Overview

In this study, based on both historical evidence and ethnographic data, Paula Arai shows that nuns were central agents in the foundation of Buddhism in Japan in the sixth century. They were active participants in the Soto Zen sect, and have continued to contribute to the advancement of the sect to the present day. Drawing on her fieldwork among the Soto nuns, Arai demonstrates that the lives of many of these women embody classical Buddhist ideals. They have chosen to lead a strictly disciplined monastic life over against successful careers and the unconstrained contemporary secular lifestyle. In this, and other respects, they can be shown to stand in stark contrast to their male counterparts.

Full Product Details

Author:   Paula Kane Robinson Arai (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies, Vanderbilt University)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 1.40cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.376kg
ISBN:  

9780199928682

ISBN 10:   0199928681
Pages:   268
Publication Date:   12 July 2012
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ; Transliteration Guide ; Prologue ; One: Introduction ; Scholarly Contexts ; Theoretical Considerations ; Methodological Considerations ; Two: Historical Background ; Pioneering Monastics ; Dogen and Women ; Tokugawa Encroachments ; Meiji Reclamations ; Three: Twentieth-Century Leadership ; First Generation: Rapid Ascent Through Education ; Second Generation: Stategists of Egalitarianism ; Third Generation: Zen Master of a New Tradition ; Four: The Monastic Practices of Zen Nuns ; Nuns' Vision of Monastic Life ; Daily Life in a Monastery of Zen Nuns ; Divisions within the Monastery ; Ceremonial Rituals and Activities ; Educational Curriculum and Degrees ; The Aesthetics of Discipline ; Five: Motivations, Commitments, and Self-Perceptions ; Changing Life Patterns of Twentieth-Century Zen ; Buddhist Practice: Meaning and Action ; Nuns' Views on Monastic Life ; Six: Conclusion: Innovators for the Sake of Tradition ; Preservers and Creators of Buddhist Tradition ; Bearers and Transmitters of Traditional Japanese Culture ; Notes ; Appendix A: Questionnaire ; Appendix B: Glossary of Japanese Terms ; Bibliography ; Index

Reviews

<br>. ..a long overdue corrective to the androcentric scholarship that has ignored Zen nuns' importance.... This very readable book is ideal for classroom use. --Religious Studies Review<p><br>

Author Information

Paula Arai is associate professor of Asian religions at Louisiana State University. Her research interests include Japanese Buddhist rituals, arts, and practices; women's experiences and contributions; and healing. Her primary research is based on anthropological fieldwork in Japan and has been supported by Fulbright, American Council of Learned Societies, Mellon Foundation, and the Reischauer Institute of Harvard University. In addition to numerous articles and chapters in edited volumes, Arai is also the author of Bringing Zen Home: The Healing Heart of Japanese Women's Rituals.

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