The
Difference between Buddhism and Shinto
In Japan, we can see many religion
culture such as Christmas of Christianity, Festival of the Dead of Buddhism, Setsubun
of Shinto, and so on. But, some people can’t know what religions they are,
because there are many kinds of religion culture in Japan and most Japanese are
not familiar with religion. Particularly, many Japanese don’t know which is
which Buddhism or Shinto. And, I don’t know much about Buddhism and Shinto,
too. I thought Buddhism and Shinto are same things several weeks ago. When I
learned Buddhism and Shinto are different, I was greatly shocked and I wanted
to know more differences. This is why I searched the difference between
Buddhism and Shinto.
The differences between Buddhism
and Shinto roughly divided into these 3 following; the difference of gods, the
difference of scriptures, and the difference of religion buildings.
First, Buddhism has no gods, but Shinto
has many gods. Many people know there is Buddha in Buddhism. But, Buddha is
different from God. It is other thing. Buddha is a saint to archive
enlightenment. So, Buddha was a human originally long time ago. But God is not a
human and far away from a human. This is the reason Buddha is different from
God. I think many people also know Yaoyorozu-no-kami. Yaoyorozu-no-kami are
gods of Shinto. Yaoyorozu-no-kami is the general term of many Japanese gods. For
example, there is the god called “Konohanachiruyahimenokami” in Mt. Fuji, there
is the god called “Kuraokaminokami" in water, there is the god called “Tukuyominokami”
in the moon, and many other gods in all things. We know kappa and tengu are
believed to be in Japan. In fact, kappa and tengu are members of
Yaoyorozu-no-kami, too. Kappa lives in the liver and Tengu lives in the mountain.
In these way, Yaoyorozu-no-kami is an aggregation of many varieties of gods. So,
Buddhism is no God religion and Shinto is polytheism.
Next, we can also find differences
in scriptures. Buddhism is the scripture, but Shinto has no scriptures.
Buddhism has the scripture called sutra. Japanese call it “okyo”. There are
many kinds of sutra. One of the most famous kinds of sutra is Hannyashingyo. It
is said that reciting sutra make us adjusted. On the other hand, Shinto has no
scriptures. Some people often mistake Kojiki and Nihonshoki are scriptures of
Shinto. But, Kojiki and Nihonshoki are only written about the births of each of
god of Yaoyorozu-no-kami and the development till that time. So, Kojiki and
Nihonshoki is just history books about Japan and Shinto. In these ways,
Buddhism has the scripture and Shinto has no scriptures.
Finally, Buddhism has temples and
Shinto has shrines. We tend to treat a temple and a shrine as same things at a
glance. But, a temple and a shrine is difference things for many reasons. One
of reasons is the features of buildings. Almost all temples own and manage a
graveyard. In Japan, after a funeral, we burn a dead body until it become only
born and we bury remains under the tomb in a graveyard. A shrine doesn’t has
any graveyard. But, a shrine has a torii. A torii is a spiritual barrier
between the holy precinct of the shrine and the precinct where people live. A temple
doesn’t have a torii.
Moreover, working peoples are in
temples and shrines are different. Working people in a temple is monk. Japanese
call working man in a temple “obou-san”, and call working woman in a temple “ama-san”.
Monk live in a temple to study the creed of Buddhism. On the other hand, working
people in a shrine is Shinto priest and miko. Japanese call Shinto priest “kannushi”,
and miko is a Japanese word. Shinto priests is only men and manage religious service.
Miko is only women and Shinto priests’ helper.
We can also find differences in targets of faith. Targets of faith
in temples are Buddha, for example, Dainichinyorai, Yakushinyorai, and Hudoumyouou.
There are several kinds of Buddha in Buddhism. Targets of faith in temples are priests
of high virtue who are worshiped as are Buddha, too. On the other hand, targets
of faith in shrines are Yaoyorozu-no-kami. There are many gods. And, targets of
faith in shrines are specific people such as members of Imperial Family, Sugawarano
Michizane, and so on. For example, Sugawarano Michizane is worshiped as an academic
god in Kitano Tenmanguu. These days, Kitano Tenmannguu is famous as the shrine
which worships Sugawarano Michizane as an academic god, and many students
preparing for an examination visit Kitano Tenmannguu to worship to pass the
examination.
How to worship in a temple and a shrine are different, too. When we
worship in a temple, we have to need principal rafter. When we worship in a
shrine, we have to need twice bowing, twice clapping, and one time bowing. Many
people mix haw to worship and I often see people who clap in a temple, and people
who don’t clap in a shrine. And wishes we worship in a temple and a shrine are
different, too. In a temple, we wish that we will go to the heaven after death.
In a shrine, we wish the good fortune now.
In these 3 ways; the differences of gods, the differences of
scriptures, and the differences of religion buildings, Buddhism and Shinto is
different religion.
