TST 1/31/23 - 言KOTODAMA霊

With vast treasure troves of spiritual wisdom and knowledge in places like India or China it is hard to believe how utterly oppressive and suppressive these countries have become to their own people. This is not because of Hinduism, Buddhism, or Confucianism, though, but instead due to the abandonment and suppression of the same. Precisely this devolving of the spiritual is rapidly occurring in the west. Abandonment and intentional erosion of honesty, integrity, goodwill, selflessness, truth, faith, etc., is occurring in real time. But some traditions, beliefs, practices, and the like are impervious to erosion because they have no god, devil, or what we might call sin; they also lack institution, dogma, doctrine, and sacred texts. Shintō, the indigenous Japanese practice, is one great example. In the fact, Shintō is a combination of spiritual practice and a cultural custom in Japan known as Shikata. The Kata is an order or way by which something is accomplished. It is the attempt to unite the Honshin (true heart) with the cosmos to produce Wa (harmony) by fulling Bun and Giri, or life roles and obligations respectively. Sin is only produce by not honoring this divine connection with Kami, or spirits. Shintō is defined as the Kami-Way, or the True-Way, meaning that adherence to the moral and harmony with nature is the only way to achieve salvation. Just as the Word of God created the world, in Japanese the concept of Kotodama suggests that words contain the same spiritual powers. These words are ultimately comprised of symbols or letters which must be vibrated internally or externally to produce meaning and action.