Digital Commons Network^™

The Biographic And Poetic Dimensions In Gary Synder’S Green Buddhism Poetry: Cold Mountain, Mountains And Rivers Without End, And Danger On Peaks, Byoungkook Park

Dissertations

From the perspective of ecology, many scholars have examined works of Gary Synder, who is an environmental activist, a peasant-Buddhist, and one of the most beloved and significant poets in the East and West. While his poems have been widely read, they have been rarely articulated from the perspective of East Asian Mahayana Buddhism or, which I would call, Green Buddhism. Considering this, my dissertation focuses on Snyder's Green Buddhism poetry and delineates the concept of Green Buddhism and how it has emerged in his Green Buddhism poetry over the past fifty years. According to my research, his poetic dimensions …

The Individual Psychology Of Tibetan Buddhism, Lee Spivak

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

North American Buddhist Women In The International Context, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Understanding North American Buddhist Women from a global perspective is a daunting task because of the enormous diversity of both North American and Asian Buddhist women. The fist question is, What does it mean to be a Buddhist? For some, to be a Buddhist means formally going for refuge in the Buddha, dharma, sangha. In other cases, a person is born Buddhist and lives her whole life as a Buddhist, without any special ceremony. Differences like theses make it impossible to generalize about Buddhist women's experiences.

Women Changing Buddhism: American Perspectives, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd, Sharon A. Suh Phd, Bell Hooks Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

This chapter is a conversation with bell hooks, Sharon Suh, and Karma Lekshe Tsomo; moderated by Susanne Mrozik. This panel conversation explores the diverse contributions that diverse kinds of women are making to Buddhism in the U.S. today.

Renunciation In Contemporary Buddhist Monasticism, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Celibate monastic practice has been a mainstay of Buddhist societies from the time of the Buddha until the present day. Buddha Sakyamuni specifically rejected the practice of extreme asceticism, but lauded renunciation of the household life. This tradition has continued for two and a half millennia, unchanged in many respects. Robed, shaven-headed, celibate renunciants are found in every Buddhist society even today. The measure of renunciation in contemporary Buddhist monastic practice varies, however, depending on how renunciation is defined. Renunciants are generally thought to live in solitude, apart from society. But it is well known that, except for exceptional individuals …

Ethnographic Study Of Buddhist Education, Based On Burgess' Social Science Method At An American University And A Private Buddhist Organization, Wan-Ming Lu

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The literature shows that there are many studies about Buddhism in the United States and religion on college campuses, but few studies specifically about Buddhism in American universities. The purpose of this study is to explore how American college students approach and learn about Buddhism. A qualitative research study of clinical ethnography was applied to conduct this study at the Florida International University (FIU) and Florida Buddhist Association (FBA). FBA was chosen to compare with FIU so that the features of Buddhist education at FIU would be clearer.

Eight students and four teachers (instructors) were interviewed at FIU; and two …

Dying, Death, And Afterlife From A Buddhist Perspective, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Since earliest times, death has fascinated, terrified, and confounded human beings. Virtually every religious tradition offers some explanation of three key concerns: the beginnings of the world, the meaning and purpose of human existence, and the end of life. The Buddhist traditions have given special attention to the meaning of life and the end of life as central topics for reflection.

Buddhist Exploration Of Peace And Justice, Ronald S. Green, Chanju Mun

Philosophy and Religious Studies

Contains five speeches and twenty-three articles presented in the Fifth International Seminar on Buddhism and Leadership for Peace on the theme "Exploration of Ways to Put Buddhist Thought into Social Practice for Peace and Justice." The seminar was held under the joint auspice of Dae Won Sa Buddhist Temple of Hawaii and the Korean Buddhist Research Institute of Dongguk University, 1991.

Sakyadhita Pilgrimage In Asia: On The Trail Of The Buddhist Women's Movement, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women was established in 1987 to address issues of gender equality in Buddhist societies and Buddhist institutions. Since then, through a series of innovative biannual conferences, Sakyadhita has worked to link women from different Buddhist traditions and cultural backgrounds and provide them with a forum where women’s voices can be heard. These conferences have generated a vibrant international Buddhist women’s movement that works for the welfare of the world’s estimated 300,000 Buddhist women. Because Buddhist institutions in Asian countries typically function independently and there is no central authority to oversee them or create policies, Sakyadhita’s …

“Texts Memorized, Texts Performed: A Reconsideration Of The Role Of Paritta In Sri Lankan Monastic Education.”, Jeffrey Samuels

Philosophy & Religion Faculty Publications

During the past twenty years there has been a growing interest in monastic education within the larger field of Buddhist studies. Within the last ten years in particular, a number of monographs and articles examining the training and education of monks in Korea (Buswell [1992]), Tibet/India (Dreyfus [2003]), Thailand/Laos (Collins [1990], McDaniel [2002, 2003]), and Sri Lanka (Blackburn [1999a, 1999b, 2001] Samuels [2002]), have been published. Many of those works have paid particular attention to the texts used in monastic training, as well as to how the information contained in those very texts is imparted to and embodied by monks …

Religious Schools: For Spirit, (F)Or Nation, Lily Kong

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In this paper I draw attention to the study of 'unofficially sacred' sites in geographies of religion, which provide significant insights into the construction of religious identity and community, and the intersections of sacred and secular. I show that such sites deserve as much attention as places of worship (the more conventional focus in the geographical study of religion) in our understanding of the place of religion in contemporary urban society. In particular, using the case of Islamic religious schools in Singapore, I examine how Muslim identities and community are negotiated within multicultural and multireligious contexts, and particularly within one …

Translation: “Building A Platform For Academic Buddhist Studies: Murakami Senshō,” By Sueki Fumihiko., James Mark Shields, Fumihiko Sueki

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Presenting The Gospel Message In Thailand, Khamsay Phetchareun

Doctor of Ministry Projects

Problem

There are over 62,000,000 Buddhists in Thailand. Current Christian approaches to presenting the gospel message to Buddhist people in Thailand have not yielded satisfactory results. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has had negative growth during the past ten years. In addition to approaches currently utilized by Christians there is a need to develop more effective approaches to present the gospel in Thailand.

Method

Buddhist students at Mission College were chosen as a case study. A survey of Buddhist attitudes and a cultural analysis of Thailand form the basis for this strategy. Library research, questionnaires, interviews, and observations were all used …

Devotion To Tibetan Lamas, Self Psychology, And Healing In The United States, Daniel S. Capper

Faculty Publications

This essay offers an alternative, self psychological model for understanding the possible healing dynamics of the guru-disciple relationship. Previous psychological studies often have interpreted the devotion of Americans to Eastern gurus as inherently enriching pathology for the disciple, yet this understanding does not helpfully explicate much data derived from more than two years of ethnographic fieldwork at a Tibetan Buddhist center in the United States. Instead, re-exploration of the dynamics of the transference and the vicissitudes of Buddhist practice for disciples reveals positive healing processes for some disciples as a result of guru devotion practice.

Ikkyū, James Mark Shields

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Gyōgi Bosatsu, James Mark Shields

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Musō Soseki, James Mark Shields

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Everyday Dharma And Perfect Enlightenment: Contemporary Buddhist Hermeneutics, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Professor Karma Lekshe Tsomo examines the contradictions and innovations that characterize the adoption of Buddhism by Americans. Adapting Buddhism to fit Westerners has brought fruitful new directions to Buddhism, she argues, at the same time that it has resulted in some distortion of or discarding of traditional Buddhist practices and goals.

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 …