Buddhism in the Modern WorldSaunders, Kenneth J. (Kenneth James)
Religion
Buddhism in the Modern World
Saunders, Kenneth J. (Kenneth James)
Buddhism
This Buddhist revival in Japan is well worthy of study. As in Ceylon
and Burma nationalism has much to do with it. The Japanese have been
reminded by Lafcadio Hearn and Fenollosa and by their own native
scholars trained by Max Müller at Oxford, or in other Western
universities, how great is the debt which they owe to Buddhism; "There
is scarcely one interesting or beautiful thing produced in the
country," wrote Lafcadio Hearn, "for which the nation is not in some
sort indebted to Buddhism," and the Japanese, in whom gratitude is a
strong motive, are saying, "Thank you." Moreover, in the present
restless seeking after truth the nation is finding, in its old
religions, things which it is refusing lightly to cast away, and in
its resentment against some of the nations of Christendom, and its
conviction that our Christianity does not go very deep, it reminds
itself that after all Buddhism was a great international force which
helped to establish peace for a thousand years in Asia.
The present revival manifests itself in many ways, not least in the
new intellectual activity which has brought into existence Buddhist
universities, chairs of religious education, and a very vigorous
output of literature; and each of the great sects has some outstanding
scholar trained in the scientific methods of Western scholarship, but
proud to call himself a Buddhist. There are ample signs, too, of a
quickened interest in social service, of movements for children and
young people, such as the Y.M.B.A., which is now active in all
Buddhist countries.
Old temples are being repaired and new ones built and there are said
to be over a hundred thousand of these in Japan devoted to Buddhism
alone. Amongst the more recent is one in Kyōto which cost nearly a
million pounds sterling; for the transport of its massive timbers
hundreds of thousands of women sacrificed their hair. It is
interesting and amusing to see Buddhist priests in bowler hats and
gorgeous robes directing the removal of some ancient shrine to a new
site and to note the modern American methods of engineering employed.
All this is symptomatic of a new Japan which is yet tenaciously loyal
to its old past.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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