TY - JOUR
AU - Bloom, A.
AB -  THE SENSE OF SIN AND GUILT AND THE LAST AGE [MAPPO] IN CHINESE AND JAPANESE BUDDHISM BY A. BLOOM Oregon It has been commonly thought that there is no sense of sin or guilt in Chinese and Japanese religions. Also it has been commonly thought that Buddhism is exclusively a religion of the self perfectibility of man. However, investigation indicates that Buddhist tradition is more diverse than the general texts portraying it reveal. It is the purpose of this essay to call attention to a trend in Buddhist thinking, particu- larly in China and Japan, which exhibits a deep sense of the imperfec- tion of the world and man, and of man's incapacity under his own power to overcome that imperfection. A point of major consideration relative to the character of this discussion is the fact that it seems clear from the evolution of such traditions as Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity that religions offering salvation or spiritual liberation cannot become popular or folk religions, holding only a belief in the self-perfectibility of man. Belief in self-perfection requires techniques not available to the ordinary man in the common pursuits of life. A division of the religious elite and the 
TI - The Sense of Sin and Guilt and the Last Age (Mappo) in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism
JF - Numen
DO - 10.1163/156852767X00094
DA - 1967-01-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/brill/the-sense-of-sin-and-guilt-and-the-last-age-mappo-in-chinese-and-NhSPF9H4xT
SP - 144
EP - 149
VL - 14
IS - 1
DP - DeepDyve
ER -