"In Lay People Zen in Contemporary Japan, Erez Joskovich examines the birth and development of Zen as a non-monastic spiritual practice in 20th and 21st centuries Japan. By combining Buddhist text, historical sources, and ethnographic fieldwork, Joskovich explains how laypeople have appropriated religious authority and tailored Zen teachings to fit their needs and the zeitgeist. Focusing on the Ningen Zen Association, he explores different aspects of lay Zen as a lived religion, such as organization, ideology, and ritual. ...
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"In Lay People Zen in Contemporary Japan, Erez Joskovich examines the birth and development of Zen as a non-monastic spiritual practice in 20th and 21st centuries Japan. By combining Buddhist text, historical sources, and ethnographic fieldwork, Joskovich explains how laypeople have appropriated religious authority and tailored Zen teachings to fit their needs and the zeitgeist. Focusing on the Ningen Zen Association, he explores different aspects of lay Zen as a lived religion, such as organization, ideology, and ritual. Based on three years of fieldwork, interviews, and archival research, Joskovich comprehensively describes various Zen practices and explores their contemporary meaning and functions. Lay People Zen in Contemporary Japan uncovers lay Zen associations' previously unrecognized but essential contribution to Zen modernization. It undermines the distinction between traditional or established Buddhism and the so-called New Religions, emphasizing instead the dynamic relations between tradition and interpretation. Using clear language and insightful analysis, it sheds new light on the modernization of Zen in Japan and its place in the broader context of Buddhist modernization"--
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