K. M. University, India Christianity in the Land of Santhals: a study of Resistance and Acceptance in Historical Perspective(03U)

Kigoshi, Yasushi

Otani University, Japan

The Significance of the Awareness of One's Own "Evil" (Aku) Today: With a Focus on Shinran's Thought(05I)

"Evil" (aku) is an important concept in Shinran's understanding of human existence, which can be found in such expressions as "burdened with deep and grave karmic evil" or "foolish and evil living beings." One of the distinctive characteristics of his thought is that this self-awareness is coupled with the conviction of one's salvation. This paper will discuss how such an understanding of "evil" can contribute to the peace of the individual and society today, which continues to demonstrate evilness in successive wars, violence, violations of human rights, environmental destruction, etc. Kiyozawa Manshi's Seishinshugi ("Spiritual Awareness" or "Spiritual Activism"), representing religious life based on a modern interpretation of Shinran, has often been criticized for its alleged passivity and indifference to social problems. This panel will re-examine such criticism and consider what could arise from the awareness of human "evilness" to the betterment of society today.

Organized panel, * Session Abstract, Japanese
Kikama, Koichiro

Hachinohe University, Japan

The Viewpoint of the Family for Canonization of Edith Stein(09R)

The Catholic Church beatified Edith Stein in 1987, and canonized her in 1998. The Catholic Church thinks that Edith Stein, who was a born Jewish and died as a Catholic is a bridge of mutual understanding between Catholicism and Judaism. The Jewish people made demur about this thought. But that demur raised religious dialogues between the two communities, and the points issued has become apparent to the Jewish people. Ms. Susanne M. Batzdolff, a niece of Edith Stein, is one of those who engaged in the dialogues. I will present her viewpoint of Edith Stein.

Organized panel, Japanese
Kikkawa, Shuhei

Kyoto City University of Arts, Japan

Laughter as a Symbol of Approval in Japanese Fertility Rites or Ta-asobi(02P)

Among Japanese folk performing arts, the most humorous is ta-asobi. Ta-asobi literally means "rice field-play," and is a fertility rite that symbolically enacts various aspects of the process of rice planting. For example, a hoe is represented by a piece of rice cake and a rice field by the surface of a drum. Performers hit the drum with the rice cake to symbolize the hoeing of a rice field. During this aspect of the ritual, both the performers and spectators laugh. This paper will explore the meaning of laughter throughout ta-asobi and argue that the efficacious power of laughter is linked with the ways it symbolizes community approval of agricultural activities and processes.

Organized panel, English
Kikuchi, Noritaka

Ohka Gakuen University, Japan

At the Forefront of Daoist Studies (1) Aspects of Daoist Philosophies(10H)

*respondent

Organized panel, French
Kim, Chae Young

Sogang University, Korea

A Study on a Daily Korean Spirituality: Special Reference to the Contemporary Well-being Movements(04B)

Like other places, traditionally Korean contemporary spiritual movements-conversion, revival service, scripture studies, family worship, prayer movements and so on--have proceeded within the boundary of religious traditions. And frequently several movements have broken through their traditions to establish new religions. However such traditional spiritual movements have decreased in contemporary Korea. Instead new spiritual movements have appeared outside the realms of religious traditions. Especially they have been very apparent in contemporary Korean daily life. Especially, since the beginning of the new millennium, a new daily spiritual movement or well-being movement has been dominant in daily Korean life. Contemporary Koreans have been influenced in many ways. Thus they have exposed their inclination to judge their value of life on the basis of well-being principles. In this paper I will examine such aspects in the various forms of Korean well-being movements.

Symposium, English
Kim, Chae Young

Sogang University, Korea

A Study on the Religious Dimension of Death Studies in Korea(11D)

Every human being is mortal. He or she was dead, is dying, and will be dead. This is not a philosophical theory but a simple fact of life. Nevertheless, like other modern human beings, modern Koreans are not much concerned about this simple fact. As the result, Korean academic do not consider this fact seriously either. However, fortunately, recently many Korean academic fields have begun to develop 'death studies', resulting in various publications on this topic. In this paper, first I will summarize the various researches on death studies and then articulate the religious dimensions within death studies in Korea.

Symposium, English
Kim, Chongsuh

Seoul University, Korea

Inter-religious Conflicts and Religious Education in Contemporary Korea(03D)

Contemporary Korea is a multi-religious society. Naturally, large or small scale conflicts arise between religious groups. Moreover, inter-religious troubles related to the educational system such as educational ideologies, textbook contents and forced chapel attendance have often caused social conflicts. Most of the problems derive from mutual ignorance about the religion of other groups. Thus, religious education is important, for it offers a chance to learn about other religions. Significantly, middle and high schools in Korea have included 'religion' courses into their regular curricula since 1982. This regularization has provided different religious groups with opportunities to get together in order to develop a common curriculum of 'religion', to create new textbooks and to train teachers. It has resulted in inter-religious dialogues on various dimensions. Korea's case is heuristic and thus might offer a creative model for the improvement of religiously conflicting structures in other societies.

Organized panel
Kim, Chon-hak

Tokyo University, Japan

Conversion Theory in East Asian Huayan Thought(08M)

Huayan Buddhism originated in China and was mainly constituted by the philosophy of the One Vehicle of Huayan with its distinctive view of doctrinal classification. According to Huayan thought, it is understood that reaching the world of Huayan is equal to attaining buddhaphala. How, then, can we reach the world of the One Vehicle? This is possible by conversion. Conversion theory in Huayan Buddhism has its origins in the work of Zhi-yan, and, latterly, Fa-zang. This theory was not well known in Chinese Huayan Buddhism, though it was regarded as important in Korea and Japan. However, Korean and Japanese Huayan Buddhist approaches to conversion theory differed considerably. In this paper, I examine how the conversion theory of Huayan Buddhism was interpreted by East Asian Huayan masters.

Organized panel, Japanese
Kim, Heup Y.

Kangnam University, Korea

Sanctity of Life from a Confucian-Christian Perspective(01J)

Whether do we, a species named homo sapience, have a right to choose, alter, and enhance our own life form and nature (DNA) to become a better species (superhuman)? If yes, then where should we draw the line to protect the sanctity of life? In theology, this question is related the issues of creatio continua and "created co-creator." In fact, we homo faber already have made ourselves cyborgs (in interface with machine). Furthermore, scientists are at the verge of mastering biotechnologies in producing human embryonic stem cell and cloning. What can religions do about this? What does the sanctity of life mean in this context. This paper will tackle this great koan in this century from a Confucian-Christian perspective. Reviewing contemporary debates on these issues, it will attempt to construct a proper theology of life with reference to those of Philip Hefner, Holmes Rolston, III, and Ted Peters.

Organized panel, English
Kim, Heup Y.

Kangnam University, Korea

A Confucian-Christian Journey: Seeking a Korean Christian Identity(02E)

As a Christian from a conservative Korean Confucian family steeped in more than one millennium, I find my theological trainings in the West insufficient in grasping the totality of my spiritual yearnings. In a remote art colony that preserves the beauty and solitude of the old Confucian Korea, I found a clue to my spiritual identity. I am a Christian but different from those of traditional Western forms, perhaps virtually with a dual identity such as Confucian-Christian. With this experience, I begin to critically reexamine theology from this Korean vantage point and theologically own up to our own metaphors and symbols. Evaluating three prevailing doctrines of soteriology, original sin, and religious pluralism, I propose a new paradigm of Asian theology by owing up to the Tao, a religio-cultural root metaphor for East Asian people. That is to say, theo-tao (theology as the way of life) instead of theo-logy or theo-praxis.

Organized panel, English
Kim, Jeong Hee

Kwang Myung Hoy, Korea

Religious Pluralism and International Peace by Faith Movements: SEICHO-NO-IE as a Case Study(03B)

Why did my father devote most of half his life to the propagation of a religion born in Japan in South Korea, where anti-Japanese sentiments are so strong? There was a period in time when relations between Korea and Japan were very troubled and unhappy. It was during those times that Rev. Kim's father was introduced to and accepted Seicho-No-Ie (Dr. Masaharu Taniguchi's philosophy of the existence of only God's True Image) which was born in Japan. He dedicated his life to the propagation of this thought, this faith. While tracing the path of how his father was able to accept the teachings of Seicho-No-Ie, which were born in Japan, he will also share his own personal feelings on taking over where his father left off.

Organized panel, English
Kim, Moon-Gil

Pusan University of Foreign Studies, Korea

Mu-Kyokai Christianity in Korea and the Social Justice in Kim Kyo-Shin(15I)

Japanese Christianity aligned itself with the Sino-Japanese War and the Russian-Japanese War because of Mei-ji Ishin(Revitalizing Reform) which consisted of patriotic spirit. A Christian leader, Uchimura-Kanzo, revolted against Japanese imperialism and expressed his discontentment with traditional churches. As a result, he founded Mu-Kyokai Christianity, which also attracted many Korean people. Mu-Kyokai Christianity was introduced into Korea by. Kim, Kyo-shin, who published the Holy Bible in Korean language, started an anti-colonial movement, and continued the struggle against the ideology of Japanese Imperialism. This paper will focus on these historical developments and explore how they might inspire and sustain struggles for social justice in contemporary times.

Organized panel, Japanese
Kim, Myung-Ja

Andong National University, Korea

Sae-ma-eul'(New Community) Movement and the Change of Village's Traditional Belief(08D)

The villages' traditional beliefs have been devaluated through the Saemaul Movement, but now are becoming a new turning point in its revaluation as a result of the changing times.

Symposium, English
Kim, Seong Nae

Sogang University, Korea

Countering the Historical Violence: Women's Rites of Mourning in Korea(13C)

This paper examines the emergence of a women's sphere and its ritual power in the politics of Korean national memory and mourning in the postwar era. In the recent public discourses for "the clarification of historical truth in the past" including Japanese colonial period, mass deaths and civilian massacres before and after the Korean War, women's experiences and testimonies are nearly invisible and neglected. However, women form the majority of victims and survivors of this historical violence. The public rituals evoking the non-normative female figures, living or dead, such as 'comfort women', sex slaves, sex workers, and deformed or disabled women have formed a women's sphere whose claims for the right of mourning and restitution counter the dominant mode of national memory. The idea of 'women's sphere' is used here as a political society as opposed to the notion of the Habermasian public sphere. Political society provides a space of re-thinking the notion of the political for the subaltern. For the purpose of this paper, I will analyze the cases of women's shamanic rites of mourning which were held by feminist groups and female shamans for the dead souls of 'Comfort Women' two times in 2003 and 2004, as well as cases of women's shamanic rites of healing for the souls of family members killed in the Cheju April Third Incident of 1948.

Organized panel
Kim, Seung Chul

Kinjo Gakuin University, Japan

Rethinking Interreligious Dialogue: Challenges and Reorientations Session 1: From Conflict to Dialogue?(01G)

It is a sign of our time that increased conflict among religions has stimulated an ever-growing chorus of voices calling for self-examination and mutual understanding among religions traditionally at odds with one another. The same spirit of dialogue that seeks to relax tensions among organized religions and religious groups also enhances the lives of the individuals who take part in it, even as the refusal to dialogue closes one off from the riches that religious traditions have to offer each other. This panel proposes to take a second look at the setting in which "interreligious dialogue" is being carried on in various countries around the world. Scholars from Asia, Europe, and the Americas engaged in research on dialogue will examine ways to promote a mutual exchange of experiences and expertise, and at the same time take a critical look at the failure of dialogue both on the individual and the organized levels of religion. The opening session will take the form of discussion under a title "From Conflict to Dialogue?" and the second session will focus on "Reconsidering Christianity."

Organized panel, * Session Abstract, English
Kim, Seung Chul

Kinjo Gakuin University, Japan

Religious Pluralism from an Asian Perspective(02G)

I would like to speak on the theology of religious pluralism and interreligious dialogue from the perspective of East Asian Protestants.

Organized panel, English
Kim, Seung Chul

Kinjo Gakuin University, Japan

The Religious Situation in East Asia and Social Justice: Mu-Kyokai Christianity in Japan and South Korea(15I)

*respondent

Organized panel
Kim, Sung-Eun

Seoul National University, Korea

Buddhism of the Joseon Dynasty: Specialist of the Spiritual Realm(17L)

Despite state oppression of Buddhism as a heterodoxy during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), Buddhism was able maintain its position as a significant power and authority of the spiritual realm. That was because it satisfied the religious needs of all, even the Joseon kings, the members of the royal family, and the families of anti-Buddhist Confucian officials. In an ultra-Confucian Joseon society, specialists in the realm of the afterlife, such as Buddhist monks, were all the more needed because Confucianism did not dwell on those matters. Furthermore and ironically, the Confucian virtue of filial piety urged the living sons to ensure the safe journey of the their ancestors to a better world after death, namely the Buddhist heavens and by way of Buddhist rituals. Being a specialist in the realm of the afterlife was a necessary asset that Joseon Buddhism was able to exploit when not only their political power but also their economic power had been stripped away. As a result, the ideas and belief systems of the afterlife and the related rituals became more fully developed and became a significant part in the system of Korean Buddhist soteriology. Ultimately, it transformed the main characteristics of Korean Buddhism from the protection of the nation to that of ensuring a better life after death.

Organized panel, English
Kim, Young Ho

Inha University, Korea

In Search of Viable Religious Paradigms for Peace and Unification of the Korean Peninsula(02W)

Peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula remain baffling problems or kongan (k'ung-an, koan) for Koreans to resolve. This situation requires a sound and persuasive theoretical basis to guide practical and political processes and strategies, ideally to be drawn from the humanistic, especially religious traditions. Even the successful 'sunshine policy' towards the North extended by the previous regime of the South showed a religious dimension as it involved compassionate love of the enemy. Some viable solutions may be found in the patterns discernible throughout the Korean religious traditions: pluralism, syncretism, multiculturalism, holistic (han) thought. Any of them stands to be translated politically into a form of federalism, which has already been reached by the two sides. The symbol of 'three' and triunity as a pluralistic pattern found throughout the tradition is culturally significant, and worthy of exploration in this regard is the concept of triune unity as expounded in a Buddhist scripture, the Lotus-sutra, which assumedly provided the theoretical basis for the unification of the Three Kingdoms in the 7th century.

Organized panel, English
Kim, Young-Hwang

Taisho University, Japan

Rational Suicide and Euthanasia(09K)

One question nowadays closely related to the issue of euthanasia is the one of "rational suicide." Suicide is fundamentally defined as a "voluntary act to end one's life through one's own hands." The question I want to raise here is whether rational suicide, a form of suicide which can be ethically tolerated, is possible at all. According to the traditional psychiatric explanation, suicide is an act caused by mental disorder and depression and therefore cannot be considered as rational. However, rational suicide was accepted widely in ancient times, and it is an issue that is also reviving in medical debates in modern America with regard to the plight experienced by the terminally ill.

Organized panel, Japanese
Kim, Yun Seong

Hanshin University, Korea

New Women's Understanding of Religion in Early Modern Korea(10D)

This paper analyzes the way New Women in modern Korea understood religion. New Women pursued a new life style based on gender equality. They also maintained different attitudes toward religions or religion in general. Some blamed religion itself as the very root of gender inequality. Others accepted a specific religion as a short cut to gender equality. In the latter case, however, they criticized other religions for their gender inequality. In such different views on religion, New Women weighed the advantages and disadvantages of religion for women's emerging rights.

Symposium, English
Kimura, Akiko

Fuji Women's University, Japan

The Practical Dialogue of Religion through the Activity of Mother Theresa in India(09R)

We still face the reality that many people are killed by terrorists every day. The cause of strife usually involves racial and religious conflicts. However, one nun crossed the boundaries of religious and ethnic difference. Her name is Mother Theresa, and she devoted her life to the people of Indian. In her work, which helped the world's poorest, and in her building a worldwide network of charities, there were no boundaries or conflict. This is evinced by the fact that that Indian government awarded her the high honor, a state funeral with military escort. At her funeral, liturgy, prayers, and statements were offered by representatives of a variety of faiths, including a Muslim, a Sikh, and a Buddhist. Her sincere love touched the lives of the Indian people. In this paper I would like to argue that Mother Theresa is a good model for the creation of peace.

Organized panel, Japanese
Kimura, Akiko

Fuji Women's University, Japan

Christian Concepts of Charity and Love(09R)

*chairperson

Organized panel
Kimura, Bunki

Aichi Gakuin University, Japan

A Gap between Theory and Practice of Fuse (Dana) in Modern Japan(17F)

Two types of fuse (dana) have recently been considered separately among Japanese Buddhists. One is the idea of perfect fuse. To be practiced by Mahayana Bodhisattvas as described in ancient texts, which is adduced as the basis for the rights of organ donation for transplantation. Some Buddhists are, however, opposed to regarding it as a kind of fuse because it is not practiced as a part of Buddhist training, and because it does not meet the qualification of trimandala-parisuddha. The other is the real property offered to monks or temples, which is usually treated as a consideration for several services, and in which the above-mentioned qualification is not required. It has emerged as a tradition, based on the concept of punya-ksetra, in the history of Japanese Buddhism. Both types of fuse respectively symbolize "Buddhism in doctrinal texts" and "Buddhism in actual practice." The problem is to bridge the gap between them, since they are not connected in modern Japan.

Organized panel, Japanese
Kimura, Kiyotaka

International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, Japan

Recent One Hundred Years of Buddhist Studies in Japan(01A)

In this paper, the author has two purposes. One is to try to elucidate from the methodological viewpoint the fundamental aspect of Buddhist studies beginning at the early Meiji period, in which just started the〈new〉method of Buddhist studies imported from Europe. Another is to observe the future of Buddhist studies. Japan has the long tradition of Buddhist studies since the time of transmission of Buddhism in sixth century. But, the〈new〉method of Buddhist studies in modern Japan began almost irrelevantly to such tradition. That was the philological method of Buddhist studies of European style. This method has been until now maintained as the most important in Buddhist studies in Japan. The author also agrees that the study by that method is very important as the base of axis of Buddhist studies. However, it would be needed in present days, the author considers, that enterprising researchers of Buddhism should further challenge historical study of Buddhism, and, if possible, comparative study of Buddhism, standing on the fruits of philological study of valuable Buddhist texts.

Organized panel, English
Kimura, Takeshi

University of Tsukuba, Japan

(02L)

Roundtable session

Kimura, Takeshi

University of Tsukuba, Japan

Religions and Science/Technology(05A)

*IAHR-UNU (United Nations University) special joint panel

Organized panel
Kimura, Takeshi

University of Tsukuba, Japan

Indigenous Religions and Environment: Toward Sustainable Societies(10L)

This panel will address the concern of sustainability from the perspective of relationship between religions and environment, especially in the case of indigenous religions. It will try to reflect both indigenous people's concern and scholars' concern together, while it will offer an opportunity to examine the issue cross-culturally, in order to promote theoretical and methodological discussion, too. How and why do indigenous people perceive certain environmental form and force sacred? What sort of human-environment relationships are found not only at the discursive level, but also on a practical level? Do indigenous people perceive religious differences between animals, plants, earth, air, water and other constitutive elements of the environment? How does religious concern intersect with economic and political concern over environment? The panel will be an excellent opportunity to share the inter-cultural dialogue.

Organized panel, * Session Abstract, English