Spirituality Seen in Japanese Buddhism in the Medieval Era(<Special Issue>Spirituality)

Abstract

Viewed from the perspective that spirituality consists of seeing one's inner mind, we may notice that there were several monks during the early period of Japanese Buddhism who stayed in the mountains and paid close attention to the cultivation of the inner mind. In the medieval era, monks of the Hosso and Zen denominations were notable. We find notable examples in Jokei (1155-1213) and Ryohen (1194-1252). Jokei in particular is recorded as having attained an experience of profound insight through the chanting of a verse called Jison kyoju no ju (Verse of Maitreya's Instruction). He used this verse as the object of meditation, similar to that of the nembutsu. He also paid close attention to the state of the mind of people at the time of death. From the Zen school, it was Dogen (1200-1253) who was most notable. In his writing, we can feel Dogen's conviction that we are in fact being motivated and affected by the totality of our surrounding existence. He seems to have understood mind to be the field of feelings and perceptions. This is again, another way of expressing the notion of "spirituality."