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The concept of "upaja" in early medieval Japan. Utilisation of choosing the skillful means (upaya) during the dramatic changes of the so-called new Kamakura buddhist schools
Vrba, Petr ; Švarcová, Zdeňka (advisor) ; Heřman, Robin (referee)
There is a general opinion that during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) the scene of Japanese Buddhism has radically changed. But this change was possible only due to synchronisation of several factors that enabled the era or the society to be fit for that change. It's a fact that it was during these 150 years that the charismatic personages (Hnen, Shinran, Dgen, Nichiren) of founders of the most numerous Japanese Buddhist streams appeared. Nevertheless, various scholars have plausibly demonstrated that a striking majority of the so-called new elements had appeared many decades, even centuries before the Kamakura period. Similarly the delimitating of the so-called new movements against the traditional schools (as well as their proclaimed decline) proves dubious gaps. An important role in their relation to other schools was played by the usage of the traditional Buddhist concept of choosing the skilful means (sa. upya, jap. hben). Another remarkable common feature is that all these founders had claimed that salvation could be achieved by doing "only" one technique (one chosen by them). But this has never happened in Japan before or after the Kamakura period. In this paper I am primarily trying to answer one cardinal question: "What factors allowed for this exceptional situation?" I will proceed from the...
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Buddhism, Plants and Environmental Ethics
Kocurek, Jakub ; Holba, Jiří (advisor) ; Heřman, Robin (referee)
The thesis deals with the problem of Buddhist approach to plants through its history and all its lands. Scientific literature and translations of primary sources translated into western languages are the main sources I use. I particularly focus on the question whether Buddhism considers plants as sentient beings and ascribes them the ability to achieve enlightenment. I also deal with pre-Buddhist ideas concerning plants in each particular region. In the case of India I especially focus on Jainism, the historical companion of Buddhism. Furthermore, I put these facts into a broader frame of Buddhist environmental ethics and Buddhist treatment of the natural world. Thus, this paper should also contribute to the discussion about how ecological Buddhism is. In the pre-Buddhist India, plants were believed to be sentient beings and were involved in the cycle of rebirths. This view was accepted by Jains, but Buddhism chose another way. Whereas early parts of the Pali cannon contain rules prohibiting harming plants, later texts explicitly exclude them from the realm of sentience beings. The topic was further dealt mainly by Eastern Buddhism and, on the contrary, mainly overlooked in other regions. Eastern Buddhism, especially in Japan, again ascribed to plants the ability to attain Buddhahood. This doctrine...
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The concept of "upaja" in early medieval Japan. Utilisation of choosing the skillful means (upaya) during the dramatic changes of the so-called new Kamakura buddhist schools
Vrba, Petr ; Heřman, Robin (referee) ; Švarcová, Zdeňka (advisor)
There is a general opinion that during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) the scene of Japanese Buddhism has radically changed. But this change was possible only due to synchronisation of several factors that enabled the era or the society to be fit for that change. It's a fact that it was during these 150 years that the charismatic personages (Hnen, Shinran, Dgen, Nichiren) of founders of the most numerous Japanese Buddhist streams appeared. Nevertheless, various scholars have plausibly demonstrated that a striking majority of the so-called new elements had appeared many decades, even centuries before the Kamakura period. Similarly the delimitating of the so-called new movements against the traditional schools (as well as their proclaimed decline) proves dubious gaps. An important role in their relation to other schools was played by the usage of the traditional Buddhist concept of choosing the skilful means (sa. upya, jap. hben). Another remarkable common feature is that all these founders had claimed that salvation could be achieved by doing "only" one technique (one chosen by them). But this has never happened in Japan before or after the Kamakura period. In this paper I am primarily trying to answer one cardinal question: "What factors allowed for this exceptional situation?" I will proceed from the...
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