On Cultural Bias and Ideology in Western Buddhism and Buddhist Modernism
When he was approximately fifteen years old, Tominaga Nakamoto ε―ζ°Έδ»²εΊ (1715β1746) was expelled from the merchant academy in Εsaka, which his father had enrolled him in, for writing an essay that was critical of Confucianism. He may also have been forced to leave home, but little is known with certainty about Tominagaβs life. A few years later, he apparently found employment as a proofreader at Manpuku temple of the Εbaku Zen sect in Uji. Buddhist monks traditionally copied sΕ«tras by hand, and it was Tominagaβs job to check for copying errors. This allowed him to read very many sΕ«tras, inspiring...