Buddhism Sects

The samurai were a powerful warrior class in Japan, and were very skilled with a sword. Samurai used swords and were trained very well to do many things such as fire a bow while on horseback. The samurai practiced Buddhism, which is a religion that taught people to respect the world to reach enlightenment. When the samurai disobeyed The Bushido Code, they committed Seppuku, which is ritual suicide for the samurai. Japanese culture was influenced by the samurai warrior class.

For an example Korea " Kingdom of Koguryo" The rise of Buddhism began in the late fourth century, with overwhelming fugitive Chinese monks. They inserting themselves in the political scene which eventually King Kwanggaet'o establish a temple for the Buddhist. Oddly enough immigrants can spread religion throughout the country, and it happened in Japan. The Soga Clan migrated from China into Japan spread the new religion throughout the end of the six century. Despite efforts to end the religion by the King of Japan it was no match for the love Buddhist in Japan. The Buddhist religion did not used any force of war to spread their

While many individual monk-warriors are still recognized from the Heian period in Japan, the most notorious amongst them all in Japanese records and literature is Shinjitsu. Regarded as “Japan’s number one evil martial monk,”1 Shinjitsu comes across as more of an akuso (evil monk) than the “ultimate representation of the greedy and violent sōhei”2 that previous interpretations and literature make him out to be. In his book The Teeth and Claws of Buddha, Mikael S. Adolphson attempts to better classify Shinjitsu as the monk-commander and warrior-administrator he was, and it is this new interpretation that makes him so important. Shinjitsu, in historical records, was less likely to use his monastic position than use his ties in the imperial court and with other nobility to assert his control, and was in fact involved in the first event of the imperial court calling for help from monastic troops.

The system of ordaining monks was becoming too lenient, as many people only became monks in order to reap the benefits of not having to do labor, being extremely selfish and not committing themselves to the religion at all. Some monks even disobeyed the law and got away with it by overpowering the local governors with violence. They had become a threat to the local citizens as well as the government, which ultimately stripped them of their influence for a while. However, years later, debate rituals emerged in Buddhist rites as Buddhism was becoming more politicized, and the Tendai school was able to win the heated arguments they had with other schools. They were successfully able to assert their dominance over the Golden Light and Mahayana assemblies, winning back the authority that they had

Buddhism monks who had privilege of clergy in Tokugawa ear face unprecedented hardship with starting Meiji by the new government's policy of the Ordinance Distinguishing Shinto and Buddhism to deprive their privileges and properties, to be destroyed temples in opposition to preferential Shinto; however, Buddhist did not accept without resistance that some monks, such as Utida Udo, made resistance to new government at the risk of their life.

Two of the major sections of Buddhism in Japan are Zen and Tendai Buddhism; each playing a part in the culture of Japan. Although Buddhism is not a violent religion it had characteristics that made it perfect to keep the military class in line. While the aristocrats themselves were not overly enthused about the new religion its element of

This essay will focus on the Asuka Period in Japan, which was from 552 CE to 645 CE. Asuka was the name of the city where the capital, Tokyo which was located during this era. Buddhism has had a long and lasting history in Japan. It was introduced to the country around 552 CE from Korea and China. It is recorded that gifts were brought to the imperial family from the Korean Kingdom. Some of these gifts included Buddhist images, banners, canopies and scripture. Included in with the gifts were also a message from the Korean King which includes this message: “This teaching (dharma) is the most excellent of all teachings; it brings endless and innumerable blessings to all believers, even unto attainment of Enlightenment (Bodhi) without comparison.

During the Heian period (745-1185AD) Buddhism spread throughout Japan and thrived in the imperial court in Heiankyo (Kyoto). There were two sects of Buddhism that were most popular during this time, one was Tendai and the other was Shingon. Both of these sects of Buddhism came from China and were brought over to Japan by two different people. Saicho or Dengyo Daishi brought over Tendai sect (767-822) and Kukai or Kobo Daishi brought over Shingon sect (774-835) known as Esoteric Buddhism. Tendai sect beliefs were also of Esoteric Buddhism, but Saicho teachings were based on Chih-I form inspired by the Lotus Sutra, the practice of Chines Ch’an, the commandments of the Mahayant, and part of the esoteric teaching of the “True Word” (History of Buddhism). Due to both Saicho and Kukai being introduced to Esoteric Buddhism, some might have thought there was a rivalry between them, but that was not so due to Kukai was consider an expert due to his training he had with his mentor. Out of the two sects it would be Kukai that would still have a strong hold in the Japanese culture today. It is important to understand how Kukai came to understand his beliefs and what Esoteric Buddhism was for him and the influence Kukai would have on Esoteric Buddhism.

The Shinto religion is seen in two different lights by Japanese scholars. One is the view that the role of Shinto in Japanese history as a periphery religion and reliant on Buddhist ideals for its success. The other is that Shinto may seem to be a very primitive religion, but it has also maintained a long history of rituals and institutions that represent Japanese culture and its ability to absorb other religions and cultures. Both arguments are relatively strong, however I argue that Modernization mixed with consolidation of the Shinto belief system during the Meiji Reformation played a major role in separating Shinto from other religions, primarily Buddhism. While it may have been dependent on Buddhism in the past, during the Meiji Restoration Shinto was clearly separated out from any other religions and put on a pedestal. I will first describe how Shinto was largely believed to be an extension of Buddhism before the Meiji period, and then I will outline the many possible causes as to how Shinto began to solidify during the Meiji Reformation.

Religion underwent significant growth and change during this period of Japan. The major Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines controlled estates in the provinces. They relied on the taxes from those estates for much of their income. Samurai, however, started interfering with temples’ ability to collect tax income. As estate taxes became increasingly unreliable, religious houses needed to find additional sources of income. Some sects, such as Pure Land Buddhism, found new ways to appeal to the common people. Others, such as Zen, gained popularity among the Samurais.

Japanese culture has been influenced by a variety of cultures over the millennia (mainly by China and Korea), but Buddhism has been one of the most prominent. Japan, as it did with its other influences, transformed and adapted the contributions of other cultures, morphing it to fit its own indigenous character. As highlighted by Irvine, to fully appreciate and understand Japan’s artworks, one must acknowledge the fundamental role that belief systems played (and continued to play) throughout the history of the country. Buddhism first came to Japan during the sixth century by the Koreans, but it originated in India and had existed for a thousand years prior. Because Buddhism had time to cultivate itself before reaching Japan, it had already developed a complex canon of thought. It also came with a rich heritage in the arts that mirror its Indian origins, as well as the metamorphosis

State Shinto felt threatened by other religions, especially the presence of Buddhism and Christianity in Japan. Hardacre stated, “Buddhist priests inevitably held higher positions and commanded greater administrative authority than shine priests. Shine priests were seated lower than Buddhist clerics at village assemblies.” The Japanese people were uncomfortable with Western values and religion as they feared it would cause Japanese culture to decay, especially for state Shinto. Consequently, Buddhist temples were systematically destroyed and Christian churches were forced into hiding because Shinto shrines had to be dominant in society and new religions were “frequently prosecuted and

Buddhism grew quickly to be associated with the Imperial Court connecting that of sacred and secular power for the future centuries of Japanese ruling. During the ruling of Emperor Shomu and Empress Komyo, Buddhism grew in Nara. The merging of Buddhist doctrine and political policy supported Buddhism as the protector of the state. It was later ruled that throughout the provinces, temples, monasteries, and convents would be built. These monasteries, through the Kokubin-ji system, would be under the newly built chief temple, Todai-ji, in the capital of Nara (Stokstad,

After Japanese understood the basic concepts and thoughts of Buddhism, they mixed Buddhist idea into their religion, creating ?Shinto?. According to the modern dictionaries, ?Shinto? is defined as the pre-buddhism religion in Japan (8-3). Buddhism, which is a very important part to effect the culture and history of Japan. Buddhism divided into Mahayana and Theravada. At that time, Mahayana Buddhism might be the sophisticated religion in the world. Kami is the combinatory

Buddhism advances all that much to the cutting edge world on the grounds that it is sensible and logically based. Buddha said, "Do not believe in anything that I say just out of respect for me, but test it for yourself, analyze it, as if you were buying gold." Modern-day individuals like such a non-dogmatic approach. Buddha taught such an assortment of techniques, basically in light of the fact that individuals differ to such an extent. Not everybody thinks in the same way. Consider the example of food. If there were only one type of food available in a city, it would not appeal to everyone. In the event that, then again, diverse nourishment could be had with changed flavors, everybody could discover something engaging. In like manner, Buddha taught an extensive assortment of systems for individuals with a wide range of tastes to use to create themselves and develop.