Table of Contents
Re:
QUERY> Bardo in Taiwan?
by Matthew Orsborn
Dear Dr. Yamamoto,A few thoughts in response to our query about "the Bardo" in Taiwanese Buddhism. As Dr. Forman has pointed out, the notion is certainly not of Taiwanese origin. Though this idea would not come to East Asia through the Kathāvatthu, as it has only very recently been available. I'm not sure if you communicated with the TECO in English or Chinese. If in English, perhaps using the term "Bardo" would create some confusion. While this term is perhaps the most common one used in English, due to its Tibetan origins, it tends (in my opinion) to make many think it is (purely) a Tibetan notion. If you used Chinese, which would be 中陰 (zhongyin), or 中有 (zhongyou), these translations from Skt. "antarābhava" are fairly common in Chinese Buddhism in general.
This idea comes to East Asia through the Northern Abhidharma and Mahayana traditions, the latter often using the former in general conventional terms. The antarābhava notion was used by the Sarvāstivāda, Sautrāntika and other Abhidharma schools, and also appears in a number of Mahāyāna texts, including popular texts, and even a text with this very name. I think perhaps, though I am no expert, that the general notion of some kind of incorporeal existence immediately after death may have found enough similarities with Chinese native (i.e. non-Buddhist) notions, and some kind of popular generalized idea would have easily been accepted by the general public. Buddhist exegetes would no doubt provide a more orthodox interpretation. Such ideas can be seen in a number of extremely common practices. Ancient and modern teachers have written a lot about this idea and related practices.
For example, the idea of "assisted recitation" 助念, reciting sutras, chanting the name of the Buddha, etc. immediately preceding and after death, often by monastics but also commonly by family members and co-members of Buddhist communities. This is predicated on the idea that after death some kind of incorporeal existence still remains, and can be influenced by the chanting. The deceased is thus encouraged to take rebirth in some or other Pure Land, or a good family if human rebirth is sought. There are even clips on YouTube talking about how these practices are done, for example.
Hope this is of some help.
NEW
JOURNAL ISSUE> Journal of Religion in Japan 7.2 (2018)
by Elisabetta Porcu
Dear Colleagues,Our apologies for cross-posting.
We are pleased to announce that the Journal of Religion in Japan (JRJ) 7.2 has been published. The volume can be viewed at: https://brill.com/view/journals/jrj/7/2/jrj.7.issue-2.xml
With our best regards,
The Editors
Elisabetta Porcu and James Mark Shields
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Journal of Religion in Japan 7.2 (2018)
CONTENTS
Articles
PAOLA CAVALIERE
Mothers and Moral Activists: Observing Religious Informal Volunteering in Japan
ELISABETTA PORCU
Religion, Second Modernity and Individualization in Japan
JAMES MARK SHIELDS
After the Fall: Tsuji Zennosuke and the Creation of Bukkyōshugi kokushi
Book reviews
Michael Dylan Foster, The Book of Yōkai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore, by JANE MARIE LAW
G. Clinton Godart, Darwin, Dharma, and the Divine: Evolutionary Theory and Religion in Modern Japan, by CHRISTOPHER HARDING
Bryan D. Lowe, Ritualized Writing: Buddhist Practice and Scriptural Cultures in Ancient Japan, by IRIS ZHANG
Lukas Pokorny and Franz Winter (eds.), Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements, by LEHEL BALOGH
Pamela D. Winfield and Steven Heine (eds.), Zen and Material Culture, by KOMEI SAKAI
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Dr. Elisabetta Porcu
Founding Editor, Journal of Religion in Japan(Brill)
