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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... various publications detailing the benefits that can accrue from following their religious practices , numerous Japanese new religious movements tell stories such as Michiko's and make it clear that direct , immediate , and often ...
... various practices and concepts that surround it — may at times seem more closely asso- ciated with commerce , entertainment , and casual behavior than they are with the apparently traditional concerns of religion as a doctri- nally ...
... various means at its disposal , including the assimilation of ideas and rituals seemingly incompatible with its ultimate ends , in order to create a more fertile ground . The stories in the Lotus Sutra that show the Buddha using various ...
... various religious objects such as talismans and amulets , and affirmed in doctrinal terms in various religious organizations as well through textual traditions . It is , as we shall see , vigorously prosely- tized not just by the new ...
... various English translations , such as " practical benefits , " that we introduced earlier ) we are , in effect , using a shorthand for the in- terlocking framework of themes , concepts , practices , and meanings that are associated ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |