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Collins, Casey Ray

University of British Columbia

Shinnyo-en is often characterized as a Buddhist-derived new religion by scholars, the Japanese government, and Shinnyo-en itself. This dissertation explains why a full picture of this religion requires an understanding of how its Buddhist features relate to what I argue is the most important aspect of Shinnyo-en today: the hagiography of and devotion to its founders, the Itō Family. Every aspect of Shinnyo-en is linked with stories about its founders, which provide members with a reflexive framework for interpreting life events, understanding what is morally good, and cultivating devotional affect. As is the case with other historically new religions, part of Shinnyo-en’s “newness” has been attributed to its recent origins and novel practices derived from a variety of Japanese religious traditions. However, a clear understanding of Shinnyo-en as experienced by the median follower emerges when the hagiography of its founding family is seen as the dominant logic shaping every aspect of Shinnyo-en—its teachings, practices, spaces, material culture, and members’ identities. Borrowing an important Mahāyāna term referring to ultimate truth or the true nature of reality (shinnyo 真如; Skt. tathatā), the religion’s name, “Shinnyo-en” means the “borderless garden” (en) of “truth” (shinnyo). Today, shinnyo has become almost synonymous with the Itō Family, who are for the median member Shinnyo-en’s most immediate manifestations of truth or buddhahood. The Itōs and stories about them have a primary soteriological value for Shinnyo-en members; members’ testimonies demonstrate devotional affect toward the Itōs, who fulfil multiple roles as fictive kin, Buddhist masters, and eternal spiritual beings who watch over and intervene in their followers’ lives. Based on analyses of publications available to the median member, testimonies, material culture, and informal participant observation, this dissertation demonstrates how Shinnyo-en creates a boundless mnemonic environment based on the Itōs and stories of their exceptional lives. This emotional mythos of overcoming trials and unleashing miraculous powers binds members to one another, the organization, and the founders. Members learn to make the story of their own lives—personal challenges and triumphs—into new stories about the Itō Family, as they walk in the founders’ footsteps.

Text

2024-04-30

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/84431

Asian Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/