Offers alternative approaches to the study of colonial and postcolonial Korean Buddhism, suggesting new directions for scholarship.
New Perspectives in Modern Korean Buddhism moves beyond nationalistic, modernist, and ethnocentric historiographies of modern Korean Buddhism by carefully examining individuals’ lived experiences, the institutional dimensions of Korean Buddhism, and its place in transnational conversations. Drawing upon rich archives as well as historical, anthropological, and literary approaches, the book examines four themes that have gained attention in recent years: perennial existential concerns and the persistent relevance of religious practice; the role of female Buddhists; clerical marriage and scandals; and engagement with secular society. The book reveals the limits of metanarratives, such as those of colonialism, nationalism, and modernity, in understanding the complex and contested identities of both monastics and laity, thus demanding that we diversify the methods by which we articulate the history of modern Korean Buddhism.
Tabla de materias
Acknowledgments
Note on Translations and Conventions
Abbreviations
Introduction
Hwansoo Kim
Part 1: Beyond the Grand Narratives in Zen Buddhism
1. What Do Zen Masters Teach Us Today? The Case of Sŏn Master Hyeam Sŏnggwan
Jin Y. Park
2. Paek Yongsŏng and the Boundaries of Early Modern Korean Buddhism: Historiographical Issues and the Question of Scale
Mark A. Nathan
Part 2: Nuns and Laywomen in Modern Korean Buddhism
3. Lady Ch’ŏn and Modern Korean Buddhism
Hwansoo Kim
4. Experiencing a Different Buddhist Community: Nun Suok’s Travel to Japan and Her Contribution to the Korean Community of Nuns
Eun-su Cho
Part 3: Clerical Celibacy, Marriage, Scandals, and Monastic Rules
5. Rethinking Married Bhikṣu: An Examination of Bhikṣu Ordinations and Clerical Marriage in 1920s Korean Buddhism
Jeongeun Park
6. Flesh in the Closet: The ‘Secret Wife’ in Korean Buddhism
Su Jung Kim
7. Monastic Regulations in Contemporary Korea
Uri Kaplan
Part 4: Secularity, Society, and Politics
8. Han Yongun, Fukuzawa Yukichi, and Questions of Nationalism and Colonialism
Gregory N. Evon
9. Kim Kugyŏng’s Liminal Life: Between Nationalism and Scholarship
Kim Cheonhak
10. Praying in Kangnam and Longing for the Mountains: The Dilemma of Centrality in Contemporary Korean Buddhism
Florence Galmiche
Bibliography
Contributors
Index
Sobre el autor
Jin Y. Park is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Religion at American University. She is the author of Buddhism and Postmodernity: Zen, Huayan, and the Possibility of Buddhist Postmodern Ethics and the editor of several books, including Buddhisms and Deconstructions.