Making the Heart Lighter with Shinto and Buddhism: Chapter 1　The Wonder of the Heart Suddenly Feeling Lighter

~Why Have Shinto and Buddhism Blended So Deeply?~

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Hello everyone. This is Akira.

In our busy daily lives, there are moments when we suddenly want to stop in our tracks.

When various thoughts swirl in our heads, and somewhere inside we find ourselves asking, “Is this really okay?”

At times like that, what Japanese people have quietly relied on for a long time are the gods and the Buddha.

Strangely enough, although Shinto and Buddhism originally came from completely different places, over a long period of time they have entered our lives as if holding hands.

Why is that?

Shinto is a faith that has existed in this land since ancient times.

It believes that gods dwell in nature and values the self that exists here and now.

Buddhism is a teaching that came from far away.

It quietly shows us how to become even a little freer from the suffering in our hearts.

When these two met, the Japanese people did not choose “one or the other,” but chose the path of “making both come alive.”

They thought of the gods as temporary forms of the Buddha, or placed Buddhist statues as the sacred objects of shrines, gradually changing their forms over many years.

This is the uniquely Japanese way called “Shinbutsu Shūgō” (syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism).

Traces of this still quietly breathe in our daily lives.

Clasping our hands at a shrine on New Year’s Day.

Visiting a temple on the anniversary of a loved one’s death.

Having both a kamidana (Shinto altar) and a butsudan (Buddhist altar) in the house.

None of these are special acts — they are simply things we naturally do to make “our hearts feel a little calmer.”

Shinto gently helps us look back at “the self that exists here and now,” while Buddhism gives us a gentle trigger to let go of “the restlessness deep in our hearts.”

Because the two are mixed together, we have been able to maintain balance in our hearts without leaning too far to one side.

In this series, I would like to look at the differences between Shinto and Buddhism not simply as knowledge lined up side by side, but from the direction of “the heart suddenly feeling lighter.”

In the next chapter, while organizing the basic differences, I will look a little more concretely at how each one works on our hearts.

Please feel free to read at your own pace, with your shoulders relaxed. I would be happy if you do.

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Akira

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