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Thread: What Japanese People Think Of Religions

  1. #1

    What Japanese People Think Of Religions

    Bro. Brad linked to this, and I think it is pretty representative of how Japanese people in general tend to think about religions, including Buddhism. You may be surprised.



    It is one of the reasons that Japanese folks are lining up for miles to come to Treeleaf Tsukuba! Really, that and the painful image of suffering in Lotus and getting hit with a stick, as seen made fun of in this TV commercial ... (The joke is that he is a house designer who says the Japanese word for house, "ie," when hit ... )



    Gassho, J

    SatTodayLAH
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  2. #2
    Mp
    Guest
    Oh boy, that one fella looks like he is terrified ... SMACK! So does the monk!

    Gassho
    Shingen

    Sat/LAH

  3. #3
    Id not know I had so much in common with my Japanese neighbors.

    Gassho
    Doshin
    Stlah

  4. #4
    i do not know how it would be in America, but i would not be surprised that if you should ask those questions to Belgium or Dutch people of about the same age, answers might be comparable..



    Coos
    std

    hobo kore dojo / 歩歩是道場 / step, step, there is my place of practice

    Aprāpti (अप्राप्ति) non-attainment

  5. #5

    What Japanese People Think Of Religions

    Are Unsui taught the way of the stick? 棒道? How does one do that via Google Hangout?

    Simon
    Sat


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Ask not what the Sangha can do for you, but what you can do for your Sangha.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by aprapti View Post
    i do not know how it would be in America, but i would not be surprised that if you should ask those questions to Belgium or Dutch people of about the same age, answers might be comparable..



    Coos
    std
    Yes I agree, I think the same kind of answers would come up in the UK too. I thought they were funny and honest and there were a couple of painful truths too. I didn't know about the difference between temples and shrines so another thing learnt today

    Gassho
    Meitou
    Satwithyoualltoday lah
    命 Mei - life
    島 Tou - island

  7. #7
    Treeleaf Priest / Engineer Sekishi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Professsor View Post
    How does one do that via Google Hangout?
    With Emoji?

    Gassho,
    Sekishi
    #sat #vromvwom
    Sekishi | 石志 | He/him | Better with a grain of salt, but best ignored entirely.

  8. #8
    Mp
    Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Professsor View Post
    Are Unsui taught the way of the stick? 棒道? How does one do that via Google Hangout?

    Simon
    Sat


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    And electric probes in our zafus. LOL =)

    Gassho
    Shingen

    Sat/LAH

  9. #9
    Could jury rig something like this together with a stick, then hook it up to via the forum.



    I’ll call it the Simon-do, Way of Simon.

    Simonator.
    Sitted.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Ask not what the Sangha can do for you, but what you can do for your Sangha.

  10. #10
    Years ago when I was touring Japan with a punk band for the first time I was really impressed with how much in common I had with the Japanese people I met there. I find Japanese Buddhism very relatable.

    Gassho

    Sat Today

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by aprapti View Post
    i do not know how it would be in America, but i would not be surprised that if you should ask those questions to Belgium or Dutch people of about the same age, answers might be comparable..



    Coos
    std

    I think in the US you would find alot more religious folks...that how it is where I live Plus we have lots of churches including MEGA Churches.

    Gassho
    Doshin
    st

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Zotteke View Post
    I'm a convinced atheist but I know more about Catholicism than most of the Catholics around me.
    I would tend to agree with this statement. When I was in college I took a world religions class, and it was really interesting because at the start of every different religion the teacher would ask if anyone was that or how much they knew about it. And then at the end he would circle back to see if those people learned anything new, disagreed with his interruptions, etc. A lot of the time people simply didn't know. Or if they did disagree, he would ask them to talk with their church clergy or someone else and see if they could substantiate why he was wrong. It was an interesting exercise for everyone involved.


    But I think it is more of a sign of the times, religion and being religious I feel are definitely on the decline. So asking young people, is probably not a good example of overall how a country feels about it, but possibly a forecast of where we are headed. Although there is definitely a case for the belief that as people face difficultly and strife in life they will look for places of solace. And for many that could lead them back to a religious organization which offers support and guidance through life's troubles.

    Gassho,

    Shoka
    sattoday

  13. #13
    Joyo
    Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Doshin View Post
    Id not know I had so much in common with my Japanese neighbors.

    Gassho
    Doshin
    Stlah
    You and me both, brother!

    Gassho,
    Joyo
    sat today/lah

  14. #14
    Hi all,

    I have often thought of this. In many places of Asia religion and spirituality seem to have lost interest on recent years. Sometimes it seems to me they are fascinated with consumerism and luxury life.

    Whereas in western world and in the Americas, we are fed up with consumerism so we turn to spiritual life. I see more and more people taking yoga (as a spiritual practice), Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism and Native American paths.

    At least in Mexico and other places of the Spanish speaking world, people are leaving Catholicism in order to join alternative religions that may bring a little relief from the rush and dukkha of daily life.

    It's really interesting. (Oh, and I love that video blog!)

    Gassho,

    Kyonin
    Sat/LAH
    Hondō Kyōnin
    奔道 協忍

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Doshin View Post
    I think in the US you would find alot more religious folks...that how it is where I live Plus we have lots of churches including MEGA Churches.

    Gassho
    Doshin
    st
    In the Netherlands we have a bible-belt too, and there are also mega-churches . But the biggest part i dont think youngsters know a lot about religion.



    Coos

    sat 10 minutes ago

    hobo kore dojo / 歩歩是道場 / step, step, there is my place of practice

    Aprāpti (अप्राप्ति) non-attainment

  16. #16
    And yet ... Japanese "New Religions" (like Soka Gakkai/SKK and Risshō Kōsei-kai) are relatively flourishing ...

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_new_religions

    ... perhaps because they provide "community" for folks who came to the big city and lost their social connections back home, plus easy "Prosperity Buddhism: chant XYZ and your bank account will flourish and your health will improve" messages ...

    ... when many of the established sects (including Soto-shu) are not really, and are having trouble holding parishioners interest and their income from funerals and memorial services for ancestors, so important to temples to be self supporting.

    Zen no more: A third of Japan's Buddhist temples expected to close within 25 years as religion faces an 'existential crisis'
    Shrinking communities and costly traditional funerals are dimming the religion's future
    http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-a...-rites-decline

    As I have talked about from time to time, when you say "Buddhism" to the average adult in Japan, they think funerals and memorial services for their dead grandfather, nothing more in most cases, and very little awareness of Zazen as anything but pain. I have often joked that I would get many MANY more Japanese to come to our weekly Zazenkai if I ditched all the "Buddhist" clothes and statues and called it something like "RELAX HAPPY YOGA ENERGY TIME". Truly.

    Gassho, J

    Sattoday(RELAX HAPPY YOGA ENERGY TIME)LAH
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  17. #17
    I know a lot of Japanese musicians. One really fine mandolin player and singer I'm friends with works for her families Jodo Shinshu temple. She says it's the funeral industry and that I probably know a lot more about Buddhism than she does.

    The Japanese are really musical people. They don't get nearly enough credit in the West for their very unique and subtle musical inclinations. While few of my musician friends have religion. Those cats have a lot of soul. Wonderful music.

    Gassho

    Sat Today

  18. #18
    I realize almost monk at Japan do not understand Buddhism.

    They are just buisiness man for ceremony.

    I will keep on practicing real Buddhism.

    So I will stay here.

    Sat today.
    Nine bows.
    Kakunen


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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