http://linkfilter.net Daily fresh links en-us http://linkfilter.net/images/newbutton.jpg http://linkfilter.net/ http://linkfilter.net/?id=114332 Konkokyo was founded in 1859 by a peasant farmer named Akazawa Bunji (later renamed Konko Daijin) in a small farming village in Okayama Prefecture. At the time, beliefs in superstitions, divinations, and ominous deities were rampant. The most feared deity was the dreadful Konjin capable of causing death. People took special pains to avoid Konjin wherever he lurked. Once when Bunji fell seriously ill, he had a spiritual encounter with Konjin which made him realize that Konjin was actually a benevolent deity. To recognize the deity's benevolence, it was renamed "Kane No Kami" and later "Tenchi Kane No Kami."   From 1858, Konko Daijin became able to speak with Tenchi Kane No Kami. He then started to mediate between this deity and people. He relayed believers' requests to this deity and communicated the deity's teachings to believers.   Through his mediation, Konko Daijin urged people to help themselves and others by following Tenchi Kane No Kami's teachings which represented the ways of the universe. He emphasized that people's problems could be resolved by one's attitude, heart, and faith.   Although Konkokyo later became part of Shinto to obtain official recognition, its doctrine was never Shinto-oriented. It was finally allowed to become an independent religion in 1900. The current spiritual head or Kyoshu is a direct descendant of the Founder. Search linkfilter links q http://linkfilter.net/