Gautama, the Enlightened One
There are four stages to enlightenment, collectively called the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. There is suffering, suffering has an origin, suffering can cease, and there is a path out of suffering. This essay will use Buddhism’s fundamental doctrine to review the suffering of the Burakumin, Japan’s largest marginalized social group.
The Four Noble Truths: Japan’s “Untouchables”
Introduction
As a westerner and American, issues of social discrimination do not come as a surprise since the United States is a melting pot of races and cultures, men and women, hetero and homo sexual, etc, and social issues regarding racism, misogyny, homophobia, etc, is a common daily occurrence. However, the author had this naïve notion that Japan was free from such issues unlike the issues that plague American news and social life. However, I once realized that Japan is also a country filled with its own set of problems, from its high suicidal rate amongst Japanese middle age salary men, hikikikomori, and Japan’s “invisible race”. Coming from the west, the discrimination of an “invisible race” is extraordinary and phenomenal. The “invisible race”, or to be politically correct, the Burakumin, is a marginalized group of Japanese people who have been historically discriminated against and they remain to this day a socially and economically disenfranchised group. There is no common trait to distinguish Burakumin from Japanese people, but historically, ancestors of Burakumin worked in animal butchery, leather, death, etc, that collided negatively with Shinto and Buddhist beliefs. With the Buraku’s negative historical view, the current Burakumin, direct descendants of these “tainted” workers suffer social discrimination in all aspects of daily Japanese life. This essay will loosely use Buddhism’s fundamental doctrine of the Four Noble Truths to review the suffering of Japan’s largest marginalized minority, the Burakumin.
The Suffering: Life of the Burakumin People in the 21st Century Japan
“Life is suffering” is the first noble truth of Buddhism which is generally understood as the physical and psychological suffering that is experienced everyday by the people. To understand this suffering, the author would like to recognize the current suffering of the Burakumin in Japan’s modern era.
The reality of the Burakumin problem remains prevalent in Japanese society. Like the minorities in the United States, the Burakumin’s actual income, employment, and education remain relatively lower compared to the average Japanese household. The number of Burakumin compared to the average Japanese household is significantly higher in regards to low economic status. According to a survey conducted in 1992 by the Statistics Bureau of the Management and Coordination Agency, the annual income of a Buraku worker makes less than the national average. For example, 8.3% of Buraku workers make about 4 to 4.99 million yen (U.S. $36,000 to 45,000) compared to the national average (Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute).
Another survey conducted by the same agency and year also details the percentage of salaried Buraku workers compared to the majority Japanese. While the percentage of Burakumin and Japanese workers hired to a company average about 73%, 65% of Japanese workers are hired regularly compared to the 58.5% of Buraku employees (Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute). Even though the employment of Burakumin has approved over the years in modern day Japan, there is still a significant gap between the two groups in income and employment.
In education, there remains a significant gap between the average Japanese household and the Burakumin. According to the National Census, the percentage of Buraku who never enrolled in school has risen from 1.5% in 1985 to 3.8% in 1993 while the national average is only 0.2% in 1990 (Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute). Another survey conducted by the Ministry of Education through a 30 year span details the closing gap between high school Burakumin and Japanese high school students. While there still remains a 4.5% disparity in 1997 between Japanese high school students and Burakumin students, this data proves the general incline of high school attendance of Burakumin students (Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute). However, regarding the higher education sector, there is a extreme gap in the data. In the same survey, between the years 1990-1997, the gap averages about 12% between the number of Burakumin children attending university or junior college compared to the national average (Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute).
According to Nobuo Shimahara’s essay titled “Toward the Equality of a Japanese Minority: the case of Burakumin”, Shimahara paints the Burakumin’s condition as an advanced step towards liberation. He proves, through statistics and in depth research, the Burakumin has “dramatically improved its social mobility and educational attainment” (Shimahara). Through legislation and the creation of the Buraku Liberation League founded in 1922, Burakumin’s socioeconomic conditions have steadily increased. However, the situation still remains that Burakumin in modern day Japan continue to suffer social and economical discrimination amongst their countrymen and women. From marriage to workplace, employment to daily life, Burakumin face discrimination amongst various aspects of daily life and while their situation has become better over the years, discrimination remains prevalent. In order to understand how the Burakumin existence began and to understand their current suffering, we need to be aware of where the discrimination began.
Derivation of Suffering: Origins of Buraku Discrimination
The second noble truth is the “origins of suffering” where knowing where the suffering comes from can lead to its removal, the third noble truth. In the case of the Burakumin, the origins of this Japanese minorities suffering stems from the Japans outcaste system which was officially recognized in the beginnings of the Tokugawa Regime (1603-1868). However, the realized caste system is not the only reason for the long-lasting discrimination the Burakumin have suffered from. Japanese Buddhism has had a major influence in the prolonged discrimination of the Buraku people from discriminatory necrologies to unfair ritual practice. However, more than ritual practice of Japanese Buddhist priests and monks, there is basic underlying message in Japanese Buddhist doctrine that allows for such social discrimination to exist.
The most basic doctrine in Buddhism and especially Japanese Buddhism is the idea of “original enlightenment”. In Japanese Buddhism, everything, including humans, animals, trees, etc, is enlightened, and it is up to the individual to awaken by following doctrine, praying, meditation, etc. Everything is enlightened and in harmony with the Buddha nature, but anything outside the realm of the Buddha nature is inharmonious. In accordance with “original enlightenment”, the Burakumin do not belong in the circle of Buddha nature because of their inharmonious attributes and “uncleanliness”. This deceptive logic in Buddhist doctrine treats minorities, including women, unfairly in Japanese Buddhism. Because of the idea of “original enlightenment” is inherently prejudicial, it assigns a negative value to beings that do not fit in with Buddha nature.
Another Buddhist idea is “karma”, the endless circular path in all Buddha nature that chains beings to the world, but once a being attains enlightenment, the chains are broken and nirvana is reached. However, the idea of “karma” is also biased and allows social discrimination to exist in Japanese Buddhism. In Shuhō No. 390, published by the Sotō Zen at the beginning of the Taisho era, a passage in this sermon reads as follows:
Likewise with our physical bodies and minds, our sufferings and joys – nothing exists that is not according to this law. Actions in the past become the root cause that invites the fruits of the present; manifold causes and manifold effects flow continuously and without pause, without beginning or end. However, there are various differences in the fruits because there are myriad disparities in the root causes; hence those who do evil fall and those who cultivate virtue ascend. The environment of those who give rise to an evil mind and practice evil gradually degenerates, their position falls, and the nation becomes defiled; in contrast the position of those who give rise to a virtuous mind and cultivate virtue ascends and the world becomes pure. Thus we must resign ourselves to the fact that the reason we are born into this world and experience various and myriad punishments and rewards is entirely due to the causes and conditions of past lives (Hakamaya 345).
In this passage, it becomes clear how the root cause of unhappiness is directly linked to one’s past lives. Since the rewards of the individual are linked to a past life that cannot be altered and must be accepted without question, if the individual is poor, it was because of his/her past life. If the individual’s ancestors were Burakumin, current Burakumin are trapped in this endless cycle of “uncleanliness”, thus disbarring them from reaching enlightenment and religious and social emancipation. By proof in this biased passage, Japanese Buddhism is a direct link to Burakumin’s suffering, and directly influences the Burakumin’s status in society, historically and in the present day.
Outside of scripture, Japanese Buddhist priests have a well documented history of practiced prejudiced rituals towards Burakumin and other minorities. One example of discriminatory practice performed by Japanese Buddhist priests is the use of “special” talismans to protect others from deceased outcastes. Unlike usual talismans that directed the dead towards salvation, these talismans were used to “sever all karmic connections between the deceased and local people” so disturbed outcastes cannot return as ghosts to haunt those who wronged them (Bodiford 14). Even more, the outcastes who were warded off will not receive their full spiritual rituals until they have “attained true human status” (Bodiford 14).
Necrologies are an important historical item in Japanese life because they were historically used as a census, and many Japanese can trace their family tree by looking up their family name in necrologies. However, research concludes that discriminatory names like “sen” and “eta” were inserted for people of outcaste status (for detailed lists of examples, see BODIFORD 1996, pp. 9).
The origins of religious and social discrimination of the Burakumin have been practiced prior and during the Tokugawa era, and even though the Burakumin and other outcastes were legally emancipated of their status during the Meiji era, society continued to treat the Burakumin harshly. To rectify the Burakumin’s situation, steps have been taken to correct the wrongs of the past and remove the suffering of the Burakumin.
Remove the Cause of Suffering: Actions to Eliminate Buraku Discrimination
The third noble truth is the “cessation of suffering” or the discontinuance of suffering. By understanding the second noble truth, we stated a few causes of social discrimination of the Burakumin by Japanese Buddhist doctrine and religious practice and the legal creation of a class system during the Tokugawa era. While the Burakumin were legally emancipated, as mentioned previously, discriminatory necrologies continued to exists in local Buddhist temples for companies and families to research people of Burakumin status, mostly in regards to employment and marriage. However, the initial cause of suffering can be held liable by Japanese Buddhist doctrine regarding “original enlightenment” and karma which contain biased scriptures.
It wasn’t until the Machida affair in 1984 that the whole world was drawn to Japanese Sotō priest’s denial of Japan’s outcaste group, the Burakumin. In response to the outrage of the Buraku Liberation League members, members of the Sotō Zen school had to have a serious review of their discriminatory religious practice and doctrine. The pioneers to review the Japanese Buddhist doctrine are Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shirō who questioned the basic foundation of Japanese Buddhism, original enlightenment. While the doctrine of original enlightenment “represents the mainstream and quintessence of the Buddhist tradition” (Hakamaya 339), it remains a “dominant force behind the perpetuation of social discrimination” (Hakamaya 344). In reevaluating the Japanese Buddhist doctrine of the Sotō Zen sect, Hakamaya reveals the disparity in the idea of “original enlightenment” and karma, etc, but unfortunately provides no solution to the problem. Should Buddhism change its scripture to reflect the modern day world and remove the biased passages? Instead of erasing the discriminatory passages, in the Sotō sect, they reissued “new editions of recalled texts with the original discriminatory passages left in place”, but an introduction was written in the texts formally apologizing “for the pain caused by such doctrines” (Bodiford 16). Frankly, just apologizing does not rectify the wrongs of the past; action must be done. In this author’s personal opinion, biased Buddhist doctrine should be removed and/or rewritten to reflect on the today’s era. However, this raises complications for preservation. For examples, while the looking up of necrologies is illegal in Japan, the names of past outcaste groups remain on the necrologies because they are considered historical documents and have historical value. However, the Soto Human Rights Division, created after the Machida affair, performed investigations on problematic necrologies and “had offered to find acceptable replacement ordination names and titles that are free of discriminatory connotations” to families named in the necrologies (Bodiford 10). The author believes that the preservation of these documents is mandatory since these registry entries are historical items, even though they may contain discriminatory names that reveal Burakumin status.
While there has been government intervention to better the socioeconomic and education situation of the Burakumin, Buddhism is still a long ways of eradicating the Buraku problem. However, this is not to say that Japanese Buddhism is totally to blame. In modern day Japan, Buddhism’s relationship to the average Japanese family is in funeral rites of the deceased and not so much involvement outside that sector. While the removal of Burakumin suffering has not been accomplished since discrimination occurs in all sectors of life for the Burakumin, the last noble truth can help start the process of equality amongst neighbors. Also, there has been an emergence of “new religions” in Japan that allow Burakumin to worship without discrimination, and maybe, these new religions can help end the suffering of the Burakumin.
Path to the End of Suffering: Burakumin Emancipation
The final noble truth of Buddhism is the path to the cessation, the path to end the suffering of the Burakumin. In Buddhism, the last noble truth is realized by the Eightfold Path, eight steps to tread on in the journey to end suffering. The Eightfold path steps include: 1) Correct Thought, 2) Correct Speech, 3) Correct Actions, 4) Correct livelihood, 5) Correct Understanding, 6) Correct Effort, 7) Correct Mindfulness, and 8) Correct Concentration.
Correct thought is simple enough: do not cause harm to others or better yet, “love your neighbors as yourself” (The New Jerusalem Bible, James 2:8). Changing the way we think about other people, especially Japanese attitudes towards Burakumin is a positive route to end the suffering of someone other than you. The superstitious attitude towards Burakumin is almost a childish scare tactic and it remains silly that it still exists in modern day Japan even though it still remains to be a serious social issue in Japan.
Correct speech is inherently important because through speech humans can either hurt or heal. A Japanese Buddhist priest or monks mission is to pass the word of Buddha and help others attain enlightenment. It is counterproductive for priests and monks to practice discriminatory rituals since it goes against their ordained mission.
Actions speak louder than words, so the correct action can help rectify the Burakumin and other marginalized groups. Japanese Buddhist sects have a history of continued apologies without action and this does not help remedy the Burakumin problem. Through action, like removing biased necrologies and reissuing corrected Buddhist scripture is a large step to fixing the Burakumin problem.
While working in butchery goes against the correct livelihood rules according to the fifth step in the Eightfold Path, so does Buddhist monks and priests who violate the 3rd and 4th step in the Eightfold path, right speech and right action. Buddhist monks who treat their work to further their discriminatory agenda need to reevaluate themselves as true Buddhist followers and believers.
The last three steps in the Eightfold path mainly relate to meditation, but their ethical message is quite clear. Through the right effort, Japanese Buddhist monks and priests can internally change their discriminatory ways through understanding the Burakumin’s predicament and feeling empathetic to their cause.
While in the past there Burakumin involved themselves with “impure objects”, the current Burakumin are not scarred by that past and should not be punished for the actions done by their ancestors. Japanese priests should understand the reality of the situation and adjust their actions accordingly. Lastly, having the correct concentration can help a Buddhist monk have a clear mind to understand and evaluate their actions that allowed the spread of social discrimination.
While following the correct paths in the Eightfold path remain simple enough, it is reasonable to say that Japanese Buddhism has legitimized social prejudices than helping the weak and disadvantaged. However, while Japanese Buddhism has had a large role in solidifying lasting stereotypes of Burakumin, new incoming religions in Japan like the Tenrikyou may be the religious freedom that the Burakumin are searching for.
A new religion that has been active since the 19th century is Tenrikyo, a monotheistic religion where all humans have a common parent, God the Parent (Oyasama). This religion includes many teachings like Tanno (Joyous Acceptance) which is a constructive attitude towards suffering without placing judgment on the past (Wikipedia). Unlike Japanese Buddhism that believes all human’s karma (which is linked to a past life) may affect them negatively, Tenrikyo does not look at the past life to determine happiness and unhappiness. This religion and other new religions emerged from Japan and around the world attract the Burakumin because new religions “do not have a history of [discriminatory] practices” (Alldritt).
However, it is noted that while Japanese Buddhism has negatively affected the lives of Burakumin today in Japan’s, the Burakumin believe that religion “was unrelated to their lowly position in society” (Donoghue). Despite that some Burakumin may believe their low status in society is unrelated to Japanese Buddhism, it is evident in Japanese Buddhist doctrine and practice that Buddhism has had a large part in prolonging the discrimination and suffering of the Burakumin.
Conclusion
“Life is like a box of chocolates”, fully loaded with agreeable, tasty morsels or downright bitter and disagreeable scraps of calories (Hanks). As humans, we have no choice in the pickings but we do have the choice in how to react to the good and the bad. Our actions in regards to life remain our choice because we are individuals, born with a clean slate. However, the Buddhist idea of karma does not allow this freedom of evolution. According to the laws of karma, we are born either good or bad. We are not shaped by our daily lives, but by the past life. We are under this endless waltz of birth, death, and re-birth and in order to break this cycle we need to gain enlightenment. The Burakumin “were taught that it was their karma that placed them in this unsavory life and that forbearance was necessary if the next life was to be favorable” (Alldritt). This interpretation of karma is unfair to marginalized groups because it intentionally pushes them away from reaching nirvana and being in harmony with Buddha nature.
By using the four noble truths, we have covered a large portion of the Burakumin problem, from its historical discrimination in government and Buddhism, to the current situation Burakumin face in their daily lives. Buddhism moral obligation is to help Burakumin since they helped create and spread the social discrimination, but it is worrisome in how Japanese Buddhist sects react to such social pressure and radical change. Only time can tell when the Buraku people are truly free from the chains of his past and Japanese society can generally accept the Buraku people into their Buddha circle.
Works Cited
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Bodiford, William. “Zen and the Art of Religious Prejudice: Efforts to Reform a Tradition of Social Discrimination.” Japanese Journal of Religous Studies (1996): 1-27.
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Donoghue, John. Pariah Persistence in Changing Japan. Washington, D.C: University Press of America, 1978.
Forest Gump. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Tom Hanks. 1994.
Hakamaya, Noriaki. “Thoughts on the Ideological Background of Social Discrimination.” Joint Conference of the Speical Section of the Soto Sect’s Docrtinal Advisory Committee. 1985. 339-55.
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Shimahara, Nobuo. “Toward the Equality of a Japanese Minority: the case of Burakumin.” Comparative Education (1984): 339-351.
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