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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... 245 Common Religion in a Modern City : Tokyo goriyaku sanpo 247 The Religious Landscape 253 8 Conclusions Notes Bibliography Index 256 263 285 299 Acknowledgments THE IDEA FOR THIS BOOK developed in 1992–1993 when Contents ix.
... developed in 1992–1993 when Ian Reader spent a year as a Visiting Professor in Japanese Studies at the Univer- sity of Hawai'i , where George Tanabe is based . Patricia Steinhoff , Di- rector of the Center for Japanese Studies in the ...
... developed in the nineteenth century in Japan to refer to the English word “ religion , " which at that time was most specifically a theologically oriented term . While the conception of shūkyō ( religion ) as a narrowly based ...
... develop faith in those who have received benefits or believe that they might do so . Although skillful means as a concept affirms the role of Buddhism in pointing toward an absolute truth ( and in such contexts Buddhism itself may be ...
... developed from its roots in monastic enlightenment beneath the bodhi tree to its role of provider of good fortune , business prosperity , and ancestor venera- tion in modern Japan - has in a way problematized more than it has clarified ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |