Archive for the ‘Agonshu’ Category

阿含仏教の情報リソース

Friday, October 10th, 2014

四つの霊的な法則

Four Spiritual Laws

 

イエスの映画

Jesus Film: view in Japanese

 

新約聖書/聖書

Japanese Living Bible

 

オーディオ聖書

Faith Comes By Hearing

阿含宗

Friday, October 10th, 2014

阿含(アーガマとも呼ぶ)宗は、仏陀の言葉や教えに基づくとされる阿含サトラスに則り、原点回帰によって仏教を再発見および改編したものと自らを定義する。しかし仮にその正典の起源が古代に遡るとしても、識者たちはその起源の正統性を疑問視する。むしろある特定の編集グループによる産物という見方が強い。

それはさておき、このムーブメントの開祖である桐山靖雄(別称;桐山管長)はこれに先立ち、菩薩観音を崇拝しながら観音経典に習う別の宗派である、観音慈恵会を公式に立ち上げていた。そのより進化したとされる宗教観に適合させるための
仮に進化と認めても、宗教観が自在に変容することを鑑みると照らし合わせると、この新宗教と呼ばれる新しい宗教的ムーブメントの信憑性に傷がつく。

さらに仏教「本来」の形態を自負するが、ゴータマブッダおよび釈迦牟尼の教えとは袂を分かち、密教的な仏教主義、すなわち修験道および真言などの伝統などの修練を持ち込み、他の教義と統合させた混合宗教である。以前真言について書かせていただいたものを以下のリンクから閲覧できる。

真言宗

この仏教宗派は修行者の必要や問題に即す時流にそったアプローチを適用し、仏教を民主的で親しみやすいものにすることで、既存の行を超越または凌駕しながら、伝統的仏教からの独立性を主張。

他にも独自の行としてゴーマの儀式がある。祈祷文を読み上げながら棒状のものに祈願や嘆願を刻んだ後に火に焼べ、先祖のネガティブなカルマを消滅させることで死者の霊に取り憑く苦しみを抹消または昇華し、成仏または仏果させるためのものである。まぎれもなくこの迷信的な営みは原始仏教にはなく、寧ろ仏陀の八正道の中核的な教えから逸脱する。こうして新たなアプローチを加えることで、継続的な苦痛を伴う問題に対処しようと試みるのである。

それ以外にも、埋葬された釈迦の骨片で、その霊が宿ると伝えられる「釈迦の真の遺物」や、真性仏舎利と呼ばれるものを主な崇拝の対象としている。そこからも原始仏教との相違が指摘可能だ。この骨片と一体化しながら廼偉宝珠法を行うことで、行者が幸福、ご利益、悟りを得てカルマからの脱出を果たすと信じられている。しかしカルマに対峙し続ける正統仏教によれば、かような欲求は煩悩の一部とされ、輪廻を打破し涅槃を成就する解脱へのプロセスにそぐわない。

その他、ある精神科専門医からも指摘されているように、場合や人によってクンダリーニ症候群という精神的疾患を招きかねない、クンダーリニ・ヨガを実践。それによりチャクラや体内の霊的な核による超自然的覚醒力を得て、個々人がカルマから解放されるという教義が波紋を呼ぶ。

最後に世界平和の支援プロジャクトを設立しようと懸命に取り組む姿勢は評価したい。同じく世界平和を志して奮闘している世の中の団体がある中、この課題を達成する上で、この一宗教が普遍的かつ不可欠な主体と喧伝することに対しては、敬意を表しながらも異を唱えたい。

宗教的多産国家であり千種万様な宗教を持つ日本には、一時的な熱狂ぶりを助長するような宗教的世界観が生まれがちである。そんな文脈下、現実に向き合うことを諭さず数ある中から好みで選ばれてしまう相対的な宗教活動には、私は総じて有益さを認めることはできない。

今回の結びにあたり、全体を通し、当宗教の存在に対する批判的な印象を与えたなら心からお詫びする。しかし読者の皆様が良識と直感を働かせながら、この宗教があなたの絶対的真理への渇望を満たし得るかを吟味し、この宗派が孕む自己矛盾や欠陥に関心を注いでいただくように、心からお祈り申し上げる。

最後、アジアおよび東洋諸国の人々に是非お勧めしたい道があります。そこを行けば厳格かつ複雑な宗教的修練によらずただ神との結びつきにより、深い憐憫からの真理を伝えたいという情熱が込み上げてくるのです。現実的な社会的病魔から他者を解放し癒しを与えるのみではなく、さらに重要なことに、悪魔による邪魔立てや障害を排除し、神との平和を私たちにもたらしてくれるのです。結びに当たって、皆様にはただイエス・キリストに心を開きつつ私の別の投稿記事、「神との関係を築くには」を読みながら、イエスが残した言葉を噛み締めていただきたい。

Mt:11:28-30マタイの福音書11章28節〜30節
28 「すべて重荷を負うて苦労している者は、わたしのもとにきなさい。あなたがたを休ませてあげよう。
29 Tわたしは柔和で心のへりくだった者であるから、わたしに学びなさい。そうすれば、あなたがたに魂の休みが与えられるであろう。30 わたしのくびきは負いやすく、わたしの荷は軽いからである。 」

 

 

神と関係を持つ方法

 

その他のリンク

阿含仏教の情報リソース

Agonshu

jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2010/03/13/buddha-the-enlightened-one/

Pain, Suffering and Evil

 

 

Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.2, pg.631, Manabu Watanabe
Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.12, pg.8352, Richard K. Payne
Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices/ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, editors; Todd M. Johnson, World Religious Statistics; Donald Wiebe, Introduction-2nd ed., Copyright 2010 by ABC-CLIO, LLC. Reproduced with permission of ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA.

Agonshu Buddhist Resources

Monday, October 8th, 2012

Four Spiritual Laws

 

 

Jesus Film

 

 

New Testament/Bible

 

 

Audio Bible

Agonshu

Saturday, October 6th, 2012

Agon-Shu or Agama School claims to have rediscovered and reformed Buddhism by returning it back to its original form through the agon sutras which supposedly contains the words or scriptures of the Buddha. However, even thou these writings are quite ancient, scholars are doubtful over its origins having attributed its production to a group of editors instead.

Anyway this movement was established by its founder Kiriyama Seiyu also known as Kiriyama Kancho or Seiyu Kiriyama Kancho who had formally created another religious sect known as Kannon Jikeikai that is based on the Kannon Sutra for the worship of the bodhisaatva Kannon which calls to question how credible this new religious movement or shinshukyo is in light of his chameleonic ability to change in adapting to yet another supposedly superior religious view.

Furthermore it claims to be the “original” Buddhism but has deviated from the teachings of Gautama Buddha or Shakyamuni as incorporating various other beliefs by accommodating esoteric buddhist symbolism and practice through the expression of Shugendo and Shingon tradition.  I have previously written about Shingon and you can view my post at

Shingon Buddhism

It has also departed from traditional Buddhism by overcoming and surpassing historical practices in adapting to a more contemporary approach of meeting the needs and issues of the practitioner in making Buddhism more democratic and accessible to others.

Other non-orthodox practices is the goma ritual in which requests or petitions are inscribed on sticks or wood that are burned while invocations are chanted to eliminate negative ancestral karma and transform or terminate the suffering of the spirits of the dead resulting in jobutsu or buddhahood. Conclusively, this superstitious practice has no validation within original Buddhism and seems to be an attempt to deal with the continual problem of pain and suffering as taking on an unorthodox approach apart from the central teaching of Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.

Other divergent behaviors is the veneration given to the principal object of worship, termed the “true buddha relic” or shinsei-busshari, which is said to be an entombed bone fragment of the Buddha which supposedly corresponds with the mystical belief as housing his spirit. It is believed that when conducting the noyi hoju-ho in conjunction with this relic; one is able to achieve happiness, good fortune, and the insight to break free from karma which again challenges the orthodox Buddhist position which sees these emotional desires as attachments in producing craving which is incongruent towards the process of being liberated in order to achieve nirvana by breaking the cycle of rebirth.

Another controversial practice is a process that is said to deliver an individual from karma through the attainment of supernatural powers of awakening by the means of chakras or spiritual centers within the body in practicing kundalini yoga which some professional psychologists claim can cause mental problems in certain cases or individuals known as the kundalini syndrome.

Finally I do applaud this groups effort to establish projects for the pursuit of world peace but I respectfully challenge the notion that this religious vehicle is a necessary means to the ends in accomplishing this agenda as there are secular organizations which are also attempting to accomplish this very same goal. In conclusion I personally do not see the overall benefit of this particular religious worldview especially if it does not convincingly correspond with reality and thus it appears to merely be just another preference among many of the other varieties of religious expressions or fads that is cropping up on this fertile and diverse religious landscape of Japanese soil. In closing I apologize if it seems that I have been overly critical of this establishment but I hope and pray that you become consciously and intuitively aware of some of these internal inconsistencies and shortcomings of this sect as questioning its validity towards making absolute truth claims.

Lastly I would like to offer you another opportunity towards an Asiatic and Eastern person who has given compassion as speaking truth in establishing unity with God not under the task of upholding to the rigorous and elaborate religious practices but in such a way as to freely liberate others in healing them not only from the practical aspect of social ills but more importantly in bringing us peace with God as removing the barriers and hindrances of evil. In closing I would simply ask you to  meditate on this saying of Jesus as opening your heart up to Him along with reading my post on “How to have a relationship with God”

Mt:11:28-30

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

 

 

How to have a relationship with God

How to know God

 

Other related links

jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2010/03/13/buddha-the-enlightened-one/

jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2009/05/17/pain-suffering-and-evil/

jesusandjews.com/wordpress/2012/10/08/agonshu-buddhist-resources/

 

 

 

Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.2, pg.631, Manabu Watanabe

Encyclopedia of Religion Second Edition, copyright 2005 Thomson Gale a part of The Thomson Corporation, Lindsay Jones Editor in Chief, Vol.12, pg.8352, Richard K. Payne

Religions of the world: a comprehensive encyclopedia of beliefs and practices/ J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, editors; Todd M. Johnson, World Religious Statistics; Donald Wiebe, Introduction-2nd ed., Copyright 2010 by ABC-CLIO, LLC. Reproduced with permission of ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA.