Pure Land Buddhism as a Narrative — — A Pursuit from Positive Philosophy of Religion

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K00080
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 01030:Religious studies-related
• Research Institution: Osaka Kyoiku University
• Principal Investigator: iwata fumiaki 大阪教育大学, 教育学部, 教授 (00263351)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 末村 正代 南山大学, 南山大学宗教文化研究所, 研究員 (60809664)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 善導 / 法然 / 證空 / 親鸞 / 近角常観 / 鈴木大拙 / 阿闍世コンプレックス / 手塚治虫

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project focuses on the dynamic narrative history of Pure Land Buddhism from the viewpoints of the philosophy of religion. Positive approaches from recent academic standpoints like History or Buddhist Studies have given clues to the important meanings to human beings in Pure Land Buddhism. Iwata Fumiaki, as a leader of the project, delineates the historical development of the Three Pure Land Sutras through Shan-dao, Honen, Syoko, Syoku, and Shinran by reading and interpreting their narratives. This is to be published this coming summer, 2013 as Pure Land Thoughts (Chu-Ko Shinsho).
Suemura Masayo, as a member of this project, reads their narrative texts through the idea and experience of“Kensho”, especially by examining phraseology as a shared emotional experience of Suzuki Daisetsu and Nishida Tenko, for they were again contemporaries to Chikazumi Jokan.

Free Research Field

宗教学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

浄土教は日本の主要な宗教であり、その研究も教義学・歴史学・社会学など多岐にわたり詳細な研究がなされてきた。他方、一般向けには主観的な信念にもとづいた説教本が多く刊行されてきているが、学問的研究と民衆の宗教的欲求との乖離が見られる。
この状況に対して、本研究は、浄土教における物語の発生とその解釈の歴史を解明することで、民衆の宗教的欲求と学問的研究との間の乖離を埋め、総合的に浄土教のあり方を解明することを目指した。