The nineteenth-century nativist Hirata Atsutane's desire to discover information about his theorized supernatural Other World of kami and other spirits was fulfilled through his leading conversations with the so-called tengu apprentice Torakichi. This interaction is well-documented in his work Senkyo ibun, which should be understood as a pseudo-ethnography of that Other World. However,...
Tendai hongaku thought has come under scrutiny and severe criticism recently on two counts，one ontological and the other socio-ethical.The ontological critique maintains that hongaku thought espouses substantialistic notions inconsistent with the teaching of early Buddhism.This article examines passages from hongaku writings and offers a reading that takes into account enlightenment practice in...
Hajime the practice of C h !an was brought to China by the South Indian monk Bodhidharma.He was the third prince of the King of Gandhakutl, studied under and adopted the tradition of Prajftatara, and at sixteen years of age took the sea route to China, arriving around 470 at the Southern border of the Sung.He appears to have journeyed to Wei before 516.According to the legend, upon being...