Sophia Magazine vol.3 / SUMMER 2016

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cept known as “hoben” (expedient means). It means there is one truth, but many paths. Buddhism sees tenets of other faiths as hoben with Buddha’s wisdom at their heart, and tries to be versatile in incorporating them. This also forms the foundation of most Japanese religiosity.Yamaoka: I once participated in an evangelical mission among the Inuit, the indigenous people of Alaska. The art-lessness of their religiosity and the means of communicating it seemed all the wiser for that plainness, and I found myself both astonished and moved in a new way. I would venture to guess that this is also something other people, such as those of greater Asia including Japan, can empathize with, having absorbed that kind of religiosity in their relationship with nature.Minegishi: If the easygoing religiosity of the Japanese can be incorporated into Applied Religious Studies in a posi-tive way, that could create an opportunity, an opening for individual faiths to overcome their own antagonism toward other religions.Shimazono: The things you two have pointed out have made me realize anew that one of the functions of Applied Religious Studies is to bridge the gap not just between faiths, but between academic disciplines like the social sciences and cultural anthropology.Shimazono: One aspect of religion is to delve deeply into what lies beyond our world through stringent training and scholarship, as you two have done. Another is to share at large the knowledge and experience gained through the former process, and Applied Religious Studies deals mostly with this latter aspect. I also think that Japanese society, with its prevalence of Pure Land Buddhism—which adheres strictly to the doctrine of laity of Mahayana Buddhism—and sects that seek to address human suffering such as esoteric Buddhism and the Lotus Sutra schools, may find the latter easy to understand.Minegishi: My school is Soto Zen Buddhism in Japan. Years ago, when I asked my teacher at the training hall what the difference was between “shukke” (monk) and “zaike” (laity), he replied that there was no true difference between the two, that both were fellow travelers seeking a path. There can be no mistaking the fact that what lies behind the long history of co-existence by numerous schools of Japanese Buddhism is strict training within, and a flexible attitude to society without.Yamaoka: In the Christian world, it has been possible to find God in people’s everyday life since the Protestant Ref-ormation. This has served as a prompt for the evolution of Christianity in Europe, including Catholicism.Shimazono: In terms of closing the gap between religion and people today, I think it is key that our program has as one of its pillars Death and Life Studies, which could serve as a gateway to religion. My father and both of my grandfathers were physicians, and while I myself also intended to become a physician, I had doubts about that path and switched to religious studies. Now that I find myself involved in Death and Life Studies, a field where religion and medicine come together, I do feel a touch of destiny about it.Minegishi: To live means to come that much closer to death every day. One could be extreme and say that everyone should study Death and Life Studies from their earliest days. But for a while in Japanese society, the idea that one should not speak of death, the desire to keep death at a distance, held sway. I remember that in response to this, Sophia Professor Alfons Deeken advocated teaching preparation for death, creating a turning point for Japanese Death and Life Studies.Yamaoka: For example, a fundamental rule when stand-ing by someone grieving an intimate loss is to first listen. Yet, ecclesiastics in particular always try to begin by talk-ing about what the Bible says. If anything, this might well end up alienating the person. In that respect as well, I feel that for ecclesiastics, too, coming to terms again with death through grief care and other settings would serve as a good learning opportunity.Shimazono: The insights you’ve shared show me more clearly that while Japanese society faces a number of chal-lenges around religion, it also holds the keys to overcoming them. At the same time, I am more certain than ever that Sophia University is the right place for a center of scholar-ship for Applied Religious Studies.Thank you both for speaking with me today.Professor, Department of Theology, Faculty of Theology/Gradu-ate School of Applied Religious Studies, Sophia UniversityAssistant Provincial, Japan Province, Society of JesusSanji YamaokaDeath and Life Studies as Gateway to Religion19Special Talk

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