The Religions Of Shinto And Buddhism

While I was reading these interesting stories, each story had some qualities that where similar, but there were also many differences. Which wasn’t really a huge surprise since the setting of each story happened during different times, and on different parts of the planet. All the stories involved a special child, and everyone knew he was gifted. A few characters in these myths have powers, but some do not. Sikhism and Christianity seem to be based on Monotheistic viewpoint, but Buddhism and Shinto seem to be based on a polytheistic viewpoint. Each story was either about a god, or a prophet spreading his new found message to the people.

There are many aspects of this world such as culture, technology, or art that have been influenced by other things. The way that things influence each other has allowed for new possibilities and ideals to be formed. Religion is no exception; there have been many instances where religions have influenced each other and blossomed due to new ideas being presented. A good example of this the relationship between the two religions: Buddhism and Shinto. Buddhism was brought into Japan during the early 6th century from Korea, and was later institutionalized as the state religion in the late 6th century by Prince Shōtoku. The Prince was a great patron of Buddhism and by having made it the state religion, it would help Buddhism spread. However, Japan was not without its own religion—Shinto—which had been there for many years prior to the arrival of Buddhism. With Buddhism gaining traction in Japan with the help of Prince Shōtoku, what then does it mean for the Shinto religion? However, Shinto was not long forgotten, which leads to the question: how did the two religions, Buddhism and Shinto, interact with each other when Buddhism arrived in Japan? In this essay, I will discuss how both Buddhism and Shinto were closely tied to each other in Japan, and how they would influence each other in different ways that allowed them to grow into new directions.

Buddhism is one of the oldest religions. Buddhism dates back over 3 centuries. Buddhism was founded by an Indian prince, named Siddharta Gautama around 500 BCE.

The goal of Buddhism is to attain enlightenment and to break the chain of samsara (birth, death, and rebirth) by overcoming ignorance. The goal of Shinto is to connect with the kami that surrounds the land and eventually become kami. To attain enlightenment in Buddhism you must achieve certain steps such as nirvana and “awaken to the true nature of things.” According to The Essence of Shinto, to become kami it is required to reflect on uncleanness (sins, faults, etc.) and apply cleanliness by the adjustment of sight and hearing, and progress must be shown. However, the two traditions share similarities regarding their flexibility. Shinto and Buddhism do not require belief in one personal god, and both traditions are very open and tolerant to other beliefs. Additionally, both traditions are based off a story or myth, and they have distinct places of worship such as shrines and temples. In Buddhism, the belief system is based off the story of a human and in Shinto it based off the creation stories and myths of deities. This is very important to how both faiths originated and grew so

Shintoism is Japan native religion. In this religion, every living thing in nature, from the wind, animals, trees and even sound contain gods which are referred to as kami (1). The religion worships nature and arose by the desire to include human life in the great harmony manifested in the universe. They have shrines to honor the gods. While Shintoism contains the spirituality of the living, Buddhism contains the spirituality of the afterlife and soul. This is why these religions compliment each other so well. Bought over from Chinese culture was Confucianism, which is a code of ethic that also influenced the way Japanese lived their lives. As you place these religions together, the health of each individual determines if they are living a purified and meaningful life or if there soul has been tainted, unclean, and impure.

The Shinto's history goes way back to 500 AD's. It was one of the first main religions that developed in Japan, and that is why there are so many followers of it today.(Littleton 13-21) Shinto is diffrent from other religions. It is even able to combine with other religions. Beliefs and practices were passed down throughfamilies, which caused the religions to change over time. Like the odyssey.

For week 7 I decided that I would do my assignment on Shinto, since taking this class and reading about Shinto it started to interest me, especially now that I can look back and think about what I saw when I was in Japan and wondered what the religion was that they were practicing. Shinto’s meaning is “way of the gods”, this is one of the oldest religions in Japan, which began during the period of the Yayoi culture (c. 300 BCE - 300 CE). The faith has neither a founder or prophets and there is no major text which outlines its principal beliefs. Shinto's key concepts of purity, harmony, family respect, and subordination of the individual before the group have become parts of the Japanese character whether the individual claims a religious affiliation

The religions in ancient Japan had very calming and nonviolent beliefs. Ancient Japan had two main religions, Buddhism and Shinto which are similar religions. Japan had a few side religions like Confucianism and Christianity. Some of Ancient Japan’s main religions are; Shinto’s nature based religion, Buddhism’s complicated beliefs, and Confucianism’s philosophical religion. First of all, Shinto is a nature based religion.

This shows how Buddhism in Japan connects with Shintoism and makes Buddhism in Japan much different from Buddhism in China. Another example of Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan connect is “… the principal kami of Shinto came to be regarded as Buddhist deities in different forms, and Shinto shrines were ever amalgamated with Buddhist temples.” Next, let’s see how Buddhism in China is different from Buddhism in Japan. First, when Buddhism was introduced to the Chinese people from traders and merchants from India it caused “… Some early devotees of Buddhism to regarded it as an exotic form of Taoism.”

This is completely different from US religious beliefs in many ways. For one, all the religions practiced in the United States worship a specific god or gods. Another thing that’s completely different in Japan than in the US is that they are more accepting of different religions. The other religion that is widely practiced in Japan is Buddhism. Brought over by missionaries in 552 AD and emphasizes simplicity to beauty, devotion to study and severe self-discipline. All the concepts of both of these religions are not concepts that American religions emphasize. Religion is huge for the Japanese and in most houses Shintoism and Buddhism are both practiced and shrines are usually done of both religions. There are many other cultural customs in Japan that are different from those in the US.

In conclusion, both Rome and Japan have both similarities and differences in terms of religion. Some similarities are that both civilizations have religions that had to do with nature and spirits. However, there are many, many, differences between the 2 civilizations. For example, while Rome adopted many Greek gods and goddesses as their own Roman versions and had also worshipped several cults, Japan did not adopt any gods and goddesses as their own, and did not worship any cults. Despite all this, both Rome and Japan have one thing in common: they both worship gods and

Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama. He was born a “Kshatriya” warrior prince in ancient India which is now located in Nepal. In general buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama who lived about 25 years ago. He was called “Buddha” which mean the “awakened one” It started in Japan around the year 500(C.E.) Common era. It also spread to china. Buddhism began in india 2,500 years ago and remains the dominant world religion in the east.

In the Japanese culture many people in japan believe in Buddhism and Shintoism. the practice of the religion of Shintoism is when they establish the connection between ancient japan and present day japan (japan). In ancient times they also worshiped nature, this religion was called Buddhism. The reason they worship nature is because the ancient people of Japan honored sacred spirits that they recognized in nature (japantimes).

Japanese religious tradition is made up of a few separate groups, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shinto. Christianity was only a small change in Japan. However, these religions have impacted Japanese religious life today.

Many religions are popular within the Japanese culture. Two of the most influential religions, Shinto and Buddhism that help shaped a lot of Japanese values are Shinto and Buddhism, played a large role in shaping Japanese values. Numerous similarities and differences run between these two religions; nonetheless, the Japanese often believe in more than one religion at the same time. This is possible due to the polytheistic nature of most popular religions in Japan. It is not hard to say that religion is a big part of Japanese culture because a lot of religious beliefs can still be seen in their everyday lives.