Buddhism and Shintoism

[BrokenFire]

[SIZE="3"]Hello guys,

I find Buddhism and Shintoism very interesting. I tried to find information on internet but I'm confused. So, I'd love to know if someone over here knows information about them or if someone is Buddhist/Shintoist. [/SIZE]

[MikeW]

[SIZE="3"]Hello guys,

I find Buddhism and Shintoism very interesting. I tried to find information on internet but I'm confused. So, I'd love to know if someone over here knows information about them or if someone is Buddhist/Shintoist. [/SIZE]

I know a bit about Buddhism and other religions (but nothing about Shintoism). It would help to know what you're "confused" about…

[Pix]

I've researched both (more Shintoism than Buddhism) though why is a story in of itself that I don't feel like sharing at the moment. I may come back to this thread later and share more but for now I thought I'd just share two things that aren't my own thoughts. One is how to pray at a Shinto shrine today (this is for this specific shrine and time, the practice varies depending on when and where you are):




I'll put the next part in a new post.

[Pix]

Also, Shintoism has had many effects on Japanese thought and art, including the role of AI (or "digital intelligence" if you want to be politically correct about it ) and thus why the Japanese have a different view of robotics in life than those of us in the West:
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/421...fear-them/

The affection of a certain island nation for all things robotic – from hundred foot tall warfighting mecha to infantile therapy robots – is well known. It contrasts sharply with the equally entrenched Western fear of automatons, beginning with the very invention of the term “robot,” which was coined in a Czech play that debuted in 1921 in which, naturally, the robots eventually rise up and kill their human masters.

How could two cultures come to such fundamentally divergent conclusions about the status and future of the semi-autonomous helpmates whose increasing presence in our lives seems pre-ordained by nearly every sci-fi vision of the future?

Heather Knight, founder of the world’s first (non-industrial) robot census, has made the study of robot / human interaction her life’s work. She posits that the difference between Japanese and American attitudes toward robots is rooted in something much older than even the idea of robots: religion. “In Japan… they’re culturally open to robots, on account of animism. They don’t make a distinction between inanimate objects and humans.”

Animism is a component of the Shinto faith, the religion that preceded the introduction of Buddhism to Japan and remains an influential part of the country’s culture. Animism is the notion that all objects have a spirit - even man-made objects.

In contrast:

In order to understand fully religion’s influence on the West’s attitude toward robotics, we also must remember that Judeo-Christian monotheism also adheres to the doctrine that only God can give life, a popular interpretation of Genesis in which there is only God in the beginning and all living things are His creations. Exodus also decrees that idolatry is a sin. Thus, any human who breathes life into an inanimate object is assuming the role of God and thereby becoming a false idol. Such a blasphemer deserves punishment, and in the conventions of science fiction, this usually comes in the form of betrayal by the robots. From the 1920 work R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Czech playwright Karel Čapek - who is credited with coining the term “robot” – through The Terminator movies to Battlestar Galactica, such human vanity is constantly met by rebellion by its creation.

Conclusion:

Given that Japanese culture predisposes its members to look at robots as helpmates and equals imbued with something akin to the Western conception of a soul, while Americans view robots as dangerous and willful constructs who will eventually bring about the death of their makers, it should hardly surprise us that one nation favors their use in war while the other imagines them as benevolent companions suitable for assisting a rapidly aging and increasingly dependent population.

It might also help explain why trends as vocaloids (computer generated voices and songs, and in Japan at least accompanied by holograms) have taken off in Japan. Like so:




I've heard of at least one Japanese politician who tried to get Miku just shown to endorse him and his party but the company didn't want to go there, apparently believing associating with politics (or at least politicians) would hurt Miku's image as much as help the politician's. Seems vocaloids inspire more trust than politicians! :redface:

[Hardheaded1]

When I studied Shintoism, I was told it is important to remember that it is a blood-and-soil religion for the Japanese. That explains why it has not successfully migrated beyond Japan.