The "manji" symbol adorns a Buddhist temple in Tokyo. AP TOKYO — As Japan gears up to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and caters to a surging influx of foreign visitors, the country faces a cultural ...

OGA, Japan — The Japanese have long taken an easygoing, buffetlike approach to religion, ringing out the old year at Buddhist temples and welcoming the new year, several hours later, at Shinto shrines ...

I have to disagree, zichi. While different from other religions in that it doesn't involve worshipping gods, it is a system of beliefs and practices intended to achieve attainment of some kind without ...

Buddhism is a religion that offers a spiritual path for transcending the suffering of existence. Samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth to which all beings are subject, results from ...

Buddhism was attractive in this context as a diplomatic tool way to indicate that Japan had joined the Sinosphere. By becoming a Buddhist country like China, the country’s leaders believed, Japan ...

KYOTO, Japan — In this ancient capital and cradle of Japan’s religious heritage, the Buddhist priest faithfully chants his sutras. He honors the spirits of ancestors and presides over funerals. He ...