P6+Zen,+Monks+and+Nuns

P6 Zen, Monks, Nuns

By Lindsay B. and Kate P.

In the ancient Japan, Shinto and Buddhism were very important. Shinto was a very important religion. Meditation was also important, it relaxes the monks. Sometimes the monks would meditate for hours just to clear their minds. Haikus are formal art accompanied by nature painting in meditation gardens on silk screen calligraphy. Their goal is to achieve enlightenment through meditation.
 * Introduction **

**Kami** The kami is a Shinto myth. Shinto asked their followers to be pure in heart and mind so that they can show respect to the kami and show that they are grateful for their blessings. The kami is very important like Amaterasu. The Kami is referred to as a natural force. Believers thought that the kami gave life to earth and that they produce fields of spiritual energy. Many people respect the kami and so humans play the crucial role of recognizing the presence of the kami in a natural feature. Kami is a very big part of the Shinto religion it is thought that if you are a follower of Shinto religion you should act in a way respectfully and how the kami would influence. This is very important because Japanese people believe they are descended from the kami so it is not only respecting your religion it is also respecting your relatives and how they would act.

**Shinto beliefs** The simplicity and beauty of shrine architecture reflected the Shinto beliefs in the importance of purity and natural harmony. People entered gates called torii, so they would pray to the kami. They couldn’t pray at home because they kami couldn’t be there. The torii is for the people to enter the new world where the kami lived. There are many different types of toriis, there are short ones that are meant for people to crawl under and there gates about ten feet tall it all depends on where you are and what the occasion is. Sacred stone animals were placed in front of Shinto shrines, so they would protect it. Shinto is described to be a happy religion. Many people respected that and so believers would express by throwing festivals, so that people can get together and worship.

**Gardens** Gardens are used to clear your mind. Monks would gaze at gardens to relax and meditate. It can’t just be any garden though; the rocks and bushes had to be placed in the perfect position. Gardens with large rocks and clipped bushes would create an atmosphere of perfect tranquility together. In the story the Ghost in the Tokaido Inn, Seikei and Judge Ooka visited a garden. Seikei remembered that gardens with plants and trees that surrounded large rectangles of neatly raked white gravel were seen at the Zen Buddhist temples in Kyoto. You might think that the stone placing wouldn’t care but it did. Stones were placed to fool the eye. If you look at a garden long enough, it would look like a vast landscape. Gardens are beautiful and the most commen form on meditation.

**Zen** In Zen Buddhism, the goal is to achieve enlightenment through meditation. Zen Buddhism related swordsmanship directly to the Buddhist goals of attaining enlightenment and moving towards the achievement of selflessness. In the Zen religion gardens are a way of meditating, praying, and being respectful. Zen religion is all about committing faith beyond one’s self. This means you are always trying to go above and beyond in you respect to the gods and goddesses you worship and being full of peace. If you are a Zen monk you would have a daily routine you follow every day. Zen monks chant a lot, it is their way of communication with the gods and goddesses and to tell them they are thankful and have a peaceful heart.

**Nature and Simplicity** Shinto is based on the nature and simplicity of life. They try to preserve this whenever possible. A torii is a special gate that when you pass under it you are in a 'sacred' place of silence and beauty. They have special places to worship beyond the tori gates, and once you pass under them you have to be silent. Simplicity and beauty of the shrine architecture reflected the Shinto belief in the importance of purity and harmony. This is a way to make Shinto beautiful and respect their ancestors and people of authoty and worship.

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 * Citations: **
 * Hartz, Paula. //Shinto world religion//, New York. Facts on File. 2001. print


 * Hoobler, Dorothy. //The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn//, Sleuth puffin New York,1999. print


 * Odijk, Pamela. Silver Burdett press . //The ancient world The Japanese//. Englewood cliffs, New Jersey. 1989. print


 * Shengyen. //Zen Wisdom//. Berkely: North Atlantic books, 2001. print


 * Turnbull, Stephen. Osprey Publishing. //Warrior of Medieval Japan//, New York, 2005. print