> And what's especially disturbing are the lengths conservatives in the Japanese government have gone to over the last several decades to rewrite history and erase these atrocities, while pushing harder and harder against the restrictions on their armed forces.
This is still a hot issue in Japanese Buddhism and demonstrates the difference between the sects:
Consider Soto and Rinzai Zen, vs Jodo Shinshu. Leaders from both supported the war efforts and nationalism, but since Soto and Rinzai teachers are supposed to be enlightened, the Soto and Rinzai authorities have not been able to apologise for their support. On the other hand, since in Jodo Shinshu everyone, including the head of the school (monshu), is on the same spiritual level (there is no attainment in Jodo Shinshu), they were easily able to apologise for the acts and ideas of the WW2 monshu.
This is still a hot issue in Japanese Buddhism and demonstrates the difference between the sects:
Consider Soto and Rinzai Zen, vs Jodo Shinshu. Leaders from both supported the war efforts and nationalism, but since Soto and Rinzai teachers are supposed to be enlightened, the Soto and Rinzai authorities have not been able to apologise for their support. On the other hand, since in Jodo Shinshu everyone, including the head of the school (monshu), is on the same spiritual level (there is no attainment in Jodo Shinshu), they were easily able to apologise for the acts and ideas of the WW2 monshu.