Who Am I — Self-discovery in Japanese Zen Practice
Gereon Kopf
26 May 2017
The Japanese Zen master Dōgen (1200–53) famously said, “To study the Buddha way is to study the self.”* A popular meditation manual known and used
Samurai and Monks: Lessons in Impermanence
Gereon Kopf
24 March 2017
In the last few weeks, I have been teaching the Tale of Heike (Heike monogatari) to my students at Luther College. The Tale of Heike is central to Japanese
Why Meditate?
Gereon Kopf
27 January 2017
Whenever I teach Japanese Buddhism, whether in the Americas, Europe, or East Asia, I frequently run into the same assumption among students that Buddhists, for
The Many Forms of Avalokiteshvara
Meher McArthur
25 November 2016
To many practitioners of the Mahayana schools of Buddhism of East Asia and the esoteric traditions of the Himalayas and Japan, bodhisattvas, or “enlightenment beings,”
The Buddhist Roots of Japanese Flower Arrangement
Meher McArthur
28 October 2016
One of the most widely practiced of all Japanese art forms is ikebana, or flower arrangement. The word “ikebana” literally means “living flowers,” suggesting that while
Buddhism and Creative Writing, Part Two
David Brazier
21 October 2016
James Sanford and his colleagues in their wonderful volume Flowing Traces (Sanford et al 1992, p.3) point out that “Buddhism’s beginnings in Japan had the arts at
How to Read Japanese Buddhist Texts?
Gereon Kopf
9 September 2016
In this article, I would like to reflect on how to read Japanese Buddhist texts. To explain my strategies for approaching texts distant in time,
Cosmic Contemplations: A Glimpse of Japan’s Rare Star Mandalas
Meher McArthur
2 September 2016
Japan’s esoteric Buddhist traditions boast a rich and diverse array of imagery, ranging from figures of individual deities to elaborate mandalas depicting specific deity families
The Modernization of Faith and Ideology: Victoria Montrose Discusses Japanese Buddhism’s 19th Century Transformation
Raymond Lam
26 August 2016
Victoria Montrose (“Tori” to her friends, a fittingly Japanese epithet) has been immersed in Japanese culture since childhood. Victoria was four when her American father
Spirituality as the Transformation of Daily Life: Living Buddhism in 21st Century Japan
Gereon Kopf
20 May 2016
A 2008 article in The New York Times asked the provocative question whether Buddhism in Japan “may be dying out” (Onishi 2008). Unlike other, frequent claims that
Sacred Stupas and Precious Pagodas: The Many Roles of Reliquaries in the Buddhist Landscape
Meher McArthur
22 January 2016
One of the most fascinating examples of Buddhist architecture is the stupa, a structure that evolved from a simple burial mound into the large-scale domed
Exploring Buddhist Harmony and Inclusiveness in Japan
BD Dipananda
15 January 2016
Late last year, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to Japan to participate in a conference at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies from