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The Resource Secrecy's power : covert Shin Buddhists in Japan and contradictions of concealment, Clark Chilson

Secrecy's power : covert Shin Buddhists in Japan and contradictions of concealment, Clark Chilson

Creator
Author
Summary
Shin has long been one of the most popular forms of Buddhism in Japan. As a devotional tradition that emphasizes gratitude and trust in Amida Buddha, it is thought to have little to do with secrecy. Yet for centuries, Shin Buddhists met on secluded mountains, in homes, and in the backrooms of stores to teach their hidden doctrines and hold clandestine rites. Among their adherents was D.T. Suzuki's mother, who took her son to covert Shin meetings when he was a boy. Even among Shin experts, covert followers were relatively unknown; historians who studied them claimed they had disappeared more than a century ago. A serendipitous encounter, however, led to author Clark Chilson's introduction to the leader of a covert Shin Buddhist group--one of several that to this day conceal the very existence of their beliefs and practices. In Secrecy's Power Chilson explains how and why they have remained hidden. Drawing on historical and ethnographic sources, as well as fieldwork among covert Shin Buddhists in central Japan, Secrecy's Power introduces the histories, doctrines, and practices of different covert Shin Buddhists. It shows how, despite assumptions to the contrary, secrecy has been a significant part of Shin's history since the thirteenth century, when Shinran disowned his eldest son for claiming secret knowledge. The work also demonstrates how secrecy in Shin has long been both a source of conflict and a response to it. Some covert Shin Buddhists were persecuted because of their secrecy, while others used it to protect themselves from persecution under rulers hostile to Shin. Secrecy's Power is a groundbreaking work that makes an important contribution to our knowledge on secrecy and Shin Buddhism. Organized around the various consequences concealment has had for covert Shin Buddhists, it provides new insights into the power of secrecy to produce multiple effects--even polar opposite ones. It also sheds light on ignored corners of Shin Buddhism to reveal a much richer, more diverse, and more contested tradition than commonly is understood
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
1 online resource (xvii, 242 pages)
Contents
  • Secrecy causes criticism and persecution
  • Secrecy preserves and transforms
  • Secrecy alters by separating and joining
  • Secrecy creates dilemmas
  • Secrecy gives order
Isbn
9780824868420
Instance
Label
Secrecy's power : covert Shin Buddhists in Japan and contradictions of concealment
Title
Secrecy's power
Title remainder
covert Shin Buddhists in Japan and contradictions of concealment
Statement of responsibility
Clark Chilson
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
Shin has long been one of the most popular forms of Buddhism in Japan. As a devotional tradition that emphasizes gratitude and trust in Amida Buddha, it is thought to have little to do with secrecy. Yet for centuries, Shin Buddhists met on secluded mountains, in homes, and in the backrooms of stores to teach their hidden doctrines and hold clandestine rites. Among their adherents was D.T. Suzuki's mother, who took her son to covert Shin meetings when he was a boy. Even among Shin experts, covert followers were relatively unknown; historians who studied them claimed they had disappeared more than a century ago. A serendipitous encounter, however, led to author Clark Chilson's introduction to the leader of a covert Shin Buddhist group--one of several that to this day conceal the very existence of their beliefs and practices. In Secrecy's Power Chilson explains how and why they have remained hidden. Drawing on historical and ethnographic sources, as well as fieldwork among covert Shin Buddhists in central Japan, Secrecy's Power introduces the histories, doctrines, and practices of different covert Shin Buddhists. It shows how, despite assumptions to the contrary, secrecy has been a significant part of Shin's history since the thirteenth century, when Shinran disowned his eldest son for claiming secret knowledge. The work also demonstrates how secrecy in Shin has long been both a source of conflict and a response to it. Some covert Shin Buddhists were persecuted because of their secrecy, while others used it to protect themselves from persecution under rulers hostile to Shin. Secrecy's Power is a groundbreaking work that makes an important contribution to our knowledge on secrecy and Shin Buddhism. Organized around the various consequences concealment has had for covert Shin Buddhists, it provides new insights into the power of secrecy to produce multiple effects--even polar opposite ones. It also sheds light on ignored corners of Shin Buddhism to reveal a much richer, more diverse, and more contested tradition than commonly is understood
Member of
Action
digitized
Cataloging source
N$T
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1967-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Chilson, Clark
Government publication
government publication of a state province territory dependency etc
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
  • dictionaries
  • bibliography
Series statement
Nanzan library of Asian religion and culture
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Shin (Sect)
  • Shin Buddhists
  • Secrecy
  • RELIGION
  • PHILOSOPHY
  • Shin Buddhists
  • Shin (Sect)
  • Japan
  • Geheimhaltung
  • Jōdo-shinshū
  • Religionsausübung
Label
Secrecy's power : covert Shin Buddhists in Japan and contradictions of concealment, Clark Chilson
Instantiates
Publication
Antecedent source
unknown
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-233) and index
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Secrecy causes criticism and persecution -- Secrecy preserves and transforms -- Secrecy alters by separating and joining -- Secrecy creates dilemmas -- Secrecy gives order
Control code
ocn890146613
Dimensions
unknown
Extent
1 online resource (xvii, 242 pages)
File format
unknown
Form of item
online
Isbn
9780824868420
Level of compression
unknown
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • c
Note
JSTOR
Other control number
40023903883
Other physical details
illustrations
http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
22573/ctt10kqrpp
Quality assurance targets
not applicable
Reformatting quality
unknown
Reproduction note
Electronic reproduction.
Sound
unknown sound
Specific material designation
remote
System control number
(OCoLC)890146613
System details
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002.
Label
Secrecy's power : covert Shin Buddhists in Japan and contradictions of concealment, Clark Chilson
Publication
Antecedent source
unknown
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-233) and index
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
Secrecy causes criticism and persecution -- Secrecy preserves and transforms -- Secrecy alters by separating and joining -- Secrecy creates dilemmas -- Secrecy gives order
Control code
ocn890146613
Dimensions
unknown
Extent
1 online resource (xvii, 242 pages)
File format
unknown
Form of item
online
Isbn
9780824868420
Level of compression
unknown
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • c
Note
JSTOR
Other control number
40023903883
Other physical details
illustrations
http://library.link/vocab/ext/overdrive/overdriveId
22573/ctt10kqrpp
Quality assurance targets
not applicable
Reformatting quality
unknown
Reproduction note
Electronic reproduction.
Sound
unknown sound
Specific material designation
remote
System control number
(OCoLC)890146613
System details
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002.

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