The Rivers of Dharma in the Face of Religious Challenges: A Comparative Analysis of Three Japanese Buddhist Temples in Brazil

Abstract

The article aims to develop a comparative reflection in view of three Japanese Buddhist temples: the Honpa Honganji (connected to the True Pure Land School); the Hompoji (Honmon Butsuryū Shū), and the Dokozan Busshinji (Sōtō Zen), located in the North of the State of Paraná, more specifically in the cities of Londrina and Rolândia (Brazil). As sources, materials derived from fieldwork are used, as well as interviews conducted with monks and practitioners. From the theoretical point of view, religion is understood as a symbolic system, as proposed by Clifford Geertz, open to the possibility of appropriations, according to Michel de Certeau. In addition, certain propositions of Michael Pye regarding religious transplantation are used. As a discussion, it is suggested that the circumscribed temples develop different responses to the problem of the death of first-generation immigrants and the discontinuity of the Japanese language in Brazil. The comparison is made through three parameters: the profile of the monks, the language used in materials and preaching, and the characteristics of the faithful.