Women Living Zen: Japanese Soto Buddhist Nuns

by Paula Kane Robinson Arai

Overview

In this study, based on both historical evidence and ethnographic data, Paula Arai shows that nuns were central agents in the foundation of Buddhism in Japan in the sixth century. They were active participants in the Soto Zen sect, and have continued to contribute to the advancement of the sect to the present day. Drawing on her fieldwork among the Soto nuns, Arai demonstrates that the lives of many of these women embody classical Buddhist ideals. They have chosen to lead a strictly disciplined monastic life over against successful careers and the unconstrained contemporary secular lifestyle. In this, and other respects, they can be shown to stand in stark contrast to their male counterparts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195123937
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/26/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	9.38(w) x 6.40(h) x 0.91(d)
Lexile:	1380L (what's this?)

About the Author

Vanderbilt University

Table of Contents

Prologue1. Introduction2. Historical Background3. Twentieth-Century Leadership4. The Monastic Practices of Zen Nuns5. Motivations, Commitments, and Self-Perceptions6. Conclusion: Innovators for the Sake of TraditionEndnotesAppendix A. QuestionnaireAppendix B. Glossary of Japanese Terms

Editorial Reviews

"...a long overdue corrective to the androcentric scholarship that has ignored Zen nuns' importance.... This very readable book is ideal for classroom use."—Religious Studies Review

From the Publisher