War and the Transcendence of Life and Death: The Theoretical Foundations of Buddhist Cooperation in the War Effort During the Colonial Period in Korea
This paper examines how Korea’s Buddhist community accepted the ‘Imperial Way’ (J. <i>kōdōshugi</i>; K. <i>hwangdojuui</i> 皇道主義), the wartime ideology of the Japanese Empire, during the colonial period and how it supported and contributed to the war waged by the Japanese Empi...
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2025-01-01
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| description | This paper examines how Korea’s Buddhist community accepted the ‘Imperial Way’ (J. <i>kōdōshugi</i>; K. <i>hwangdojuui</i> 皇道主義), the wartime ideology of the Japanese Empire, during the colonial period and how it supported and contributed to the war waged by the Japanese Empire. In the process, it analyzes the ways in which the Buddhist community transformed Buddhist theory in order to justify its collaboration with the Japanese war effort. In this paper, the Buddhist doctrinal basis of this wartime collaboration is examined regarding three of its core aspects. First, when the colonial Korean Buddhist community accepted the ideology of the ‘Imperial Way’ and advocated secularism, it did so by means of the logic of the ‘non-duality of the real and the conventional’ (K. <i>jinsokbuli</i> 眞俗不二). Second, when colonial era Korean Buddhism encouraged its own participation in the war, it regarded war as a site of practice that ‘transcends life and death’ and thus affirmed it. Third, the colonial Korean Buddhist community proposed the concept of ‘Buddhist totalitarianism’ (K. <i>Bulgyo Jeonchejuui</i> 佛敎全體主義) to inquire into a totality that transcends individuality in Buddhism. Accordingly, this paper’s goal is to examine how the Buddhist community in colonial Korea transformed Buddhist doctrine for non-Buddhist purposes in a particular historical situation where its cooperation in war was demanded. Additionally, as a starting point for discussion, this issue will also be explored in parallel with the logic of Japanese Buddhism’s war contributions at the time. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8a4ac8fa5b59446bb56a792db3daa3f2 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj-art-8a4ac8fa5b59446bb56a792db3daa3f22025-08-20T02:03:42ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442025-01-0116214310.3390/rel16020143War and the Transcendence of Life and Death: The Theoretical Foundations of Buddhist Cooperation in the War Effort During the Colonial Period in KoreaYoungjin Kim0Department of Buddhist Studies, Dongguk University WISE Campus, Gyeongju 38066, Republic of KoreaThis paper examines how Korea’s Buddhist community accepted the ‘Imperial Way’ (J. <i>kōdōshugi</i>; K. <i>hwangdojuui</i> 皇道主義), the wartime ideology of the Japanese Empire, during the colonial period and how it supported and contributed to the war waged by the Japanese Empire. In the process, it analyzes the ways in which the Buddhist community transformed Buddhist theory in order to justify its collaboration with the Japanese war effort. In this paper, the Buddhist doctrinal basis of this wartime collaboration is examined regarding three of its core aspects. First, when the colonial Korean Buddhist community accepted the ideology of the ‘Imperial Way’ and advocated secularism, it did so by means of the logic of the ‘non-duality of the real and the conventional’ (K. <i>jinsokbuli</i> 眞俗不二). Second, when colonial era Korean Buddhism encouraged its own participation in the war, it regarded war as a site of practice that ‘transcends life and death’ and thus affirmed it. Third, the colonial Korean Buddhist community proposed the concept of ‘Buddhist totalitarianism’ (K. <i>Bulgyo Jeonchejuui</i> 佛敎全體主義) to inquire into a totality that transcends individuality in Buddhism. Accordingly, this paper’s goal is to examine how the Buddhist community in colonial Korea transformed Buddhist doctrine for non-Buddhist purposes in a particular historical situation where its cooperation in war was demanded. Additionally, as a starting point for discussion, this issue will also be explored in parallel with the logic of Japanese Buddhism’s war contributions at the time.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/2/143Korean BuddhismImperial Waywartime collaborationsecularismtranscendence of life and deathBuddhist totalitarianism |
| spellingShingle | Youngjin Kim War and the Transcendence of Life and Death: The Theoretical Foundations of Buddhist Cooperation in the War Effort During the Colonial Period in Korea Religions Korean Buddhism Imperial Way wartime collaboration secularism transcendence of life and death Buddhist totalitarianism |
| title | War and the Transcendence of Life and Death: The Theoretical Foundations of Buddhist Cooperation in the War Effort During the Colonial Period in Korea |
| title_full | War and the Transcendence of Life and Death: The Theoretical Foundations of Buddhist Cooperation in the War Effort During the Colonial Period in Korea |
| title_fullStr | War and the Transcendence of Life and Death: The Theoretical Foundations of Buddhist Cooperation in the War Effort During the Colonial Period in Korea |
| title_full_unstemmed | War and the Transcendence of Life and Death: The Theoretical Foundations of Buddhist Cooperation in the War Effort During the Colonial Period in Korea |
| title_short | War and the Transcendence of Life and Death: The Theoretical Foundations of Buddhist Cooperation in the War Effort During the Colonial Period in Korea |
| title_sort | war and the transcendence of life and death the theoretical foundations of buddhist cooperation in the war effort during the colonial period in korea |
| topic | Korean Buddhism Imperial Way wartime collaboration secularism transcendence of life and death Buddhist totalitarianism |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/2/143 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT youngjinkim warandthetranscendenceoflifeanddeaththetheoreticalfoundationsofbuddhistcooperationinthewareffortduringthecolonialperiodinkorea |