Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons^™

Dispelling Delusion And Seeing Nature: A Comparative Analysis Of Lucretius’ _De Rerum Natura_ And Hui-Neng’S _Platform Sutra_, Isaac Raymond

Honors Theses

Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura and Hui-neng’s Platform Sutra have never been compared in a scholarly context; as such, this paper builds a new bridge between Western and Eastern philosophical literature, examining language, narrative, ethics, teleology, theology, and departures from orthodox philosophies in order to synthesize a clear and complete view of the two works in dialogue. De Rerum Natura, or On the Nature of Things, is a first-century BC epic poem composed in Latin by Titus Lucretius Carus which explains Epicurean philosophy in great detail through verse. The Platform Sutra is an eighth-century AD Chinese Zen (Ch’an) Buddhist sermon, …

Seeing Thro The Musical Eye: Santo Daime, Fuke-Shū, 1960s Psychedelia, And The Antipodes Of Musical Experience, Forest Anthony-Muran

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis investigates the relationships between altered states of consciousness and the musical experience in religious tradition and practice. A common accompaniment to religious worship and ceremony, music is often used as a way of attempting to capture something of the ineffable and to help bring about a mystical experience. In this thesis, I make use of three contrasting case studies – the Brazilian syncretic religion Santo Daime, the historical branch of Zen Buddhism Fuke-shū, and the psychedelic rock of 1960s counterculture – to paint a portrait of the variety of ways that music has been used in different musical …

Sin In Tiantai Buddhism And Christianity: A Comparison Between Chih-I And Pope Gregory I, Wangyu Tang

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Buddhism and Christianity are two of the major religions in the world. This paper is going to compare sin in Medieval Tiantai Buddhism with Medieval Catholicism, with examples of Chih-i (Zhiyi) and Gregory’s teaching on sin. This article investigates sin from the aspects of pride, greed and sources of sin, cardinal sins, and practice of contemplation in the two religions. The two religions share common ground in the question of sin, yet there are differences in the source of sins and the definition of cardinal sins. In addition, the teachings of Chih-i and Gregory the Great on the practice of …

(De)Psychologizing Shangri-La: Recognizing And Reconsidering C.G. Jung's Role In The Construction Of Tibetan Buddhism In The Western Imagination, Alec M. Terrana

Pomona Senior Theses

Popular literature on Tibetan Buddhism often overemphasizes the psychological dimension of the religion's beliefs and practices. This misrepresentative portrayal is largely traceable to the writings of the psychoanalyst C.G. Jung. By employing distinctly psychological terminology and interpretive strategies in his analyses of the Tibetan Book of the Dead and mandala symbolism, Jung helped to establish precedents that were adopted in subsequent analyses of the religion. Imposing a psychological lens on Tibetan Buddhism obscures other essential elements of the tradition, such as cosmology, physiology, and ritualism, thereby silencing the voices of Tibetans in analyses of their own practices. Jung's imposition of …

Deronda And The Tigress: Judaism, Buddhism, And Universal Compassion In George Eliot’S Daniel Deronda, Joshua Frank Moats

Masters Theses

Many scholars have discussed Judaism and the ethics of George Eliot in Daniel Deronda, but few have explored the impact of Buddhism upon the novel. This thesis is the first study to demonstrate the influence of Buddhism upon George Eliot's fiction. By tracing Eliot's interest in the emerging field of comparative religion, I argue that Buddhism offered Eliot a unique religion that was compatible with her secular humanism. Although Buddhism appears explicitly in Deronda in only a few instances, I contend that Eliot uses the tradition of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalism as the predominant theology in Deronda because …

A Relationship Between Eastern Thought And Western Psychotherapy : An Application Of Taoism And Zen To Client-Centered Therapy, Lloyd Saxton

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This paper does not purport to be an examination of Zen or Taoism, but rather a view of certain aspects of Zen and Taoism, but rather a view of certain aspects of Zen and Taoism from the vantage point of contemporary psychology, to see if a metaphysic, a philosophical resting-place, might not be found for the admittedly pragmatic science of clinical psychology.

The questions the paper asks, then, and attempts to answer, are (1) can such a formulation be made, and (2) does psychotherapy conducted from this point of view move satisfactorily.