lpetrich

Like Christianity and Islam, Buddhism has grown by seeking converts. However, Buddhism has generally not been an intolerant, exclusivist religion, and has easily coexisted with other religions. Which makes me wonder how Buddhists have sought converts over their history -- "Accept the One True Religion -- or else!!!" does not seem very likely.

Toto

Achieve inner peace, get a natural high, live in harmony with the universe, chant and be happy, find peace and wealth. Just a few I've heard.

Cornelius

Actually in Tokugawa Japan every household was required to be registered to a Buddhist temple. It was a way of keeping people from converting to Christianity. (During that time it was possible to be executed for being Christian. Not all Christians were executed of course, but they were at the very least required to publicly repudiate their beliefs. Sometimes taking the form of trampling a crucifix in public.)

Many Buddhist temples in Japan actually had private armies that terrorized peasants. Some temples intentionally took in robbers, murderers, and rapists for the purpose of the temple army.

Of course this is not to suggest that the entry of Buddhism into Japan was through the sword, or even that most of the converts were converts by force. Buddhism was on the whole tolerant and was able to exist side by side with other religions in Japan. It just has to be remembered though, that no matter how peaceful a religion may be, it can be turned into an instrument of oppression.

regards,

Cornelius

Gurdur

Certainly Buddhism at one particular stage in history was quite strident and martial in China as well.

On the lighter side, I have a great little notebook filled with calligraphy seals of all the Buddhist and one Shinto temples I visited while in Japan. They're quite beautiful.

jess

when was Tokugawa Japan? I thought the mandatory religion was Shinto until after WWII when the US stuck their nose into their business, and now the country is 5% Christian, 15% Shinto and 80% Buddist...

Gurdur

Tokugawa Japan was very roughly from the 1600's to the 1700's, till the Meiji restoration roundabout the end of the 1800's. Sorry, can't quite remember exact dates. The adoption of Shintoism in a martial form as a state religion had more to do with the modern nationalism of Japan at the early decades of this century.

The Japanese have a joke that expresses their modern attitude towards religion quite well:
they say a Japanese is born a Buddhist, marries as Christian, and dies as a Shinto.

Cornelius

Shinto became the "state" religion of Japan in 1868 with the Meiji Restoration. Tokugawa refers to the family name of the shogun who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868. The first, Tokugawa Ieyasu moved the capital from Kyoto to Edo (today known as Tokyo).

The shogun were military leaders with the emperors being mere figureheads brushed off to the side. The shogun ruled through the loyalty of various feudal lords who used samurai to police their territory.

The Meiji Restoration swept away the old feudal system and made the emperor once again the focal point of power. Of course it still was mostly in name only. Meiji was only a teenager when the Restoration happened and ruled through the use of various advisors who formed a type of oligarchy. Still, the Emperor was considered the divine ruler of Japan and in theory had total control. It was during this period that Shinto was used by the state as a national ideology to build a modern nation-state. (This desire was what prompted the Restoration in the first place, Japan saw what happened in China and were determined to avoid the same fate of colonization.)

Shinto was used because the Emperor was considered a direct descendent of the sun goddess Amaterasu, plus Shinto was seen as the "native" religion of Japan. Of course Shinto has a very complex history and means different things at different times.

regards,

Cornelius

lpetrich

It's amazing how much is now on the Internet; I found the Tokugawa Period's times very quickly: 1603-1868.

What got disestablished in 1945 was State Shinto, in which the Japanese Emperor was an official deity. The rest of Shinto was unaffected.

Also, many Japanese practice both Shinto and Buddhism -- these two are non-exclusivist religions.

hinduwoman

When Buddhism first began it was not violent. Teachers went to various countries to preach peacefully. But after kings and wealthy merchants and nobles converted, it automatically seemed to have become more intolerant and violent. All that power and money is not good for any religion.

jess

Thank you all. That reconciles my mind with the facts. I appreciate the effort.

Aside to Lp: The reason I took the lazy way out was for the slant or outlook asking here would give me. Simple dates would have been adequate, but I would not have learned so much. (I mean none of this in a negative way--- I just wanted to see the answer in context, not seperate from it)

Thanks again.

Another question: The Empress' infertility is causing a problem currently--- traditionally this was handled with a mistress, but the current Emperor is too 20th to take one when he still loves his wife. Anyone here have 'inside' knowledge on this situation? It should be interesting, religiously...