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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... Institutions , and Ritual Processes : The Case of Kawasaki Daishi 60 Individual Wishes and Social Requests 68 2 Scripture and Benefits This - Worldly Promises : The Lotus Sutra Benefits in Early Buddhist Teachings Benefits as Divine ...
... institutions ) , partici- pation in festivals that are focused on shrines , temples , and deities , the acquisition of amulets and talismans , and the seeking , through petitioning of deities , of worldly benefits . We treat religion as ...
... It is , as we shall see , vigorously prosely- tized not just by the new religions but by established ones as well . And in this proselytization the established religions and their institutions proclaim 14 INTRODUCTION.
... institutions proclaim a similar underlying meaning as that of the religion the office lady Michiko joined : a religion that is true because it accom- plishes things . The range of complexities and themes related to the seemingly simple ...
... institutions may have affected an interest in spiritual disciplines such as meditation , but they were more commonly concerned with the benefits their religious patronage gave them whether through ac- cess to direct benefits or artistic ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |