P1+Zen,+Monks+and+Nuns

P1 Zen, Monks and Nuns

By Helaina T. & Naomi J.

Daily Life Presentations: Meditation The religions Shinto and Buddhism were very important to ancient Japanese history. Shinto was the first religion in Japan and before Buddhism was introduced Shinto did not have a formal name. The architecture of both religions was very important because it showcased what they believed in through art and structure. Whether it was a tall castle or a small shrine, it showed how they admired their religions and sometimes they even meditated on top of these structures without distraction. Zen monks and nuns would meditate for hours to try and clear their heads of any distraction. Sometimes they even meditated on the small shrines or large castles. Meditation was practiced a lot in the Buddhist religion. Shinto was a very important religion in ancient Japanese history.
 * INTRODUCTION**

Shinto was the first and oldest religion in Japan. Out of about 127,000,000 people in Japan, about 49.7% practice Shinto. The name Shinto comes from the Japanese phrase “Kami no michi,” which means “the way of the Kami”. The most important Kami to Japan was, Amaterasu. Kami was a spirit of nature. Kami means “high” or “superior", though it can also mean “god”, “deity” or “spirit”. Shinto had no formal name before Buddhism was introduced. The Shinto religion has no sacred book such as the Bible or TeNaKh, since there is not a code of honor for this religion. Also the religion has no anointed founder. The ancient prayers of this religion were norito and norii. Along with the prayers, certain words spoken in the right way were believed to bring good results. There were two books that were written in 712 and 720 C.E. These books were believed to layout the foundation of Japan. These books were the Kojiki, which was “the record of ancient matters” to trace the successions of emperors and the Nihongi, which held the “chronicles of Japan”. The Japanese worshipped the Kami through shrines and temples.
 * SHINTO**

One of the holiest temples or shrines is the shrine of the sun god Ise. The symbol of the Ise shrine is the Torii. This is a large structure that was supposed to symbolize a bird’s wing span. The shrine was believed to be the home of the heavenly goddess Amaterasu. Before entering a shrine one had to sacredly wash their hands. This was done by first taking the wooden ladle out of the stream of water and pouring the water onto your left hand and then pouring it onto the mouth, therefor after you had to re-clean your left hand. After you would clean your right hand and then be done. Then the person is allowed to enter the shrine and explore. Although, Buddhist temples and religion were very different from the Shinto and their beliefs.
 * SHINTO SHRINES**

**BUDDISM** Buddhism is a world widely known religion. Over 350 million people practice Buddhism around the world. Buddhist is the fourth largest religion in the world. Buddhist homeland is in India and migrated into Asia. Buddhist is the main religion in Japan, Tibet, Laos, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Bhutan, and Vietnam. In the United State Hawaii has a majority of Buddhism religion. Buddhism is known as the path to spiritual discovery. The founder of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha believed that when you died it wasn’t the end of death. He thought that when you died you were born into a new body. After finding the answer to his pondering question Siddhartha became Buddha. Buddha means the awakened and the enlightened. Buddha learned to meditate long and hard through Buddhist temples.

**BUDDHIST TEMPLES** Buddhist Temples are built in Chinese style. They were made of wood and built on top of an elevated stone platform. They have big tile roofs. The tile is held up by wooden pillars. The Buddhist Temples contain many statues, paintings, and ornamentation. The Horyuji Temples is said to be the oldest wooden building in the world. It was built in 607 A.D. It stands in Nara. In temples Buddhist make offerings. Buddhist Temples provide devotion and pilgrimage. The temples in Buddhism vary greatly in size. The Baiju temple in Gyantse has a mural on the wall of Buddha’s eyes. The eyes are meant to watch over anyone who comes into the temple. The eyes are also supposed to show a sign of deep meditation. The Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya is one of the most important destinations of Buddhism. The temple marks where Buddha became enlightened. Buddha is the leader of Buddhist religion.

**ZEN MONKS AND NUNS** Zen Buddhism is the form of East Asia. Zen comes from Buddhism to Japan by the monks (Eisai and Dogen) in 1141 – 1253 A.D. Zen teachings are a deep seriousness of purpose. Monks are the males and Nuns are the females. At 3:30 of each morning all of the monks and nuns were awakened to start their religious meditation at 4:30. Zen concentrates on the focus of enlightenment. Zen is considered a festivity not a scholarship. It is one of the simplest religions, but one of the hardest to explain. This religion doesn’t borrow from scriptures like many other religions do. Zen is a living flower that lasts forever. Zen resembles the flower because it lasts forever and never changes its cycle. Zen Monks and Nuns lived intense spiritual lives. Zen Buddhism stresses intense meditation through zazen. Zazen means personal enlightenment. During Feudal Japan many monasteries became powerful enough to have their own armies and they fought off the monks. Zen influenced the samurai because of their focus and discipline. Monks and Nuns would live a very simple life style. Although Zen was mostly practiced in the Buddhism religion, it is also done in a lot of the Japanese relgions.

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