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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... Prayer Good Luck ( koun ) and Moral Luck ( kaiun ) 94 97 100 102 107 108 Material Spirituality 115 Social Welfare and Repayment of Gratitude 120 Materialism , Selfishness , and Prayers for All 123 Belief and Disbelief in Magic 126 Prayer ...
... prayers and recitations both at home and at the weekly meetings . As colleagues and senior members of the religious group told her to do , she directed her prayers toward her wish to stay on at her company beyond her thirtieth birthday ...
... prayers for safety as a means of reassurance ) and a certain level of material support . This is different from saying that the concept and pursuit of riyaku are synonymous with materialism . While the pursuit of riyaku suggests the ...
... prayers is the notion of coop- eration : in praying for a god or buddha's aid , one is effectively pledg- ing one's willingness to act in accordance with the deity or buddha one prays to , thus committing oneself to a particular course ...
... prayer and act on it . As the priest put it , the acquisition of the benefits sought will deepen the supplicant's ... praying to the bud- dhas he served at his temple . ! In this explanation , then , we see that anshin and shinkō are ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |