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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... success , or , as in the case cited here , personal advancement in one's life path , as well as less tangible benefits such as an increased sense of personal well - being and free- dom from problems . Such practical benefits have been ...
... success , happy marriage , safe childbirth , traffic safety , business prosperity , and so on . They also reflect the understanding that happiness itself requires freedom from anxiety ( hence the prayers for safety as a means of ...
... success that were being made by the priest on behalf of visitors who paid him for this service . The gist of his response was quite straightforward : by praying to the buddhas , displaying faith , and acquiring their benevolent grace ...
... success of one's business , good health , one's children's health and ( most certainly in Japan ) their academic suc- cess , and so on . One person we talked to regularly used traffic safety amulets but had had a number of traffic ...
... success was a common thread among rich and poor . While aristocratic women did not have the same financial needs as poor women , they wished to make successful marriages and advance in society and sought such benefits through their ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |