japanese religion :: essays research papers

JapanReligious and Philosophical TraditionsThe values described in the antedate section be derived from a number of religious and philosophical traditions, both(prenominal) indigenous and foreign. Taken together, these traditions may be considered the Nipponese worldview, although the soulfulnessal beliefs of an individualistic Japanese may incorporate some aspects and disregard others. The Japanese worldview is eclectic, secernate with a Western view in which religion is exclusive and defines ones identity. contemporaneous Japanese society is highly secular. Cause and effect relations argon frequently based in scientific models, and illness and death are explained by modern medical theories. Yet the scientific view is just now one of the options from which an individual may draw in interpreting lifes experiences. The Japanese worldview is characterized also by a pragmatic approach to problem solving, in which the technique may be less important than the results. Thus a Jap anese who is ill may simultaneously or sequenti eithery examine the assistance of a medical doctor, obtain medication from a person trained in the Chinese herbal tradition, and visit a local shrine. Each of these actions is based on a different belief in causation of the illness the physician may say that the illness is caused by a bacterial infection the herbalist regards the body as existence out of balance and the basis of the shrine visit is the belief that the sagaciousness must be cleansed to heal the body. In the West, these explanations might be viewed as mutually exclusive, but the Japanese patient may hold all of these views simultaneously without a sense of discord. Similarly, a student studying for university ledger entry examinations knows that without extraordinary hard work, admission is impossible. Yet the student will probably also visit a special shrine to ask for the uphold of the spiritual world in ensuring success. The roots of the Japanese worldview can be traced to several traditions. Shinto, the only indigenous religion of Japan, provided the base.