Donald Keene Lecture 3: Incidents at Otsu

February 22, 2000

Donald Keene Lecture 3: Incidents at Otsu
Altschul Auditorium (417 International Affairs Building), Columbia University (118th St. and Amsterdam Ave.)
6:00 PM

February 24 (Thursday)
Lecture: “Original Enlightenment” Discourse in Medieval Japanese Culture
Jacqueline Stone (Associate Professor, Japanese Religions, Dept. of Religion, Princeton University); Discussion with Ryuichi Abe (Kao Associate Professor of Japanese Religion, Department of Religion, Columbia University)
403 Kent Hall, Columbia University (116th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Booktalk on her recent work: Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism

“Original enlightenment” (hongaku) doctrine asserts that all things are Buddha, just as they are.  Emerging from within the powerful Tendai school of Buddhism, this discourse exerted an immense impact on medieval Japanese culture, including the arts and nascent theories of Shinto.  Scholars have long recognized its importance but differ over its interpretation.  Some have touted it as the pinnacle of Buddhist philosophy, while others have condemned it as a dangerous antinomianism that undermined morality and religious discipline.  Its relation to the new Buddhist movements of medieval Japan—Zen, Pure Land, and Nichiren—is hotly debated. Jacqueline Stone’s recent study, Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism, reconsiders this discourse in its historical and institutional contexts.  The author reflects on some of the book’s conclusions, questioning established scholarly readings of “original enlightenment thought” and noting issues still unresolved.