|
A native religion of Japan and involves the worship
of Kami, or spirits and an animistic belief system.
The word "Shinto" originated from the Chinese word
"Shen Dao", where "Shen" meaning Gods or spirits
and "Dao" meaning a philosophical way or path.
Shinto is no longer Japan's official religion but is still
considered the native religion.
The most widely worshipped of all Kami is the
sun-goddess Amaterasu.
The afterlife is not a primary concern of Shinto, much
more emphasis is placed on fitting into this world, instead
of preparing for the next.
Shinto is a collection of rituals and methods meant to
mediate the relations of living humans and Kami.
Purification rites are a vital part of Shinto.
The most immediately striking theme in the Shinto
religion is a great love and reverence for Nature in
all its forms and for natural artifacts and processes.
Shinto teaches that certain deeds create a kind of ritual
impurity that one should want cleansed for one's own
peace of mind and good fortune, not because impurity
is wrong in and of itself.
|
Streaming in:
|
|
|
Leave the things of this world and come to me daily with pure bodies and pure hearts.
The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form.
Even the wishes of an ant reach to heaven.
A single sincere prayer moves heaven. You will surely realize the divine presence through
sincere prayer.
Where you have sincerity, there also is virtue. Sincerity is a witness to truth. Sincerity is the
mother of knowledge. Sincerity is a single virtue that binds Divinity and man in one.
What the superior man seeks is in himself, what the small man seeks is in others.
Retribution for good or ill is as sure as the shadow after the substance.
To do good is to be pure. To commit evil is to be impure.
To admit a fault is the beginning of righteousness.
The first and surest means to enter into communion with the Divine is sincerity. If you pray to a
deity with sincerity, you will surely feel the divine presence.
|