A Christian Exploration of Women&#039;s Bodies and Rebirth in Shin Buddhism

Kristin Johnston Largen

doi:10.5771/9781498536561

Summary

Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism inherited many negative doctrines around women’s bodies, which in some early Buddhist texts were presented as an obstacle to rebirth, and a hindrance to awakening in general. Beginning with an examination of these doctrines, the book explores Shin teachings and texts, as well as the Japanese context in which they developed, with a focus on women and rebirth in Amida’s Pure Land. These doctrines are then compared to similar doctrines in Christianity and used to suggestion fruitful avenues of Christian theological reflection.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2020
ISBN-Print: 978-1-4985-3655-4
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4985-3656-1
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 186
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Acknowledgments No access
3. Introduction No access
1. The Texts of Early Buddhism No access
2. Gautama Buddha’s Own Body: Moderation, Beauty and Self-Giving No access
3. The Role of the Body in Monastic Meditation Practices No access
4. Bodies: Burdensome, Significant, and Highly Suspect No access
5. Notes No access
1. Introduction: The Sun and the Moon No access
2. The Medieval Japanese Context No access
3. Buddhism Comes to Japan No access
4. Medieval Buddhist Teachings on Women and Women’s Bodies No access
5. Women’s Lives in Medieval Japanese Society No access
6. Neo-Confucianism Comes to Japan No access
7. Christianity in Japan No access
8. Conclusion No access
9. Notes No access
1. True Pure Land Teaching No access
2. Hōnen and Jōdo Shū Buddhism No access
3. The Life of Shinran Shonin No access
4. Basic Tenets of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism No access
5. Key Texts No access
6. Conclusion: The Teaching of Emptiness (Śūnyatā) No access
7. Notes No access
1. Three Pure Land Sutras No access
2. Vasubandhu No access
3. Shin Interpretation of the 35th Vow, an Introduction No access
4. Shinran: Ambiguity and Silence No access
5. Shinran’s Personal Experience No access
6. Rennyo No access
7. Later Shin Interpreters No access
8. Gender and the Pure Land in Practice No access
9. A Conclusion without a Resolution No access
10. Notes No access
1. Five Possible Strategies No access
2. Commitments that Shape Buddhist Responses No access
3. Relevance for Christianity No access
4. Making Room at the Table No access
5. Notes No access
Bibliography No access Pages 171 - 180
Index No access Pages 181 - 184
About the Author No access Pages 185 - 186