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    Tsumiki Otonashi
    This document discusses the relationship between Buddhism and Shintoism in Japan. It explains that Buddhist priests transmitted Shinto texts like the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki to later generations. The influence of Buddhism, especially the Lotus Sutra, allowed for an accommodation between the two religions. The Japanese were able to simultaneously follow Buddhism and worship Shinto gods without feeling any contradiction. A similar relationship developed between Buddhism and Confucianism when those traditions arrived in Japan - they were not seen as being in conflict. Scholars advocated a unity of the three religions of Shintoism, Confucianism and Buddhism.

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    This document discusses the relationship between Buddhism and Shintoism in Japan. It explains that Buddhist priests transmitted Shinto texts like the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki to later generations. The influence of Buddhism, especially the Lotus Sutra, allowed for an accommodation between the two religions. The Japanese were able to simultaneously follow Buddhism and worship Shinto gods without feeling any contradiction. A similar relationship developed between Buddhism and Confucianism when those traditions arrived in Japan - they were not seen as being in conflict. Scholars advocated a unity of the three religions of Shintoism, Confucianism and Buddhism.

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    This document discusses the relationship between Buddhism and Shintoism in Japan. It explains that Buddhist priests transmitted Shinto texts like the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki to later generations. The influence of Buddhism, especially the Lotus Sutra, allowed for an accommodation between the two religions. The Japanese were able to simultaneously follow Buddhism and worship Shinto gods without feeling any contradiction. A similar relationship developed between Buddhism and Confucianism when those traditions arrived in Japan - they were not seen as being in conflict. Scholars advocated a unity of the three religions of Shintoism, Confucianism and Buddhism.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    19 views1 page

    New 8

    Uploaded by

    Tsumiki Otonashi
    This document discusses the relationship between Buddhism and Shintoism in Japan. It explains that Buddhist priests transmitted Shinto texts like the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki to later generations. The influence of Buddhism, especially the Lotus Sutra, allowed for an accommodation between the two religions. The Japanese were able to simultaneously follow Buddhism and worship Shinto gods without feeling any contradiction. A similar relationship developed between Buddhism and Confucianism when those traditions arrived in Japan - they were not seen as being in conflict. Scholars advocated a unity of the three religions of Shintoism, Confucianism and Buddhism.

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    hoki, Kogo Shui *, and others were copied by medieval Buddhist priests and thus transmitted to

    posterity.135 What is the way of thinking that made such an accommodation of Buddhism and
    Shintoism possible? The influence of the traditional character of Buddhism cannot be denied, and it is
    particularly important to point out the influence of the idea of the One Vehicle manifested in the Hokke
    Sutra*. The Imperial Rescript of November of the year 836 A.D. says: "There is nothing superior to the
    One Vehicle to defend Shintoism."136 It goes without saying that Nichiren, who expressed his absolute
    allegiance to the Hokke Sutra, also showed his genuine loyalty to the Japanese gods and goddesses.
    Even the Jodo* followers, who were originally opposed to the gods and goddesses of Shintoism,
    tempered their oppositions in a more conciliatory attitude after Zonkaku (1290–1373). The theoretical
    basis for such a rapprochement was provided not by the triple-sutras* of the Pure Land Buddhism but
    by the Tendai doctrine based upon the Hokke Sutra. The Japanese native gods, exalted as they were as
    natural deities, kept their own distinctive existence intact. In this respect they differ completely from the
    occidental counterpart in the ancient German gods, vestiges of which remain in the form of the
    Christmas festivity (tree, Santa Claus, etc.) within Christianity. The Japanese never considered it
    necessary to repudiate their religious faith in the native gods in order to become devoted followers of
    Buddhism. In this manner they brought about the conception of "God-Buddhas." It is generally noticed
    even today that the ardent Buddhist is at the same time a pious worshipper of Shintoist gods. The
    majority of the Japanese pray before the shrine and at the same time pay homage to the temple,
    without being conscious of any contradiction. The same relationship as exists in the mind of the
    Japanese between Shintoism and Buddhism also holds for the relationship between Buddhism and
    Confucianism. When the continental civilization was transplanted to Japan, Buddhism and Confucianism
    were simultaneously introduced, without any theoretical conflicts taking place in the minds of the
    Japanese or any ideological warfare occurring on Japanese soil. On the contrary, Okura Yamanoue (d.
    733), a famous poet, took the conciliatory standpoint that despite the difference existing between
    Buddhism and Confucianism, they amount to the same thing: "Although their ways of guiding are two,
    both lead up to the one and only one attainment of enlightenment."137 After the dawn of the Modern
    era, Confucianism came to flourish with the political backing of the ruling class, and from then on a
    doctrine was widely advocated to assert the unity of the three religions, i.e. Shintoism, Confucianism,
    and Buddhism. During the Tokugawa period (1600–1867), Kanazoshi* (Tales in Easy Previous Released
    By -TSJ5J- Next Previous Released By -TSJ5J- Next Page 392 Japanese, or popular novels written in the
    Kana characters) and other similar writings were extremely popular among the common folk. Most of
    them were written from the Buddhist point of view, with some exceptions written from the Confucian
    standpoint. The most famous of those were The Tale of Kiyomizu, The Tale of Kiyomizu Continued, The
    Tale of Gion, The Tale of Daibutsu, and others, all of which were written mainly from the viewpoint of
    the unity of the three religions. This was in s

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