What is spirituality in the view of East Asian religions?
Shintoists believe that almost every natural object in the universe, whether animate or inanimate, start out clean and pure but become contaminated along the way by negative thoughts, actions, or contact with unclean substances (such as blood). Shinto rituals are designed to remove the contamination and restore the original pure state. There are four (unofficial) tenets in Shinto: 1. Respect for family. 2. Respect for nature. 3. Cleanliness of body and mind. 4. Celebration of the harmony between humanity and nature through the Kami. Unlike most religions, Shinto does not consider this life a preparation for whatever comes after but instead sees life as a positive experience where happiness is to be found through harmony. Kami, although translated into English as god, isn’t god in the Western sense of an all-powerful supreme being. Kami is the personification of the divine spark found within every natural object and being. Those objects/beings that inspire wonder are thought to have a p
