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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... known as genze riyaku , a term that can be translated as " this - worldly benefits , " " practical benefits in this lifetime , " or simply “ practical benefits . " As these three translations of the term are virtu- ally synonymous , we ...
... known for the benefit of healing eye problems and has been at various times in the past affiliated with different Buddhist sects - first the Tendai sect and then the Myōshinji branch of the Rinzai Zen Bud- dhist sect . In the modern era ...
... known as Saijō Înarikyō . The temple is famous as a center for praying for worldly benefits , and this has been a constant factor in its history despite sectarian changes.50 Such changes of sectarian affirmation are quite common in ...
... known temple near Osaka specializing in the provision of this - worldly benefits , linked these issues together in a booklet published by the temple and entitled Kankiten shinkō e no michi ( Toward faith in Kankiten ) , Kankiten being ...
... known to many of those who chant them , such as the famous sequence shikizokuzekū , kūzokuzeshiki ( form is no other than emptiness , emptiness no other than form ) .77 Moreover , there are plentiful opportunities for people to gain ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |