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. |
From inside the book
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... particular, the Buddhist scholar Kikumura Norihiko argues that the term originally referred to spiritual benefits but Japanese folk beliefs corrupted the idea to include material pleasures.7 The Nichiren scholar Asai Endo ̄ ...
... particular, with ritual behavior and practice involving the pursuit of practical benefits through religious situations and means.23 The photograph, which shows a family catching the holy water of Otowa no Taki (Otowa Falls) with long ...
... particular group of people. It is for everyone. No one is barred from searching for good fortune, seeking the providence of Kannon, imbibing the holy powers, and receiving the benefits there. Reischauer and Jansen's picture of the ...
... particular the sect has three major prayer temples (sandai kigansho),29 usually cited as Saijo ̄ji in Kanagawa prefecture, Myo ̄gonji, also known as Toyokawa Inari, in Aichi prefecture, and Kasuisai in Shizuoka. Saijo ̄ji is one of the ...
... particular Buddhist organization, So ̄to ̄ Zen Buddhism, to indicate the centrality of this topic to Buddhism in Japan and to show that monasticism and seeking this-worldly benefits occur within the same location and are not ...
Contents
1 | |
Settings and Dynamics | 37 |
2 Scripture and Benefits | 71 |
Morality Belief and Prayer | 107 |
Gods Saints and Wizards | 140 |
5 The Dynamics of Practice | 178 |
The Marketing of Efficacy and Truth | 206 |
7 Guidebooks to Practical Benefits | 234 |
8 Conclusions | 256 |
Notes | 263 |
Bibliography | 285 |
Index | 297 |
Other editions - View all
Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |