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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... mind ) , one must also consider the importance of these issues in the wider understanding of religion in Japan as well as Japanese religious practices . Since these issues have been the subject of far greater study than the topic of ...
... mind and salvation , are closely related to these practices and the meanings upon which they are based . If we understand material- ism to imply that it is through material advances alone that happiness is achieved , and that ...
... mind " ( anshin ) , " faith " ( shinkō ) , and “ salvation ” ( kyūsai ) , all of which would no doubt be considered germane to " spiritual " questions . As we shall see throughout this book , however , all of these terms are so closely ...
... mind , in such terms , leads to practical benefits . It also leads to deeper faith : in making supplications to a buddha , or indeed any deity , one is expressing some form of faith , at the very least in the abil- ity of the deity to ...
... mind ? After all , there is nothing to prevent someone asking directly for peace of mind in a prayer . Yet requests ( onegai ) to the gods and bud- dhas usually focus on a particular benefit . When requests are directed toward peace of mind ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |