Masao Abe was a Japanese Buddhist philosopher and religious studies scholar who was emeritus professor at Nara University.
17 Facts About Masao Abe
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Masao Abe is best known for his work in comparative religion, developing a Buddhist-Christian interfaith dialogue which later included Judaism.
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Suzuki in 1966, Masao Abe has served as the main representative of Zen Buddhism in Europe and North America.
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Yet Masao Abe was seriously troubled by an ongoing personal crisis, which stemmed from the perceived conflict: rationality versus faith in the Amida of Pure Land Buddhism.
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Also, Masao Abe studied Zen under the direction of Shin'ichi Hisamatsu, a philosophy professor at Kyoto University and a lay practitioner of the Rinzai school.
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In consequence, Masao Abe came to understand Amida Buddha as a sacred fiction.
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Nonetheless Masao Abe first reacted to Hisamatsu by coming to discover and experience an infinite grace from the Amida Buddha.
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Masao Abe agonized over the seeming proximity of the Deity and the devil, and with his own complicity.
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Along this way Masao Abe confronted, and managed to distinguish and overcome, a "positive nihilism" associated with the secular, irreligious philosopher Frederich Nietzsche.
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Also in New York City, at the Union Theological Seminary, Masao Abe encountered the Christian professors and teachers Paul Tillich and Reinhold Niebuhr.
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From 1952 to 1980, Masao Abe served as professor of philosophy at Nara University.
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From 1965 Masao Abe participated and made presentations at many universities and colleges throughout the USA while serving as a visiting professor in residence.
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Masao Abe contributed to and led many conferences on comparative religion, Buddhism, and related subjects.
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Masao Abe was perennially involved with: the East-West Philosophers' Conference at the University of Hawaii; and the International Buddhist-Christian Theological Encounter which, along with Professor John B Cobb, Jr.
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Masao Abe sought to advance the interreligious dialogue while serving in his widespread teaching assignments; he led many seminars on Buddhism and western religions, particularly Christianity.
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Masao Abe further sought to encourage dialogue through his various philosophical and spiritual writings.
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In 1983 Professor Masao Abe disclosed aspects of his inner motivation.