[Buddha-l] updates and corrections to "upaya express" (topic: Buddhism in contemporary Japan)

[Franz Metcalf]

John et al.,

Thank you, John, for that nuanced and informative post. I just have  
one piggyback. You wrote,

> Compared to similar interviews conducted with top
> leaders at Tendai and Soto-Zen headquarters, the
> Pure Land folks are far more proactive and realistic
> about the future of their tradition.

While I have not done balanced field work, my impression is that the  
same holds among Japanese Buddhist schools in America. My interactions  
with Jodo Shinshu ministers and parishioners have been consistently  
surprising to me, as they have uniformly upset my presuppositions  
about the school from doctrines to the institution to practice.  
Underlying all this seems to be a real lack of presuppositions of  
their *own* about its future. Forward thinking and a reemphasis on  
establishing new, lay traditions is the rule, rather than the  
exception both in Nishi and Higashi branches of Jodo Shinshu. Of  
course the challenges that Jodo Shinshu faces in America are different  
than those they face in Japan. And whether they will succeed in  
rebranding the school is still problematic, but they are certainly  
open to new ideas and creative efforts.

Franz Metcalf