Outside Reading Blog #3 - Adam Paquette

 Shinto and Hinduism 04/28/2021 - In one of my religious studies classes, I read an exert on Japanese religion. Japan went through a lot of transformations where they were open to all religions and then during a war they got rid of all outside religions for a while. The Japanese primarily practiced Shintoism. However, Buddhism made its way into the Japanese culture. Japan combined the two religions into Ryobu ("Two-aspect Shinto"). The combination between Shinto and Buddhism happened between the 6th and 9th centuries. Over time, the boundaries between the two beliefs disappeared, thus causing harmony between the two beliefs. I found it interesting that Japan adopted this, even after a huge plague happened to cause them to kick out foreign religions. However, now Shinto is adopted in the day to day life, and Buddhism is turned to for beliefs in the afterlife for the Japanese. After many years of practicing strict Shinto, the Japanese first see themselves as Buddhists and then as Shinto. This shows how beneficial and helpful Buddhism has been in the lives of all Japanese. They were able to find ways to incorporate Buddhism into their lives and intertwined it with Shinto. Japan adopted pictures of Buddha and even incorporated Buddhism in their Shinto temples in a respectful way. Some religions work together to get to the same goals and improve the lives of all.

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