Debate; Doctrine; Japanese Buddhism; Methodology; Practice
摘要
In this article, I consider the state of the field in the study of Japanese Buddhism andseveral problems that need to be solved in the future. I begin with a description of thestate of the field in the study of Japanese Buddhism. Although research on JapaneseBuddhism is conducted in several fields, two major fields in which scholars have beenmost active, are history and Buddhist studies. More recently, the field of Japaneseintellectual history has also become an important factor. I think the study of Buddhistdoctrines and theories in preparation for Buddhist debates in the Heian period,which were once frequently held as parts of the ceremonial services that could lead topromotions for the monks, had a strong influence on this tendency. After the Meiji period, under the influence of Europe, accurate reading andinterpretation of Buddhist texts seems to become the goal of Buddhist studies in Japan. Unbalanced focus on specific periods, lack of attention to foreign scholarly achievementson Japanese Buddhism, the tendency to using willingly the printed source materialsincluding the canons, lack of research on the literary works and lack of studies onmaterials concerning monasticassemblies are also problems in the study of JapaneseBuddhism. The field of Buddhist studies in Japan is concentrated on understanding Buddhistdoctrine and philosophy; however, we must be careful not to neglect the realm ofpractice, traditionally consisting of śamatha (shi 止) and vipaśyanā (kan 観). Althoughmaterials relating to practice are fewer in number. Japanese Buddhism is still a living tradition, and monks continue their dailylives in temples across the country. It is also important to take present days JapaneseBuddhism into account, and it is obvious that we reconsider methodology again inorder to investigate not only written materials but living monks.
