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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... doctrinal forms . While we recognize the problems 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 ...
... Doctrines and creedal teachings , by contrast , are given little prominence.12 Numerous studies of folk practices and be- liefs are considered to come under the rubric of shukyō ( religion ) : Shinno Toshikazu's Nihon yugyō shūkyōron ...
... doctrine and religion as practice . Thus the concept of skillful means - helpful though it has been to scholars and priests in giving expedient answers to questions about how and why a religious tradition such as Buddhism has developed ...
... doctrinal structures and teachings . This is usually done within the context of emphasizing the importance of worshiping the partic- ular kami venerated within the particular Shinto organization and hence affirming the close ...
... doctrines ( kyōgi ) : 51 benefits are , as the priest affirmed , the result of faith , and the sect's doctrine thus links faith and benefits together . The doctrines of Ichibata Yakushi Kyōdan as set out in the organization's ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |