Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of JapanPraying for practical benefits (genze riyaku) is a common religious activity in Japan. Despite its widespread nature and the vast numbers of people who pray and purchase amulets and talismans for everything from traffic safety and education success to business prosperity and protection from disease, the practice has been virtually ignored in academic studies or relegated to the margins as a uh_product of superstition or an aberration from the true dynamics of religion. Basing their work on a fusion of textual, ethnographic, historical, and contemporary studies, the authors of this volume demonstrate the fallacy of such views, showing that, far from being marginal, the concepts and practices surrounding genze riyaku lie at the very heart of the Japanese religious world. They thrive not only as popular religious expression but are supported by the doctrinal structures of most Buddhist sects, are ordained in religious scriptures, and are promoted by monastic training centers, shrines, and temples. |
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... Japanese Studies in the School of Hawaiian , Asian and Pacific Studies at that time , was instrumental in arranging this visit . It gave us the opportunity to explore the topic of practical benefits in the common religion of Japan , and ...
Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader, George J. Tanabe. Introduction MICHIKO WATANABE was an " office lady " in a major Japanese com- pany . Normal company policy ( as is so often the case in Japan ) was to make ...
... Japan had preached : proof of religious validity can be found through experi- ence . She was convinced of the truth of her newfound religion be- cause it had worked and solved her problem , and this deepened her faith . Soon she was ...
Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader, George J. Tanabe. istic in nature , such critics ... Japanese folk beliefs cor- rupted the idea to include material pleasures.7 The Nichiren scholar Asai Endō characterizes the ...
... Japanese word , " shukyō . " The irony of this will not be lost on scholars aware that “ shukyō ” is the term developed in the nineteenth century in Japan to refer to the English word “ religion , " which at that time was most ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |