A Way Of Life
The Japanese don't seem to be religious people. They do have a heritage of Buddhism, however, and in that sense, they are religious, but not in the overt manner that seems so obvious in so many other religions. Zen Buddhism in particular does appear to describe a certain way of life; serene, peaceful, respectful. Living in Tokyo, it was truly hard to conceive of Japanese being responsible for wartime atrocities.There are Buddhist temples everywhere, and the wonderful, orderly, sublime gardens that go along with the temples. There is honour and respect for the contemplative life. But Japanese appear less motivated to view Buddhism as sacred - though doubtless it is to them - in the same way as Christians, Jews and Muslims of an orthodox school would.
To them, it seemed to us as observers, it was more tradition and the huge honour that tradition and respect has in the Japanese psyche and collective memory, than religious observation as we think we know it. We felt that Buddhism reflected a way of life, and we found that truly admirable, just as we found everything we saw and experienced and felt about life there.
So it is interesting to read that Mongolians, no longer under religious prohibition through communism, have turned back to their traditional heritage of Buddhist worship. What is more surprising, however, is that there has been an inundation of Christian missionaries entering Mongolia, convincing people there that they should consider Christianity to enrich their spiritual lives.
The suggestion has been made that while Buddhism prevails, it does so for many Mongolians more as a way of life than as a religion per se. And Christianity has filled that spiritual vacuum. Living in a democratic world, and developing the mining of the country's huge mineral reserves has led to a more cosmopolitan outlook on life, and the typical situation of a split in the population between rich and poor.
"Society suddenly opened up and people are empty. They will believe in anything", explained a figure in the democratic revolution of the 1990s. The communist purges destroyed monasteries and killed monks but now Buddhism is being revived. And even as it is being given a larger place in society once again, there is competition from Mormon missionaries.
It is estimated that over ten thousand Mongolians have accepted the Mormon Christian faith in the last several decades. And here is the delicious irony: Young Mongolians have themselves become missionaries. And they are taking their mission to the United States, there to earnestly seek converts to Mormonism.
Their mission, to - "go out on the street, in cars, on the bus, and find people to teach about Jesus Christ".
Labels: Human Relations, Religion
posted by Pieface @ Sunday, December 11, 2011
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