法音寺と昭徳会 : 「社会参加仏教(Engaged Buddhism)」の一例として

The terms "Engaged Buddhism" or "Socially Engaged Buddhism" refer to the social and political activism of contemporary Buddhist groups in Asia and other parts of the world. The contemporary social engagements of Buddhist groups can be understood as existing within the context of modernity and its consequences. Buddhism has responded to the changing conditions of modern society by addressing various social, economic, political as well as spiritual crises, and by striving to find an alternative Buddhist solution to these problems. The response of Engaged Buddhists has not been to completely reject modernity. Rather, Engaged Buddhism has actively sought to imbibe the merits of modernity, such as scientific knowledge, liberal social and political philosophy etc. into its religious as well as social activities. This has led to new readings of traditional scriptures, with increased emphasis on aspects of Buddhist philosophy that are congruent with modern ideas. The characteristic feature of Engaged Buddhism is that it is a religious as well as a social movement. This paper uses the concept of "Engaged Buddhism" as an analytical tool. Through a case study of Hoon-ji, a religious organization of the Nichiren sect of Buddhism, and its social-welfare activities which are carried out under the aegis of Shotoku-kai, this study endeavors to illuminate the nature of social engagement of Buddhist groups in Japan. Hoon-ji emerged from its mother organization, Bukkyo Kanka Kyusai-kai, which was founded in Nagoya in 1909 by a charismatic woman named Sugiyama Tatsuko and her follower Murakami Itsuki, a medical practitioner. After recovering from wartime persecution, Suzuki Shugaku, another disciple of Sugiyama, reorganized the movement and in 1950 founded the temple Hoon-ji, affiliated with the established branch of Nichiren Buddhism. The salvation activities of Hoon-ji combine spiritual salvation through religion with social welfare activities that aim to provide physical and material relief to the people. In other words, Hoon-ji, along with Shotoku-kai, function as religious as well as social organizations. Moreover, Hoon-ji has also reinterpreted and simplified its basic doctrine, the Lotus Sutra, so that it can be easily understood and practiced by its followers in their daily lives. These features of Hoon-ji reveal the characteristics of a socially engaged Buddhist group, and hence this example can be viewed as representative of Engaged Buddhism in Japan