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Monasticism in East Asia (Buddhism)

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  1. Introduction
  2. Early Buddhologists, who tended to focus on the texts and doctrines of particular schools of Buddhism, showed little interest in the study of monasticism as a set of social and religious practices. Historians and scholars of art undertook most of the foundational work in the study of Buddhist monasticism. Social and institutional historians studied monasteries as political and economic entities, while art historians examined monasteries as sites that cultivated great art and architecture. Over the past twenty-five years or so, this division of labor has slowly dissolved. As the field of religious studies has come to emphasize the importance of both social history and interdisciplinarity, scholars of Buddhism have begun to take a closer look at the social and religious lives of monastic institutions. Their studies have considered monasteries not only as political, economic, and religious bodies, but also as sacred sites and as social sites. Recent research in the field has shown that Buddhist monasteries in East Asia, as places that attracted pilgrims, tourists, scholars, and devotees, allowed diverse social groups to interact in multiple and complex ways. Despite recent growth in this subfield, however, the field still lacks single-authored studies that address Buddhist monasticism in a holistic fashion.
  3.  
  4. General Overviews
  5. As mentioned above, there are no comprehensive, single-authored monographs on Buddhist monasticism. The general treatments listed here include conference volumes and other anthologies, entries related to Buddhist monasticism found in encyclopedias and other reference works, and a textbook that compares Buddhist and Christian monasticism. For general introductions to the place of monastic institutions in the history of East Asian Buddhism, start with Brook 2005, Jones 2005, Johnston 2000, and Buswell 2003. Benn, et al. 2009 contains a variety of in-depth articles representing recent research in the field and is not focused on a single tradition or site. Those interested in comparisons between Buddhist and Christian monasticism should begin with Henry and Swearer 1989. For issues specific to monastic architecture, see Pichard and Lagirarde 2003.
  6.  
  7. Benn, James, Lori Meeks, and James Robson, eds. Buddhist Monasticism in East Asia: Places of Practice. Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism 53. London: Routledge, 2009.
  8.  
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  10.  
  11. This anthology, which was born of a conference on Buddhist monasticism, includes a useful introduction by James Robson that addresses larger issues in the study of Buddhist monasticism. The introduction is followed by seven chapters based on historical studies of monks, monasteries, and clerical–lay relations in premodern China and Japan.
  12.  
  13. Find this resource:
  14.  
  15.  
  16. Brook, Timothy. “Institution.” In Critical Terms for the Study of Buddhism. Edited by Donald S. Lopez Jr., 143–160. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.
  17.  
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  19.  
  20. Insightful methodological considerations regarding the treatment of monasteries and institutions within Buddhist studies.
  21.  
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  23.  
  24.  
  25. Buswell, Robert. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. 2 vols. Indianapolis, IN: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003.
  26.  
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  28.  
  29. See especially “Monasticism” (pp. 556–560), “China” (pp. 139–145), “Japan” (pp. 384–391), “Korea” (pp. 430–435), “Vinaya” (pp. 885–889), “Monastic Architecture” (pp. 549–556), “Education” (pp. 247–248), “Ordination” (pp. 614–618), and “Chanting and Liturgy” (pp. 137–139).
  30.  
  31. Find this resource:
  32.  
  33.  
  34. Henry, Patrick G., and Donald K. Swearer. For the Sake of the World: The Spirit of Buddhist and Christian Monasticism. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989.
  35.  
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  37.  
  38. This book offers a thoughtful, general introduction to the comparative study of monasticism and may have useful applications in the classroom.
  39.  
  40. Find this resource:
  41.  
  42.  
  43. Johnston, William M., ed. Encyclopedia of Monasticism. 2 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000.
  44.  
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  46.  
  47. Useful entries include “Buddhism” (pp. 194–198), “Critiques of Monasticism” (pp. 333–37), “China” (pp. 280–284), “Japan: History” (pp. 684–689), “Japan: Sites” (pp. 689–694), “Korea: History” (pp. 717–719), “Korea: Recent Changes” (pp. 719–720), “Korea: Sites” (pp. 720–725), “Manuscript Production: Buddhist” (pp. 817–821), “Liturgy: Buddhist” (pp. 776–780), “Cave Temples and Monasteries in India and China” (pp. 255–263), and “Celibacy: Buddhist” (pp. 263–264).
  48.  
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  50.  
  51.  
  52. Jones, Lindsay, ed. The Encyclopedia of Religion. 2d ed. 15 vols. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005.
  53.  
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  55.  
  56. See “Temple: Buddhist Temple Compounds in East Asia” (pp. 9045–9049), “Priesthood: Buddhist Priesthood” (pp. 7407–7410), “Monasticism: Buddhist Monasticism” (pp. 6126–6131), “Nuns: Buddhist Nuns” (pp. 6759–6763), and “Sacred Space” (pp. 7978–7986).
  57.  
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  59.  
  60.  
  61. Lopez, Donald S., Jr., ed. Buddhism in Practice. Edited by Donald S. Lopez Jr., 455–472. Princeton Readings in Religions. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995.
  62.  
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  64.  
  65. This anthology contains forty-eight translations of brief passages from primary sources, each prefaced by short introductions by the translators. Particularly relevant for the study of monasticism in East Asia are “Daily Life in the Assembly” (pp. 455–472), “Deaths, Funerals and the Division of Property in a Monastic Code” (pp. 473–502), “Buddhist Chaplains in the Field of Battle” (pp. 586–591), “Awakening Stories of Zen Buddhist Women” (pp. 513–524), and “Hagiographies of the Korean Monk Wzzznhyo” (pp. 553–562).
  66.  
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  68.  
  69.  
  70. Pichard, Pierre, and François Lagirarde, eds. The Buddhist Monastery: A Cross-Cultural Survey. Études Thématiques 12. Paris: École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 2003.
  71.  
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  73.  
  74. Contains useful photographs and diagrams of monastic architecture. See “The Physical Buddhist Monastery in China” (pp. 305–350), “Buddhist Monasteries in Southern Mongolia” (pp. 351–390), “Buddhist Monasteries in Korea” (pp. 391–410), and “The Formulation and Evolution of Buddhist Monasteries in Japan” (pp. 411–433). Based on presentations at a workshop at the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Bangkok, 8–10 November 1999.
  75.  
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  77.  
  78.  
  79. China
  80. Chen 2007 addresses monasticism more directly than do the other works listed here. Ch’en 1973 and Zürcher 2007 are concerned with the larger issue of how Chinese Buddhism became “Chinese.” They present information about monastic institutions and practice, but monasticism is not their primary focus. Welch 1967 is a wide-ranging survey of Chinese Buddhism that contains many photographs depicting the social and religious lives of monasteries. DeBlasi 1998 offers historical insight into the social life at the Upper Tianzhu Monestary in Hangzhou, while Foulk 1993 explores myth and ritual in relation to Chan communities during the Song. Finally, Goossaert 2000 relates the study of Chinese temples to larger sociopolitical issues in Chinese culture.
  81.  
  82. Chen, Huaiyu. The Revival of Buddhist Monasticism in Medieval China. Theology and Religion 253. New York: Peter Lang, 2007.
  83.  
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  85.  
  86. Focuses on the works of Daoxuan (b. 596–d. 667). Of particular note are chapters 2, 3, and 4, which address the role of relics in monastic life, ordination rituals, and monastic views of property, respectively.
  87.  
  88. Find this resource:
  89.  
  90.  
  91. Ch’en, Kenneth. The Chinese Transformation of Buddhism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1973.
  92.  
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  94.  
  95. Chapter 9, “The Monastic Order” and chapter 10, “Buddhist Temples and Popular Buddhism,” are especially useful for understanding Buddhist monastic institutions in Sui-, Tang-, and Song-period China.
  96.  
  97. Find this resource:
  98.  
  99.  
  100. DeBlasi, Anthony. “A Parallel World: A Case of Monastic Society, Northern Song to Ming.” Journal of Sung-Yuan Studies 28 (1998): 155–175.
  101.  
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  103.  
  104. Examines social life at the Upper Tianzhu Monastery in Hangzhou, from the 10th through 15th centuries. Insightful analysis of the relationship between the monastic order and members of the local laity.
  105.  
  106. Find this resource:
  107.  
  108.  
  109. Foulk, T. Griffith. “Myth, Ritual, and Monastic Practice in Sung Ch’an Buddhism.” In Religion and Society in T’ang and Sung China. Edited by Patricia Buckley Ebrey and Peter N. Gregory, 147–208. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993.
  110.  
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  112.  
  113. Detailed, nuanced exploration of the relationship between myth and ritual in Chan communities during the Song.
  114.  
  115. Find this resource:
  116.  
  117.  
  118. Goossaert, Vincent O. Dans les temples de la Chine: Histoire des cultes, vie des communautés. Paris: Albin Michel, 2000.
  119.  
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  121.  
  122. This thoughtful and carefully researched work treats Chinese temples—Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist—in a holistic and comparative fashion. Goossaert is interested in thinking about temples as social and political spaces, and in understanding what these spaces tell us about Chinese religiosity in general. Includes nearly two dozen photos and illustrations.
  123.  
  124. Find this resource:
  125.  
  126.  
  127. Welch, Holmes. The Practice of Chinese Buddhism 1900–1950. Harvard East Asian Studies 26. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967.
  128.  
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  130.  
  131. Although Welch has been criticized for his romantic view of Buddhist monasteries, his studies were among the first in-depth accounts of contemporary Buddhist institutions. This book describes the social and religious lives of Chinese Buddhist monasteries as described by monks living in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines. Includes dozens of photographs of daily and ritual life in the monastery.
  132.  
  133. Find this resource:
  134.  
  135.  
  136. Zürcher, Erik. The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China. 3d ed. Sinica Leidensia 11. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2007.
  137.  
  138. DOI: 10.1163/ej.9789004156043.i-472Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  139.  
  140. Although this classic work, first written in 1959, is largely concerned with Chinese importations and adaptations of Buddhist ideas, it also addresses the institutional history of early Chinese Buddhism (see especially chapters 2–4). The 2007 edition includes a foreword by Stephen Teiser that explains both the importance of the work in the field of Chinese Buddhism and its shortcomings.
  141.  
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  143.  
  144.  
  145. Korea
  146. Few scholars writing in Western languages have chosen Korean Buddhism as a topic of study. Although its primary focus is the contemporary period, Buswell 1992 provides unparalleled insight into daily life in a Korean monastery. The Lancaster and Yu anthologies (Lancaster and Yu 1989, Lancaster and Yu 1991) are overviews of Korean Buddhism more broadly defined and address monasticism primarily in passing, as they are largely interested in the development of Buddhist doctrine in Korea. Lee 1969 is a translation of monks’ biographies. It is focused more on the individual lives of monks than on monastic life as a whole. Still, it is an important work for understanding the historical development of Buddhist monasticism in Korea.
  147.  
  148. Buswell, Robert E., Jr. The Zen Monastic Experience: Buddhist Practice in Contemporary Experience. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992.
  149.  
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  151.  
  152. This comprehensive study of life inside Songgwang-sa, one of Korea’s largest Buddhist monasteries, combines historical and doctrinal study with first-hand reportage. The first chapter also contains a useful introduction to broader problems in the study of Zen.
  153.  
  154. Find this resource:
  155.  
  156.  
  157. Lancaster, Lewis, and C.-S. Yu, eds. Introduction of Buddhism to Korea: New Cultural Patterns. Studies in Korean Religions and Cultures 3. Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1989.
  158.  
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  160.  
  161. The seven chapters in this collection of essays all focus on the early history of Korean Buddhism (4th through 8th centuries).
  162.  
  163. Find this resource:
  164.  
  165.  
  166. Lancaster, Lewis, and C.-S. Yu, eds. Assimilation of Buddhism in Korea: Religious Maturity and Innovation in the Silla Dynasty. Studies in Korean Religions and Cultures 4. Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1991.
  167.  
  168. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  169.  
  170. A collection of five essays focusing on the development of Korean Buddhism during the Silla dynasty (668–935). The first chapter, “Buddhism in the Unified Silla Period,” addresses monastic life directly.
  171.  
  172. Find this resource:
  173.  
  174.  
  175. Lee, Peter H. Lives of Eminent Korean Monks: The Haedong Kosŭng Chzzzn. Harvard-Yenching Institute Studies 25. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1969.
  176.  
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  178.  
  179. Translation of the monk Kakhun’s 1215 compilation of monks’ biographies. The surviving version of the text contains twenty-five biographies and covers about five hundred years.
  180.  
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  182.  
  183.  
  184. Japan
  185. Groner 2000, Groner 2002, Bodiford 1993, and Collcutt 1981 offer comprehensive studies of Buddhist monasticism as it was practiced by the Heian-period Tendai, medieval Sōtō Zen, and medieval Rinzai Zen communities, respectively. These studies offer invaluable insights into the social, political, and religious lives of Buddhist monasteries in premodern Japan. Unfortunately, we do not have many studies that address monastic practice within other schools of Japanese Buddhism. There is also some imbalance in the field with regard to historical focus: while we have many studies focused on the Heian, Kamakura, and early Muromachi periods, there are few studies on the ancient period, late medieval period, or Edo period. This list also contains two overviews to Japanese Buddhist history—Bowring 2005 and Matsuo 2007—both of which address, among many other things, the history of monks and monasticism. Covell 2005 is useful for considering both continuities and discontinuities among contemporary Buddhist priests in Japan—most of whom marry and run households in addition to their temples—and the historical tradition of Japanese monastic practice.
  186.  
  187. Bodiford, William M. Sōtō Zen in Medieval Japan. Studies in East Asian Buddhism 8. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993.
  188.  
  189. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  190.  
  191. This book explores the rapid and far-reaching growth of Sōtō Zen monastic networks in the generations following Dōgen’s death (1200–1253). It provides rare insight into the religious, sociopolitical, and economic lives of Sōtō Zen institutions from the late thirteenth through the early sixteenth centuries.
  192.  
  193. Find this resource:
  194.  
  195.  
  196. Bowring, Richard. Religious Traditions of Japan, 500–1600. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
  197.  
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  199.  
  200. Comprehensive overview of the history of Japanese religions during the premodern period. Bowring’s primary interest is Buddhist thought and practice, but the book does provide a great deal of information about monastic life, the political power of monastic institutions, and the careers of particular monks. The author also offers insightful methodological considerations of the use of Western vocabulary such as “monk” and “priest.”
  201.  
  202. Find this resource:
  203.  
  204.  
  205. Collcutt, Martin. Five Mountains: The Rinzai Zen Monastic Institution in Medieval Japan. Harvard East Asian Monographs 85. Cambridge, MA: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1981.
  206.  
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  208.  
  209. One of the first works in English to offer detailed analysis of the social and economic lives of Zen monastic institutions. In chapter 5 Collcutt also addresses the significance of monastic architecture.
  210.  
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  212.  
  213.  
  214. Covell, Stephen G. Japanese Temple Buddhism: Worldliness in a Religion of Renunciation. Topics in Contemporary Buddhism. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005.
  215.  
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  217.  
  218. Explores the lives and work of contemporary Tendai priests, who identify with the monastic tradition even while engaging in marriage and other worldly activities. Covell argues against the widely held view that contemporary temple practices in Japan represent a degenerate version of a more ideal monastic past.
  219.  
  220. Find this resource:
  221.  
  222.  
  223. Groner, Paul. Saichō: The Establishment of the Japanese Tendai School. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2000.
  224.  
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  226.  
  227. Chapters 9–12 address Saichō’s (b. 767–d. 822) approach to monastic precepts and ordinations. Chapters 14 and 15 discuss Saichō’s monastic reforms and what they meant for his disciples. First published in 1984 (Berkeley: University of California).
  228.  
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  230.  
  231.  
  232. Groner, Paul. Ryōgen and Mount Hiei: Japanese Tendai in the Tenth Century. Studies in East Asian Buddhism 15. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002.
  233.  
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  235.  
  236. This comprehensive study examines the life and work of Ryōgen (b. 912–d. 985), the man behind the Tendai school’s emergence, in the late 10th century, as Japan’s most powerful Buddhist monastic order. The book also includes an informative study of Japanese nuns in the 9th and 10th centuries (chapter 12).
  237.  
  238. Find this resource:
  239.  
  240.  
  241. Matsuo, Kenji. A History of Japanese Buddhism. Folkstone, UK: Global Oriental, 2007.
  242.  
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  244.  
  245. In this historical overview of the history of Japanese Buddhism, Matsuo summarizes in English one of his major contributions to the field: the fact that many of the religious innovations associated with the Kamakura period can be traced back to the emergence of “recluse monks” (tonseisō), who identified themselves in opposition to official state monks (kansō).
  246.  
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  248.  
  249.  
  250. Monastic Institutions and the State
  251. Large-scale monastic institutions sometimes vied with state authorities for economic and political power; at other times, they helped offer ideological legitimacy to the state. Much of the political history of Buddhist monasteries can be found in General Overviews. Included below are works that directly address the relationship between Buddhist monasticism and kingship or state rule. Chen 2002 explores the relationship between Buddhism and the state in Sui-period (581–618) China, and Forte 1992 looks at state monasteries in 7th- and 8th-century China. For Qing-period China, see Elverskog 2006. For studies of Buddhism and the state in Japan, see Kuroda 1996 (medieval period) and McMullin 1984 (late medieval/early modern periods). Those interested in how Buddhist scriptures promoted particular views toward the state should begin with Orzech 1998.
  252.  
  253. Chen, Jin hua. Monks and Monarchs, Kinship and Kingship: Tanqian in Sui Buddhism and Politics. Kyoto: Italian School of East Asian Studies, 2002.
  254.  
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  256.  
  257. Considers monastic practice in Sui-dynasty (581–618) China through the life and activities of the monk Tanqian (b. 542–d. 607). Of particular interest are Chen’s analyses of relic-distribution campaigns and meditation groups.
  258.  
  259. Find this resource:
  260.  
  261.  
  262. Elverskog, Johan. Our Great Qing: The Mongols, Buddhism and the State in Late Imperial China. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2006.
  263.  
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  265.  
  266. This book is primarily concerned with revising prevailing views of how the Qing state used Buddhist ideology, but it should also prove helpful to those interested in state attitudes toward Buddhist institutions in 16th-century through 19th-century China.
  267.  
  268. Find this resource:
  269.  
  270.  
  271. Forte, Antonino. “Chinese State Monasteries in the Seventh and Eighth Centuries.” In Echō ō Go-Tenchikukyū den kenkyū. Edited by Kuwayama Shōshin, 213–258. Kyoto: Jinbun Kagaku Kenkyūjo, 1992.
  272.  
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  274.  
  275. Difficult-to-access but useful overview of state monasteries in medieval China.
  276.  
  277. Find this resource:
  278.  
  279.  
  280. Kuroda, Toshio. Special Issue: The Legacy of Kuroda Toshio. Edited by James C. Dobbins. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 23.3–4 (Fall 1996).
  281.  
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  283.  
  284. Relevant articles include “The Development of the Kenmitsu System as Japan’s Medieval Orthodoxy,” “The Imperial Law and the Buddhist Law,” “Buddhism and Society in the Medieval Estate System,” and “The World of Spirit Pacification: Issues of State and Religion.” See also introductory essay by James Dobbins.
  285.  
  286. Find this resource:
  287.  
  288.  
  289. McMullin, Neil. Buddhism and the State in Sixteenth-Century Japan. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.
  290.  
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  292.  
  293. This book focuses on Oda Nobunaga’s treatment of religious institutions and ideas and argues that the relationship between religion and the state underwent a fundamental transformation in the 16th century.
  294.  
  295. Find this resource:
  296.  
  297.  
  298. Orzech, Charles D. Politics and Transcendent Wisdom: The Scripture for Humane Kings in the Creation of Chinese Buddhism. Hermeneutics, Studies in the History of Religions. University Park: Pennsylvania State University, 1998.
  299.  
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  301.  
  302. Although it does not address monasticism directly, Orzech’s study of Buddhist claims to political authority helps illuminate the relationship between Buddhist institutions and the state in premodern China. See especially pp. 107–121.
  303.  
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  305.  
  306.  
  307. Female Monasticism
  308. Although the study of women and Buddhism is a relatively new subfield within Buddhist studies, much of the work undertaken in this subfield has focused on nuns and their monastic communities. Arai 1999, Batchelor 2006, and Meeks 2010 are all studies of particular female communities. Bianchi 2001 (cited under Monastic Education) is also a study of a Buddhist convent. For studies of premodern Japan specifically, Ruch 2002 provides an excellent and well-balanced introduction. Mohr and Tsedroen 2010 offers the best introduction to issues surrounding the ordinations of women as bhikṣunī in contemporary Southeast Asia and Tibet. Cheng 2007 considers crucial methodological issues relevant to women’s ordination in contemporary Asia but handles them with only limited success. Cho 2011 is the first major collection of English-language essays on Buddhist nuns in Korea.
  309.  
  310. Arai, Paula Kane Robinson. Women Living Zen: Japanese Sōtō Buddhist Nuns. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
  311.  
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  313.  
  314. Ethnographic study of Sōtō Zen nuns in contemporary Japan. Accessible reading for nonspecialists. Contains twenty photographs.
  315.  
  316. Find this resource:
  317.  
  318.  
  319. Batchelor, Martine, and Son’gyong Sunim. Women in Korean Zen: Lives and Practices. Albany, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2006.
  320.  
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  322.  
  323. Two autobiographical accounts of monastic practice in a Korean convent, one written by a Westerner who spent ten years living as a nun in a Korean convent, and another written by a woman who spent her entire life, from the age of 18, living as a nun.
  324.  
  325. Find this resource:
  326.  
  327.  
  328. Cheng, Wei-Yi. Buddhist Nuns in Taiwan and Sri Lanka: A Critique of the Feminist Perspective. Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism. London: Routledge, 2007.
  329.  
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  331.  
  332. Using interview data from fieldwork in Taiwan and Sri Lanka, Cheng explores the disjuncture between Western, feminist analyses of women in Buddhism and the self-described experiences of actual Buddhist nuns living in contemporary Asia. Although the book would have benefited from closer editing, it provides insightful ethnographic data and offers important new perspectives on the ordination debate.
  333.  
  334. Find this resource:
  335.  
  336.  
  337. Cho, Eun-Su. Korean Buddhist Nuns and Laywomen: Hidden Histories, Enduring Vitality. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2011.
  338.  
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  340.  
  341. This edited volume, which covers an impressive historical range, contains seven essays on female practitioners of Buddhism, plus an introduction by the editor. Although the editing appears to have been rushed in places, this book serves as a welcome introduction to this neglected field.
  342.  
  343. Find this resource:
  344.  
  345.  
  346. Grant, Beata. Eminent Nuns: Women Chan Masters of Seventeenth-Century China. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2009.
  347.  
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  349.  
  350. This study of the “discourse records” (yulu) of seven 17th-century female Chan masters provides great insight into the monastic lives of nuns in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
  351.  
  352. Find this resource:
  353.  
  354.  
  355. Meeks, Lori R. Hokkeji and the Reemergence of Female Monastic Orders in Premodern Japan. Studies in East Asian Buddhism 23. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2010.
  356.  
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  358.  
  359. Presents an overview of the rise, fall, and reemergence of female monastic orders in Japan, as well as an in-depth study of the ritual, economic, and social lives of nuns associated with the convent Hokkeji in the 13th and 14th centuries.
  360.  
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  362.  
  363.  
  364. Mohr, Thea, and Jampa Tsedroen, eds. Dignity & Discipline: Reviving Full Ordination for Buddhist Nuns. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2010.
  365.  
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  367.  
  368. This collection of nineteen essays commemorates the International Congress on Women’s Role in the Sangha (Hamburg, Germany, 2007). Highlights include an excellent introductory essay by Janet Gyatso, a speech by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, and a thoughtful closing essay by Karma Lekshe Tsomo.
  369.  
  370. Find this resource:
  371.  
  372.  
  373. Ruch, Barbara, ed. Engendering Faith: Women and Buddhism in Premodern Japan. Michigan Monograph Series in Japanese Studies 43. Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 2002.
  374.  
  375. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  376.  
  377. This 700-page volume contains twenty chapters, many of which address female monasticism in particular (see chapters 1–2, 4–6, 9–10, 19–20).
  378.  
  379. Find this resource:
  380.  
  381.  
  382. Monastic Rules
  383. The transformation and use of Buddhist monastic codes began to attract considerable scholarly attention in the 1990s. Tsomo 1996 and Yifa and Zongze 2002 are textual studies of monastic codes. Bodiford 2005 and Fu and Wawrytko 1994 are anthologies of scholarly essays, many of which address the social and political histories of monastic codes, looking at how particular groups put them to use—often transforming them in the process—at particular points in time.
  384.  
  385. Bodiford, William, ed. Going Forth: Visions of Buddhist Vinaya. Studies in East Asian Buddhism 18. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005.
  386.  
  387. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  388.  
  389. This collection, published in honor of Professor Stanley Weinstein, contains eleven essays that consider how Buddhist communities in China and Japan adapted and utilized monastic procedures and laws (vinaya).
  390.  
  391. Find this resource:
  392.  
  393.  
  394. Fu, Charles Wei-hsun, and Sandra A. Wawrytko, eds. Buddhist Behavioral Codes and the Modern World: An International Symposium. Contributions to the Study of Religion 38. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1994.
  395.  
  396. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  397.  
  398. This volume includes sixteen articles that aim to reconsider the role of the śila and vinaya in Buddhist practice. Chapters of special interest to the history of Buddhist monasticism in East Asia include chapters 1–3, 6, 8–9.
  399.  
  400. Find this resource:
  401.  
  402.  
  403. Tsomo, Karma Lekshe. Sisters in Solitude: Two Traditions of Buddhist Monastic Ethics for Women: A Comparative Analysis of the Chinese Dharmagupta and the Tibetan Mūlāsarvāstivada Bhiksunī Prātimoksa Sūtras. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996.
  404.  
  405. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  406.  
  407. Chapter 1 offers an accessible introduction to the role of the vinaya in monastic life, and chapter 2 is a translation of the Bhikṣuṇī Prātimokṣa Sūtra associated with the Dharmagupta school.
  408.  
  409. Find this resource:
  410.  
  411.  
  412. Yifa, and Zongze. The Origins of Buddhist Monastic Codes in China: An Annotated Translation and Study of the Chanyuan Qinggui. Classics in East Asian Buddhism. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002.
  413.  
  414. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  415.  
  416. Translation of the Chan monk Changlu Zongze’s (b. ?– d. 1107?) 1,103 Chanyuan quingui (Rules of purity for the Chan monastery), which many regard as the earliest monastic code associated with the Chan school.
  417.  
  418. Find this resource:
  419.  
  420.  
  421. Celibacy and Marriage
  422. As an ascetic movement, Buddhism emphasized restraint from sexual desire from its inception. Celibacy was not unknown in East Asia before the importation of Buddhism—Daoist adepts, for example, had long advocated practices of sexual restraint and control—but scholars have demonstrated that political elites often viewed the tradition’s association with celibacy as a rejection of traditional values associated with family and lineage. Although some Buddhist clerics in East Asia, most notably Japan, reinterpreted or ignored those precepts prohibiting sexual activity, celibacy has remained an important marker of monastic identity throughout East Asia. Cole 2006 and Kieschnick 2008 are good points of departure and are both appropriate for teaching. Some of the more interesting in-depth works in this area, such as Faure 1998 and Jaffe 2001, explore the tensions and contradictions in rhetoric about monasticism and sexual restraint. Of particular interest are discourses that apply the theory of nonduality to precepts forbidding sexual activity or rejecting the rule of celibacy as a mere “expedient means.” Crane 2004 investigates the common assumption that women who become nuns do so because they are uninterested in or unable to marry.
  423.  
  424. Cole, Alan. “Buddhism.” In Sex, Marriage, and Family in World Religions. Edited by Don S. Browning, M. Christian Green, and John Witte Jr., 299–366. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006.
  425.  
  426. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  427.  
  428. This chapter begins with a succinct but useful scholarly analysis of the relationship between Buddhism and the family (pp. 299–310). The remaining pages contain translations of relevant primary-source material, thereby allowing the reader to see how Buddhist scriptures describe asceticism, celibacy, sexuality, and the family.
  429.  
  430. Find this resource:
  431.  
  432.  
  433. Crane, Hillary. “Resisting Marriage and Renouncing Womanhood: The Choice of Taiwanese Buddhist Nuns.” Critical Asian Studies 36.2 (June 2004): 265–284.
  434.  
  435. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  436.  
  437. This ethnographic study of nuns in contemporary Taiwan explores the motivations driving women’s decisions to become nuns.
  438.  
  439. Find this resource:
  440.  
  441.  
  442. Faure, Bernard. The Red Thread: Buddhist Approaches to Sexuality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998.
  443.  
  444. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  445.  
  446. Examines the ambiguous relationship between sexuality and restraint in Buddhist narratives.
  447.  
  448. Find this resource:
  449.  
  450.  
  451. Jaffe, Richard. Neither Monk nor Layman: Clerical Marriage in Modern Japanese Buddhism. Buddhisms. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001.
  452.  
  453. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  454.  
  455. Analyzes the history of the “clerical marriage problem” in Japan, from its roots in the premodern period through contemporary times.
  456.  
  457. Find this resource:
  458.  
  459.  
  460. Kieschnick, John. “Celibacy in East Asian Buddhism.” In Celibacy and Religious Traditions. Edited by Carl Olson, 225–240. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
  461.  
  462. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  463.  
  464. Concise, general overview suitable for undergraduate teaching.
  465.  
  466. Find this resource:
  467.  
  468.  
  469. Monastic Education
  470. Future research in the field would benefit from a deeper understanding of monastic education in East Asia. The few works that address the issue in some depth are listed here. Also worth attention are Groner’s books on Tendai Buddhism (Groner 2000 and Groner 2002, cited under Japan), which explore monastic education within the Japanese Tendai school at some length. Of these works, Zürcher 1989 is the only one to address education as a main topic, and it focuses only on Tang-period China. Bianch 2001 and Welch 1968 address education as part of broader studies on contemporary Tibetan and early-20th-century Chinese monasticism, respectively.
  471.  
  472. Bianchi, Ester. The Iron Statue Monastery: Tiexiangsi: A Buddhist Nunnery of Tibetan Tradition in Contemporary China. Orientalia Venetiana 10. Florence: Leo S. Olschki Editore, 2001.
  473.  
  474. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  475.  
  476. An English-language adaptation of Bianchi’s graduate thesis on a female monastic community in Chengdu. This ethnographic work explores daily life in the convent and also provides detailed explanations of the educational structures in place there.
  477.  
  478. Find this resource:
  479.  
  480.  
  481. Welch, Holmes. The Buddhist Revival in China. Harvard East Asian Series 33. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1968.
  482.  
  483. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  484.  
  485. This work considers the social and political activities of Chinese monks active in the first half of the 20th century. Chapters 5 and 6 address Buddhist building and publishing projects, as well as monastic education. Features dozens of photos, many from the first half of the 20th century.
  486.  
  487. Find this resource:
  488.  
  489.  
  490. Zürcher, Erik. “Buddhism and Education in T’ang Times.” In Neo-Confucian Education: The Formative Stage. Studies on China 9. Edited by William Theodore de Bary and John W. Chaffee, 19–56. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
  491.  
  492. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  493.  
  494. This excellent study examines the degree to which Buddhism introduced new models of education and training. It contains a useful overview of how new members of the sangha were trained, including what exams they were required to pass, and what secular studies they were expected to pursue. It also considers the role that monasteries played in educating local laypeople.
  495.  
  496. Find this resource:
  497.  
  498.  
  499. Monasticism and the Construction of Sacred Space
  500. In general, art historians have approached monastic architecture with interests in aesthetics and historical change, while leaving the discussion of sacred space to historians of religion. As scholars of Buddhism engage in increasingly interdisciplinary work, however, this division is likely to collapse.
  501.  
  502. Monastic Architecture
  503. The field is lacking a comprehensive introduction to Buddhist monastic architecture in East Asia. That said, there are several reliable introductions to monastic architecture in particular regions. For China, Steinhardt, et al. 2002 is the newest work, though it addresses Chinese architecture as a whole and contains only brief sections devoted to monastic structures in particular. Prip-Møller 1982, a large volume devoted to Chinese monasteries, is much more comprehensive, but it is also both dated (first published in 1937) and limited in its analysis. (It does contain hundreds of rare photos, though.) For monastic architecture in Japan and Korea, Kim 2007 and Kakichi 1980 are useful though general introductions; both are small books that contain many photographs. Pichard and Lagirarde 2003 (cited under General Overviews) also includes many photos and diagrams of monastic buildings useful to students of Buddhist architecture.
  504.  
  505. Kakichi, Suzuki. Early Buddhist Architecture in Japan. Translated by Mary N. Parent and Nancy S. Steinhardt. Japanese Arts Library 9. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1980.
  506.  
  507. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  508.  
  509. Amply illustrated introduction to the history of Buddhist temple architecture in Japan, from the 6th through the 12th centuries.
  510.  
  511. Find this resource:
  512.  
  513.  
  514. Kim, Sung-woo. Buddhist Architecture of Korea. Korean Culture Series 9. Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym, 2007.
  515.  
  516. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  517.  
  518. This general introduction to Buddhist temple architecture in Korea contains more than one hundred color photographs. Chapter 4 addresses the functions and uses of temple architecture in the everyday lives of monks.
  519.  
  520. Find this resource:
  521.  
  522.  
  523. Prip-Møller, Johannes. Chinese Buddhist Monasteries: Their Plan and Its Function as a Setting for Buddhist Monastic Life. 2d ed. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1982.
  524.  
  525. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  526.  
  527. This large volume, first published in 1937, contains hundreds of photos and sketches collected during Prip-Møller’s surveys of Chinese Buddhist monasteries between 1929 and 1933. Including photographs of nuns, monastic kitchens, ceremonies, and even ordination certifications, this collection offers a rare glimpse into the lives of Chinese Buddhist monasteries in the decades preceding the Cultural Revolution.
  528.  
  529. Find this resource:
  530.  
  531.  
  532. Steinhardt, Nancy S., ed. Chinese Architecture. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 2002.
  533.  
  534. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  535.  
  536. This large introduction to Chinese architecture is organized chronologically, beginning with the Neolithic period and ending with the Qing dynasty. Buddhist architecture is addressed in subsections scattered throughout these chapters. See pp. 44–46, 78–85, 110–133, 166–182, 192–197, 230–247, 300, and 317–335.
  537.  
  538. Find this resource:
  539.  
  540.  
  541. Sacred Sites
  542. Due in large part to the influence of Allan Grapard, who illustrated the importance of studying Japanese religious practices and institutions in situ (Grapard 1992), much recent work in Buddhist studies has focused on understanding monastic institutions in East Asia as parts of larger sacred sites that also had “non-Buddhist” significations. These sites, then, cannot be understood as purely “Buddhist” and serve as useful examples of Buddhist monastic institutions constructing their identities vis-à-vis local cults and practices. Given the sacred quality ascribed to mountains in East Asia, mountain monasticism has been an especially important area of focus within this growing subfield. Einarsen 1995 is a broad, layperson’s introduction to the topic. Grapard 1982 and Grapard 1992 provide an overview of relevant methodological issues in the scholarly study of sacred spaces in Japan. Naquin and Yü 1992 and Robson 2009 study sacred spaces in Chinese Buddhism. Stevens 1988 and Nicoloff 2008 focus on mountain-based religious practice in contemporary Japan.
  543.  
  544. Einarsen, John, ed. The Sacred Mountains of Asia. Boston: Shambhala, 1995.
  545.  
  546. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  547.  
  548. Anthology containing twenty-nine chapters, many of which are not scholarly in nature. Still, the volume is a useful source on the role of sacred mountains in the religious culture of East Asia.
  549.  
  550. Find this resource:
  551.  
  552.  
  553. Grapard, Allan. “Flying Mountains and Walkers of Emptiness: Toward a Definition of Sacred Space in Japanese Religion.” History of Religion 21.3 (February 1982): 195–221.
  554.  
  555. DOI: 10.1086/462897Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  556.  
  557. Seminal article on sacred space in the study of Japanese religions that has had a major impact in the field. Available online to subscribers.
  558.  
  559. Find this resource:
  560.  
  561.  
  562. Grapard, Allan. The Protocol of the Gods: A Study of the Kasuga Cult in Japanese History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
  563.  
  564. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  565.  
  566. This study posits that Japanese religiosity is best understood through attention to the ways in which different cults and traditions were combined and developed at particular sites, and in relation to particular physical landscapes.
  567.  
  568. Find this resource:
  569.  
  570.  
  571. Naquin, Susan, and Chün-fang Yü, eds. Pilgrims and Sacred Sites in China. Studies on China 15. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
  572.  
  573. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  574.  
  575. Several of the chapters in this anthology address the process through which Chinese monasteries were constructed as sacred sites and pilgrimage destinations.
  576.  
  577. Find this resource:
  578.  
  579.  
  580. Nicoloff, Philip L. Sacred Kōyasan: A Pilgrimage to the Mountain Temple of Saint Kōbō Daishi and the Great Sun Buddha. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008.
  581.  
  582. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  583.  
  584. Nicoloff mixes history and ethnography in this study of Mt. Kōya and its 1200-year association with the celebrated esoteric master Kūkai (b. 774–d. 835). Chapters of particular interest include chapters 5–6, which address the halls and institutions that make up the monastic complex at Mt. Kōya; chapter 7, which explores the history of the temple town at the base of the mountain; and chapter 8, which addresses the educational structures in place at the complex.
  585.  
  586. Find this resource:
  587.  
  588.  
  589. Robson, James. Power of Place: The Religious Landscape of the Southern Sacred Peak [Nanyue] in Medieval China. East Asian Monograph Series 316. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009.
  590.  
  591. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  592.  
  593. This “place-based” study of Chinese religion focuses on the sacred mountain peak Nanyue, which was shared by Buddhist and Daoist practitioners.
  594.  
  595. Find this resource:
  596.  
  597.  
  598. Stevens, John. Marathon Monks of Mt. Hiei. Boston: Shambhala, 1988.
  599.  
  600. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  601.  
  602. Accessible account of the kaihōgyō, an extremely arduous running practice undertaken by a small group of Tendai monks.
  603.  
  604. Find this resource:
  605.  
  606.  
  607. The Social and Economic Lives of Monasteries
  608. Many studies of East Asian Buddhism undertaken in the past twenty-five years have focused on the social histories of the tradition. In general, there is a greater quantity of works in English that deal with the social lives of Chinese monasteries than with the social lives of Korean or Japanese monasteries. Korea is not included below, but those interested in the lives of Korean monasteries should consult Buswell 1992 (cited under Korea) and Batchelor and Son’gyong 2006 (cited under Female Monasticism).
  609.  
  610. China
  611. Gernet 1995, first published in 1956, is still a standard introduction to the economic history of early Chinese Buddhism, while Twitchett 1956 and, more recently, Walsh 2010 explore the economic histories of medieval Chinese monastic institutions in even greater depth. Kieschnick 2003 provides new insights into the social histories of premodern Chinese Buddhism through its attention to trade in Buddhist materials. Shahar 2008 and Naquin 2000 consider the social lives of Chinese monasteries at specific sites, and Kieschnick 1997 looks at the ideals of monastic life as recorded in hagiographic writing. Hao’s attention to the social lives of monasteries in the Dunhuang area serves as an important corrective to earlier studies that often assumed adherence to the vinaya. Huang 2009 offers a fascinating look into the social lives of nuns and laypeople active in Tzu Chi, one of contemporary Taiwan’s most successful Buddhist lay organizations.
  612.  
  613. Gernet, Jacques. Buddhism in Chinese Society: An Economic History from the Fifth to the Tenth Centuries. Translated by Franciscus Verellen. Studies in Asian Culture. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.
  614.  
  615. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  616.  
  617. A classic in the field, originally published in 1956, this book presents a detailed analysis of the economic roles played by monasteries in medieval China. It also contains several chapters that consider the relationships between laypeople and members of monastic institutions (see especially chapters 4, 8).
  618.  
  619. Find this resource:
  620.  
  621.  
  622. Hao, Chunwen. Tang houqi Wudai Song chu Dunhuang sengni de shehui shenghuo. Tang yanjiu jijin hui congshu. Beijing: Zhongguo Shehui Kexue Chubanshe, 1998.
  623.  
  624. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  625.  
  626. Groundbreaking study of clerical life in 9th- and 10th-century Dunhuang. Hao demonstrates that many monks and nuns lived as householders, had families, and commuted to local temples.
  627.  
  628. Find this resource:
  629.  
  630.  
  631. Huang, Julia C. Charisma and Compassion: Cheng Yen and the Buddhist Tzu Chi Movement. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009.
  632.  
  633. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  634.  
  635. A study of the Taiwanese Buddhist organization Tzu Chi, a global nongovernmental organization directed by the charismatic nun Cheng-yen and supported by a large network of monastic and lay supporters. This book supplies useful information on the role of monastic organizations in modern, global society. It also illuminates the nature of lay–monastic relations in contemporary Taiwan.
  636.  
  637. Find this resource:
  638.  
  639.  
  640. Kieschnick, John. The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval Chinese Hagiography. Studies in East Asian Buddhism 10. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1997.
  641.  
  642. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  643.  
  644. Translations and analyses of passages from three major hagiographical works that focus on the lives of great monks. Chapters are arranged thematically according to the categories of asceticism, thaumaturgy, and scholarship.
  645.  
  646. Find this resource:
  647.  
  648.  
  649. Kieschnick, John. The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture. Buddhisms. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003.
  650.  
  651. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  652.  
  653. Chapter 2 contains a section on “The Monastic Uniform” (pp. 86–115); Chapter 3 contains a section addressing the merit-making potential associated with the physical sites of monasteries (pp. 185–198); and the conclusion discusses the role of Chinese monks as arbiters of Buddhist material culture (pp. 284–291).
  654.  
  655. Find this resource:
  656.  
  657.  
  658. Naquin, Susan. Peking: Temples and City Life, 1400–1900. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
  659.  
  660. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  661.  
  662. In this book Naquin studies temples of various affiliations—including Buddhist, Daoist, Muslim, and Christian, among others—as public, urban spaces. Monasticism is not the focus, but the book offers an important perspective on the role of monastic institutions in the urban life of early modern and modern China.
  663.  
  664. Find this resource:
  665.  
  666.  
  667. Shahar, Meir.The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2008.
  668.  
  669. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  670.  
  671. Considers the doctrinal, political, and social ramifications of the military tradition associated with the 1,500-year-old Shaolin monastery.
  672.  
  673. Find this resource:
  674.  
  675.  
  676. Twitchett, Denis C. “Monastic Estates in T’ang China.” Asia Major, n.s., 5 (1956): 123–146.
  677.  
  678. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  679.  
  680. Investigates the role that ordained men and women, and the institutions they represented, played in the land-tenure system of Tang-period China. Also contains a useful explanation of the state ordination system during this period.
  681.  
  682. Find this resource:
  683.  
  684.  
  685. Walsh, Michael J. Sacred Economies: Buddhist Monasticism and Territoriality in Medieval China. Sheng Yen Series in Chinese Buddhist Studies. New York: Columbia University Press, 2010.
  686.  
  687. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  688.  
  689. This study of “Buddhist monastic territoriality” focuses on the Tiantong si monastic complex during the Song period (960–1279). Walsh is interested in the complex social, economic, and institutional dynamics that allowed large monastic complexes like Tiantong si to embed themselves in local economies and, ultimately, to endure over large spans of time.
  690.  
  691. Find this resource:
  692.  
  693.  
  694. Japan
  695. Adolphson 2000 and Adolphson 2007 are the most in-depth and rigorous works on the political and economic lives of major monastic institutions in medieval Japan. For more on the social lives of monasteries in medieval Japan, see Meeks 2010 (cited under Female Monasticism) and Collcutt 1981 (cited under Japan). Williams 2005 is a fascinating exploration of the social lives of Zen monasteries in Tokugawa Japan. For the study of monasticism in contemporary Japan, Jaffe 2001 (cited under Celibacy and Marriage) and Covell 2005 (cited under Japan) are essential.
  696.  
  697. Adolphson, Mikael S. The Gates of Power: Monks, Courtiers, and Warriors in Premodern Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2000.
  698.  
  699. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  700.  
  701. This work examines monastic institutions as major brokers of political and economic power in 9th- through 14th-century Japan.
  702.  
  703. Find this resource:
  704.  
  705.  
  706. Adolphson, Mikael S. The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha: Monastic Warriors and Sōhei in Japanese History. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2007.
  707.  
  708. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  709.  
  710. This book analyzes the significance of the armed forces that fought on behalf of monastic institutions in Heian (794–1185) and Kamakura (1185–1333) Japan. Arguing that monastic forces emerged as the result of broader changes in the sociopolitical landscape of the period—and not as a result of religious degeneracy or the emergence of religious discourse condoning violence—Adolphson challenges deeply entrenched critiques of the “monk warrior.”
  711.  
  712. Find this resource:
  713.  
  714.  
  715. Williams, Duncan. The Other Side of Zen: A Social History of Sōtō Zen: Buddhism in Tokugawa Japan. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005.
  716.  
  717. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  718.  
  719. Turning away from romanticized views of Zen monastic life, this study considers the popular religious services that Sōtō Zen monks offered members of the laity in early modern Japan. In doing so, it raises essential questions about the social roles of monastic institutions vis-à-vis the laity.
  720.  
  721. Find this resource:
  722.  
  723.  
  724. Documentary Films
  725. These three films portray the lives of monks and nuns in contemporary China and Japan. All are useful for teaching. Burger 2007 follows a North American student as he searches for and then interviews ascetic practitioners in the Zhongnan Mountains. Hayden 2002 portrays the lives of Tendai marathon monks in contemporary Japan, and Qin 2002 is a somewhat personal exploration of how Pure Land practitioners in Sichuan understand life, death, and enlightenment.
  726.  
  727. Burger, Edward, dir. Amongst White Clouds. DVD. Calgary, Canada: Cosmos Pictures, 2007.
  728.  
  729. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  730.  
  731. This eighty-six-minute documentary explores the lives of Buddhist hermits living in the Zhongnan Mountains near Xian, China. Includes numerous interviews.
  732.  
  733. Find this resource:
  734.  
  735.  
  736. Hayden, Christopher J., dir. The Marathon Monks of Mt. Hiei. DVD. Watertown, MA: Documentary Educational Resources, 2002.
  737.  
  738. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  739.  
  740. Based on John Stevens’s 1988 book (Boston: Shambhala), this fifty-seven-minute film tells the story of Tendai priests who perform one-hundred-day marathons (running 52.5 miles per day) as a form of asceticism.
  741.  
  742. Find this resource:
  743.  
  744.  
  745. Qin, Wen-jie, dir. To the Land of Bliss. DVD. Watertown, MA: Documentary Educational Resources, 2002.
  746.  
  747. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  748.  
  749. This forty-seven-minute film is set in the monastic complex atop Mt. Emei in Sichuan, China. It features interviews with monks, nuns, and laypeople in the wake of their master’s death.
  750.  
  751. Find this resource:
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