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Learning To Persevere: The Popular Teachings Of Tendai Ascetics, Stephen G. Covell

Comparative Religion Publications

This paper introduces the teachings of three contemporary practitioners of Tendai Buddhism. I argue that the study of Japanese Buddhism has focused on doctrine and the past to the detriment of our understanding of contemporary teaching. Through an examination of the teachings of contemporary practitioners of austerities, I show that practice is drawn on as a source more than classical doctrine, that conservative values are prized, and that the teachings show strong similarities to the teachings of the new religions, suggesting a broad-based shared worldview.

The Comparison Of Existential Psychology And Buddhist Spirituality, Jackie Nowparvar

Graduate Research Papers

In this paper a comparison between Existentialism and Buddhism is investigated. The relationship is determined by comparing literature written in both fields of study. The focus of the paper concentrates on the importance of ontology, suffering, and death in both groups and how closely they relate to one another. The findings indicate that the spirituality of Buddhism and the psychology of Existentialism in combination, can culminate the experience of finding meaning in one's life and the discovery of self through the therapeutic experience. The paper will also provide a historical overview of Buddha himself and a review of his basic …

Editors' Introduction: Traditional Buddhism In Contemporary Japan, Stephen G. Covell, Mark Rowe

Comparative Religion Publications

First paragrph:

This special issue focuses scholarly attention on various aspects of cctraditional” Buddhism (kisei bukkyd 既成仏教 or dento bukkyd 伝統仏教）in the contemporary period. The articles included here all seek to highlight and challenge certain assumptions about how contemporary Japanese Buddhist doctrine, practice, and teaching are understood. Implicit in this project is the idea that contemporary forms of Buddhism are not degenerations of a pure, original essence, but rather represent a varied and complex tradition in the midst of important challenges.

Supernaturalism, Yvonne Patricia Chireau

Religion Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Enchantment With Tibetan Lamas In The United States, Daniel S. Capper

Faculty Publications

This article explores the relationships of non-Tibetan American disciples with Tibetan spiritual teachers (lamas) in terms of theory, practice, and experiential meaning. Contrary to some previous studies, data for this article indicate that submission to the lama is not an end in itself, but rather ideally provides an opportunity for disciples to become lamas themselves. Many disciples may find personal empowerment, oriented around the theme of compassionate social action. Understanding that surrender to the spiritual teacher is only a means to a personally empowering goal clarifies our understanding of many Asian religious practices in the West.

The Case Of The Missing Discipline: Finding Buddhist Legal Studies, Rebecca Redwood French

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Can All Beings Potentially Attain Awakening? Gotra-Theory In The Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra, Mario D'Amato

Faculty Publications

Given that for the MSA/Bh gotra is indicative of a sentient being’s soteriological potentiality, an important issue is whether gotra is able to be acquired by every sentient being or whether there are some beings who are excluded from ever acquiring a gotra; and furthermore if some beings are excluded, in what sense they are excluded . It will be necessary to understand these issues in order to address the question of whether, from the perspective of the MSA/Bh, all sentient beings can potentially attain awakening. And so I will begin by discussing the meanings of the term gotra in …

Translation: “Kiyozawa Manshi And Nishida Kitarō,” By Fujita Masakatsu., James Mark Shields, Masakatsu Fujita

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of Richard M. Jaffe. Neither Monk Nor Layman: Clerical Marriage In Modern Japanese Buddhism, Stephen G. Covell

Comparative Religion Publications

First paragraph:

Clerical marriage stands alongside changing attitudes towards funerary care as one of the most critical issues in contemporary Japanese Buddhism. In this richly detailed and clearly written work, Richard Jaffe describes how the issue of clerical marriage came to dominate modern Japanese Buddhism. In so doing he provides a valuable contribution to the fields of Japanese Studies and Buddhology. Moreover, through his focus on the interaction between the Meiji state and Buddhist organizations Jaffe provides abundant material for anyone interested in state-religion issues.

The Semiotics Of Signlessness: A Buddhist Doctrine Of Signs, Mario D'Amato

Faculty Publications

In this paper, I consider a Buddhist response to the issue of unlimited semiosis: In other words, I offer a Buddhist account of how unlimited semiosis should be understood. I do this by following the doctrine of signs offered in an Indian Buddhist text of the Mahamyamna from circa the fourth century CE, a text known as the Mahamyamnasutra m mlamD kamra (Ornament to the Scriptures of the Great Vehicle; hereafter, ‘the Ornament’). Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Buddhist semiotics, from both a historical and a philosophical point of view, is that in its theorizing of the semiotic process, …

KūKai, Founder Of Japanese Shingon Buddhism: Portraits Of His Life, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

2003 dissertation, UW-Madison, Buddhist Studies. A study of the life of the Kūkai (774-822), known posthumously by the honorific title Kōbō Daishi (Great Teacher who Propagated the Dharma). Kūkai is best known as the founder of Japanese Shingon Tantric Buddhism. The study is based primarily on writings attributed to him and his immediate followers and secondarily on early legends (those apparently dating from the Heian period) as identified by modern researchers. These writings show that Kūkai was involved in a variety of social activities. In some instances I have attempted to understand the socio-political intention of Kūkai’s biographers, his followers …

Scientific Empathy, American Buddhism, And The Ethnography Of Religion, Daniel S. Capper

Faculty Publications

The expansion of the use of ethnography in the study of religion has led to substantial methodological confusion. The reflexive ethnographic efforts which exist commonly appeal to the need for ethnographer empathy for field subjects, although the nature and ethical ramifications of this empathy remain poorly explored. This essay offers a model of ethnographic empathy in terms of the methodological observations of Weber, Homans, and Kohut. Using a model of empathy in terms of a reflexive “evenly hovering attention” for data collection, possible gains in the field from this model are explored. These gains include overcoming obstacles to data collection …

Translation: Ama Toshimaro, “Shin Buddhism And Economic Ethics”, James Mark Shields, Toshimaro Ama

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Commentary: Blowing Up The Buddhas By The Taliban, James Mark Shields

Other Faculty Research and Publications

Commentary on "Blowing-up of the [Bamiyan] Buddhas by the Taliban"

Trends. Spinning Buddhas, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the March 2001 destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan by the Taliban.

Trends. The Idolatry Of Ignorance And Iconoclasm: Notes On The Taliban, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The New York Times has reported that at least some Taliban authorities have directed that all statues in Afghanistan--including those commonly viewed as priceless exemplars of cultural (largely Buddhist) heritage and as treasures--be destroyed. The Taliban's rationale--that these statues have been used as idols and deities by non-Islamic believers and may be turned into idols in the future--is largely discussed in the context of leading to a global cultural catastrophe, as an unacceptable decision, as gratuitous vandalism, as exemplifying a rigid ignorance deserving unique contempt and disgust.

About Our Contributors, P L. Gross, S. I. Shapiro

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Roundtable On Feminist Ideology And Religious Diversity, Part 5: Feminist Theology, Religiously Diverse Neighborhood Or Christian Ghetto?, R. M. Gross, C. P. Christ, G. G. Burford, A. Wadud, Yvonne Patricia Chireau, S. Sered, J. Simmer-Brown, C. S. West, N. R. Goldenberg, S. E. Shapiro

Religion Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

About Our Contributors, Philippe L. Gross, S. I. Shapiro

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

NA

Nilai-Nilai Tradisi Jepun Dalam Membentuk Sebuah Peradaban, Halimi Mohd. Khalid

Student Works (2000-2009)

Disertasi ini cuba melihat peranan nilai-nilai tradisi Jepun dalam membentuk sebuah peradaban. Ia dimulakan dengan bahagian pendahuluan yang merangkumkan maklumat asas tentang latar belakang kajian, matlamat kajian, skop kajian, metodologi kajian serta pennasalahan yang dihadapi semasa kajian ini. Beberapa konsep penting yang menjadi asas kepada kajian ini turut diperkenalkan. Bab pertama merupakan pengenalan kepada negara Jepun secara umum yang mengambil kira aspek geografi, sejarah awal Jepun dan sejarah budaya Jepun sebagai manifestasi terhasilnya nilai-nilai tradisi mereka. Bab kedua pula menjurus kepada tajuk kajian dimana perbincangan yang dibuat meliputi pengertian nilai-nilai tradisi, proses pembentukannya, pemyataan dua daripada aspek nilai yang berkenaan …

大乘佛教的造經方法與早期佛教文學及藝術的發展關係, Zhengmei Gu

嶺南學報 Lingnan Journal of Chinese Studies (1999-2006)

No abstract provided.

Review Of "Consecration Of Images And Stūpas In Indo-Tibetan Tantric Buddhism" By Y. Bentor, Donald K. Swearer

Religion Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

大乘佛敎的造經方法與早期佛敎文學及藝術的發展關係, Zhengmei Gu

文學與翻譯研究中心 論文叢刊 Centre for Literature and Translation Occasional Paper Series

佛教在發展的過程當中一直非常注重其表達教理或傳播教理的方式。佛教基本上用兩種方法表達或傳播其教理：1. 語言文字及2. 實物或藝術媒體。佛教因爲一直非常重視語言文字的用法，故在其發展中便見其有使用一套與語言文字用法有關的造經方法。此套造經方法始用得很早，且有繼續發展的現象。故在佛教史上我們不但見有早期的佛教部派(early Buddhist sects)使用此套造經法造其經典，而且也見大乘佛教(MaMySna Buddhism，50-)不斷使用其來造經。佛教這套造經法的運用情形基本上乃記於大乘佛教的經中。由於大乘佛教談論其用“十二部經”所造的經典及經法不同於用"十一部經”及“九部經”所造的經典，我們因此知道，在佛教的發展上，這套造經法至少有三種不同的發展現象。大乘佛教因爲非常重視此套造經法的運用，故在歴史上所創作的佛經有許多都是文學佳作。早期佛教藝術或實物建造的發展，與佛教文學的傳播也有一定的關係，故在此文中，筆者不僅要討論大乘佛教使用“十二部經”造經的情形，同時也要説明“十二部經”的發展與早期大乘佛教文學及藝術發展的關係。

Review Of The Pure Land Tradition: History And Development, Edited By J. Foard, M. Solomon, And R.K. Payne, Paul K. Nietupski

Theology & Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

Interreligious Friendship: A New Theological Virtue, James L. Fredericks

Theological Studies Faculty Works

Today, in an effort to respond to their religiously pluralistic situation, Christians should recognize friendships with non-Christians as a theological virtue. The first section of this essay reviews some of the recent discussion of virtue theory, noting that virtues are enduring aspects of character that incorporate values and skills, have histories, and often act as correctives to vices. The second section reflects on friendship as a virtue, using Aristotle, Sartre, and Levinas, among others. The third section discusses interreligious friendship in particular as an example of a human excellence, a new virtue that incorporates values and skills and helps Christians …

The Particularity Of Christ And The Plurality Of Religions : A Dialectical Paradigm For Developing A Christian Theology Of Religions, Narendra Singh

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Bodhisattva Ideal In Theravāda Buddhist Theory And Practice: A Reevaluation Of The Bodhisattva-Śrāvaka Opposition, Jeffrey Samuels

Philosophy & Religion Faculty Publications

In the academic study of Buddhism the terms" Mahayana" and "Hinayana" are often set in contradiction to each other, and the two vehicles are described as having different aspirations, teachings, and practices. The distinctions made between the Mahayana and the Hinayana, how-ever, force the schools into neat, isolated, and independent categories that often undermine the complexities that exist concerning their beliefs, ideologies, and practices.

Animals And Environment In The Buddhist Birth Stories, Christopher Key Chapple

Theological Studies Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Review Of Buddhist Behavioral Codes And The Modern World : An International Symposium, By C.W.H. Fu And S.A. Wawrytko, Paul K. Nietupski

Theology & Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

Hypostasizing The Buddha: Buddha Image Consecration In Northern Thailand, Donald K. Swearer

Religion Faculty Works

No abstract provided.