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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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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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Long, Ahmad Sunawari, Khaidzir Hj Ismail, Kamarudin Salleh, Saadiah Kumin, Halizah Omar, and Ahamed Sarjoon Razick. "An Analysis of the Post-War Community Relations between Buddhists and Muslims in Sri Lanka: A Muslim’s Perspective." Journal of Politics and Law 9, no. 6 (July 31, 2016): 42. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jpl.v9n6p42.
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Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country comprising four of the world’s major religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Buddhists are the predominant ethnic group, constituting 70.19% of the total population, while Muslims make up the second largest minority in the country. There are many records in the history to prove well the cordial relationship between Buddhists and Muslims in Sri Lanka. However, in the past couple of years, particularly during the aftermath of the civil war, tension may be observed in the relationship between these two religious groups. This is due to a campaign undertaken by a several Buddhist nationalist groups whose intensions are to create a division among these respective societies. These groups have been carrying protests against Muslim social, cultural and religious aspects, including issuing Halal certification, slaughtering of cattle, conducting prayer services, etc. Moreover, they have disseminated misinterpretations about Muslims and Islam with derogatory speeches among the Buddhist public, for the purpose of accomplishing above division. Given the above backdrop, this paper attempts to determine the post-war relationship between Muslims and Buddhists in the country, including major interrupting factors, through analyzing Muslims’ point of views. According to the results, there is no remarkable fluctuation in the relationships between Muslims and Buddhists, and Muslims have posited that there are several social, cultural and religious practices them that act as significant barriers to maintaining a better community relationship with Buddhists, such as slaughtering of cattle for meals. Therefore, almost all of the Muslims have been demanding proper guidelines regarding the slaughtering of cattle, the Niqabs (face cover of Muslim women), and other factors related to interrupting a better interaction with the Buddhists for better cordiality, within the context of Sri Lanka.
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Ryzhkova, Anna V. "TRANSFORMATION OF CHAN-BUDDHIST MOTIFS IN MONASTERY POETRY OF THE SONG DYNASTY (GENDER ASPECT)." Alfred Nobel University Journal of Philology 1, no. 23 (June 2022): 107–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.32342/2523-4463-2022-1-23-10.
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There are phenomena of Chan Buddhism as philosophical and religious dogma and embodiment of its rules in the center of the article. Study object is poetry of monks and nuns written during Song dynasty (lyrics of Dumu Jingang, Zhenru, Daoqian and Daoqiang). The study is based on the works of the Chinese (Hu Shih), Ukrainian (N. S. Isaieva), Russian (M.I. Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya, M.S. Ulanov), French (H.Ciхоus, C. Clement), Germany (S. Weigel) and American (N. Miller) researchers. However, in the same time we have noticed lack of the works addressed to analysis of the Chan poetry, its’ themes, images and symbols, so this space is ready and open for follow-up study. The main purpose of the article is to highlight the common and distinctive features of poetic works written by women and men as well as to designate level of themes transformation specific for Chan Buddhist poetry written by nuns and monks of Song Dynasty after analyzing meanings and poetics of their poetry. To achieve this goal, several methods were used – hermeneutic, historical and cultural, historical and literary, comparative methods as well as semantic and poetical analysis. This methodological base allow considering the lyrics of monks and nuns through the prism of the right explanation. Moreover, it help us to analyze gender and religious components, so we have highlighted the characteristics that are common and different for the Buddhist poetry of women and men. The article claims that particulary interesting point for researchers in feminist literary studies is the question of whether the text of a female author is different from the text of a male author. The French theorist of feminist literary studies E. Cixоus and the American psychologist N. Miller argue that the «female style» exists, but it is quite difficult to describe. According to the German literary critic S. Weigel and Doctor of Philology N.S. Isaeva, there are certain specific features that are inherent in works of art written by women (discontinuity, indentation, inconsistency, subjectivity, the desire for pleasure, the description of their own feelings), and for works written by men (logic, regularity, objectivity). If take a look at the issue of «female» and «male» style from the standpoint of Chan Buddhism, the closest position will be a completely different one. In some theoretical works concerning «feminine» it has been repeatedly emphasized that it does not oppose «masculine», because «feminine» by its nature denies the binary, dichotomy and hierarchy of created structures (including textual). Similarly, the chan denies any opposition and contrast. The results of our research show that Chan Buddhist poetry has a lot of themes created by using Chan Buddhist images and symbols. We have established that due to approach of Chan women and men are collateral because there is no dualism in the world, but after conducting a gender study we found that despite the principles of Chan Buddhism, it is still possible to identify similar and different features in the poetry of monks and nuns. We have found some transformation in the poetry written by men and women: at the level of themes, at the level of stylistic devices, as well as in the emotional component of poetry. Firstly, there are some themes which are found only in the poetry of monks: the theme of equality of everyone in front of Buddhist teachings, the theme of solitude (loneliness) or the theme of excommunication from the vain world, the theme of liberation from suffering (worries and attachments), the theme of meditative practices, the theme of accessibility of Chan teachings for everyone, the theme of suffering, the theme of harmony. Accordingly, in the lyrics of the nuns we found out the theme of joy, the theme of death, the theme of illusory contradictions. Secondly, there are small amount of stylistic devices in the Chan lyrics, but, despite this, we have concluded that only epithets are common to both the poems of monks and the poems of nuns. Antithesis and rhetorical questions are a sign of «male» style, and hyperbole is inherent in «female» style. Thirdly, the poetry of monks are objective and rational, what is a characteristic of «male» literature, while the poems of nuns are characterized by subjectivity and sensuality, what is a characteristic of «female» literature. On the contrary, we have detected that some themes are common for the monks’ and nuns’ poetry: theme of life’s worldliness, theme of meditation, theme of ease and lightness, theme of contradictions’ illusory, theme of isolation and solitude, theme of separation people to Chan Buddhists and laymen. To embody these themes authors used different images and symbols and such variety of stylistic devices shows that individual styles of writing in Chan Buddhism exist even though it may seem impossible in religious poetry, which conveys ideas of the certain religious doctrine. In summary, there is a plenty of Chan lyrics that have not been researches by Chinese scientists. Moreover, this poetry haven’t even been translated into other languages, hence, haven’t been analyzed and expounded by not Chinese researchers, so it is long-rage field to be researched.
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Hedi, Fathol, Abdul Ghofur Anshori, and Harun Harun. "Legal Policy of Interfaith Marriage in Indonesia." Hasanuddin Law Review 3, no. 3 (December 26, 2017): 263. http://dx.doi.org/10.20956/halrev.v3i3.1297.
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Marriage is not just a bond between men and women, but the inner bond between a man and a woman based on the One and Only God. This research was a philosophical normative, thus the approaches used were philosophical, normative, and historical. Besides, a qualitative-descriptive strategy was used in finding a depth description of the law politics of interfaith marriage regulation in Indonesia based on the the 1974 Marriage Law. The results show that the interfaith marriage is not regulated in the 1974 Marriage Law, because: First, the rejection of the majority of Muslims and the faction in Parliament because the interfaith marriage is against the aqidah (matters of faith) of Islam; Second, the interfaith marriage is contrary to the marriage culture in Indonesia, because marriage contains legal, sociology and religious aspects; Third, the interfaith marriage is contrary to the theological teachings of religions in Indonesia that do not want interfaith marriages, such as Islam, Christianity, Protestantism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Furthermore, the interfaith marriage is inconsistent with the philosophical purposes of marriage in Indonesia where the purpose of marriage forms a happy and eternal family based on the One Supreme God.
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Long, Ahmad Sunawari, Zaizul Ab Rahman, Ahamed Sarjoon Razick, and Kamarudin Salleh. "Muslim Socio-culture and Majority-Minority Relations in recent Sri Lanka." Journal of Politics and Law 10, no. 2 (February 28, 2017): 105. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jpl.v10n2p105.
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Sri Lanka is a nation in which multi-religious, multi-ethnic multi-language people live. Buddhists are the majority, while Muslims form the second minority group next to Tamils. Since historical times, the community relationship between Buddhists and Muslims has been prevailing. However, recently, a disturbing trend has been widely spreading among the Buddhists and Muslims. This situation has emerged during the aftermath of the anti-Muslim campaigns set by a number of Buddhist Nationalist Groups (BNGs), with their main goal being to propagate incorrect opinions about the Muslims to promote negative views about their socio-culture, and to distort the idea of a peaceful relationship between Buddhists and Muslims in the country. Accordingly, in the past several years, they have campaigned against halal certification on consumer goods, hijab and niqab of Muslim women, cattle slaughtering, places of worship and prayer services, among others. Moreover, they spread out the illusion that the above aspects of Muslim socio-culture are notable threats to the Buddhist people. So, these aspects are assumed by the Buddhists to be obstacles for maintaining a community relationship with Muslims. On the above background, analyzing the extent to which the above aspects influence the majority-Buddhists and minority-Muslims relationship, and determining as to whether an unfastened relationship will prevail between them, are the main objectives of this study. Based on the results, it is certainly affirmed that the above Muslim socio-cultural aspects, except slaughtering of cattle, have not pushed their influences to damage the Buddhist-Muslim relationship in Sri Lanka. In this respect, it was found that the aspect of ‘slaughtering of cattle’ is the only obstacle to the Buddhist-Muslim relationship. Furthermore, the recent campaigns have not changed the Buddhists’ mood in terms of maintaining a better relationship with Muslims. Moreover, the campaigns did not change their habits in keeping up the relationships with Muslims, without any break as how they behaved during the war (1984-2009) and pre-war periods. However, it is worthy to note that the BNGs have succeeded through their campaigns to create a negative Muslim stereotype among a small population of Buddhists in Sri Lanka.
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Fitzgerald, Kati. "Preliminary Practices: Bloody Knees, Calloused Palms, and the Transformative Nature of Women’s Labor." Religions 11, no. 12 (November 26, 2020): 636. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel11120636.
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In this article, I explore the prostration accumulation portion of the Preliminary Practices of a specific group of Tibetan Buddhist women in Bongwa Mayma, a rural area of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province. I focus specifically on the nuns and lay women who utilize this set of teachings and practices. The Preliminary Practices not only initiate practitioners into a specific tradition (that of the Drikung Kagyu and more specifically the Amitabha practices of this lineage), but also more fundamentally into Vajrayāna Buddhism as it is practiced in contemporary Tibet. Although monks and male lay practitioners in this region also tend to perform the same Preliminary Practices, I focus specifically on women because of their unique relationship with bodily labor. I begin this article with a discussion of the domestic and economic labor practices of contemporary Tibetan women in rural Yushu, followed by an analysis of Preliminary Practices as understood through the Preliminary Practice text and oral commentaries utilized by all interviewees and interviews (collected from 2016–2020) with female practitioners about their motivations, experiences, and realizations during the Refuge and prostration accumulation portion of their Preliminary Practices. Women themselves view bodily labor as a productive and inevitable aspect of life. On the one hand, women state openly that their domestic duties impede upon their ability to achieve religious realization. On the other, they frequently extol the virtues of hard work, perseverance, patience, and fortitude that their lives of labor helped them to cultivate. Prostration is meant to embody the act of going for Refuge, of submitting oneself to the teachings of the Buddha, to the path of the dharma, and to the community of religious practitioners with whom they will study and grow. Prostrations are meant to embody the extreme difficulty of Refuge, to remove obscurations, to crush the ego, and to confirm a dedication to endure the hardships on the path to realization. Buddhist women, despite their ambiguous relationship with physical labor, see the physical pain of this process as a transformative experience that allows them a glimpse of the spaciousness of mind and freedom from attachment-filled desire promised in the teachings they receive.
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Yates, Robin. "Medicine for Women in Early China: A Preliminary Survey." NAN NÜ 7, no. 2 (2005): 127–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156852605775248702.
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AbstractThis study reviews aspects of the history of medicine for women from approximately the third century BCE to the tenth century CE. It focuses on therapies during the months of pregnancy and childbirth as recorded in newly discovered texts, on the developing pharmacopeia, and on ritual procedures. It argues that acupuncture was used only rarely on pregnant women and that many cultural and religious beliefs and practices, including those drawn from the Buddhist, Daoist, and popular traditions, influenced procedures undertaken in preparation for and during the birth process.
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Ardhana, I. Ketut. "FEMALE DEITIES IN BALINESE SOCIETY: LOCAL GENIOUS, INDIAN INFLUENCES, AND THEIR WORSHIP." International Journal of Interreligious and Intercultural Studies 1, no. 1 (October 1, 2018): 42–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.32795/ijiis.vol1.iss1.2018.36.
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One of the main issues that has been discussed in Indonesia regarding the democracy process in a modern world is about the feminism and gender issues. On the one hand, women are considered to play limited roles, whilst on the other hand, the men have always been considered to play a significant role. This can be traced back in the long process of the Balinese history not only in terms of political aspect, but also in the context of socio cultural aspects. It is important to look at what has happened in the Balinese societies, since Bali is known as a Hindu mozaic in Southeast Asia. The Balinese society has its own culture based on local culture that is strongly influenced by the Indian or Indic culture. The Balinese society is a patrilineal system, in which a man has a higher position, but in fact it was even Bali had a woman princess, who was of mixed Javanese and Balinese heritage, a wife of King Udayana of Bali between the 10th and 11th century. Both of them were considered as the Balinese kings at the same time. In the era of these two kings they were successful in integrating between Hinduism and Buddhism. Until now, the Balinese believe the soul of Mahendradatta as Durga. The main questions that will be addressed in this paper are firstly: how do the Balinese interpret the female deities? Secondly, how do they worship them? Thirdly, what is the meaning of this worship in terms of religious and cultural aspects in the modern and postmodern time? By discussing these issues, it is expected that we will have a better understanding on how the Balinese worship the female deities in the prehistoric, classical, and modern times in the context of a global or universal culture
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Brauner-Otto, Sarah R., and Lisa Pearce. "The Gendered Relationship between Parental Religiousness and Children’s Marriage Timing." Sociology of Religion 81, no. 4 (2020): 413–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/socrel/sraa014.
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Abstract In this article, we examine whether mother’s and father’s self-reported religiousness relates differently to the timing of their children’s marriages. Conceptualizing religion as one source of cultural schema about marriage that is likely to conflict with other schemas for living, and theorizing that women are more likely to experience structured ambivalence over religious schema and their enactment than men, we predict father’s religiousness will be associated with children’s marriage in accordance with religious dogma, whereas the experience of structured ambivalence yields a more complex relationship between mother’s religiousness and their children’s marriage. Using longitudinal data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal, a primarily Hindu and Buddhist setting, we find contrasting associations between son’s marriage timing and mothers’ and fathers’ religiousness. This provides empirical support for theoretical frameworks that emphasize the gendered nature of religious identity and suggests the influence of religion on other aspects of life is gendered.
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Mirnig, Nina. "Early Strata of Śaivism in the Kathmandu Valley." Indo-Iranian Journal 59, no. 4 (2016): 309–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15728536-05904001.
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The Sanskrit liṅga pedestal inscriptions produced in the Kathmandu Valley during the Licchavi period between 466 and 645 CE are the earliest dated sources for local Śaiva religious activities. This article aims at a comprehensive survey and analysis of this group of inscriptions, examining (1) their material aspects and locations, (2) donative patterns and related social and economic features, such as the prominent agency of merchants and women of high rank, and (3) religious concepts linked to the spiritual and soteriological reasons for establishing the liṅgas, as expressed in the donative formulas. In addition, these formulas will be compared to contemporaneous prescriptive literature (e.g. the Śivadharmaśāstra) as well as to Buddhist donative practices. As will be shown, the Pashupatinath temple emerged as a key site in the propagation and shaping of liṅga worship, with the accumulation of wealth and related socio-religious activities contributing to the appearance of local Pāśupata groups and the elevation of Pashupatinath’s status to that of a national shrine.
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ALI, Forkan. "The Dynamics of Islamic Ideology with Regard to Gender and Women’s Education in South Asia." Asian Studies 6, no. 1 (January 30, 2018): 33–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.4312/as.2018.6.1.33-52.
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The article presents an investigation on certain anthropological-social aspects and the social organization of women with a focus on female education and women’s rights in Islam in South Asia, and especially in the subcontinent. It starts with the Moghul period and then turns to the colonial era and contemporary developments. Through the movement for independence from colonial rule of Britain, the Muslim identity in the South Asian region rose in a state of transformation, reform and development. This occurred due to several factors that encouraged the regeneration and reviewing of Indian society in response to the condemnation, discrimination and chauvinism of their colonial rulers and their deep-seated legacy. Women of the society, who were censured to be subjugated by the native men as entitled by colonial rulers, empowered this transformation by taking direct and indirect participation in it even though patriarchal norms and mind-sets have been a durable feature of South Asian society, cutting across faith communities and social strata, including the Hindu, Buddhist and other non-Islamic traditions on the subcontinent. While religious arguments are generally used in efforts to preserve the asymmetrical status of men and women in economic, political, and social arenas, this investigation attempts to show that religious traditions in South Asia are not monolithic in their perceptions of gender and women’s education. The structure of gender roles in these traditions is a consequence of various historical practices and ideological influences. Today, there is a substantial variability within and between religious communities concerning the social status of women. At different times and in different milieus, religious points of view have been deployed to validate male authority over women and, in opposition, to call for more impartial gender relations.
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Iriani, Ade, Hamzon Situmorang, and T. Tyrhaya Zein. "The Social Reality of Japanese Society in Rei Kimura's Novel Butterfly in The Wind." Madah: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra 12, no. 1 (May 3, 2021): 118–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.31503/madah.v12i1.400.
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This study is a literary study that discusses the picture of the social reality of Japanese society in a novel by Rei Kimura entitled Butterfly in the Wind. The method used is descriptive analytic. The data are in the form of excerpts or sentence excerpts in novels that describe the social reality of Japanese society. The theory used is the sociological theory of literature and Marx's social analysis approach. From the analysis, it is concluded that various social realities of Japanese society are depicted in the novel Butterfly in the Wind which includes aspects of politics, economy, culture, education, family, morals, gender, religion, and technology. In the political aspect, it is illustrated that the attitude of government (bakufu) is arbitrary and unfair, especially among farmers and fishermen groups. The economic aspect illustrates the economic gap between groups of aristocrats and ordinary people. Cultural and religious aspects are reflected in the patriarchal culture of Japanese society and Buddhist rituals which are carried out such as funeral processions. The aspect of education illustrates the unfairness and distribution of education for Japanese society at that time. The family aspect shows a picture of affection between family members, especially parents and children. The moral aspect is reflected in the behavior of people who hate Okichi's background as a concubine. The gender aspect illustrates the gender bias between men and women. Finally, on the technological aspect, the reality of Japanese technology is still low compared to European and American countries.
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Belova, Darya Nikolaevna. "The Role of the Cat in the Art and Culture of Japan." Культура и искусство, no. 10 (October 2022): 38–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.7256/2454-0625.2022.10.38889.
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The article is devoted to the interaction and transformation of a mythological, mystical creature (cat) with a female image in Japanese painting. The subject of the study is the images of cats and women on scrolls and engravings of the XVIII-XX centuries. Attention is focused on the modern mythological aspect of Japanese culture. The aesthetic canons of beauty perception in the context of the national culture of Japan, based on Shintoism and Buddhism, are emphasized. Comparative historical and iconographic research methods were used in the analysis of cultural, philosophical and art-historical scientific materials. The relevance of the topic is due to the revival of interest in the mythological heritage of Japan, the transformation of mythological images and their feminization in modern popular culture. The novelty of the research lies in the comparative analysis of female images and mythological images of cats in Japanese classical painting and modern kawaii culture, based on the philosophical and aesthetic traditions of Japan. The novelty of the research lies in the comparative analysis of female images and mythological images of cats in Japanese classical painting and modern kawaii culture, based on the philosophical and aesthetic traditions of Japan. An attempt is made to compare the mythological images of cats and female images in both traditional and modern artistic images. It is concluded that national traditions and mentality are of great importance for the evaluation of Japanese mythological images, despite the historical period of time. Of particular importance is the perception of female images in kawaii, due to the aesthetic and religious foundations of Japanese society, given that the myth is firmly embedded in popular culture. It is emphasized that the kawaii culture is an independent aesthetic phenomenon.
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Osipova, N. G. "Social aspects of main religious doctrines: Buddhism." Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 18. Sociology and Political Science 27, no. 3 (October 4, 2021): 105–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.24290/1029-3736-2021-27-3-105-128.
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The article examines in detail the problems associated with the development of Buddhism, which introduced a personal aspect to religion and embodied the idea of the need for compassion for all living beings. A special place is occupied by the analysis of the moral and social component of this religion. Buddhism is seen as a protest movement that originated in India and is directed against the frozen hierarchy, mechanical ritualism and greed of the Brahmins. This religion challenged the Brahmin hierarchy, appealing primarily to warriors, kings, and the mass of the free population. The Buddhist community was a brotherhood of mendicant monks who did not perform any rituals, but only showed people the way to salvation by the example of their lives. Buddhism is also one of the radical reformist teachings, not only intellectually, but also socially. He called people, first of all, to inner perfection, the last stage of which can be achieved only through kindness and benevolence to all living beings. The central point of this article is devoted to the debate about the reality of the Buddha’s existence, his teaching and the transformations of this teaching. A significant place is given to the description of the way of life of Buddhist monks, the relationship within the Buddhist community and with the laity. The reasons for the attractiveness of Buddhism and its easy adaptability to other religious doctrines are substantiated. The possibilities of transformation of Buddhism, including within the framework of syncretic creeds, as well as in the activities of totalitarian and pseudo-religious sects, are shown. Examples of the politicization of this religion and its inclusion in the activities of fundamentalist organizations are given.
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Miller, Joyce. "Women in British Buddhism: commitment, connection, community." Journal of Beliefs & Values 41, no. 2 (October 29, 2019): 248–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2019.1684151.
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Kinnard, Jacob N. "Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism. Miranda Shaw." Journal of Religion 75, no. 3 (July 1995): 455–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/489664.
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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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Pessini, Leo. "Religiões e bioética asiáticas a partir da China. Algumas notas reflexivas." Revista Eclesiástica Brasileira 75, no. 299 (August 14, 2018): 658. http://dx.doi.org/10.29386/reb.v75i299.305.
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Síntese: O objetivo do presente artigo é de suscitar algumas reflexões bioéticas a partir do mundo Asiático, especificamente da China continental, com sua cultura, história e tradições multimilenárias. Nosso referencial se faz a partir de viagens culturais e da participação em quatro Congressos Mundiais de Bioética realizados na Ásia e de leituras a partir de questões socioculturais, políticas e de direitos humanos. Quando se fala da China, hoje, pensamos na grandeza geográfica, cultura milenar, com sua fantástica muralha, que em tempos passados a protegia de invasões, país mais populoso do planeta, com mais de 1,3 bilhão de pessoas e passando hoje por um crescimento econômico espantoso, que em breve a colocará como a primeira economia mundial, segundo economistas ocidentais. Para contextualizarmos nossa reflexão e situar o leitor, nosso ponto de partida apresenta alguns aspectos socioculturais, políticos e históricos da China, com referências rápidas a Taiwan e ao Tibete. Seguimos decodificando em que consiste a chamada “política do filho único” e a condição da mulher, bem como o massacre da Praça Tiananmen, em 1989. Impossível compreender os valores culturais e o estilo de vida chineses, sem saber algo das “maiores” religiões chinesas – Confucionismo, Taoísmo e Budismo –, que, para nós ocidentais, soam mais como filosofias de vida do que religiões propriamente. Finalmente, perguntamo-nos o que podemos aprender desse mundo tão diverso e diferente de nossa cultura ocidental.Palavras-chave: Bioética. China. Religião. Ásia.Abstract: The purpose of this article is to raise some bioethical reflections about the Asian world, in particular about mainland China, with its multimillennial culture, history and traditions. Our data results from a series of cultural trips and participation in four World Congresses on Bioethics held in Asia as well as from the literature on socio-cultural, political and human rights. When speaking of China, today, we think of its geographical greatness, its ancient culture, its fantastic wall that, in the past, protected it from invasions. China is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion people and currently going through a period of astonishing economic growth, which, according to Western economists, will soon make of it the first economy in the world. To contextualize our reflection and situate the reader, we start by presenting some socio-cultural, political and historical aspects of China, with a brief reference to Taiwan and Tibet. Next, we will explain what the so-called “one-child policy” actually means, will examine the status of Chinese women and look at the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. It is impossible to understand the Chinese cultural values and lifestyle, without knowing something about its “major” religions - Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism - that, for us Westerners, sound more like life philosophies than religion itself. Finally, we ask ourselves what we can learn from this world so diverse and different from our Western culture.Keywords: Bioethics. China. Religion. Asia.
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Byrne, Jean. "Why I Am Not a Buddhist Feminist: A Critical Examination of ‘Buddhist Feminism’." Feminist Theology 21, no. 2 (December 17, 2012): 180–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0966735012464149.
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Feminist Buddhology is a burgeoning area of study, with many scholar-practitioners examining the interaction between Buddhism and feminist theory. Here I examine the contributions made by Buddhist Feminists and argue that, in general, Feminist Buddhology runs the serious risk of being ‘apologist’. I contrast the discrimination against women evident in Buddhist traditions with the claims of Buddhist Feminists that ‘Buddhism is feminism’ and ‘feminism is Buddhism’. In order to do so I provide a brief history or the position of women in Buddhism, an overview of Feminist Buddhology and lastly the beginnings of an alternate perspective from which we may interweave Buddhism and feminism, without an underlying apologist perspective.
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Wilson, Liz. "Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism. Miranda Shaw." History of Religions 36, no. 1 (August 1996): 60–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/463446.
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Llewellyn, Dawn. "Women in British Buddhism: Commitment, Connection, Community." Journal of Contemporary Religion 36, no. 1 (January 2, 2021): 185–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2021.1873568.
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Kolata, Paulina, and Gwendolyn Gillson. "Feasting with Buddhist Women: Food Literacy in Religious Belonging." Numen 68, no. 5-6 (September 20, 2021): 567–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685276-12341640.
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Abstract This ethnographic study shows that women’s knowledge and practices involving food in Japanese Buddhist contexts circulate as gendered currency. It emphasizes how what we term “food literacy” cultivates aesthetic and affective senses of belonging among Buddhist practitioners. We argue that this embodied knowledge helps women negotiate their experiences of Buddhism and show how these experiences articulate the complexities of their bounded and self-disciplining Buddhist selves. Women use food literacy to teach, learn, and practice the way Buddhism feels and etch it into their own and others’ emotional, social, and material bodies. By recognizing women as stewards of religion, particularly through food literacy, we also elucidate how women’s uses of mundane practices illuminate food literacy as a value carrier that generates belonging through food. Such practices can equally become sites of failure to connect if the intended recipients do not share understandings or appreciations of the aesthetic and affective dimensions of it.
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Xu, Ting, Xiaohe Xu, Thankam Sunil, and Bangon Sirisunyaluck. "Buddhism and Depressive Symptoms among Married Women in Urban Thailand." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 3 (January 25, 2020): 761. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030761.
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A growing body of research has documented salutary associations between religious involvement and poor mental health outcomes, such as depressive symptoms and psychological distress. However, little scholarly attention has been given to the association between Buddhism, a non-Western religious faith, and depressive symptomatology in Thailand. Using random survey data collected from urban Thailand, this study examines the association between religious involvement and depressive symptoms among married women in Bangkok. Findings from multiple linear regression models reveal that (1) Buddhist respondents report significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms than their non-Buddhist counterparts, (2) the frequency of participation in religious activities is significantly and inversely associated with the level of depressive symptoms, and (3) the inverse association between religious participation and depressive symptoms is more salient for Buddhists who frequently practice their faith (i.e., significant interaction effect). Research limitations and directions for future research are discussed.
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Krey, Gisela. "On Women as Teachers in Early Buddhism: Dhammadinn? and Khem?" Buddhist Studies Review 27, no. 1 (September 7, 2010): 17–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v27i1.17.
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The present article investigates two prominent bhikkhun?s, Dhammadinn? and Khem?, who were renowned for their preaching abilities in the time of the Buddha. It focuses on two texts of the Sutta-pi?aka, the C??avedalla-sutta and the Khem?ther?-sutta, and demonstrates how and why these texts were among the most authoritative in providing a measure for spiritual leadership among bhikkhun?s in early Buddhism. Among women who taught the Dhamma, Dhammadinn? and Khem? attract attention because the texts show them even teaching male listeners of high status. The examples of female leadership presented here challenge any view that throws doubt on the spiritual capability of women and may be used as models by contemporary Buddhist nuns.
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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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Li, Yu-Chen. "Taiwanese Nuns and Education Issues in Contemporary Taiwan." Religions 13, no. 9 (September 13, 2022): 847. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13090847.
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In this article, I discuss the Buddhist educational profile of nuns in contemporary Taiwan by introducing the development of monastic education for women. Taiwanese women’s mass ordination created a Buddhist renaissance after postwar Taiwan, a national ordination system based on monastic discipline, as well as the revival of monastic education. Both ordination and monastic education are very strong institutional settings for women’s monastic identity. Its findings, firstly, shed light on how the increased opportunities for women’s education in Taiwanese Buddhism have continuously attracted young female university students. Secondly, these so-called scholarly nuns come to Buddhist academies as students and eventually become instructors. These scholarly nuns elevate the standards of their Buddhist academies and use their original academic specializations to expand the educational curriculum of their school. The role of scholarly nuns in contemporary Taiwan exemplifies that Buddhism provides educational resources for women, as educational resources enhance women’s engagement in Buddhism.
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Lefebvre, Danielle. "The challenge of defining a woman's Tantric history." Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses 38, no. 2 (June 2009): 247–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/000842980903800203.
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In this paper I reflect on methodological problems that arise in the construction of women's religious history. I look to Miranda Shaw's Passionate Enlightenment, one of the first investigations into the lives of women in the early history of Tantric Buddhism, to initiate this discussion. Shaw introduces, in some instances for the first time, texts written by and about women in early Tantric communities in order to offer an authentic Tantric Buddhism where women occupied a high status as founders, teachers and practitioners. I suggest that such a history accepts the idealized constructions of gender, particularly as expressed through the category of experience, as evidence for the social reality of women. This reflects a larger trend in some feminist histories and I am interested in problematizing the search for authentic or "true". forms of religion.
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Yu-Sheng, Lin. "The Practices and Networks of Female Yiguan Dao Members in Buddhist Thailand." Nova Religio 22, no. 3 (February 1, 2019): 84–107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/nr.2019.22.3.84.
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Yiguan Dao’s similarity to Buddhism is often considered the reason for its expansion in Thailand and its attraction of not only ethnic Chinese members, but also Thai members. However, the teachings, practices, and networks of female Yiguan Dao members in Thailand are exemplary of Yiguan Dao’s discontinuities with established Buddhism in Thailand. In Thai Theravāda Buddhism, women’s full ordination as bhikkhunīs is not recognized by the authorities and much of the public, and women are considered subordinate to men in the religious dimension. Although certain ideas and practices regarding the reform of women’s status in Thai Buddhism have made advances, most reforms continue to face difficulties under the restrictions of the Thai Buddhist establishment. Although some sexist elements exist in its teachings, Yiguan Dao, a new religious movement in modern Thailand existing outside the framework of Buddhism, offers its female members a competitive alternative to women’s religious equality and geographic mobility in the pluralistic Thai religious marketplace.
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Baycroft, Anne. "Narratives of Religious Landscape: Reading Gender and Chinese Buddhism in the Travel Writing of Christian Women." Religions 13, no. 11 (November 4, 2022): 1062. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13111062.
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This article explores the narrative descriptions of the Chinese religious landscape embedded within nineteenth century Christian missionary writings. I demonstrate the potential use of Protestant missionary writings as sources in the academic study of religion in China for both the physical descriptions of religious places that they contain and the narratives they express regarding the religious activities and identities of Chinese women. Of particular interest to this study are the religious encounters experienced between Christian and Buddhist women. My analysis of the travel writings of three Protestant women, Eliza Bridgeman (1805–1871), Helen Nevius (1833–1910), and Isabelle Williamson (d. 1886), illustrates that Chinese women were highly active within sacred spaces across China. This article contributes to discourses on the history of women and Chinese Buddhism, offers historiographical insights into the origins of Western academic studies of Buddhism in China, and provides alternate source material for information about religious continuity and change in early modern China.
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Largen, Kristin Johnston. "Women and Shin Buddhism: Contemporary Responses to a Challenging Doctrine." Buddhist-Christian Studies 42, no. 1 (2022): 157–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/bcs.2022.0008.
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Stortini, Paride. "Buddhism and Cultural Heritage in the Memorialization of the Hiroshima Bombing: The Art and Activism of Hirayama Ikuo." Religions 13, no. 2 (February 5, 2022): 146. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13020146.
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Debates on the memorialization of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima have played an essential role in the construction of postwar Japanese identity, public memory, and historical consciousness. Religion, often conceived beyond traditional terms through concepts such as “spirituality” and “heritage”, was part of this process. This article examines the role of Buddhism in the autobiographical and visual narratives of the atomic bomb survivor Hirayama Ikuo, who expressed his personal trauma through art, turning it into a call for peace and for the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Silk Road, associated with the spread of Buddhism. Using recent critical approaches to heritage studies, I will show how the heritagization of Buddhism in Hirayama’s work does not preclude the sacralization of aspects of Silk Road heritage. Placing Hirayama’s approach to the nuclear bombing in the context of postwar discourses on Japan as a peaceful “nation of culture”, I will also problematize his view of Buddhism and the Silk Road by showing how similar views were used in support of imperialism in the prewar period.
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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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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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Belova, Darya Nikolaevna. "Manifestation of female image in iconography of the Tibetan thangka and orthodox icon." Культура и искусство, no. 5 (May 2020): 1–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.7256/2454-0625.2020.5.32764.
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This article analyzes the female beginning reflected in the Buddhist art of thangka, and emphasizes its specificity in comparison with the Orthodox icon. The author examines symbolism of the key visual elements that form iconography of female characters and their color solution, as well as analyzes the symbolism of light in thangka painting and painting of icons. In drawing parallels between light symbolism of a female image in both types of religious paintings, the author determines their definite similarity in perception of light as a divine beginning of enlightened mind. The subject of this study is the Tibetan thangka and the Orthodox icon, viewed in the context of evolution of the female divine image within the chronological framework of the XV – XVII centuries. The relevance is substantiated by the growing interest of various experts to the religious painting thangka. In examination of sacred images of Buddhist thangkas and Orthodox icons were applied the comparative-historical and iconographic methods that lean on philosophical, culturological and art scientific materials. The novelty consists in the fact that based comparative analysis of the material of Tibetan thangkas and Orthodox icons, the author explores the traditions of depicting light manifestations of sacred images of women. Iconographic plot traces the formation of light and its role in creation of the female guise of wisdom. The conclusion is made that for assessing the Tibetan Buddhist art of thangka and Orthodox icon it is necessary to grasp the essence of female beginning and significance of the symbolism of light that indicates the aspect of wisdom and love on the path of spiritual growth.
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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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Lee, Chengpang, and Ling Han. "Mothers and Moral Activists." Nova Religio 19, no. 3 (February 1, 2016): 54–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/nr.2016.19.3.54.
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In this article we identify two models of women’s social engagement in contemporary Taiwanese Buddhism: mother and moral activist. The model of mother is represented by the famous Tzu Chi founder Shih Cheng Yen (b. 1937)—a Buddhist nun who is viewed by her followers as the embodiment of the compassionate mother ideal. The model of moral activist in contemporary Taiwanese Buddhism has received far less attention from scholars than Cheng Yen and Tzu Chi. However, in comparison to the model of mother, Taiwanese women who are moral activists actively challenge existing social institutions based on their Buddhist consciousness. This article discusses the nun Shih Chao-hwei (b. 1957) as representative of women moral activists and highlights two events—the public abandonment of the Eight Special Rules for nuns in 2001 and support for a lesbian wedding in 2012—to illustrate how moral activists challenge the existing patriarchal status quo. We argue that these two models of women’s social engagement are equally important in contemporary Taiwanese Buddhism and are the two important sources of women’s social engagement that aims to alleviate suffering and improve society.
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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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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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ULANOV, MERGEN S. "WOMEN IN THE HISTORY OF BUDDHIST CULTURE OF MEDIEVAL JAPAN." CASPIAN REGION: Politics, Economics, Culture 65, no. 4 (2020): 97–103. http://dx.doi.org/10.21672/1818-510x-2020-65-4-097-103.
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The article is devoted to the consideration of the role of women in the history of Buddhist culture in medieval Japan. The article examines the formation of the first female Buddhist monastic community in Japan. It is noted that the formation of the first Buddhist monastic community here was associated with women of Korean origin. A significant role in the institutionalization of Buddhism in Japan and its transformation into the dominant ideology was played by the Japanese empresses, who were impressed by the Buddhist approach to the religious status of women. The Japanese empresses actively supported the construction of Buddhist temples, donated land and significant funds to them. While pursuing a policy of strengthening the Buddhist church, they simultaneously contributed to its centralization and the establishment of strict control over the sangha by the state. The social and confessional status of women in the history of medieval Japan was constantly changing. If, until the end of the Nara period, nuns had the same social and confessional status as monks, then in the Heian era, nuns were removed from government positions and state ceremonies, and in religious treatises the opinion that women could not find salvation until will not be reborn as men. During the Kamakura and Muromachi eras, women again began to play an active role in society, including in religious institutions. During this period, new directions of Buddhism appeared (Amidaism, Soto-Zen, the Nichiren school), in whose doctrines the attitude towards women was more respectful. In the subsequent period, there was an increase in the influence of Confucianism and a weakening of the position of Buddhism in Japanese society, which negatively affected the social status of women and the state of the female monastic community.
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Collett, Alice. "Historio-Critical Hermeneutics in the Study of Women in Early Indian Buddhism." Numen 56, no. 1 (2009): 91–117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156852708x373276.
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AbstractModern scholarly study of women in early Indian Buddhism began over a hundred years ago, towards the end of the nineteenth century. In this article, I assess strategies that have been prominent in scholarly engagement with the texts from the period that are pertinent to this debate. The article is focused around discussion of four historical-critical hermeneutic strategies which either have figured within the debate or, as is the case in the final section, are suggested as pertinent to the debate. The four strategies are: a hermeneutics of resonance; gender-construct hermeneutics; comparativist hermeneutics; and finally revisionist hermeneutics. The first three comprise strategies which have featured significantly in the debate, from its origins to changes that have arisen particularly during the last two decades. The final strategy is, essentially, my own assertion.
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Pham, Tiet Khanh. "The market of Theravada Buddhism in folk culture of the Khmers in Vietnam." Voprosy kul'turologii (Issues of Cultural Studies), no. 5 (May 31, 2022): 420–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.33920/nik-01-2205-05.
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Literature is a cultural phenomenon and literary works represent national cultural values. Cultural elements, including belief — religion, exist in relation to each other and are reflected in the phenomena and relationships in literature. For the Khmer in Vietnam, Theravada Buddhism is the main religion and the main factor influencing the Khmer's way of thinking and behavior in all aspects, including folklore. Through this article, by methods of statistics, classification, analysis, generalization, etc., the author presents the manifestations of the philosophy of cause and effect, the concept of filial piety of Theravada Buddhism through images. Symbols, artistic details in Khmer folklore works.
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Ulanov, Mergen. "Buddhism in the Feminist Context: Historical Experience and Modern Discourse." Logos et Praxis, no. 2 (September 2019): 14–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.15688/lp.jvolsu.2019.2.2.
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The author considers the problems of women's place in Buddhist culture in the context of feminist discourse. He notes that Buddhism is distinguished by a tolerant and respectful attitude to the female. Buddhism admits that women, along with men, are able to achieve enlightenment and find Nirvana. However, the relationship between male and female monastic orders in Buddhism was not fully equal. The order of nuns was considered to be the youngest in comparison with the order of monks, and the rules restricting the behavior of the nuns were more than for the monks, which was probably a forced step aimed at taking into account the realities of society. Despite this, the Foundation of the women's monastic organization, which opened the way for women to religious knowledge and spiritual rank, was in its essence a radical social revolution for that time. The emergence of the female monastic community was an example of a fundamentally new view of women and their position in society. With the release of Buddhism outside India female monasticism became widespread in many Asian countries. Later, however, in the countries of South, South-East Asia and Tibet, the Institute of full female monasticism disappeared. In the second half of the twentieth century the attempts to revive the Institute that have led to the emergence of the phenomenon of neonuns. As a result of the spread of Buddhism in the West, it was included in the field of gender studies and feminist discourse. The question of equality between women and men in Buddhism has been actively developed by Western female Buddhists in the feminist discourse, that has formed a statement about the original equality of the sexes in Buddhism. The theme of the status of women in society and their rights has become an important part of the social concept of Western Buddhism. The result was the emergence of the international women's Buddhist Association "Sakyadhita".
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Gosling, David L. "The Changing Roles of Thailand's Lay Nuns (Mae Chii)." Asian Journal of Social Science 26, no. 1 (1998): 121–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/030382498x00102.
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AbstractWhile the community development activities of Thai monks have received a good deal of attention, little consideration has been given to women, who are traditionally excluded from full membership of the sangha. These are, however, women lay practitioners of Buddhism known as mae chii, who are increasingly undertaking social roles which are similar and, in some cases, complementary to those of the monks. Such roles on the part of both monks and mae chii need to be set within the context of Tambiah's work on the worldly aspects of Thai Buddhism and his emphasis on the need to explore the continuities and the transformations between the anthropology and the history of religion.
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Kim, Seong-Hwan. "Buddhism in al-Fihrist of Ibn al-Nadīm." Institute of Middle Eastern Affairs 21, no. 2 (August 30, 2022): 265–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.52891/jmea.2022.21.1.265.
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This study analyzes the records related to Buddhism in Ibn al-Nadīm's al-Fihrist and examines how Muslims in the 10th century perceived Buddhism.
Al-Fihrist is a list of Arabic literature, consisting of a total of ten chapters(maqāla) and Ibn al-Nadīm recorded what he had seen and heard about Buddhism in Chapter nine. He described the character of Buddhists positively. However, he used the two terms for Buddha and Bodhisattva without distinction. He also introduced several claims about the Buddha's religious status, but did not clearly state his position on the Buddha from the Islamic perspective. Although his record mentions existence of many Buddhas, it lacks doctrinal explanation on the concept of multiple Buddhas. Also, Buddhists’ customs and statues of Buddha are described in relatively detail, but there are some parts that are confused with Hindu culture. Therefore, it seems that Muslims at that time showed some interest in external aspects of Buddhism such as Buddhist character, customs, and statues, but lacked a doctrinal understanding of Buddhism.
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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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Kaur, Gurmeet. "Tara in Vajrayana Buddhism: A Critical Content Analysis." Feminist Theology 30, no. 2 (November 10, 2021): 210–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09667350211055444.
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Tara is both a Buddhist and Hindu deity. She is widely worshipped in the esoteric branch of Buddhism: Vajrayana. Even in the exile, Tibetan refugees follow the practice and rituals associated with Tara. Lamentably, she has been given an auxiliary and secondary role in comparison to male deities. Various feminist scholars have begun to look at aspects of society through the lens of gender. They have been at the forefront of studying gender roles and its psychological consequences for those who try to abide by them. In religious studies, especially in Asian context, many of these discourses are difficult to perceive because they were unconsciously appropriated as truth by the people of the society in which they circulated as an inviolable aspect of the worlds or as nature. This study is an attempt to examine the representation of Goddess in various ancient texts as essential to the study of the divine feminine. This hybrid study merges traditional Indology with feminist studies, and is intended for specialists in the field, for readers with interest in Buddhist, and for scholars of Gender studies, cultural historians, and sociologists.
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Nesterkin, Sergei. "Formation of the image of Buddhism in Russia (late XIX – early XX centuries)." SENTENTIA. European Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, no. 1 (January 2022): 45–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.25136/1339-3057.2022.1.37082.
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The goal of this work is to examine the sources of establishment of the image of Buddhism in the Russian cultural environment, as well as determine the degree of representativeness of this image. The author outlines the three primary sources: 1) academic research works of the Western Schools of Buddhism (based on Pali and Sanskrit material); 2) research carried out within the framework of the Russian School of Buddhology (mainly based on Tibetan and Mongolian material); 3) research of the Russian Orthodox missionaries. It is determined that the key theoretical provision developed in the Anglo-Germanic School of Buddhology is the thesis on the authenticity of Theravāda Buddhism, which is considered as the "original,” and its other forms such as Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna) are its later modifications that emerged under the influence of external factors. The main features of Buddhism in Western Buddhology include: 1) Buddha Shakyamuni was not a transcendental being; 2) his nirvana is understood nihilistically, as the complete cessation of the process of existence; 3) Buddhism denies the existence of soul; 4) the existence of God alongside the idea of the transcendental are also denied. Despite the fact that the research based on Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna material demonstrate the failure of such assessments, the aforementioned theses continued to be reproduced. This is explained by the interest of certain significant social groups in such image of Buddhism. Firstly, this view was supported by many Orthodox figures. The interpretation of Buddhism as a philosophical-ethical rather than religious system propelled Buddhism beyond the boundaries of the religious search for people who find foothold in faith. Secondly, similar interpretation entailed the antagonistic attitudes of scholars and scientifically oriented society. Rational aspects of Buddhism that align it with science were uncritically overemphasized. Buddhism was viewed as an ally of the scientific way of thinking, completely alien to faith.
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Faure, Bernard R., and Andrea Castiglioni. "Aspects of Medieval Japanese Religion." Religions 13, no. 10 (September 23, 2022): 894. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rel13100894.
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The focus of this Special Issue is on medieval Japanese religion. Although Kamakura “new” Buddhist schools are usually taken as unquestioned landmarks of the medieval religious landscape, it is necessary to add complexity to this static picture in order to grasp the dynamic and hybrid character of the religious practices and theories that were produced during this historical period. This Special Issue will shed light on the diversity of medieval Japanese religion by adopting a wide range of analytical approaches, encompassing various fields of knowledge such as history, philosophy, materiality, literature, medical studies, and body theories. Its purpose is to expand the interpretative boundaries of medieval Japanese religion beyond Buddhism by emphasizing the importance of mountain asceticism (Shugendō), Yin and Yang (Onmyōdō) rituals, medical and soteriological practices, combinatory paradigms between local gods and Buddhist deities (medieval Shintō), hagiographies, religious cartography, conflations between performative arts and medieval Shintō mythologies, and material culture. This issue will foster scholarly comprehension of medieval Japanese religion as a growing network of heterogeneous religious traditions in permanent dialogue and reciprocal transformation. While there is a moderate amount of works that address some of the aspects described above, there is yet no publication attempting to embrace all these interrelated elements within a single volume. The present issue will attempt to make up for this lack. At the same time, it will provide a crucial contribution to the broad field of premodern Japanese religions, demonstrating the inadequacy of a rigid interpretative approach based on sectarian divisions and doctrinal separation. Our project underlines the hermeneutical importance of developing a polyphonic vision of the multifarious reality that lies at the core of medieval Japanese religion.
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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.