Posted on 03/14/2011 2:14:52 PM PDT by NWFLConservative
Candor; what’s your take on that???
Candor; what’s your take on that???
Candor; whats your take on that???>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
No looting in Japan?
The Japanese live by a Shinto code of conduct called kannagara.
*************************
“...........Kannagara has to do with spirit, and with bringing the spirit of man and his activities into line with the spirit of Great Nature.
The Spirit of Great Nature may be a flower, may be the beauty of the mountains, the pure snow, the soft rains or the gentle breeze. Kannagara means being in communion with these forms of beauty and so with the highest level of experiences of life. When people respond to the silent and provocative beauty of the natural order, they are aware of kannagara. When they respond in life in a similar way, by following ways “according to the kami,” they are expressing kannagara in their lives. They are living according to the natural flow of the universe and will benefit and develop by so doing.
To be fully alive is to have an aesthetic perception of life because a major part of the world’s goodness lies in its often unspeakable beauty. Unlike Western Puritanism, which has reservations about beauty as a basis of understanding life, Shinto has never denied it. These ideas cannot be taught directly. They can only be captured by someone whose experience of them is sufficiently moving for him or her to realize their fullest meaning.
This is why Shinto is associated with sacred spaces, originally places of either striking natural beauty, or places that had an atmosphere that could strike awe in the heart of the observer. Shinto has no need of formalized systems of ethics which instruct people how to behave. People who are trying to express kannagara will be living “according to the kami” and therefore will not require detailed regulations. If man were in need of detailed rules, claimed Motoori Norinaga, he would be little better than an animal that needs to be trained and retrained in order to behave properly. Humankind is surely beyond this type of morality. Beauty, Truth and Goodness are essentially related and when beauty is perceived, truth and goodness follow close behind.
Through participating in the spirit of kannagara, human beings, earth and heaven can achieve harmonious union. When their relationship is perfectly harmonious, the ideal universe comes into being. But of course, this does not always happen, and the reason is that man often makes mistakes that lead to his becoming impure. When people become impure in this sense, they stray from themselves and they have to find themselves again. If people can return to being themselves, then the kami rejoice and human progress and prosperity become possible.
The manner by which that purity is restored is purification, or oharai in Japanese. The acts of purification are performed by priests who act as intermediaries when they are purified, speaking to the kami on behalf of people they will in turn ceremonially purify. There are many forms of oharai, but in the traditions of Tsubaki Grand Shrine, misogi harai or purification under a free-standing waterfall is the most profound, most efficacious, most visibly symbolic of how mankind can restore the spirit of kannagara in the soul, can renew the spirit and can revitalize the creative force and energies of life.
From Guji Yukitaka Yamamoto
http://www.divinehumanity.com/custom/Shinto.html
( Candor 7 Note: “kami” is not what usually is given in usual translation as “God” or “gods”. For westerners a closer approximation to kami would be the devine principle of “angels.” In Japan people live according to the way of the kami, or acording to the way of the devine primciple of the angels who manifest all around us in nature and in beauty.This is percieveable through meditation and training the heart to “see.” Each human being has the basic intrinsic unconditional goodness of the kami as a fundamental human essence.In the SHinto view, we all have the devine spark of the kami within us. No looting.Looting would NOT be kannagara.)
Further:
http://www.isejingu.or.jp/english/
Thank you for pinging me to that explanation, Candor7. It sounds to me that, due to the world view you describe, behavior like looting would be considered literally infantile akin to throwing a tantrum. Rationalizing it would never occur to them and only someone having a complete psychotic break with reality would do something like that.
Thank you, Candor7!
STE=Q
I remember being in dry dock in Kobe for repair many yrs ago after a collision with another ship. Our Superintendent was frustrated with the shipyard's engineers, when demanding certain repairs to be done according to specification. The Japs would nod to the demands, but then doing it their way of doing it and just smile when confronted!!
A much different attitude compared to the American way, when you're paid $11 million$ @ year and calling yourself a Slave, hmmmm. I wouldn't mind to be a slave @ $11-15 million$ per year paid!!!
""The players are getting robbed. They are," Adrian Peterson told Yahoo. "The owners are making so much money off of us to begin with. I don't know that I want to quote myself on that." When discussing other players feeling the same way, Peterson said: "It's modern-day slavery, you know? People kind of laugh at that, but there are people working at regular jobs who get treated the same way, too. With all the money. ... The owners are trying to get a different percentage, and bring in more money. I understand that; these are business-minded people. Of course this is what they are going Advertisement to want to do. I understand that; it's how they got to where they are now. But as players, we have to stand our ground and say, 'Hey, without us, there's no football.' " Peterson is set to make $10.72 million in base salary in 2011. "
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.