Armageddon

Okay, to begin with, i'm new here, recommended by a friend who just reads the forum, and i'm interested in all this stuff, though i never really quite know what i want to know, if that makes any sense, haha

so anyway, this is going to be an extremely broad question, so anything of help is greatly appreciated!

I am a roman catholic, have been since birth, i live in a predominately roman catholic society and go to a catholic highschool (i'm about to barf from all this catholic stuff, lol, jk, it hasn't been too bad except all the religion classes...) anyways, haha, my religion classes this year have been Philosophy first semester and World Religions this semester, and the thing that always bugged me was that fact that, i knew nothing about any religion except catholicism, and it was annoying, because i knew there was more out there, but i never got any of it because (like something i posted in a different forum recently) i always only ever get one side of the story! and it's really irritating and i'm tired of jsut "accepting things because someone says so", it's getting downright ridiculous in my opinion (and in the opinion of the person who referred me here, she's an outside of the box thinker ^.^ a pretty amazing girl too if you ask me, haha, but back on topic...)

so my religion classes this year, this teacher is teaching them, and she's perhaps one of the best teachers i've ever had, her name's Mrs. Maddox she's really really smart and knows what she's talking about (and it's fun because everyone always trys to guess what religion she really is but she won't tell us and no one really knows, haha), and it's been a wonderful experience because i'm finally getting that other side of the story i've been wanting for so long, and it's wonderful!

so anyways, she's told us about all these world religions she's going to teach us about and so far we've done hinduism, and i like it, but it's not quite for me i don't think (oh, and i definitely think that roman catholicism is NOT for me! haha), and right now we're learning about buddhism and later we're going to learn about shintoism, and my teacher told me that many people in japan are shinto buddhists, and here's where i've come up with my idea...(although it may change later in the course, i hope by the end of this semester i may know where i want to be going)

so i really think buddhism may be the thing for me! i love the idea of meditation, and the middle path, and that you should change with the times and there's no one true way and we all find our own way and so on and so forth! i mean, it almost sounds like a dream to me it's so great! it already sounds like i would love it, and where does shintoism come in? haha, well, i am completely and utterly in love with Japan! i mean, it's almost an obsession, haha, i just love the language, all the culture i've heard about, just everything about it makes it seem like i would love the place if i ever get the chance to go there! and i've been told that shintoism is the traditional religion of Japan, and since my teacher told me that most people over there are shinto buddhists, i figure there must be something going right! haha, so that's what i've decided

and the reason i love buddhism over roman catholicism immediately is the fact that, i don't know if it's right to say this or not, but i feel so suppressed and sheltered in the roman catholic church! i mean, they only ever present one side of the story and it's always "do it this way or it's a sin and you're turning away from God", i mean, it's really frustrating! it's too strict and rigid for me, i feel people should be able to go about worship or lack-thereof however they want, and i suppose that's the way buddhists feel, am i right or wrong? regardless, and i like the sound of (or so i've heard) shintoists worshipping gods of the elements? i mean, i might not exactly go worship a god of the sun, but i might give thanks in my own way to the elements and whatever controls them, which may be along the same lines?

so what i'm here to ask is, can anyone help me along and explain shintoists and buddhists to me? i know that's broad, but that's how i'd like it to be, i don't want complete in-depth details, i'd just like to understand these religions better. thank you for your time and help!

~Armageddon

Chris Weimer

Try Taoism. Dao Jia (use Wikipedia for starters). Shintoism is an odd choice for anyone other than Japanese, and anyone living after World War II. Buddhism is acceptable, but far too superstitious for me. I'm a Dignist, nice to meet you.

Armageddon

well then in that case, let the education begin, haha, let's change this to...

explain your religion to me! haha, or explain a religion or faith to me, haha, that way i'll be learning about everything

Aradia

I can't say much about shinto, except that (as Chris mentioned) it is a bit of an odd choice for anyone who isn't japanese. This would be a good site to learn a bit about shinto, with links to other sites:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/shinto.htm

As far as buddhism goes, there are a few forms of japanese buddhism. Religious Tolerance doesn't have a writeup of zen, but the following link describes the major japanese forms of buddhism:

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/...y/b3schjap.htm

The buddhanet site is also a great place to learn more about buddhism in general. Of the japanese schools, the most prominent seem to be zen, pure land, and nichiren. In my personal opinion, I would probably steer you towards zen. Unfortunately, I can't say much more about any japanese forms, since I'm a theravadin buddhist. There are zen, pure land, and nichiren forums on http://www.e-sangha.com if you're interested in learning more about them.

What you choose depends a bit on your view of the supernatural. If you're not much interested in the supernatural or superstition, zen would be a good choice. If you _are_, then shinto, pure land buddhism, or nichiren buddhism might be a good choice.

Chris Weimer

This thread is more about my religion. Feel free to join in.

perfectbite

Shintoism is, for want of a better description, nationalized Buddhism and is a blend of indigenous Japanese beliefs with a healthy dash of Chinese type (heavy on the study) Buddhism thrown in for good measure. Not everything that claims to be Buddhism is Buddhism, including Zen Buddhism.

Aradia

And not everyone who claims to know what is and is not buddhism actually knows what is and is not buddhism.

Styrofoamdeity

My wife comes from a line of Shinto priests (she's Japanese). First of all, Shintoism at the personal level is not a form of nationalism. The great tragedy of that beautiful faith is that the government co-opted it in the 19th Century. At the personal level, dogma is utterly irrelevent to this formerly quite unself-conscious faith, and the nationalistic aspect is a red herring.

I have a deep love of Shintoism, but like Buddhism, the everyday expression of it has NOTHING to do with the type of dogma you will read in most books. At its most simple form, Shintoism is an understanding of the interconnectedness of the natural world, and of how certain beauty spots are portals to greater appreciation and understanding. It is a celebration of cleanliness, purity, and simplicity. It loves honesty but is not obsessed with moralism (purity is a good in itself).

Shintoism was little by little merged with esoteric Buddhism in Japan over its long history and it was only painfully separated from the 1860s. It exists today as an interesting adjunct to zen buddhism. The two faiths fit together rather nicely, as both serve to focus the mind and develop appreciation for nature's interconnectedness. Your desire to investigate both will give you a greater understanding of Japan and its faith than any irrelivent raking over ancient Buddhist terms, so typical of most Western acolytes.

Yeshi

Samsara, my friend, Samsara.
Before you do not touch to the misery of it all,
and cry like a newborn from the bottom of you heart,
there is no movement forward.

wordy

Armageddon, maybe you find the same love for nature that you liked in shinto in a new interpretation of pantheism named natural pantheism.
http://www.pantheism.net/paul/index.htm

a kind of religious naturalism? More easy to embrace than a japan cultural shinto?