Why Buddhism is dying in Japan

I came across this article while searching for something else, but found this really interesting:

http://www.japanese-buddhism.com/why-bu ... japan.html

The Facts About Buddhism page is also interesting (and clearer than a lot I've seen and read):

http://www.japanese-buddhism.com/buddhi ... facts.html

Well, I wouldn't focus on "indoctrination" as much as the author did. To compare, Religious Education as a subject is compulsory in Germany for all pupils who actually formally belong to a church, and yet church attendance and church membership have been declining all the time.

Most of the time, big religion is on the decline when the message does no longer appeal to the people. The US might be one of the big exceptions to the rule, as organized religion is on the decline in all other industrial nations. Or so would be my guess.

Cheers,
Oliver

The article aligns with my understanding of what has caused other religions to decline. Essentially, if the message is railroaded because people distort it in order to enhance their personal power, people will become alienated and reject it wholesale. I say this as a teacher in a Catholic school. Even great priests end up leaving when they cannot continue in good conscience.

The additional problem for religions is that the are, by nature, conservative (even if they began radically). So, they resist the changes necessary to continue to new generations of followers. They do this because they are unprepared to sacrifice their traditions and dogma.

What's interesting is that japanese youth feel about sutras the way I feel about Gregorian chants. They make my skin crawl.

Never been a chanty type, myself. :)

Oliver

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Originally Posted by CFTraveler

... Gregorian chants. They make my skin crawl.

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Really? I love them. I have a whole CD of them, in fact, and sometimes put them on when I meditate. (Then again, St Gregory, who ordered the collection and preservation of these chants, is my patron saint, so...)

The sound of a female choir singing hymns (particularly very old hymns) can make me weep, though, and not always in a good way.

Other life memories, perhaps? ;)

Perhaps. Medieval castles and especially arched corridors also make my skin crawl.

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Originally Posted by Beekeeper

The additional problem for religions is that the are, by nature, conservative (even if they began radically). So, they resist the changes necessary to continue to new generations of followers. They do this because they are unprepared to sacrifice their traditions and dogma.

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I love this, Beek! Well said. :wink:

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Originally Posted by CFTraveler

...the way I feel about Gregorian chants. They make my skin crawl.

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Funny, I just love the sound of them! :P