ConfercnceReport
TheTenthlntemationa1LotusSutraConfe17en(耳B(3りing,China:
I;tdtllTlingtothe5E;(:)tJlrc{:う汀endaiandtheLotusSUtra
StePhenCove11
Justovertwelvehundredyearsago,followinghisdecadelongretreatonMt.Hiei, Saich6joumeyedtoChinatodeepenhisunderstandingofTendaiandtheLotusSu tra.I)c?rhapstakingtheircuefromSaich6,GeneRc・eves,Rissh6KC521kai(RKK), andtheChuoAcademicR5earchlnstituted!oosetoholdthetenthlntemationaILo tusSatraConfelTenceinBe巧ing,China.Thechoicewasanexcellentoneand, thoughthehotsPringsofJaPanandthewarmwelcomeoflocaIRKKchurchmem bersweremissed,therewardsweregreat.ParticiPantswereabletofurthertheir knowledgeoftheLotusSUtrawhileatthesametimeobserveandexperiencefirst handthechangingfaceofcontemPoraryChina,thegreatstridesBuddhismhasmade inChinainthelastdecade,andthekindnessandwarmthoftheChinesePeoPle. ScholarsfromtheU.S,Japan,andChinagatheredonlvlay22ndattheJingshi HotelonthecamPusoftheBe小ngNormaluniversityforanextendedfourdaycon velsationontheLotusSatraandTendaiBuddhism.PaperpresentersincludedPaul (:)11oner(Universityofv卜ginia),Kanno}{iroshi(SokaU❹x/ersity),LeoD.LelSe・bure (Geう()rgetownun沁(・rsity),LindaPenkower(UniversityofPittsburgh),Shinozaki Michio(Rissh5KC5seikaiSerl!illary),,121(;(11jlelineStone(I)rincetonun沁(・rsity),5E;andra Wawrytko(SanDiegoStateU❹V(・rsity),MarikoxNjlkers(Buckne!Un沁ersity),Wei Dedong(Renminun㈹(・rsity),ZhangFenglei(Renminun沁e・rsity),andBrookZipo ryn(NorthwestemU❹V(・rsity).PapersbyDanielSte・vc・11son(UniversityofKansas) andRubinHabito(S()1jlthemM(:・thodistun沁el`sity)werealsod心cussedintheirab sence.FOIlowingthew(211e5;tablishedformatofthepastLotuscon化1・(うnces,each l:)resenterwasgivenfivetotenminutestoremindtheaudienceofthecontentsand goalsofhisorherpaperafterwhichtheresPondentcommentedonthepaperand raisedquestionsfordiscussion.Thisformatgavethepartidpantsampleopportunity todisctlssthel)aperindetailandtobuildacorlversationthatwouldcalTyfronlone papertothenext,andoftenwellintotheeveningsfreetjme。 180PerhapsitisanaturalconclusiongiventhetopicofTendaiandtheLotusSUtra, butthePaperssharedseveralthenlesincommonjncludingtheuseofcreativeinter I)retationbyTendaimastersandothers,theimportanceofpracticetotheTendaitra ditionsunda`standingoftheLotusSutra,thefocusofTendaionthislife(orthe sec 1肌li゛ed`゛olJld),andthequestionofklsentientBuddhanature.Thefollowing arethetitlesofthepaPerspresented:PaulGroner, RationalesfortheLaxAdher encetothePrecepts:SomeTendailnte5rpretationsofthePreceptsBasedontheLo tusSutra ;RubinHabito, UltimateRealityandR(うligiousPraxis:TheLotusSutra, T ienT ai,andNictlil en ;Kanno}1仔oshi, AComparativeStudyo八heConceptsof RelativeSubtlety and AbsoluteSubtlety intheNvorkofZhiyiandJizang ;Leo D.Lefebul ら Xvisdom,ComPassionandCharity:TheLotusSntraandAugustine LindaPenkower, viewedthroughtheLotus:ZhanranslnsentientBuddhanature Theory ;ShinozakiMichio, Makingvows intheLotusSntraTheOriginal vowoftheBuddha ;DanieIStevenson, ThどPureandEveHastingFacultiesBom ofFatherandλ/lother SuddenEnlightenmentandtheSensesinHuisisAfぞ?ぴ雨/7刄げ 泊どC(珀埓ε9/ 五回託と7μと7Z?/f ;JacqueHneStone, LotusSutraCommentaryinMe dievalJapaneseTendai:SonshunsPrivateCOIlectionontheM/ordsandPhrasesof theLotus N/larikoM/alters, TheLotusSUtraandtheSilkRoad ;Sandra xvawrytko, HoldinguptheMilTortoBuddhaNature:DiscemingtheGheeinthe LotusSatra ;XveiDedong, ZhanransArgumentabouttheNatureoflnsentientBe ingsanditsEcologicallmplications;ZhangFenlglei,EarthlyOrientationofTendai BuddhistDoctrine ;BrookZiporyn, Mindnature,MindsNature,MindandNature, Mind/NatureortheNatureastheMind?:IN/lindobservation,lnherenceobservation andtheMeaningofxinxinginZhanranandZhili .Unfortunately,thereisnot enoughsPacetoo汀eranextendedreviewofeachpaPerandthediscussionthatfol 1owedit.Thefollowingpagesinsteadseektobrienyintroducethepapersandsome oftheconversationsthatdeveloPedoutofthem.lndiscussingthepaPers,lfollow theorderofpreう1;entationattheconference.lnconcludingldescribebrienythetrip takenbyconferenceparticipantstothefamouscenterofBuddhistPIactice,M/utais han. 0negoalofthisconl゛c?rence5;erieshasbeentobringtoS;e5therscholarsfromavari etyoffieldsandtotherebybroadenthetypesofconversationthatcantakeplace. Towardsthisend,thenrstPresenter,LeoLefebure,wasanexcellentchoice.Profes sorLefebureisaChristiantheologianwhohasanextensivebackgroundinint(lrfaith dialogue.Hispaper,whichcomparedtheLotusSutraandAugustine,broughttothe noorimPortantquestionsabouthowtoreadasacredtext.lnhiswrittencomments 181
中 央 学 術 研 究 所 紀 要 第 3 4 号 onP17017essorLefeburespaper,RubinHabitoremarkedthatscholarsoftheLotusSn traoftentendtolosesightofthesacrednatureofthetext,seeingitmoreasanob jectforcold,ot!jectivestudy.I)r()1うessorLefeburespaperactedasaco汀ectiveto thisaPProach,callingonscholarstoseethetextassacredasopeningagatewayto theunknown.Fulthermore,Pr()IRessorLefebureintroducedthel)alticipantstothe valueofcom皿匹vetheology,afieldinwhichheseeshimselfaspal`ticipating.The (ニ1沁cussionofPro17essorL(111cうI)urespaperpavedthewayfortherestoftheconfer ence.lnPalticular,therewasmuchdebateregardingtheveryideaofreadingatext assacredversusreadingitasanhistoricalobject.ProlsessorGronerremindedpaf ticipantsthatwhenreadingthetextassacredonemustrefrainfromthenreading onesowninterpretationbackoverthoseofothers.lnparticular,hecalledforusto considerthatthosereadingitinChineseorJapanesewilltakeawayadi仔erentread ingandthosereadingit1000yearsagowmlikelytakeawayadi汀erentmeaning thanthosereadingittoday.Embeddingareadingofthetextinitshistoricalcontext isequallyasimPortantasrememberingitssacrednatureand,surely,helpsonebetter appl4eclateltssacredness. Anothe5rissueraisedbyLefeburesPaperwasthatofhowtoviewrePentanceand sinwithinBuddhism.PIolSessorZiporynnotedthatinBuddhism(andespecially withinT(・ndai)the170cusison・;eeingPastbehavior(jl゛IRc・rently.Thus,forexample, rePentanceofthesenseorgans(aqu奮認証ssentiaITendair)1`a(;tice)isrePentinghaving letattachmentsderivedfromeachorganblockrightseeing.lntheLotusSntra, ZiPorynwentontonote,rePc5nt21nceisnotforPride(asitisinsorneintel゛I)retations oftheChristiantladition)butfornothavingenoughbeliefinwhatonecanactually t)ecome(namelyinnotrealizingthaton6s/canbecomeaBuddha). Marikoヘヘノalterspapertooktheconve17sationinanoth(:?1fascinatingdirection.Pro fessorxvalterspaperdescribedthespreadofLotusSUtraBuddhisminCentralAsia. AsPI017essorStonenotedinhercomments,thisPapercomPlicatedthestandardnar rativeofthetmnsmissionofBuddhism.NolongercouldweseeBuddhismashav ingbeentransmittedinlinearfashionfromlndia,toChina,toJapanandtothexvest. へvenowhadtounderstanditastransmittedtoChina,thenbacktoCentralAsiaand thenbackagain.ThisvisionofamigratingBuddhismaddsnewandprovocative layerstoourunderstandingofBuddhisthistory.Moreover,thispaperdemonstrated themannerinwhicheachlocalcommunityusedlanguage.Sonletextsweretrans latedintothelocalvemacular,sometextsremainedinChineseorSanskrit,andsome Nvereanlixofthetwo.Amongtheinterestingtopicsbroughtupforconvel・sation wasthepo iblerolethatmerchantsPlayedinthespreadofpol〕ularBuddhistprac 182
tices. DanStevensonspaperonsuddenenlightenmentandthesixfacultiesroundedout thef1rstdaystalks.ThediscussionthatensuedcenteredontheimportanceofPrac ticetotheTendaitradition.M/hatattimesaPpeartobefreewheelinginterpretive strategiesaregroundedinthemeditativeexperience.Tendaimastersdisplayagreat selfconfidencebomofmeditativeexperienceandinterPrettexts5;electivelytosup portthatexperience・This,however,doesnotamounttoadenialoftextualauthority ortheauthorityofonesteacher.ltonlymeansthat,intheend,enlightenmentmust befoundwithinoneぅself,itdoesnotcomefromateacher,thoughateacherandtex tualstudyareimportantmeanstodiscoveringthisaboutoneself. Thefollowingdaysschedulewasanexhausting5;eriesofbacktobackpapers,but theresultwasanintriguingdiscussion.ThemomingbeganwithapaperbyZhang Fenglei.AsZhangstatedinhisoPeningremarks,thekeypointofhispaPerwasto demonstratethatShakyamunipaidattentiontohumanlivesandthattheTendai schoolinheritedthisearthlyneedsorientation.Amongthemanyinterestingpoints madeduringdiscussionwasthatthefamedideaof加/7加ご灯心7ηyμ(inonemoment ofthoughtthreethousandrealms)was,forZhiyi,justthelogicalconclusion,derived fromnleditation,oftheideathatallthingsareinherentlyinclusive.Scholarlydebate hasmistakenlyelevatedthistoanontologicalclaim,whereforZhiyiitwassimply meantasapartofPractice. Alsoofnotewasthediscussionthataroseregardingthethr(2efoldtruth.Zhang showedhowZhiyitranscendedNargRjunastwotruthpositionbymeansofthemid dletruth.ForNag剛una,theconventionaltruthcamefirstandledtoemptiness, whereasforZhiyithemiddlereintegratestheconventional.Thisiswherethesecu 1arorientationofZhiyicanbefound.Zhiyiputsthespot1塘htontheexpressedand (ぅ)cplessible(thehypotheticalinZhanどstlJanslationyratherthanontheine・(pressible, whichiswhereNagaljunasemphasislies.Regardingthethr(ごefoldtruth,itwas notedthatinJapaneseTendaitheemphasisisplacedontheconventionalbecauseit isllc(;essible(thoughinthe()reticaldebatethemiddlewasoften・;tlJeぅssed),whereasin Chinatherewasnorankingofthethreetruths. Followingthemeatyconversiononthethl eefoldtruth,HiroshiKanno,oneofthe worldsleadingexpertsonLotusSatracommentaries,treatedpartidpantstoanin vestigationoftheconcePtsofrelativesubtletyandabsolutesubtletyandthedevelop mentofcommentariesonthetitlesofs;Utras.べVithinthediscussionperiod,conver sationtumedtowardsexploringtheideaspr()1;essorKannoraisedin1拙htofthoseof hisownteacher,TamuraYoshiro.Pro15essorStonenotedthatTamurarelatedthe 183
中 央 学 術 研 究 所 紀 要 第 3 4 号 relativeabsoluteandtheabsoluteabsolutetopractice.lnthecaseoftheabsolute absolutewhateveronedoesis,asitis,theonevehicle.lnthecaseoftherelative absoluteonedistinguishesonel〕1acticeoveranother(asinthecaseofH6nen, Nichiren,etc.).ProfessorKannorespondedthatthiswasthemannerinwhichTa muraframedKamakuranewBuddhism,lntheageoftheLatterDaysofthe Dharma師と777/7 )Buddhistpractitionerssoughtnewpl`acticesi;1)ecifictotheirtimes. Thediscussionfrompro17essorKannospaperhardlyhadamomenttocoolbefore athirdweightyexplorationofTendaiphilosophybegan.BrookZiporyn spaper t)roughttol;etherthedaysd弛cussionsbys(・ekingtounderstandZhanran(711782) andZhm s(9601028)useofthetermえ昭(性八11ature)inlightofthemeうditative l:・121cticesknownasmillclobsel・vation(観心gullnxin)and血11erenceobse,I・vation(観 具guanju).ThebulkofZφ()rynspaperwas(:1(・dicatedバhus,tointerPretingthe termλ7加が/尽(七`jl生mindnatl,1re,mindsnature,mindandnature,mjnd/nature, natureasmind). ZiPorynspapermadeextensiveuseofmeditationtextstogetatthemeaningof theseterms.Alongtheway,importantpointswereraisedsuchastheideathatany thingdesignatedasnaturemustbeeverywhereand everywhen, unconditioned,in eradicablefromanytimeorPlace.However,r)rolRcうssorZiporynwascarefultonote thatdidnotimplyasinglefixednature,but,rather,manynatures(3000byTendai counting).Themind,hestated,ischamcterizedasthatwhichdivides,calculates, andseParates.Thisactofparsingがvesidentityandinthatsensethemjndiscrea tor.Theabovediscussionledtotheconceptof inness .Thisistheideathat nothingcanbeinsomethingwithoutbeinginherenttoit.Nothingexiststotally separatefromeve5rythingelse・Allofthisisnot,inTendai,merelyPhilosophical speculationbutisintegraltopl7actice.Meditation,professorZiporynclaimed,is aboutexploringthegreyareas,theborderlinesbetweenindividualidentityandin n5s.ltisaboutseeingdistinctionsandtheircoexistence. Thediscussionpickedupontheseideasandledp170fessorZiporyntocommenton theideaofinherentevil.Herespondedthatinherentevilisthebasisforpractice. 0necannotsingleoutorcreatesonlethingseparate,includingevil.Toseekto changepartoftheworldbutnotallistomanifestdesireanddesireleadstosuffer ing.Thcllel;ore,hestated,thegoalofpracticeistoeliminatemotivation.Evilisnot overcomebyeradicatingitbutbyfullyrealizingit,whichmeanstoseeitinaII things.Thisthenremovesthemotivationfordoingtheactinthefirstplace,sinceit existseverywhereandeverywhen.lnthissense,Buddhistl)Iacticeisitselfinher entlyevilbecauseitrequires(:lilTerentiation.Nevertheless,Ziporynremarked,here 184
onecannlakeadistinctionbetweenwhichevilsaremoreconduciveforeliminating motivation.Buddhism,thus,becomesagoodevilbecauseitisconducivetoelimi natlngmotlvatlon. TheconvelsationcontinuedwithLindaPenkowerspaPeronZhanransinsentient Buddhanaturetheory.Herpaperfitnicelywithinthedevelopingconvel4sationon thethreうefoldtruth,inclusiveness,etc.asthefollowingshows: ForZhanran,the Tiantaiadditionofthethirdtruthofthemiddle,whichinsiststhatpracticeisaninte gralandnecessarypartoftruth,Ieう5;olutelyrernovesfromcons;klerationanyoption thatbifurcatesorlocalizescauseandresult,mindandmatter,bodiesandlands,the provisionalandthereal,vairocanaandtheAvicihe11,delusionandenlightenment, thesentientandinsentient. PenkowersPapergaveapleciseoverviewofthehis toryoftheearlydebateoverwhetherornotinsentientbeingshaveBuddhanature. Herpaperraisedint(うrestingpointsregardingthecontemPoraryimportanceofthis now1300yearolddebate.First,shedemonstratedthattheearlydebatewasas muchaboutsectarianpositioningasitwasaboutthenatureofinsentientlife.Penk owershowedhowthoseinvolvedinthedebateusedittoidentifythemselvesagainst ()therrivalinterpletersofBuddhism(andDaoismforthatmatter).lmportantlyto contemporaryc1心cussionsofBuddhismandecology,shealsomadeclearthatatthe timethefocusoninsentientbeingswasnotreallyabouttheinsentientbeings(i.e. Peoplewerenott{うITibly吊terestedinwhetherarockhadenlightenmentornot)but wasameanstotalkabouthumannature,Zhanran,sheclaimedinthedis;cussionPe riod,wastryingtoeliminatefalsenotionsaboutBuddhanature,esPeciallytheidea thatBuddhanaturesomehowimpliedpos;sessionofasoul.Forplantsandthelike tohaveBuddhanatureonlymeantthattheyshowthequalitiesofBuddhahood.This canbeseenintheviewthato汀ensesoccurwhenone(;Ieatessufferingbut,since plantsandthelikewereunderstoodnottosuffer・causingthemharmisnotanof fense(orisaminoroned(・pen(lingonthetimeperiodandtladition).Asasidenote, duringthed柚cussionprof;essorGronerraisedanimportantpointr昭ardingtheprac ticeofdebate.5;c:tlolars,he,;tilted,tendto,;c,parateclebateandPractice(understood asmeditationorritualperformance)butthisdistinctiondidnotexistuntilcompara tivelyrecentlydebatewasaformofplactice. ThetopicofinsentientBuddhanaturecametothelRorefrontagainwithxveiDe dong spaPeronthesametopic.Muchaswithpro15essorPenkower sPaper,which centeredonthedebateduringZhanranstime,prolSess()rぺveispaperelucidatedthe historyoftheearlierdebate.However,hisrealintelestlayinlearningwhatlessons couldbeappliedtocontemporaryecologicali ues.lnparticular,prollessorxvei 185
中 央 学 術 研 究 所 紀 要 第 弘 号 soughttoapplyTendaiideasoninsentientBuddhanaturetoecologica1Problems arisingfromChinasboomingcうconomy.lnhiswrittenresponsetopr()fsessorWei・ DanielStevensonpraisedぺveisinitiativebutcautionedparticipantsabouthowone shouldinterprettheearlydebate.Aspl^olRessorPenkowerspaPerdemonstrated,the early(lebatehadlittleifanythingtodowith(;oncemforwhatwenowcalltheenvi ronment,nature,orecology.ProflessorZiporynrespondedbynotingthatBuddhism doesofferaPowerfulsystemforaidingtheenvironment,evenifitisnotne(2ess;arily theoriginalintentofpastmasters.Hedrewtheparticipantsattentiononceagainto theideathatthegoalofBuddhismistoovercomedesirethrougheliminatingmotiva tion.Giventhis,hestated,thefocusshouldnotbeclingingtotheenvironmentbut workingtoelimjnatethemotivationaldesiresthatbringaboutthedc55;tructionofthe environment.WhenaskedhowBuddhistsinChinaSle5rlerallyviewtheissueofthe environment,pro砲ssorWeiinlアormedparticipantsthatthereisahighlevelof泊terest inPIotectingtheenvironmentamongChineseBuddhists,e51;1)ecially,henoted,since mostrel)Iesentyoungermoreengagedlgc5nerations. Thethirddayofpapersbeganwithaninterestingexplorationoftheimageswithin theLotusSutrabySandraWawrytko.ProfessorWawrytkosexplanationofthenve navorsoftheBuddhas記achingasdevelopbyZhiyiintermsof17reshmilk,cream, (;urd,butter,andghec・収1arifiedbutter)wase・・;peciallyc・nlightening.0fl)al^ticularin terestduringthe(伝cussionofprolSessorWawrytkospaperwasherexplanationfor whysheundertookthisproject.ShewasmotivatedtostudytheimageryoftheLo tusbeうcauseofherstudentsresponsetothatveryimagery.Shenotedthatherphj 1osoPhystudents,inparticul肌hadadinでiculttimeaPproachingtheLotusasaseri oustextbe(2auseofthef7ε1ntasticimagerythatfillseverychaPter.Thisledtomuch (hcussionabouttheveryimportanttopicofjusthowonecanteachtheLotusSntra tocollegestudents.TheLotusSatra,asittumsout,isafantastictextforteaching abouthowimageryisusedtoexPressverydifficultphilosophicalideasandhow sonle(2tllturesusesuchimageryratherthanseeminglymoredirectformsofwriting tocommunicatesignificantideas.PIolRessorZiporyncommentedthattheLotuscon tinuouslyPointsoutthatitisthel;reatestsUtra;thisfol4cesstudentstokeepgoing backoveritagainandagaintotrytounderstandjusthowthatcouldbe.lnthis sense,theLotusteachesonehowtodoaclosereadingofatext.Amongthemany insightsintotheLotusteachingsgleanedfromprolReうssorxvawrytkospaPerwasthat theimageofthefatherfigureisusednottoshowthatoneneedstocutoffattach menttoaPositivel;elfimage(asstudentsareoftenwonttounderstandit)butto showthatonemustletgooftheiroxvnnegativeselfimage(i.e・peoplemustcometo 186
re2111zethiltthey,too,willbecomeBuddhas). Fromabroadexpl()rationoftheimageryintheLotus,thenextpaper,byPaul Groner・drewusbackintoaclosele£1dingofmstory,embeddingthetextinadebate overr)IcjceptsthatoccurredinJaPanduringthe12ththrough14th(:;t211turies.The storyrevolvesaround oneofthem4jorlineagesonMountHieiandtheKantoarea, theEshinryu.Thislineagetraceditsoriginsbacktoamythicaltransmissionof (元ginalenlightenment(/7(7z7即包)tachingsthatRy6gen四1S2985)con恒rredon [:]1enshin(9421017). ThisPaperdetailedthenlannerinwhichtheple(;eptswere understood.0fnotewasthefactthatpl4e(;epts,whichareoftenviewedasrulesgov emingeverydetailofmonasticlife,werenotusedasrulesgovemingmonasticlife Perse.Therewereothercodesandrulesthatperformedthatfunction.Thisfasci natingconvelsationaboutpreceptsledtoquestionsabouthowRKKapproachespre cepts.0neParticipantfromRKKexPlainedthatthefocusofRKKisonleadinga bodhisattvawayoflife,sorulesarenotemPhasizedsomuchasseenasbyproducts ofleadingaproperHfe・M/henaskedaboutthesituationincontemporaryChina, prof;essorZhangrespondedthatthereareusuallythreebasicrequirements:(lress, celibacy,andvegetarianism. FOIlowingPau1GronersPaPer,JacquelineStonepresentedherpaperontheme dievalJapaneseTendaimonkSonshun s( 511541)commentaryontheLotusSu tra.Sonshunbasedhisinterpretationsontheideaoforiginalenlightenment.This Paperengenderedaninterestingdis(?IJssionabout趙可加, 1iterally mind contemplation or minddi5;cemment, theperspectiveofmeditativepracticeandin sight. 沿回加isonenmisinterpretedasthewmynillysubjectiveleadingofatext, drawingmeaningoutofthinair.But,thispaPermakesabs;olutelyclearthatたa可加 wasaseriouspracticeaimedatdrawingoutthemeaningofatextburiedbeneaththe surface.Athoroughunderstandingofthesu17facemeaningofatextwascriticalto conductingaだa可加reading.Aだa可加readingoftheLotus,forexample,wouldde terminethatthetextisabouteverydayworldlybeingswhereasa5;urfacereading wouldseeitasaboutShakyanluni.0r,aたα可加readingwouldreadthetextasdem om;tratingthatBuddhahoodisinherentwithinsentientbeings,whereasasurface l eadingwouldseeBuddhahoodasadistantgoal.Duringdacussionwewerere mindedagainthatdebate,suchasthedebateover励可加readings,wasunderstood notsimPlyasan泊tellectualexe17cisebutasaformofpracticeonparwithmedita tion.瓦,r訳 thetextrealizingthatthistextistalkingaboutme Dictlssionalsoturnedtothe questionoforiginalenlightenment.ltwastaughtthat,whenunderstoodcorrectly. 187
中 央 学 術 研 究 所 紀 要 第 3 4 号 theteachingdignifieddailylife.0newouldalwaysnaturally14efrainfromcausing 5;11ffering.ManyparticiPants(;ritiquedthisviewasaslipPeryslope,onethatmany inthehistoryofJaPaneseBuddhismsliddown. Thefourthandfinaldayoftheconferencehadtwopapersandaseriesoftalksby RKKrepreselltatives.Thenrstpapel`PIesentedwasthatbyRubinHabito.Pr()IRessor HabitospaPertracedthecontinuitiesanddiscontinuitiesinLotusSntrainterPretation overtime.lnhiscommentsonthepaPer,I:)ro17essorZiporynfocusedinonethical l〕1£1ctice.Heobservedthatmoralproblemsarecausedthroughabso柚tizingtherela tive(asinGreekphnos()phy).Thisishowattachmentiscl奮婁氾d.lnBuddhism,he stated,ethicalpracticeisnotsupposedtobebasedonmetaphysicalviews.Disci plineexistsbecauseitcausesthe(;5sationof5;uffering,leadstowisdom,andleads tomeditation.Prof;essorStoneremarkedthathowdifferentpeopleactchangesover time.ShegavetheexamPleofNichirenBuddhism,whichwentfrombeingaprac ticethatdefiedsecularauthoritytoonethateventuallygainedpowerandbeganto cliscriminateagainstothers.Theconvtう17sationaboutethicsledtoadiscussionofthe mannerinwhichBuddhistgroups(suchasRKK)absorbandpracticeconventional ethics(primarilyConfudanbased), Thennalpaperoftheconferencewaslニ)I゛esentedbyShinozakiMichioandcon cemedtheoriginalvowoftheBuddhaasexpressedintheformoftheLotusSUtra, whichhedeKribedassomethinglikethe Primordialwilloftheuniversetosavea11 11vingbeings丿ThisPaperrel)I`(こsentedDr.ShinozakissearchwithintheLotusSntra forthecoremeaningofbeingaLotusSUtraPractitionerandwasillspiredbyatriP tovulturePeakhetookrecentlywithRKKseminarystudentsandassuchPresented apowerfulanalysis.Duringd柚cussionhestatedthatRKKemphasizedbodhisattva r)1acticeand,th(う1e170re,wasverycontentoriented(i.e.,thisparablecanbeusedfor thatProblem・etc.)butthathewantedtosearchforadeePermeaning,thecore meaningofbeingaLotusSntral)ractitioner.SinceRKKclaimstobetheschoolof Shakyamuni,hesaid,whatisitthatdefinesthecontinuitybetweenShakyamuniand contemPoraryRKKpractitioners?lnadditiontothisveryproductivelineofconver sation,themanyhistoriansinthegrouPaskedtolea14nnloreabouttheplaceof NichireninRKK・sincediscussionofNichlrennguredprominentlyinDr.Shino zakispaper.Dr.Shinozakjrespondedthatforthefirsttwentyyearsofitsexistence RKKunderstooditselfasaNichirenbasedlaymovement,butovertimeRKK s leader,NiwanoNikky6,movedinthe(lilectionofIe・ndai.The(刈ective(tobring happinesstoasmanypeopleasl:)()5ssible),notedanRKKP£1rticipant,rlc?へにrchanged, onlytheunderstandingofhowtoreachthatobjcうctive。 188
AnerfourdaysofcontinuousanalysisoftheLotusSatraandTendai,Participants cameawaywithadeeperunderstandingofboth.Subsequenttotheconclusionof theconferenceproper,ParticipantswereinvitedtotraveltoM/utaishanoneofthe mostsacredsitesofBuddhisminChina.Mostwereabletocomeandenjoyeda wonderfuladventureandleafningexperien(;e.XvhileatNvutaishanparticiPantsvis itednunleroustemPles,enjoyedthesitesofthesmalltown,andsampledtastydishes atarearestaurants.AmongthemostimPI・essiveofthesitesvisitedwasanewtem plecomplexfornuns.Saidtohavebeenfoundedin1994byahandfulofnuns,this comPlexnowclaims600renun(こiates.ltcanonlybehopedthatsometimeinthefu tureanotherLotusconferencewillbeheldinChinaandatthattin!eparticiPantswiII seeanevengl`eaterexpansionofBuddhistactivity・ 189