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Eshinni (1182-1268?), a Buddhist nun and the wife of Shinran
(1173-1262), the celebrated founder of the True Pure Land, or Shin,
school of Buddhism, was largely unknown until the discovery of a
collection of her letters in 1921. In this study, James C. Dobbins,
a leading scholar of Pure Land Buddhism, has made creative use of
these letters to shed new light on life and religion in medieval
Japan. He provides a complete translation of the letters and an
explication of them that reveals the character and flavor of early
Shin Buddhism. Readers will come away with a new perspective on
Pure Land scholarship and a vivid image of Eshinni and the world in
which she lived. After situating the ideas and practices of Pure
Land Buddhism in the context of the actual living conditions of
thirteenth-century Japan, Dobbins examines the portrayal of women
in Pure Land Buddhism, the great range of lifestyles found among
medieval women and nuns, and how they constructed a meaningful
religious life amid negative stereotypes. He goes on to analyze
aspects of medieval religion that have been omitted in our
modern-day account of Pure Land and tries to reconstruct the
religious assumptions of Eshinni and Shinran in their own day. A
prevailing theme that runs throughout the book is the need to look
beyond idealized images of Buddhism found in doctrine to discover
the religion as it was lived and practiced. Scholars and students
of Buddhism, Japanese history, women's studies, and religious
studies will find much in this engaging work that is
thought-provoking and insightful.
The most complete and important book on the early history of Shin
Buddhism to appear in English.... No other work in English combines
the biography of the founder with such a detailed study of the
complex development of Shin Buddhism from its simple beginnings as
a small, rural primarily lay Buddhist movement in the 12th century
to its rapid growth as a powerful urban religion in the 15th
century."" - Choice
Eshinni (1182-1268?), a Buddhist nun and the wife of Shinran
(1173-1262), the celebrated founder of the True Pure Land, or Shin,
school of Buddhism, was largely unknown until the discovery of a
collection of her letters in 1921. In this study, James C. Dobbins,
a leading scholar of Pure Land Buddhism, has made creative use of
these letters to shed new light on life and religion in medieval
Japan. He provides a complete translation of the letters and an
explication of them that reveals the character and flavor of early
Shin Buddhism. Readers will come away with a new perspective on
Pure Land scholarship and a vivid image of Eshinni and the world in
which she lived. After situating the ideas and practices of Pure
Land Buddhism in the context of the actual living conditions of
thirteenth-century Japan, Dobbins examines the portrayal of women
in Pure Land Buddhism, the great range of lifestyles found among
medieval women and nuns, and how they constructed a meaningful
religious life amid negative stereotypes. He goes on to analyze
aspects of medieval religion that have been omitted in our
modern-day account of Pure Land and tries to reconstruct the
religious assumptions of Eshinni and Shinran in their own day. A
prevailing theme that runs throughout the book is the need to look
beyond idealized images of Buddhism found in doctrine to discover
the religion as it was lived and practiced. Scholars and students
of Buddhism, Japanese history, women's studies, and religious
studies will find much in this engaging work that is
thought-provoking and insightful.
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki is considered a key figure in the
introduction of Buddhism to the non-Asian world. Many in the West
encountered Buddhism for the very first time through his writings
and teaching, and for nearly a century his work and legacy have
contributed to the ongoing religious and cultural interchange
between Japan and the rest of the world.
Volume 2 of the collected works of D.T. Suzuki brings together his
writings on Pure Land Buddhism. Suzuki had a long and abiding
interest in this strand of Buddhism, particularly Japanese Shin
Buddhism, which he wrote about frequently throughout his life. At
the center of the Pure Land tradition is the Buddha Amida and his
miraculous, transcendent realm known as the paradise or "land of
bliss," where sentient beings should aspire to be born in their
next life and where liberation and enlightenment are assured to
all. Suzuki, by highlighting certain themes in Pure Land Buddhism
and de-emphasizing others, shifted its focus from a future,
otherworldly goal to religious experience in the present, wherein
one realizes the non-duality between the Buddha and oneself and
between the paradise and this world. His cogent, distinctive, and
thought-provoking interpretations helped to stimulate new
understandings of Pure Land Buddhism quite different from
traditional doctrine.
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