Buddist is in crisis.

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:48:19 GMT

Dressed in dark cotton robes,a bracelet of prayer beads habging from his weist,Gugan Taguchi certainly looks the part.

But as he kneels to chant a sutra before an altar in the connnner of room, the people around him continue to CHAT .....

Most priests are getting on,and I'm not sure young people want their advice?

"I can understand why younger people aren't attracted to Buddhism,

In the days ahead,millions of Japaneses will visit Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples to mark the arrival of the Year of the Rat. For many, will be the ONLY

CONCTACT THEY HAVE WITH THEIR SPIRITUAL ROOTS FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR.

More than 1200 years after its arrivalin Japan from mainland Asia,BUDDHISTS IS IN CRISIS.

About three quarters of Japan's 127 million people DESCRIBE THEMSELVES AS BUDDHISTS, but New year apart,many see the inside of a temple only

when local head priest is asked to arrange a traditional(and expensive) funeral for a dead relative.

As result,PUBLIC DONATIONS ARE DRYING UP and many of the country's 75,000 trmples are in FINANCIAL TROBLE. Applications to Buddhist

universities have FALLEN so dramatically that several schools have dropped the religious association from their titles.

"There was a time when people would go to their local temple for ADVICE on all sorts of problems,not just spiritual matters.

Taguchi believes that the pressures of MODERN LIFE mean Buddhism's message is as relevant as it ever was.

You could easily get the impression that people DON"T NEED ADVICE FROM PRIESTS, but that's not the case.

Everyone experiences times when thery're not at their best,when things don't go according to plan.

Sorry about messes an empty spaces that I can't fix it. Too much watched the Tennis on the TV? My favorites one has lost last night

Michiko's Home: Buddhist is in crisis (Japan)

Buddist is in crisis.