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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... wish to introduce here that will provide both the framework for the chapters that follow and the definitional focus to the wider subject we are discussing . The first is that , in affirming the centrality of genze riyaku , we are ...
... wishes that manifest the realities of what people see as important in life . Such inner wishes , reflected in prayers for success , amelioration , good health , safety , and so on , ex- press what are commonly accepted as essential ...
... wish , as well , asking that she might be cured of an illness.45 Were anshin the primary goal of petitioners , it would be more clearly expressed as such in their petitions . To " explain " the practice of seeking benefits as really ...
... wishes realized , " the mind of the believer becomes peaceful and at ease , sufferings are swept away , and one penetrates into the spirit of the law . " 46 Arai Ken , writing about the new religions , has argued in this context that ...
... wish to emphasize in this Introduction : within the pursuit of this - worldly practical benefits there is a world- view that is so much part of the common ground — indeed , the bedrock of Japanese religion that it operates as perhaps ...
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Practically Religious: Worldly Benefits and the Common Religion of Japan Ian Reader,George J. Tanabe No preview available - 1998 |