Understanding the similarities/differences between Shinto & BuddhismInstructions:
Watch both videos at the bottom Complete the Venn diagram and the questions at the bottom
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The waters that surround Japan have protected it from invaders. Unlike China and India, Japan has never been conquered by foreign armies. Yet these same waters brought ideas to Japan from Korea and China. The Japanese changed these ideas to fit their own way of life. This resulted in a unique Japanese culture.
For example, the Japanese adopted the Chinese system of writing. his allowed them to read Chinese books about medicine, mathematics, and science. The Japanese copied Chinese art and literature, wore Chinese clothing, and used the Chinese calendar. For a time the Japanese adopted the Chinese civil service. Later, they changed this system so that nobles, rather than scholars ran the government. The religion born in Japan is Shinto. Historians do know who founded it. It has no holy books like the Vedas, the Bible, or the Qur'an. Shinto followers love nature and worship kami, or spirits. They believe that these kami control the forces of nature. The word Shinto means "way of the gods". The Japanese people worship thousands of gods and spirits. The goddess of the sun is the most important Shinto god. In fact, the Japanese call their country Nippon, which means "source of the sun". Shinto
Shinto is the native religion of Japan, and was once its state religion. It involves the worship of kami, or spirits. Some kami are local – the spirit of a particular place – but others represent major natural phemonena like Amaterasu, the Sun goddess, or Mount Fuji. The word Shinto is a combination of two kanji (Chinese characters): “shin”, meaning gods or spirits, and “tō” meaning a way or path (like Tao or dao in Chinese). So Shinto is often translated as “The Way of the Gods”. Shinto can be seen as a form of animism. The afterlife, and belief, are not major concerns in Shinto; the emphasis is on fitting into this world instead of preparing for the next, and on ritual and observance rather than on faith. The religion has no fixed dogma or book, no holiest place, no person or kami regarded as the holiest, and no defined set of prayers. Instead, Shinto is a collection of rituals and methods meant to regulate the relations between living people and the spirits. The main theme in the Shinto religion is love and reverence for natural artifacts and processes. So a waterfall or a special rock might come to be regarded as a spirit (kami) of that place; so might abstract things like growth and fertility. Sacred objects, such as rocks or trees, can be recognized by the special ropes (shimenawa) and white paper strips attached to them. Buddhism Buddhism came to Japan from China in the 6th century, bringing many other aspects of the highly-developed culture of the Asian mainland with it. The form of Buddhism established in Japan through China is the Mahayana (Great Vehicle), rather than the Theravada Buddhism of India, Sri Lanka, and other southern Asian nations. In Japan’s history, Shinto and Buddhism were closely knit, and religious practices developed where forms of Shinto and Buddhism were merged together. In 1868, after the Meiji Restoration, Buddhism and Shintoism were separated, but many Japanese still adhered to both. Today, most Japanese people observe both Buddhism and Shinto, according to the occasion, without any conflict or contradition between the two. While weddings are often Shinto or Christian ceremonies, funerals (soshiki) are almost always Buddhist. The body is cleaned, dressed in white robes and laid with the head facing north. There is a wake, where mourners present a gift of money (koden). At the funeral the next day, mourners gather at a photograph of the deceased and a priest from the local temple recites sutras. Most deceased are cremated and pieces of their bones placed in a small jar which is placed on the butsudan altar in the home until it is buried. Relatives often pray for the deceased at the butsudan, and visit the grave during the Bon festival. |
Shinto vs. Buddhism
INSTRUCTIONS: COMPLETE A VENN DIAGRAM DISPLAYING THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SHINTOISM AND BUDDHISM. USE COLORED PENCILS. ONE COLOR SHOULD REPRESENT SHINTOISM AND TH OTHER COLOR SHOULD REPRESENT BUDDHISM. FEEL FREE TO USE THE VENN DIAGRAM FRAMES ON THE FRONT TABLE. YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST (3) THREE PIECES OF INFORMATION IN EACH SECTION.