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Interfaith Dialogue And A Lotus Practitioner: Yamada Etai, The Lotus Sutra, And The Religious Summit Meeting On Mt. Hiei, Stephen G. Covell

Comparative Religion Publications

This article is an examination of Yamada Etai, the 253rd head priest (zasu) of the Tendai denomination and his efforts to host the Religious Summit Meeting on Mt. Hiei. Following an in-depth analysis of Yamada’s understanding of the Lotus Sutra, especially as it relates to interfaith outreach, Yamada’s efforts to reshape contemporary Tendai Buddhism through a focus on compassionate service and salvation are examined in light of his efforts to put on a large-scale international interfaith meeting.

A Fourteenth-Century Augustinian Approach To The Jews In Riccoldo Da Monte Croce’S Ad Nationes Orientales, Lydia M. Walker

Comparative Religion Publications

No abstract provided.

Kjv In The Usa: The Impact Of The King James Bible In The Usa, Brian C. Wilson

Comparative Religion Publications

No abstract provided.

Editors' Introduction: Traditional Buddhism In Contemporary Japan, Stephen G. Covell, Mark Rowe

Comparative Religion Publications

First paragrph:

This special issue focuses scholarly attention on various aspects of cctraditional” Buddhism (kisei bukkyd 既成仏教 or dento bukkyd 伝統仏教）in the contemporary period. The articles included here all seek to highlight and challenge certain assumptions about how contemporary Japanese Buddhist doctrine, practice, and teaching are understood. Implicit in this project is the idea that contemporary forms of Buddhism are not degenerations of a pure, original essence, but rather represent a varied and complex tradition in the midst of important challenges.

Learning To Persevere: The Popular Teachings Of Tendai Ascetics, Stephen G. Covell

Comparative Religion Publications

This paper introduces the teachings of three contemporary practitioners of Tendai Buddhism. I argue that the study of Japanese Buddhism has focused on doctrine and the past to the detriment of our understanding of contemporary teaching. Through an examination of the teachings of contemporary practitioners of austerities, I show that practice is drawn on as a source more than classical doctrine, that conservative values are prized, and that the teachings show strong similarities to the teachings of the new religions, suggesting a broad-based shared worldview.

Review Of Richard M. Jaffe. Neither Monk Nor Layman: Clerical Marriage In Modern Japanese Buddhism, Stephen G. Covell

Comparative Religion Publications

First paragraph:

Clerical marriage stands alongside changing attitudes towards funerary care as one of the most critical issues in contemporary Japanese Buddhism. In this richly detailed and clearly written work, Richard Jaffe describes how the issue of clerical marriage came to dominate modern Japanese Buddhism. In so doing he provides a valuable contribution to the fields of Japanese Studies and Buddhology. Moreover, through his focus on the interaction between the Meiji state and Buddhist organizations Jaffe provides abundant material for anyone interested in state-religion issues.

Living Temple Buddhism In Contemporary Japan: The Tendai Sect Today, Stephen G. Covell

Comparative Religion Publications

This study aims to redress the lack of serious scholarly study on Contemporary
Japanese Buddhism. using the Tendai sect as an example. The sects of Temple
Buddhism today are caught between ideal images of "real" Buddhism. which they
themselves help perpetuate through their self-legitimizing rhetoric of renunciation. and
the reality of day-to-day temple functioning. which often fails to live up to the rhetoric.
Moreover. both scholarly and popular constructions of Temple Buddhism communicate a message that Temple Buddhism is "corrupt:' This unique space occupied by the sects of Temple Buddhism provides the thematic focal point for the dissertation. while each …