Brief History Of Buddhist Studies In Europe And Maerica

Author(s): J W De Jong
Publisher: J W De Jong

Page 86

THE EASTERN BUDDHIST will become interested in other aspects of Indian culture as well. Scholars such as Tsukamoto Zenryu have brilliantly demonstrated that Chinese Buddhism can only be understood when seen against the background of Chinese history and culture. In the same way, Indian Buddhism has to be studied in relation to Indian culture, as one of the manifestations of Indian spirituality. This can only be achieved when scholars are actively engaged in the study of all aspects of Indian culture. The cultures of India, China and Japan cannot be understood without knowledge of Buddhism. In the same way Buddhism cannot be understood without knowledge of the cultures of India, China and Japan. Allow me to terminate by expressing the wish that future generations of scholars, both in Japan and in the West, will closely work together in the study of Buddhism.