Mohr, Michel

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10125/25582

Browse

Now showing 1 - 16 of 16

Advanced Contemplation of the Impure: Reflections on a Capstone Event in the Meditation Sutra
(MDPI, 2020-07) Mohr, Michel
The present article explores the form of meditation called contemplation of the impure (Skt aśubha-bhāvanā; Ch. bújìng guān 不淨觀) and its meticulous description in a Chinese text produced in the early fifth century CE. It illustrates the problematic nature of the pure-impure polarity and suggests that, ultimately, “purity” refers to two different things. As a generic category, it can be understood as a mental construct resulting from the mind’s discursive functioning, which tends to be further complicated by cultural factors. The other avenue for interpreting “purity” is provided in this meditation manual, which describes how meditation on impurity leads to the direct perception of purity, and to the vision of a “pure land.” This stage is identified as a “sign” marking the completion of this contemplative practice. Examining the specific nature of this capstone event and some of its implications lies at the core of the research whose initial results are presented here. Although this particular Buddhist contemplation of the impure begins with mental images of decaying corpses, it culminates with the manifestation of a vision filling the practitioner with a sense of light and purity. This high point indicates when the practice has been successful, an event that coincides for practitioners with a time when they catch a glimpse of their true nature. The last section of this article further discusses the extent to which positing an intrinsically pure nature—one of the major innovations introduced by Buddhism in fifth-century China—could inform ethical views.
The Missing Link between Meiji Universalism and Postwar Pacifism, and What It Means for the Future
(2018-05-09) Mohr, Michel
This article focuses on the life of two individuals who were actively promoting universalism in the Meiji era, becoming silent during World War II, and then resurfacing after the war, pursuing similar ideas and agendas. These two individuals were Imaoka Shin’ichirō (1881–1988), the former secretary of the Japanese Unitarian Association who died in 1988 at age 106, and Nishida Tenkō (1872–1968), the founder of the Ittōen movement. The author scrutinizes their role in formulating ideas and forming alliances between groups that still claim to promote transnational and transreligious ideas in the twenty-first century. Although Imaoka and Nishida contributed to bridge the gap between the Meiji era and today, whatever remains of their legacy may be related to the current standstill in attempts to deal with transnational and transdenominational divisions. In reviewing avenues for future transreligious conversations, this article discusses the extent to which the present Japanese religious traditions could contribute to such nonsectarian endeavors. It also indicates some of the philosophical strategies that could be adopted, highlighting the limits of common attempts based on an ethical approach, suggesting instead that empirical and epistemological approaches avoiding the pitfall of language may be more conducive to overcoming the current inertia in transreligious conversations.
Monastic Tradition and Lay Practice from the Perspective of Nantenbō: A Response of Japanese Zen Buddhism to Modernity
(Zen Buddhism Today, journal (discontinued), 1996-03) Mohr, Michel
Article examining the biography of the unconventional Zen teacher Tōshū (or Tōjū) Zenchū 鄧州全忠, known as Nantenbō 南天棒 (Nakahara 中原 1839–1925), whose "chamber name" was Hakugaikutsu 白崖窟. It discusses in particular a reform project he proposed in 1893 before considering the nationalist dimension of Nantenbō's thought and his view of lay practice.
Tōrei zenji ni miru Hakuin zen no shinmenmoku 東嶺禅師に見る白隠禅の真面目
(Zenbunka 禅文化, journal, 1987-07) Mohr, Michel
First published article by Michel Mohr, indicating one of the central topics he would explore in his dissertation about Tōrei Enji 東嶺圓慈 (1721–1792) and in subsequent publications examining the semi-mythical figure of Bodhidharma.
Kindai 'Zenshisō' no keisei: Kōgaku Sōen to Suzuki Daisetsu no yakuwari o chūshin ni 近代「禅思想」の形成　洪岳宗演と鈴木大拙の役割を中心に
(Shisō 思想, journal, 2002-11) Mohr, Michel
This article reexamines how Kōgaku Sōen and Suzuki Daisetsu "invented" the concept of "Zen thought" to suit their agendas.
Nijusseiki ni okeru kaigai zenbukkyō kenkyū no seika to nijūisseiki e no kadai: 1989-2004 no dōkō o chūshin ni ２０世紀における海外禅仏教研究の成果と２１世紀への課題　1989〜2004年の動向を中心に
(Kindai bukkyō 近代仏教, journal, 2004-05) Mohr, Michel
Review of the state of the field in Zen studies focusing on the fifteen years between 1989 and 2004.
Hiratsuka Raichō ga mita kindai no shūkyō to sono hyōka 平塚らいてうが見た近代の宗教とその評価
(Kindai bukkyō 近代仏教, journal, 2006-02) Mohr, Michel
This article examines Hiratsuka Raichō 平塚らいてう (1886–1971), the pioneer of Japanese feminism, and the different phases through which her religious awareness developed. It contributes to replace her life and work within the broader context of Meiji religious and intellectual history.
Konton no jikaku kara hyōgen e: Zenbukkyō ni okeru kotoba no toraekata no ichisokumen 混沌の自覚から表現へ　禅仏教に於ける言葉の捉え方の一側面
(Taimeidō 大明堂, 1995-03) Mohr, Michel
This piece discusses the Daoist concept of hundun 混沌 and the way it was appropriated by representative teachers belonging to the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. This leads to reexamining the link between experience and speech.
Zenbukkyō kara mita ‘experience’ 禅仏教からみた「experience」
(Tenryūji kokusai sōgō kenkyūsho 天龍寺国際総合研究所, 1999-03) Michel, Mohr
Analysis of the ambiguous concept of "experience" applied to meditation and realization, as understood in the Japanese Zen traditions. Japanese translation of the article Mohr, Michel. “Experience in the Light of Zen Buddhism.” Zen Buddhism Today 10 (1993b): 12–31.
Nantenbō to sono shisō tenkai 南天棒とその思想展開
(Kindai bukkyō 近代仏教, journal, 2000-03) Mohr, Michel
Investigation focusing on the unconventional Zen teacher Tōshū (or Tōjū) Zenchū 鄧州全忠, known as Nantenbō 南天棒 (Nakahara 中原 1839–1925), whose "chamber name" was Hakugaikutsu 白崖窟. This article provides hitherto unpublished materials.
Fūshiga mondai no haikei o saguru 風刺画問題の背景を探る
(Akashi Shoten 明石書店, 2007-01) Mohr, Michel
Analysis of the 2005 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy and the way it was envisioned by various European protagonists right after the event.
Zengaku niwa hōhōron ga ariuruka 禅学には方法論がありうるか？
(Heirakuji shoten 平楽寺書店, 2001-10) Mohr, Michel
A survey of the state of the field until 2000, first presented at the Annual Conference of the Japanese Association for Buddhist Studies in Hiroshima (October 2000). It was then published in the journal Nihon bukkyō gakkai nenpō 日本仏教学会年報 66 (2001). This PDF results from the digitization of the second version included in the volume published by Heirakuji shoten.
Traité sur l’Inépuisable Lampe du Zen : Tōrei (1721–1792) et sa vision de l’éveil
(Institut Belge des Hautes Études Chinoises, 1997) Mohr, Michel
Japanese Buddhist history since the Tokugawa period is neglected by Japanese and Western scholarship. Despite the apparent popularity of “Zen,” studies on the Tokugawa Rinzai school are particularly scarce. Moreover, access to the vast majority of sources remains limited to those who can read classical texts in their original language. The translation of Tōrei Enji’s text constitutes my response to this lack of sources. It provides the first integral translation of Tōrei’s major work, The Treatise on the Inexhaustible Lamp of Zen, and enables us to get a firsthand account of meditation practice in the tradition that has shaped today’s monastic life. Tōrei’s treatise details the whole process of meditation, which remains almost identical to the curriculum of today’s monks.
Tōrei no chosaku ni kansuru mondai (sono ichi): Bumo onnanpōkyō chūge to "kōkō" no shisō 東嶺の著作に関する問題（その一）父母恩難報経註解と「孝行」の思想
(Zengaku kenkyūkai 禅学研究会, 1995-01) Mohr, Michel
Japanese version of the article examining the Sutra on the Difficulty of Reciprocating the Kindness of Parents (Fùmǔ ēn nánbào jīng 父母恩難報經, T 16 no. 684) and its reinterpretation by the Japanese Rinzai Zen monk Tōrei Enji 東嶺圓慈 (1721–1792).
Filial Piety with a Zen Twist: Universalism and Particularism Surrounding the Sutra on the Difficulty of Reciprocating the Kindness of Parents
(Brill, 2013-05) Mohr, Michel
This article examines the Sutra on the Difficulty of Reciprocating the Kindness of Parents (Fùmǔ ēn nánbào jīng 父母恩難報經, T 16 no. 684) and its reinterpretation by the Japanese Rinzai Zen monk Tōrei Enji 東嶺圓慈 (1721–1792). In the context of the Tokugawa period (1600–1867) where filial piety was upheld as one of the pillars of morality and Neo-confucian orthodoxy, Tōrei’s commentary of this sutra skillfully combined the particularist understanding of filiality as limited to one’s relatives with its broader construal as a universal attitude of reverence directed toward all sentient beings. The father is envisioned as the wisdom and the excellence of the Buddha, the mother as the compassionate vows of the Bodhisattva, and the children as those who emit the thought of awakening. Tōrei further pushed this interpretation by adding the distinct Zen idea that the initial insight into one’s true nature needs to be surpassed and refined by perfecting the going beyond (kōjō 向上) phase of training, where the child/disciple’s legacy and his indebtedness towards his spiritual mentors is recast in terms of overcoming one’s attainments and attachment to them.
Plowing the Zen Field: Trends Since 1989 and Emerging Perspectives
(Blackwell Publishing, 2012) Mohr, Michel
This survey article focuses on the object and scope of Zen Studies, and on trends visible since 1989. It argues that scholarship about Chan, Zen, Chan, Seon, and Thieˆn should be more closely integrated with Buddhist Studies, and that the boundaries of this field need to be expanded. Critical and epistemologically aware scholarship only emerged in the 1990s. Hence, scholars need to make a concerted effort in devoting more attention to methodological issues. This in turn ought to be skillfully distilled to non-academic audiences.

Browse

Recent Submissions