Experimental Buddhism: Innovation and Activism in Contemporary Japan

Series Editor's Preface

Series Editor’s Preface Buddhism in Japan has long been shaped and reshaped by conservative and progressive forces, pushing and pulling their ways toward contending versions of meaning and truth. It comes as no surprise that some priests in contemporary Japan are experimenting with new ideas, avant-garde expressions, and spirited efforts to remake temple traditions, which, left to themselves, are in danger of falling into irrelevance, especially with the younger generation. What does come as a surprise is the fascinating ingenuity of these experiments. In this volume, John Nelson introduces experimental Buddhism as a concept and social phenomenon, and lays out the tracks to be followed into the future, when we will be able to see whether these trials will end in error or success. George J. Tanabe, Jr. series editor ...