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Kumar, Sanjeev. "Ambedkar’s Journey of Conversion to Buddhism." Contemporary Voice of Dalit 11, no. 2 (October 31, 2019): 107–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2455328x19825959.
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The history of religious conversions has highlighted two aspects. One is the transformation in one’s spiritual and transcendental realm and the other is the social and the political domain that encompasses a sense of rejection of existing religious and philosophical world views as well as assertion of one’s political outlook. In this context, this article explores the contours of one of the most important political thinkers of modern India, that is, B. R. Ambedkar who embraced Buddhism after 40 years of his experiment with the Hindu religion. This article is divided into two parts; the first deals with Ambedkar’s engagement with Hinduism with a hope of reforming the same but having failed in his attempt for 20 years, he declared to leave the religion in 1936. The second part deals with Ambedkar’s both explicit and implicit deliberations for selecting the right noble faith, that is, Buddhism whose foundation was egalitarianism, based on equality and compassion. He used Deweyian experimentalism and Buddhist rationalism, to reject Hinduism and seek refuge in the reformed Buddhism, that is, Navayana Buddhism.
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Laurent, Li, David Sheffield, and Fiona Holland. "Exploring Buddhism as a ‘Tool’ to Support Well-Being: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Western Adopters’ Experiences." Pastoral Psychology 70, no. 5 (July 14, 2021): 471–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11089-021-00962-5.
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AbstractBuddhism is an ancient religion and philosophy of living that is practised worldwide. More recent interest in mindfulness as a practice and intervention in the West has highlighted Buddhist-derived concepts as useful in supporting health and well-being. As a result, the desire to understand Buddhism in its more complete form has strengthened. Although research into mindfulness and compassion is growing, there is a new interest in second-generation mindfulness, i.e. interventions that draw upon a more holistic use of Buddhist practices. To date, little research has explored this in Western contexts. For the current study, Nichiren Buddhists from the United Kingdom who had been practising for at least three years were recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore their experience of this practice and how it informed their approach to daily life and, in particular, their health and well-being. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was employed as a method to understand the participants’ experiences. Three themes were generated using an inductive approach: (1) finding meaning—“All experiences have got so much value now”— which reflected the participants’ determination to seek purpose and value in all aspects of their life; (2) Buddhism as a needed ‘tool’—“I use it all the time”—which revealed their practice as an important method to help them manage their lives; and (3) agency—“I’m in control of my destiny”—which highlighted the participants’ engagement (supported by their Buddhist practice) in taking responsibility for their actions and responses. Findings indicate the need for future studies to further explore Buddhism as a mechanism for enhancing and sustaining well-being.
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Sugiki, Tsunehiko. "Compassion, Self-Sacrifice, and Karma in Warfare: Buddhist Discourse on Warfare as an Ethical and Soteriological Instruction for Warriors." Religions 11, no. 2 (January 30, 2020): 66. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel11020066.
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In premodern warrior societies, religions often provided the institutional basis for an ethics and soteriology for warriors, for whom fighting was a social role. This paper examines a Buddhist case in ancient India. I focus particularly on the discourse related to warfare in the middle-late period Mahāyāna scripture, the Satyakaparivarta, and elucidate its ethics and soteriology for kings. In the Satyakaparivarta, a king is encouraged to be a bodhisattva, who is mindful of impermanence and compassionate, who is not greedy, hateful, or delusional, and who protects sentient beings in conformity with the Ten Good Deeds. The text also teaches how a righteous king such as this, who employs warfare as a last resort to protect his people, can be saved from rebirth in hell, which occurs as a karmic retribution for his engagement in warfare. This discourse consists of elements such as compassion, self-sacrifice, and karma, which are derived from traditions both within and outside Buddhism and arranged so as to allow a king to play his role and still attain salvation. Buddhist discourse on warfare has multiple aspects. Exploring its ethical and soteriological aspect will be conducive to clarifying a form of Buddhism as a redemptive institution for warriors, which previous studies did not conduct sufficiently.
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Sharma, Netra Prasad. "Meditation Tourism, Buddhist Philosophy in Practice: A Case Study of Lumbini, Nepal." Gaze: Journal of Tourism and Hospitality 11, no. 1 (January 1, 2020): 37–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/gaze.v11i1.26615.
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The dimensions of travelling and tourism have become manifold in recent decades. People love to travel with various purposes. Religious tourism, yoga tourism, peace tourism and spiritual tourism are some dimensions. Lumbini can be a best destination for meditation tourism, which could be much rewarding for individual, social and national development. The travelers and stakeholders have yet to be aware of this aspect. In Buddhism, Lumbini is a best destination for meditation tour. Exploring the importance of travelling Lumbini for meditation is the main objective of this article. Tourists and pilgrims would benefit immensely if they understand the significance of meditation tourism to Lumbini, its philosophy and practice. This article aims to explore the spiritual significance of Lumbini and it will provide visions of a purposeful development and publicity that would shape Lumbini as a best destination for meditation tourism. The government and private sectors are interested to develop Lumbini as best tourist destination. People all over the world are attracted to visit Lumbini for different reasons. Most tourists are unaware of the core aspect of visiting Lumbini. People who visit Lumbini are unaware about meditation practice or involving in charity works. Meditation and compassion are the core aspects of Buddha’s teachings, which are neither realized nor practiced. There seems a vast gap between the actual philosophy of Buddhism and the attitude of most of the visitors. This research study attempts to reveal the significance of meditation tourism in Lumbini.
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Albab, Ananda Ulul. "Interpretasi Dialog Antar Agama Dalam Berbagai Prespektif." Al-Mada: Jurnal Agama, Sosial, dan Budaya 2, no. 1 (February 14, 2019): 22–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.31538/almada.v2i1.223.
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Conflicts that occur between religious communities are often caused by small problems and misunderstandings of words or actions carried out between religious people. Though harmony is an important foundation in this nation. Therefore, dialogue is present to rebuild good relations between fellow believers. Not to look for differences then to harm it. But to look for differences that exist then embrace and love each other. Dialogue also functions to build relationships that are not only in one religion, but also outside the religion. So between Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism can always communicate well. Remembering religion is indeed not to teach divisions but to lead every Ummah to uphold humanity. Although each religion is different in its teaching, but there are still the same aspects in terms of humanity, such as teaching love, compassion, sacrifice, mutual respect between others, giving selflessly, and many more good things taught by religion. The dialogue has different meanings and meanings depending on who interprets and gives his thoughts. It also depends on the background of the person who sparked an understanding of dialogue. In this article we will discuss dialogue according to the views of several religious leaders.
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Hettiarachchi, Shanthikumar. "Sufficiency and Material Development: A Post-secular Reflection in the Light of Buddhist Thought." European Review 20, no. 1 (January 4, 2012): 114–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1062798711000354.
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The notion of ‘sufficiency consciousness’ is a way of life to be adopted towards attitude change in a world that craves for absolutist secularity and religious dogmatism. The paper explores aspects of sufficiency that could promote material development, and as such require a total attitude change and behaviour remodification of public life. It is obvious that performance-driven targets, accelerated growth, investment and prosperity-driven agenda by market forces alone would lead to a skewed understanding of both the notion of sufficiency and material development. Hence, a proposition for value-based sense of material development, ethical buying and consumption have all become survival strategies for civil society groups and organisations to effect change from within. In the Buddhist scheme of thought, two significant core concepts of wisdom and compassion impact on social change and behaviour. Developing non-material values generated by wisdom and compassion are proposed as a lifelong pursuit in understanding human tendencies such as greed, clinging, and craving to amass wealth and excessive indulgence. Such an approach and an analysis evoke a sense of sufficiency alongside appropriate and sustainable material development. The use of certain economic indexes and other technical data in the paper indicate and symbolise the extent to which material progress is emphasised over and above the non-material. A possible development of an index such as Gross National Happiness (GNH) as proposed by the Thai specialists is included as an alternative to the sole-material-progress-based data discourses. Cultivating oneself with compassion juxtaposed by wisdom challenges all to uphold goodness as part of being human. Opposition to such a view of life and a way of life is problematic in the light of the current phenomena of theatrical performance of violence to redress grievances as well as limitless confidence in economic growth and greedy investment plans. It is a value-laden counterpoint to the zero tolerance that can address the larger socio-political issue of the alterity1 that both help to understand what actually sufficiency means in the array material development. Wisdom becomes a guide to action with compassion, while compassion expands the capacity of wisdom to understand the part and the whole. It is in this interplay of value-tracking that one is able to realise the importance of human activity that can evolve checks and balances, which are imperative to measure material development and social progress. ‘Sufficiency consciousness’ and material development are healthy, vibrant and adaptive aspects for civil society groups as well as other institutions to participate critically in ‘religious affairs’ in a ‘secular realm’ with what life offers. The non-material basis of wisdom and compassion offers a wholesome view of ‘sufficiency consciousness’, which is fundamental to material development, economic activity, political governance, institutional arrangements and campaign strategies, for civil society groups to achieve their potential. Wisdom steers compassion while compassion transforms wisdom in those engaged in human activity, which is both about ‘here’ and the ‘not yet’.
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Ong, Yu Sing. "A Grace-Based Leadership Approach to Managing Gen A in the Digital Age." Business Ethics and Leadership 3, no. 3 (2019): 88–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.21272/bel.3(3).88-98.2019.
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This paper discusses a grace-based approach in managing the Gen A workforce in the digital age. It is a philosophical approach that covers grace, compassion, ethics, empowerment, and trust. On the basis of the conducted research the author proposes three theoretical lenses, organizational management, religious, and philosophical hybridism to conceptualize the grace-based leadership model that addresses the deterioration in ethical business behavior which gives rise to fraud, corruption, and loss of integrity. Specifically, this paper highlights the humanism aspect of organizations from the perspective of established philosophies and religions such as I Ching, Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism. The methodological basis for this paper is found within the theological, philosophical, psychological, and managerial fields. This study uses both interpretative phenomenological and hermeneutics approaches to interpret and understand the divine and classical texts of I Ching, Confucian Analects, Sutras, Quran, and Bhagavad Gita. The main hypothesis of the research is the idea that qualitative inquiries in management and leadership contexts can be enriched through linkages to the study of interpretative phenomenology and hermeneutics. The practical significance of this paper lies in the potential for developing a theoretical framework in humanistic leadership. According to the findings, this paper concludes that the deciding factor for an organization’s success in the digital era will be its ability to evolve its corporate culture to not only take advantage of emerging technologies but also to embrace the principle of humanism in the workplace. Keywords: Gen A, grace-based leadership, I Ching, Islam, Confucian, Buddhism, Hinduism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, grace-based approach.
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Clark, Kelly James. "Imaginings." European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 9, no. 3 (September 21, 2017): 17–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.v9i3.1993.
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In Branden Thornhill-Miller and Peter Millican’s challenging and provocative essay, we hear a considerably longer, more scholarly and less melodic rendition of John Lennon’s catchy tune—without religion, or at least without first-order supernaturalisms (the kinds of religion we find in the world), there’d be significantly less intra-group violence. First-order supernaturalist beliefs, as defined by Thornhill-Miller and Peter Millican (hereafter M&M), are “beliefs that claim unique authority for some particular religious tradition in preference to all others” (3). According to M&M, first-order supernaturalist beliefs are exclusivist, dogmatic, empirically unsupported, and irrational. Moreover, again according to M&M, we have perfectly natural explanations of the causes that underlie such beliefs (they seem to conceive of such natural explanations as debunking explanations). They then make a case for second-order supernaturalism, “which maintains that the universe in general, and the religious sensitivities of humanity in particular, have been formed by supernatural powers working through natural processes” (3). Second-order supernaturalism is a kind of theism, more closely akin to deism than, say, Christianity or Buddhism. It is, as such, universal (according to contemporary psychology of religion), empirically supported (according to philosophy in the form of the Fine-Tuning Argument), and beneficial (and so justified pragmatically). With respect to its pragmatic value, second-order supernaturalism, according to M&M, gets the good(s) of religion (cooperation, trust, etc) without its bad(s) (conflict and violence). Second-order supernaturalism is thus rational (and possibly true) and inconducive to violence. In this paper, I will examine just one small but important part of M&M’s argument: the claim that (first-order) religion is a primary motivator of violence and that its elimination would eliminate or curtail a great deal of violence in the world. Imagine, they say, no religion, too.Janusz Salamon offers a friendly extension or clarification of M&M’s second-order theism, one that I think, with emendations, has promise. He argues that the core of first-order religions, the belief that Ultimate Reality is the Ultimate Good (agatheism), is rational (agreeing that their particular claims are not) and, if widely conceded and endorsed by adherents of first-order religions, would reduce conflict in the world.While I favor the virtue of intellectual humility endorsed in both papers, I will argue contra M&M that (a) belief in first-order religion is not a primary motivator of conflict and violence (and so eliminating first-order religion won’t reduce violence). Second, partly contra Salamon, who I think is half right (but not half wrong), I will argue that (b) the religious resources for compassion can and should come from within both the particular (often exclusivist) and the universal (agatheistic) aspects of religious beliefs. Finally, I will argue that (c) both are guilty, as I am, of the philosopher’s obsession with belief.
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Harris, Elizabeth J. "Sleeping Next to My Coffin: Representations of the Body in Theravada Buddhism." Buddhist Studies Review 29, no. 1 (July 13, 2012): 105–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v29i1.105.
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Therav?da Buddhism can be stereotyped as having a negative view of the body. This paper argues that this stereotype is a distortion. Recognizing that representations of the body in Therav?da text and tradition are plural, the paper draws on the Sutta Pi?aka of the P?li texts and the Visuddhimagga, together with interviews with lay Buddhists in Sri Lanka, to argue that an internally consistent and meaningful picture can be reached, suitable particularly to those teaching Buddhism, if these representations are categorised under three headings and differentiated according to function: the body as problem (to be seen and transcended); the body as teacher (to be observed and learnt from); the liberated body (to be developed). It also examines two realizations that accompany the development of a liberated body: realizing purity of body in meditation; realizing compassion. It concludes that compassion for self all embodied beings is the most truly Therav?da Buddhist response to embodiment, not pride or fear, disgust or repression.
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Rana, Rita. "Essence of Buddhism: Religious Tolerance and Love for Nature, Essential for Human Existence." Historical Journal 12, no. 1 (December 31, 2020): 29–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hj.v12i1.35433.
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This work aims to present the essence and the importance of Buddhism for human existence along with a brief introduction of the founder of Buddhism and the impact and influence of this religion on the human society. A fact that life or all that exists is dynamic or changing and that which does not exist is actually permanent or static. The focus of this work is to show that the ultimate truth is through experience, religion, the awareness of religioustolerance and its benefits to the human world. Another point of focus is on the path towards Enlightenment which is believed to be by detachment in life rather than attachment. It highlights the ‘Teachings of Buddha’ to have an open mind and sympathetic heart that gives light and warmth to wisdom and compassion.
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Petersen, Esben. "Hans Haas, the Songs of Buddha, and Their Sounds of Truth." Journal of Religion in Japan 10, no. 2-3 (July 14, 2021): 161–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22118349-01002002.
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Abstract The writings of German missionary Hans Haas (1868–1934) were seminal texts which greatly influenced how many Europeans came to understand Japanese Buddhism. Haas became a significant actor in this early reception of Japanese Buddhism after he began working as an editor for the journal Zeitschrift für Missionskunde und Religionswissenschaft while stationed in Japan from 1898–1909. Haas covered all areas and aspects of Japanese Buddhism, from editing and translating texts such as Sukhavati Buddhism (1910a) into German to cross-religious comparisons of Buddhist songs and legends. This paper seeks to identify various elements which contributed to the development of Japanese Buddhism in Europe, paying special attention to the role of Haas’s work. In particular, it seeks to reconstruct his understanding of Pure Land Buddhism by demonstrating how a Protestant interpretative scheme, particularly that of Lutheran Protestantism, dominated much of the early reception of Japanese Buddhism in Europe.
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Büssing, Arndt, Anemone Hedtstück, Sat Bir S. Khalsa, Thomas Ostermann, and Peter Heusser. "Development of Specific Aspects of Spirituality during a 6-Month Intensive Yoga Practice." Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012 (2012): 1–7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/981523.
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The majority of research on yoga focuses on its psychophysiological and therapeutic benefits, while the spiritual aspects are rarely addressed. Changes of specific aspects of spirituality were thus investigated among 160 individuals (91% women, mean age years; 57% Christians) starting a 2-year yoga teacher training. We used standardized questionnaires to measure aspects of spirituality (ASP), mindfulness (FMI—Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory), life satisfaction (BMLSS—Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale), and positive mood (lightheartedness/relief). At the start of the course, scores of the respective ASP subscales forsearch for insight/wisdom, transcendence conviction, andconscious interactions/compassionwere high, while those forreligious orientationwere low. Within the 6 month observation period, bothconscious interactions/compassion(effect size, Cohen’s ),Religious orientation(),Lightheartedness/Relief() and mindfulness () increased significantly. Particularly non-religious/non-spiritual individuals showed moderate effects for an increase ofconscious interactions/compassion. The results from this study suggest that an intensive yoga practice (1) may significantly increase specific aspects of practitioners’ spirituality, mindfulness, and mood, (2) that these changes are dependent in part on their original spiritual/religious self-perception, and (3) that there are strong correlations amongst these constructs (i.e.,conscious interactions/compassion, and mindfulness).
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Ying, Lei. "Between Passion and Compassion: The Story of the Stone and Its Modern Reincarnations." Religions 12, no. 1 (January 17, 2021): 62. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel12010062.
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This study reconsiders The Story of the Stone as a literary exemplum of the “Buddhist conquest of China.” The kind of Buddhism that Stone embodies in its fictional form and makes indelible on the Chinese cultural imagination simultaneously indulges in and wavers from the Mahāyāna teachings of the nonduality of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. The dialectics of truth and falsehood, love and emptiness, passion and compassion, which Stone dramatizes and problematizes, continues to stir the creative impulses of artists in revolutionary and post-revolutionary China. This study features three of Stone’s modern reincarnations. Tale of the Crimson Silk, a story by the amorous poet-monk Su Manshu (1884–1918), recasts at once the idea of Buddhist monkhood and that of “free love” in early Republican China. In Lust, Caution, a spy story by the celebrated writer Eileen Chang (1920–1995), a revolutionary heroine is compelled to weigh the emptiness/truth of carnal desire against the truth/emptiness of patriotic commitment. Decades later, love and illusion dwell again at the epicenter of a fallen empire in the director Chen Kaige’s (b. 1952) 2017 film, The Legend of the Demon Cat, in which an illustrious poet sings testimony to the (un)witting (com)passion of a femme fatale.
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Mochinskaya, Kseniya Aleksandrovna. "Meaning and Interpretation Aspects of Compassion in S. L. Frank’s Religious Philosophy." Manuskript, no. 6 (March 2021): 1130–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.30853/mns210216.
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Singh, Anand. "Female Donors at Sārnāth: Issues of Gender, Endowments, and Autonomy." International Review of Social Research 9, no. 1 (June 1, 2019): 6–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/irsr-2019-0002.
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Abstract Buddhism has different threads of traits to be explored and scrutinized. One of the important aspects is to know role and status of women in Buddhism through their visual representations in religious ceremonies, donations of the images, etc. The role, rank and implications of their participation in religious ceremonies is matter of inquiry. In particular, it is quite stimulating to know that their engagement in religious activities are egalitarian or highly gendered. Sārnāthwas intentionally chosen by the Buddha as the place of his first sermon and its importance in Buddhism became unforgettable till it was finally destroyed in the medieval period. The role of women in religious activities started in the age of the Buddha.This sacred complex shows the gender variances in ritualistic participation and donations. Here, the influence of Buddhism on women’s autonomy in spiritual/sacredengrossment is a subject of contemplation.
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Dy, Aristotle C. "Planting Good Roots and Creating Affinities: Engaged Buddhism in the Chinese-Filipino Context." Journal of Chinese Overseas 10, no. 1 (April 14, 2014): 33–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/17932548-12341267.
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AbstractAfter Chinese Buddhist temples were set up in the Philippines in the 20th century, temple communities proceeded to establish schools, charity clinics, and fund other socio-cultural projects. This paper traces the basis of such works to the concept of Engaged Buddhism in its Chinese manifestation, as well as to Chinese Buddhist history, teachings and contemporary trends in Chinese voluntary organizations. The author also presents fieldwork data that explores the motivations behind socio-cultural projects, using the concepts ofplanting good roots and creating affinities; these Buddhist concepts are then linked to the Chinese idea ofguanxi. Rather than religious conversion or social integration, Chinese Buddhist social projects were aimed at cultural preservation and the practice of Buddhist compassion.
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Parratt, John. "Barth and Buddhism in the theology of Katsume Takizawa." Scottish Journal of Theology 64, no. 2 (March 21, 2011): 195–210. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0036930611000056.
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AbstractKatsume Takizawa (1909–1984) was one of the most innovative of twentieth-century Japanese philosophical theologians. His study with Barth (1935) led him to attempt to bring together aspects of Barth's theology with concepts derived from Jodo-shin and Zen. He found in both religions a basic relationship between God and man which transcended both identity and distinction, which he expressed in Nishida's concept of the self-identity of the absolute contradiction. This relationship he called ‘Emmanuel 1’. The fulfilment of the relationship is ‘Emmanuel 2’ and is reflected for Christians in Jesus.
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Bobirogli Sattorov, Eldor. "RELIGIOUS PROCESSES IN SOCIAL LIFE OF EARLY MEDIEVAL SUGHD." International Journal of Advanced Research 8, no. 10 (October 31, 2020): 152–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/ijar01/11836.
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This article presents the problem of religious processes, one of the most significant aspects of early medieval Sogdian society.The article discusses facts about the development of Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. The influence of Turkish-Sogdian relations on religious processes is also shown.The archival documents of the Sogdian inscription found on Mount Mugh describe the processes related to religious processes.
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Mathé, Thierry. "Le développement du bouddhisme en contexte italien. Aspects de la modernisation et du pluralisme religieux en Italie." Social Compass 57, no. 4 (December 2010): 521–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0037768610383373.
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The author presents a general overview of the development of Buddhism in Italy, where a religious modernization strategy has existed for some time, even though it has not led to major institutional deregulation of the Catholic Church. This can explain the small number of Italian Buddhists in comparison with those in similar countries. The author proposes a historical, statistical and institutional presentation of Buddhism in Italy and develops a comprehensive approach that shows that Italian Buddhists, even if deriving from different Buddhist traditions, share motivation similarities. Finally, he analyzes the social and religious specificity of the Italian context, and its effect on the emergence of new Buddhist communities.
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Tarocco, Francesca. "The Politics of Buddhist Organisations in Taiwan: 1989–2003. Safeguarding the Faith, Building a Pure Land, Helping the Poor. By ANDRÉ LALIBERTÉ . [London and New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004. xii+178 pp. ISBN 0-415-32235-9.] Establishing a Pure Land on Earth. The Foguang Buddhist Perspective on Modernization and Globalization. By STUART CHANDLER. [Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2004. xvii+371 pp. ISBN 0-8248-2746-5.]." China Quarterly 181 (March 2005): 195–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0305741005360103.
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In open contrast to the abundance of studies concerning the first millennium of Chinese history, many aspects of the institutional, intellectual and cultural history of Chinese Buddhism during the past one thousand years remain, with some notable exceptions, largely unstudied. In particular, Western language scholarly accounts of Chinese Buddhism since the end of the 19th century are still rare and, with regards to the first part of the 20th century, largely limited to the efforts of one individual, the late American scholar, Holmes Welch (1921–1981). During the last ten or 15 years, however, there have been signs of a reversal of this tendency as an increasing number of researchers began to devote themselves to the study of modern and contemporary Chinese Buddhism. The lion's share of this emerging scholarly trend belongs to studies of Taiwanese rather than mainland Chinese Buddhism. This choice can partly be attributed to the increasing international visibility of Taiwanese Buddhist associations, but I also suspect that funding opportunities and a comparatively more welcoming research environment may have something to do with it!The two books under review are also concerned with contemporary Taiwanese Buddhism. Their authors adopt different but somehow complementary approaches. Whereas André Laliberté's instructive study of the attitudes towards the active political participation of Taiwanese Buddhist organizations focuses on the activities of the three main Taiwanese Buddhist organizations, namely the Buddha Light Mountain (or Foguangshan) monastic order, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Association (or Ciji gongdehui), and the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (Zhongguo fojiaohui), Stuart Chandler's engaging study focuses on Foguangshan and the views of its founder and charismatic leader, Ven. Xingyun.
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Ariyabuddhiphongs, Vanchai. "Buddhist Generosity: Its Conceptual Model and Empirical Tests." Archive for the Psychology of Religion 38, no. 3 (December 2016): 316–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15736121-12341329.
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This study developed a Buddhist Generosity Scale to assess Buddhist generosity, acts of compassion to give something of value to humans and animals, among Thai Buddhists. Conceptually the Scale consists of two factors: scope—giving to humans and animals, and criticality—the gifts’ importance to the recipients. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the two-factor structure. Convergent validity tests showed its relationships with optimism, hope, and altruism but none with forgiveness; discriminant validity tests found positive relationship with psychological entitlement but none with trait anger and greed. Results of the predictive validity test showed that Buddhist generosity mediated the relationship between loving kindness and happiness. The scale is valid for use to assess Buddhist generosity in countries where Theravada Buddhism is practiced. The relationships between good thought (loving kindness) and good deed (Buddhist generosity) and good result (happiness) support the Buddhist law of human behaviors (kamma).
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Hongsuwan, Pathom. "The Myths of the Buddha’s Relics of the Tai People: Reflections on the Relationship Between Buddhism and Indigenous Beliefs." MANUSYA 8, no. 3 (2005): 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/26659077-00803001.
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This article intends to analyze the relationship between Buddhism and the indigenous beliefs that are evident in the Tai myths of the Buddha’s relics. From the analysis of the characters and their symbolic behaviour, we can see that the religious beliefs of the Tai people were very complex. The relationship between religious beliefs shown in the myths of the Tai people shows various characteristics and can be categorized into three groups: first, the conflict between Buddhism and indigenous beliefs; second, the integration of indigenous beliefs into Buddhism; and third, the integration of Buddhism into indigenous beliefs. The kind of relationship that occurs in each group is due to the variety of aspects of these beliefs that co- exist. The conflict between Buddhism and indigenous beliefs is reflected in the myth’s plot, motif and character behaviour, which is due to the conflicting behaviour of the two completely opposite belief systems in the myths. The acceptance of each offer between the two belief systems is reflected in certain sets of motifs and character behaviour. The study of the integration of the two belief systems shows the development of the mythical characters and their behaviour, thus reflecting the religious thoughts and beliefs of the Tai people.
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Rambelli, Fabio. "Materiality, Labor, and Signification of Sacred Objects in Japanese Buddhism." Journal of Religion in Japan 6, no. 1 (2017): 1–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22118349-00601001.
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Recent studies on Buddhist materiality tend to focus on specific objects and their ritual uses, without dedicating much attention to processes of production of those objects and their actual makers. This article begins to redress this situation by outlining a general theoretical framework for the study of Buddhist objects and material culture in general through their continuous transformations—a framework that takes into account not only the ontological status and phenomenological features of individual objects, but also their signification and the various types of labor involved in their production and fruition. After proposing a general typology of objects, in order to gain a better sense of the ontological extension of Buddhism, the article also discusses the types of labor and practical activities involved in the production and use of Buddhist objects. Next, it deals with different aspects that determine the value of Buddhist sacred objects, and addresses modes of transformation affecting Buddhist objects through time and space, envisioned here as instances of broader processes of semiotic transformation (semiomorphosis). While this paper mostly examines objects within the Japanese Buddhist tradition, it hopes to offer a contribution to the study of practical materiality and labor in other Buddhist traditions as well.
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Voyce, Malcolm. "Buddhism and the formation of the religious body: a Foucauldian approach." Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis 23 (January 1, 2011): 433–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.30674/scripta.67398.
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Poststructuralist debates around the body have demonstrated how our knowledge of the body is constituted in specific cultural and historical circumstances and in the context of particular relations of power. This article develops this approach to the body in Buddhism and thus attempts to show how the body has been represented within different discourses in Buddhist texts. Implicit in this account is the remedying of the failure in some Buddhist scholarship to recognise different types of bodies (negative and positive) and to show how these aspects of the body, as enumerated by texts, operate together to constitute forms of identities capable of being constituted within different historical moments out of the pressure of new social and material changes. At the same time the body is seen as being capable of self modification in terms of that discourse. The term ‘body’ is used here in the sense that it implies not only a physical aspect (flesh, bones, liquids etc.), but that it is connected to various cognitive and emotional capacities as outlined in the khandhas (see below) explanation of the human constitution. The author's concern in his treatment of the body is to avoid the problems of psychological analysis, as this form of analysis often implies the existence of a psyche or soul along with the ideas of complete individual self-determination.
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Kreisel, Deanna K. "The Psychology of Victorian Buddhism and Rudyard Kipling’s Kim." Nineteenth-Century Literature 73, no. 2 (September 1, 2018): 227–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/ncl.2018.73.2.227.
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Deanna K. Kreisel, “The Psychology of Victorian Buddhism and Rudyard Kipling’s Kim” (pp. 227–259) This essay demonstrates that Rudyard Kipling’s Kim (1901) engages deeply with several aspects of Buddhist thought that were also of central concern to nineteenth-century British psychology. It describes several central tenets of Buddhism as understood by Victorian exegetes, paying particular attention to the ways this discourse became surprisingly approbatory over the course of the century. It also performs close readings of three key passages in Kipling’s novel dealing with identity, will, and self-discipline that illuminate the author’s understanding of the subtleties of Buddhist thought. Its attention to the ways in which Kipling’s novel engages Asian religious practice, particularly the “esoteric” practices of meditation and trance, complicates an entrenched reading of the novel as championing British triumphalism; it does so by challenging earlier interpretations of the religious elements in Kim as constituting straightforward evidence for the novel’s endorsement of the imperial project.
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Kim, Hanung. "Rainmakers for the Cosmopolitan Empire: A Historical and Religious Study of 18th Century Tibetan Rainmaking Rituals in the Qing Dynasty." Religions 11, no. 12 (November 24, 2020): 630. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel11120630.
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Although Tibetan rainmaking rituals speak of important aspects of both history and religion, scholars thus far have paid only biased attention to the rituals and performative aspects rather than the abundant textual materials available. To address that issue, this article analyzes a single textual manual on Tibetan rainmaking rituals to learn the significance of rainmaking in late Imperial Chinese history. The article begins with a historical overview of the importance of Tibetan rainmaking activities for the polities of China proper and clearly demonstrates the potential for studying these ritual activities using textual analysis. Then it focuses on one Tibetan rainmaking manual from the 18th century and its author, Sumpa Khenpo, to illustrate that potential. In addition to the author’s autobiographical accounts of the prominence of weather rituals in the Inner Asian territory of Qing China, a detailed outline of Sumpa Khenpo’s rainmaking manual indicates that the developmental aspects of popular weather rituals closely agreed with the successful dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism in regions where Tibetan Buddhist clerics were active. As an indicator of late Imperial Chinese history, this function of Tibetan rainmaking rituals is a good barometer of the successful operation of a cosmopolitan empire, a facilitator of which was Tibetan Buddhism, in the 18th century during the High Qing era.
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Batomunkueva, S. R. "The Mahakala cult in Tibet: some aspects of its history." Orientalistica 3, no. 4 (December 28, 2020): 1114–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.31696/2618-7043-2020-3-4-1114-1130.
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The article offers a research on Mahakala cult in Tibet. Mahakala is a deity common to Hinduism and Buddhism. It appears also as protector deity known as dharmapala – the Protector of Buddhist Doctrine. The author addresses some issues regarding the genesis of this cult, namely materials and historical facts about how it did appear in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon, and how it did subsequently receive its further development and became popular inTibet. The author uses the already published scholarly works to illustrate some of the main forms of the deity manifestation and their functional aspects. She also draws attention to the ways of Mahakala teaching lineages and transmissions as well as religious practices, which did exist in the early stages of the cult formation. The article emphasizes the importance of the deity cult inTibet, as well as the prevalence of the Mahakala Six-Armed manifestation. This ancient and multifaceted cult was tightly connected with that of the deities in ancientIndia became firmly rooted in the Buddhist pantheon. Subsequently it gained significant popularity not only in the “Land ofSnows” but also in all other areas where the Tibetan Buddhism was spread.
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Garri, Irina. "Avalokiteśvara Cult and Competing Nationalisms of the Sino-Tibetan Borderland." State Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide 38, no. 1 (2020): 13–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.22394/2073-7203-2020-38-1-13-36.
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The article discusses the emergence of Tibetan nationalism in Sino-Tibetan borderland in the period after the fall of the Qing Empire in 1911 and untill the incorporation of Tibet into the PRC in 1951. It argues that the cult of the Bodhisattva of compassion Avalokiteśvara was a key spiritual root of the Tibetan religious nationalism, associating Tibet with the state of the Dalai Lamas. Other kinds of nationalisms emerged on the vast territory of the Tibetan plateau, among which the author distinguishes Tibetan collaborative nationalism and secular autonomist nationalism of Kuomintang or Communist types. The religious factor was central in this competition. Tibetan Buddhism, due to its long tradition of interweaving religion and politics, easily adapted to new conditions and was used by various forms of nationalism for diametrically opposite aims. The article shows how the clash of various national and religious interests finally led to the victory of the Chinese communists and the defeat of the religious nationalism. The author argues that the cult of Avalokiteśvara, despite the defeat of the religious nationalism in 1951, became the “icon” of Tibetan nationalism of the subsequent period associated with the exodus of Tibetans to India in 1959.
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Shulman, Eviatar. "The Protective Buddha: On the Cosmological Logic of Paritta." Numen 66, no. 2-3 (April 11, 2019): 207–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685276-12341533.
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AbstractParitta — ritual chanting — is a central institution in Theravāda Buddhism, with deep roots in all historical forms of Buddhism in Asia. Nevertheless, no study provides a convincing framework for how the protective potency of the Buddha and his words is understood. Earlier strands of scholarship highlighted the psychological aspects of ritual chanting that were thought to have a positive effect on participants. Later scholars emphasized the role of paritta in the training of monks. These studies do not explain “how paritta works,” that is, for example, why, according to the views encapsulated in the texts themselves, bringing the Buddha to mind can act against demons or change reality. This article offers a close reading of the central texts of the genre in order to conceptualize the metaphysical understanding they employ. It thus provides insights regarding the unique ontological position and cosmological function of the Buddha according to the texts.
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Kurkliński, Lech. "Cultural and religious attitude to banking in the great world religions." Annales. Etyka w Życiu Gospodarczym 20, no. 7 (February 25, 2017): 63–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.18778/1899-2226.20.7.05.
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The article examines the attitude of the great world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism) toward the world of finance, including banking. The issue of usury plays a key role in the evolution of ethical aspects related to obtaining compensation for money lending. The presented analysis also focuses on other aspects of banking activities, such as saving, investing and the institutional development of the banking sector. The author underlines the far-reaching convergence between the religions in this area, in spite of the considerable variation in historical and geographical conditions of their formation. The importance of cultural (religious) differences, including some fundamental nuances that affect the banking management in different regions. For successful development, large multinational corporations have to take into consideration the above-mentioned circumstances, regardless of the globalisation processes.
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Mahalingam, Ramaswami. "Mindful Mindset, Interconnectedness and Dignity." Youth and Globalization 1, no. 2 (December 2, 2019): 230–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/25895745-00102003.
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There is a growing body of mindfulness research documenting the beneficial aspects of mindfulness to improve one’s psychological well-being. However, mindfulness research is also criticized for reducing mindfulness to a self-enhancement tool without sufficient engagement with issues of interconnectedness and growing health and income disparities. Drawing inspiration from Buddhism, social justice, critical theory and labor studies, I propose a mindful mindset framework with a specific focus on dignity to address this critique of using mindfulness merely as a self-enhancement tool. The mindful mindset has seven interrelated features: (a) compassion; (b) sympathetic joy; (c) situated intersectional awareness; (d) negative capability; (e) cultural humility; (f) wonder; and (g) generosity. A mindful mindset fosters interconnectedness so that we engage with our lives with a deeper commitment to dignity. Dignity as an embodied praxis has three components: personal, intersubjective and processual. Further, I discuss the relevance of mindful mindset and dignity for the well-being of youth.
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Park, Cheonghwan, and Kyungrae Kim. "Covid-19 and Korean Buddhism: Assessing the Impact of South Korea’s Coronavirus Epidemic on the Future of Its Buddhist Community." Religions 12, no. 3 (February 24, 2021): 147. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel12030147.
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While the Covid-19 pandemic has altered many aspects of life in South Korea over 2020, its impact on South Korea’s religious landscape has been enormous as the country’s three major religions (Catholicism, Buddhism, and Protestant Christianity) have suffered considerable loses in both their income and membership. Despite these challenges, however, Buddhism’s public image has actually improved since the start of the epidemic due to the rapid and proactive responses of the nation’s largest Buddhist organization, the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (K. Daehan bulgyo jogyejong). This article critically examines the Jogye Order’s response to the epidemic and its impact on the order thus far, along with discussions regarding the order’s future. In particular it will examine the results of three conferences held by the order in response to the epidemic and the resulting recommendations on how Korean Buddhism should adapt to effectively address the many challenges brought by the pandemic. These recommendations include establishing an online Buddhist education system, further engaging the order’s lay supporters through various social media platforms, upgrading the current lay education program with virtual learning options that directly address problems faced by the general public during the pandemic, and distributing virtual meditation classes world-wide for those who remain in quarantine or social isolation. By adopting these changes, the Jogye Order will be able to play a crucial role in promoting mental stability and the cultivation of positive emotions among the many suffering from anxiety, social isolation and financial difficulties during the pandemic.
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Konior, Jan. "Confession Rituals and the Philosophy of Forgiveness in Asian Religions and Christianity." Forum Philosophicum 15, no. 1 (June 1, 2010): 91–102. http://dx.doi.org/10.35765/forphil.2010.1501.06.
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In this paper I will take into account the historical, religious and philosophical aspects of the examination of conscience, penance and satisfaction, as well as ritual confession and cure, in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. I will also take into account the difficulties that baptized Chinese Christians met in sacramental Catholic confession. Human history proves that in every culture and religion, man has always had a need to be cleansed from evil and experience mutual forgiveness. What ritual models were used by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism? To what degree did these models prove to be true? What are the connections between a real experience of evil, ritual confession, forgiveness and cure in Chinese religions and philosophies?
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MAGOMEDKHANOV, MAGOMEDKHAN M., ROBERT CHENCINER, and SAIDA M. GARUNOVA. "ETHNO-RELIGIOUS AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF THE PRE-SOVIET GOVERNMENT OF THE DAGESTAN REGION." Study of Religion, no. 1 (2019): 29–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.22250/2072-8662.2019.1.29-37.
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The article studies ethno-religious / confessional and legal aspects in the pre-Soviet practice of government of the Dagestan region. The Russian Empire was one of the most varied in the world with regard to the ethnic and religious relations. By the end of the 19th century, the Russian Empire covered an area of almost 22.5 million square km., and its 125.7 million population included, in addition to Russians (about 42.0%), two hundred peoples, followers of various religions and beliefs, including Islam (11.1%), Judaism (4, 2%) and Buddhism (0.5%). With the incorporation of Dagestan into Russia, in 1868 the feudal form of government or the Khanate(s) was abolished. The institutions of civil self- government of rural societies were adapted to the general imperial goals of government and subordinated to the tsarist administration. In general, administrative and territorial delimitation at grassroots level corresponded to the traditional divisions of rural societies. The former administrative division into “naibstva” (administrative units, from Arabic نَائِب (nāʾib) assistant, deputy head) was retained...
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Szczurek, Przemysław. "Potyczki Kryszny z Buddą. Kilka uwag o polemicznej wymowie Bhagawadgity wobec wczesnego buddyzmu." Argument: Biannual Philosophical Journal 7, no. 1 (June 1, 2017): 33–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.24917/20841043.7.1.3.
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Krishna’s skirmishes with the Buddha. Remarks on the polemical meaning of the Bhagavadgītā towards early Buddhism: The paper discusses the issue of the confrontation of the Bhagavadgītā with some aspects of the early Buddhist doctrine as presented in the Pāli canon. The confrontation points to the Bhagavadgītā as being a poem of the (broadly understood) orthodox current of Indian religious thought, which also contains some polemical elements, these mostly addressed to the most powerful heterodox religious current in the first centuries B.C. (which is most probable the date of the Bhagavadgītā’s composition). Several parts of the famous Sanskrit poem are compared and confronted with the respective parts of the Pāli canon in order to demonstrate, firstly, the different approaches of both currents, mostly in ethics and metaphysics, and secondly, the Bhagavadgītā’s reaction to particular elements of early Buddhism. The first six chapters of the Sanskrit poem have been subjected to analysis in this respect.
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Syrtypova, S. Kh D. "Vajradhara Buddha in Mongolia." Orientalistica 2, no. 1 (September 7, 2019): 62–76. http://dx.doi.org/10.31696/2618-7043-2019-2-1-62-76.
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Abstract: the article deals with the Vajradhara Buddha iconography and sculptural images. Vajradhara is a symbol of the dharmakaya i.e. the primordial Buddha, the fundamental principle of the whole pantheon of deities of the Vajrayana. Due to the genius and inspirations of Zanabazar (1635–1723), the great artist and the spiritual leader of Mongolia, the Adi-Buddha Vajradhara became the holiest figure in Mongolian Buddhism and also religious symbol of the whole country. The author analyses various sculptural images of Vajradhara both as single deity and as a yab-yum symbol (a representation of the primordial union of wisdom and compassion, depicted as a male deity in union with his female consort) by Ӧndӧr Gegen Zanabazar or related to him. The artefacts are currently being preserved in the Buddhist monasteries, temples and the museums of art as well as in private collections in Mongolia. The latter have not yet received their full description and often remain unrecorded.
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Yilmaz, Ihsan, Nicholas Morieson, and Mustafa Demir. "Exploring Religions in Relation to Populism: A Tour around the World." Religions 12, no. 5 (April 25, 2021): 301. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel12050301.
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This paper explores the emerging scholarship investigating the relationship between religion(s) and populism. It systematically reviews the various aspects of the phenomenon going beyond the Western world and discusses how religion and populism interact in various contexts around the globe. It looks at Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Christianity and how in different regions and cultural contexts, they merge with populism and surface as the bases of populist appeals in the 21st century. In doing so, this paper contends that there is a scarcity of literature on this topic particularly in the non-Western and Judeo-Christian context. The paper concludes with recommendations on various gaps in the field of study of religious populism.
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Kucera, Dusan. "Religious Roots of Innovative Thinking." International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration 1, no. 12 (2015): 7–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.18775/ijmsba.1849-5664-5419.2014.112.1001.
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The study is based on the identifying religious (spiritual) factors important for innovative thinking in entrepreneurship and management. The author uses the Weber´s inspiring perspective analyzing the capitalism through the innovative religious concepts. It means that besides philosophical, sociological and psychological aspects there are very important and powerful religious roots which have a major impact on the emergence, development, and maintenance of the economic environment, business and management. These “self-transcendent” factors are described as fundamental roots used till today in the general spiritual concepts creating the needed frame and support of innovative thinking in entrepreneurial and managerial activities looking for any “new spirit of capitalism”. Identified spiritual character of business potentials is distinguished by positive and negative spiritual (religious) factors based on world’s religions. General religious (spiritual) factors are reflected on the background of basic selected religious systems Judaism, Christianity (Protestantism, Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy) Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and other Asian directions. The study culminates in the discovery of religiosity of the capitalism itself. All the above-mentioned points are important contribution for better understanding of current multi-cultural and multi-religious growing trends.
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Hadjittofi, Fotini, and Hagith Sivan. "Staging Rachel: Rabbinic Midrash, Theatrical Mime, and Christian Martyrdom in Late Antiquity." Harvard Theological Review 113, no. 3 (June 30, 2020): 299–333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0017816020000127.
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AbstractLamentations Rabbah Proem 24, a late ancient rabbinic midrash, is in many ways a unique text within the entire rabbinic corpus. It presents an extraordinary array of characters (including Abraham, Moses, the Torah, and even the alphabet) who are called upon to placate God, but fail. As their quest proves inconclusive, the biblical Rachel jumps into the fray to tell her story: how out of sisterly compassion she allowed Leah to take her own place in the conjugal bed on “her” wedding night. Disclosing to her sister the secretive “signs” she had shared with Jacob, Rachel crawled under the nuptial bed to respond to Jacob whenever he spoke. This scandalous autobiography transforms an apparent instance of illicit sex, the ideal material for theatrical stage mimes, into an act of martyrdom and sublime compassion. This article argues that the performance culture of the late ancient Mediterranean world provides the key for assessing this text’s originality. We begin with an analysis of the text, drawing attention to its theatrical qualities and its relationships with contemporary visual imagery (mosaics) and texts from outside the rabbinic milieu (Christian Apocrypha). We then examine the casting of midrashic Rachel as a response to both the mimic adulteress and the Christian martyr. Finally, we consider rabbinic familiarity with mime, particularly with its usefulness as a social mediator and agent of collective catharsis. It is precisely these aspects of mimic performance, we argue, that Rachel’s vignette appropriates in this fascinating rabbinic text.
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Shin, Junhyoung Michael. "The Iconostasis and Darśan in Orthodox Christianity and Mahāyāna Buddhism." Religion and the Arts 24, no. 1-2 (April 22, 2020): 38–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685292-02401001.
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Abstract This essay discusses how Orthodox Christianity and Mahāyāna Buddhism understood the acts of both seeing and being seen by the divine, and how such ideas affected the making and use of icons in these two religious traditions. I focus on the visual culture of the Byzantine and Russian Orthodox churches between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, and that of the East Asian Pure Land and Esoteric schools between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, respectively. I interpret the function of the iconostasis as an enduring remnant of the Jewish veil used to obstruct God’s vision. Here, Jacques Lacan’s concepts of the gaze and the screen provide a thought-provoking rationale. In turn, I investigate the mandala and icon in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, in which both seeing and being seen by the divine were deemed spiritual blessings granted by the divine being. This thematic comparison brings to light the less discussed aspects of Christian and Buddhist visual experiences.
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Bobyreva, Ekaterina, Olga Dmitrieva, Tatyana Gonnova, and Anna Oganesyan. "Suffering in world religions within paradigm of modern information." SHS Web of Conferences 109 (2021): 01010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202110901010.
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Any type of discourse, along with its characteristic concepts, operates with its own values. The basis of religious discourse form universal values providing moral guidelines that represent a standard for people of different cultures and eras, which are associated with the ideals of justice and are timeless. Among the universal are cultural, social and moral values. The bulk of religious values form cultural ones in any modern society. Religious beliefs form inner culture of a person. Some religious values can be referred as social and include: meaningful (meaning of life, happiness), universal (life, health), values of interpersonal communication (benevolence), values of public recognition (hard work), democratic values (freedom of speech). In modern society among religious, social and moral (mercy, compassion) values can be distinguished. Religious values can be found within each subgroup of universal human values. The article interprets phenomenon of suffering in modern society, which is an integral component of any world religion and forms the category of value in Christianity. The analysis of suffering in the article was carried out along with the analysis of religious discourse - a special type of institutional communication that combines features of institutional-oriented and personal-oriented phenomenon. The article shows reasons for the occurrence and existence of suffering in any modern society, as well as approaches that exist in various religious systems (Christianity, Islam and Buddhism) to interpreting suffering, attitude to it, need and possibility to overcome it as well as linguistic means to express phenomenon of suffering in world religions.
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SEEGER, MARTIN. "Reversal of Female Power, Transcendentality, and Gender in Thai Buddhism: The Thai Buddhist female saint Khun Mae Bunruean Tongbuntoem (1895–1964)." Modern Asian Studies 47, no. 5 (March 14, 2013): 1488–519. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x11000898.
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AbstractRecently we have seen an increasing number of publications, mostly of an ethnographic nature, describing and discussing the significant religious roles and achievements of Thai Buddhist women, not only in the field of Buddhist education, and with regard to their monastic roles, but also in terms of their roles as accomplished Buddhist practitioners. This paper examines the changes occurring in the status and position of women in Thai Buddhist practice. In this regard I focus on the analysis of one of the first widely acknowledged female saints of modern Thai Buddhism: Khun Mae Bunruean Tongbuntoem (1895–1964). Khun Mae Bunruean has obtained her increasing reputation through the advanced meditative achievements which her followers believe she possessed. I use hagiographical accounts of her as a focal point to unravel and examine Thai beliefs in relation to female sainthood in present-day Thai Buddhism. This is done by discussing gendered hagiographical writing against the background of relevant canonical and post-canonical Pali texts that have exerted authority in religious discourses on gender by informing and nurturing Thai religious value systems. This textual research is complemented by the ethnographic examination of Thai Buddhist beliefs and venerational practices which cannot be found in authoritative Pali texts but which still play a significant role in the understanding of the particularities of female saints in modern Thai Buddhism. I do not confine myself to hagiographical accounts and venerational practices directly linked to gender, but also devote some attention to other conspicuous aspects, elements, and expressions of Mae Bunruean's sainthood and her veneration.
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Martínez Guirao, Javier Eloy. "La religión institucionalizada en las federaciones deportivas. Análisis antropológico de los vínculos entre el taekwondo y las religiones orientales." Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas 13, no. 2 (December 31, 2018): 139. http://dx.doi.org/10.18002/rama.v13i2.5465.
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<p>Taekwondo has been popular for decades and its practice has become part of Western countries. One of its lines of expansion and introduction in the West, like other martial arts, was the philosophical-religious sphere, which has been promoted by the sports federations, and has emphasized aspects related to Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Korean national religions. I rely on a study of documentary sources, contextualized within an ethnographic investigation, to analyze the religious elements that appear in the material culture, values, techniques and practices that have been developed in the gymnasiums, as well as the symbolic exegeses that are made from official institutions.</p>
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Ezzy, Douglas, Gary Bouma, Greg Barton, Anna Halafoff, Rebecca Banham, Robert Jackson, and Lori Beaman. "Religious Diversity in Australia: Rethinking Social Cohesion." Religions 11, no. 2 (February 18, 2020): 92. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel11020092.
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This paper argues for a reconsideration of social cohesion as an analytical concept and a policy goal in response to increasing levels of religious diversity in contemporary Australia. In recent decades, Australian has seen a revitalization of religion, increasing numbers of those who do not identify with a religion (the “nones”), and the growth of religious minorities, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism. These changes are often understood as problematic for social cohesion. In this paper, we review some conceptualizations of social cohesion and religious diversity in Australia, arguing that the concept of social cohesion, despite its initial promise, is ultimately problematic, particularly when it is used to defend privilege. We survey Australian policy responses to religious diversity, noting that these are varied, often piecemeal, and that the hyperdiverse state of Victoria generally has the most sophisticated set of public policies. We conclude with a call for more nuanced and contextualized analyses of religious diversity and social cohesion in Australia. Religious diversity presents both opportunities as well as challenges to social cohesion. Both these aspects need to be considered in the formation of policy responses.
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Janca-Aji, Joyce. "Whose Dharma Is It Anyway? Identity and Belonging in American Buddhist (Post)Modernities." Genealogy 4, no. 1 (December 30, 2019): 4. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/genealogy4010004.
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This study engages some aspects of the conversations, implicit and explicit, between American(ized) Buddhism in non-heritage/convert communities and religious nationalism in the U.S. Specifically, how does a Buddhist understanding of emptiness and interdependence call into question some of the fundamental assumptions behind conflations of divine and political order, as expressed through ideologies of “God and Country”, or ideas about American providence or exceptionalism? What does belonging to a nation or transnational community mean when all individual and collective formations of identity are understood to be nonessential, contingent and impermanent? Finally, how can some of the discourses within American Buddhism contribute to a more inclusive national identity and a reconfigured understanding of the intersection of spiritual and national belonging? The focus here will be on exploring how an understanding of identity and lineage in Buddhist contexts offers a counter-narrative to the way national and spiritual belonging is expressed through tribalist formations of family genealogy, nationalism and transnational religious affiliation in the dominant Judeo-Christian context, and how this understanding has been, and is being, expressed in non-heritage American(ized) Buddhist communities.
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Krist, Stefan. "Shamanic Sports: Buryat Wrestling, Archery, and Horse Racing." Religions 10, no. 5 (May 7, 2019): 306. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel10050306.
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This paper presents the religious aspects of the historical and present forms of the traditional sports competitions of the Buryats—a Mongolian ethnic group settled in Southern Siberia, Northern Mongolia, and North-Eastern China. Both historically and in our time, their traditional sports have been closely linked to shamanic rituals. This paper provides insights into the functions of these sports competitions for Buryat shamanic rituals—why they have been, and still are, an inevitable part of these rituals. They are believed to play an important role in these rituals, which aim to trick and/or please the Buryats’ spirits and gods in order to get from them what is needed for survival. The major historical changes in the Buryats’ constructions of their relationship to their imagined spiritual entities and the corresponding changes in their sports competitions are described. The effects of both economic changes—from predominantly hunting to primarily livestock breeding—and of changes in religious beliefs and world views—from shamanism to Buddhism and from Soviet Communist ersatz religion to the post-Soviet revival of shamanism and Buddhism—are described. Special attention is given to the recent revival of these sports’ prominent role for Buddhist and shamanist rituals.
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Araújo, Pedro, Sara Gomes, Diogo Guedes Vidal, Hélder Fernando Pedrosa e. Sousa, Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis, and Ângela Leite. "Preliminary Validation Study of the Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale and the Centrality of Religiosity Scale for the Portuguese Population." European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education 11, no. 3 (August 18, 2021): 908–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe11030067.
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Religion is a construct widely present in most people’s lives. Religious motivations, either intrinsic or extrinsic, as well as religious centrality, are crucial aspects of religion. In the Portuguese population, there are no validated instruments to assess these aspects of religion. Accordingly, this study intends to validate the Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale (IRMS) and the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS) for the Portuguese population. This is a validation study whose sample consists of 326 participants (73.1% women) from the general population. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were carried out and the correlations between the constructs and self-compassion were determined to assess the convergent and divergent validity. The results obtained confirm the existence of models adjusted to the population, allowing us to conclude that the instruments are reliable for assessing the studied constructs. The validation of the IRMS and CRS for the Portuguese population is of outstanding importance, as it provides researchers in the field with valid instruments and psychometric qualities to carry out research within religion and religiosity.
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Kaza, Stephanie. "Western Buddhist Motivations for Vegetarianism." Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology 9, no. 3 (2005): 385–411. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853505774841650.
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AbstractBuddhist motivations for abstaining from meat-eating draw from a wide range of traditions. Theravada themes emphasize non-harming, Right Livelihood, and detachment; Mahayana themes highlight interdependence, Buddha-nature, and compassion; Tibetan themes consider rebirth implications for human-animal relationships. These and other contemporary themes overlap with traditional western arguments promoting vegetarianism based on animal welfare, personal and environmental health, world hunger, and ethical development. This paper surveys these themes, then discusses two studies based on survey data that indicate that western Buddhists and Buddhist centers have a wide variety of practices regarding meat-eating. The first survey reports on institutional food choice practices at western Buddhist centers. The second study reports on individual food practices among western Buddhists, with data on food choices and rationales for these choices. In both surveys, Buddhist principles interact with western arguments, leading to diverse decisions about what to eat. As interest in Buddhism grows in the west, Buddhist moral concerns regarding food could influence western food choices in a significant way.
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Naguib, Nefissa. "For the Love of God: Care-giving in the Middle East." Social Sciences and Missions 23, no. 1 (2010): 124–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/187489410x488549.
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AbstractIn Jerusalem in the 1960s two nuns belonging to the Polish Order of the Sisters of St. Elizabeth experienced a calling to help relieve the suffering among children living around the walls of the old city. With the help of a loan and a 'miracle' Sister Raphaela and Sister Kryspina managed to finance the building of an orphanage 'The Home of Peace' on Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Today 'The Home of Peace' is managed by fifteen nuns who do the washing, cleaning, feeding, tutoring and caring for approximately thirty children, mostly girls, under the age of eighteen years. This paper sketches aspects of long-term daily charitable giving, rescue, protection, shelter and gestures of kindness which are forgotten aspects in Middle Eastern research. This is an attempt to get at the often neglected story of compassion and care-giving in the Middle East. À Jérusalem, pendant les années 60, deux sœurs de l'ordre polonais des Sœurs de St. Elisabeth ont ressenti la vocation de soulager la souffrance des enfants vivant en dehors des murs de la Ville Sainte. Avec l'aide d'un emprunt et grâce à un « miracle », Sœur Raphaela et Sœur Kryspina ont pu financier la construction d'un orphelinat sur le Mont des Oliviers à Jérusalem, le'Foyer de la paix'. Aujourd'hui le 'Foyer de la paix' est dirigée par 15 sœurs qui nourrissent, lavent, instruisent et prennent soin d'une trentaine d'enfants, pour la plupart des filles de moins de 18 ans. L'article se penche sur des questions souvent laissées de côté dans la recherche sur le Moyen Orient de nos jours telles que le don charitable au quotidien sur la longue durée, le secours, la protection, l'abri et les gestes de gentillesse. Ceci est une tentative d'aborder l'histoire souvent oubliée de la compassion et du soin au Moyen Orient.
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Rabeya, Sumaiya, and Mohammad Hossain. "Critique of ethnic nationalism in the teachings of Said Nursi: A study of nationalism and the question of Islam in Bangladeshi identity." IIUC Studies 14, no. 2 (December 20, 2017): 71–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/iiucs.v14i2.39881.
Full textAbstract:
Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, a strong proponent of Muslim unity, was always against what he called negative nationalism in Muslim societies. While he believed that nationalism could play a positive role in arousing compassion of Muslims, he also warned of its potential drawbacks and adverse consequences as a tool for domination and causing harm. Ethnic nationalism is primarily seen in highly homogenous societies throughout the world today. Bangladeshi nationalism, as developed by its proponents, has however, failed to be inclusive, and instead works within a framework which tends towards exclusion. This paper, through a discursive discussion of historical narratives and aspects of identity formation, argues that recent manifestations of the ills of Bangladeshi nationalism, stems from deeper issues related to failure of resolving the place of religious identity, mainly Islamic identity, within the Bangladeshi identity. This has led to aspects of negative nationalism, such as deeply polarized society, and aided in maintaining the divisive dichotomy of the secular and religious within the nation state in Bangladesh.
IIUC Studies Vol.14(2) December 2017: 71-84