Digital Commons Network^™

Postmodernism And Budhism: A Postmodern Woman In A Modernizing Land, Ruthanne Joy Wenger Hughes

Senior Theses

Religion and postmodernism are two paradigms that guide my experience of life. Although it is not necessarily intuitive, these two paradigms do intersect and inform each other, shaping the way I engage with the world. With this understanding, I spent the Spring 2015 semester in the Kingdom of Bhutan and examined my time through a postmodern lens, writing a travel blog at www.bhutanbricolage.weebly.com that mediates my experiences there and my thoughts about Buddhism and postmodernism.

East Asian Buddhism, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

New Buddhist Silk Roads, Rosita Dellios, R. James Ferguson

Rosita Dellios

As China embarks on its One Belt, One Road Initiative it is recreating not only the economic Silk Road of the past but incorporating a Buddhist-based regionalism that stretched from Eurasia to maritime kingdoms in the southern seas. It was a mandalic world of trade and a dharma of easy communication between cultures and religions. After outlining China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative, this paper provides the historical setting of silk road regionalism with its Buddhist contribution, and then moves to the possibility of a new silk road mandala. The paper concludes with a Buddhist geopolitics of peace. Here Buddhism’s …

New Buddhist Silk Roads, Rosita Dellios, R. James Ferguson

R. James Ferguson

As China embarks on its One Belt, One Road Initiative it is recreating not only the economic Silk Road of the past but incorporating a Buddhist-based regionalism that stretched from Eurasia to maritime kingdoms in the southern seas. It was a mandalic world of trade and a dharma of easy communication between cultures and religions. After outlining China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative, this paper provides the historical setting of silk road regionalism with its Buddhist contribution, and then moves to the possibility of a new silk road mandala. The paper concludes with a Buddhist geopolitics of peace. Here Buddhism’s …

The Great Virtue Of Heaven And Earth 天地之大德:" Deep Ecology In The Yijing 易經, Joseph Adler

Joseph Adler

No abstract provided.

More Religious And Less Moral: The Changing Face Of Religious Coexistence In Ladakh, Henry Wilson-Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ladakh hosts a mixed population of Buddhists and Muslims that belies its popular image as a solely Buddhist replica of Tibet. Despite its unique history of religious integration, new pressures linked to globalisation are pulling the communities apart, with occasional and previously unheard-of communal conflict breaking out in recent decades. Through a comparison of historical and primary sources alongside first hand observation, this project traces the effects of external religious forces, the communal style of Indian politics, and the pressures of ‘development’ upon the local reality of religious coexistence in Ladakh. Despite the largely harmonious environment, it is clear that …

Theravada Buddhism, Identity, And Cultural Continuity In Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, James H. Granderson

Student Publications

This ethnographic field study focuses upon the relationship between the urban Jinghong and surrounding rural Dai population of lay people, as well as a few individuals from other ethnic groups, and Theravada Buddhism. Specifically, I observed how Theravada Buddhism and Dai ethnic culture are continued through the monastic system and the lay community that supports that system. I also observed how individuals balance living modern and urban lifestyles while also incorporating Theravada Buddhism into their daily lives. Both of these involved observing the relationship between Theravada monastics in city and rural temples and common people in daily life, as well …

From Tibetan Refugees To Transmigrants: Negotiating Cultural Continuity And Economic Mobility Through Migration, Namgyal Choedup

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

This dissertation research, funded by International Dissertation Research Fellowship from Social Science Research Council, investigates how a group of people, who continues to valorize their “statelessness”, critically and actively engages with the powers and policies of host nation-states and international geopolitics to negotiate their individual and collective goals of socio-economic mobility and cultural continuity. Through the study of lived experiences of three generations of Tibetan exiles living as “stateless” people in India, the study investigates historical and contemporary expressions of nation-state, homeland, cultural and ethnic identity within the Tibetan exile communities in India with reference to …

Ancient Magic And Modern Accessories: Developments In The Omamori Phenomenon, Eric Teixeira Mendes

Masters Theses

This thesis offers an examination of modern Japanese amulets, called omamori, distributed by Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines throughout Japan. As amulets, these objects are meant to be carried by a person at all times in which they wish to receive the benefits that an omamori is said to offer. In modern times, in addition to being a religious object, these amulets have become accessories for cell-phones, bags, purses, and automobiles. Said to protect people from accidents, disease, loneliness, failure, computer viruses, among many other things, these objects are one of the few material aspects of religion that are a …

What Is Buddhist Law? Opening Ideas, Rebecca Redwood French

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

What Is Buddhist Law?, Rebecca Redwood French

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Public Philosophy: Cross-Cultural And Multi-Disciplinary, Anand Jayprakash Vaidya

Comparative Philosophy

In this paper I propose a future direction for comparative philosophy on which it enters the space of public philosophy by capitalizing on the fact that it is already cross-cultural, and adding multi-disciplinary research to its proper foundation. This is not a new thesis. Rather, it is an ideological articulation of thought that is already underway in what is sometimes called fusion philosophy, as found in the work of Evan Thompson, Jay Garfield, or Christian Coseru. My articulation begins with a non-exhaustive delineation of distinct types of public-philosophy that are already well known in the public space. One core distinction …

Which Medicine? Medicine-Taking And Changing Sherpa Lives, Susan Heydon

HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies

An increasing quantity of medicines, including medicines of different healing systems, have become available since the nineteen fifties to the mainly Sherpa inhabitants of the Mt. Everest region of Nepal. Considerable change and economic development has occurred in which this mountainous and remote area has become one of Nepal’s principal tourist destinations and people have gained access to education, health services, and modern means of communication. Many Sherpa travel regularly in Nepal and overseas, especially for work, education, or pilgrimage, or have migrated permanently. Focusing on oral histories, this article explores factors that have influenced people’s use of different medicines …

Review Of A Cultural History Of Japanese Buddhism By Brian Ruppert And William E. Deal, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

The Fruits Of Shady Grove: Seeing The Forest For The Trees, Glenn S. Koppel

Akron Law Review

Part II will sketch the facts of the case to prepare for an exploration of the roots of Shady Grove in Part III, which traces the evolution of the Court’s Erie jurisprudence. At various points along the way, I will stop to anticipate where one or more of the several opinions in Shady Grove will shed light, in Part IV, on the meaning of Shady Grove

Compassion & Social Justice: 14th Sakyadhita International Conference On Buddhist Women, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

The 14 Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, is an extraordinary crosscultural opportunity. Focusing on the theme “Compassion and Social Justice,” the conference introduces activists of the social justice movements in Indonesia and other Asian countries to Buddhist feminist wisdom, social analysis, lives, and experiences. At the same time, it introduces Buddhist communities to Indonesian activists and local social justice movements. The conference provides a space for attendees, volunteers, interpreters, and seminar and workshop presenters of different backgrounds to interact and break down perceived barriers. It creates a foundation for future collaborations among Buddhist feminists and social …

Review: Ōtani Ei'ichi, Kindai Bukkyō To Iu Shiza: Sensō, Ajia, Shakaishugi (The Perspective Of Modern Buddhism: War, Asia, Socialism) (Perikansha, 2012)., James Shields

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Toward A Buddhist Theory Of Structural Peace: Lessons From Myanmar In Transition, Tatsushi Arai

Peace and Conflict Studies

This essay analyzes the result of in-depth interviews that the author conducted with Burmese Buddhist leaders, with a view toward building Buddhist theories of social conflict, reconciliation, and structural peace. Findings include their shared understanding of the deeply spiritual, inner-directed nature of conflict and reconciliation, and their highly divergent, contested understandings of the structural roots of human suffering in today’s globalized and interconnected world. To meet these structural challenges, this essay introduces the concept of structural awareness, which it defines as educated, enlightened consciousness to appreciate and act responsibly on the complex chains of causal relations in which well-intended action …

The Gospel In Singapore - The Impact Of Civil Religion And Civil Law, Mark Madson

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Madson, Mark, J. “The Gospel in Singapore: The Impact of Civil Religion and Civil Law.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2015. 240 pp.

The author explores the development of civil religion in the Republic of Singapore, paying special attention to its sources in English common law, Confucianism, and the Peoples’ Action Party (PAP) ideology of economic pragmatism. Colonial and modern civil religious law, including the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act of 1990, serve as the basis for analyzing the interaction of the state and traditional religious traditions. The Singapore Story, as told by Lee Kuan Yew and the PAP, provides a …

Sameer Honwad, Assistant Professor Of Stem Education, Travels To Bhutan, Sameer Honwad

Faculty Travel Reports

Assistance from the CIE development grant helped me travel to Bhutan, in order to continue my ongoing work on environmental decision-making and formal curriculum design to support sustainable decision-making processes among youth in Bhutan. The trip was also meant to build partnerships with the environmental science faculty in Bhutan and to explore the possibility of designing a cross-cultural collaborative learning environment for undergraduate students at UNH and the Royal Thimpu College in Bhutan.

How American Women Are Changing Buddhism, Cassie Goode

Senior Theses and Projects

In my thesis I argued that American women are changing Buddhism by incorporating Western ideas into the tradition, and that Buddhism changes Americans by giving them modern principles and teachings. I gave descriptions of eight women, half ordained nuns and half Buddhist teachers, to show what they are doing to change and “Americanize” the religion. In the final chapter, I gave abortion as a case study to how Buddhist principles are being used to help American women cope with an abortion. This except is from the chapter on abortion.

Buddhism (The Conversion Of Captain American: Buddhism And Postwar Us Popular Culture), James Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Theravada Buddhism And Dai Identity In Jinghong, Xishuangbanna, James Granderson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This ethnographic field project focused upon the relationship between the urban Jinghong and surrounding rural Dai population of lay people, as well as a few individuals from other ethnic groups, and Theravada Buddhism. Specifically, I observed how Buddhism manifests itself in daily urban life, the relationship between Theravada monastics in city and rural temples and common people in daily life, as well as important events wherelay people and monastics interacted with one another. This research was intended to fulfill a need to observe how Theravada Buddhism influences Dai lives on the mundane level.This involved a several week study period in …

Review Of Buddhism And American Cinema Edited By John Whalen-Bridge And Gary Storhoff, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

"Trigger Warnings": Balancing Challenging Material With Overwhelming Students, Susan Gere

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Students with trauma histories are requesting explicit alerts called "trigger warnings" that required course material may be upsetting to them. This workshop provides a conceptual discussion of what constitutes student trauma history; a summary of a qualitative research project with faculty who teach student trauma survivors; and practical suggestions for balancing healthy classroom culture with the demands of content. Relevant for all chairpersons.

Grace Becomes Us Reflections On The Ignatian Spiritual Exercises From A Buddhist Perspective, Paul W. Humphreys

Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Buddhism As Performing Art: Visualizing Music In The Tibetan Sacred Ritual Music Liturgies, Jeffrey W. Cupchik

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

The eleventh-century Tibetan female ascetic, Machik Labdrön (1055-1153), developed a Vajrayāna (Tantric) Buddhist meditation method called Chöd (Tib. gCod, Eng. “to cut”) and associated ritual practices as a means of eliminating “self-grasping,” which is defined as the mistaken instinct of regarding one’s “self” and all phenomena as intrinsically, or independently, existent. Her musical-meditation method became renowned across Central Asia during her lifetime, and Chödritual practices and liturgies have been transmitted from teacher to disciple in unbroken lineages until today. The ritual is now well known globally, with Tibetan Lamas, nuns, and empowered exponents teaching widely, across a transnational …

Buddhism, Confucianism, And Western Conceptions Of Personal Autonomy, Joshua Sias

The Downtown Review

The contemporary conversation surrounding personal autonomy theory is primarily concerned with discussing autonomy in relation to western liberal conceptions of individualism, society, and other elements surrounding modern understandings of personal autonomy. An outsider reviewing the modern discourse over personal autonomy theory may be led to believe that either those within the conversation are simply indifferent to the exclusion of eastern philosophical notions relevant to self-government (and self-determination), or that eastern classical models are incapable of offering much to the discussion of personal autonomy. The following paper is aimed at addressing common components of the modern discussion over personal autonomy theory …

A Review Of Critical Buddhism: Engaging With Modern Japanese Buddhist Thought, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

KūKai's Epitaph For Master Huiguo: An Introduction And Translation, Ronald S. Green, Chanju Mun

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.