Shinto & Buddhism (ritual, tradition, spiritual)

[Lord_Vader]

You know I am really confused now, is Shinto Buddhism or esoteric Japanese teachings. I once meet this Australian guy who studied Ninjutsu in Japan for many years with a few different Ninjutsu families and he always was telling me, that the birth of Ninjutsu was the result of Japanese people who were practicing an esoteric / dark form of Shinto and developed Ninjutsu to protect them self because they were hunted down by the Japanese emperor and his samurais.



I came across this website which relates to this martial arts and their religious practice, but it lo0oks more to me that they practiced a form of Buddhism, even when you read the books from Stephen K Hayes who was the first white man to be accepted into the secret martial art.



http://www.geocities.com/yowie_26/18.htm



So can some one here please shed light on Shinto and its origin and its relationship to Buddhism?



Lord Vader

[Shadow Wolf]

I once meet this Australian guy who studied Ninjutsu in Japan for many years with a few different Ninjutsu families and he always was telling me, that the birth of Ninjutsu was the result of Japanese people who were practicing an esoteric / dark form of Shinto and developed Ninjutsu to protect them self because they were hunted down by the Japanese emperor and his samurais.

I heard that once. I forget where though.

[Pardus]

Ninja's were originally chinese and they taught the japanese peasents ways to fight back against the japanese elite.

[Master Vigil]

Originally Posted by Pardus

Ninja's were originally chinese and they taught the japanese peasents ways to fight back against the japanese elite.

I've actually never heard this. But since japanese martial arts (inluding ninpo taijutsu) is so much different than the chinese arts, it's more likely they came from Korean traditions than chinese. However, my understanding is that traditional Ninjutsu looks very much different than todays version. Even the Bujinkan school differs from the Koga Ryu school enough to say that the oral tradition passed down changed much.

About the religious aspect of it, you can find the "magic" used by the Nin in many different places. Different Shinto, Buddhist, Hindu and Taoist practices. Did it come from one, or them all? Who knows. However, it is most likely it came from Shinto practices. The Nin people were very low class farmers, and would have practiced the local and traditional customs of Japan, and that is Shinto. When the wars broke out in Japan, the Samurai were sent into the mountains to gain High Ground for the battles. But these mountains were the homes of the Nin. So the Nin had to develop their own style of fighting to combat the Samurai. Thus came Ninjutsu.

[ChrisP]

Originally Posted by Pardus

Ninja's were originally chinese and they taught the japanese peasents ways to fight back against the japanese elite.

Well this might be a little too exact, but the ninja skills do originate on the main land.

[Master Vigil]

Originally Posted by ChrisP

Well this might be a little too exact, but the ninja skills do originate on the main land.

Chinese martial arts differ so much to japanese and korean martial arts. Looking at wushu compared to ninjutsu, and there is no correlation. Looking at the Hwa Rang and Tang Soo Do comared to ninjutsu, there is a correlation. And the korean influence on japanese martial arts occurred long before the ninja's flourished in the feudal period. The only problem I have with the ninja's spirituality and "magic" being influenced by anything other than Shinto is the fact that the ninja's were the lowest class of people. They would of had no chance in those times to be familiar with anything other than the local customs, which was shinto. And there is absolutely no reason why their magic and spirituality couldn't have come from Shinto.

[Engyo]

Guys -

You might find this blog of interest - Greg is both a practicing Nichiren Buddhist, and a practicing Ninja: http://www.fraughtwithperil.com/blogs/revgreg/