22 MAY, 2015 -
21:40 RYAN
STONE Ancient
Origins
A
ritual based religion, Shintoism is defined as "the way of the
gods" in Japan, from the Chinese Shendao. It is the
indigenous religion of the country, and survives today as the state
religion, primarily because it allows for the continued infusion of
other faiths into its core structure, as seen when Buddhism was
incorporated into the faith centuries ago. The core of
Shintoism, however, is the kami system, or the belief in multiple
spirits of the universe, making these adaptations viable because
they are more focused on the natural world and the elements than on
specific individual gods. However, despite this, Shinto does
have a core group of gods and it has remained greatly admired for
the way in which the religion has managed to maintain these gods
while consistently incorporating aspects of numerous other
religions.
One
of the most pertinent rituals of the Shinto faith is the purifying
ritual, performed right before entering the jinja, or shrine.
It is a simplified version of a much larger purifying ritual that
generally takes place in a river or by a waterfall. The only
tools required for this ritual are the Temizuya, or the water
basin, and the Hishaku, the long wooden spoon provided at the
basin. In this version, a visitor approaches the temple and
stops at the Temizuya first. The visitor will then use a
Hishaku to scoop up water and pour it first on the right hand, then
the left. The person then cleanses his/her mouth with the
water in his palm and then pours water over the left hand again to
repurify it. The remaining water must drip back down the
handle and the Hishaku is replaced. The purpose of allowing
the water to drip back down the Hishaku is due to the longer
version of the ritual. Known as "purification by moving
water", the water must constantly be in motion for the ritual to be
successful. By allowing the water to flow back down the other
side of the tool this original purpose is fulfilled.
The purpose of this ritual is to cleanse the visitor of the
jinja. Purification is an important aspect in many religions,
but in Shintoism it is particularly necessary because of the
elemental qualities of the faith. As previously stated,
Shintoism is defined by its belief in the kami, and these natural
spirits are attuned to all aspects of the natural world. Even
the individual gods are closely associated with nature and the
earth. The first gods, Izanagi and Izanami—both spouses and
siblings—created the islands of Japan and the fire god,
Kagutsuchi. Izanami was killed following the birth of fire,
and her husband, Izanagi, gave birth to the three primary gods on
his own: Amaterasu the goddess of the sun, whose grandson will
become the first of the Japanese royal lineage; Susano, the god of
the sea and storms, thus associated with both wind and water; and
Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon. Thus before entering the
shrine, one must completely cleanse him/herself of the unnatural
world and this is symbolized in this shortened version of the
formal purification ritual.
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