TsukubaGlobalScienceWeek2016,Session1 InnovativeThinkingandCollaborationwithSocieties
intheHistoryofBuddhismandChristianity
September18Sun,2016
InternationalCongressCenter,Epochal,ConferenceRoom401
PROGRAM
09:15–09:30
Yoshimizu,Chizuko（吉水 千鶴子），Welcomeandgeneralintroduction
09:30–10:00
PartI
1. Zimmermann, Michael，“New Applications of an Ancient Buddhist Ideal:
OperationalizingWisdominModernTherapy”
10:00–10:30
2. Jones, Christopher V., “Cultures of Awakening: An Interpretation of Secular
BuddhismintheWest”
10:30–11:00
11:00–11:15
3.Kosaka,Arihiro（小坂 有弘），“ContinuityandDiscontinuityofThoughtbetween
Mahāyāna and Pre-Mahāyāna Buddhism with a Special Focus on Śūnyatā
Theory”
Break
11:15–11:20
PartII
Kuwabara,Naoki（桑原 直己），Introduction 11:20–11:50
4.Takeda,Kazuhisa（武田 和久），“TheConfraternitySystemoftheJesuit-Guaraní
MissionsinSouthAmerica(1609-1767):AnInnovativeOrganizationforSocial
Control”.
11:50–12:20
5. Ucerler, M. Antoni J., “Christian Books in the Edo Period: Prohibition &
Circulation”
12:20–12:30
Break
12:30–13:00
FloorDiscussion
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Sep18,2016,TsukubaGlobalScienceWeek2016,Session1,
“InnovativeThinkingandCollaborationwithSocietiesintheHistoryofBuddhismandChristianity”
ABSTRACTS
Theoutlineofthesession
Organizers:NaokiKUWABARA,ChizukoYOSHIMIZUandTaiseiSHIDA
Withinareligioustradition,anewandinnovativethoughtisoftenevokedbytheencounterwitha
different culture or in relation with diverse societies, for a religion can neither transmit nor develop its
doctrines without people’s support insofar as its purpose is to serve their happiness. Buddhism
dynamically changed into Mahāyāna or great vehicle Buddhism whose ideal is not only one’s own
awakening but the salvation of all people. In the course of its dissemination to Asia and America,
Christianity, in turn, has transformed itself adapting to respective local societies. These religions have
providedpeoplephilosophiesandethicsforbetterlifeandthereforebeensupportedformorethantwo
thousandyearsinvariouscountriesbeyondregionalboundaries.
Thepresentsessionaimstoinvestigatetheuniversalhumanisticquestionofhowhumanbeingscreate
new ideas by reconstructing several cases of innovative thinking based on careful reading of historical
materialsoftheseworldreligions. ABSTRACTS
1. NewApplicationsofanAncientBuddhistIdeal:OperationalizingWisdominModernTherapy
MichaelZIMMERMANN(UniversityofHamburg/UniversityofTsukuba)
SofarBuddhistshavenottakenmuchnoticeofanewtrendemergingfromgerontologicalresearch:
the idea that wisdom is something that can, in a purely secular way, be actively trained and attained.
Whereastheideaofwisdomasatoolforabetterlifehasbeenturnedintotherapeuticconcepts,theterm
“wisdom”itselfhasbeenhardlyanalyzedinawaywhichwouldallowforfullyunderstandingthewide
spectrum of its multi-cultural and multi-religious dimensions. The therapeutic operationalization of
wisdom in terms of defining its most crucial elements such as resilience, serenity and emotional
acceptance is based on the assumption that there exists a universally valid understanding of what
constitutes wisdom. Are these elements reflected in the Buddhist traditions in which wisdom plays an
overarching role? Are Buddhist ideas of wisdom compatible with the “new” operationalized factors of
wisdom? And, are Buddhists prepared to widen their understanding of wisdom as a much needed
this-worldlyvalueenhancingthequalityoflifeinsamsara?
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Sep18,2016,TsukubaGlobalScienceWeek2016,Session1,
“InnovativeThinkingandCollaborationwithSocietiesintheHistoryofBuddhismandChristianity”
ABSTRACTS
2. CulturesofAwakening:AnInterpretationofSecularBuddhismintheWest
ChristopherV.JONES(UniversityofOxford)
ThispaperconcernsinnovationsinBuddhistthoughtintheclimateofcontemporaryWesternsociety.
Specifically,Ishallbeconsidering‘SecularBuddhism’:formsofBuddhistthoughtandpracticethatexistat
the intersection of Asian Buddhist traditions – classical and contemporary – with twenty-first century
Westernhumanism,individualism,andphilosophicalskepticism.
AprominentauthorassociatedwithemergentformsofSecularBuddhismisStephenBatchelor,who
iswidelyreadbyWesternaudiencesinterestedinBuddhistpractice,butshowsreluctancetoassociatehis
vision of Buddhism’s future with its history as a pan-Asian religious tradition. Throughout his writing,
BatcheloravoidsreferringtoBuddhismasareligion,andhasinsteadproposedthatWesternBuddhists
pursuetheidealofasecularized,Western‘cultureofawakening’.
WithreferencetoBatchelor’sdevelopmentofthisidea,aswellasattentiontoscholarlyconsideration
of the categories of ‘religion’ and ‘culture’ in general, this paper will explore the coherence of
distinguishing between the religious and the cultural. The primary question asked is whether or not
emergent forms of Western Buddhism have anything to gain by conceiving of themselves as working
towardsa‘culture’ratherthanaspartofanestablishedreligioustradition,andwhetherBatchelor’svision
ofsuchacultureconstitutesasignificantinnovationintheadaptionofBuddhismtodifferentperiodsand
societies.
3. ContinuityandDiscontinuityofThoughtbetweenMahāyānaandPre-MahāyānaBuddhism
withaSpecialFocusonŚūnyatāTheory
ArihiroKOSAKA(UniversityofTsukuba)
BuddhismoriginatedinIndia2,500yearsago,anditisareligionthatconsidersitsultimategoaltobe
releasefromsufferingorliberationfromsaṃsāra(theunbrokencontinuityofthecircleofbirthanddeath),
whichiscallednirvāṇa.AroundthefirstcenturyA.D.,aninnovativemovementcalledMahāyāna(agreat
vehicle) rose up in the Indian Buddhist tradition. The advocates of Mahāyāna criticized the attitude of
pre-Mahāyāna Buddhists by saying that they were egoistic/selfish, for at that time pre-Mahāyāna
Buddhistsdevotedthemselvessolelytothelearningofdoctrinesinmonasteries,isolatedfromsocietyand
undertheprotectionofkingsorwealthymerchants.MahāyānaBuddhists,onthecontrary,putemphasis
ontheimportanceofworkingforthebenefitofothers.Whereaspre-MahāyānaBuddhiststhoughtthat
thingsareimpermanent,suffering,lackingself,andimpure,MahāyānaBuddhiststhoughtthatthingsare
ultimatelyśūnya(empty),lackingintrinsicnature,non-substantial,aswellasselfless. Inthispresentation,Iwouldliketoexaminehowpre-MahāyānaBuddhistsandMahāyānaBuddhists
understand the traditional idea of viparyāsa or false conception, to what extent Mahāyāna Buddhists
acceptedpre-MahāyānaBuddhist’sunderstandingwithregardtoviparyāsa,andhowtheyharmonizedit
with their own theory of śūnyatā (emptiness). Through this examination, I aim to clarify a certain
theoreticalcontinuityanddiscontinuitybetweenMahāyānaandpre-MahāyānaBuddhistthinking.
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Sep18,2016,TsukubaGlobalScienceWeek2016,Session1,
“InnovativeThinkingandCollaborationwithSocietiesintheHistoryofBuddhismandChristianity”
ABSTRACTS
4. TheConfraternitySystemoftheJesuit-GuaraníMissionsinSouthAmerica(1609-1767):
AnInnovativeOrganizationforSocialControl
KazuhisaTAKEDA(MeijiUniversity)
This presentation details the confraternity system founded by Jesuits in their Guaraní missions in
South America under the Spanish rule. It is well-known that this pious association, whose members
followed a horizontal fraternity, became popular in Europeduring the Middle Ages; it undertook many
philanthropicandcharitableactivities.However,thesamesodalityhadadifferentcharacteristicinSpanish
AmericawheretheJesuitsestablishedittosupervisethetransplantationofChristianityamongAmerican
Indians.Particularly,thischaracteristicoftheconfraternitywasclearlydepictedinthenameoftheJesuit
missiontown,whichrefersto“reduction”or“mission.”
Based on a chronological analysis of the Jesuit annual report (Cartas Anuas), this presentation will
show the supervising aspect of the Jesuit confraternity system, which is similar to the social control
concept.Further,thisconceptiscloselylinkedtoconventionalearlymodernChristianthought.
5. ChristianBooksintheEdoPeriod:Prohibition&Circulation
M.AntoniJ.UCERLER(UniversityofSanFrancisco)
The ChristianCentury inJapan,whichbeganwiththearrivalofFrancisXavierin1549beganits
rapid demise in 1614, when Tokugawa Ieyasu 徳川家康 (1543-1616) issued a decree expelling the
missionaries.Theauthoritiesdiscovered,however,thatChristianbookswrittenbytheJesuitsinclassical
ChinesecontinuedtobeimportedintoJapan.In1630,theybannedallbookswithanyChristianreferences,
especially those composed by the Christian missionary, Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) and his fellow Jesuits
workingattheImperialCourtinBeijing.Thebanevenextendedtoscientificworks.Toensurecompliance
withthisstrictprohibition,theEdoshogunateestablishedaninspectorateofbooksinNagasaki 書物改役,
and subsequently appointed a magistrate 書物奉行 to oversee the careful examination of all Chinese
booksimportedintoJapan.Extantlistsof prohibitedbooks 禁書 includetheworksofRicciandthose
of his fellow missionaries. And yet, despite these meticulously enforced rules, many of these works,
including Ricci s famous 1602 world map (坤輿萬國全圖), continued to circulate in manuscript copies
made by Edo scholars and officials. In 1720 the ban on scientific works was relaxed by Tokugawa
Yoshimune 徳川吉宗 (1684-1751) at the explicit request of the Kyoto mathematician and astronomer,
Nakane Genkei 中根元圭 (1662-1773). This story of censorship and the way a group of scholars found
ways around it is a revealing chapter in the intellectual history of Edo Japan and the unique role and
influenceofChineseChristianbooksduringthatperiod.
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