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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... cause it had worked and solved her problem , and this deepened her faith . Soon she was advocating its values to other friends and col- leagues and advising them to come with her to meetings in order to deal with their own problems and ...
... caused by the term “ religion , " we do not concur with such concerns . In this book we are talking about a non - Western culture and are dealing largely with matters not of doctrine and teaching , not necessarily even of belief , but ...
... causes of illness ( a view that affirms the psychic worldview in which spiritual causes are manifest as physical events , a dominant theme in Japanese religious culture that is strongly articulated in the present day by many of the new ...
... caused these places to be- come popular , to attract clienteles , and to become centers of faith.82 Thus we look at the role of practical benefits in the development of religious institutions . How have temples and shrines promoted prac ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |