Two Major Religions of Japan: Shinto and Buddhism
Many people think that Japan is perhaps the most secular society on earth, the society where religion has the least influence or place in the public realm. However, if we add up the number of people who belong to all the branches of Japanese religions in the country, we get at least twice the number of the total population. The Japanese have been affiliated with a branch of Buddhism called Zen Buddhism and have also been linked to Shinto. They may belong to a family temple in the case of Buddhism, and also be member of a parish of a Shinto shrine in the neighborhood where they live.
According to tradition, the founder of Buddhism was born in 563 B.C.E, in the region that is now southern Nepal. He was born a prince, named Siddhartha which stood for “he who achieves his goal”.(Fisher,pg75-76) Siddhartha having been shielded from the knowledge of poverty, sadness, aging and death decided one day to wander and began to see people who were suffering. Realizing that suffering is the lot of most humans, Siddhartha left his palace renouncing his princely life, and set out to find the cause of human suffering. He became a wandering monk. (Fisher,pg75-76)
After years of searching, he found his answer “his awakening” and proceeded to teach others. “He would teach people the Four Noble Truths: 1. Life inevitably involves suffering, is imperfect and unsatisfactory. 2. Suffering originates in our desires. 3. Suffering will cease if all desires cease 4. There is a way to realize this state: the Noble Eightfold Path.” (Fisher, pg.79) “The Eightfold Path was a way for people to burn up past demerits, avoid new demerits and build up merit for a favorable rebirth.” (Fisher, pg.80)
When he died, he attained nirvana, the eternal ...