Buddhist Monks as Healers in Early and Medieval Japan
Healing as a this-worldly religious benefit has always been a major function of Buddhism in Japan and elsewhere. In ancient Japan, Buddhist institutions and their representatives – in competition with the offi cial medical institutions established according to the Yōrō...
| Publié dans: | Japanese religions |
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| Auteur principal: | |
| Type de support: | Numérique/imprimé Article |
| Langue: | Anglais |
| Vérifier la disponibilité: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | En cours de chargement...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Publié: |
Center
2012
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| Dans: |
Japanese religions
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| Sujets non-standardisés: | B
Buddhism
B Healing B Charisme B this-worldly benefi ts |
| Accès en ligne: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Résumé: | Healing as a this-worldly religious benefit has always been a major function of Buddhism in Japan and elsewhere. In ancient Japan, Buddhist institutions and their representatives – in competition with the offi cial medical institutions established according to the Yōrō Code – were frequently employed as healers by the imperial court. Mass ordinations for the sake of a sick court member were common means to bring about the cure. Th e healing power of Buddhist priests was evidently ascribed to their “charisma of the offi ce,” rather than to their “personal charisma.” From the latter half of the Heian period, however, we observe a shift towards personal charisma. It is suggested that a heightened consciousness of crisis complemented by a trend towards individualization generated an increased demand for charismatic leaders such as ascetics and itinerant priests not only for healing purposes. As soon as the groups that gathered around charismatic fi gures such as Hōnen (1133–1212) began to institutionalize the notoriously unstable and revolutionary charismatic leadership was routinized and thus “tamed.” |
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| ISSN: | 0448-8954 |
| Contient: | Enthalten in: Japanese religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.15496/publikation-32903 HDL: 10900/91522 |