QUERY>Meat-eating among monastics in early Japanese Buddhism and through the Kamakura
Dear Colleagues,
Can anyone recommend sources regarding meat-eating among monastics in early Japanese Buddhism and up through the Kamakura period? I am grateful for suggestions in any language, but among secondary sources am particularly seeking those in English since they seem to be most scarce. Thanks very much in advance.
Patricia Kolbe
Ph.D. Student, Temple University
4 Replies
Post ReplyDear Patricia,
If you go to the H-Buddhism Zotero Bibliography (https://www.zotero.org/groups/h-buddhism_bibliography_project/items/col…) and in the "tags" box, type "vegetarianism," you will get at least one item that deals with at treatment of the matter during the Edo period.
Regards,
Chuck
Dear Patricia,
In terms of English sources, you would probably want to see Lisa Grumbach's dissertation:
Lisa Grumbach, “Sacrifice and Salvation in Medieval Japan: Hunting and Meat in Religious Practice at Suwa Shrine” (PhD diss.. Stanford University, 2005).
Her bibliography will also be helpful, including the important Japanese book:
Harada Nobuo 原田信男,. Rekishi no naka no kome to niku: shokumotsu to tennō, sabetsu 歴史の中の米と肉―食物と天皇・差別―, (Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1993).
You will also may be interested in the tale literature in that period, specifically the Tale of Jozon, which is translated into English in the following volumes:
Ury, Marian, trans. Tales of Times Now Past: Sixty-Two Stories from a Medieval Japanese Collection. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979).
Yoshiko K. Dykstra, trans., Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan: The Dainihonkoku Hokekyōkenki of Priest Chingen (Tokyo: Sanseido Printing Company, 1983).
There are several Japanese articles that provide analysis as well:
Nagatō Yasushi永藤 靖, “Sesshō to nikushoku: Hokke kenki - Dai nana jū san Jōzon hōshi nitsuite,” 殺生と肉食--『法華験記』・第七十三浄尊法師について, Bungei kenkyū 文芸研究87 (2002): 1-19.
Hirabayashi Moritoku 平林盛得, “Etori hōshi ōjō setsuwa no keisei” 「餌取法師往生説話の形成」,Hijiri to setsuwa no shiteki kenkyū『聖と説話の史的研究』(Tōkyō: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan 吉川弘文館, 1981).
Good luck!
Jeff Nicolaisen
Dear Patricia,
Greetings. If you allow me, I could send my first draft of an article - "Vegetarianism: A Discussion on Meat Eating." (not actual title) to you, but it does not deal with Japanese Buddhism. I tried to compare Vegetarianism in terms of Pali Jivaka Sutta of Majjhima Nikaya and the 'Mamsabhaksanaparivarta of Lankavatara Sutra. I would need your private e-mail for it.
Lokananda Bhikkhu
University of the West
Dear Patricia,
If you are interested in Buddhist vegetarianism outside of Japan, you should know about James Stewarts's forthcoming book, Vegetarianism and Animal Ethics in Contemporary Buddhism, which looks at this issue in Sri Lanka. It is being published by Routledge and should be out soon.
Also, at the risk of self-promotion, you might be interested in my article on vegetarianism in Tibet, "Buddhism Between Abstinence and Indulgence: Vegetarianism in the Life and Works of Jigmé Lingpa", available as a free download from the Journal of Buddhist Ethics. I'm also working on a book on this topic (Vegetarianism in Tibet) and would be happy to discuss. Feel free to contact me off list.
Geoff Barstow
Assistant Professor
Otterbein University