Review of: John Stevens, The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei
1989; Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture; Volume: 16; Issue: 2-3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.18874/jjrs.16.2-3.1989.251-253
ISSN0304-1042
Autores Tópico(s)Japanese History and Culture
ResumoJo h n Stevens' The M arathon Monks o f M t.H ie i is the first book in English on the kaihogyo, an arduous ascetic practice carried out on M ount H iei, the site o f the Tendai sect's headquarter temple o f Enryaku-ji.The kaihogyo is the practice of w alking a prescribed SO kilometer (18.8 mile) pilgrim age route around the peaks o f this m ountain, offering prayers at 255 sacred sites along the way.This pilgrim age can be undertaken either for one hundred consecutive days or for one thousand days spread o ut over seven years.Many Tendai monks undertake the hundred day practice, b u t few go on to complete the thousand day practice (just forty-six monks have completed it since 1885).However, it is the latter full version that is usually associated with the word "kaihdgyd ,， ' A lthough the kaihdgyd had been quietly pursued by dedicated monks for cen turies, it has recently become the focus o f intense interest on the part ofthejapanese public.The media, b o th p rin t and television, has given it extensive coverage.As Stevens remarks, when Sakai Yusai completed his second thousand day practice, "films o f the sixty-one-year-old marvel zooming along the m oun tain paths were shown on every television news program in Jap an "( p .129).Pub lishers vied w ith one another to churn out books cashing in one the sudden interest in this venerable Tendai practice.Indeed, Jap an has been in the middle o f a veritable "kaihdgyd boom" since the mid-1980's.Stevens' work is the latest (and， as stated above, the first English) entry into the long list o f books concerning this unique form o f Tendai m ountain asceti cism.Let me reproduce the table o f contents as a way o f indicating the scope of the book.PART ONE.The World -of Tendai Buddhism Chapter One.The Treasure o f a Nation: Saicho, Founder of Japanese Tendai Chapter Two.The Magic M ountain: The History o f Hiei Chapter Three.Study and Practice: The Way ofTendai Buddhism Chapter Four.M ount H iei Today PART TWO.The M arathon Monks Chapter Five.M ountain
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