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In Buddhism, there is the Mara that is concerned with death, the Mrtyu-mara. [3] It is a demon that makes humans want to die, and it is said that upon being possessed by it, in a shock, one should suddenly want to die by suicide, so it is sometimes explained to be a "shinigami". [4]
Generally, taking your own life is considered a violation of the code of ahimsa (non-violence) and therefore equally sinful as murdering another. Some scriptures state that to die by suicide (and any type of violent death) results in becoming a ghost, wandering earth until the time one would have otherwise died, had one not died by suicide.
A mountain-dwelling religion called Shugendō emerged in Japan as a syncretism between Vajrayana Buddhism, Shinto and Taoism in the 7th century, which stressed ascetic practices. [8] One of these practices was sokushinbutsu (or sokushin jobutsu), connoting mountain austerities in order to attain Enlightenment in a single lifetime.
A still common consequence of this is the habit to give up the traditional New Year visit to a Shinto shrine if a death in the family has occurred within the last year. [ 4 ] Shinto priests (the kannushi ) are expected to pay particular attention to avoid this kind of kegare , and must be careful to deal correctly with death and disease.
A torii gateway to the Yobito Shrine (Yobito-jinja) in Abashiri City, HokkaidoThere is no universally agreed definition of Shinto. [2] According to Joseph Cali and John Dougill, if there was "one single, broad definition of Shinto" that could be put forward, it would be that "Shinto is a belief in kami", the supernatural entities at the centre of the religion. [3]
In Japan, where the dominant religion is Shinto, 69% of the religious organisations agree with the act of voluntary passive euthanasia. [39] The corresponding figure was 75% when the family asked for it. In Shinto, the prolongation of life using artificial means is a disgraceful act against life. [39]
Foxes sacred to Shinto kami Inari, a torii, a Buddhist stone pagoda, and Buddhist figures together at Jōgyō-ji, Kamakura.. Shinbutsu-shūgō (神仏習合, "syncretism of kami and buddhas"), also called Shinbutsu-konkō (神仏混淆, "jumbling up" or "contamination of kami and buddhas"), is the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism that was Japan's main organized religion up until the Meiji period.
Shimenawa and nature have been a hallmark of Shinto shrines since in early times. The shrine in Shinto is a place for kami. [6] Local people held rituals in shrines. Early shrines were not composed of classical buildings, [6] with rocks, plants and shimenawa instead marking their boundaries, [6] as part of the Shinto