Asian Religious Studies: Write 3 One a half page reactions 3 texts: 1. Reaction the Tibetan Book Dead. 2. Write reaction Shintoism 11 short videos youtube attached- http://www.youtube./watch?v=RZNxvb12UDA&list=PL8F6756F1EB45E6AB The "Tibetan Book of the Dead" brings on a series of ideas that people in the Western world typically have trouble accepting. Reading the book practically influences a person to acknowledge that he or she and people in general are generally trying to avoid thinking about one of the only things they know for sure with regard to their future. The text promotes the idea that it is only natural to think about mortality and about the idea of inevitable death. The "Tibetan Book of the Dead" is meant to be recited to a person as he or she faces imminent death, as it is apparently likely to make the passing more comfortable for the individual.

The manuscript proceeds with explaining a series of phases that occur as the person is dying and consequent to the moment of death. Individuals who are dying can apparently gain control over particular aspects of their thinking and, if able to do that, can eventually be successful in going through a twilight-like concept referred to as the BORDO. In order to be able to adopt such attitudes, the individual needs to be able to emptying his or her mind from immoral thoughts, as it is apparently likely for him or her to experience significant problems as a result of being unable to take on such behavior.

One does not necessarily have to be dying in order for the respective individual to acknowledge the complexity put across by the "Tibetan Book of the Dead." The information present in this book can have a strong influence on the individual while he or she is still alive and well. The individual needs to concentrate on preparing to face death during an earlier period in his or her life in order to be able to discipline during his or her last moments. Most readers are likely to be left with a strong feeling regarding how they need to restructure their lives, taking into account that the book practically promotes the idea that people who are capable to control their thinking and behavior are the only ones who will experience death without any major issues.

The book emphasizes the fact that one goes through a particularly difficult journey during and after death. A dying person is thus unlikely to manage to experience this episode successfully as long as he or she had not prepared properly before death. One's last moments involve a series of thoughts running through the respective individual's head. These thoughts are apparently the product of his or her imagination and it is thus perfectly natural for people who lived their last days thinking about immoral ideas to be haunted by such concepts as they give their last breath.

In order to truly appreciate this book one needs to be able to concentrate sufficiently in order for him or her to accumulate the important information it contains. By employing deep thought, a reader is likely to profit greatly as a result of acknowledging the important role that the text can play in helping him or her change his or her vision on life.

2. Shintoism is a very complex tradition and in order for someone to be able to understand it, the respective person needs to refrain from trying to consider religious stereotypes that he or she would associate with religious ideologies from around the world. Shintoism is not only intriguing because of the spiritual ideas that it puts across, as it is also important because it contains a great deal of elements that make it possible for people to understand that it is strongly connected to Japanese culture. Many Japanese individuals thus turn to Shintoism in an attempt to strengthen their connection with their country's history and in order to express feelings of deep patriotism.

Seeing Shintoism from the perspective of a person who knows very little about Japan or about...

In spite of the fact that it is largely regarded as a religious ideology, it is only safe to say that Shinto is more than that. It represents efforts performed by the Japanese throughout history with the purpose of securing their place in the world and in order to have their community gain a better understanding of the attitudes it needs to take on concerning particular matters.
While it would be perfectly normal for a Christian or a Muslim to promote their religious ideals without actually having to feel any kind of connections to Jerusalem or to Mecca, Shintoism supports the idea that one's spiritual nature needs to be strongly related to the connection the respective person has with the Japanese islands. As a consequence, while Christianity and Islam are popular around the world, Shintoism is not very popular outside of Japan.

Shintoism does not only teach its followers with regard to how they need to respect particular values that have been a part of Japanese history throughout millennia. It also plays a role in boosting self-confidence by highlighting that the Japanese are superior to people coming from other ethnic backgrounds and that they virtually direct descendents of Gods. While this idea is certainly divisive, it is nonetheless intriguing to consider that the Japanese think about their background as being closely connected to their deities.

While Buddhism is an important religious ideology in Japan, it is interesting to see that many Japanese practice both Buddhism and Shintoism. This makes it possible to understand that they tend to think of Shinto as being somewhat different from a typical religion. They associate it with their cultural background and they see nothing wrong with acting in accordance with Buddhist ideas while also being supportive of Shinto thinking.

Shintoism keeps the Japanese community together, considering that people collaborate in maintaining many of their traditions intact as they accept the fact that it is only through hard work and dedication to their cultural values that they are going to become able to succeed in their endeavors.

3. Yui-en's "Tannisho" puts across a series of ideas concerning Japanese Buddhism and the writer's determination to provide the world with the ability to gain a better understanding of what it involves. Yui-en's text presents readers with a conversation that he had with Shinran. Yui-en was a disciple of Shinran and wanted the latter to provide more information about the attitudes that a person needs to employ in order to be able to deal with the complex problems brought by Buddhishm becoming a diverse religious ideology throughout Japan.

While Yui-en apparently wants to simply present a conversation between him and Shinran, he is actually concerned about providing readers with the chance to realize that while Buddhism had gathered a multitude of teachers during the period, it was difficult and almost impossible for someone to attempt to provide Buddhist teachings from a general point-of-view. In his case, both himself and Shinran focus on the idea of nembutsu as being the primary concept assisting a person in being born in the Pure Land.

Consequent to reading the conversation, one is probable to comprehend that Yui-en is not necessarily concerned about presenting other Buddhist branches as being harmful. Shinren's teachings promote the idea that nembutsu is the primary idea for him and for his disciple because he is well-acquainted with this concept. He actually attempts to influence his disciple to try and seek advice with scholars in the monasteries of Nara and Mt. Hiei as a means to emphasize the fact that he is not interested in persuading a person to share his thinking.

Shinren does not attempt to claim that there are no other methods to reach the Pure Land in addition to the nembutsu. Instead, he simply highlights that, from his perspective, nembutsu is the…