Ugo Dessí: Ethics and Society in Contemporary Shin Buddhism

Abstract

This is the first book-length account of contemporary Shin Buddhist ethics in English. It describes the ethical thought of numerous modern scholars of the Shin school (mainly from the Ōtani-ha and Honganji-ha), as well as the activities of contemporary activists who struggle against war and discrimination, and for peace and social welfare. It is a unique mixture of textual analysis with primary data gathered through fieldwork and participant observation. Until the publication of Dessi’s study, most scholarship on Shin ethics in English consisted of essays (some of these translated from Japanese). Dessi adds to this previous scholarship by introducing the depth and breadth of works on Shin ethics in Japanese.