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The Material Life Of A Jiangyi (Taoist Priest Vestment) 18th C. To The Present, Lucinda Pelton

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This presentation is an in-depth examination of an 18th century Taoist jiangyi from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. It will begin with an explanation of how this garment functioned in Taoist practice, including the many spiritual motifs depicted on its surface. The presentation will then discuss the materials and techniques that make up the textile itself: coarse ramie lining, shell of orange-red silk, border of dark blue silk, and edging of white cotton. Its heavy embellishment includes gilded paper, textured silk threads, and threads made of peacock feathers, worked in a variety of techniques such as embroidery …

How To Believe In Immortality, Carol Zaleski

Religion: Faculty Publications

All the cards seem to be stacked against belief in immortality. Nonetheless, the resources of particular religious traditions may avail where generic philosophical solutions fall short. With attention to the boredom and narcissism critiques, intimations of deathlessness in Śāntideva’s radical altruism, and recent Christian debates on the soul and the intermediate state, I propose two criteria for a coherent religion-specific belief in immortality: (1) the belief is supported by a fully realized religious tradition, (2) the belief satisfies the demand for self-transcendence as well as for self-preservation. Where self-transcendence and self-preservation are kept in balance, and where the whole idea …

พระพุทธเจ้าในวรรณกรรมของธรรมยุติกนิกาย พ.ศ. 2368-2455, อุทัย ปัดถาพิมพ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

แนวคิดเกี่ยวกับพระพุทธเจ้ามีการปรับเปลี่ยนจากประเพณีพุทธศาสนาเดิมในยุคของธรรมยุติกนิกาย วิทยานิพนธ์นี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาการนำเสนอพระพุทธเจ้าและวิเคราะห์พัฒนาการ โดยศึกษาจากวรรณกรรมของคณะธรรมยุติกนิกายพ.ศ. 2368 - 2455 ผลการศึกษาพบว่า การนำเสนอพระพุทธเจ้าทั้งพระพุทธคุณและพุทธประวัติเป็นวรรณกรรมภาษาไทยที่ยังคงขนบการนำเสนอตามประเพณีพุทธศาสนา รูปแบบมีทั้งร้อยแก้วและร้อยกรอง แต่คัดสรรเนื้อหาที่นำเสนอ ยึดหลักเหตุผล วิเคราะห์วิพากษ์ด้วยมุมมองของผู้เขียน เน้นพระปัญญาของพระพุทธเจ้าเป็นพิเศษ ส่วนสำคัญที่แตกต่างจากประเพณี คือ วรรณกรรมช่วยสร้างความเข้าใจเกี่ยวกับพระพุทธเจ้าใหม่ คือทรงเป็นมนุษย์ธรรมดาทั้งขนาดพระวรกาย พุทธลักษณะ ประวัติความเป็นมา ยึดข้อมูลจากพระไตรปิฎกเป็นหลักในการศึกษาอย่างมีวิจารณญาณ ในขณะเดียวกันก็มีการอ้างถึงพระพุทธเจ้าในบทสวดของพิธีสงฆ์และพิธีกรรมอื่น ๆ นอกพุทธศาสนาให้ถูกตรงตามหลักการพุทธศาสนา แสดงให้เห็นถึงการปรับเปลี่ยนแนวคิดเกี่ยวกับพระพุทธเจ้าในวัฒนธรรมไทยให้เหมาะสม และสอดคล้องกับวิทยาศาสตร์ที่กำลังเข้ามามีอิทธิพลต่อสังคมไทยในยุคนั้น

Demonstration Of Nonviolence In Modern Day: Through The Lens Of Christianity, Jainism, Hinduism, And Buddhism, Lauren Mertz

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Throughout history, many groups of people have experimented with nonviolent demonstrations and concepts. Religions, countries, and a variety of movements have put the demonstration of nonviolence at the forefront of their reasoning and defenses. When people hear the word nonviolence, there is usually a person or idea that comes to mind. People in the United States often think of figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and his Civil Rights Movement demonstrations. This paper will provide a detailed literary and research analysis of the concept of nonviolence, demonstrating that it is more than just a Christian concept. I will look at …

From Mind Only To Buddha Only: Shakya Chokden’S Interpretation Of Tathāgatagarbha In Tantric Philosophy And Practice, Yaroslav Komarovski

Department of Classics and Religious Studies: Faculty Publications

Shakya Chokden’s approach consists of reducing all phenomena to mind and its appearances, and then negating dualistic minds as illusory and nonexistent and establishing the non-dual jñāna transcending them as the only phenomenon existent in reality—the primordial tathāgatagarbha with all buddha-qualities complete. For him, this interpretation of tathāgatagarbha is indispensable for tantric contemplative practice and for explaining how and why that practice works. The initial identification of tathāgatagarbha as the primordially existent jñāna endowed with buddha-qualities serves as the foundation for conceptually envisioning deities of the ultimate body-maṇḍala and eventually, when enough clarity is achieved, directly perceiving them by jñāna …

Buddhist Music As A Contested Site: The Transmission Of Teochew Buddhist Music Between China And Singapore, Jie Zhang

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

In the Chaozhou City Gazetteer of Buddhism & Chaozhou Kaiyuan Monastery Gazetteer published in 1992, the then Abbot of the Kaiyuan Monastery, Shi Huiyuan 释慧原 heavily condemned the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) monk Shi Kesheng 释可声 (date unknown) for "starting the sins among laities in the Chaozhou region who dared transgressing (the Buddhist doctrines) and became chant leaders in a flaming mouth ceremony.” Why was the Abbot so upset with a fellow monk back in history? What did Kesheng do, and what were the implications of him starting this "transgression"? This article investigates the history of the international traffic of Buddhist …

After Great Pain: The Uses Of Religious Folklore In Kenji Mizoguchi’S Sansho The Bailiff (Jp 1954) And Kaneto Shindo’S Onibaba (Jp 1964), Teng-Kuan Ng

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

This article studies the adaptations and applications of religious folklore in two mas-terworks of Japanese cinema: Kenji Mizoguchi’s Sansho Dayu (Sansho the Bailiff, JP 1954) and Kaneto Shindo’s Onibaba (JP 1964). While academic approaches will often draw a strict line between narrative genres and discursive forms, these films, I argue, draw creatively from Japanese tradition for both critical and constructive purposes in the postwar context. Besides mounting trenchant criticisms of Japan’s erstwhile militaristic violence and imperial ambitions, both filmmakers present their respective female protagonists as models for spiritual and sociocultural transformation in the face of anomie. Embodying humanistic compassion on …

Depaul Digest

DePaul Magazine

College of Education Professor Jason Goulah fosters hope, happiness and global citizenship through DePaul’s Institute for Daisaku Ikeda Studies in Education. Associate Journalism Professor Jill Hopke shares how to talk about climate change. News briefs from DePaul’s 10 colleges and schools: Occupational Therapy Standardized Patient Program, Financial Planning Certificate program, Business Education in Technology and Analytics Hub, Racial Justice Initiative, Teacher Quality Partnership grant, Intimate Partner Violence and Brain Injury collaboration, School of Music Career Closet, Sports Photojournalism course, DePaul Migration Collaborative’s Solutions Lab, Inclusive Screenwriting courses. New appointments: School of Music Dean John Milbauer, College of Education Dean Jennifer …

Lha, Lu, And Shipda: Religious Landscape In A Conservation Area, Luke Stumpfl

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Living in a political, cultural, and geographic border region between Nepal and Tibet (People’s Republic of China), the families of Tsum Valley face many demands from their sociopolitical, religious, and economic climate. Practicing Tibetan Buddhism, the people uphold a set of rules implemented by the community with leadership from Serap Dorje Drukpa Rinpoche over 100 years ago that prohibits the intentional murder of all animals. Hailed by leaders and scholars as a haven of biodiversity conservation due to this customary-turned- municipal law, Tsum Valley also exists within Manaslu Conservation Area governed by an entity of the federal government of Nepal …

Making Mindfulness More Accessible: A Practical Guide To Trauma-Informed Mindfulness, Leslie Formby

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Mindfulness is currently embedded in a growing understanding of how trauma permeates and adversely impacts peoples’ physical and psychological well-being. Increased awareness of the prevalence of trauma and its harmful effects has led to renewed interest in mindfulness to help manage the challenges generated by the detrimental effects of trauma.

These effects may draw people to mindfulness and, in turn, may make the benefits of mindfulness out of reach. Mindfulness methods and practice adaptations have been found to help trauma survivors experience the benefits of what the Buddha taught. As a support for those engaging in mindfulness and meditation, this …

The Jewel In The Lotus: Humane Education, Engaged Buddhism, And Farming Compassion, Francy Jenko

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This thesis explores the relationship and intersectionality of Engaged Buddhism and Humane Education and demonstrates how they support the development of a farm sanctuary to cultivate compassion. It is supported by peer-reviewed literature, which reflects the importance of understanding why compassion is necessary to decrease suffering and how these disciplines complement one another, facilitating compassion and action. The research component of this thesis encourages the ongoing exploration of Engaged Buddhism and Humane Education. Further, it contributes to the scholarly literature on their intersection, highlighting farm sanctuary work as an avenue of engagement and offering implications for future study. The creative …

Local Manifestation Of Global Heritage: The Role Of Local Communities In The Management Of ‘Somapura Mahavihara’ – A World Heritage Site Of Buddhist Origin In Bangladesh, Pushpita Eshika

Student Theses and Dissertations

Somapura Mahavihara, an 8th-century Buddhist monastery in Bangladesh, is a world heritage site. Measuring 22 hectares, the layout of the monastery is quadrangular shaped, reaching a height of approximately eighty feet above ground level. Physically this monastery provides an excellent example of the workmanship and design principles of the Pala Dynasty of 8th-century Bengal. The monastery’s architectural elements have been the center of academic studies on architecture, building morphology, ornamentation, and archeological excavation of this monastery. Yet significant research is still needed regarding the heritage dialogue between this ancient monastery and its local non-Buddhist population. Buddhism disappeared from Bengal in …

Causality, Agency, And Moral Responsibility In Nikaya Buddhism, Soo Lam Wong

Comparative Philosophy

In this paper, I aim to examine the relationship between the Buddhist notions of causality and agency, the questions of whether the Buddhist notion of causality affirms causal determinism and whether the Buddhist notion of agency affirms libertarian free will, the implications of the Buddhist notions of causality and agency for moral responsibility, and the implications of the Buddhist rejection of the metaphysical self for agency and moral responsibility. My claim is that although the question of whether the early Buddhist notions of causality and agency affirm causal determinism and libertarian free will respectively remains open, they are compatible with …

Dualism And Psychosemantics: Holography And Pansematism In Early Buddhist Philosophy, Federico Divino

Comparative Philosophy

In the Indian philosophical debate, the relationship between the structure of knowledge and external reality has been a persistent issue. This debate has been particularly prominent in Buddhism, as evidenced by the earliest Buddhist attestations in the Pāli canon, where reality is described as a perceptual defection. The world (loka) is perceived through cognition (citta), and the theme of designation (paññatti) is central to the analysis of the Abhidhamma. Buddhism can be viewed as navigating between nominalism and cognitive normativism, as it deconstructs language, which is seen as an obfuscating element that separates the subject from the world. In this …

Brief Note About The Heart Sutra And Its Composition, Charles Willemen

The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies

no abstract

The Shape Of Victory: The Earth-Touching Gesture In Context, Douglass Smith

The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies

This paper will attempt to unearth some of the historical roots of the earth-touching gesture by considering eight different textual accounts of it from the Buddhist traditions of the early centuries CE. Maria Spagnoli has recently argued that the gesture stems from Greek antecedents in oath-making that were transferred to ancient India, perhaps through Gandhara. While this may indeed be so, more remains to be said about possible Indian roots of the gesture. To that end, this paper will explore resonances the gesture has with material in several important Vedic tropes. It will also consider the problem of early Buddhist …

Kāliṅgaraṭṭha And Its Buddhist Connections, Karam Tej Sarao, Jyoti Dwivedi

The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies

Invasion of the kingdom of Kāliṅga (Kāliṅgaraṭṭha) by King Aśoka and his consequent Dhamma policy is a recurrent theme in the Buddhist folk lore. In fact, the Kāliṅga event is often cited as an example in Buddhism of a cruel king becoming a righteous king by taking shelter in Buddhism. The long term consequences of the Kāliṅga War as well as the motive of Aśoka behind the war and its subsequent justificatory politics have been debated by historians. In this paper an attempt has been made to understand Aśoka’s reason for invading Kāliṅga as well as Kāliṅga’s importance in the …

Buddhas’ Respect For The Dhamma – A Commentarial Exposition, Bhikkhu Gyanabodhi (Sajal Barua)

The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies

This essay points out that even though due to the development of perfect human qualities a Buddha is regarded as the supreme person (purisottama) and highly respected by the followers in the tradition, a Pāli commentarial exposition depicts that the Gotama Buddha placed the Dhamma above him and paid his due respect to the Dhamma. This essay explores what kind of dhamma a Buddha pays respect to? Why and how? It also contains an original annotated English translation of a commentarial and a sub-commentarial texts dealing with the subject. The study is carried out following a critical and …

From Nothing To No-Thing-Ness To Emptiness: The Buddhist Recycling Of An Old Jain Saying, Dhivan Thomas Jones

The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies

In this article I investigate a difficult saying of the Buddha, preserved in three places in Pāli canonical discourses: n’ āhaṃ kvacani kassaci kiñcanatasmiṃ, na ca mama kvacani kismiñci kiñcanat’ atthi (‘There is no I anywhere in anyone’s property, and neither is there anywhere in anything property which is mine’). At A 3: 70, this saying is attributed to the Jains, while at A 4: 185, the Buddha teaches it as a ‘brahman truth’ acceptable to paribbājakas, and at M 106, the Buddha teaches it as a means of attaining the experiential dimension of no-thing-ness (ākiñcaññāyatana). I …

The Spiritual Migrants Of Sogenji: Notes Of Participant Observation In A Rinzai Zen Temple, Andrei-Razvan Coltea

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Anomie is a cultural pathology that is becoming chronic in the West, characterized by the erosion of values, disintegration and deregulation. Amongst its symptoms we find anxiety, isolation, depression, tribalism, incoherence and loss of meaning. Individuo-globalism is a new ideology that permeates the religious market created by globalisation, encouraging individuals to discover, nurture and express their ‘true self’. This new spirituality forms the background for a journey that our ‘heroes’, a handful of non-Japanese inhabitants of a Japanese Rinzai Zen monastery, have been undertaking for years in search of the philosopher’s stone that could cure anomie and its symptoms. At …

Artificial Intelligence: Its Impact On Christian Education, Youssry Guirguis

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

In recent years, the world has witnessed a resounding revolution in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and today there is no field where AI is not employed. These institutions have a major role in developing policies, curricula, and strategies to keep pace with the modern artificial revolution. The aim of this research is to find out how current developments in this ��eld are likely to impact education in the future, and how such developments in Edtech might impact on future graduates, colleges, universities, societies, and cultures.

On The Roads: Catholic And Buddhist Pilgrimage, Madera Allan, Constance Kassor

Convocations

Madera Allan, associate professor of Spanish, called her visit last summer to the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal stunning and beautiful, a glimpse into a way of life “infused with a frenetic, spiritual energy.”

Constance Kassor, associate professor of religious studies, called her visit to Camino de Santiago in northwestern Spain last summer an incredible journey—a 100-kilometer pilgrimage leading to the awe-inspiring cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

The two Lawrence University professors made those journeys together, and on Friday afternoon they shared the experience in Memorial Chapel at Lawrence’s Honors Convocation, the third and final Convocation of the 2022-23 academic year. …

Re-Membering The Living Earth: A Year In Rural Sri Lanka, Samuel C. King

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

The following thesis tells the story of my year in rural Sri Lanka. After college, I traveled from suburban New York to the highlands of the island country with the hopes of writing an ethnography on agrarian Buddhism. I soon realized, however, that I was not just embarking on an academic project, but an inner journey to explore ways of being that had been lost in the modern culture I had known. My narrative recounts how immersion in a rice cultivating village deepened my sense for what it means to live in reciprocity with the more-than-human world—a world of plants, …

Buddhist Nationalism: Rising Religious Violence In South Asia, Eva Chappus, Benjamin Nourse

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Buddhist nationalism has contributed to expanding religious violence in many South Asian countries. The roots of this violent form of nationalism are complex and multi-faceted, making a clear solution difficult to achieve. Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Burma are some of the most pressing and violent case studies in South Asia today and can illustrate the reliance of Buddhist nationalists on ethnoreligious identities to relegate non-Buddhists to second-class status, to the point of massive acts of violence and aggression. This paper seeks to illuminate the complex social history driving the rise of Buddhist nationalism in these countries, particularly strong military-religion relationships, …

Abortion, Buddhism, And The Middle Way: What A Buddhist View Of Abortion In Japan Can Teach Us In The United States Following The Overturn Of Roe V. Wade, Anna Grace Kalvelage

Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies

This paper takes up the question of whether there is a “middle way” approach in addressing the issue of abortion, particularly in light of the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States. It explores this question through examining how schools of Buddhism have addressed the issue of abortion in Japan, especially considering Japan’s unique history with abortion issues and the mizuko kuyo rituals, and what initially appears to be a gap in theory and practice when it comes to Buddhism and abortion. It further explores how some of the central tenets of Buddhism including karma, rebirth, and compassion …

Pop Spirituality In The Context Of Nepal, Kalinda Benson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this research report, Pop Spirituality in the Context of Nepal, I look to add clarity to what it means to be “spiritual” and how that has been applied historically in context of Nepal. This paper focuses on what has led up to our modern day perceptions on spirituality. In the first section of the paper, I briefly describe what I mean when I say, “pop spirituality” or a “modern spirituality.” I define spirituality and how it differs from religion, a religion, and what secularization is. I want to acknowledge that there are many types of spirituality that exist of …

Perspectives On Psychosis From Dharmashala’S Tibetan Community In Exile, Teddy Daniel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

What is psychosis? The term itself is relatively recent. Yet clinicians and religious figures have tried to explain ‘psychosis’ from pathological and nonpathological perspectives for hundreds of years. From an allopathic, medical standpoint, psychotic disorders are devastating diseases. Up to 3% of the world’s population struggle with hallucinations, delusions, and cognitive impairments that make it difficult or impossible to function in society. Tibetan Buddhism does not have an exact analogue to the clinical term ‘psychotic disorders’. Nevertheless, Tibetan medicine understands some cases of psychosis as pathological. For instance, the Tibetan word smyo nad (སྡོ་ནད་) roughly translates to madness. Yet in …

Tibetan Vegans In Diaspora, Ringzen Wangmo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Despite the Tsampa (Roasted Barley) eating culture and yak cheese merchandise in the market, the Tibetan culture is widely known as highly dependable on meat eating by non-Tibetans, little is known about the Tibetan Vegans officially known as karkyong. Overall vegetarianism is known and practiced in the Tibetan history throughout the centuries that’s what’s commonly known as vegan diets in modern society. But not known as Vegans in the Tibet then. This study also shed some light on Tibetan vegans in the diaspora and their journey of becoming vegan through interviews with restaurant owners, vegans, monks, nuns, and lay Tibetans …

Sea Changes In The Lives Of Japanese Buddhist Women In Hawai‘I, Karma Lekshe Tsomo

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Three cycles of change characterize the evolution of Japanese Buddhist temples in Hawai‘i: the early years, the war years, and the contemporary period. This brief article explores women’s roles and patterns of adaptation to local circumstances over generations during these cycles of change. Special attention is given to the experiences of Japanese immigrant Buddhist women in the Jōdo Shinshū school of Buddhism. The aim is to show how Japanese women who immigrated to Hawai‘i helped shape a uniquely local flavor of Buddhism, made significant contributions to Jōdo Shinshū’s development, and helped ensure the continuity of Buddhist traditions up to the …

A Century Of Critical Buddhism In Japan, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

This chapter introduces the central arguments of Critical Buddhism as a lens by which to view the course of “modern” Buddhism in Japan, particularly as it relates to politics. It traces philosophical and political precedents for Critical Buddhism in the context of Japanese modernity, by focusing on several progressive Buddhist figures movements from mid-Meiji through early Shōwa, including the New Buddhist Fellowship and the Youth League for Revitalizing Buddhism. I argue that previous attempts to centralize criticism as a basic Buddhist precept were unsuccessful in part do to an inability to distinguish the Buddhistic components of their thought and practice, …