Japan; Zen; Easternization; spirituality; new age; circulation
摘要
Zen Buddhism has for decades fascinated the West, and the former elitist tradition has in contemporary times become part of broad popular culture. Zen is for Buddhists, but it is also part of a general “Easternization” and alleged “spiritual revolution” narrative. In Japan, both Zen and “spirituality” are important factors in both media and the lived religious environment. This article aims to investigate how and to what extent “Zen” and “spirituality” are related as narratives and religious practices in a contemporary Japanese context. While there are overlaps, it is argued that the two domains are separate and that such a division is based on general differences in culturally constrained narratives (Western/Japanese, Zen/spirituality). Besides focusing on a concrete Japanese context, the article also contributes to research on global and transnational (Zen) Buddhism as well as to the field of comparative spirituality.
目次
Zen, Popular Culture, and Spirituality 70 Cool Zen and the Art of Spiritualizing the West 70 Zen Roots and Routes: Global Zen, Cultural Zen, and the Art of Studying Invented Traditions 72 Spirituality in Japan 75 Is there a Japanese (Zen) Buddhist Spirituality? 78 Zen in the Media and Spiritual World 81 Zen and Spirituality: Interests and Symbolic Domains 85 Conclusion 87 Acknowledgements 89 References 89 Journals 93 Internet (all accessed January 2013) 93 Commercials 93
