Shinto

[Yaakov001]

Because the Forum does NOT seem to have a category designated for The Way of the Kami, I thought I would make a thread about it at least. Some of you know me as an Orthodox Jew from that Forum, and such I am. But I am also a Shintoist.

Granted, there are two questions that will inevitably occur. 1, how do I reconcile Judaism and Shinto? 2, how do I manage being Shinto WITHOUT being Japanese?

They are both fair questions. But first, let us verify what Shinto is, and what it is NOT.

I. Shinto is the National Religion of the Japanese People. Buddhism, particularly Zen, is the imported philosophy that explains the rules of relating to other men, whilst Shinto explains how to relate to the Kami, or Guardian Spirits/Deities that govern the world and all that therein lies.

II. Shinto commonly translates as "Way of the Gods", but a better translation might be "Way of the Guardian Spirits". The Japanese definition of the word "Deity" or "God" does not match our concept of the omnipotent, omnibenevolent, omniscient One G-d of the Abrahamic tradition. The word "Kami", rather than meaning the latter type of Deity with which Westerners are familiar, more accurately translates as "Guardian Spirit".

I personally like to consider the Gods and Goddesses of Shinto as Angels. They do what G-d tells them to do. But be that as it may, The point is the following: EVERY SINGLE DECENT THING HAS A GUARDIAN SPIRIT.

The next question of course is how can a man be a Shintoist without being Japanese. Well, although I can't articulate an answer as yet, I can recommend books to start with that will help you see the NATURE of the Faith.

So if that makes any sense at all…,

[Frederick33]

hi are you also a human being ? or have you not heard of that yet ?
is it obscure to be an human being perhaps ? I mean just be one ,,,
I am one, been focusing on it for years , its amazing what I all learned :-)