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Journal articles on the topic 'Buddhist monks'
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1
Walton, Matthew J., and Michael Jerryson. "The Authorization of Religio-political Discourse: Monks and Buddhist Activism in Contemporary Myanmar and Beyond." Politics and Religion 9, no. 4 (July 27, 2016): 794–814. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1755048316000559.
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AbstractThrough the example of contemporary Buddhist nationalist groups in Myanmar, this article draws attention to the cultural authorization of religio-political discourse. The symbolic power of a monk's pronouncements is amplified because of the cultural reverence attached to his vocation as a Buddhist monk, even without doctrinal references or ritual practices. A monk's cultural position within Burmese Buddhism particularly strengthens his authority when he frames his preaching and actions as a defense of Buddhism. Without attention to these cultural institutions and the religious authority they confer, the resonance and influence of monks' words cannot be completely understood. Furthermore, without directly responding to the logic of these authorizing discourses, responses intended to counter the violence emerging from Buddhist nationalism and promote tolerance will be ineffective.
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Wu, Shaowei. "A Study on the Literacy Rate of Buddhist Monks in Dunhuang during the Late Tang, Five Dynasties, and Early Song Period." Religions 13, no. 10 (October 20, 2022): 992. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13100992.
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Among the Dunhuang documents, when examining some of the monk signature lists, name list of monks copying scriptures and name list of monks chanting scriptures in monasteries, we can estimate a relatively accurate literacy rate of the Buddhist sangha. Generally speaking, the literacy rate of the sangha during the Guiyi Army 歸義軍 period (851–1036) was lower than that during the Tibetan occupation period (786–851). The reason for this change is closely related to each regime’s Buddhist policy, the size and living situation of the sangha, and the Buddhist atmosphere. The decrease in the literacy rate of the sangha had great negative consequences, but when viewed under the context of the stay at home monks and the secularization of Buddhism, the number of literate monks had actually increased. They were more closely integrated with the secular society and their functions in the regional society were more pronounced. At the same time, the changes in the literacy rate of the monks in Dunhuang can also serve as an important reference for understanding the development of Buddhism in the Central China.
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MOYAR, MARK. "Political Monks: The Militant Buddhist Movement during the Vietnam War." Modern Asian Studies 38, no. 4 (October 2004): 749–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x04001295.
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From November 1963 to July 1965, the militant Buddhist movement was the primary cause of political instability in South Vietnam. While the militant Buddhists maintained that they represented the Buddhist masses and were fighting merely for religious freedom, they actually constituted a small and unrepresentative minority that was attempting to gain political dominance. Relying extensively on Byzantine intrigue and mob violence to manipulate the government, the militant Buddhists practiced a form of political activism that was inconsistent with traditional Vietnamese Buddhism. The evidence also suggests that some of the militant Buddhist leaders were agents of the Vietnamese Communists.
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Wang, Jinping. "CLERGY, KINSHIP, AND CLOUT IN YUAN DYNASTY SHANXI." International Journal of Asian Studies 13, no. 2 (July 2016): 197–228. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1479591416000036.
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During the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, people in north China took advantage of a Mongol policy that gave Buddhist officials a status equivalent to what civil officials enjoyed, as a strategy for family advancement. Monk Zhang Zhiyu and his family provide a case study of an emerging influential Buddhist order based at Mount Wutai that connected the Yuan regime with local communities through the kinship ties of prominent monks. Within this Buddhist order, powerful monks like Zhiyu used their prestigious positions in the clerical world to help the upward social mobility of their lay families, displaying a distinctive pattern of interpenetration between Buddhism and family. This new pattern also fit the way that northern Chinese families used Buddhist structures such as Zunsheng Dhāranῑ pillars and private Buddhist chapels to record their genealogies and consolidate kinship ties.
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Cawley, Kevin N. "East Asian Buddhism and Korea’s Transnational Interactions and Influences." Religions 14, no. 10 (October 13, 2023): 1291. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14101291.
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No one can dispute the significant influence of Sinitic Buddhism in East Asia, but Korean Buddhists were also unquestionably close to the center of the development of different schools of Buddhism in mainland China, particularly in the Jiangnan region, which had historically drawn monks from the peninsula. This article will briefly cover the historical transnational Buddhist interactions between Korea and China, with an emphasis on doctrinal Buddhism, the significance of Ŭisang and Ǔich’ǒn, and the influence of Hangzhou’s Buddhist intellectual advancements. Even though the article’s main focus is on doctrinal contacts, we will also briefly discuss Chan Buddhism in China and how it influenced the texts and techniques of the Korean Sŏn (Zen) monk Chinul (1158–1210), who made an effort to integrate the doctrinal and meditational traditions, as did Ǔich’ǒn. This process of idea-cross-fertilization led to the Tripitaka Koreana, the largest collection of Buddhist texts in East Asia, created by Buddhists during the Koryŏ dynasty (918–1392), which is discussed below. This will aid in our understanding of these transnational exchanges and highlight the fact that Koreans were not only absorbing new ideas as they emerged in China, but they were also influencing them.
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Foxeus, Niklas. "Performing the Nation in Myanmar." Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia 178, no. 2-3 (June 25, 2022): 272–305. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22134379-bja10040.
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Abstract In 2012, Buddhist nationalist movements in Myanmar started to emerge, disseminating a Buddhist nationalist discourse that aimed to protectively demarcate their nation from the perceived threat posed by Muslims. In sermons, monks exhorted their audiences to make nationalist vows to protect their nation, country, and Buddhism. The aim of this article is to investigate some ritual, discursive, and performative aspects of Buddhist nationalist sermons, and the social dynamics they entailed. The article first examines and analyses three recurrent discursive complexes of the Buddhist nationalist sermons delivered in 2013–2015; it will also look at how the monks drew on their social power and on discursive and performative power to create a boundary around their Buddhist nation and to mobilize Buddhists to protect it, thereby performing their nation. Second, the article examines two ways in which sermons that aimed to protect the Buddha’s dispensation (collectivistic religion) contributed to creating social cohesion and community.
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Zhu, Qingzhi, and Bohan Li. "The language of Chinese Buddhism." International Journal of Chinese Linguistics 5, no. 1 (August 10, 2018): 1–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/ijchl.17010.zhu.
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Abstract This is a more detailed introduction of the language of Chinese Buddhism based on our latest research of Buddhist Chinese, which is a modern Chinese historical linguistic category applied to a form of written Chinese originated for and used in Buddhist texts, including the translations into Chinese of Indian Buddhist scriptures and all Chinese works of Buddhism composed by Chinese monks and lay Buddhists in the past. We attempt to answer in this paper the following questions: What is Buddhist Chinese? What is the main difference between Buddhist Chinese and non-Buddhist Chinese? What role did this language play in the history of Chinese language development? And what is the value of this language for the Chinese Historical Linguistics?
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Kim, Sung-Eun Thomas. "Yuan Buddhist Centers as the Hub of Monastic Certification: Travels by Korean Monks to China and Some Underlying Reasons." Religions 14, no. 12 (November 27, 2023): 1471. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14121471.
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Notably during the Yuan period of Chinese history, Korean Buddhists had a curious custom of making arduous trips to Buddhist centers in mainland China, by sea or overland. To the extent that monks made this trip despite the possible dangers of this long journey, Yuan Buddhism in the practice of Korean Buddhism was conceived as an important hub of monastic certification and the source of new Buddhist developments. In addition, the Chinese masters were seen as essential figures in the monastic careers of the Korean monks. Although there would have been qualified masters in Korea to lead the practice of kanhua chan and to verify the enlightened states of the Korean monks, traveling to China continued up to the end of the Koryŏ period. This continued because the Korean monks obtained obvious benefits after having traveled to China and received their certification of enlightenment 印可. On their return, these monks were given recognition for their spiritual attainment and assigned to high positions in the saṃgha bureaucracy, in many cases, as either a royal or state preceptor. This custom of visiting China was all the more heightened due to Yuan’s domination over Koryŏ from the late-13th to the mid-14th centuries.
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Krisztina, Teleki. "BUDDHIST MONASTERIES AND STATE SUPPORT IN MONGOLIA A BRIEF OVERVIEW." Philosophy and Religious Studies 22, no. 541 (February 9, 2020): 95–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.22353/prs20201.9.
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During the history of Mongolian Buddhism the State has always significant role in supporting religion and monasteries. Möngke Khan held the first religious dispute of Buddhist, Muslim and Christian monks in the 13th century and gently allowed all foreign devotees to practice their own religion and pray for the Mongolian State. This Mongolian court`s relationship deepened with Buddhism during the period of Khubilai Khan (13th century), Altan Khan and Ligdan Khan (16th century, 17th century), Avtai Sain Khan (16th century), and also with the Khalkha Khans during the Manchu period. The Eighth Bogd Jebtsundamba Khutugtu became the Bogd Khaan, the theocratic king of the sovereign Mongolia (1911-1921): his realm brought the Golden Age of Mongolian Buddhism and monasteries. The only political formation that ceased Buddhism and the operation of monasteries was socialism, when only one monastery, Gandantegchenlin Monastery could run operation from 1944 until the democratic changes in 1990 when religious practices became free again. The presentation will cite some examples from the supportive relation and fruitful cooperation of emperors, khans, nobles, statesmen with Buddhist monasteries, monk communities and monks, and also mention some present-day problems including similarities and differences. For instance, during the Manchu period monks were released from ‘state oblige’ including military services and taxation. In the 1930s when socialism started monks were enrolled to the army. Those monks, who did not want to perform military service had to pay military tax. Monks were registered based on their ranks, age, and incomes in the 1920s-1920 as the State and Religion become totally separated, and finally religion was ceased, and monasteries were destroyed. Religious practices became are free again in the 1990s, many monasteries were rebuilt, new monasteries were founded, and the number of monks is increased. However, as monasteries are handled equal to other organizations and enterprises they pay tax. Monks themselves have military obligation and pay different types of taxes. The presentation will raise some ideas about the old, current and future relations of the State and Monast
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Kim, Yong Tae. "Monks’ Militia and the Spread of the Buddhist Yŏnghŏm (Wonder) during the Japanese Invasion in the Sixteenth Century." Religions 15, no. 6 (June 6, 2024): 707. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel15060707.
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This paper explores the influence and significance of the activities of the monks’ militia during the Japanese invasion of Chosŏn, from the perspective of the religious efficacy of Buddhism and the spread of the Buddhist concept of wonder. After examining the concept that the monks’ militia played an important part in the war, fighting against enemies in major battles and constructing and defending fortresses, this paper proposes that the religious efficacy of Buddhism was revealed through the performance of burial and guiding ceremonies. Restoring the religious wonder of Buddhism, which had been criticized by the Confucian literati, Buddhist rituals for consoling the bereaved and praying for the welfare of the dead came to thrive. A dilemma existed between the principle of keeping the Buddhist precepts and the reality of fulfilling the demands of loyalty since the activities of the monks’ militia greatly damaged the Buddhist community. While killing was a direct infringement of the values of the sangha, the monks violated this precept in the cause of protecting the state and practicing loyalty. In this situation, where there was such a dilemma between the Buddhist and secular worlds, these monks’ prioritization of loyalty not only indicated the desperate national situation of the time but also reflected the social, cultural, and political context of the Confucian society of Chosŏn. This paper also explores how renowned generals of the monks’ militia, including Samyŏng Yujŏng, emerged as heroes among the people, and memories of their deeds were transmitted through wonder stories. Yujŏng was highly praised as a symbol of Buddhist loyalty, and his heroic story was expanded and reproduced among the population through folk tales and novels. While the intellectuals of Chosŏn who followed Confucian values did not believe those wonder stories, the trauma that the war left behind demanded the appearance of wondrous heroes who helped people overcome that trauma, and this demand enabled Yujŏng to emerge as one of these heroic figures. The activities of the monks’ militia, the religious efficacy of Buddhism, and the creation of the heroic narratives of the monks’ militia generals prove that Buddhism had a firm foundation in late Chosŏn society.
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Song, Ting, and Yuanlin Wang. "Stone Inscriptions as Mirror Images: Historical Details of Tang Dynasty Buddhism in the Luoyang Region." Religions 14, no. 12 (November 30, 2023): 1493. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14121493.
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For a long time, scholarly research on Buddhism in Luoyang during the Tang Dynasty has mainly focused on eminent monks and Buddhist temples. This focus is evident in the recorded literature of ancient times, such as The Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks and The Biographies of Eminent Monks. Based on stone inscriptions, this paper examines the dissemination and development of Buddhism in the Eastern Capital of Luoyang during the Tang Dynasty. This article presents the following viewpoints and findings: Firstly, the epitaphs and pagoda inscriptions provide historical details that are not widely known, such as the names of temples in the suburb, the identities of prominent monks who propagated Dharma in Luoyang, the Buddhist scriptures chanted and learned by the Luoyang people, and the people’s motivation to adopt Buddhism. Secondly, the epitaphs and pagoda inscriptions supplement important historical materials on Chan Buddhism, confirming the widespread popularity of the Northern Sect of Chan Buddhism in the Luoyang region. Thirdly, the epitaphs and pagoda inscriptions reveal that Luoyang Buddhist practice was popular, characterized by the succession of blood-related monastic companions; that is, many families had two or more relatives who became monks or nuns simultaneously or successively, a phenomenon that has not attracted attention from academic circles. Fourthly, the blood-related monastic companions of Buddhist practice affected the mentoring relationships and organizational management of temples and monasteries, promoting communication and interaction between Buddhism and traditional Chinese culture.
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Loftus, Timothy. "Ambedkar and the Buddha's Sangha: A Ground for Buddhist Ethics." CASTE / A Global Journal on Social Exclusion 2, no. 2 (December 18, 2021): 265–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.26812/caste.v2i2.326.
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The saṅgha is one of the three jewels of the Buddhist tradition. While undervalued in many other Anglophone iterations of Buddhist modernism, Ambedkar’s approach to Buddhism placed a reconceptualized saṅgha at the center. Where traditional accounts often limit the boundaries of saṅgha to ordained monks and nuns, Ambedkar sought to include all lay Buddhists within its frame. He suggests that the role of the saṅgha is not, as many traditional accounts might suggest, the personal liberation of the monks and nuns who join it, but instead social service directed toward the community at large. Ambedkar’s commitment to the development of a religion that champions egalitarianism naturally lead to his inclusion of women as full participants in his image of the saṅgha, despite the historically patriarchal limits placed on them in many traditional Buddhist settings. This wide-tent approach to the saṅgha, along with its emphasis on service and egalitarian principles, are defining features of Ambedkar’s unique approach the Buddhist tradition.
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Williams-Oerberg, Elizabeth, Brooke Schedneck, and Ann Gleig. "Multiple Buddhisms in Ladakh: Strategic Secularities and Missionaries Fighting Decline." Religions 12, no. 11 (October 27, 2021): 932. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel12110932.
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During fieldwork in Ladakh in July–August 2018, three authors from Asian studies, anthropology, and religious studies backgrounds researched “multiple Buddhisms” in Ladakh, India. Two case studies are presented: a Buddhist monastery festival by the Drikung Kagyü Tibetan Buddhist sect, and a Theravada monastic complex, called Mahabodhi International Meditation Center (MIMC). Through the transnational contexts of both of these case studies, we argue that Buddhist leaders adapt their teachings to appeal to specific audiences with the underlying goal of preserving the tradition. The Buddhist monastery festival engages with both the scientific and the magical or mystical elements of Buddhism for two very different European audiences. At MIMC, a secular spirituality mixes with Buddhism for international tourists on a meditation retreat. Finally, at MIMC, Thai Buddhist monks learn how to fight the decline of Buddhism through missionizing Theravada Buddhism in this land dominated by Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Paying attention to this multiplicity—to “multiple Buddhisms”—we argue, makes space for the complicated, ambiguous, and at times contradictory manner in which Buddhism is positioned in regards to secularism and secularity.
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Baird, Ian G. "Lao Buddhist Monks' Involvement in Political and Military Resistance to the Lao People's Democratic Republic Government since 1975." Journal of Asian Studies 71, no. 3 (August 2012): 655–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021911812000642.
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There is a long history of Theravada Buddhist monk involvement in militarism in mainland Southeast Asia. Here, I examine recent Lao monk support for political and military activities directed against the communist Lao People's Democratic Republic government and its Vietnamese supporters since 1975. Monks have not become directly involved in armed conflict, as monastic rules do not allow participation in offensive violent acts, or arms trading, but they have played various important roles in supporting armed resistance against the Lao government. Some monks assisting insurgents have been shot in Thailand. Now most of the Lao insurgent-supporting monks live in the United States, Canada, and France, where a few continue to assist the political resistance against the Lao government, arguing that providing such support does not contradict Buddhist teachings. This article demonstrates how Lao Buddhist monks have negotiated religious conduct rules in the context of strong nationalistic convictions.
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Budiyanto, Sigit, Ibrahim Bafadal, and Burhanuddin Burhanuddin. "Kepemimpinan Religius Bhikkhu di Sekolah Tinggi Agama Buddha." Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan 5, no. 7 (July 30, 2020): 1003. http://dx.doi.org/10.17977/jptpp.v5i7.13803.
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<p><strong>Abstract:</strong> This research was conducted using a qualitative approach with a multi-site study design. This research was conducted at Kertaraja Buddhist College in Batu and Smaratungga Buddhist College in Ampel. This study aims to explain (1) religious values that inspire the leadership of monks in Buddhist educational institutions, (2) the type of monk’s leadership in Buddhist educational institutions, (3) the principles of monk's leadership in Buddhist education institutions. The results of this study are as follows: first, internal encouragement in the form of experience as a leader and encouragement to serve and meet academic qualifications, while external encouragement is basically appointed by the foundation to become chairman. Religious values in the leadership of monks in higher education institutions of Buddhism are values contained in the dasa raja dhamma. Second, the type of monk leadership in Buddhist religious education institutions is mixed, namely: democratic type, delegate leadership behavior and participative leadership. The way the head of higher education involves members to achieve organizational goals is by placing the right people, giving the vice chairman a big role and active participation of members. A personal figure as a monk who is a Buddhist clergyman and uses a humanistic approach, as well as an element of kinship in work culture. Third, the use of communication tools by the Head of the Buddhist College when not in place.</p><strong>Abstrak:</strong><em> </em>Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan rancangan studi multi situs. Penelitian ini dilakukan di STAB Kertaraja Batu dan STIAB Smaratungga Ampel. Penelitian ini bertujuan menjelaskan (1) nilai religius yang menjiwai kepemimpinan <em>bhikkhu</em> di lembaga pendidikan agama Buddha, (2) <em>jenis </em>kepemimpinan <em>bhikkhu</em> di lembaga pendidikan agama Buddha, (3) prinsip kepemimpinan <em>bhikkhu</em> di lembaga pendidikan agama Buddha. Hasil penelitian ini adalah sebagai berikut. Pertama, yaitu dorongan internal berupa pengalaman sebagai pemimpin dan dorongan untuk mengabdi dan memenuhi syarat kualifikasi akademik, sedangkan dorongan eksternal yaitu pada dasarnya ditunjuk oleh yayasan untuk menjadi ketua. Nilai religius dalam kepemimpinan <em>bhikkhu</em> di lembaga pendidikan tinggi agama Buddha yaitu nilai yang termuat dalam dasa raja dhamma. Kedua, jenis kepemimpinan bhikkhu di lembaga pendidikan agama<strong> Buddha mix </strong>(campuran), yaitu tipe demokratis, perilaku kepemimpinan delegasi dan partisipatif. Cara ketua perguruan tinggi dalam melibatkan anggota untuk mencapai tujuan organisasi yaitu dengan melakukan penempatan orang yang tepat, memberikan peran besar wakil ketua dan partisipasi aktif anggota. Sosok personal sebagai bhikkhu yang merupakan rohaniawan buddhis dan menggunakan pendekatan humanistik, serta unsur kekeluargaan dalam budaya kerja. Ketiga, penggunaan alat komunikasi oleh Ketua Sekolah Tinggi Agama Buddha ketika tidak berada di tempat.
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SCHEDNECK, BROOKE. "Religious Others, Tourism, and Missionization: Buddhist ‘Monk Chats’ in Northern Thailand." Modern Asian Studies 52, no. 6 (July 16, 2018): 1888–916. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x16001013.
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AbstractConjunctures of globalization and education have shaped the intersection of Buddhist monasticism and international tourism in the Northern Thai city, Chiang Mai. International tourism in Chiang Mai has been popular since the 1990s, while monks from all over Thailand and South and Southeast Asia have come to Chiang Mai in large numbers to pursue higher education in English since the 2000s. Focusing on Buddhist temples that contain a Monk Chat programme, where tourists and monks engage in conversation, this article analyses the responses of Buddhist monks towards a range of international tourists. Utilizing the perspectives of Buddhist monks through interviews reveals attitudes towards Western and Asian tourists as situated within broader discourses of Thai society. Investigating these attitudes and responses within the context of wider state, regional, and transnational influences, I argue that attitudes towards religious others are inextricably connected to missionization.
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Sinclair, Tara. "Tibetan Reform and the Kalmyk Revival of Buddhism." Inner Asia 10, no. 2 (2008): 241–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/000000008793066713.
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AbstractThe anti-religious campaigns of the Soviet Union in the 1930s eradicated Kalmyk Buddhism from the public sphere. Following perestroika the Kalmyks retain a sense of being an essentially Buddhist people. Accordingly, the new Kalmyk government is reviving the religion with the building of temples and the attempted training of Kalmyk monks, yet monasticism is proving too alien for young post-soviets. According to traditional Kalmyk Gelug Buddhism authoritative Buddhist teachers must be monks, so monastic Tibetans from India have been invited to the republic to help revive Buddhism. The subsequent labelling by these monks of 'surviving' Kalmyk Buddhist practices as superstitious, mistaken or corrupt is an initial step in the purification of alternate views, leading to religious reform. This appraisal of historical practices is encouraged by younger Kalmyks who do not find sense in surviving Buddhism but are enthused with the philosophical approach taught by visiting Buddhist teachers at Dharma centres. By discussing this post-Soviet shift in local notions of religious efficacy, I show how the social movements of both reform and revival arise as collusion between contemporary Tibetan and Kalmyk views on the nature of true Buddhism.
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Stiller, Maya. "Precious Items Piling up Like Mountains: Buddhist Art Production via Fundraising Campaigns in Late Koryŏ Korea (918–1392)." Religions 12, no. 10 (October 15, 2021): 885. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel12100885.
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Considering visual culture alongside written source material, this article uncovers the socioeconomic aspect of Korean Buddhist monastic life, which has been a marginalized field of research. Arguing against the idea of an “other-worldly” Buddhism, the article specifically discusses the ways in which Buddhist monasteries conducted fundraising activities in late Koryŏ period (918–1392 CE) Korea. Via fundraising strategies, which targeted wealthy aristocrats as well as the commoner population, Buddhist monks managed the production and maintenance of Buddhist material culture, such as the construction of shrines, the casting of precious sculptures, and the carving of thousands of woodblocks used for the printing of sacred Buddhist scriptures. While the scholarship on Koryŏ Buddhism has traditionally focused on meditation, doctrine, state sponsored rituals, and temples’ relationships with the royal court, this study expands the field by showing that economic activities were salient features of Koryŏ Buddhism “on the ground.” By initiating and overseeing fundraising activities, Buddhist manager-monks not only gained merit, but also maintained the presence and physical appearance of Buddhist temples, which constitute the framework of Buddhist ritual and practice.
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Yan, Zhilong, and Aixin Zhang. "“Ritual and Magic” in Buddhist Visual Culture from the Bird Totem." Religions 13, no. 8 (August 8, 2022): 719. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13080719.
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Despite numerous research findings related to medieval Chinese Buddhism, the witchcraft role of bird totems in Buddhist history has not received sufficient attention. In order to fill this gap, this paper analyzes how Buddhist monks in medieval China developed a close relationship with bird-totem worship. This relationship has been documented in Buddhist scriptures, rituals, oral traditions, biographies, and mural art. Although bird-totem worship was practiced in many regions of medieval China, this paper specifically examines the visual culture of bird totems in Tibetan and Chinese Buddhism. Furthermore, some details of this culture were recorded in Buddhist texts and images. According to these works, various bird-totem patterns and symbols are believed to be effective ritual arts used by Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist monks to influence nature and the supernatural through ritual and magic.
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Chookaew, Padsarath, Nongnuch Phoomalee, and Preechawut Apirating. "The Four Necessities of Buddhist Monks: Patterns, Faiths, and Signs Changes in Luang Prabang, Laos." International Journal of Membrane Science and Technology 10, no. 3 (July 21, 2023): 397–409. http://dx.doi.org/10.15379/ijmst.v10i3.1548.
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Luang Prabang was the early capital of the Laos PDR with national unification where the head of the state at that time was the monarchy, based on the Buddhist concept of centralization, and with the constitution based on Buddhist principles which originated from the belief that if the Lao leaders of any era were Buddhists, then there would be support for Buddhism and would bring prosperity and stability to Buddhism. Therefore, this research article aims to study the current condition of the Four Necessities of Buddhist Monks in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR. After being registered as a World Heritage City. This was a qualitative study by studying both documented data and fieldwork interviews with knowledgeable groups, practitioners, and relevant groups, and then analyzing the data descriptively using relevant theoretical framework analysis. The study found that when Luang Prabang was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage City in 1995, Luang Prabang became a world-class cultural tourism industry city, and its Buddhist roots remained. There was a preservation of patterns of life, culture, traditions, and unique traditional beliefs that had been handed down since the ancestors of the locals. After being registered as a World Heritage City, under the change of cultural traditions in Buddhism through merit-making by offering the Four Necessities of a Buddhist Monk, there is a practice that is currently focused on convenience and speed. Most of them are offered by you or purchased from stores available in Luang Prabang, with the main objective still continuing to offer Four Necessities to escape misfortune and create merit both for yourself in the present and in the next life.
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Tian, Yulu. "How Taiwanese Buddhism Responds to the Feminist Movement in Modern Taiwan." Communications in Humanities Research 6, no. 1 (September 14, 2023): 156–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/6/20230171.
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Gender is a very important issue in religious studies. Although the issue of female identity was always ignored in a Buddhist society, we can find Buddhist attitudes towards women according to historical Buddhist texts. We find that Buddhists have a very ambivalent attitude towards female identity, acknowledging the equal spiritual potential of women while emphasizing their bad characteristics because of bad karma in the past. Because of the spread of Buddhist texts, this contradictory concept of gender has been extended to modern Buddhist society, leading to the obstacles of modern Buddhists responding to the female movement. This paper tries to analyze how Taiwanese Buddhism responds to the feminist movement in modern Taiwan. Through observing the efforts of two powerful Taiwanese local Buddhist organizations, we can see the efforts of Buddhist society in Taiwan to raise the status and level of learning of nuns, although based on accepting some discriminatory concepts of traditional Buddhist texts. The women's movement raised the social status and influence of nuns, allowing them to challenge the patriarchal Buddhist narrative and the traditional monastic system, and in turn instilled gender equality in the Buddhist community that monks and nuns are equalized.
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Apud, Ismael. "Modern Buddhism and its Cultural Translations. Reflections from a Qualitative Case Study of Two European Zen Monks." Arxiu d'Etnografia de Catalunya, no. 23 (December 21, 2021): 207–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.17345/aec23.207-232.
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Buddhism has expanded around the world as a variety of schools and branches. In Western countries, the encounter between modernity and Buddhism has resulted in a heterogenic cultural product called ‘Modern Buddhism.’ For several authors, it is a recent invention, quite different from ‘Traditional Buddhism.’ But is Modern Buddhism an exception in the history of Buddhism? The current article critically reflects on this question, using the notion of ‘cultural translation’ and, to do so, presents a qualitative case study of two European Zen monks. One is a Catalan monk from Spain; the other is a German abbot living in Japan. Interpretations and cultural translations of Buddhist ideas and practices are regarded as being influenced by the background of Modern Buddhism and by the singular personal biographical trajectories of the two monks. It will be argued that the cultural translations described in Modern Buddhism are not an exception but an expected interpretation.
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Deng, Beiyin. "Reimagining a Buddhist Cosmopolis: Conveying Marble Buddhas from Burma to China, 1890s-1930s." Journal of Global Buddhism 24, no. 1 (May 11, 2023): 25–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.26034/lu.jgb.2023.3382.
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Discussions about Buddhist connections between China and Southeast Asia in the late Qing and Republican periods often conform to a meta-narrative of Buddhist modernism that emphasizes the trajectories of eminent monks and reformative initiatives in and beyond China. Drawing on research on archives in China and Myanmar (Burma) and field visits to temples and museums in China, this article investigates the efforts to convey marble Buddhas from Burma to China by a broad spectrum of Chinese Buddhists from the 1890s to 1930s as a strain of Buddhist mobility that has receive scant attention in the studies of transregional Buddhist interconnectivities. It examines how the fascination with marble, which is vernacularly categorized as jade/white jade in Chinese, motivated such endeavors and how these icons shaped the perception of a developing Buddhist cosmopolis among Chinese Buddhists by helping them locate Burma in the Buddhist world in a spiritually and materially meaningful way.
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Choe, Jiyeon, and Jin Son. "Protocols of Conversion: Indigenous Gods and Eminent Monks in East Asian Buddhism." Religions 14, no. 7 (June 26, 2023): 838. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14070838.
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This article examines the relationships between eminent monks and local gods in East Asian Buddhism, problematizing the ill-defined and much-employed concept of “protector deity of the dharma” (Skt. dharmapāla). By carefully examining various stories of the interactions between eminent monks and various gods found mostly in the biographies of eminent monks in Buddhist literature, we find three recognizable patterns when an indigenous god transforms into a “Buddhist” god. This study illustrates the ways in which local gods obtain Buddhist identities and deciphers how the “conversion” becomes possible via the spiritual power of the eminent monks, whose drive from their moral strength serves as the foundation of their spiritual essence. In this long process of localization of the dharma, the most effective narratives link the idea of the dharmapāla with the virtue of eminent monks. Hence, these narratives in GSZ, XGSZ, and Samugykusa contain colorful examples of taming local gods and malicious spirits with their mental power and moral virtue, finding a place for those gods to fit into the new Buddhist order. This study provides insights into the complex interactions between different religious traditions and sheds light on the ways in which religious ideas and practices are adapted and transformed in new cultural contexts.
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Zhang, Hong. "Kashmiri “Imperial Preceptor” Namo (or Nanwu) in China During Yuan Dynasty." Pacific International Journal 6, no. 3 (September 28, 2023): 161–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.55014/pij.v6i3.438.
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The Buddhist monk Namo (Nanwu), born in Kashmir, came to China during the Yuan Dynasty and was highly regarded by Emperor Xianzong (also known as Emperor Mengge) and honored as Imperial Preceptor, which ranked the highest in Buddhist monks. The place that Namo visited is in today's Zhengding County, Hebei Province. He was once the abbot of the Giant Buddhist Temple (also known as Longxing Temple) in Zhengding (a Prefecture at that time--added by translator). Namo was not only the first Imperial Preceptor of the Yuan Dynasty, who occupied an outstanding position in the history of Buddhism, but also selflessly funded the restoration of the Giant Buddhist Temple, which was recorded in the inscription of "Merit Record of Preceptor Nanwu of Dachao who repaired Longxing Temple, Zhending Prefecture", which is still preserved in Ci Shi Pavilion of the Giant Buddhist Temple.
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Puriwanchana, Saipan. "Following the Buddha’s Path: The Buddha’s Life Story as the Model for Narrating the Lives of Phra Kechi Achan (Monks with Mystical Power) in Central Thailand." MANUSYA 14, no. 3 (2011): 1–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/26659077-01403001.
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This article aims at studying the narratives of Phra Kechi Achan, (monks with mystical power) in central Thailand. Four monks’ life narratives, two from the Vipassana group and two from the Vidayagom group, are used as case studies. The study reveals that the narratives of all monks follow the structure of the Buddha’s life due to the Buddhist tradition of using the Buddha’s life as a paradigm to compose religious persons’ stories. However, the miraculous power of each monk is highlighted in his narrative. There is both miraculous power as found in the Buddhist canon and as influenced by Thai cultural beliefs and practices.
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Liu, Xunqian. "The Influence of Wartime Turmoil on Buddhist Monasteries and Monks in the Jiangnan Region during the Yuan-Ming Transition." Religions 14, no. 10 (October 16, 2023): 1294. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14101294.
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This study explores the transformation of Buddhist culture in the Jiangnan region (present-day southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang), driven by wartime disruptions during the transition from the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming. The Yuan Dynasty witnessed the flourishing of Buddhism, and in Jiangnan, the thriving Zen tradition carried on the legacy of the Southern Song Dynasty. Buddhism found many adherents among the affluent gentry class in Jiangnan, fostering a culture of generous charity that sustained and expanded Buddhism in the region. However, the conflicts toward the end of the Yuan Dynasty inflicted considerable damage on the temples, causing monks to flee. Temples, recognizable landmarks during conflicts, were susceptible to military occupation. Visiting Goryeo monks Muhak Jacho and Naong Hyegeun, and Japanese monks Mumon Gensen and Ginan, were forced to abandon their travels and return to their respective homelands, disrupting the once-thriving Buddhist exchange between Jiangnan and broader East Asia. The chaotic environment also fostered alliances between influential monks and regional powers, providing refuge for monks and an opportunity for both sides to forge beneficial connections. Anti-Yuan factions strategically protected revered monks, leveraging their influence to attract literati and intellectuals, who shared common ethical and spiritual values. This dynamic showcased the mutual benefits derived from such collaboration. Through an exploration of the interplay between politics, social forces, and Buddhism, this paper examines the impact of wartime turmoil on the development of Buddhism in the Jiangnan region.
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De Silva, Gihani. "Umandawa: Buddhist Transformation in Modern Sri Lanka." Religions 14, no. 1 (January 13, 2023): 118. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14010118.
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Charismatic Buddhist monks are instrumental in modernising Buddhism as they have been entrusted with an important role of resurrecting religion and Sinhala society throughout the course of Sri Lankan history. Ven. Pitaduwe Siridhamma, later known as Siri Samanthabhadra Arahat Thero, is known as a cosmopolitan modernist monk figure who envisions a modernised form of Buddhism in recent times, which is derived creatively from the discourses and practical ideals in traditional Buddhism. He went further by founding his style initiatives to address Buddhist transformations in modern Sri Lanka. Samanthabhadra revolutionised the monastery space, allowing his supporters to embrace ideals and incorporate them into their everyday life. His project includes a wide range of such activities, expanding opportunities for Buddhist women to pursue their religious vocations, favouring traditional forms of meditation over farming and similar activities. The mission to reform Buddhism in Sri Lanka is not entirely modern, as it also incorporates elements of tradition, as shown in the case study at Umandawa. The modernist ideals and societal demands that define contemporary Buddhism are reflected in the transformation of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
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KENJI, MATSUO. "Official monks and reclusive monks: focusing on the salvation of women." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 64, no. 3 (October 2001): 369–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0041977x01000210.
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This paper, which deals with Kamakura New Buddhism, falls into two parts. The first concerns my own model for understanding Kamakura New Buddhism, based upon a critical distinction between two types of Buddhist monk, kansō [symbol ommitted] and tonseisō [symbol ommitted] In the second part, I apply this model to the salvation of women, comparing the different attitudes to the issue taken by the kansō and tonseisō. I introduce my own model in the hope that it will provide a better understanding of Kamakura New Buddhism. Before explaining my own model, however, I offer a survey of research on this topic in particular, the well-known Exoteric-Esoteric model of Kuroda Toshio.
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Zhang, Xuesong. "The Number and Regional Distribution of Chinese Monks after the Mid-Qing Dynasty." Religions 14, no. 3 (February 27, 2023): 317. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14030317.
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The total number of ordination certificates issued between 1736 and 1739 was 340,112. Analyzing the amount and regional distribution of ordination certificates during the early Qianlong period is helpful for us in clarifying the amount and regional distribution of Chinese monks since the mid-Qing Dynasty. The total number of Buddhist monks did not change measurably during the two hundred years from Qianlong’s reign until the Republic period, remaining between 600,000 and 700,000. Although the census in the 1930s did not cover Taoist monks, as previously discussed, their number may have been similar to that during Qianlong’s reign. As a result, the number of monks (both Buddhist and Taoist) did not changed much after the mid-Qing Dynasty, despite many historical changes since the 19th century, such as population growth, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, the promotion of education with temple property, and the warlord conflicts. The number of Buddhist monks in Northern China declined significantly from 1742 to 1936, while that in the regions along the midstream and downstream of the Yangtze River and in Southwestern China, it increased significantly. However, the geographical layout of Chinese Buddhism did not changed much, as there was neither a noticeable decline nor a noticeable revival in the number of monks and nuns.
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Hwang, Hye-jin. "Educational Methods of Buddhist Monks in the Joseon Dynasty as Depicted in Yadam." Korean Buddhist Counselling Society 18 (December 31, 2023): 87–118. http://dx.doi.org/10.35855/kbca.2023.18.03.
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This research adopts the perspective that Buddhist counseling, similar to utilizing literary works in literary therapy, can employ literature as a medium to facilitate human transformation. Given Buddhism's inherently narrative-friendly tradition of disseminating teachings through stories, there is a strong connection between literary therapy and Buddhism. The study is conducted with the anticipation that the relationship between Buddhist counseling and literary therapy will become more closely intertwined in the future.
This research introduces literary narratives from Joseon Dynasty compilations, specifically Yadam, depicting Buddhist monks educating laypeople. The analysis focuses on how monks diagnose the subjects, design and implement educational strategies, and evaluate the outcomes in order to educate laypeople. Among these narratives, some depict monks diagnosing individuals' qualities and promptly offering assistance, while others portray monks abandoning education based on diagnostic results. Additionally, certain narratives showcase monks devising and executing tailored educational methods. The results indicate that monks in the Joseon Dynasty, as depicted in Yadam, evaluate the earnest pursuit of wisdom, direction, qualities, and a resilient spirit over outward appearances and reputations when selectively diagnosing educational targets. Furthermore, during the actual educational process, monks intricately employ well-crafted expedient means based on the level and characteristics of the educational target. This demonstrates the implementation of customized education, applying diverse means flexibly according to the individual's level and characteristics.
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Wu, Wei. "From Monks to Educators: Venerable Zongyue and Buddhist Charitable Educational Activities in Early Twentieth-Century Beijing." Religions 15, no. 7 (June 27, 2024): 779. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel15070779.
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This article explores the charitable activities of Chinese Buddhists in Beijing in the first decades of the twentieth century, with a focus on Buddhists’ efforts in building schools and promoting modern education. Specifically, the activities led by Venerable Zongyue 宗月 (1880–1941) are examined, in his role spearheading various Buddhist charitable activities in Beijing, including building several schools for commoners (pingmin xuexiao 平民學校) in the 1920s. Zongyue also established a library and a Buddhist newspaper called Fobao Xunkan 佛寶旬刊 to promote ideas about philanthropy. In the late 1920s, inspired by Zongyue’s example, as well as under pressure from the government during the anti-superstition campaigns, many other temples in Beijing began building schools to offer educational opportunities to students. This article investigates the interactions between Buddhism, education, and the government. By examining the initiatives started by Zongyue and the role of Chinese Buddhists in promoting charitable educational activities and social change, this article sheds light on the broader impact of Buddhism on Chinese society in the early twentieth century.
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Buaban, Jesada. "From Medicalizing State to Sacralizing Status of Thai Buddhist Monks in Secular Space: A Case Study of the Priest Hospital." Asia Social Issues 15, no. 2 (November 16, 2021): 250525. http://dx.doi.org/10.48048/asi.2022.250525.
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This paper examines the sacred status of Thai Buddhist monks who have been engaging with the modern secular healthcare system, which also contrasts with their monastic traditions. It questions how modern medication has affected the sacred figure of Thai monks and what is their reaction to maintain their sacred status in such a secular space? Participant observations and informal interviews have been conducted, and data are conceptualized through the ideas of the birth of the clinic and biopower proposed by Michel Foucault. It finds that the traditional healing previously played by Thai monks has been challenged by modern medication eventually the monks also access the modern hospital. This phenomenon helps to change the idea of the cause of sickness, from demons to germs. This is interesting when some Buddhists request the monastic code-based healthcare system and monk patients’ zone. This paper argues that such an effort aims to maintain the sacred status of monks, who are perceived as holy persons and should not be seen by laypeople especially when they are in sickness, pain, and sorrow, which portray their ordinary human natures. Therefore, zoning management in the government hospital is needed to sacralize the monks’ status.
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Zielke, Zoe. "Contesting Religious Boundaries with Care: Engaged Buddhism and Eco-Activism in the UK." Religions 14, no. 8 (July 31, 2023): 986. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14080986.
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The word “Buddhism” conjures up a variety of images and connotations: monks meditating on hilltops, mindfulness, cheerful Buddha caricatures. It is unlikely that these depictions suggest engagement with societal issues. And yet, this is precisely what many Buddhist communities and traditions are involving themselves in around the world. Often referred to as “engaged Buddhism”, this development in the Buddhist tradition refers to the application of Buddhist principles and practices to situations of social and environmental suffering. Nevertheless, there are critics of this emerging trend who contend that Buddhists should refrain from engaging in societal issues, believing that such involvement contradicts the teachings of the Buddha and distracts from the ultimate goal of liberation. Built on two years of ethnographic research, this paper explores the ways in which a particular environmentally engaged Buddhist group known as “Extinction Rebellion Buddhists” adapt their religious beliefs and practices in response to the challenges posed by the Anthropocene, where concerns for our collective world have resulted in increasing interest in the ways in which humans actively care for the environment. In reformulating Buddhist principles and meditation as a “politics of care”, care becomes a tool for change, with the group not only confronting the pressing issues of the Anthropocene but also disrupting Buddhism’s traditionally inward-looking, other-worldly tendencies, carving out space for autonomy and transformation within the broader landscape of UK Buddhism.
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Strong, John. "Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks. Collected Papers on the Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Texts of Monastic Buddhism in India. Gregory Schopen." Buddhist Studies Review 16, no. 1 (June 15, 1999): 109–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v16i1.14687.
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Bones, Stones, and Buddhist Monks. Collected Papers on the Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Texts of Monastic Buddhism in India. Gregory Schopen. (Studies in the Buddhist Traditions) University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu 1997, xvii, 298 pp. Cloth $58.00, pbk $31.95. ISBN 0-8248-1748-6/1870-9.
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Yu, Gege, Haoge Gan, and Yongqin Guo. "Location and Fortune: An Exploration of the Buddhism and Daoism Roles of Geomancy in the Song Dynasty." Religions 14, no. 7 (June 29, 2023): 859. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel14070859.
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The Song dynasty (960–1279) was the peak of fengshui development in China. During this period, fengshui books proliferated, and geomantic techniques spread rapidly. Thus, the population was generally inclined to consider the influence of architecture on the fate of individuals or families from a fengshui perspective. In addition to writing books on fengshui, many Buddhist monks and Daoist masters also practiced the location selection and spatial planning of Buddhist and Daoist temples, houses, and tombs. This paper first collates the fengshui books written by Buddhist monks and Daoists during the Song dynasty and then analyzes their spatial planning concepts according to the geomancy theory. Secondly, taking into account specific cases of Buddhist and Daoist temples, garden buildings, and residential tombs, it elaborates on the reasons and purposes behind the Buddhist monks’ and Daoists’ use of the geomancy theory. Lastly, the changes in the function of site selection in the urban landscape reflect the interaction between Buddhism, Daoism, and fengshui during the Song dynasty. An awareness of the historical origins of religious tradition is helpful in our understanding of fengshui architectural heritage in general.
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Vadysinghe, A. N., G. K. Kumarasinghe, E. M. K. B. Ekanayake, A. A. L. I. S. Amarakoon, and D. H. U. Daraniyagala. "Harmonising tradition and child welfare: ordination of Buddhist child monks in Sri Lanka." Sri Lanka Journal of Forensic Medicine, Science & Law 15, no. 1 (June 25, 2024): 18–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/sljfmsl.v15i1.7957.
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In Sri Lanka, where a majority follows Theravada Buddhism, there are rituals and norms related to the ordination of monks, as well as a process of certification. An 8-year-old male novice monk was presented for clinical forensic examination following an assault at a temple by several other fellow novice monks. Further investigation revealed that this recently-ordained monk did not possess proper certification of ordination and financial exploitation of the young monks’ priesthood status and the alleged assault were suspected. This case discusses several suggestions, including the legal reinforcement of a probationary period, streamlining the registration process, and setting a minimum age for ordination, to safeguard the welfare of child monks while supporting the norms and traditions of priesthood.
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Kotyk, Jeffrey. "Chinese State and Buddhist Historical Sources on Xuanzang: Historicity and the Daci’en si sanzang fashi zhuan 大慈恩寺三藏法師傳." T’oung Pao 105, no. 5-6 (January 30, 2020): 513–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685322-10556p01.
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Abstract This paper explores the historicity of state and Buddhist accounts of the monk Xuanzang 玄奘 (602-664), arguing that in the reconstruction of Xuanzang’s life and career we ought to utilize the former to help adjudicate the latter. It is specifically argued that the Daci’en si sanzang fashi zhuan 大慈恩寺三藏法師傳 (T. no. 2053), a biography of Xuanzang sometimes cited by modern scholars, was produced as Buddhist propaganda to advance the standing of certain monks under the reign of Wu Zetian 武則天 (r. 690-705). It is further argued that the objectivity of the Buddhist account that describes Emperor Taizong 太宗 (r. 626-649) embracing Buddhism in his twilight years under the influence of Xuanzang ought to be reconsidered.
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Kidpromma, Amnuaypond. "Buddhist Modernism and the Piety of Female Sex Workers in Northern Thailand." Religions 13, no. 4 (April 12, 2022): 350. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13040350.
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This paper highlights Thailand’s distinctive form of Buddhist Modernism through an exploration of religious piety among female sex workers in the city of Chiangmai. The generally accepted key basis of Buddhist Modernism, as depicted by certain Western Buddhist scholars, is interaction and engagement with modernity. More specifically, it is seen as incorporating modern science into the Buddhist worldview, and as regarding meditation as a core practice of ‘true Buddhism’. Crucial components of popular Buddhism, such as magical monks and mystical rituals, are excluded from this depiction of Buddhist Modernism, and even decried as ‘false Buddhism’, despite their canonical basis and long-term acceptance. Using ethnographic methods, this paper argues instead that the result of interactions with modernity by popular Buddhists always includes engagement with and mythologizing of traditional cosmology. That is, rather than solely involving global networks and scientific rationalism, Thai Buddhist Modernism is the product of complex patterns of interaction among local beliefs, mystical practices, and modernity. The purpose of this integration of modern and popular Buddhism in the religious practices of sex workers is to create loving-kindness (metta). Metta, in turn, is held to bring luck and attractiveness to practitioners, allowing them to earn an income to support their impoverished families and live well in modern society, as well as to accumulate good merit (bun) to improve their religious lives.
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Langgapin, Saowalak, Waraporn Boonchieng, Sineenart Chautrakarn, and Narong Maneeton. "Senior Mental Health Scenarios in Thai Buddhist Contexts: A Qualitative Study." Religions 15, no. 4 (March 31, 2024): 440. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel15040440.
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This study delves into the global mental health challenges confronting the elderly within Thailand’s Buddhist context. It explores seniors’ perspectives on mental health distress, factors, and interventions, alongside monks’ viewpoints on traditional Buddhist approaches and their role in addressing these challenges. Our thematic analysis of qualitative research engaged 36 participants, comprising health volunteer monks and seniors from Northern Thailand, to identify primary themes and sub-themes. The perspectives on senior mental health scenarios highlight seniors’ experiences of stress, anxiety, sadness, and loneliness, influenced by factors like age, health, family, finances, and social isolation. Interventions encompass health care, religious practices, and community support. Monks advocate for integrating Buddhism into daily life, encouraging active participation, and addressing senior mental health issues, emphasizing their pivotal role, the embodiment of monastic ideals, and the challenges hindering their involvement. The research highlights the significance of empowering monastic involvement, acknowledging monks as representatives of monastic principles, even in the face of obstacles limiting their participation. This study uncovers a trend in Thai Buddhist communities where physical health and religious aspects take precedence over the mental well-being of seniors. It advocates for a comprehensive approach that integrates religious and mental health strategies, highlighting Buddhism’s impact on seniors’ mental wellness. The implications span spirituality, religious studies, mental health, and elderly care policy, emphasizing the crucial role of Buddhist practices and monks in enhancing the mental well-being of the elderly.
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Li, Rui, and Jiang Feng. "Chan, Garden, and Poetry: The Tidal Sounds in the Changshou Monastery Garden of Canton in the Qing Dynasty." Religions 15, no. 6 (May 28, 2024): 664. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel15060664.
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The Caodong School (曹洞宗) advocates the integration of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism (三教會通) and interprets Chan through the I Ching (以易釋禪). During the transition from the Ming to the Qing Dynasty, there was extensive interaction and mobility between the Ming loyalists (遺民) and Chan monks. This accelerated the secularization of monks and promoted the construction of temple gardens, which were expressed and preserved through literary Chan poetry. This study explores the relationship between Buddhist concepts and garden construction through a specific case, the Changshou Monastery Garden (長壽寺花園) in Canton (now Guangzhou) during the Qing Dynasty. This study examines how the Chan master Shilian Dashan 石濂大汕 (1633–1705), who journeyed to Dang Trong (Cochinchina 廣南) to spread Buddhist teachings, shaped the design and layout of the temple garden, reflecting Buddhist ideals and Caodong principles. This study analyzes the changes in landscape at the Changshou Monastery Garden, according to “the sound of tides” (潮音) from a Buddhist perspective. It also reveals how Dashan, as both a monk and a literati, blended Chan and Chinese philosophy in making the garden. The cultural resonance of tides within religious and literati traditions furnishes novel insights and prospects for the development of garden spaces.
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Wang, Ludi, and Yongfeng Huang. "A Study on Pei Yue and His Poems Written to Monks." Religions 13, no. 3 (February 24, 2022): 194. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13030194.
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Pei Yue 裴説 is a poet who flourished in the Late Tang (618–907) and Five Dynasties (907–960). The historical literature contains relatively limited information about his life, and his poems handed down to this day are also rare. To date, he has not been a major focus in the academic literature. Eight complete poems and two remnants from Pei Yue’s existing poems were addressed to monks, including the renowned monk and calligrapher Huaisu 懷素 (737–?), the two outstanding monks and poets Guanxiu 貫休 (832–912) and Shangyan 尚顏 (fl. 881), as well as the lesser known Chubin 處賓, Chumo 處默, Zhiqian 知乾, a nameless monk always in his monastery (bu chuyuan seng 不出院僧), and Su Zhan 蘇瞻, who was an advanced scholar (jinshi 進士) and planned to become a monk. It can be seen from these poems that Pei Yue often associated with monks: he discussed Buddhist concepts and artistic skills with them, and he both praised and mourned them. Moreover, Pei Yue was strongly averse to worldly life and yearned for a peaceful and pure land. He understood the intricacies of a number of Buddhist concepts, such as “emptiness” (wu 無) and “mind” (xin 心). He sometimes compared and combined Buddhist theories with poetic creation.
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Lee, Hewon. "Scrolls of Poem-Paintings by Buddhist Monks of the Late Goryeo and Early Joseon : Records of the “Scrolls of Poems” on the Studio Name and Their Significance." Korean Journal of Art History 315 (September 30, 2022): 39–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.31065/kjah.315.202209.002.
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This article examines written records of the now-lost poem-painting scrolls created by Buddhist monks who were active in the late Goryeo and early Joseon (the fourteenth through fifteenth centuries) in order to reconstruct their artistic exercises and reassess their significance in the history of East Asian art. The literati painters of Yuan China reserved pictorial space in landscape painting for narrative or descriptive purposes. In contrast, the Buddhist monk-painters of the late Goryeo and early Joseon depicted natural features in their landscape paintings, accompanied by poems, as encrypted codes precisely corresponding to the characters of their studio names, or ho 號 (Ch. hao). Yuan’s Shiwu Qinggong 石屋淸珙 (1272~1352), who officially conferred the dharma to Goryeo’s Taego Bou 太古普愚 (1301~1382), proposed “a single thatched hut in the depth of the retreats,” or yi an shenyin 一菴深隱, as exemplary of Chan Buddhist paintings. The written records of the monks’ handscroll paintings suggest that the monks of the late Goryeo and early Joseon painted landscapes by combining the motifs of a thatched hut and of the depth of the retreat with depictions of natural features that signified their studio names. While the monk’s studio name was the central theme of the painting, each character of his name was also rendered pictorially. The records further testify that Goryeo monks played a critical role in introducing to Korea the styles of the Liu Daoquan 劉道權 and Li-Guo 李郭 schools, which gained tremendous traction in the early Joseon art scene, as the literati regarded highly of ink paintings by monks. It has been widely noted that early Joseon paintings contributed to the development of the paintings of a scholar’s studio in Muromachi Japan. The monks’ poempaintings themed on their studio names further attest to the significant impact that early Joseon paintings made over not just the style but also subjects, form, and content of Japanese paintings. Even if many works of premodern Korean painting are now lost, written records about them still survive. Close examinations of such textual sources can help illuminate the historical trajectory of Korean poem-painting scrolls in the context of East Asian art history.
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Lindberg Falk, Monica. "Thailändska nunnor och kvinnliga munkar. Förändring och utmaning av den buddhistiska ordningen." Tidskrift för genusvetenskap 24, no. 3-4 (June 15, 2022): 25–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.55870/tgv.v24i3-4.4123.
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This artide addressesThai Buddhist nuns' agency in creating religious space and authority, and raises questions about how the position of Thai Buddhist nuns outside the formål institution of Buddhist monks and novices affects their religious legitimacy. It gives a background to the troublesome situation for Buddhist nuns in Thailand and includes a summary of the rise, fall and recent restoration of theTheravada female monks' order. Religion has traditionally played a central role in Thai society and Buddhism is still intertwined in the daily life of Thai people. Religion also plays an important role in establishing gender boundaries. Men's ordination is highly respected and uplifts their social position. Women's choice to leave the lay world and seek ordination is commonly not appreciated and not in line with the Thai gender order. The Buddhist nuns' long history in Thailand has not granted them formål religious legitimacy and their secondary standing in the Buddhist temples is further confirmed by their lack of support from the Thai government. The recent decades' growth of nunneries governed by the nuns themselves and the Thai women's increasing interest in Buddhist monastic life are notable changes in women's performance in the religious field. Some nuns have through their own agency and capacity started to enhance their position and create better circumstances for themselves, which also have been beneficial for the lay community. At nunneries, the role of the Thai nuns has been broadened and become more analogous to that of the monks. Moral conduct, religious performances, education and Buddhist knowledge have proved to be requirements for achieving religious legitimacy.
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Wu, Shaowei. "A Study on the Literacy Rate of Buddhist Sangha in the Tang Dynasty." Religions 15, no. 3 (February 29, 2024): 306. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel15030306.
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The Buddhist sangha played a crucial role in ancient China, exerting significant influence on its society through religious identity and cultural knowledge. However, not all members of the monastic community were literate. The Tang Dynasty introduced an examination system that assessed monks’ proficiency in reciting Buddhist scriptures, determining their eligibility for ordination. Simultaneously, efforts to remove unqualified monks and nuns provided an opportunity to estimate the literacy rate within the monastic community. A statistical analysis of the literacy rate offers a novel perspective for understanding the evolution of Buddhism, the intricate relationship between religion and politics, and the role of the monastic community in local society during the Tang Dynasty.
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Bajracharya, Birat Raj. "A Study of Middle Age Sanskrit Poṣadha Palm-leaf Manual." Historical Journal 14, no. 1 (March 7, 2023): 12–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hj.v14i1.52955.
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The Poṣadha, or observing of eight Buddhist precepts by lay and monastic people in Buddhism starts inthe lifetime of Buddha. With the growth of time, many Buddhist sects developed and they developed their Poṣadha methods (I.-Tsing, 1896). Among them is the tradition of the Sanskrit Mahayana monks. This article is about a palm-leaf manuscript [RAS Hudgson MS 70] from the Hudgson collection which is now in the South Asian society collection. This Poṣadha manual written by a novice has great significance as it takes us back to the time when the monks following Sanskrit tradition were still functioning. Interestingly this Poṣadha text is based largely on the Mahayana context and has very little Sravakayana influence. Directions for forming puṣpamaṇḍala has significant difference which hasn't been revealed before. This Vrata manual can be looked at as the initial ritualistic development of a now surviving Sanskrit Buddhism, this is Newar Buddhism.
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Kim, Jahyun. "Utilization of the Iconography of Buddhist Prints during the Joseon Dynasty—Focusing on “the Listener” in Sakyamuni Preaching Paintings." Religions 12, no. 5 (May 2, 2021): 324. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel12050324.
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This paper focuses on the iconography of “the Listener” in Buddhist prints that was adopted in Joseon dynasty Sakyamuni Preaching paintings. Regarding change in the Listener iconography from bodhisattva form to monk form, diverse research has been conducted on the Listener’s identity and origin. However, existing studies are limited as they fail to consider the circumstances of the time this iconography was first adopted and trends in Joseon Buddhism. As the first Joseon print where the Listener in bodhisattva form appeared was based on a print from the Chinese Ming dynasty, and considering trends in publication of Buddhist prints in China where pictures of the Buddha preaching were used repeatedly in sutras regardless of the contents, this paper argues that the Listener should not be identified with any particular figure and examines the current state and characteristics of Joseon Buddhist paintings where the Listener appears. It also explores the possibility that the Listener’s change from bodhisattva form to monk form was driven by monk artists such as Myeongok, who were exposed to diverse iconography as they participated in creating both Buddhist paintings and prints in a situation where monks who had received systematic education gained a new awareness of iconography.
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Kim, Seong U. K. "Kwanŭm (Avalokiteśvara) Divination: Buddhist Reconciliation with Confucianism in the Late Chosŏn." Religions 11, no. 4 (April 22, 2020): 209. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel11040209.
Full textAbstract:
This paper looks at the interactions between Buddhism and Confucianism in the late Chosŏn era through a case study of Kwanŭm (Avalokiteśvara) divination and, thereby, attempts to demonstrate how Buddhist monks navigated their religion in a Confucian-dominant society. In particular, it discusses how Chosŏn Buddhist monks incorporated Confucian ethical values into the practice of Avalokiteśvara divination, which developed in the late Chosŏn era, based on the Kwanŭm yŏnggwa, the first Korean Buddhist manual for Avalokiteśvara divination. The unique amalgam of the Avalokiteśvara cult and divination practices became popular in this period by embracing the fulfillment of the Confucian duty of filial piety and sincerity as its essential element. In particular, the Confucian practice served as a deciding factor to receive the bodhisattva’s blessings in this divination. The introduction of Avalokiteśvara divination, therefore, reveals another strategy of the Buddhist community to demonstrate its devotion by incorporating the ideology of the Confucian ruling class in the late Chosŏn era.
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Wallace, V. A. "Imagination, Desire, and Aesthetics in Engendering a Vision of Śambhala." Orientalistica 2, no. 1 (September 7, 2019): 40–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.31696/2618-7043-2019-2-1-40-50.
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Abstract: the legend of Śambhala and a related eschatological battle between the twenty-fifth kalkī king of Śambhala and the enemy of Dharma, which initially appeared in the eleventh-century Indian, Buddhist tantric tradition of the Kālacakratantra, proliferated in the later Tibetan and Mongolian sources. In the nineteenth, and particularly in the early twentieth-century Mongolia, when the demolishing of Buddhist monasteries and persecution of Buddhist monks were carried out by the Mongolian Peoples’ Revolutionary Party, a wealth of literature on meditational and ritual practices related to the transference of consciousness (‘pho ba) to the Buddhist kingdom of Śambhala emerged. Witnessing the executions of monks and a destruction of Buddhism in Mongolia, Mongolian lamas in the country’s capital felt the urgency to compose practical guides to a swift transference of consciousness to Śambhala for the lamas who were facing an immanent death. The instructions on the transference of consciousness to Śambhala abound in meditations with visualization and imagination practices and accompanying rituals.
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O’Lemmon, Matthew. "Spirit cults and Buddhist practice in Kep Province, Cambodia." Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 45, no. 1 (January 10, 2014): 25–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022463413000623.
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This article focuses on the growth of spirit cults in Cambodia since the end of the Democratic Kampuchea regime through an examination of the most common type of tutelary spirit,neak ta, in Kompong Tralach in Kep Province. The role ofneak tais discussed in relation to Buddhism through their representation in local legends and myths, as reported by villagers and monks, and as the focus of rituals and ceremonies, including some conducted in a Buddhist temple, Wat Kompong Tralach. This provides ethnographic data showing that during and following the destruction of Buddhism under the Khmer Rouge, and the resulting loss of monks and knowledgeable lay Buddhist specialists, Cambodians turned increasingly to older traditions such as the belief in the power and efficacy ofneak tato help fill a void. This examination of the enduring place and growing importance of beliefs such as theneak tacult within Khmer cosmology and religious practice following decades of war and recovery deepens our understanding of the reconstruction of Buddhism in Cambodia.