The great Buddhist priest Kukai (774-835) is credited with the introduction and establishment of tantric -or esoteric -Buddhism in early ninth-century Japan. In Ryuichi Abe examines this important religious figure -neglected in modern academic literature -and his profound influence on Japanese culture. Offering a radically new approach to the study of early religious history -combining historical research, discourse analysis, literary criticism, and semiology -Abe contends that the importance of Kukais transmission of esoteric Buddhism to Japan lay not in the foundation of a new sect but in...
The great Buddhist priest Kukai (774-835) is credited with the introduction and establishment of tantric -or esoteric -Buddhism in early ninth-century...
"Whenever I have questions on Mahayana Buddhist doctrine, I return to this text and Professor Hakeda's interpretation of it. I wonder if I will ever encounter a work that is at once more profound, attractive, and mysterious than the Awakening of Faith." -- Ryuichi Ab, from the introduction
First published in 1967, Yoshito S. Hakeda's critical interpretation of the Awakening of Faith has become a classic. This edition, which includes a new introduction by Ryuichi Ab, presents a beautiful and accessible translation of one of the...
"Whenever I have questions on Mahayana Buddhist doctrine, I return to this text and Professor Hakeda's interpretation of it. I wonder if I will eve...
