This study focuses on the involvement of Buddhist monks in the court intrigues in China and Japan during the 6th and 8th centuries. By the 6th century Buddhism in China, due to the patronage of the authority, had actually gained a status of a state religion. From the moment of its appearance, Buddhism had been focusing on the higher layers of Chinese society: the government and the imperial court. However, the proximity of the Buddhist clergy to the court facilitated the participation of monks and nuns in the court intrigues, and, as a result, in the 7th and 8th centuries there were several uprisings in China involving Buddhist monks. In Japan, from the 6th to 8th centuries, under the patronage of emperors and influential aristocratic families, the Buddhist Sangha also had strengthened its economic position and political influence. On the one hand, Japanese emperors encouraged the dissemination in the country of the new religion; on the other hand, Buddhist priests began to intervene into state policy, trying to take a leading position. These contradictions led to conflict between the monks Genbō and Dōkyō and the court aristocracy in the mid of the 8th century.
Key words: Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, Buddhist Sangha, Japanese emperors, Buddhist monks, Genbō, Dōkyō.
About the author
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Лепехова Елена Сергеевна – доктор философских наук, старший научный сотрудник отдела истории и культуры Древнего Востока Института востоковедения РАН; 107031, Москва, ул. Рождественка, 12, Институт Востоковедения РАН, Отдел Истории и Культуры Древнего Востока; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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