Milking the Bodhi Tree

Mulberry for Disease Demons in Yōsai's Record of Nourishing Life by Drinking Tea (Kissa yōjōki)

Bibliographic Data

ID3565548
AuthorsAndrew Macomber (Oberlin College, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume13
Issue6
Pages525
Publication date2022-06-07
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel13060525
OpenAlexW4282593043
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited16

In light of new discoveries of his writings, recent studies on the medieval Japanese monk Yōsai (or Eisai; 1141-1215) have moved away from longstanding preoccupations with his role in establishing Zen in Japan and instead stress his career-long orientation as an esoteric Buddhist monk of the Tendai school. Although these revisions have led to innovative readings of his promotion of tea in the first fascicle of his Record of Nourishing Life by Drinking Tea (Kissa yōjōki), similar approaches have yet to be attempted for the second fascicle of this well-known work, in which Yōsai argues for the apotropaic efficacy of mulberry against pathogenic demons. In this article, I seek to remedy this gap firstly by situating Yōsai's healing program within broader contemporary trends in esoteric ritual healing. Examining the place of mulberry across esoteric liturgical discourse reveals a rich semiotic network in which the tree was tied to three other key ritual and medicinal materials: milkwood, milk, and the bodhi tree. In the second half of the article, I explore the ways that Yōsai's argument for mulberry's efficacy was shaped by an "exoteric" source, namely the biography of Śākyamuni Buddha. In this way, my analysis of the Kissa yōjōki provides insight into the interplay of "esoteric" and "exoteric" elements in Yōsai's thought and career, even as attention to the specificity of his therapeutic claims for mulberry encourages us to move beyond sectarian frameworks

Aesthetics · Art · Biography · Buddhism · Gautama Buddha · Humanities · Literature · Sociology · Theology · Chinese history and philosophy · Japanese History and Culture · Philosophy · Religious studies

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