Essays on Shintoism

Buddhism, like all the other Eastern religions, originated from “Animism”, which is the belief that everything in the universe has an essence, a spirit or a soul. As a way of life, it is similar to the other religions in promoting morality, generosity, kindness, harmony, and respect for all living beings including mother nature. Alike Hinduism, Buddhism believes in the following: 1. Reincarnation, wherein the soul is reborn into another body based on the level of spiritual attainment from the previous life. 2. Karma, which is either the positive or the negative effects of an individual’s actions. 3. ...

The Samurai Ethics: A Paradigm for Corporate Behavior by Shinya Fujimura

In this article, Fujimura advocates for the adoption of the samurai moral and ethical values into the corporate world. The author suggests that the integration of these values by corporate and businesses in wealthy countries such as the US and the UK would aid them in dealing with economic vicissitudes. Apparently, the ancient Japanese samurai culture exemplifies the importance of a society that is driven by loyalty, benevolence, and duty. Fujimura studied for his master degree in public administration at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government where he focused on social change (Fujimura 212). Fujimura also ...

Shintoism and Buddhism in Japanese History

Before the spread of today’s religion, the early civilizations had different views as to how they could explain the things around them. Some would say it is the work of spirits who dwell upon plants, animals and inanimate objects while others believe in the intervention of divine beings who created the world prior to mankind. While some of these early beliefs have been forgotten in favor of newer religions, there are countries where early beliefs played heavily in the formation of the nation and even triggered a conflict to occur when a new religion was introduced to the ...