Tag: Shinto values (Page 3 of 3)

Zen and Shinto 7: The Dao of Rock

February 27, 2016 / John D. / 1 Comment

Shinto garden by Shigemori Mirei at Matsuo Taisha

In my investigations into Zen this morning, I had something of an epiphany – or perhaps I should say, an awakening. Both Zen and Shinto share roots in Daoism (Taoism). Zen it has been said is the result of Indian Buddhism colliding with Chinese thought. And Shinto was conceived linguistically as shendao – the Way of the Gods. In other words, the thinking behind the Way of the Tao is fundamental to both. As Alan Watts explained in his very last book (1975), Tao is the Watercourse Way, flowing through the universe like an animating force.

Rock worship at Kamigamo Jinja

So, you may ask, if Zen and Shinto both share this in common, why are they so very different in form and belief? Why is one kami-oriented and particularist, while the other is self-oriented and universal? Why does Shinto look to this life, while Zen dwells on another?

Well, the thought struck me that they may not be as different as they seem. Both are after all based on intuitive understanding and repudiate logic and words. Zen prides itself on a transmission outside the scriptures. Shinto has no scriptures. Both in short treasure non-verbal understanding. ‘He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know,’ said Lao-Tzu.

In the Tao Te Ching, it is said the Way can never be known or defined. It can, however, be sensed or experienced, and its principles are observable in Nature. In Zen this is internalised as people seek their true inner nature. In Shinto there is the concept of kannagara, which in effect means following the laws of nature. Both seek the Way, but whereas Zen looks inside, Shinto looks outside. The former goes to the mountains to get closer to self, the latter goes to the mountains for closeness to the kami. And here perhaps is the vital difference between them, for whereas the former is deeply personal, the latter is community oriented. Zen tells you to sit in silence. Shinto encourages communal celebration.

Living rocks at Togakushi Jinja

It may be no coincidence then that both religions treasure rocks. (Landscape architect Shigemori Mirei has done rock gardens for both.) Zen temples are full of rocks in their beloved dry landscape gardens. Shinto shrines are full of sacred rocks, bedecked with shimenawa straw rope or shide paper strips. Rocks in Zen may trigger enlightenment. Rocks in Shinto are sacred vessels into which kami descend. Both religions see them as something more than mere stone – they’re representational, mini-mountains, spirit-bodies. On another level, they’re symbols of silence, of the non-verbal, of the eternal.

Here again Daoism lies at the root. Daoist practitioners went into caves to meditate, and what are caves but hollowed out rock? Significantly, in the Zen garden rocks stand for Mt Horai, the Blessed Isles of the Immortals where Daoist sages live. They may also symbolise moments of time in a vast ocean of raked gravel. And beyond that they symbolise the biggest rock of all, the one on which we’re spinning round the solar system. In this way they’re symbolic of Mother Earth, which, to quote Alan Watts, produced humans in the same way that trees produce apples. We are then the children of rock, because the earth-rock has ‘peopled’ us into existence. When Shinto followers worship rocks, they’re worshipping their ancestors in a very real sense.

It turns out then that in both Zen and Shinto rock is a means to salvation. Don McLean was on the right lines all those years ago. Rock truly will save your mortal soul!

Zen garden by Shigemori Mirei at Zuiho-in, Daitoku-ji with Mt Horai at the far end, from which a peninsula stretches out towards an individual rock, marooned and all at sea.

Great things about Japan

September 17, 2015 / John D. / 0 Comments

Green Shinto friend Amy Chavez has written an article for Rocket News in which she lists 17 positive things about Japan. Here’s her listing…

1) Returning favours
2) Thanking people
3) Politeness
4) Putting others first
5) Including everyone in the group
6) Respect for property
7) Drunkenness doesn’t lead to violence
8) Peace mentality
9) Govt run business works
10) Being less assertive
11) Being a good listener
12) Being less nationalistic
13) Gambaru (doing your best)
14) Commitment and keeping promises
15) Being a good citizen
16) Doing things with grace
17) Being on time

I find myself almost in total agreement with Amy here, though the only item in the list I might quibble about is no. 12. Personally I think Japanese have a strong sense of nationhood, but they don’t allow themselves to express it as openly as others because of WW2. It’s true they have a peace constitution, but this was imposed by the Americans and reinforces the sense of uniqueness (expressed in a plethora of books known as nihonjinron). As others have pointed out, Japanese ‘internationalism’ is actually a form of nationalism, for the fascination with other cultures serves as a way of defining themselves as special.

One symptom of Japan’s nationalism is the strong sense of homogeneity. Just look at how many asylum seekers Japan takes in – would any other developed nation be allowed to get away with as few as twelve in a year!!!? Racial attachment makes perfect sense in a Japanese context since, as Amy herself points out, belonging to a group is a key characteristic of the Japanese. And the nation as a whole is simply the ultimate Japanese group.

Whatever one thinks about Japanese and patriotism, there are still 16 great attributes in Amy’s listing that command admiration. It’s my belief that these virtues (and the patriotism) are deeply rooted in Shinto values. Gratitude, for instance, is said to be fundamental to Shinto and is expressed throughout the culture at large. It makes living in Japan such a gratifying experience. Another cardinal virtue of Shinto is sincerity, meaning that doing one’s best, keeping promises, contributing to the group and being on time are treasured. Cynicism and alienation are largely lacking.

Shinto is also a deeply communal practice, which emphasises the well-being of the group/village/rice-growing community. It sees human beings as part of nature, subservient to its destructive power and seasonal blessings, therefore the ego is suppressed in the face of the common good. It’s worth noting here that the Shinto symbol of a mirror is ‘kagami‘ in Japanese, whereas kami is the mirror without the ‘ga‘ (ego). This stands in contrast to the individualism of the West, which has resulted in societies in which the promotion of self is much more prominent.

As for the grace and elegance of life in Japan, one might presume this comes from the trickle-down effect of the aesthetics of Heian nobility, in which elegance was elevated into an all-important social attribute. But could this too be linked with Shinto? The importance of form in its rituals and objects of worship was examined in a recent Green Shinto posting (see The Art of Shinto).

It’s the social cohesion and consideration of Japanese for others that makes living in this country so wonderful. For myself it remains an almost daily source of joy, and it’s something that always impresses tourists to the country. It even impressed the first Western missionaries who came to Japan in the sixteenth century. How have the Japanese managed to maintain such high standards of social intercourse? Theories abound, but for myself I strongly suspect it’s something to do with living in a ‘kami no kuni’ – a land of spirits.