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Shinto and Buddhism are complementary religions:
Shinto is focused on this life and how you live it. If you life your life in accordance with Shinto principles:
A. Respect for family
B. Love of nature
C. Cleanliness of body and mind
D. Celebration of life through the Kami (aka Matsuri)
then you're a Shintoist. You can register with a Shrine but that's more about getting on the mailing list than joining Shinto.
Shinto asserts that everything (whether animate or inanimate) starts out clean and pure but picks up "spiritual dirt" along the way from the influence of negative thoughts, actions, and contamination with unclean substances such as blood. Shinto rituals are designed to remove the "spiritual dirt" and restore the original clean state.
Shinto considers the Gods of other religions to be just another Kami so there is no problem belonging to one or more other religions.
A Shinto ritual is much like a dinner party for the boss that you might have in your home:
1. Purification -- The place where the Kami is to descend is purified (You clean up before the party).
2. Invitation -- The Kami is invited to descend (You invite the boss and perhaps co-workers and/or their significant others to come).
3. Offerings -- Rice, sake, fish, fruits, and grain are offered (You serve dinner)
4. Norito -- Norito prayers are said (You have after-dinner conversation)
5. Farewell -- The Kami is invited to leave. (You say goodbye to the guests).
6. Naorai -- The offerings are consumed by those attending the ritual. (Shinto is a thrifty religion)
Buddhism considers this life to be a preparation for the next.
Many people belong to both and use Shinto rituals for life-affirming events and Buddhist rituals for ancestor worship and funerals.
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