Women living Zen : Japanese Sōtō Buddhist nuns
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Women living Zen : Japanese Sōtō Buddhist nuns
Oxford University Press, 1999
Available at 22 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Search this Book/Journal
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-226) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
In this study, based on both historical evidence and ethnographic data, Paula Arai shows that nuns were central agents in the foundation of Buddhism in Japan in the sixth century. They were active participants in the Soto Zen sect, and have continued to contribute to the advancement of the sect to the present day. Drawing on her fieldwork among the Soto nuns, Arai demonstrates that the lives of many of these women embody classical Buddhist ideals. They have chosen to
lead a strictly disciplined monastic life over against successful careers and the unconstrained contemporary secular lifestyle. In this, and other respects, they can be shown to stand in stark contrast to their male counterparts.
Table of Contents
- Prologue
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Historical Background
- 3. Twentieth-Century Leadership
- 4. The Monastic Practices of Zen Nuns
- 5. Motivations, Commitments, and Self-Perceptions
- 6. Conclusion: Innovators for the Sake of Tradition
- Endnotes
- Appendix A. Questionnaire
- Appendix B. Glossary of Japanese Terms
by "Nielsen BookData"