The Buddhist Goddess Marishiten: A Study of the Evolution and Impact of her Cult on the Japanese Warrior

In The Buddhist Goddess Marishiten, David A. Hall provides an in-depth exploration of the Buddhist cult of the warrior goddess Mārīcī; its evolution in India, China, and Japan; its texts and their audience; its rituals; and, finally, its efficacy as experienced by the Japanese warrior class--the bushi or samurai. In examining the psychological effects of these rituals on the Japanese warrior this volume moves beyond a narrowly focused examination of a religious cult. David A. Hall convincingly explains how these rituals aimed at preparing the warrior for combat and acted as an antidote for the toxicity of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) when the warrior returned from the battlefield. Dr. David A. Hall has trained in Japanese martial arts for over forty-five years. Here, in addition to his martial arts experience, he draws on his military, academic, and religious expertise to explore aspects of Japanese combative culture previously inaccessible to most people. Trained as a Navy Hospital Corpsman, David Hall was attached to Third Marine Division during the Vietnam War Era. He was later ordained as a Tendai Buddhist priest (1978), and integrated his religious training in Japan with graduate research at U.C. Berkeley, earning a doctorate in Buddhist Studies with a related field in Military history in 1990. Dr. Hall continues to teach and train in classical Japanese martial arts. He is currently a professor and Director of CyberWatch at Montgomery College, Maryland, USA.