Some recent articles on the
web have been connecting the recent hostility towards
Muslims, to the prejudice against Japanese-Americans,
many of whom were Jodo Shinshu Buddhists, during the
Second World War.
Here are some excerpts:
Tricycle Editor's Blog:
Barbara's Buddhism Blog:University of Michigan professor Scott Kurashige, author of The Shifting Ground of Race, notes a parallel between the hostility toward Japanese-Americans during WWII and hostility toward Muslims in America today. Kurashige notes that in both cases, the United States was attacked on its own soil by a foreign enemy, leaving Americans sharing either the religious beliefs or ethnicity of the attackers the targets of their fellow citizens. In the case of Japanese-Americans, organizations like the Anti-Asiatic Association and the Asian Exclusion Association attempted to designate certain areas off limits to non-whites and protested the building of Buddhist temples and even Japanese Christian churches. Eventually, this threatened to interfere with the US government’s efforts to convince East Asian nations they hoped to align with that this was not a war of race.
Public Radio International interview with Scott Kurashige, University of MichiganI did a little more digging and learned that Jodo Shinshu priests were arrested by the FBI and imprisoned separately from the internment camps. (Jodo Shinshu is the largest Japanese Pure Land school.) The priests were targeted for arrest because they were community leaders.
I think it actually does bring to mind a number of parallels with what happened to Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants during World War Two. Just after Pearl Harbor, again the government did arrest anyone they possibly thought could be even a remotely potential threat. In many cases these arrests were unjustified. My grandfather, for instance, had committed no crime. His only act of causing him to be suspicious was to be a Buddhist minister. So, again, roughly 5,000 had already been detained and yet there were so many in American society that felt that was not sufficient. What they wanted was to simply wipe the influence of all Japanese Americans, immigrants who are American born, out of their neighborhoods, out of their cities. And it ultimately led to an extremely irrational case that Japanese were suspected of being threats and saboteurs and fifth columnists.

An increasingly popular tradition,
Buddhism continues to penetrate western ideas of
science, psychology, and spirituality. What might we
expect from the sectarian facets of the Buddhist
community? How will American Buddhism differ from its
historic roots? Patheos engages these questions in its
Future of Religion series.
A discussion on the future
of Buddhism is taking place on the Patheos website. Of
particular interest, we suggest:
"Challenges and Opportunities:
Speculations on a Buddhist Future" by Jeff
Wilson, Renison University College
"An Editorial Introduction to The
Future of Buddhism" by Gary Gach, Patheos
"Heresy and the Future of Japanese
Buddhism in Hawaii" by George Tanabe, University
of Hawaii
Patheos claims to have
balanced view of religion and spirituality. It includes
portals to information from Judaism to Islam and
articles featuring comedian, Jon Stewart to the effects
of Supreme Court decisions. The Future of Buddhism is
part of a series titled, The Future of Religions.
Thanks to Casey for writing and providing the
link.
READ MORE AT PATHEOS...
His Eminence is the 24th
generation descendant of the founder of Jodo Shinshu,
Shinran Shonin. The Monshu is the spiritual Leader of
the Honpa Hongwanji and the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist
Temples of Canada.
Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, a Pureland tradition, was
founded nearly 800 years ago in Japan.
His Holiness the Dalai
Lama holding a interactive session with Buddhist
practitioners from
various Buddhist temples at a hotel in
Nagano
On June 20, at an informal
discussion with over 200 Buddhist priests in Nagano,
Japan, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said Japan with its
highly developed scientific knowledge combined with its
ancient Buddhist tradition can produce Buddhist
scientists.
He said Japanese Buddhist practitioners should engage
in dialogues with scientists to explore areas where
science and religion can find a common ground i
understanding universal values like compassion and
kindness.
Meditation is a healthy way to develop a calm mind. You
don’t have to use injections or drugs to achieve peace
of mind,” he said. Interests in Buddhist science, which
has little to do with abstract and esoteric notions of
religion like after-life, has grown over the past years
as scientific findings increasingly point to the
inherent connection between physical and emotional
well-being, he said.

His Holiness the
Dalai Lama meeting Japanese children
In the United States,
universities of Stanford, Wisconsin, and Emory have
already established programs to study the development
of a peaceful life. Tibetan monks in India now study
modern science in addition to regular Buddhist
curriculum. All western scientists interested in
Tibetan Buddhism were either Jews, Christians or
non-believers, he said, but Japan with its background
in Nalanda tradition of Buddhism that emphasizes logic
and investigation in reaching the ultimate reality has
the potential contribute a lot in such secular
dialogues.
According to Ven. Yukai Shimizu, an official with
Zenkoji Temple, this exchange of ideas between His
Holiness and Japanese priests on Buddhism which was
held at the convention hall of Kokusai Hotel is a
“once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” because not many
Japanese priests get such forums to discuss and debate.
“It’s a great opportunity for them to learn from His
Holiness,” he said.
READ MORE AT TIBET
CUSTOM...