What question did this study set out to answer?

To investigate the influence of the concept of True Dharma and its role in the context of Meiji Japan's Buddhist practices.

April 1, 2026Open Access

Modernity for the True Dharma : The Sangha, King, and Buddhist Precepts

Key Points

To investigate the influence of the concept of True Dharma and its role in the context of Meiji Japan's Buddhist practices.
Analysis of historical figures and texts, focusing on Shaku Unshō and his contributions to Buddhist thought.
Exploration of the interplay between global influences and local Buddhist practices during the Meiji period.
Examination of the socio-political context influencing Buddhist precepts and ideologies.
Shaku Unshō's ideals significantly impacted the interpretation and practices of Buddhism in Meiji Japan.
The integration of True Dharma concepts helped shape a new understanding of enlightenment and discipline.
The article highlights the changing temporal and spatial conditions of Buddhism in a modernizing Japan.

Abstract

A defining feature of so-called Japanese Buddhism has been the persistent influence of the ideas surrounding the "Final Age of Dharma"(mappō), emphasizing the continuous decline of Buddha dharma and the capacities of Buddhist practitioners after the demise of Shakyamuni, which led to inaccessibility to enlightenment and lax discipline epitomized by the "non-precept" in this age. In this article, I will explore the pivotal roles played by the utopian and primordial vision of the "True Dharma"(shōbō) in Meiji Japan, with a focus on the Shingon monk Shaku Unshō (1827–1909), and will unveil how his fervent ideals resonated with rapidly shifting global and nation-building settings, restructuring a new temporal-spatial order in the archipelago and beyond.

Modernity for the True Dharma : The Sangha, King, and Buddhist Precepts

Key Points

Abstract

Cite This Study

Also Consider

Also Consider