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Anarchy in the Pure Land: Reinventing the Cult of Maitreya in Modern Chinese Buddhism

Justin Ritzinger

Anarchy in the Pure Land investigates the cult of Maitreya, the future Buddha, promoted by the Chinese Buddhist reform movement spearheaded by Taixu as an avenue through which to consider the ... More

Anarchy in the Pure Land investigates the cult of Maitreya, the future Buddha, promoted by the Chinese Buddhist reform movement spearheaded by Taixu as an avenue through which to consider the formation of alternative modernities. The cult presents an apparent anomaly: It shows precisely the kind of concern for ritual, supernatural beings, and the afterlife that much scholarship contends the reformers rejected in the name of “modernity.” This book shows that rather than a concession to tradition, the reimagining of ideas and practices associated with Maitreya was an important site for formulating a Buddhist vision of modernity. To make sense of this it develops a new perspective on alternative modernities by drawing on Charles Taylor’s notion of moral frameworks, arguing that the cult of Maitreya represents an attempt to articulate a new constellation of values that integrates novel understandings of the good clustered around modern visions of utopia with the central Buddhist value of Buddhahood. Part I traces the roots of this constellation to Taixu’s youthful career as an anarchist. Part II examines its articulation in the “Maitreya School’s” theology and the cult’s development from its inception to World War II. Part III examines its subsequent decline and its contemporary legacy within and beyond orthodox Buddhism.Less

Death Rituals and Politics in Northern Song China

Mihwa Choi

This study inquires into a historical question of how politics surrounding death rituals and ensuing changes in ritual performance shaped a revival of Confucianism during eleventh-century China. It ... More

This study inquires into a historical question of how politics surrounding death rituals and ensuing changes in ritual performance shaped a revival of Confucianism during eleventh-century China. It investigates how polarizing debates about death rituals introduced new terrain for political power dynamics between monarchy and officialdom, and between groups of court officials. During the reign of Renzong, in reaction to Emperor Zhenzong’s statewide Daoist ritual programs for venerating the royal ancestors, some court officials maneuvered in the imperial court to return Confucian canonical rituals to their place of primacy. Later, a faction of scholar-officials took a lead in reviving the Confucian rituals as a way of checking the power of both the emperors and the wealthy merchants. By perceiving Confucian rituals as the models for social reality as it ought to be, they wrote new ritual manuals, condemned non-Confucian rituals, took legal actions, and established public graveyards.Less

Ethics at the Edges of Law: Christian Moralists and American Legal Thought

Cathleen Kaveny

Ethics at the Edges of Law: Christian Moralists and American Legal Thought shows how methods and doctrines drawn from the American legal tradition can constructively advance the discussion of key ... More

Ethics at the Edges of Law: Christian Moralists and American Legal Thought shows how methods and doctrines drawn from the American legal tradition can constructively advance the discussion of key issues in Christian ethics. More broadly, the book argues that religious ethicists should consider legal thought to be a valuable conversation partner on a par with philosophical thought. Each of the chapters places the work of an important contemporary figure in Christian ethics in conversation with particular legal cases and questions. The book is divided into three major parts: “Narratives and Norms,” “Love, Justice, and Law,” and “Legal Categories and Theological Problems.” Ethicists considered include John Noonan Jr., Stanley Hauerwas, Jeffrey Stout, Gene Outka, Margaret Farley, Paul Ramsey, Robert E. Rodes Jr., Walter Kasper, Germain Grisez and H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr. Legal topics explored include the development of the common law as a morally rich tradition, the relationship between rules and particular cases, and the role of individual experience in formulating generally applicable norms. Theological issues discussed include the meaning of covenant fidelity, the requirements of compassion, and the demands of neighbor love. Fruitful intersections between law and theological ethics are developed by considering particular examples and cases from contract law, criminal law, and health-care law. Ethics at the Edges of Law ends by examining the various and often conflicting meanings of the term “legalism,” which has long been considered a derogatory term in Christian moral thought.Less

From Chinese Chan to Japanese Zen: A Remarkable Century of Transmission and Transformation

Steven Heine

This work provides a survey and critical investigation of the remarkable century from 1225 to 1325, during which the transformation of the Chinese Chan school into the Japanese Zen sect was ... More

This work provides a survey and critical investigation of the remarkable century from 1225 to 1325, during which the transformation of the Chinese Chan school into the Japanese Zen sect was successfully completed. The cycle of transfer began with a handful of Japanese pilgrims traveling to China, including Eisai, Dōgen, and Enni, in order to discover authentic Buddhism. They quickly learned that Chan, with the strong support of the secular elite, was well organized in terms of the intricate teaching techniques of various temple lineages. After receiving Dharma transmission through face-to-face meetings with prominent Chinese teachers, the Japanese monks returned with many spiritual resources. However, foreign rituals and customs met with resistance, so by the end of the thirteenth century it was difficult to imagine the success Zen would soon achieve. Following the arrival of a series of émigré monks, who gained the strong support of the shoguns for their continental teachings, Zen became the mainstream religious tradition in Japan. The transmission culminated in the 1320s when prominent leaders Daitō and Musō learned enough Chinese to overcome challenges from other sects with their Zen methods. The book examines the transcultural conundrum: how did Zen, which started half a millennium earlier as a mystical utopian cult primarily for reclusive monks who withdrew from society, gain a broad following among influential lay followers in both countries? It answers this question by developing a focus on the main mythical elements that contributed to the overall effectiveness of this transition, especially the Legend of Living Buddhas.Less

Gods, Heroes, and Ancestors: An Interreligious Encounter in Eighteenth-Century Vietnam

Though a minority religion in Vietnam, Christianity has constituted a significant presence in the country since its arrival in the sixteenth century. This translation and analytical study of a 1752 ... More

Though a minority religion in Vietnam, Christianity has constituted a significant presence in the country since its arrival in the sixteenth century. This translation and analytical study of a 1752 document entitled Tam Giáo Chư Vọng [Errors of the Three Religions] adds to the knowledge of its early history within its cultural and religious contexts. This anonymous manuscript paints a rich picture of the three traditional Vietnamese religions (Tam Giáo), i.e., Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Aiming at the new converts, the writer describes the “errors” (Chư Vọng) of these traditional beliefs and religious practices and provides an apologetics for the Christian doctrines. Structured as a dialogue between a Christian priest and a Confucian scholar, the work explains and evaluates many religious customs and rituals of eighteenth-century Vietnam—many of which are still in practice today. In addition, it contains a trove of information on the challenges and struggles that Vietnamese Christian converts had to face in following the new faith. Beside its enormous historical value for studies on Vietnamese religions, language, and culture, this manuscript raises contemporary and highly complex issues concerning the encounter between Christianity and other religions, Christian missions, religious pluralism, interreligious dialogue, and the dialogue between Christianity and cultures.Less

Interpreting Islam in China: Pilgrimage, Scripture, and Language in the Han Kitab

Kristian Petersen

This book explores the contours of the Han Kitab tradition through discussing the works of some of its brightest luminaries in order to identify and explicate pivotal transitions in Sino-Muslim ... More

This book explores the contours of the Han Kitab tradition through discussing the works of some of its brightest luminaries in order to identify and explicate pivotal transitions in Sino-Muslim engagement with the Islamic tradition. A distinctive intellectual tradition emerged during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Sino-Muslims established an educational system known as scripture hall education (jingtang jiaoyu經堂教育‎), which utilized an Islamic curriculum made of Arabic, Persian, and Chinese works. The Han Kitab, a corpus of Chinese-language Islamic texts developed within this system, reinterpreted Islam through the lens of Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian terminology. Three prominent Sino-Muslim authors are representative of major junctures within the history of Sino-Islamic thought and are used to illustrate discursive transformations within this tradition: Wang Daiyu 王岱輿‎ (1590–1658), the earliest important author; Liu Zhi 劉智‎ (1670–1724), the most prolific scholar; and Ma Dexin 馬德新‎ (1794–1874), the last major intellectual in premodern China. The chapters explore how these authors defined being a Muslim through an examination of their thoughts on the hajj, the Qur’an, and the Arabic language. In the discussions, I analyze how they deployed the categories of pilgrimage, scripture, and language in their writings, as well as their strategic objectives in doing so. More broadly, this book fosters an exploration of issues of vernacularization, translation, centers and peripheries, and tradition. It offers theoretical directions for redescription of critical categories in the study of religion, especially within translingual Muslim communities.Less

Joseph Albo on Free Choice: Exegetical Innovation in Medieval Jewish Philosophy

Shira Weiss

Philosophical originality can be uncovered in the unique individual interpretations of biblical narrative found in Joseph Albo’s Sefer ha-‘Iqqarim (Book of Principles), one of the most popular Hebrew ... More

Philosophical originality can be uncovered in the unique individual interpretations of biblical narrative found in Joseph Albo’s Sefer ha-‘Iqqarim (Book of Principles), one of the most popular Hebrew works within the corpus of medieval Jewish philosophy. Several of Albo’s exegetical analyses focus on free choice, which emerges as a conceptual scheme throughout his work, though he does not consistently expand upon his views of choice in the same way in each reference. These isolated expositions have heretofore been overlooked, as the scholarly consensus regards Albo as an unoriginal philosopher and neglects to appreciate the philosophical ingenuity embedded within his individual homilies. An exploration of Albo’s innovative interpretations of the binding of Isaac, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, the Book of Job, and God’s choice of Israel reveals his view of free choice, which was significant during a historical period of religious coercion. Albo’s sole surviving responsum, dealing with the case of the qatlanit (a woman who is twice widowed and thereby forbidden to remarry, according to the Talmud) further demonstrates his philosophical position. Free choice was an important topic, subject to vehement debate in the medieval era in which Albo lived, and continues to be relevant as contested in modern philosophy.Less

Meditation, Buddhism, and Science

David McMahan and Erik Braun (eds)

This volume discusses modern transformations of Buddhist and Buddhist-derived meditation and the scientific studies of these practices from the humanistic perspective of scholars in the ... More

This volume discusses modern transformations of Buddhist and Buddhist-derived meditation and the scientific studies of these practices from the humanistic perspective of scholars in the interdisciplinary field of Buddhist Studies. Meditation, particularly “mindfulness” meditation, has garnered enormous attention in recent years as the object of scientific study, to the point of redefining the very conception of meditation in the popular imagination and the academy. For millennia, these practices occurred almost exclusively in monastic contexts for soteriological purposes. Yet today, the institutional settings, goals, and the practices themselves have undergone momentous changes. Contemporary practice often focuses on practical matters, such as health, relationships, and work life, with little to no consideration given to the beliefs, values, or cosmologies that underpin such practice from the Buddhist point of view. Moreover, meditation’s institutional homes have gone from the monastery to some of the most powerful institutions in the world, including public universities, hospitals, multinational corporations, and the US military, as well as many non-institutional settings. The plethora of scientific studies conducted in recent years have, in fact, not only undergirded these transformations, but have helped to create them. The contributors to this volume seek to understand these changes within their broader historical, cultural, and institutional contexts. Their chapters show the importance of the humanistic study of the complex interrelations between Buddhism and the scientific study of meditative practices.Less

Newman's Early Roman Catholic Legacy, 1845-1854

C. Michael Shea

For the past several decades, scholars have stressed that the genius of John Henry Newman remained underappreciated among his Roman Catholic contemporaries, and in order to find the true impact of ... More

For the past several decades, scholars have stressed that the genius of John Henry Newman remained underappreciated among his Roman Catholic contemporaries, and in order to find the true impact of his work, one must look to the century after his death. This book takes direct aim at that assumption. Examining a host of overlooked evidence from England and the European continent, Newman’s Early Legacy tracks letters, recorded conversations, and obscure and unpublished theological exchanges to show how Newman’s 1845 Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine influenced a cadre of Catholic teachers, writers, and Church authorities in nineteenth-century Rome. The book explores how these individuals then employed Newman’s theory of development to argue for the definability of the new dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary during the years preceding the doctrine’s promulgation in 1854. Through numerous twists and turns, the narrative traces how the theory of development became a factor in determining the very language that the Roman Catholic Church would use in referring to doctrinal change over time. In this way, Newman’s Early Legacy uncovers a key dimension of Newman’s significance in modern religious history.Less

The Oxford History of Anglicanism, Volume II: Establishment and Empire, 1662 -1829

Jeremy Gregory (ed.)

The Oxford History of Anglicanism is a major new and unprecedented international study of the identity and historical influence of one of the world’s largest versions of Christianity. This global ... More

The Oxford History of Anglicanism is a major new and unprecedented international study of the identity and historical influence of one of the world’s largest versions of Christianity. This global study of Anglicanism from the sixteenth century looks at how Anglican identity was constructed and contested at various periods since the sixteenth century; and its historical influence during the past six centuries. It explores not just the ecclesiastical and theological aspects of global Anglicanism, but also the political, social, economic, and cultural influences of this form of Christianity that has been historically significant in Western culture, and a burgeoning force in non-Western societies today. The chapters are written by international experts in their various historical fields which includes the most recent research in their areas, as well as original research. The series forms an invaluable reference for both scholars and interested non-specialists. Volume II of The Oxford History of Anglicanism explores the period between 1662 and 1829 when its defining feature was arguably its establishment status, which gave the Church of England a political and social position greater than before or since. The contributors explore the consequences for the Anglican Church of its establishment position and the effects of being the established Church of an emerging global power. The volume examines the ways in which the Anglican Church engaged with Evangelicalism and the Enlightenment; outlines the constitutional situation and main challenges and opportunities facing the Church; considers the Anglican Church in the regions and parts of the growing British Empire; and includes a number of thematic chapters assessing continuity and change.Less