Sins and Sinners: Perspectives from Asian ReligionsPhyllis Granoff, Koichi Shinohara Asian religious traditions have always been deeply concerned with "sins" and what to do about them. As the essays in this volume illustrate, what Buddhists in Tibet, India, China or Japan, what Jains, Daoists, Hindus or Sikhs considered to be a "sin" was neither one thing, nor exactly what the Abrahamic traditions meant by the term. "Sins"could be both undesireable behavior and unacceptable thoughts. In different contexts, at different times and places, a sin might be a ritual infraction or a violation of a rule of law; it could be a moral failing or a wrong belief. However defined, sins were considered so grave a hindrance to spiritual perfection, so profound a threat to the social order, that the search for their remedies through rituals of expiation, pilgrimage, confession, recitation of spells, or philosophical reflection, was one of the central quests of the religions studied here. |
Contents
Part One Sinning in Asian Religious Traditions | 7 |
Social and Soteriological Aspects of Sin and Penance in Medieval Hindu Law | 9 |
From the Nānak Panth to the Khālsā | 31 |
Reflections on the PreBuddhist World in Early China | 57 |
On the Notion of Sin in Buddhism and Chinese Religions | 73 |
The Evil Person is the Primary Recipient of the Buddhas Compassion The Akunin Shōki Theme in Shin Buddhism of Japan | 93 |
The Sin of Slandering the True Dharma in Nichirens Thought | 113 |
A Discussion about Two Patterns of Justice in Contemporary India | 153 |
The Role of Confession in Chinese and Japanese TiantaiTendai Bodhisattva Ordinations | 216 |
A Study of the Dafangdeng Dhāraṇī Scripture | 243 |
Redeeming Bugs Birds and Really Bad Sinners in Some Medieval Mahāyāna Sūtras and Dhāraṇīs | 276 |
Redemptive Violence in Tantric Buddhism | 295 |
Sin and Flaws in Kerala Astrology | 309 |
The Makar Melā Pilgrimage in Panautī | 324 |
Obeying Ones Duty or Following Freely Accepted Rules? | 357 |
| 381 | |
Part Two Dealing with Sin | 173 |
Some Thoughts on Remorse Responsibility and the Remedies for Sin in Indian Religious Traditions | 175 |
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Ādi Granth Ajātaśatru akunin shōki Amida's appears bodhisattva bodhisattva precepts Brahmins Buddha Buddhahood Buddhist Bukkyō caste century ceremony Chandavarkar China Chinese committed confession court Dafangdeng deeds deity Delhi dhāraṇī Dharma Dharma slander Dharmaśāstra doctrine early Edited enlightenment evil person example expiation goddess Granth guilt Gurū hell Hindu Hōnen Huaju human Indian Indra Japan jing judge karma karmic Karsondas kenkyū Khālsā killing king Kyoto Leiyin Likhita Lotus Sūtra Mahābhārata Mahāyāna Makar Melā Mañjuśrī mappō Māra medieval monastic monk moral Nānak nenbutsu Nepal Newar Nichiren notion offense one's ordination Panauti parṣad passage penance perform practice practitioner punishment Pure Land rebirth recitation religion religious remorse Rennyo repentance rite ritual Rudra Śākyamuni samādhi Śankha Sanskrit scripture self-ordination Shangshou Shin Buddhism Shinran shō shōki Sikh Singh sinner sins Śiva Smṛti social soteriological story tantric teaching Teihon temple Tendai texts tion Tīrtha Tokyo tradition translation University Press wrongdoing Yudhisthira