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What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 8:36 pm
by Mr. G
The description of the video states it's a Zen monk, but that doesn't seem right. Shingon? Tendai? I'm guessing because of the bell:
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:44 pm
by Chaz
mr. gordo wrote:The description of the video states it's a Zen monk, but that doesn't seem right. Shingon? Tendai? I'm guessing because of the bell:
Boy that's a GOOD question!
The bell looks like a Kagyu-style handbell (5 prongs), but that could be meaningless relative to the monk's lineage. Anyone can obtain a bell like that - you don't have to be Kagyu.
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:58 pm
by User 3495
Judging from the robe he looks like a Nichirenshū monk (who wear grey and yellow). The bell and Juzu (prayer beads) are most probably Shingon. So I guess he is a Shingon monk.
Edit:
The Kanji on the bag of the monk seem to be 高野山, which is Kōyasan, the head temple of Shingonshū. So it's almost certain, that the monks belongs to the Kōyasan Shingonshū. Although I've never seen a Shingon monk wearing such a robe.
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:49 pm
by tktru
Or perhaps its a "monk" who decided one day to throw on whatever Buddhist looking article of clothing he could find and go out and "beg"...
No Shingon monk wears gray robes from my understanding...
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:15 am
by Dexing
Actor?
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 6:40 am
by alasdairyee
Haha, yeah thats an actor who wore whatever clothing he could get his hands on to look like a monk.
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 7:00 am
by ground
Great video!
school, non-school, actor, non-actor doesn't really matter.
Kind regards
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 12:03 pm
by User 3495
It seems, that there are in fact monks from Kōyasan Shingonshū, who do wear grey or white, though I think only lower ranks wear grey, but I cannot prove that. See
here (from the official website of the Kōyasan Shingonshū) and
here (an article about Takuhatsu [alms-begging] of Shingon monks).
Chaz wrote:The bell looks like a Kagyu-style handbell (5 prongs), but that could be meaningless relative to the monk's lineage. Anyone can obtain a bell like that - you don't have to be Kagyu.
Every school, that practices Vajrayana/Esoteric Buddhism uses such bells. But the
Japanese Ghanta is slightly different to
Tibetan/Central Asian Ghantas.
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:08 pm
by Mr. G
Tatsuo wrote:It seems, that there are in fact monks from Kōyasan Shingonshū, who do wear grey or white, though I think only lower ranks wear grey, but I cannot prove that. See
here (from the official website of the Kōyasan Shingonshū) and
here (an article about Takuhatsu [alms-begging] of Shingon monks).
Chaz wrote:The bell looks like a Kagyu-style handbell (5 prongs), but that could be meaningless relative to the monk's lineage. Anyone can obtain a bell like that - you don't have to be Kagyu.
Every school, that practices Vajrayana/Esoteric Buddhism uses such bells. But the
Japanese Ghanta is slightly different to
Tibetan/Central Asian Ghantas.
Thanks Tasuo!
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:10 pm
by Mr. G
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:11 pm
by Mr. G
Is this monk chanting the nembutsu? The sound quality leaves alot to be desired:
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 3:46 pm
by User 3495
Yes - that's the nenbutsu. Great videos, mr. gordo
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 4:40 pm
by Hanzze
Thanks for sharing, the whole film (Baraka) is real great!
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:35 pm
by User 3495
Another great video of Shingonshū (Buzanha - the drums are their speciality). It's a recitation of the Heart Sutra/hannya shin gyō:
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 6:58 pm
by Chaz
Tatsuo wrote:Every school, that practices Vajrayana/Esoteric Buddhism uses such bells. But the
Japanese Ghanta is slightly different to
Tibetan/Central Asian Ghantas.
Thanx. Good info. The Ghante is a lot like Tibetan handbells - simpler and more elegant looking. Beautiful.
It does seem quite similar to a Kagyu bell with 5 "prongs" in the hanle as opposed to the Nyingma style with 9.
Where do you find those for sale?
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Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:15 pm
by User 3495
Those items are rarely sold at E-Bay and sometimes in Japanese Buddhist equipment shops, which almost never send items overseas. You can also get them at
Yahoo auctions Japan, but the sellers generally do not send items overseas, too.
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 2:51 am
by Mr. G
Tatsuo wrote:Another great video of Shingonshū (Buzanha - the drums are their speciality). It's a recitation of the Heart Sutra/hannya shin gyō:
This was very cool.
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:37 pm
by Chaz
mr. gordo wrote:Tatsuo wrote:Another great video of Shingonshū (Buzanha - the drums are their speciality). It's a recitation of the Heart Sutra/hannya shin gyō:
This was very cool.
Yes very cool indeed.
Some Kagyu groups use a drum for heart Sutra as well, but not as "decoratively" as these Shingonpas do it. It seems to be that the cadence of the Kagyu druming is more straightforward - 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4 and so on. We also use a drum for protector chants. I wonder if Shingon is similar in that regard.
I like drumming in general. That Jodo Shinshu temple near my office sponsors a Taiko group of some reknown: Denver Taiko.
http://www.denvertaiko.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:31 pm
by Mr. G
Is this a Jodo Shinshu priest?
Re: What School of Buddhism is This?
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 4:26 am
by Dodatsu
mr. gordo wrote:Is this a Jodo Shinshu priest?
No, judging from the kesa and insignia on it, most likely Soto Zen.