Buddhism and Literature

Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being takes an invigoratingly different approach to modeling reading, empathy, and ethical action in a globe dominated by capital flows and information exchange.  What if we imagine a text as written for an ideal reader who will involve herself so intensely in the text’s story-world (its diegesis) that she may be driven to cross barriers of space and time in dream to influence its events?  Ozeki’s novel presents us with just such a radical ethics of reading.  It also asks these fascinating questions: in what ways do both Buddhist ethics and quantum physics model such an “entangled” sense of readerly and textual identity?  What would it be like for a reader to experience a truly quantum/Taoist narrative?  In Time Being Ozeki offers both Buddhism and quantum physics as counter-models to global capitalism’s pitch that freedom is best realized via market exchanges where self-interest dominates and “access” to others is guaranteed. 

Ozeki is very much in tune with other theorists, including Teresa Brennan, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and the novelist Gish Jen, who have all argued in different ways for a theory of the interdependent self as a critique of possessive individualism—not to mention works such as Arjun Appadurai’s Modernity at Large or Wai-chee Dimock’s Through Other Continents: American Literature Across Deep Time that identify complex global cultural flows shaping “local” identity and history. 

Ozeki’s A Tale For The Time Being should also become central in current debates about two other topics:  1) how can literature (including Buddhist conceptions of empathy and connection) ethically intervene in our understanding and treatment of bullying, trauma, and healing?  and 2) what role can imaginative literature play in changing self-centered and self-destructive human behavior in the Anthropocene and a time of climate crisis?

Indonesian contemporary Buddhist literature is a reflection individual dhamma experiences in the context of their respective cultural and social settings as a minority in Indonesia. In this case, Buddhist literature reflects the appreciation of their dhamma in dealing with life problems, both in managing conflict or in efforts to build peace in accordance with their context at the individual and social level. Even though it is imaginative, conflict in literary works not only provides entertainment effects, but also education because of the essence of literature as a work of art that is dulce et utile. This article describes the process of developing conflict, how conflicts occur, what factors influence or hinder conflict, what character needs to be developed to minimize the occurrence of conflict, and how to manage conflict within Indonesian Buddhist individual figures or society who live up to the teachings of the Buddha and local knowledge. The literary works that are the source of the data in this study are ten short stories from antology namely Sihir (Magic, 2015) by Bhante Don Atthapiyo, Menunggu Papa: Kisah Gadis Kecil yang Akhirnya Berdamai dengan Dirinya (The Story of a Little Girl Who Finally Peaceed with Herself, 2015) by Yanah Sucintani, a collection of short stories Asal Usul Pohon Salak (the Origin of the Salak Tree, 2011), and Ketika Metta Memilih (When Metta Chose, 2014) by Hendry Filcozwei Jan. With a qualitative content analysis study approach, it focuses on analyzing formal structures from a narrative perspective. By reconstructing and describing the structure of the narrative based on actions, choices, difficulties, conflicts, complications, resolutions, and developments experienced by the characters, this study shows that Buddhadhamma plays a role in dealing with conflicts. It encourages people to overcome suffering (dukkha) through self-reflection, looking inward. However, conflict transformation requires not only a “search inside”, it needs continuous efforts to train empathy (karuna), non-violence (ahimsa), and creative-wisdom (prajna). Thus, Buddhist literature as a medium of learning, planting Buddhist values can be more effective because it is more concrete, practical, grounded, active, and pleasant. The internalization of Buddhadhamma through this literary work is strategic in its role in developing the character of love of peace and empathy which is a condition for the creation of sustainable internal and external peace to achieve a state of self-harmony

ABSTRACT: This article proposes to review the poetry of Camilo Pessanha from a different angle other than the critics have already considered. Due to the poet's proximity with China and his knowledge about Eastern philosophies and arts, this paper aims to compare the approach of certain themes of his poetry (such as time and matter dissolution) to the manner these aspects were treated in some Eastern traditions, poetically (by Taoists and Buddhists poets), philosophically and religiously. This approach becomes profitable once it starts from the fact that in the East the philosophical and religious texts are also poetical creations.

RESUMO: O presente artigo propõe-se a avaliar a poesia de Camilo Pessanha a partir de um prisma diferente daquele que a crítica especializada tem costumado considerar. Devido à proximidade do poeta com a China e seu conhecimento acerca da arte, política e filosofias orientais, visou-se comparar a abordagem de determinados temas de sua poesia (tais como tempo e dissolução da matéria) com o tratamento que estes tiveram numa certa tradição oriental, tanto poética (de poetas assumidamente taoístas e budistas) quanto filosófico-religiosa. Foi partindo do pressuposto de que, no Oriente, também os textos filosófico-religiosos são criação poética que se julgou profícua a presente comparação.
Palavras-chave: Camilo Pessanha; poesia oriental; tempo.

In 2014 Ryszard Krynicki, an eminent Polish poet, published a modest-looking book entitled "Haiku. Haiku mistrzów" [Haiku. Haiku of the masters]. The title reflects the content of the book – it includes a number of classical haiku verses in R. Krynicki's translation and also the poet's own 'laconic' poems, i.e. a selection from his previously published poetry collections and also his new short poems. The article discusses Ryszard Krynicki's original works gathered in the described collection in two series: "Prawie haiku" [Almost haiku] and "Haiku z minionej zimy" [Haiku of the past winter], interpreting them with reference to the essence of the Buddha's thought, focusing mainly on the three Cardinal Virtues of non-attachment (araga), benevolence (adosa) and understanding (amoha).

This paper examines Tezuka Osamu’s (1928-89) retelling of the biography of the Buddha to appeal to readers of the shōnen genre of manga. Tezuka is a well-known Japanese manga writer and artist, cartoonist, animator, film producer, and activist. In 1972, he began a series of manga adventures in Japan titled Buddha (ブッダ). The series ran to 14 editions in that country, ending in 1983. Subsequently, it was translated and reproduced in eight editions worldwide. This critically acclaimed series, which won the Eisner Award in 2004 and 2005 and Harvey Awards the same years, is considered the last great work in Tezuka’s life. It has spawned two animated movies so far: Buddha: The Great Departure (Tezuka Osamu no budda: Akai sabaku yo! Utsukushiku, 2011) and Buddha 2: The Endless Journey (Tezuka Osamu no Budda: Owarinaki tabi, 2014).  A third film is scheduled to be produced.

While Astro Boy is Tezuka’s best known work in America, he equally portrays Buddha as an innocent boy who rejects the political intrigues and imperialism drawn around him. In this way, Tezuka’s Buddha retains an original purity in his heart, a Japanese post-war ideal and optimistic portrayal of the future potential of the country and the world. With reference to some of his other works, the paper describes how Buddha represents Tezuka’s own ideas as much as the canonical Buddhist telling of the life story.

This article discusses the previously unexplored integration of Buddhist thought in Richard Brautigan's 'The Tokyo-Montana Express', a book that has been categorized as a postmodern novel as well as a short-story collection. The thesis is that the "Logic of Soku-Hi, " a concept that rejects thinking in terms of either/or, mirrors the existence of traditional opposites in Brautigan's work as it not only reinforces but enhances western postmodern aesthetics.

An analysis of the Noh play <Kakitsubata> in relationship to medieval Japanese esoteric literary commentaries on <Ise monogatari>. Published in  『伊勢物語　創造と変容』[Ise monogatari: Creation and Transformation], edited by Yamamoto Tokurō 山本 登朗 and Joshua Mostow (Izumi Shoin, 2009).