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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... 6 Selling Benefits : The Marketing of Efficacy and Truth 206 Creating a Religious Department Store 206 Marketing Reputation through Stories 209 Advertising through Events , Festivals , and Rituals Contemporary Media Vill CONTENTS.
... stories such as Michiko's and make it clear that direct , immediate , and often material benefits flow from religious faith , practice , and adherence to their tenets.2 Such stories are common- place among Japanese new religions and ...
... stories , and Miyata Noboru and Tsukamoto Manabu's edited volume Minkan shinkō to minzoku shūkyō , which discusses shamanism , the role of the gods in providing worldly benefits , and the roles of gods of sickness and good fortune . 13 ...
... stories in the Lotus Sutra that show the Buddha using various tricks to get his message across are widely cited cases of skill- ful means in action . Likewise Buddhism's accommodating stance to- ward the ancestors and Confucian family ...
... story , which dates the origins of the temple to 894 C.E. , centers on the miraculous healing of the blind mother of a poor fisherman who lived on the Japan Sea coast . The fisherman , named Yuichi , who was devoted to his mother and a ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |