Officially, I am a Buddhist. That's what I will write on a form if this information is required of me. But I am not a real Buddhist at heart. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a devout Buddhist, I think I am hovering somewhere between 0.922 and 0.931. At home, I pray to my ancestors, the Earth God (土地公) and Celestial God (天公). When I was a child, usually I take turns with my elder sister to do the morning and evening prayers. Its a simple process where we burn joss sticks and ask for good health for the family. And if exams are coming, then we spend a little bit more time praying.
The great thing about my family is the multi-religion tolerance. My mom is a Catholic. But she has no problem whatsoever with with an altar in the house. Who can ask for a cooler mom. Dad's a diligent Taoist. He never misses any important events on the lunar calendar that means celebration and simple offerings to the gods. Maybe it's the businessman in him that motivates him. When we were young, my sister, two younger brothers and myself would help with the preparations of offerings for the prayers. Looking back, I am proud of this tradition and hope to continue it in my future home too. My wife and her family turned to Buddhism for comfort when the eldest boy in the family died in a freak accident in the sea. She used to abstain from meat on Fridays until MacDonald's appeared in her hometown. She still does unless there is other no choice. I think practicing religion is a good way to self-discipline.
Some of the Japanese homes that I have visited have a special room Japanese style room where an alcove (床の間) is present. This place is decorated with ornaments and cloth paintings and words of wisdom. Come Mar 3rd, when Girl's Festival (雛祭り） is celebrated across Japan, these alcoves will be decorated with elaborately-dressed dolls. One thing great about Japanese is their tolerance for multi-religious celebrations. Christmas as with Valentines are celebrated without hesitation (with full fervor thanks to the department stores of course). I hear that young Japanese can be born in Japanese tradition with the blessings from Shinto shrines, gets their marriage solemnized by a pastor, and die as a Buddhist. What a way to live a life wouldn't you say. My Japanese teacher used to tell me that if Islam were to be introduced in Japan, it might have been adopted and assimilated into Japanese culture are well.
What is religion but a guide to one's life. Each religion come with teachings (a manual?) about the wisdom that it has to offer, but ultimately it is up to us to interpret those teachings and let us live a life as we see fit.
