Shin Buddhism in Modern Culture

Chapter 8 – Life as Story: Its Importance in Religion and Modern Thought (Part 1)

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to the author, every generation of a religious tradition has to rewrite the biography of its founder to:
- highlight those aspects of his life which are important issues for their own day
- create legend
- distort the life of the founder for narrow purposes
2. Historical analysis yields four periods in Shinran’s life. During the third period, Shinran was:
- in exile from Kyoto
- a student of Honen
- a monk on Mt. Hiei
3. The author says that the phase of Shinran’s life that has potential for impact on our own lives has to do with his process of self-discovery. “Religion as self-discovery” means that religion should:
- boost our self-esteem
- make us self-conscious
- reveal to us our true natures
4. Generally, ancient biographies were written to:
- present the reality of the individual
- exalt the individual and glorify his group of followers
- record the life events of the individual as objectively as possible
5. Kakunyo’s biography of Shinran is:
- devoted to Shinran’s great inner struggle
- highly idealized
- devoid of sentimentality
6. Shinran, like his contemporaries (Dogen, Honen and Nichiren), rejected Hiei and left. Unlike the others, however, Shinran left Hiei because he:
- knew he was unable to fulfill the ideals of Tendai
- thought that Hiei was not fulfilling its own ideals
- was disappointed by the corruption of his fellow monks

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Thought Questions

1. The way in which we view the life of a religious founder and interpret his or her religious teaching is directly related to the age in which we live. This is why every generation has to rewrite the biography of its founder in such a way that it addresses the issues and circumstances of the present age. Look at your own religious tradition. Is it attempting to do this? Or is it still attached to old interpretations that are no longer meaningful?