Lucky Me

Have you read the book If the World Were a Village by David Smith? You are thinking "I sure have" if you are an LPES fourth or fifth grader. Two of the world's religions mentioned were Shintoism and Buddhism. Most Japanese consider themselves to be one, the other or both. Earn KenYen right off the bat to read an article so you can understand how Japan’s two major religions live in such harmony.

Visiting shrines and temples is a part of Japanese culture, but I am not Shinto or Buddhist! What would you do? I bet you'd visit them - just like I did.

They are easy to find all over Japan. The boundary of a Shinto shrine is marked by a torii gate. A torii gate marks the entrance to a sacred place. Some shrines are very small.

Some shrines are very large.

Look at all the torii as my friend Steve and I climb the stairs to this shrine.

Whenever I entered a shrine or temple area I washed my hands. I saw Japanese swish out their mouths with the water too. Keeping your body clean is very important in Japanese culture. Think back to the bath post....

Once at the alter of the big shrine, the faithful walk up and throw coins in a large trough as a donation. They clap twice to summon gods and say a silent prayer.

Check out the other things I discovered at Shinto shrines.
One of the guardians of the shrine, 'koma-inu". Betcha these guys would ward evil spirits!

A place to hang "Ema" or wishes written on wood plaques.

Attracting good luck and avoiding bad luck play an important part in Japanese life. With this in mind, the the temples and shrines often had "Omikuji", fortune telling papers. Bad luck predictions are tied to tree branches and left behind. One of the 'omikuji' tied on the tree is mine! I'm not telling which one it is - I want my bad luck prediction to stay in Japan, not follow me home!

Since the two religions are very compatible, sometimes you can find a Shinto shrine and a Buddhist temple together on the same property. Look who I found! Buddha!

Please don't think what I'm doing is disrespectful. All the Japanese were saying a prayer and rubbing a part of the Buddha's body. I'm not shy! I asked why! When I learned that rubbing the part of this Buddha's body can help that same part on my body, I said a prayer and rubbed his head. I want to keep my brain in tip top shape while in Japan. I want to learn and share with you.

In the town of Kamakura I visited this huge Buddha.

When I traveled to my host city, Takeo, I certainly left my bad luck behind. Not only was my host family kind and generous, but the father and grandfather were buddhist priests. This is the whole family at the entrance.

Their home was the buddhist temple. The kids and I are walking up the driveway at dusk after walking the dog. Do you see the temple in the background?

One thing really different between Shintoism and Buddhism is the way they treat death. Almost all the cemetaries in Japan are on the property of Buddhist temples. This is the cemetary at my host family's temple.

My luck in Japan has been super. Perhaps it was due to rubbing Buddha's head, perhaps it was due to the coins I threw in the trough before saying a prayer, perhaps it was the "ema" I hung, perhaps it was....