Encountering the Dharma: Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai, and the Globalization of Buddhist Humanism

Couverture
University of California Press, 16 mars 2006 - 268 pages
This engaging, deeply personal book, illuminating the search for meaning in today’s world, offers a rare insider’s look at Soka Gakkai Buddhism, one of Japan’s most influential and controversial religious movements, and one that is experiencing explosive growth around the world. Unique for its multiethnic make-up, Gakkai Buddhists can be found in more than 100 countries from Japan to Brazil to the United States and Germany. In Encountering the Dharma, Richard Seager, an American professor of religion trying to come to terms with the death of his wife, travels to Japan in search of the spirit of the Soka Gakkai. This book tells of his journey toward understanding in a compelling narrative woven out of his observations, reflections, and interviews, including several rare one-on-one meetings with Soka Gakkai president Daisaku Ikeda. Along the way, Seager also explores broad-ranging controversies arising from the Soka Gakkai’s efforts to rebuild post-war Japan, its struggles with an ancient priesthood, and its motives for propagating Buddhism around the world. One turning point in his understanding comes as Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai strike an authentically Buddhist response to the events of September 11, 2001.

À l'intérieur du livre

Table des matières

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V
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VI
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VII
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VIII
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IX
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Droits d'auteur

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Expressions et termes fréquents

Fréquemment cités

Page 150 - the only Buddhist organization in America prepared for the emergence of Hispanic culture as a dominant feature of the United States in the twenty-first century.
Page 216 - Perspective," in Global Citizens: The Soka Gakkai Buddhist Movement in the World, ed.
Page 65 - His own familiarity with the postwar suffering of the Japanese, his genuine ability to counsel the many miserable people who came to his door, and his hard work and organizational abilities guaranteed the success of his group. When he died in 1958, Toda had become a nationally known figure whose funeral was attended by many of Japan's ruling...
Page 217 - By Imperial Edict and Shogunal Decree': Politics and the Issue of the Ordination Platform in Modern Lay Nichiren Buddhism," in Buddhism in the Modern World: Adaptations of an Ancient Tradition, ed.
Page 215 - Brazil," in Global Citizens: The Soka Gakkai Buddhist Movement in the World, ed. David Machacek and Bryan Wilson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 326-348. 7. Kyohan is a critical classification and evaluation of the doctrines of the Buddhist and non-Buddhist religious groups of East Asia. 8. Kamstra, "Changes in Buddhist Attitudes,
Page 78 - ... described as reality-transformative. The transformation in question does not necessarily imply the reform of social structures or a dramatic change in communal life, as found in the yonaoshi concept. At certain times such a transformation may be advocated; at other times, not. What remains constant is the aspiration to transform the self and life around oneself, and the belief that these efforts have to do with salvation. As befits a faith community centered on the laity and teaching participation...
Page 48 - ... Muryogi-kyo, where I read: "Body neither is nor is not.... It is neither red nor purple, nor any other color." Reflecting on these words, it dawned on me, "The Buddha is life-force." After agonizing over the relation of the Buddha to the Namu myoho rengekyo in light of the theory of the ten worlds, I realized that life-force is the name of the Buddha, and that this is the fundamental force in the universe, the Kuon gansho, which has the power to change the fate of every person. After that I was...
Page 15 - Patanjali accepts as axiomatic the law of cause and effect or the law of Karma according to which chance is non-existent.
Page 16 - He stands as almost a unique figure in the history of Buddhism, not alone because of his persistence through hardship and persecution, but for his unshaken conviction that he himself was the messenger of Buddha Not only one of the most learned men of his time...
Page 227 - Bamyeh, Mohammed A. The Ends of Globalization. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000. Barber, Benjamin R. Jihad vs. McWorld. New York: Ballantine Books, 1996. Barker, Chris. Television, Globalization and Cultural Identities. Buckingham, PA: Open University Press, 1999.

À propos de l'auteur (2006)

Richard Hughes Seager, Associate Professor of Religion at Hamilton College, is author of Buddhism in America, The World’s Parliament of Religions: The East/West Encounter, Chicago, 1893, and The Dawn of Religious Pluralism: Voices from the World’s Parliament of Religions, 1893.

Informations bibliographiques