A New Socially Engaged Buddhism in 21st Century Japan: From Intimate Care to Social Ethics
Explore some of the fascinating comments and insights by various authors and Socially Engaged Buddhists in Japan that appear throughout both volumes!
Rural Decline, Migrant Laborers, Poverty, and Homelessness
“There are good people and also bad people anywhere you live and work. It has nothing to do with living in the street as homeless. Nor is it connected with being a company worker or a student, where we also find good and bad people. It’s not good to pity them, but it’s also not good to prejudice them as if they have done something wrong. I would like it that they are not painted with one color. Among such good people, I remember one old man who said as I handed him a rice ball, ‘I am so thankful for you coming out in this cold weather. It must be hard for you as your hands have gotten so cold.’ Yet he must have been even colder than us. In this way, we could share a mutual feeling through which prejudice and discrimination is removed. This goes beyond the intellectual understanding that one should never engage in prejudice or discrimination. This is quite intense; if one can come in contact and direct connection with such an experience, I think it will be possible to destroy the problem of discrimination.” – Rev. Yoshimizu Gakugen 吉水岳彦 (1978) Jodo Pure Land priest & co-founder of the Hitosaji “One Spoonful” Association (2009)
“Although there are people who are important to us who are not blood relations, we divide and establish our burial plots according to blood relation. The Sanyu Association has brought together those who basically have no close relations and provides a place for building relations from which one can speak from the heart. It is important to build connections even beyond our blood relations.” – Rev. Yoshimizu Gakugen 吉水岳彦 (1978) Jodo Pure Land priest & co-founder of the Hitosaji “One Spoonful” Association (2009)
“Our view is that something special done by someone special can become nothing special done by everyone. In other words, people should do what everyone can do. This is more important than great works done by only people who have special skills and abilities.” – Rev. Takase Akinori 高瀬顕功 (1982) Jodo Pure Land priest & co-founder of the Hitosaji “One Spoonful” Association (2009). p. 225-26.
“Over forty years, there have been a total of 450,000 people forced to work amidst nuclear contamination. Regulations on the over exposure to radiation have been routinely dismissed. Labor has been used and discarded in a structure of wretched subcontracting … These many sacrifices have foremost been to secure our present way of living. This is just like the suicide kamikaze pilots at the end of World War II … At all times, there has been the demand for quantification, speed, and pleasure, and economism. This kind of awareness supports ‘The Myth of Need’ [for nuclear energy] at its roots.” – Rev. Nakajima Tetsuen 中嶌哲演 (1942) Shingon Vajrayana priest & co-founder of the Interfaith Forum for the Review of National Nuclear Policy. p. 200.
“Meeting with radioactive poisoned workers and listening to their experience changed my life. I first met them when I was a university student at Tokyo University of the Arts. Before meeting them, I was not interested at all in doing social work. However, I was moved by listening to how they have suffered. They suffer from various health problems. In addition, they are mentally damaged by prejudice and misunderstanding.” – Rev. Nakajima Tetsuen 中嶌哲演 (1942) Shingon Vajrayana priest & co-founder of the Interfaith Forum for the Review of National Nuclear Policy. Volume II, pp. 196-97.
“The year 1965 is unmistakably the point at which the village community begins to collapse. Originally, village community was based on cooperative labor. The periods of planting and harvest bound or fastened the community. In mutual association, everyone brought together their energy for work. The bonds of the village were its rules or conventions, and if they were violated, there were penalties, such as being ostracized. In this way, the village community sustained itself. One main rule was that everyone participated in communal labor. Such communal labor could muster great energy to preserve agricultural traditions and methods. However, as communal labor began to decline, the village became increasingly dispersed, and so we have arrived at this present situation.” – Rev. Hakamata Shunei 袴田俊英 (1958) Soto Zen priest & co-founder of the Thinking about Life and Mind Association (2000) and the Yotte-tamo-re Café (2003). Volume II, p. 193.
Disaster Trauma & Chaplaincy
“I feel that there is not much that separates the trained from the untrained, that aspiration is really the key. If you truly care, you can do the work. If this is not your work to do, then you won’t do the work. You won’t do the service. You won’t be engaged in compassionate care. It is not everybody’s job. I think it is fine that people want to create systems and standards, but I think it can prevent more good from happening and does not stop so much of the bad. For example, I know many people who are certified at the highest level as religious personages, professional psychologists, and psychiatrists but who are unsympathetic and unable to do this work. They have spent so much time getting certification that their own hearts have not awakened. You can try to train people in presence, but this is not how it works. Meditation is helpful in this regard. There are all kinds of games and techniques, but it is in a way a natural gift. Moreover, one’s aspiration really matters in this kind of vocation.” – Rev. Joan Jiko Halifax (1942) founder of the Being with Dying: Professional Training Program in Contemplative End-of-Life Care (BWD) at Upaya Zen Center, New Mexico. Volume II, pp. 186-87.
“Offering contemplative care means to be really grounded in our bodies. This allows for sensitivity. It also helps to open up a field of feeling to know what is happening in myself and to become very attuned to the person I am with. I think this is what really allows for spontaneity, to be able to move here or there, for whatever seems to be needed.” – American Zen Buddhist chaplain from the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care. Volume II, p. 172.
“In traditional Zen, tea is taken in a simple and direct manner in order to objectively re-examine one’s own practice and one’s own daily existence through conversation with one’s Zen master and co-practitioners. This is a very important time for the practitioner to develop mindfulness and to return to one’s own essence. Gyocha as an activity in deep listening to victims during a disaster is about holding and embracing the physical and psychological stress of the victims and offering them a chance for respite while being caught in unavoidably constrained circumstances with no immediate prospects for their future. In this way, we have sought to develop mutual communication as companions experiencing this same life. In terms of the daily drinking of tea in the disaster areas, our activities have aimed to help the victims slowly recover their own beings and way of daily life through sharing tea and dealing with the difficult reality together.” – Rev. Kyuma Taiko 久間泰弘 (1970) Soto Zen priest & President (2009–11) of Soto-shu Youth Association (1975) & gyocha 行茶 cafés (2007). Volume II, p. 158.
“A more concrete step that religious professionals, specifically Buddhist priests, can participate in is the work of grief care as preventive medical care. A group of temple members can be described as a group of the bereaved. Therefore, there are sympathetic feelings to be shared among temple members. Temples are also needed as a place to gather, and grief care is provided when they go to their affiliated temples to participate in a memorial service. What I mean by grief care here is not what a priest provides, but rather it is a kind of peer counseling where people who share grief get together and talk. In this way, translating grief care into religious activities can be considered an unfinished issue.” – Rev. Iijma Keido 飯島惠道 (1963) (Soto Zen nun and palliative care nurse) Yakuozan Tosho-ji temple 薬王山東昌寺. Volume II, p. 153.
“For Buddhist priests in Japan, the first opportunity to connect with people, especially those traumatized by loss and death, is at funerals and memorial services. It has been heartening to learn directly from many of the victims in the disaster areas of their positive feelings towards Buddhist priests and their activities at this time through comments like, ‘Just listening to the voice of the Buddhist priests chanting saved me.’ Buddhist priests, however, need to take this opportunity to go deeper into an intimate interaction rooted in active listening. In terms of Buddhist practice, this is related to the Four Practices of the Bodhisattva (四摂法 shi-shoho) in relating to people. The fourth such practice (samanarthata, 同時 do-ji) is especially important as it refers to working together by putting oneself on the same level as others and participating alongside them in activities. This can be further explained as putting oneself in the place of others and listening deeply without getting caught in one’s own view. The idea is to listen as Kannon Bodhisattva would. However, it is not usual for religious professionals to have received training in such deep listening, and especially for Buddhist priests, this can be a high hurdle to get over.” – Rev. Jin Hitoshi (1961) 神仁 founder of the Rinbutsuken Institute for Engaged Buddhism (2008) & Buddhist Chaplaincy (臨床仏教師 Rinsho Bukkyo-shi) training program (2013). Vol. II, p. 175.
Voices from the Tsunami
“Our attitude was ‘to smile’. In order not to succumb to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), we thought about how to have fun when at all possible. On the first day, we decided on a family council. When a victim wanted to talk, we tried as much to make them smile and to make a joke about things. Every morning, we held a chanting service, and I gave a simple dharma talk and tried to make it enjoyable. At first, people would only smile a little bit, but gradually they would burst out laughing. As a result, we could do our work in a lively and spirited way. It has indeed been a very difficult experience, and there have been many people whose mental balance has collapsed. In this kind of situation, the important thing is that people must speak up at all costs. We have been continuing to remind them, ‘If there is anything, come talk to us.’ Because of stress, it is easy for arguments to break out, so before trouble arises, I try to get in between people and mediate by listening completely to both sides.” – Rev. Shibasaki Eno 芝﨑惠應 Nichiren priest & abbot of Senju-in Temple 仙寿院, Kamaishi City, Iwate. Vol. II, p. 144.
“I didn’t dare approach these people like a religious leader. With each individual victim, I wanted to connect like a family member… we have little idea where to start and towards what direction we should head. However, until the final person is relocated into their temporary housing, I know that we want to provide for them.” – Rev. Koyama Keiko 古山敬光 Rinzai Zen priest & abbot of Jion-ji Temple 慈恩寺, Rikuzentakada City, Iwate. Volume II, p. 131.
Suicide Prevention
“For Japanese, we believe in an incredible vast expanse of life (命 inochi) that interconnects (縁 en) with those who have lived before. We carry the life forward and relay it, even with animals and plants, etc. In this way, we try to make our service [for the bereaved of suicides] non-denominational as the participants come from a variety of religious and non-religious backgrounds.” – Rev. Fujio Soin 藤尾聡允 (1957) Rinzai Zen priest & co-founder of the Association of Buddhist Priests Confronting Self-death and Suicide. Volume II, p. 131.
“Suicide is one of the various ways of death, like disease, accidents, murder, and so forth. Heaven and hell, however, is a different matter and is not directly related to suicide. To try to answer the question of who goes to heaven and who goes to hell, one needs to start talking about what are the bad deeds that lead to hell. This is a matter of one’s own religion or denomination. ‘Who goes to hell?’ is a profound question. In our association’s understanding of Buddhism, the spirits of the suicidal are in heaven or the Pure Land through the welcome of the Buddha no matter how they died. – Rev. Fujio Soin 藤尾聡允 (1957) Rinzai Zen priest & co-founder of the Association of Buddhist Priests Confronting Self-death and Suicide. Volume II, p. 119.
“When I talk with people who are contemplating suicide, I can see their point and sympathize with them. I’ve learned through experience that I can’t save anyone. I try to create an atmosphere that makes it possible for them to share their problems. It might take time and I might have to try different things. There is no manual or one right way.” – Rev. Nemoto Jotetsu 根本紹徹 (1972) Rinzai Zen priest & director of the Association of Religious Professionals Confronting Life (Nagoya) (2009).
“Since I myself have not attained enlightenment, I cannot liberate anyone by my own will. However, I can communicate warmth to someone who is suffering before me. In modern Western thought, human life consists of body and mind, but in Buddhist thought, life is defined by breath and heat or warmth. For those people who need support, an interpersonal encounter can help lighten their feeling of isolation by transmitting warmth to them.” – Rev. Takemoto Ryogo 竹本了悟 (1977) Jodo Shin Hongan-ji Pure Land priest & co-founder of Sotto the Kyoto Self-Death & Suicide Counseling Center (2010). Volume II, p. 109.
“People who are filled with anxiety, when walking past a temple, might suddenly feel like going in and confiding in the priest. But from the gate to the entrance seems far. In order to restore the temple as a community center there needs to be preparation. At this stage, telephone consulting is something we [priests] can do outside of the temple.” – Rev. Fujisawa Katsumi 藤澤克己 (1961) Jodo Shin Hongan-ji Pure Land priest & co-founder of the Association of Buddhist Priests Confronting Self-death and Suicide. Volume II, p. 103.
“If a salary man faces a problem and cannot do his work well, he then develops a kind of inferiority complex. At this time, he never thinks about what kind of teaching Buddhism could provide; which was true even for me when I faced this situation [as a computer engineer]. When my personal evaluation was low and inferiors humiliated me, I got depressed and asked myself, “Why can’t we develop human relationships well?” I had a feeling that Buddhist teachings had no direct connection to my situation. However, if there could appear at these times a priest who has concern and radiates a feeling of personal intimacy, I think Buddhism could become part of this world and not be aloof.” – Rev. Fujisawa Katsumi 藤澤克己 (1961) Jodo Shin Hongan-ji Pure Land priest & co-founder of the Association of Buddhist Priests Confronting Self-death and Suicide. Volume II, p. 102-03.
End-of-Life Care
“People connected to community related centers and community medical professionals have been very welcoming to me as a Buddhist chaplain. Compared to the high barriers of working in hospitals as a Buddhist chaplain, it has certainly been easier to be accepted by community medical personnel. National policy has recently started to emphasize the localization of medicine, which includes the development of community related centers. However, there is still quite a bit of confusion about what this really means and how to carry such policy out. I think this is why temples with a history of being grounded in the community have been welcomed as a way to carry out this policy.” – Rev. Ito Ryushin 伊藤竜信 (1973) Jodo Pure Land priest & certified Buddhist Chaplain (臨床仏教師 Rinsho Bukkyo-shi). Volume II, p. 84-85.
“When we think about our history with temple members, we have known them since they were children, and we have probably known their parents and grandparents as well. Through this long connection, we can work together with caregivers if the person is suffering from dementia, has a chronic disease, or is facing imminent death. Since we have an idea about their sense of value, we can advocate for the patient or support them especially in their final days. This is one of the important roles that we as priests can play.” – Rev. Okochi Daihaku 大河内大博 (1979) Jodo Pure Land priest, co-founder of Satto Sangha Home-Visit Nursing Station (2020) & former Vihara priest at Nagaoka Nishi Hospital. Volume II, p. 84-85.
“The function of temples as a window of consultation can be superior to other types of social work facilities. Through the close relationships between priest and parishioner that Funeral Buddhism has promoted for hundreds of years, a priest can access a believer more easily. A priest can intervene in various domestic problems that are hard for other social workers to do. In this way, more people will be helped without increasing the burden on a priest if such particular social resources are connected to a network of services.” – Rev. Taniyama Yozo 谷山洋三 (1972), Jodo Shin Otani Pure Land priest & co-founder of the Interfaith Chaplain (臨床宗教師 Rinsho Shukyo-shi) training program at Tohoku University (2012). Volume II, p. 80-81.
“Buddhist monks are those who take the oath to walk on the path to nirvana. As they control both the passion to live and the passion to die, they neither commit suicide nor attach to living unreasonably. That is one point that they have in common with those who decide to die with dignity. In this way, it is proper to give advice and to help patients make their own decisions when we, as Buddhist monks, are called on.” – Rev. Dr. Tanaka Masahiro 田中雅博 (1946–2017) Shingon Vajrayana priest & co-founder of the Fumon-in medical complex 普門院 (1990). Volume II, p. 71-72.
“I think by going back to our Buddhist origins one more time, we can support the salvation of the mind/heart (心 kokoro) of our patients by entering into their daily lives and those of their families. If we, who have come to work in medicine, do not look at it from the patient’s viewpoint, we have undoubtedly entered the issue ‘with our shoes on’ – that is, we’ve been selfish and rude. The common people cannot accept this from us.” Volume II, p. 71-72.
“I have reservations about the terms ‘spiritual pain’ and ‘grief care’, which many people in Japan now talk about. I feel like they do not know what they are talking about, because Japanese Buddhism, with its wakes and funeral ceremonies and so forth, is all about grief care. Every single year, Japanese make a large fire at the summer Obon festival to welcome back for a few days the spirits of dead ancestors and relatives. As long as we treasure these traditions, then specialized grief care programs should not be needed.” Volume II, p. 70.
“The problem for most Japanese, however, is that they cannot understand why the term ‘spiritual’ should be added to the definition of health. The problem with bringing up religious or spiritual topics is that if people do not accept these topics when they are healthy, then when they become sick, there won’t be any room to accept them. By that time, they are just struggling to live. After becoming hospitalized is not the time to begin religious dialogue.” – Dr. Hayashi Moichiro 林茂一郎, founding director of the Department of Palliative Care and Vihara Ward at the Kosei Hospital run by the major new Buddhist group Rissho Kosei-kai. Volume II, p. 55.
“I feel it less important for priests to develop new doctrinal and ritualistic applications for dying than it is to become deeply involved with the very experience of death by engaging directly with people before they die. This is the real way to recover Buddhism’s role in Japanese society at large. As the dying issue is part of a much larger holistic social problem, by engaging in it actively and directly, we can touch the many other social issues that need our attention today and come to a much broader holistic solution to them.” – Rev. Tomatsu Yoshiharu 戸松義晴, Jodo Pure Land priest & former Chairman of the Japan Buddhist Federation (JBF). Volume II, p. 38.
“As recently as sixty years ago, shortly after World War II, international surveys ranked the Japanese among the least death-fearing people in the world. Within the forty years between 1960 and 2000, among the dozens of countries surveyed, Japan became the most death-fearing country in the world.” – Dr. Carl Becker, professor at the Kyoto University Kokoro (Heart-Mind) Research Center 京都大学こころの未来研究センター and renowned thanatologist. Volume II, pp. 48-49.
The Disconnected Society (無縁社会 Mu-En Shakai)
In January 2010, a new term was coined that seemed to best encapsulate not just Japan’s economic decline, or even the growing sense of anomie, but also the deep spiritual crisis facing the country. The Disconnected Society (無縁社会 mu-en shakai) not only encapsulates many of the social ills of Japan (such as suicide, death from overwork, and social withdrawal) but in its etymology also reveals the deep existential crisis of this situation. The term’s roots in fact lie in Japan’s Buddhist culture. En refers to the teaching of the deep interconnectedness of all phenomena. It can be combined with various other Chinese characters to form a constellation of related Buddhist terms, such as en-gi 縁起 “the principle of dependent origination” (Skt. pratitya samutpada); go-en ご縁 the mysterious or destined “karmic connection” two people may share in this life or over many lifetimes; and the term mu-en 無縁, literally the “lack” or “non-existence” of karmic connection. In Japanese Buddhism, mu-en is used to denote a person who after death has no surviving relatives or loved ones to engage in the ancestral rites of the hybrid Confucian-Buddhist religiosity of most Japanese. In short, this is the Japanese sense of being condemned to hell. Volume II, p. 13-14.
“The second project of the West, secularism, started undermining transcendent religion, leaving human beings deprived of Father-Sky, with no Mother-Earth as alternative, and only small groups (Quakers, Buddhists) still insisting on the sacred nature of life, particularly human life. And this is exactly Formation IV [post-modernism]; for secularism, in the shape of humanist ethics, has not been capable of producing binding norms for human behavior. Why shall you not commit adultery, kill, steal, and lie when other humans are mere objects and there is no accountability to higher forces as there is no transcendent God anyhow? The final result is the total anomie of Formation IV, with human beings left with the only normative guidance that always survives: egocentric cost-benefit analysis. The point is not normlessness, the point is that they are not binding; that is the meaning of culturelessness. The process has gone quite far.” – Johan Galtung (1930-2024), the Norwegian sociologist who first coined the term “structural violence”. Volume II, p. 12.
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