Determining Validity: Religions of China and Japan

Nicolette Williams
World Religions: Mini Paper 3
China and Japan
3/24/07

Determining Validity: Religions of China and Japan

In China and Japan there are three major religions that are highly prominent and very viable as major religions in their respective countries. These three are: Buddhism in both China and Japan; Daoism in China; and Shinto in Japan. These three religions are highly viable religions in their respective countries, but this does not necessarily mean that these religions are universally viable. All three religions have stood the test of time and will likely continue to do so in the Eastern World. It is very probable that these religions will never gain a true stronghold in the Western world or replace the religions that the Western world accepts. However, religion is not a choice that should be made based strictly on how popular a religion is in the area that one resides. Many factors can affect why a person follows one religion over another, such as cultural and familial backgrounds and how a religion fits into a person’s lifestyle. We will explore both Daoism and Shinto, the two religions that are native to China and Japan, and how viable they would be in the Western world, using information from Ways to the Center by Denise L. Carmody and T.L. Brink, sixth edition. Though Buddhism is a major religion in both China and Japan, it is not native to either country, and as it has been discussed in a previous paper it will not be examined in this essay.
The main religion in China that will be examined is Daoism. One of the most basic concepts of Daoism is the Yin and Yang, which each represent one side of the dual nature of life. Yin, the female, represents death, winter, darkness, and earth. Yang, the male, represents life, summer, light, and heaven. Neither of these forces however are “good” or “evil”; they are merely two different sides to one nature. There must be a balance of Yin and Yang, and it is only an imbalance that is considered to be bad. This is very different from the concepts of Western world, where everything is categorized to the extreme as being either “good” or “bad” but never in the middle. One of the largest aspects of Daoism that has survived the centuries is ancestor worship. Ancestors were worshiped by their offspring and descendants, and worship included such duties as caring for their graves and, in later times providing food, clothes and money to the spirits of the ancestors. This concept would be very difficult for the Western world, especially America, to accept in the present because we have become a very mobile society, and children have a tendency to move a large distance away from their parents, returning only for short visits. There is a breaking down of the extended familial structure in America that would not lend itself to ancestor worship. Aside from the problem of distance, most Americans would have a very hard time spending their money on clothes or food to burn so that the deceased might enjoy the spiritual equivalents. Part of Chinese ancestor worship involves performing all necessary obligations to the ancestor and never dishonoring them, or risk the vengeance of the ancestor. This is another concept that would not work in America because it is against our scientific nature to believe that we are being punished by the spirits of our ancestors when things in our lives are not going well. In Chinese culture there are six schools of religious thought: Divination, Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Mohism and the School of Names. Unlike in Western culture where a person would be a follower of only one school of religious thought in Chinese culture people follow any number of schools to varying degrees. In the school of Divination the future can be read by determining what imbalances exist in the Yin and Yang forces and working to reset these forces back into balance. Divination would likely not be accepted into western culture because it relies too heavily on external forces to determine a person’s course of actions. Confucianism, the second school, involves becoming closer to the original order of the natural world. This process involved knowing oneself, learning from ones oldest ancestors, sacrificial rites and finding ones role in life. In Confucianism there is no equality of roles, which would make it very difficult to translate in western culture. One aspect of Confucianism that the western world could learn much from is the golden mean, the concept of moderation in all aspects of life. Another large part of the Confucianist school of thought is familial duty. In Confucianism if all relationships with ones family were correct then all other relationships a person developed would also be correct. This would be hard to achieve in America, because of the social disintegration of the familial structure as less emphasis is put on familial relations. The third school of religious thought in China is Daoism, which is devoted to following the ways of nature and discarding social conventions. Within Daoism there are three main movements: the hedonistic, the mystical, and the alchemical. In the hedonistic path all social and familial obligations are put aside and an isolationist mentality that drove the hedonists to become hermits. The second path of Daoism is the mystical, whose followers also lived as hermits. This mystical Daoism delved into the natural Way and how one could align their self with it without accepting the conventional values of union with Dao (the way) implied. In mystical Daoism followers shape the world in small, subtle movements rather than in grand gestures. The third path of Daoism is the alchemical path, which blended Daoism with alchemy experiments and yogic techniques. Instead of seeking a way to create gold however, alchemic Daoists sought to create a path that would lead to immortality. Two of the main practices employed by alchemic Daoists were breathing exercises that would allow them to slow the use of their vital force and retention of semen during intercourse to rechannel its vital energy to the brain to increase one’s powers and life span. These three paths of Daoism would most likely not be accepted in American culture because hedonistic and mystical Daoism promote isolationism, hedonistic Daoism promotes the abandoning of all social obligations, mystical Daoism call for a subtlety that is not present in American society, and alchemical Daoism proposes ways for attaining immortality that have no scientific backing. Legalism is the fourth school of religious thought in China, and takes a very strict view of human nature. Legalists believe that human nature is basically evil, and that human motivation is personal gain and pleasure. Legalism advocates strong and harsh laws to keep human nature in check, and brutal punishments for those who give into the basic evil human nature. This is a school of thought that would not survive in America where we prefer to believe that people are intrinsically good and deserve second chances to correct their mistakes. Mohism is the fifth school, and takes an opposing view of human nature to that of the Legalists, that humans are basically good. Mohism advocates universal love to solve the problems of the world and believed in a creator that was both loving and righteous. The concepts of Mohism are close to some of the religions that are accepted in the western world, such as the concept of a loving and righteous god, which is present in many prominent western religions. The final school of religious thought in China is the School of Names, which is concerned with language, knowledge and conceptual schemes. This school has not evolved into a true religion because it died out due to lack of rituals, ethics, symbols, myths and focus on any deities. This is a school of thought that is most likely accepted in the western world by a small number of people, though it does not constitute a full religious view. In the end, Chinese religion is not divided into sects, but schools that are blended to form a rich and diverse religion.
Shinto is the main indigenous religion in Japan. In the Shinto religion there are three planes of existence. The highest plane is Kami, the heavenly dwelling place of nature and clan spirit deities that is worshiped by humans. The middle plane is the human plane, where the living reside, in which humans may exert a measure of control over their surroundings and destinies. The lowest plane is Yomi, which is inhabited by the spirits of the dead, a filthy and condemned place. The Kami held knowledge that was key to human destinies, and it was very important that humans had a way to communicate with Kami. Communication with the Kami spirits occurred through a miko, who was a shaman and priestess. Mikos served as mediums for contact with the dead, as oracles and diviners, and as healers. Shinto is defined by a blending of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism that occurred in the seventh century, creating a religion that worships nature with an emphasis on averting pollution. Unlike Chinese religions, Shinto views death and the dead as a pollutant, to be dealt with ritualistically and cause for purification of oneself to remove the contamination of the dead. Though women are considered somewhat lower than men they were also the prime path for communication with the Kami and the spirits of the dead, and were key to maintaining the sense of clanship. Shinto ethics have a large influence on the professional lives of its followers that tie in very closely with Shinto concepts of honor. In modern day Japan the honor of the group or corporation is valued over the honor of the individual. Professional success is attributed to a group’s leader, and group members are expected to assume any failure that might occur to prevent any dishonor to taint the corporation. Due to the stress of upholding the honor of ones workplace business people frequently participate in recreation with their coworkers rather than their family. This emphasis on the collective unit, rather than on the individual, does not allow for personal responsibility for ones actions or encourage free thought. In Shinto there is no real definition of moral “good” or “bad” but rather a concern with the pollution of oneself. This pollution can come from many things such as spilling blood or contact with the dead, thus the polluted person was not responsible for their pollution nor were they obligated to repent and renew their morality. Shinto places emphasis on cleanliness, order, and nature and is not focused on morality as many western religions are, making Shinto a nature-oriented, flowing, fluid, graceful ascetic religion. Though Shinto is a major Eastern religion, it is hard to imagine it gaining strength in the Western world. The idea of not being given credit for one’s professional success, of having to absorb the dishonor of professional failure, and the lack of personal responsibility for “pollution" are not ideas that could translate very well into American society. It is also hard to imagine American society shifting its views so drastically to move social emphasis from personal possessions and success to nature.
The Chinese syncretism of Daoism, Confucianism, Legalism and Mohism and its ability to adapt have made it a major religion in the Eastern world. The Japanese religion of Shinto has survived many periods in which other religions have taken emphasis away from Shinto to be a major modern world religion. Both are beautiful religions, the products of hundreds of years of refinement and syncretism that have withstood the test of time. Though these are both viable religions in the Eastern World they do not have the viability necessary to be feasible religions in the western culture.