Buddhist Studies Commons^™

Piety And Mayhem: How Extremist Groups Misuse Religious Doctrine To Condone Violence And Achieve Political Goals, Noah Garber

Religious Studies Honors Papers

This thesis examines the way in which various groups have used religion as a justification for violent action towards political ends. From the Irgun, which carried out terrorist acts in Palestine, to the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas, which has waged war on Israel, to the Buddhist leadership of Myanmar, which has waged a genocidal campaign against Rohingya Muslims living in the country, these groups have employed a narrow interpretation of their religious texts as a means to justify the actions they take. It is explained that it is not the compulsion of religious doctrine itself that is to blame, rather, …

The Transition Of Guanyin: Reinterpreting Queerness And Buddha Nature In Medieval East Asia, Robert Wilf

Religious Studies Honors Papers

Avalokitesvara, better known by the Chinese name of Guanyin, is perhaps the second most pervasive figure in all of Buddhism after the historical Buddha himself. Part of this popularity comes from his adaptability and willingness to change to order to save everyone, no matter what part of society they might be from. It is thanks to this adaptability that Guanyin’s iconography varies wildly by region, with much of Theravada and tantric Buddhism depicting him as a man, while Mahayana Buddhism tends to revere her as the patron of women. From their earliest description, Guanyin was known to transcend boundaries to …

Incarcerated, T.Willaim Wallin

Toyon: Multilingual Literary Magazine

No abstract provided.

Widening The Circle, Philip Novak

Faculty Authored Books and Book Contributions

Joanna Macy is a scholar of Buddhism, systems thinking, and deep ecology whose decades of writing, teaching, and activism have inspired people around the world. In this collection of writings, leading spiritual teachers, deep ecologists, and diverse writers and activists explore the major facets of Macy’s lifework. Combined with eleven pieces from Macy herself, the result is a rich chorus of wisdom and compassion to support the work of our time.

Social Issues In San Francisco: Perspectives From Global Buddhisms, John K. Nelson

Theology & Religious Studies

A project of the students in the course "Buddhist Paths in Asia and North America", this wonderfully insightful collection of course papers combines research into San Francisco's urban problems with perspectives from Buddhist Studies.

The class was divided into twelve writing teams who then chose topics from a grid of ideas, firstcome- first-served. If one looks at the topics in this essay coming from Buddhist studies, you'll quickly see they are fairly fundamental and are found in almost any introductory course. What makes them special and relevant to our moment is in their creative application to the social problems and …

Buddhist Meditation Effects On Emotion Control, Sarah Battiston

Exemplary Undergraduate Research

There has been a surge in popularity of meditation in medical research. Meditation is being considered an alternative to pharmacotherapy or a supplement to treatment of both mental and physical ailments. Two popular forms of meditation practices are being studied. This includes mindful meditation which finds it roots in Buddhist meditation techniques and the meditation practice of Zen Buddhism. Both forms outline a specific activity of meditation in order to achieve a goal. Mindful meditation and Zen Buddhism similarly partake in a sitting meditation with focus on breath and present awareness. Mindful meditation challenges the practitioner to become aware of …

The Moving Image And The Time Of Prophecy: Trauma And Precognition In L. Von Trier’S Melancholia (2011) And D. Villeneuve’S Arrival (2016), Luca Zanchi

Journal of Religion & Film

Both the deferred recurrence of post-traumatic symptoms and the foresight granted by prophetic vision bring about a disruption of temporality and generate a chronological discontinuity which is often formally rendered as narrative discontinuity. This similarity produces an interpretive ambiguity that is central to the films, Melancholia (2011) by Von Trier and Arrival (2016) by Denis Villeneuve. Both movies begin by hinting at the post-traumatic origin of visions and then gradually shift towards a prophetic explanation. In addressing these two case studies, this article approaches prophecy and its temporality from a narratological perspective, integrating the critical parameters of trauma-theory with the …

“To Study The Self Is To Forget The Self”: Zen Lessons On Ego And Leadership In Higher Education, Jody Condit Fagan

Libraries

Theories of charismatic leadership present leadership as an influence process where part of the leader’s role is to attract followers through individual example and vision. Charismatic leadership acknowledges the potential dangers of narcissism in the leader and leader-obsession among their followers. Meanwhile, central tenets of Zen philosophy include that of non-attachment to self, interdependence of all beings, and impermanence. Interviews with four American Zen practitioner-leaders were analyzed for themes related to the influence of ego on leadership. This paper presents findings from the interviews, and discusses these along with observations from other Zen scholars and practitioners. The discussion is complemented …

Attitudes Toward Death: How Buddhist Teachings Help A Person Cope With Death Anxiety And Accept Death, Abigail Michaud

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Death attitudes are an evolving field of study that continues to expand due to its universal relevance. Clinical and psychological research emphasize how these personal attitudes greatly impact a person’s life and death and are rooted in one’s unique perspective of death and the dying process. This paper provides an in-depth examination of two death attitudes: death acceptance and death anxiety. The two attitudes are complex and shift throughout a person’s lifetime depending on many personal factors, including culture, religion, and age. The paper reveals that death acceptance positively effects a person’s life and promotes greater quality of life, while …

Gomyō And Kūkai In Early-Heian Intra-Buddhist Conversations, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

This paper is about the relationship between the famous Japanese esoteric Buddhist Kūkai and the less-famous Gomyō, who you've probably never heard of but maybe should have. My paper responds to the work of two recent scholars, Fujii Jun, who says that Kūkai was a Sanron (Japanese Mādhyamika) priest, and Matsumoto Gyoyu, who speculates about the origins of and thinking behind certain passages in Kūkai's Jūjūshinron. The paper points to the intellectual significance for Kūkai of his close relationship with Gomyō and other Yogācāra scholars of his day, and how this is reflected in the Jūjūshinron and Kūkai's thought broadly. …

Zen Terror In Prewar Japan: Portrait Of An Assassin, Brian Victoria, James Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

The “Indirect Message” In Kierkegaard And Chán Buddhism, Zdeněk Zacpal

Comparative Philosophy

The article seeks to analyse Kierkegaard’s indirecte Meddelelse, which the author proposes to translate as ‘indirect message’. It attempts to consider and illuminate this concept and its general characteristics, types and cases in Kierkegaard's work. They are to serve as a baseline for investigations of indirect messages in Buddhism, especially the famous ‘public cases’ (gong-àn / kōan 公案) of the Chán Buddhists. The author tries to specify indirect messages on both sides of the cultural divide in terms of some Western philosophers. Kierkegaard’s theoretical rationale for his indirect message is profound, sophisticated and appropriate to the theoretical …

On What Is Real In Nāgārjuna’S “Middle Way”, Richard H. Jones

Comparative Philosophy

It has become popular to portray the Buddhist Nāgārjuna as an ontological nihilist, i.e., that he denies the reality of entities and does not postulate any further reality. A reading of his works does show that he rejects the self-existent reality of entities, but it also shows that he accepts a "that-ness" (tattva) to phenomenal reality that survives the denial of any distinct, self-contained entities. Thus, he is not a nihilist concerning what is real in the final analysis of things. How Nāgārjuna’s positions impact contemporary discussions of ontological nihilism and deflationism in Western philosophy is also discussed.

Found In Translation: Collaborative Contemplations Of Tibetan Buddhism And Western Science, Kelsey M. Gray, Dadul Namgyal, Jeremy Purcell, Tsondue Samphel, Tenzin Sonam, Karma Tenzin, Dawa Tsering, Carol M. Worthman, Arri Eisen

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Development of an inclusive scientific community necessitates doing more than simply bringing science to diverse groups of people. Ideally, the sciences evolve through incorporation of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and worldviews. Efforts to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, and socioeconomic groups among science scholars are currently underway. Examination of these efforts yields valuable lessons to inform next steps in engaging diverse audiences with science. The Emory-Tibet Science Initiative may serve as one example of such efforts. The Dalai Lama invited Emory University to develop and teach a curriculum in Western science to Tibetan Buddhist monks and …

Lives Of Hindu And Buddhist Saints, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

A study of lives of individuals related to Hinduism and Buddhism, who are alleged to be “saints” in stories, biographies and autobiographies. These life accounts are compared to archetypes found in canonical sources including the Ramayana, the Bhagavata Purana, and Buddhist Jataka. The class considers the genre of religious biography/hagiography in such terms as intended audience and practical usage of the texts. Students will examine stories about ancient and modern Hindus and Buddhists from India, China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and America.

Claiming Notability For Women Activists In Religion, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Gender bias in the history of ideas is notorious. In religious terms, it can also be called heretical, blasphemous, and evil. The challenge to represent women’s lives, voices, and accomplishments in the broad and deep reaches of religion is even more difficult than in other fields. While history has its male actors and music its male composers, religions have their male gods who reign supreme even over male practitioners. These gods eclipse and erase goddesses, women scholars and ministers, and women’s ways of shaping spiritual consciousness. Women face formidable obstacles in religion, but women’s struggles are their success.

It is …

American Buddhist Protection Of Stones In Terms Of Climate Change On Mars And Earth, Daniel Capper

Faculty Publications

A number of scientific writers have proposed manipulating the ecology of Mars in order to make the planet more comfortable for future immigrants from Earth. However, the ethical acceptability of such ‘terraforming’ proposals remains unresolved. In response, in this article I explore some of these scientific proposals through the lens provided by Buddhist environmental ethics that are quantitatively expressed by practitioners in the ethnographic field of the United States. What I find is that contemporary Buddhists combine philosophical notions of interconnectedness with moral considerations not to harm others and then creatively extend this combined sensibility to the protection specifically of …

There's An App For That: Headspace, Meditation, And The Shifting Religious Landscape Of A Digital World, Darcy Isobel Cyr Groves

Senior Projects Spring 2020

There’s An App For That: Headspace, Meditation, and the shifting Religious Landscape of a Digital World is a senior project in Religious Studies that explores the conditions, both historical and clinical, which led to the popularity of the guided meditation app Headspace, and the cultural attitudes that surround mindfulness meditation in America.

Matching Concepts, Transgressing Boundaries: Buddhist Transmission Strategies In The International Buddhist Women's Movement, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

One of the most striking features of the contemporary revitalization, transmission, and transformation of Buddhism is the prominent roles that women are playing, both locally and globally. Since 1987, Buddhist women from around the world have been uniting on a grassroots level and taking more active roles in working not only for the welfare of women, but for the welfare of human society writ large. Today, the Buddhist women’s movement has become a highly dynamic forum representing the interests of somewhere between 300 and 600 million women, depending on who is compiling the statistics. This movement is transgressive by its …

Nurturing The Seeds Of Zen: The Life And Legacy Of Shundo Aoyama Rōshi, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Aoyama Rōshi’s legacy and her place in the Buddhist world are unique. Situated within a notably patriarchal tradition, she has been a leader in the struggle for gender parity in contemporary Japan. Due to her unflagging efforts, nuns in the Sōtō Zen tradition have now achieved unprecedented visibility and independence. According to religious studies scholar Paula Arai, the leading contemporary scholar of Sōtō Zen laywomen and nuns, “the nuns now control their own religious training, enjoy educational and ceremonial rights, and have ... appropriate titles and religious robes” (Arai 1999, 74). Today, at Aichi Senmon Nisōdō, Aoyama Rōshi not only …