufu, it became much more widely accepted and popular. After time some sects did organized politically and serve as defence for higher authority by supporting the state, but, never again would Buddhism occupy its position as the state religion. The Buddhist clergy was also transformed. It had consisted of monks and priests who were isolated in monasteries and at court. Now they were converted into religious leaders living in communion with their followers. The new sects also recognized women's rights implicitly because of the view of the equality of everyone in the eyes of the Buddha.(32) This assertion is nothing less than a revolution in a patriarchal society such as Japan.

During the period preceding the Gempei War and the Kamakura bakufu, the elite class had been developing their prowess as warriors. This had started with the introduction of horse warfare in the period of Korean involvement before the Taika reforms of the 8th Century. As power devolved from the Heian court to the countryside in the intervening years, the warrior class (bushi) was accruing it. While they did have a claim to aristocratic birth and a certain fealty to the emperor, they were becoming more and more independent of the central authority of the emperor and the Fujiwara regents. The Gempei War brought these bushi into power with the bakufu. Along with their military abilities they had developed what has become known as Bushido or the Code of the Warrior. Central to this code were the ideals of loyalty, self-sufficiency and austerity.

A sect that developed after the institution of the bakufu was particularly appealing to these men. It is Zen. According to D.T. Suzuki, Zen is not a philosophy but a discipline. This sets it apart from the other sects of Buddhism, whether one of the new, like Jodo or of the old; such as , Shingon. It has as its philosophical foundation the tenets of Tendai, but its development as a separate sect (Rinsai) by Eisai in 1191 was a reaction against Tendai authority.(33)

Buddhism has a triple form of discipline: Sila (morality), Dhyana or zen (meditation) and Prajña (intuitive knowledge). Zen, which means meditation, took the three and combined them. It held that man has innate enlightenment, but the world dims his knowledge of it. All that is needed is to reawaken to that knowledge. It also postulated "zen enlightenment"; i.e., sudden enlightenment. This sudden enlightenment can come to anyone and they can attain buddhahood in one great leap. The Japanese were particularly fond of this concept as opposed to the gradual enlightenment of the other forms of Buddhism. Additionally, this enlightenment can only come by direct intuitive perception. Therefore, Zen had no sacred formula, no power of a savior, no ceremonies, no chants, no particular worshipful duties and did not use words, only innuendo to convey its essence to pupils. It asserted that there are some things that cannot be transmitted through words. Its emphasis was on individual meditation and the study of insoluble problems. It advocated the effort of the individual to grasp the meaning of the universe. It required rigorous spiritual and physical discipline, through which it promoted self-reliance. Further, it was anti-materialistic and maintained a strong ethical element. Even with these precepts Zen did not call for withdrawal from the world, rather independence within it.(34)

One can see how this would appeal to the soldier. It emphasized masculinity and intuitive action. It held that life was art and Zen was a discipline of creative behavior. This was exemplified in the idea that swordsmanship was an art of beauty. Shingon had emphasized art's part in religion and influenced art of the Heian period. Zen's stress on simplicity and suggestion became dominant in the art of the Kamakura period. It replaced highly colored landscapes with the monochromatic. It influenced literature, No theater and, especially, poetry. The Japanese tea ceremony, with which we are all familiar, was introduced by a Zen monk to stop a Shogun's alcoholism. This developed the serene setting of the tea garden and the tea and pottery made for it. In all of these the simplicity and austerity of Zen is apparent. The other new sects are considered to be too emotional and the older sects too complex by disciples of Zen.(35)

After Rinzai's founding, Eisai was banished by the court from Kyoto. He then allied himself to the Kamakura shogunate and returned to Kyoto. In this manner Zen found a home in the Hojo regency of the bakufu. Subsequently, the Hojo regime was noted for its austere simplicity, its high sense of justice and artistic creativeness. This can be attributed to the acceptance of Zen and the spread of Bushido and Zen.(36)

Opponents of Zen contended that it was too mystical and nebulous. They felt that there was no basis for the claims made for it. And most other sects were opposed to it. However, despite the opposition Zen survived through the feudal period. It provided most of the school teachers which gave Japan one of the highest literacy rates in the world. Its followers were involved in the government for extended periods during Medieval Japan; e.g., in 1400 foreign affairs were in the hands of a Zen monk. And notwithstanding that it was not a state religion, it had great influence due to the situation of individuals in positions of power. It is clear that Zen has had an enormous impact on the character of Japan.(37)

From the arrival of Buddhism in Japan it has been integrally involved in its history. It changed the culture and outlook of the people and affected its history. It began as an import with few believers and an unfathomable philosophy, commenced a long progression of adaptation to Japan through various forms to become the most popular religion in the country during the Kamakura period. Its influence was felt from the emperor in the palace to the peasant in the field. As pervasive as the rain which falls in such quantity in that country.

Notes

(2)Sansom, G. B. Japan: A Short Cultural History. NY: Appleton Century-Crofts, Inc., 1962. pp. 116-117, 122.

(3)Hall, J.W. pp. 41-42.
Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 18.

(4)Buddhist Tradition in India, China and Japan, The. ed. de Bary, Wm. Theodore. NY: Vintage Books, Random House, c. 1972. pp. 255-257.

(5)Sansom, G. B. pp. 113, 115.

(6)Op cit, pp. 125, 127.
Japanese Buddhism..., pp. 16, 18.

(7)Hall, J. W. pg. 60.

(8)Ibid., pp. 56-61.
Japanese Buddhism..., pp. 12, 18.

(9)Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 19.

(10)Buddhist Tradition..., pp. 258, 265.
Sansom, G. B. pg. 134.
Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 17.

(11)Buddhist Tradition..., pg. 266.

(12)Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 18.

(13)Sansom, G. B. pg. 135.

(14)Ibid., pp. 224, 226, 229.
Buddhist Tradition..., pg. 279.
Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 34-35.

(15)Sansom, G. B. pg. 227.
Buddhist Tradition..., pg. 280-281.
Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 21.

(16)Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 18, 34-35.
Buddhist Tradition..., pp. 293-294.

(17)Sansom, G. B. pg. 242.

(18)Sansom, G. B. pg. 327.
Hall, J.W. pp. 96-102.
Dumoulin, Heinrich. Zen Buddhism. NY: MacMillan Publishing Co., 1990. pg. 16.

(19)Sansom, G. B. pg. 328.
Buddhist Tradition..., pp. 315, 320.
Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 18.

(20)Dumoulin, Heinrich. pg. 5.
Sansom, G. B. pg. 337.

(21)Buddhist Tradition..., pg. 345.

(22)Japanese Buddhism..., pp. 22, 51.
Buddhist Tradition..., pp. 315-317, 321, 327, 337.
Sansom, G. B. pp. 243-245, 328, 331.

(23)Ibid.

(24)Buddhist Tradition..., pg. 315, 332.
Sansom, G. B. pg. 330.
Buddhist Tradition..., pg. 332.

(25)Ibid.

(26)Buddhist Tradition..., pg. 317.

(27)Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 22.

(28)Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 51.

(29)The Fujiwara clan dominated the Kyoto-Heian period and the Imperial family.

(30)Hall, J.W. pg. 98.

(31)Ibid.
Buddhist Tradition..., pp. 247, 249, 345-346.
Sansom, G. B. pp. 332-335.

(32)Buddhist Tradition..., pg. 317.

(33)Suzuki Daisetz Teitaro. The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk. NY: Globe Press Books, copy of original work published in Kyoto by Eastern Buddhist Society 1934. pg. ix.
Sansom, G. B. pg. 327, 337.
Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 22.

(34)Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 22.
Buddhist Tradition..., pg. 355.
Sansom, G. B. pg. 336-338.

(35)Buddhist Tradition..., pg. 361, 394-395.
Sansom, G. B. pg. 337.

(36)Japanese Buddhism..., pg. 22.
Suzuki D. T. pg. xii.

(37)Suzuki D. T. pg. xiii.
Sansom, G. B. pg. 338.
Buddhist Tradition..., pg. 393, 395.

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