The Vinaya Pitaka In Japanese Buddhism: Historical Position, Practice-Based Tensions, and Cultural Adaptation

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 66 Sayı: 2, 1179 - 1217, 30.11.2025

Merve Susuz Aygül

https://doi.org/10.33227/auifd.1526776

https://izlik.org/JA43GW68UP

Öz

Vinaya Pitaka, the monastic rule text containing the rules set by Buddha, has continued to exist as one of the foundations of the Buddhist monastic institution and Buddhist tradition from its beginning to the present day. It has shaped the monastic institution and the monastic identity in Buddhist schools. Despite this important state in Buddhism, the position of Vinaya Pitaka has been uncertain and uneven from the beginning in Japanese Buddhism. According to official records, the Vinaya rules were put into practice about two hundred years after Buddhism came to Japan in the sixth century AD. Before it could fully penetrate the Japanese Buddhist monastic institution and the monastic identity, it was largely abolished by the radical stance of Saichō, the founder of the Tendai school, who rejected the Vinaya rules and established a monastic discipline based solely on bodhisattva precepts, which became influential in Japanese Buddhism in general. But the tension regarding Vinaya did not end after this date and the Kamakura period (1185-1333) and the Edo period (1603-1868) witnessed attempts to re-implement the Vinaya rules. These attempts either remained formal and superficial in nature, responding to allegations of corruption in the monastery, or were rather exceptional and did not lead to a general change in practice. Today, Vinaya Pitaka is not included in the curriculum of Japanese Buddhist schools, except for a few lineages corresponding to a small group. This article examines the position of the Vinaya Pitaka in Japanese Buddhism based on practices in Japanese Buddhist schools, considering Hajime Nakamura's analyses of the Japanese thought system. It aims to analyze how fundamental characteristics of Japanese identity and culture influenced the position and implementation methods of the Vinaya Pitaka in Japanese Buddhism. It analyses the historical position of the monastic rules text Vinaya Pitaka within Japanese Buddhism and offers an analysis aimed at understanding why the Vinaya was not accepted as a normative authority in Japan. The question is why the Vinaya Pitaka could not find an institutional and continuous area of practice in the Japanese Buddhist tradition. The thesis is that the fundamental structural elements of Japanese culture and identity—especially this-worldliness and the spirit of tolerance and conciliation—struggled to harmonize with immutable structures like the Vinaya; therefore, while the Vinaya maintained its theoretical importance in Japanese Buddhism, it could not find a systematic area of practical application. That is to say, the conflict between the rigid nature of the Vinaya rules and the adaptive character of Japanese culture has prevented the Vinaya rules from being fully adopted and practiced. In this context, Japanese Buddhism, instead of implementing the strict monastic regulations contained in the Vinaya, either completely neglected these rules or developed alternative literatures tailored to cultural and social expectations. The attitudes and practices adopted by the Tendai, Shingon, and Zen schools regarding the Vinaya appear to support this claim.

Anahtar Kelimeler

History of Religions , Japanese Buddhism , Vinaya Pitaka , Monastic Rules , Bodhisattva Precepts , Shingi.

Japon Budizmi’nde Vinaya Pitaka: Tarihsel Konum, Uygulama Temelli Gerilimler ve Kültürel Adaptasyon

https://izlik.org/JA43GW68UP

Öz

Buddha tarafından belirlenmiş manastır kurallarını içeren Vinaya Pitaka, başlangıcından günümüze Budist manastır kurumunun temellerinden ve Budist geleneğin ana kaynaklarından biri olarak varlığını sürdürmektedir. Budist manastır kurumu ve keşiş kimliği başlangıçtan itibaren Vinaya Pitaka tarafından şekillendirilmiştir. Budizmde’ki bu önemli konumuna rağmen, Vinaya Pitaka’nın Japon Budizmi’ndeki varlığı ve uygulanırlığı Budizm’in altıncı yüzyılda Çin’den Japonya’ya naklinden itibaren belirsiz ve gerilimli olmuştur. Vinaya’nın uygulamaya konulması Budizm’in Japonya’ya intikalinden ancak iki yüzyıl kadar sonra Nara okulları ile mümkün olmuştur. Fakat Japon Budist manastır kurumuna ve keşiş kimliğine nüfuz etme imkânı bulamadan Tendai okulunun kurucusu Saichō’nun Vinaya kurallarını reddedip yalnızca bodhisattva ilkelerine dayalı bir manastır disiplini kurma yönündeki radikal tutumu, Japon Budizmi’nin genelinde etkili olmuş ve Vinaya’nın Japon Budist manastırlarındaki uygulanırlığı büyük oranda ortadan kalkmıştır. Bu tarihten itibaren de Vinaya ile ilgili gerilim devam etmiş, Kamakura Dönemi (1185-1333) ve Edo Dönemi’nde (1603-1868) Vinaya kurallarını tekrardan yürürlüğe koyma teşebbüsleri ortaya çıkmıştır. Fakat bu teşebbüsler de ya yozlaşma iddialarına karşı cevap verme niteliğinde biçimsel ve yüzeysel kalmış ya da oldukça istisnai kalarak genele yayılan bir uygulama değişikliğine yol açmamıştır. Günümüzde de Vinaya Pitaka küçük bir gruba karşılık gelen birkaç silsile dışında Japon Budist okullarının müfredatında yer almamaktadır. Bu makale, Vinaya Pitaka’nın Japon Budizmi’ndeki konumunu; Japon Budist okullarındaki uygulamalar temelinde, Hajime Nakamura’nın Japon düşünce sistemine dair çözümlemeleri ışığında ele almaktadır. Japon kimlik ve kültürünün temel özelliklerinin Vinaya Pitaka’nın Japon Budizmi’ndeki konumu ve uygulanma biçimlerini nasıl etkilediğini analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Manastır kuralları metni Vinaya Pitaka’nın Japon Budizmi içerisindeki tarihsel konumunu sorgulamakta, Japonya’da Vinaya’nın neden normatif bir otorite olarak kabul edilmediğini anlamaya yönelik bir analiz sunmaktadır. Temel araştırma sorusu, Vinaya Pitaka’nın neden Japon Budist geleneğinde kurumsal ve sürekli bir uygulama alanı bulamamış olduğudur. Temel tezi ise: Japon kültür ve kimliğinin temel yapısal unsurlarının—özellikle bu dünya odaklılık ve hoşgörü/uzlaşma ruhu- Vinaya gibi değiştirilemez yapılarla uyum kurmakta zorlandığı; bu nedenle Vinaya’nın Japon Budizmi’nde teorik olarak önemini korusa da pratikte sistematik bir uygulama alanı bulamadığı yönündedir. Diğer bir deyişle, Vinaya kurallarının katı doğası ile Japon kültürünün uyarlanabilir doğası arasındaki çatışma, Vinaya kurallarının tam olarak benimsenmesini ve uygulanmasını engellemiştir. Bu bağlamda Japon Budizmi, Vinaya’nın içerdiği katı manastır kurallarını uygulamak yerine, bu kuralları ya tamamıyla ihmal etmiş ya da kültürel ve toplumsal beklentilere uygun alternatif uygulamalar geliştirmiştir. Tendai, Shingon ve Zen okulunun Vinaya ile ilgili benimsemiş olduğu tutum ve uygulamaların da bu iddiayı desteklediği görülmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Dinler Tarihi , Japon Budizmi , Vinaya Pitaka , Manastır Kuralları , Bodhisattva İlkeleri , Shingi.

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