Buddhism and Eastern religions: Difference between revisions

In the [[Japan]]ese religion of [[Shinto]], the long coexistence of Buddhism and Shintoism resulted in the merging of Shintoism and Buddhism. Gods in Shintoism were given a position similar to that of Hindu gods in Buddhism. Moreover, because the Buddha [[Vairochana]]'s symbol was the sun, many equated [[Amaterasu]], the sun goddess, as his previous [[bodhisattva]] reincarnation. According to Helen Hardacre, by the Heian period, a theory named [[Honji suijaku|''wakō dōjin'' (和光同塵)]] had emerged. The Buddha and Kami had taken on a new form as saviors of man, who "dim their light and mingle with the dust of the world". This not only relates the two religions, but demonstrates a marked difference in status between the two deities at this period in time.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hardacre, Helen, 1949-|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/947145263|title=Shinto : a history|year=2017|isbn=978-0-19-062171-1|location=New York|oclc=947145263}}</ref> The later [[Tokugawa Shogunate]] era saw a revival of Shinto, and some Shinto scholars began to argue that Buddhas were previous incarnations of Shinto gods, reversing the traditional positions of the two religions. Shinto and Buddhism were officially separated during the [[Meiji Restoration]] and the brief, but socially transformative rise of [[State Shinto]] followed. In post-war modern Japan, most families count themselves as being of both religions, despite the idea of "official separation".

{{quote|As time went on, the Japanese became more and more accustomed to including both the kami and Buddhist ideas in their spiritual lives. Philosophers put forward the idea that the kami were "transformations of the Buddha manifested in Japan to save all sentient beings".<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/shinto/history/history_1.shtml Shinto history]: [[BBC|BBC Religions]]</ref>}}In addition, Buddhism played an important part in the religious legitimation of Japanese emperors via Shintoism.<blockquote>It is noteworthy that the Sui were the first Chinese dynasty with which the newly emergent centralising Japanese state came into contact, so the practice of using Buddhism as an officially sanctioned religion would have been demonstrated to the Japanese as a political reality.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/43487317|title=Shinto in history : ways of the kami|date=2000|publisher=University of Hawaiʻi Press|others=Breen, John, 1956-, Teeuwen, Mark.|isbn=0-8248-2362-1|location=Honolulu|oclc=43487317}}</ref></blockquote>The interplay between Taoism, Buddhism, and Shinto in China and Japan stimulated the adoption of the Chinese practice of state-sanctioned religion and religious legitimation through association with divinity by the Japanese government. The official implementation of the term [[Emperor of Japan|''tennō'' (天皇)]] to refer to the Japanese emperor is also widely agreed to take place during the latter part of the 7th century, as a result of these interactions.

 

==See also==