Parameters of Reform and Unification in Modern Japanese Buddhist Thought: Murakami Senshō and Critical Buddhism

Reform is a word that, one might easily say, characterizes more than any other the history and development of Buddhism. Yet, it must also be said that reform movements in East Asian Buddhism have often taken on another goal—harmony or unification; that is, a desire not only to reconstruct a more worthy form of Buddhism, but to simultaneously bring together all existing forms under a single banner, in theory if not in practice. This paper explores some of the tensions between the desire for reform and the quest for harmony in modern Japanese Buddhism thought, by comparing two developments: the late 19th century movement towards ‘New Buddhism’ (shin Bukkyō) as exemplified by Murakami Senshō 村上専精 (1851–1929), and the late 20th century movement known as ‘Critical Buddhism’ (hihan Bukkyō), as found in the works of Matsumoto Shirō 松本史朗 and Hakamaya Noriaki 袴谷憲昭. In all that has been written about Critical Buddhism, in both Japanese and English, very little attention has been paid to the place of the movement within the larger traditions of Japanese Buddhist reform. Here I reconsider Critical Buddhism in relation to the concerns of the previous, much larger trends towards Buddhist reform that emerged almost exactly 100 years previous—the so-called shin Bukkyō or New Buddhism of the late-Meiji era. Shin Bukkyō is a catch-all term that includes the various writings and activities of Inoue Enryō, Shaku Sōen, and Kiyozawa Manshi, as well as the so-called Daijō-hibussetsuron, a broad term used (often critically) to describe Buddhist writers who suggested that Mahāyāna Buddhism is not, in fact, the Buddhism taught by the ‘historical’ Buddha Śākyamuni. Of these, I will make a few general remarks about Daijō-hibusseturon, before turning attention more specifically to the work of Murakami Senshō, in order to flesh out some of the similarities and differences between his attempt to construct a ‘unified Buddhism’ and the work of his late-20th century avatars, the Critical Buddhists. Though a number of their aims and ideas overlap, I argue that there remain fundamental differences with respect to the ultimate purposes of Buddhist reform. This issue hinges on the implications of key terms such as ‘unity’ and ‘harmony’ as well as the way doctrinal history is categorized and understood, but it also relates to issues of ideology and the use and abuse of Buddhist doctrines in 20th-century politics.

The Pursuit of Tangible Happiness: Religion and Politics in a Japanese New, New Religion

The decline of traditional religions in Japan in the past century, and especially since the end of World War Two, has led to an explosion of so-called “new religions” (shin shūkyō 新宗教), many of which have made forays into the political realm. The best known—and most controversial—example of a “political” new religion is Sōka Gakkai 創価学会, a lay Buddhist movement originally associated with the Nichiren sect that in the 1960s gave birth to a new political party, Komeitō 公明党 (lit., Clean Government Party), which in the past several decades has emerged as the third most popular party in Japan (as New Komeitō). Since the 1980s, Japan has also seen the emergence of so-called “new, new religions” (shin shin shūkyō 新新宗教), which tend to be more technologically savvy and less socially concerned (and, in the eyes of critics, more akin to “cults” than the earlier new religions). One new, new religion known as Kōfuku-no-Kagaku 幸福の科学 (lit., Institute for Research in Human Happiness or simply Happy Science), founded in 1986 by Ōkawa Ryūho 大川隆法, has very recently developed its own political party, Kōfuku Jitsugentō 幸福実現党 (The Realization of Happiness Party). This article will analyse the political ideals of Kōfuku Jitsugentō in relation to its religious teachings, in an attempt to situate the movement within the broader tradition of religio-political syncretism in Japan. In particular, it will examine the recent “manifesto” of Kōfuku Jitsugentō in relation to those of New Komeitō and “secular” political parties such as the Liberal Democratic Party (Jimintō 自民党) and the Democratic Party (Minshutō 民主党).

Developmental Brain Dysfunction: Revival and Expansion of Old Concepts Based on New Genetic Evidence

Neurodevelopmental disorders can be caused by many different genetic abnormalities that are individually rare but collectively common. Specific genetic causes, including certain copy number variants and single-gene mutations, are shared among disorders that are thought to be clinically distinct. This evidence of variability in the clinical manifestations of individual genetic variants and sharing of genetic causes among clinically distinct brain disorders is consistent with the concept of developmental brain dysfunction, a term we use to describe the abnormal brain function underlying a group of neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders and to encompass a subset of various clinical diagnoses. Although many pathogenic genetic variants are currently thought to be variably penetrant, we hypothesise that when disorders encompassed by developmental brain dysfunction are considered as a group, the penetrance will approach 100%. The penetrance is also predicted to approach 100% when the phenotype being considered is a specific trait, such as intelligence or autistic-like social impairment, and the trait could be assessed using a continuous, quantitative measure to compare probands with non-carrier family members rather than a qualitative, dichotomous trait and comparing probands with the healthy population. Copyright 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thought-Action Fusion and Neutralization Behavior

This study presents a new inventory to assess thought-action fusion (TAF). 160 college students ages 18 to 22 (M = 19.17, SD = 1.11) completed the new Modified Thought Action Scale (MTAFS). Results indicated high internal consistency in the MTAFS (Cronbach’s α = .95). A principal component analysis suggested a three factor solution of TAF-Moral (TAFM), TAFLikelihood (TAFL), and TAF-Harm avoidance-Positive (TAFHP) all with eigenvalues above 1, and factor loadings above .4. A second study examined the association between TAF, obsessivecompulsive and anxiety tendencies after the activation of TAF-like thought processes in a nonclinical sample (n=76). Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups intended to provoke TAFL-self, TAFL-other, and TAF moral thought processes. Stepwise regression analyses revealed: 1) the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory subscales Neutralizing and Ordering significantly predicted instructed neutralization behavior (INB) in non-clinical participants; 2) TAF-Likelihood contributed significant unique variance in INB. These findings suggest that the provocation of neutralization behavior may be mediated by specific subsets of TAF and obsessive-compulsive tendencies.