Lookout! New Religion

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Lookout! New Religion

Image by zachstern



A FAITHFUL PILGRIM OF OLD JAPAN -- or, "I've Got GOD IN A BOX and I'm Ready to Roll"




Image by Okinawa Soba

I have, over time, posted many images of old religious activities in Japan, several with captions somehow having the Japanese putting "God in a Box", or being "Basket Heads from Mars".

To some Westerners who are sensitive (and defensive of) the religious and cultural aspects of Japan, such blunt captioning or phrasing (with overtones of belittling another's religion) sounds a bit mocking. Further, it makes me come across as arrogant, smacks of condescension, implies a nationalistic aloofness, hints at undercurrents of racial prejudice, and perhaps, comes across as a disrespectful diluting of a long and deep cultural heritage of Japanese faith.

For those that feel that way about my descriptions of Japanese religion (and my equally ridiculous and sarcastic comments about my own native Christianity), please go suck on a lemon, and get over it. Thank you !

This is not about race or religion. It's about CULTURE. Just ask the Chinese, Koreans, and other nations scattered throughout Asia about the deep and abiding "Religious Faith" of the Japanese, and they will be happy to bring you up to speed on the subject.

(Fortunately, Japanese ZEN Buddhists agree with me completely, knowing that what I think and say are only the thoughts and words of a grasshopper sitting on a rock that isn't really there....etc etc blah blah blah)

Now that we've got that out of the way, check out the guy in the picture. He's got............

GOD IN A BOX !!!

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to read Dale Carnegie's book, "HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE"

....and then burn it.

For more about the photographer of this great old image (and NO comments about religion) please see : www.t-enami.org/


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For the MOTHER LODE of T. Enami photographs here on the Web --- all CC rated for your creative use --- see this Flickr collection : www.flickr.com/photos/24443965@N08/collections/7215761388...


RANDOM SOBA : www.flickriver.com/photos/24443965@N08/random/

This is an Avout




Image by Stuck in Customs

I found her after taking a few wayward turns in some confusing corridors in the main temple of Angkor Wat. She was a Buddhist bolt, but lighting incense at the foot of a statue of Shiva, the Hindu god. It turns out that she, and others like her, are from an interesting sect that bridges two of the big religions. I always enjoy talking to people about this sort of thing. It doesn't really bother me one way or another, but I just find all the thought processes to be interesting.

She's one of the billions of people alive (and possibly re-alive) that draws into the splinters of the original Vedic Brahminism. She didn't speak a lot of English, so there were a few pieces missing in our conversation, but I filled them in later after talking to many other monks and worshipers throughout the complex.

from the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com