This paper focuses on the activities of the Divine Mercy, which is the largest Catholic charismatic movement in the province of Capiz, Philippines. Through the case study I aim to examine the coexistence of objective evaluation and subjective reality with regard to religious experience. Divine Mercy teaches that sickness can be cured through devout prayer to God, an activity called "healing prayer." In contrast to "healing prayer" in accordance with orthodox Catholic teachings, healing practiced by traditional healers is condemned as false. In the activity of "revelation through spirit possession," revelation is delivered to the Divine Mercy as a group, or to individual members, through possession by Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary of certain members called "mediums." Despite disapproval of the Catholic Church, the Divine Mercy explains that such activities are rewards for their devoutness to God. By emphasizing its orthodoxy in condemning traditional healers, on the one hand, and by persisting in its heterodoxy despite disapproval of the Catholic Church on the other, the Divine Mercy emphasizes their devoutness. Here we see the process of ceaseless negotiation between subjectivity and objectivity, that is, devoutness is not merely the following of official Catholic doctrine. The Divine Mercy emphasizes their consistent devoutness regardless of whether they are orthodox or heterodox.

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We have less research data on the structural aspect of temples and devotees of established Buddhist sects than that of the doctrinal aspects, which have their own history. The purpose of this paper is to understand the structure and movement of the Otani sect of the Shin denomination, one of the leading sects of established Buddhist orders in Japan. It is natural that the established order should have dual organic characters, that of the devotee as well as that of the order. The Otani sect had firmly formed its own character by the Edo period, and after the Meiji period, reformed the confraternal meetings (ko) of the devotee, first established by Rennyo, a great leader of the sect. Ko meetings were the foundation of the structure and movement of the sect. The Otani sect was controlled and protected by the government under the imperial (tenno) system. After Japan was defeated in World War II (1945), the Otani sect, which has its foundation in the rural areas, was forced to meet changes in the sect itself, and tried to form a new movement of the devotee named the Dobokai (society of brethren). But it stagnanted under the influence of the feudalistic character inherent in the sect. Even with such problems, the Otani sect has continued to maintain its traditional rituals and temples. However, it is certain that the Japanese population will diminish in the near future, and we cannot predict how this will affect the structure of traditional Buddhist organizations.

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Comment peut-on donner un sens positif au concept de ≪responsabilite infinie≫ sans se livrer au fanatisme religieux? Nous pensons que ce concept implique necessairement un sens ≪religieux≫ depassant l'≪ethique≫ au sens etymologique du terme, mais il faut recourir a la logique strictement philosophique pour demontrer que ce sens permet de se defendre du fondamentalisme exalte. C'est precisement la pensee d'Emmanuel Levinas qui nous procure cette logique sans mystification. Notre essai porte sur deux points. Examinant d'abord la divergence de vues sur l'ethique entre Kierkegaard et Levinas, nous constatons avec ce dernier que, paradoxalement, la foi en Dieu exige la responsabilite pour autrui plutot que pour Dieu. Ensuite, nous tentons d'analyser, sinon de resoudre, l'aporie de la responsabilite a partir du champ de ce que Levinas appelle la ≪justice≫ dans Autrement qu'etre ou au-dela de l'essence. Avec Jacques Derrida, on y trouvera aisement la structure a priori de l'irresponsabilite ou l'impossiblite d'accomplir d'emblee ses devoirs envers tous. Cependant, cette structure inevitable ne nous fait pas sombrer dans tel ou tel pessimisme, mais, au contraire, elle rend possible a la fois le retour a l'infini de la responsabilite et la rehabilitation de l'idee de ≪mauvaise conscience≫.

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The aim of this paper is to present the idea of "Body as unrelated to modernity" and to reconsider the arguments concerning the body in Japan, using the example of home birth/delivery and Ito-Thermie, a modern folk medicine in Japan. Using the ideas of property, self-ownership, and monopolizing modernity, the essay reviews the aspects of gazing at the body and the representation of the body in the context of modern Japan. The body as unrelated to modernity will be described in the context of cases of death during home birth/delivery, and of the use of words during the clinical practice of Ito-Thermie, both of which are acquired from the author's own experiences. I will present my argument with attention to words heard during clinical practice, and try to clarify the possibility of a new theory of the body. I will also refer to the problem of narrative-based medicine (NBM) in Japan and the possibility of "religious" words at the bedside of the dying.

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This paper explores the relation between religion and beauty as seen in Yanagi Muneyoshi's Namu-amidabutsu. In this book Yanagi is concerned with philosophies of religion and the "folk craft" movement, a movement he initiated and whose source lies in Jodo Buddhist thought. Specifically, he integrates, and thereby finds common ground between, philosophies of religion and conceptions of beauty as reflected in the "folk craft" movement. Keeping such integration in mind, the fundamental problematic of this paper is how Yanagi, upon attaining a certain level of awareness of religion, was able to develop his principles of beauty. First, by considering the fundamental underlying messages of "The (Longer) Amitabha Sutra," this paper examines Yanagi's demonstration of how belief and beauty are related at their very root. It then examines the relationship between chanting the Buddha's name and "true work," a relationship that ultimately makes possible the integration of religion and beauty. Finally, it concludes by revealing how Yanagi, in writing Namuamidabutsu, proposes that by means of three concrete and visible elements-belief as it is seen acted out in reality, beauty as seen in myokonin, and folk craft goods-religious awareness is transmitted.

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Both Jizang 吉蔵 and Tanluan 曇鸞 relied upon Nagarjuna's system of Sunya thought, transmitted through the San-lun 三論 or Shi-lun 四論 schools, for their own Buddhist interpretation and practice. They were also influenced by distinctively Chinese interpretations of Sunya thought by Kumarajiva's disciples. However, their backgrounds differed completely in terms of their lineage and geographical setting. Although they had the same academic starting point, they arrived at slightly different conclusions. It is interesting that Jizang, who was 70 years younger, regarded it as a serious matter. In this paper, I shall examine the theory of Two Truths 二諦 found in the Wangsheng lun-zhu『往生論註』by referring to Er-di yi『二諦義』, in which Tanluan is quoted. I will further compare it with Jizang's Pure Land writing, the Guan-wu-liang-shou-jing yi-shu『観無量寿経義疏』, in order to consider, the differences in the thought of these two individuals.

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