Vajrayana or Esoteric Buddhist and its attendant pantheon of deities and secret, mystical rituals, was introduced to Japan in the early Heian period (after 794) by a number of Japanese priests. They ...

How did Buddhism become one of Japan’s defining religions? In this animated historical documentary, Kings and Generals traces ...

TOKYO (AP) — Buddhist leaders say a third of the country’s 75,000 temples are barely functioning, but a younger generation of priests is working to reverse the faith’s downward spiral.

In the sixth century, Japan’s rulers took a historic decision to import Buddhism. But many frustrations lay in store before this ambitious state project could be realized. This third installment ...

Thousands of Japan's historic Buddhist temples are expected to shut down. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with Ian Reader, an expert on Japanese culture, on how Buddhism is changing in the country.

Nonviolence is one of the basic tenets of Buddhism. But in Japan, where the religion developed without the code of conduct devised by the historical Buddha to preserve order among the community of ...

Coexistence with other religions. Today many Japanese mix Buddhism and Shinto in their lives; something that can't be done with more exclusive religions like Christianity or Islam.About 83% of ...

But the question is how much Buddhism, or at least the Buddhism taught to so many in Japan, contributes to a mindset whereby "suicide can be a gesture of moral integrity and freedom, or an act of ...

For example, while Vietnamese Americans and Japanese Americans are equally likely (62% each) to express some connection to Buddhism, only 19% of Japanese Americans identify as Buddhist. More Japanese ...