Ghanima Atreides (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
atreideslioness) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2019-03-10 09:49 pm
atreideslioness) wrote in fandomhigh2019-03-10 09:49 pm
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Hubris from Revelation: the Social Engineering of Ultimate Truths [Monday, Period 3]
When the students came into the Danger Shop today, they'd find long, low tables with cushions to sit at, and shelves with arts and crafts materials along the walls.
"Good morning, class," Ghanima said as they entered. "Today we study Shinto, or kami-no-michi, which is the natural spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. The word Shinto, meaning "Way of the Gods," was adopted from the written Chinese combining two kanji: "shin", meaning gods or spirits, and originally from the Chinese word shen; and "tō", or "do" meaning a philosophical path or study from the Chinese word tao."
"Shinto incorporates spiritual practices derived from many local and regional prehistoric traditions, but did not emerge as a formal centralized religious institution until the arrival of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism, beginning in the 6th century. Buddhism gradually adapted in Japan to the native spirituality. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written historical records of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in the 7th and 8th century. Still, these earliest Japanese writings do not refer to a unified "Shinto religion", but practices associated with harvests and other seasonal clan events, along with a uniquely Japanese cosmogony and mythology, combining spiritual traditions of the ascendant clans of early Japan, mainly the Yamato and Izumo cultures."
"Shinto is a religion in where practice (actions) and ritual, rather than words, are of the utmost importance. Shinto is characterized by the worship of nature, ancestors, polytheism, and animism, with a strong focus on ritual purity, involving honoring and celebrating the existence of Kami. Kami are defined in English as "spirit", "essence" or "deities", that are associated with many understood formats; in some cases being human like, some animistic, others associated with more abstract "natural" forces in the world, such as mountains, rivers, lightning, wind, waves, trees, and rocks. It may be best thought of as "sacred" elements and energies. Kami and people are not separate, they exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity."
"Modern Shinto does have a central theological authority but no singular Theocracy. Shinto today is an inclusive association of local, regional, and national shrines of various rank and historical significance, expressing their various beliefs through similar language and practice, all adopting a similar style in dress, architecture, and ritual, dating from around the time of the Nara and Heian Periods. Shinto currently has about 119 million known adherents in Japan, although a person who practices any manner of Shinto rituals may be so counted. It is generally accepted that the vast majority of Japanese people take part in Shinto rituals, while most would also practice Buddhist ancestor worship. However, unlike many monotheistic religious practices, Shinto and Buddhism typically do not require professing faith to be a believer or a practitioner, and as such it is difficult to query for exact figures based on self-identification of belief within Japan. Due to the syncretic nature of Shinto and Buddhism, most "life" events are handled by Shinto and "death" or "afterlife" events are handled by Buddhism although this is not exclusive. For example, it is typical in Japan to register or celebrate a birth at a Shinto shrine, while funeral arrangements are generally dictated by Buddhist tradition."
"Shinto also teaches that certain deeds create a kind of ritual impurity that one should want cleansed for one's own peace of mind and good fortune, not because impurity is wrong in and of itself. Wrong deeds are called "impurity," kegare, opposed to "purity," kiyome. Normal days are called "day" (ke), and festive days are called "sunny" or simply "good" (hare). Killing living beings should be done with reverence for taking a life to continue one's own and should be kept to a minimum. Modern Japanese continue to place great emphasis on the importance of ritual phrases and greetings. Before eating, many, though not all, Japanese say, "I will humbly receive," or itadakimasu, to show proper thankfulness to the preparer of the meal in particular and more generally to all those living things that lost their lives to make the meal. Failure to show proper respect can be seen as a lack of concern for others, and is looked down on because it is believed to create problems for all. Those who fail to take into account the feelings of other people and kami will only bring ruin on themselves."
"The worst expression of such an attitude is the taking of another's life for personal advancement or enjoyment. Those killed without being shown gratitude for their sacrifice will hold a grudge and become a powerful and evil kami that seeks revenge. This same emphasis on the need for cooperation and collaboration can be seen throughout Japanese culture today. Additionally, if anyone is injured on the grounds of a shrine, the area affected must be ritually purified."
"Good morning, class," Ghanima said as they entered. "Today we study Shinto, or kami-no-michi, which is the natural spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. The word Shinto, meaning "Way of the Gods," was adopted from the written Chinese combining two kanji: "shin", meaning gods or spirits, and originally from the Chinese word shen; and "tō", or "do" meaning a philosophical path or study from the Chinese word tao."
"Shinto incorporates spiritual practices derived from many local and regional prehistoric traditions, but did not emerge as a formal centralized religious institution until the arrival of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism, beginning in the 6th century. Buddhism gradually adapted in Japan to the native spirituality. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written historical records of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in the 7th and 8th century. Still, these earliest Japanese writings do not refer to a unified "Shinto religion", but practices associated with harvests and other seasonal clan events, along with a uniquely Japanese cosmogony and mythology, combining spiritual traditions of the ascendant clans of early Japan, mainly the Yamato and Izumo cultures."
"Shinto is a religion in where practice (actions) and ritual, rather than words, are of the utmost importance. Shinto is characterized by the worship of nature, ancestors, polytheism, and animism, with a strong focus on ritual purity, involving honoring and celebrating the existence of Kami. Kami are defined in English as "spirit", "essence" or "deities", that are associated with many understood formats; in some cases being human like, some animistic, others associated with more abstract "natural" forces in the world, such as mountains, rivers, lightning, wind, waves, trees, and rocks. It may be best thought of as "sacred" elements and energies. Kami and people are not separate, they exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity."
"Modern Shinto does have a central theological authority but no singular Theocracy. Shinto today is an inclusive association of local, regional, and national shrines of various rank and historical significance, expressing their various beliefs through similar language and practice, all adopting a similar style in dress, architecture, and ritual, dating from around the time of the Nara and Heian Periods. Shinto currently has about 119 million known adherents in Japan, although a person who practices any manner of Shinto rituals may be so counted. It is generally accepted that the vast majority of Japanese people take part in Shinto rituals, while most would also practice Buddhist ancestor worship. However, unlike many monotheistic religious practices, Shinto and Buddhism typically do not require professing faith to be a believer or a practitioner, and as such it is difficult to query for exact figures based on self-identification of belief within Japan. Due to the syncretic nature of Shinto and Buddhism, most "life" events are handled by Shinto and "death" or "afterlife" events are handled by Buddhism although this is not exclusive. For example, it is typical in Japan to register or celebrate a birth at a Shinto shrine, while funeral arrangements are generally dictated by Buddhist tradition."
"Shinto also teaches that certain deeds create a kind of ritual impurity that one should want cleansed for one's own peace of mind and good fortune, not because impurity is wrong in and of itself. Wrong deeds are called "impurity," kegare, opposed to "purity," kiyome. Normal days are called "day" (ke), and festive days are called "sunny" or simply "good" (hare). Killing living beings should be done with reverence for taking a life to continue one's own and should be kept to a minimum. Modern Japanese continue to place great emphasis on the importance of ritual phrases and greetings. Before eating, many, though not all, Japanese say, "I will humbly receive," or itadakimasu, to show proper thankfulness to the preparer of the meal in particular and more generally to all those living things that lost their lives to make the meal. Failure to show proper respect can be seen as a lack of concern for others, and is looked down on because it is believed to create problems for all. Those who fail to take into account the feelings of other people and kami will only bring ruin on themselves."
"The worst expression of such an attitude is the taking of another's life for personal advancement or enjoyment. Those killed without being shown gratitude for their sacrifice will hold a grudge and become a powerful and evil kami that seeks revenge. This same emphasis on the need for cooperation and collaboration can be seen throughout Japanese culture today. Additionally, if anyone is injured on the grounds of a shrine, the area affected must be ritually purified."
Sign In
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During the Lecture
Re: During the Lecture
That last part was definitely going to make her shift a bit uncomfortably in her seat, though, regarding the art supplies thoughtfully and hoping whatever they were going to use them for would be enough to chase any lingering specters of a vegengeful Barry Kolker out of her mind. Those specters had already terrorized her enough, thanks.
Class Activity: Make Talismans!
"I have here the materials to make ema, ofuda, and omamori, and a list of some kami if you don't have a spirit in your own culture that you wish to inscribe on your ofuda."
"Now get to work, and we'll discuss purification and the concept of the kami."
Re: Class Activity: Make Talismans!
balance, the sensual over the sentimental...
...the real difficult part here was going to be Astrid not just completely losing herself in the artwork and remembering that they were supposed to be working and listening. After her last letter from her mother, she was in just the kind of mood to forget that she was even in a classroom, surrounded by other people.
Re: Class Activity: Make Talismans!
Class Discussion: Kami
"Because Japanese does not normally distinguish singular and plural in nouns, it is sometimes unclear whether kami refers to a single or multiple entities. When a plural concept is absolutely necessary, the term "kamigami" is used. It is often said that there are "eight million kami" -- ya-o-yorozu no kami -- in Japanese the number "eight million" is often used to imply infinity. Similarly, gender is also not implied in the word kami, which can be used to refer to either male or female kami. The word "megami", meaning female kami is a relatively recent addition to the language, and is rarely, if ever used in traditional sources."
"In the ancient animistic religions, kami were understood as simply the divine forces of nature. Worshippers in ancient Japan revered creations of nature which exhibited a particular beauty and power such as waterfalls, mountains, boulders, animals, trees, grasses and even rice paddies. They strongly believed the spirits or resident kami deserved respect.
Although the ancient designations are still adhered to, in modern Shinto many priests also consider kami to be anthropomorphic spirits, with nobility and authority. These include such mythological figures as Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess of the Shinto pantheon. Although these kami can be considered deities, they are not necessarily considered omnipotent or omniscient, and like the Greek Gods, they had flawed personalities and were quite capable of ignoble acts. In the myths of Amaterasu, for example, she could see the events of the human world. She also had to use divination rituals to see the future."
"Is there a similar concept in any religion you have encountered previously? Do you view the reverence of the kami of nature as primitive or respectful? What type of society would this religion appeal to, and why?"
Class Discussion: Purification
"Do you feel that purification of things such as cars or factories would cheapen such a ritual, or is it simply part of the belief system? What potential abuses do you see stemming from such a ritual?"
Re: Class Discussion: Purification
That was why they never stayed still. Why they were always moving, why Ingrid got restless mired in one place for too long. Why Astrid got restless still, especially realizing she'd been here longer than she'd been nearly anywhere. And why, every time she thought about that, how she felt she needed to cleanse and purify herself from this place, too, even if she liked it, even if it wasn't really so bad.
Talk to the TA
Re: Talk to the TA
Talk to Ghanima
ooc