Noriyuki Ueda, "Exorcism in Sri Lanka" - Is exorcism an unscientific superstition? A masterful book that reexamines the connection between humans and religion!
The book introduced here is "Sri Lanka's Exorcism" by Noriyuki Ueda, published by Kodansha in 2010. This book is a revised and re-edited edition of the same book published by Tokuma Shoten in 1990.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
In Sri Lanka, they say that the devil possesses lonely people. And in fact, when a person becomes ill, the whole village performs an "exorcism" ceremony to cure him or her. This is where the author saw the origin of "healing. The author believes that we need to change from a society where people "want to be healed" to one where people "heal" themselves. The author questions the importance of social and human connections for modern Japanese, who tend to be lonely.
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This work is about "exorcism" written by cultural anthropologist Noriyuki Ueda through his fieldwork in Sri Lanka.
The word "exorcism" tends to make us feel like an unscientific superstition, but in fact, there is something important in this "exorcism" that we have forgotten! This is what you will learn in this book.
In the foreword to the paperback edition of this book, the author states
What does exorcism have to do with you?
If asked, most people would probably say that they have nothing to do with it. This is even more so when the exorcism is taking place in a village in Sri Lanka, far away from Japan.
There are two "remotenesses" there. One is, of course, distance. And the other is distance in terms of time.
Everyone must say that unscientific superstitions such as exorcisms are relics of the past and that such days are over.
However, one young man who was lured to such a distant exorcism and lived with the demons found quite the opposite.
Exorcism is needed now more than ever. Here in Japan. In this concrete jungle. In this time and place where people live with unsatisfied minds and bodies.
Sri Lankan exorcism is an ancient healing art.
It is the crystallization of the wisdom of mankind that has been built up over thousands of years. Through trial and error, these many years have led to a highly effective and elegant system of exorcism rituals that shake the human potential. It is full of tricks to unearth our hidden power.
Tension and relaxation, fear and relief, anger and laughter, loneliness and connection, silence and frenzy ......, exorcism mobilizes all human emotions and consciousness. It is not art in the sense that it is a dance, a song, or a brilliant costume, but rather a performance in which the inner stages of our consciousness are brought to light, one by one. And the devil is at the center of this art.
But what exactly are demons? Demons exist in every culture on earth, sometimes tormenting us and sometimes healing us. What are they really?
What is a demon? What is healing?
I would like to invite you to follow the journey of a young Japanese man in search of the answer.
From the darkness of the night in Sri Lanka to the darkness of the times in Japan.
What devil do you find there?
Kodansha, Noriyuki Ueda, "Exorcism in Sri Lanka," p. 3-5.
The "Japanese youth" mentioned in this passage is the young Dr. Noriyuki Ueda himself. In this book, we will see the world of "exorcism" that he himself witnessed and heard about in Sri Lanka. And as you can already tell from reading the foreword, Noriyuki Ueda's narrative is very easy to read and understand. Although the theme of "exorcism" may seem frightening at first glance, his narration is exquisite and draws you in in no time.
I have read this book and am impressed. Dr. Noriyuki Ueda, based on his findings from his fieldwork, states
Exorcism is not an unscientific superstition. It is based on a hidden rationality that has not been captured by the narrow-minded science of the past. Scientific progress is finally, though belatedly, bringing exorcism healing into the realm of possibility.
Why can exorcism heal people, was the question. The answer is that it is because exorcism activates the life force of the patient. And that life force depends on two factors: "connection" and "image. They are "connection" and "image.
Immunity is dramatically reduced by stress. And the source of stress is loss of connection. We lose the things we love, and the sense of being alive with everyone else diminishes. People's eyes feel cold, and stress goes hand in hand with such a sense of loneliness. And loneliness is the worst state for the life force. So the restoration of connection is essential for the restoration of vitality from within.
And then there is imagery. Immunity can be enhanced or diminished by imagery. It all depends on the degree to which we can make the image into a physical form. (omitted).
Exorcism has scientific rationality. The mystery has been solved. This explanation will help those who have always despised exorcism to understand the mechanism.
Kodansha, Noriyuki Ueda, "Exorcism in Sri Lanka," p. 223-225
Exorcism has a scientific rationale.
For those of us steeped in scientific and rational thinking, "exorcism" may seem like superstition. However, in this book, you will discover that there is something important that we have lost sight of. Dr. Ueda tells the story based on his own experiences in a very realistic manner, so you will definitely read the book in one go. This is interesting!
And I also think of the strange connection with Dr. Noriyuki Ueda.
When I was a sophomore in college, I read "Ganbare Bukkyo! and was strongly inspired to ask myself, "What kind of monk do I want to be from now on? I can't tell you how much this book by Sensei Ueda gave me strength!
After graduating from university, living as a monk, studying Shinran and Dostoevsky, and finally learning about Buddhism in India and Sri Lanka, I am now blessed with the opportunity to meet Ueda-sensei again.
When I was a sophomore in college, I was not aware that Dr. Ueda had done so much research in Sri Lanka. So when I recently learned of the existence of the book, "Exorcism in Sri Lanka," I was taken aback. I was astonished to learn that Dr. Ueda had done research in Sri Lanka. I was astonished. I used to be a young man of 20 years old who knew very little about Buddhism and religion, but now that I am more than a year older and have started learning about Buddhism again, I feel a strange connection to have met him again.
I feel it is significant that I came across this book now, not then.
Now that I have told you about myself and Dr. Noriyuki Ueda, the book will not just be about Sri Lankan "exorcisms," but also about what religion is all about and why people are "healed" in the first place.
The Corona disaster has made us think about science, superstition, hoaxes, conspiracy theories, peer pressure, and many other things, but this is a wonderful work that will make us think again about the connection between our lives, our health, our vitality, and our "mind. It is a great book among great books that I hope many people will pick up.
I strongly recommend this book as well. It was a wonderful encounter. You should definitely pick up a copy.
The above is "Noriyuki Ueda, "Exorcism in Sri Lanka" - Is exorcism an unscientific superstition? A masterpiece that reexamines the connection between humans and religion! The above is a summary of the book.
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