Adaptation of Tradition and Condition: the Dialectical Relationship
Adaptation of Tradition and Condition: The Dialectical Relationship
Buddhism is considered as the most important religion in South Asia; developed from Indian roots, it has affected culture, politics philosophy, art and architecture, even standards of living from last two thousand years in significant countries of South Asian Asia, including Japan. This paper deals with some problems that arise from the evolution and adaptation of traditions in Japan with reference to Buddhism. There exists a dialectical relationship between tradition and new conditions in all religions. In every scenario, the meaning of a new condition if to a greater or lesser degree colored and conditioned by the weight of the given tradition, whereas tradition is inevitably transformed or transmutated to sustain the features of the tradition itself. Some remarks might be made to specify my general perspectives pertaining to the paradoxical nature of religion, the character of Buddhist tradition, the cultural pattern ,and the relevance of new conditions that confront the Buddhist tradition in contemporary times.
First, religion, however it is interpreted in different contexts has both universal and particular dimensions. At the same time, religion must be particular, precisely because the universal elements of religion must be communicated. The universal must be particularized and the particular must be universalized, if religion is to be meaningful at all. In this respect, it is our observation that while Buddhism has tended historically to stress the particular elements in various parts of Asia, its universal dimension has never been lost completely.
Second, the historic character of the Buddhist tradition has never been too belligerent toward existing local religions and cultures. Both the Theravada and Mahayana schools of Buddhism despite their apparent disagreements over doctrines and practices, share the same spirit of “tolerance” as exemplified by the Theravada Buddhist attitude
Buddhism is considered as the most important religion in South Asia; developed from Indian roots, it has affected culture, politics philosophy, art and architecture, even standards of living from last two thousand years in significant countries of South Asian Asia, including Japan. This paper deals with some problems that arise from the evolution and adaptation of traditions in Japan with reference to Buddhism. There exists a dialectical relationship between tradition and new conditions in all religions. In every scenario, the meaning of a new condition if to a greater or lesser degree colored and conditioned by the weight of the given tradition, whereas tradition is inevitably transformed or transmutated to sustain the features of the tradition itself. Some remarks might be made to specify my general perspectives pertaining to the paradoxical nature of religion, the character of Buddhist tradition, the cultural pattern ,and the relevance of new conditions that confront the Buddhist tradition in contemporary times.
First, religion, however it is interpreted in different contexts has both universal and particular dimensions. At the same time, religion must be particular, precisely because the universal elements of religion must be communicated. The universal must be particularized and the particular must be universalized, if religion is to be meaningful at all. In this respect, it is our observation that while Buddhism has tended historically to stress the particular elements in various parts of Asia, its universal dimension has never been lost completely.
Second, the historic character of the Buddhist tradition has never been too belligerent toward existing local religions and cultures. Both the Theravada and Mahayana schools of Buddhism despite their apparent disagreements over doctrines and practices, share the same spirit of “tolerance” as exemplified by the Theravada Buddhist attitude