Kodo Kyodan
Kodo Kyodan is an offshoot of Reiyukai, the lay Buddhist organization founded in Japan in 1920. Kyodan emphasizes study of the Lotus Sutra. Much of the group’s activity focuses on searching for the Lotus Sutra’s core meaning. In addition emphasis is placed on the idea of filial piety. An assumption is that honoring of ancestors will yield positive results.
Reiyukai put emphasis on self-reliance and personal responsibility. Okano Shodo (1900-78) was a Tendai monk and an officer in Reiyukai. He and his wife, Kimiko, had joined Reiyukai in 1934. They began to feel the organization emphasized recruitment of new members too much by, for instance, setting quotas. In 1936 they set up a branch organization called Kodokai in Yokohama, east of Tokyo. The Kodokai became independent in 1939, under the name Kodo Kyodan, or, literally, the "Filial Piety Teaching Hall." Okano’s son, Okano Shokan, became leader in 1975, just before his father’s death.
Kodo Kyodan’s main festival is the Hana Matsuri, which celebrates the birth of the Buddha Sakyamuni. Members also celebrate the Obon festival for ancestors. Kodo Kyodan today reports having over 300,000 members.
Kofuku-ji
Kofuku-ji means "temple of renewed prosperity." There are a number of Kofuku temples in Japan. One in the Teramachi District of Nagasaki, central Japan, is the head temple of the Obaku sect of Japanese Zen. It was constructed in 1620.
The Kofuku-ji in Nara is far older. It was originally built in Kyoto in 669 by the powerful Fujiwara clan to help a leader recover from illness. The temple was later moved to Nara in 710 when Nara became the capital. There were originally 175 buildings, of which only a few remain. It is today the head temple of the Hosso sect of Japanese Buddhism. The Nara Kofukuki is a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.
Kofuku no Kagaku
Kofuku no Kagaku is, literally, the Institute for Research in Human Happiness. Kofuku is a very recent religion started in 1986 in Tokyo, Japan, by Okawa Tyuho (1956- ). Basic teachings of Kofuku no Kagaku include the four Principles of Happiness: love, knowledge, development, and self-reflection. However, the group increasingly mentions such Buddhist concepts as the three treasures as well. At one point, in 1991, the group said there were 5 million members. Today Kofuku is probably declining in membership.
The founder of Kofuku no Kagaku, Okawa Tyuho, is a graduate in law of the University of Tokyo. He says he is able to communicate with Buddhist figures such as Sakyamuni. Although the group was not particularly Buddhist when it began, it has increasingly taken on the flavor of a Buddhist-inspired religious movement.
Membership in Kofuku no Kagaku requires that each person read 10 books written by okawa. Members are also encouraged to attend lectures, to develop wisdom and practice "love that gives," and to meditate daily.
The role of okawa remains central. He is said to be the incarnation of El Cantare, a "grand spirit" of the "terrestrial" spirit group, and within the movement he is addressed as "El Cantare." Such figures as Sakyamuni and Hermes developed as incarnations of El Cantare in the past.
As the group grew in its first 15 years Okawa attracted criticism. He was said to suffer from mental imbalances. At the same time Kofuku no Kagaku announced major expansion plans. In 1990 the group announced the goal of promoting Kofuku no Kagaku throughout Japan. This was followed in 1994 by a missionary program to establish centers throughout the world, starting with London and New York. There ensued an increasingly negative media campaign.
Okawa is said to have written more than 100 books. The best known is the 1990 Laws of the Sun, a description of Koguku no Kagaku’s cosmology. Consistently, Okawa is depicted as the one who reveals God’s truth to humanity. Okawa also favors themes of apocalypse and subsequent utopia. In his vision of utopia all beings can freely declare their happiness, living in full love and compassion.
The largest Kofuku no Kagaku centers are at utsunomiya, north of Tokyo. These include the Shoshin-kan (House of the Right Mind) and the Mirari-kan (House of the Future).
Koguryo (Goguryo)
Koguryo, one of Korea’s ancient three kingdoms, included not only all of what is now North Korea but much of Manchuria and some of Inner Mongolia. It was formed in 57 b.c.e. and would continue into the seventh century c.e.
Buddhism was introduced into Koguryo from China by the monk Sundo (or Shun Daop) around 372 C.E.; there it found the approval of the new king, Sosurim (r. 371-384). He made Buddhism the state religion, and it would flourish over the next centuries.
Koguryo would reach its zenith under King Kwang-gae-to (r. 391-412 C.E.). Only 18 when he ascended the throne, he would rule for 22 years during which he would push the boundaries of his kingdom south toward Beijing and into northern Manchuria. At the same time Koguryo grew to dominate the several kingdoms that existed on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula.
Koguryo’s long existence was largely attributed to China’s internal chaos with a number of petty rulers fighting for control. once China was unified in the seventh century, a large army of the Sui emperor Yang-ti entered Koguryo (610 c.e.) but was soundly defeated by Korean forces. The inability to take Koguryo was a significant reason for the replacement of the Sui dynasty by the Tang in 618. Finally, in 668, China made common cause with the kingdom of Silla, south of Koguryo, and together they were able to defeat Koguryo, which ceased to exist in the 670s. Its territory was annexed to China. The fall of Kogu-ryo also led the way for the rise of Silla, which soon controlled the whole peninsula.
Kojiki and Nihonshoki (Nihongi)
These two works, dating from 712 and 720, respectively, are Japan’s first national histories. They contain the earliest Japanese religious materials we have. They also record the Japanese myth of creation, in which the first deities, Izanaki and Izanami, are ordered to mate to "consolidate the land." They give birth in turn to many islands, collectively called the "land of the Eight Great Islands."
The Kojiki (Chronicle of ancient events) dates from a period in which Japan had no fixed written script. It describes a time dating as far back as 660 b.c.e. The scribe Yasumaro attempted to use Chinese characters to represent existing Japanese words, as dictated to him by well-known storytellers, called kataribe. There were no rules to the use of Chinese to transcribe Japanese at that time. Therefore, the contents of the Kojiki remained a mystery until a group of researchers known as Native Scholars studied and were finally able to explain the way Yasumaro worked.
As does the Kojiki, the Nihonshoki (also called the Nihongi) relates mythological events. However, its focus is on contemporary events of the period, especially the reigns of emperors such as Tenji, Tenmu, and Jito. As with Chinese historical works, the Nihonshoki brings out the moral qualities of good and bad rulers. It also records diplomatic contacts with China and Korea. Unlike the Kojiki, the Nihonshoki was written in classical Chinese.
While the Nihonshoki and the Kojiki are invaluable as historical documents, they began to have new uses in modern Japanese history. With the rise of nationalism in the early 1900s these two works were held up as symbols of the early, pre-Chinese period of Japanese history, a time seen as "purely" Japanese, unpolluted by foreign influence.
Kokuchu-Kai
Kokuchu-Kai, or "Pillar of the Nation Society," is an offshoot of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism. It is of interest as a Buddhist form of ultranationalist religion.
Tanaka Chigaku (1861-1939) founded Kokuchu-Kai in 1914. Prior to this time he had been lecturing on the Buddhist saint Nichiren and had attracted a following. He published a magazine, Myoushuu, on Nichiren from 1897, which helped attract followers. He had earlier established the Kokuchu-Kai Shinbon (national Pillar News) in 1912.
Tanaka had been a novice in Myokakuji, a Nichiren Buddhist temple in Tokyo. Disillusioned with traditional practices, he left the priesthood in 1879 to start his own movement, the Renge-kai (Lotus Society), in Yokohama, to the east of Tokyo. The group shifted to Tokyo in 1884 and was renamed Rissho Ankoku-kai. Finally, he established the Kokuchu-Kai in Miho village, Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west of Tokyo. The title Kokuchu refers to a quote from Nichiren, in which he states, "I am the pillar of the state [Kokuchu]."
Tanaka was an innovator of Buddhist practice and ritual. He felt that monks and nuns should be seen as lay Buddhists and that celibacy and dietary rules were holdovers from older practice that was out of date. He thus advocated that monks and nuns marry and eat meat. He also believed Buddhism should be part of each person’s daily life. He was the first to design a Buddhist marriage ceremony, in 1887, and he created a ceremony to confer the Lotus Sutra on newborns. In terms of practice, then, he was an innovator.
But Tanaka was also active on the national stage. The newly established Meiji government in this period was aggressively promoting state Shinto and consciously neglecting Buddhism. Some Buddhist groups not only accepted their new standing in society but incorporated the ideas of emperor worship into their own doctrine. one group, the Gyodo Kai (Association for the Practice of Imperial-Way Buddhism), in 1938 began to promote the idea of unity of Buddhism and the imperial Japanese state. This overall movement was known as Kodo Bukkyo (Imperial Way Buddhism).
Given this context, Tanaka’s nationalist ideas found fertile ground. He believed that Buddhism should be reformed in the image of Nichiren. His strong promotion of Nichiren’s ideas, including protection of the state, was called Nichirenshugi— "Nichirenism." But Tanaka’s ideas extended beyond the realm of Buddhist institutions and took in all of society. Most important, he emphasized shakubuku, forceful proselytization, as a means to reform the entire Japanese nation. In Shumon no Ishin ("Reformation of the Sect," 1901) he called for the unification of all Japanese Buddhist groups into a state religion. Eventually, he excused Japan’s imperialist adventures abroad as a form of shakubuku.
Since Tanaka Chigaku’s death in 1939 Kokuchu-Kai has been run by his descendants, first his son, Tanaka Houkoku, then Tanaka Koho in 1949, and, most recently, Tanaka Kikyu in 1996. The group today has a relatively small membership of around 20,000 and is involved mainly in publications and symposia. There are 84 branches, including one in Brazil.
Despite its small size, Kokuchu-Kai is important as an example of ultranationalist Buddhism in the modern period. In addition it has had significant influence on several well-known people, including the writer Miyazawa Kenji and the military officer Ishiwara Kanji. Finally, Kokuchu-Kai’s reforms and emphasis on shakubuku had a strong influence on such other Buddhist groups as Seiyu-kai and Rissho Kosei-kai.
Konkokyo
Konkokyo, "Religion of Golden Light," was founded in 1859, immediately before the formal inauguration of modernization during the Meiji period (1868-1911). In Japanese religious studies it is classed as a "new religion," despite being now nearly 150 years old. There are today approximately 400,000 members, and the church is active in America, Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, and South Korea.
The founder was Konko Daijin (1814-83), a farmer from Konko-cho, Okayama, in Japan’s west. Konko lost three children and two oxen. He attributed his misfortune to the god Kon-jin. He later began to communicate directly with Konjin and discovered that the god was good-natured and desired to produce happiness. Konko then renamed the god Tenchi Kani No Kami, and the deity began to speak through Konko’s voice. Konko would pass questions to Tenchi Kani no Kami. These question-and-answer sessions eventually evolved into meditation sessions, called toritsugi, between humans and Tenchi Kane No Kami. The god in 1859 instructed Konko to cease farming and dedicate all his time to toritsugi.
Konko Daijin eventually applied for a Shinto priest certificate. But the newly installed Meiji government did not recognize these certificates. Konko continued without official permission until he died in 1883. In 1885 his followers succeeded in obtaining government recognition as a Shinto organization, although in fact there were no Shinto rituals or deities involved in Konkokyo practice. In 1900 Konkokyo was officially recognized as a religion separate from Shinto.
Konkokyo followed the expansion of Japan’s military occupation in Asia until the end of World War II. Those churches established in the areas occupied by Japan did not last. The religion was reorganized in 1954 in an effort to separate itself from the wartime legacy.
The key Konkokyo text is Tenchi Kakitsuke, "Divine reminder." This text explains the reciprocal relationship between humanity and this deity, also called Principle Parent. If people ignore the concept of reciprocity, suffering results. The Principle Parent is the source of all humanity. Toritsugi meditation connects individuals with the Principle
Parent and all other kami. The leader of Konkokyo is chosen from Konko Daijin’s descendants.
Korea, Buddhism in
Spread from China in the fourth century of the Common Era, Pure Land Buddhism made its first appearance in northern Korea in what was then the kingdom of Goguryeo (or Koguryo) around 372 c.e. Introduced from China by the monk Sundo (or Shun Daop), the new faith was found useful by King Sosurim (r. 371-384), who worked to give it an initial home. Buddhism subsequently moved south to the kingdoms of Paekche and Silla. A united Korea was created in 668 c.e. as the Silla kingdom expanded. Buddhism flourished and Son Buddhism (Zen Buddhism or Chan Buddhism) joined its Pure Land rival. Some nine different schools of Buddhism developed around nine prominent teachers. Buddhism competed for its place in Korean society with Confucian thought and a strongly entrenched shamanistic indigenous religion. The Buddhist tradition in Korea would be characterized by the periodic emergence of outstanding teachers who attempted to reconcile the differences among the several Buddhist schools and call for a unified Buddhist movement.
Korean Buddhists would take the lead in transmitting Buddhism to Japan. At some point in the middle of the sixth century Korean monks initially took Buddhist texts and images to the island kingdom; then after the request of Japanese authorities, a contingent of Korean Buddhists settled at Nara to initiate the spread of Buddhist teachings, practices, and culture. The presence of Koreans in Japan would continue for several centuries before being replaced by Chinese influence.
As the Korean Peninsula was united in the seventh century, two of the land’s most important scholar-preachers emerged in the persons of Wonhyo (617-686) and his colleague Uisang (625-702). The story is told that on their way to China to study with a famous monk, they were caught in a rainstorm and took refuge in an underground shelter for the night. The next morning they discovered their shelter to be an old tomb. Before the rain ceased, Wonhyo had an intense spiritual experience that included his seeing the ghosts of the deceased. The result was an enlightenment of sorts, summarized in his conclusion that a person who has the right state of consciousness experiences no difference between a temple sanctuary and a tomb. Soon afterward, Wonhyo abandoned his monk’s status and as a layman spent his life spreading Buddhism among the masses. His efforts included the penning of some 80 books focused on the underlying unity of Buddhist thought.
Uisang finally made his way to China, where he stayed for 20 years. upon his return, he found favor in the imperial court and was able to continue the spread of Buddhism throughout the unified Silla kingdom. other monks who studied in China and later contributed significantly to Buddhism’s spread in Korea would include Gyeomik (sixth century) and Chajang. To some extent, Wonhyo is also responsible for Korean Buddhism’s unique emphasis on Maitreya, the future Buddha (Enlightened One). According to Wonhyo, Gautama Buddha predicted the arrival of another enlightened figure who would assist humanity in the establishment of an ideal society characterized by righteousness and peace.
Zen (or Son) Buddhism would experience a revival in the 12th century under the leadership of Chinul (1158-1210). Working at a time during which the Son leadership had become corrupted, he articulated a fresh perspective based on his understanding of the unity of Buddhist thought amid the outward divisions and a sudden-enlightenment approach to theory and practice. He called believers to understand their actual accomplished identity with the Buddha. This fact underlies a belief that Buddhists can experience a sudden enlightenment that then should be followed by a life of cultivating the insights that follow such enlightenment. Chinul’s contemporaries received his message uniting the thought of the several Zen schools, though an actual union of the several Zen schools would not be accomplished until the 14th century. For his accomplishment in merging of the several Zen schools, the later Master T’aego (1301-82) is remembered as one of the several "national teachers" of Korean Buddhism.
In the century after Master T’aego, the Yi dynasty (1392-1910) rose to power. It was generally hostile to Buddhism and attempted to suppress it in favor of its rivals. As a result, the embattled Buddhist camps found reasons to unite, in part as a means of sheer survival. Two major Pure Land sects emerged, the Sonjong (1424) and Kyojong. In 1592, Japan invaded Korea and Buddhists suffered alongside the entire country. However, as they remained out of favor, they received no postwar government support to rebuild. Though Buddhism never gained official support, a relaxing of government opposition in the 19th century allowed a period of revival and recovery. This revival was accomplished in part by assistance from Japan. In the late 19th century, a number of Japanese priests moved to Korea to assist the local leadership.
The 20th century became a time of significant ups and downs for the Buddhist community. It began with the government’s relaxing its control over the Buddhist temples. Then in 1910, Japan seized control of the peninsula. As an occupying force, it reassumed governmental oversight. Reaction to the brutal occupation government led to alienation between Korean and Japanese Buddhists, and to further uniting of the Koreans, symbolized by the 1936 merger of the Sonjong and Konjong sects into the presently existing Chogje sect, the dominant force in Korean Buddhism.
The Korean Peninsula suffered greatly in the years of World War II, but even more so in the aftermath when the United States and Russia assumed control over the southern and northern halves of the country, respectively. The inability of the two countries to work out an agreement over an independent country led directly to the Korean War (1950-53) and the establishment of two separate countries, the Republic of (South) Korea and the People’s Republic of (North) Korea. In the north, Buddhism was suppressed along with all religions and has largely disappeared. Less than 2 percent of the population identify themselves as Buddhist, and few temples remain open. In the south, Buddhism has revived significantly but faces continued competition for varieties of tradition Korean folk religions and has fallen significantly behind Christianity, which now has the allegiance of some 40 percent of the public.
Some 80 percent of Korean Buddhists are affiliated with the Chogje sect with its headquarters at the Chogyesa Temple complex in Seoul. This 600-year-old temple has served as the Chogye’s life center since its formation in 1936 and the Japanese used it as the administrative center for the entire Buddhist community. While Chogje Buddhism remains the dominant force in Korean Buddhist life, a spectrum of new Buddhist sects have also emerged. For example, Won Buddhism was created in the years of World War I with a distinct focus on the Diamond Sutra. It is a modern secularized version of Buddhism whose temples are devoid of image and whose programmatic thrust is very this-worldly.
Through the 20th century, Buddhists’ migrations to other countries have occasioned the spread of Korean Buddhism, especially to Japan and North America. Post-1965 migrations to the United States (contemporaneous with the migration of a variety of South Asian Buddhists) have been followed by the building of numerous Buddhist temples, and the emergence of a number of organizations, some of which are new to the Buddhist world and have no Korean affiliate. Korean Buddhists have helped remold the American religious landscape. A Korean temple in Los Angeles became the site of the first meeting of what became the American Buddhist Congress.
Korean Buddhist Federation
The Korean Buddhist Federation is the official organization for Buddhists in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly called North Korea. The DPRK was established in 1945, at the end of the Second World War. Soviet and American forces that occupied the northern and southern halves of the country were unable to agree on the future of Korea and two countries resulted. The 1950 Korean War initiated by the DPRK was an attempt to reunite the country that failed. By the end of the war more than 400 Buddhist temples had been destroyed. Today only around 60 temples remain though among them are several prominent older centers, Pohyon Temple at Mt. Myohyang, Kwangpop Temple near Pyongyang, and Pyohun Temple at Mt. Kumgang.
The Korean Buddhist Association was formed in 1945 and almost immediately became moribund as the new government articulated a policy supportive of atheism and began a systematic suppression of all religion, including Buddhism. Buddhism survived as an underground movement.
Some liberalization of the antireligious policy was noticed in the 1970s, and the Korean Buddhist Federation was reorganized in at least a rudimentary fashion. It is led by a central committee with subordinate provincial, city, and county committees. The central committee is currently led by its chairman, Pak Thae Hwa. It was able to affiliate with the Asian Buddhist Committee for Peace in 1976, the World Federation of Buddhists in 1986, and the Asia Buddhist Conference in 1990. It also cooperates with the Korea Buddhist Federation in Japan.
In 1992, a new constitution for the DPRK was adopted that includes provisions for the freedom of religious belief and the right to erect buildings for religious use. In practice, only religion that supports the active interests of the state is permitted any public activity. officially, the government emphasizes that it views religion as a purely private affair for individuals. Thus the government strives not to interfere with it nor to maltreat or approve religious beliefs.
At present, the public celebration of some Buddhist holidays, such as Buddha’s birthday (Vesak), is allowed. The federation has been especially active in events calling for Korean unification, including some that involved colleagues from South Korea. An eight-year course of study, which around 50 men may enter each year, begins with a five-year course in Buddhism through the Philosophy Department of Kim Il Sung University (initiated in 1989) and completed at a three-year Buddhist school in Pyongyang managed by the federation.
It is difficult to estimate the number of Buddhists in the DPRK as the 21st century begins, but some learned observers have suggested that they number around 10,000.
