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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... suggest different and frequently elastic mean- ings to different people in different contexts , we should state where we stand on this issue . In this book we are using parameters similar to those found in much of contemporary Japanese ...
... than the topic of genze riyaku , 41 we would suggest they have led to a more otherworldly nuance being placed on many aspects of Japanese religion — and a disproportion- i ate sense of the weight of otherworldly as opposed Introduction 15.
... suggests the acquisition of material bene- fits , it is rarely framed in terms of suggesting that material advance alone is good . A number of prayers seek benefits that are intangible ( health , safety ) or seek to protect the ...
... suggested that the linkage between these issues , anshin , shinkō , and genze riyaku , is rather simplistic . How- ever ... suggest , is the case here . It is an explanation that has emerged , in some form or other , in many subsequent ...
... suggest that the amulets were ineffective . Her interpretation was very different : she had not been injured in any of the accidents , and this was proof of the amulets ' effectiveness . The accidents , rather than eroding her faith in ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |