Eastern Asia Religions

Lately I have been getting into the culture of Eastern Asia. Something about the culture and life style intrigues me, and I wish to learn more about them.

So I've been trying to do some research about the religions and beliefs in that section of the world, but I'm not quite sure where to start.

Does anyone know of anything that could be helpful?

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Well, in Japan, we have a sort of joint-religion. Both Buddhism and Shintoism are practiced, as they are fairly compatible. Shintoism believes in the spirits of nature, or Kami, and Buddhism is the following of Buddha's teachings, usually Gautama Buddha.

Personally I would recommend Shinto (meaning the way of the Gods) if you are interested in japan it is a broad path with many topic areas that you may find of interest. I have studied it very briefly in the past but still I found it quite interesting.

Link to wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto

Other links: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2056.html, http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/shinto/

If you're looking into Hinduism, you may find Shiva and Hare Krishna of interest.

Feng Shui is very interesting to look into. It's sort of like China had its own idea of witchcraft. Feng Shui consists of five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
Wood is the element of hard work and growth. It is related to spring, early adulthood, and mornings. Plants, trees, and the color green all represent wood.
Fire is the element of Summer, adulthood, midday, fame, success, and relationships. Star shapes, triangles, lights, and the colors purple, orange, and red are fire colors.
Earth is the element of the evening, Autumn, stability, family, and motherhood. It is represented by books, low to the ground decor, and the colors yellow and brown.
Metal is the element of money, intelligence, and wit. It is represented by coins, circle shapes, spheres, and the color white.
Water is the element of Winter, night, spirituality, travel, and vocational path. Glass, mirrors, and the colors black and blue all represent water.
Here is a quick guideline to where the elements should be applied.
Wood - in the East and Southeast of your home
Fire - in the South and Southwest of your home
Earth - in the West, center, Southwest, and Northeast of your home
Metal - in the West and Northwest of your home
Water - in the North of your home

*Notice that Earth is very versatile because it is stabilizing. Firm believers of Feng Shui believe that having the correct correspondences of elements and directions of your home have a significant influence on your life.

"--like China had it's own idea of witchcraft"
Yes,indeed! Witchcraft is only the European word for the practice. Witchcraft has many names; in many languages; all over the world!

@Brysing

Yes Indeed! I strongly agree!

@Hallowwood and @AragonStone

FengShui is not exactly a religion but I agree with you that it is worth looking into if one wants to know more about East Asian Practices.

I personally really really dislike FengShui.

My view of it is fairly soured because of the fact that in almost every bookstore I go to in my country , in the New Age and Spirituality Section , over 80% of the books are about it! Books on more European and Western Practices are more sparse! It is an annoyance to me and so I have to either buy the book and ship it over online or get a PDF version.

Supply and Demand but still...

Also given the fact that FengShui is usually of the opinion that success is 40% HardWork , 30% "Heaven's Will" and Earth Luck(FengShui , the one we are influencing) , the "heaven's Will" part of it turns me off.

The fact that one have to disrupt the decor of the home either by placing symbols , figurines or the actual elements themselves ( such as a candle for fire , a pond or water display for water) really turns me off. There are way better ways to make things in one's favour in my opinion.

But I suppose this topic is worth looking into.

@AragonStone

Budhism is a fairly big thing in the east. So you may one to look into the 3 main surviving schools of it. They are :

Theravada Budhism: The original and earlieast form.

Mahayana Budhism: This is prominent in China , Japan and some South East Asian Countries.

Vajrayana Budhism: More Tibetian heavily influenced.

The essence of it is still the same once you look deeply enough into it but the form in which it is potrayed varies greatly. For example , Theravada Budhism focus on "Small Vehicle" where one focuses more heavily on self and workings are usually more heavily inclined towards self while Mahayana Budhism focuses on "Great Vehicle".

Also , I noticed that Taoism is not mentioned here. You may want to take a look at it before looking into Shintoism. Japan is highly influenced by China after all. You may see some influences then.

Also note that some casuals just mix up Mahayana Budhism and Taoism , blend them together and a practice is formed.

So yeah , if you are still looking into East Asian Religions , I hoped this helped.