Buddhist Studies Commons^™

After The Fall: Tsuji Zennosuke And The Creation Of Bukkyōshugi Kokushi, James Mark Shields

Faculty Journal Articles

Tsuji Zennosuke 辻善之助 (1877–1955), the dominant figure in Buddhist historical scholarship in Japan from the 1930s until the mid-1950s, is known to have employed a broad range of sources in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of his subject. This essay examines Tsuji’s conception of Buddhist history in relation to the emer- gence of both National Historical Studies (kokushigaku 国史学) and so-called State Shintō (kokka shintō 国家神道) and argues against the image of Tsuji as an “objec- tive historian” resistant to nationalist trends in historical scholarship. In fact, Tsuji was involved in the creation of an alternative, “Buddhistic” national history, …

The Benefits Of Past-Life Regression And Reincarnation, Taylor-Jo Russo

Student Publications

Reincarnation, or the belief in rebirth, is a fascinating belief that many cultures and different groups of people choose to subscribe to. While it typically accompanies various religions, the idea of reincarnation can be presented in other ways as well, such as regression therapy. Past-life regression therapy involves being hypnotized and recalling previous lives, memories, and information possible through levels of incarnations. Many therapists, psychologists, and even laymen attempt to use past-life regression therapy as a useful tool in overcoming anxieties, fears, dealing with every day concerns, and understanding phenomena. “Maintaining a critical eye but also an open mind. In …

Imagining Enlightenment: Icons And Ideology In Vajrayāna Buddhist Practice, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Iconography has been used to represent the experience of awakening in the Buddhist traditions for millennia. The Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions are especially renowned for their rich pantheons of buddhas and bodhisattvas who illuminate and inspire practitioners. In addition, the Vajrayāna branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism presents a host of meditational deities (yidam) who serve as catalysts of awakening. These awakened beings are regarded as objects of refuge for practitioners, both female and male, who visualize themselves in detail as embodiments of specific enlightened figures, female or male, with all their enlightened qualities. These meditational deities, which are mentally constructed …

Review Of Buddhism & Political Theory By Matthew J. Moore, Charles W. Wright

The Journal of Social Encounters

Buddhism & Political Theory, by Matthew J. Moore, proposes to extract a political theory from the Pali language texts of the Buddhist religious tradition that is palatable to Western academic sensibilities so that it might be ushered into the company of contemporary political and ethical philosophy. "Let me introduce you," the book in essence says to the world of Western philosophy, "to a long overlooked, unusual, and interesting perspective on political and ethical theory that you really ought to include in your conversations."

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 …

Thai Contextualized Art, Gregory P. Whitsett, Amy Whitsett

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"In the 1980s, a set of four murals depicting four specific and unique Adventist teachings and beliefs was commissioned by Pastor Clifton Maberly who was serving as a missionary in Thailand. His goal was to have these events depicted in a medium familiar to local Thai buddhists so they could wrestle with the new concepts without being distracted by Western art styles. His hope was that if Jesus, Satan and the angels could be depicted using characters similar to those already familiar to the Thai, the viewer would be better able to focus on and understand the truth portrayed in …

Critical Contextualization: Case Studies From Cambodia, Bruce L. Bauer

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"Those of us involved in world mission must be at the forefront to encourage local people to develop local expressions of their faith. When I hear people rejoice about the fact that regardless of where they travel in the world the Sabbath school and church service order of worship, the songs sung, and the way of doing church is the same, I do not rejoice, I groan. For that means that the foreign visitor is comfortable, but how about the local people? Are they comfortable with the often foreignness of Adventist worship? We can and must do better to allow …

Reaching Thai Buddhists And Those With A Background In Thai Buddhist Beliefs, Warren A. Shipton, Jared Wright, Tonya Wright, Nilubon Srisai

Journal of Adventist Mission Studies

"One of the greatest challenges for those working across cultures is to understand the unique features of the host culture and the dominant religious beliefs and practices found in the society represented. If this is to be done acceptably, the written and spoken language must be mastered and personal friendships formed with community members. Much damage has been done by Western missionaries arriving with preconceived ideas on evangelism taken from their home country and with an attitude of being holders of superior knowledge in many areas of thought beyond that held by the host culture. Catholic missionary activity has been …

Buddhist Economics: Problems And Possibilities, James Mark Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

起死回生(Resuscitation): Japan's Search For Machines And Their Meanings, Justin P. Mcdonnell

Master's Projects and Capstones

Japan’s lost decade(s) ushered in a new era of economic and societal malaise, marked by a shrinking population, an increased proportion of elderly people, inequality, neo-nationalism(s), uncertainty, and isolation. This project seeks to understand how Japan is trying to address these issues and reconstruct itself from the lost decade(s) with the use of artificial intelligence (jinkou chihou) and robotics along with the societal implications of this technology. This interdisciplinary research utilizes innovative, historical narratives (Morris-Suzuki,1988, Hornyak 2006), and the socio-cultural milieu of Japan and its traditions (Allison 2013; Katsuno 2010) to further appreciate and acknowledge Japanese perspectives and …

A Meditation In Three Parts, Brent Nakamoto

Graduate School of Art Theses

I’m interested in the way we read images—they way we see through an image’s surface in order to perceive its illusion, in the same way that we see through words in order to understand their meaning. I’m interested in this relationship, in both images and texts, between surface, illusion, and meaning. In Buddhist philosophy, the source of suffering is in our attachments to the self-as-image. The function of Zen meditation practice is to bring attention to this process of perception and, in doing so, to help see through the illusions of self-hood and ground our understanding in the reality of …

Future Perfect: Tolstoy And The Structures Of Agrarian Buddhist Utopianism In Taishō Japan, James Mark Shields

Faculty Journal Articles

This study focuses on the role played by the work of Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) in shaping socialism and agrarian-Buddhist utopianism in Japan. As Japanese translations of Tolstoy’s fiction and philosophy, and accounts of his life became more available at the end of the 19th century, his ideas on the individual, religion, society, and politics had a tremendous impact on the generation coming of age in the 1900s and his popularity grew among young intellectuals. One important legacy of Tolstoy in Japan is his particular concern with the peasantry and agricultural reform. Among those inspired by Tolstoy and the narodniki lifestyle, …

Medieval Japanese Zen: Catalyst For Symbol System Formation, Kendall Ann Roper

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Post-modernism asserts that the world as we know it does not exist independently from the symbolic interpretations we formulate about it. This symbolic and ever unfolding interpretation of reality applies to our understanding of science as well as philosophy, to religion as well as art. In striving to describe religious experiences, various cultures have developed complex symbolic languages whose purpose is to reference a culturally understood version of sacred reality as presented through religion. Religions contribute to shaping these cultural perceptions of reality by utilizing symbolic acts, objects, events, qualities, or concepts to express otherwise inexpressible elements of a culture’s …

On The Politics And Conceptualization Of Gender Non-Conformity : Exploring Thailand’S Kathoey Population., Macey E. Mayes

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the politics and conceptualization of gender in Thailand, drawing specifically on the Thai understanding of sex and gender with regard to the kathoey population. This work considers the solidification of a third-gender category and looks to the ways this solidification can inhibit the fluidity of gender and sexuality. It also analyzes the dangers of transnational advocacy and the superimposition of Western queer advocacy and theory on Thai gender identities. I approach this issue from an interdisciplinary framework that seeks to include historical, cultural, and theoretical perspectives. In examining anthropological research, critiques of …

The Art Of Dying As The Art Of Living: Exploring Buddhist Death Meditation As A Path To Human Flourishing, Kayla Stock

Obsculta

Can spiritual practices that inform our ideas about death alleviate fear of death? Can they lead to human flourishing? To explore these questions, I will examine the Buddhist practice of death meditation, assessing the practice both theologically and scientifically, then discussing the merits of this practice toward the purposes of human flourishing. I will end with an exploration of the potential ministerial applications of Buddhist death meditation.

Kreeft's "Between One Faith And Another: Engaging Conversations On The World's Great Religions" (, Elizabeth Pearson

The Christian Librarian

No abstract provided.

Thangka Painting: An Exploration Of Tibetan Buddhism Through Art, Hannah Slocumb

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Thangka painting is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist art form which depicts Buddhist deities. The deities must be made in very specific proportions, as it is believed that the deities can inhabit the paintings and thus the painting must be of the utmost beauty. Thangkas have a variety of uses, but they are mostly used as a means of gaining merit, in death rituals, during meditation, and in Buddhist ceremonies. In order to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism, I spent two and a half weeks studying thangka painting. I learned the entire process of creating a thangka, from the creation of …

Getting Sick Where Karma Is Gravity: Disease In The Tibetan Perspective, Moreau Hadley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Karma is the Buddhist idea that our actions from current and previous lives affect our fortune in this life. In particular, if we suffer in the current life, it is due to negative action in the past. Likewise, if we prosper, it is due to past positive acts, such as compassion. The idea of karma extends to illness; in simplification, sickness is attributed to negative past action.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the belief of karmic disease in the Tibetan Buddhist community of Shangri-La. Although disease is often used as an example of karmic suffering, and there …

Mapping Mindfulness In Digital Culture With Contemplative Leadership, Erin Sheehan

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

MAP Mindfulness is a project and organization founded by Sherri Henderson and Erin Sheehan, two recent Lesley University alumni from the Master of Arts in Mindfulness Studies program. They created MAP to serve two main purposes that they will share in this presentation. Their first aim is to curate a dynamic online community for mindfulness professionals to engage in dialogue and collaborative efforts in the emerging field of mindfulness. This group would bring an emphasis on research, ethical standards, and authentic practice.

Their second purpose is to continue their own work in what they call, “Digital Mindfulness.” Their …

Review Of John Whalen-Bridge, Tibet On Fire: Buddhism, Protest, And The Rhetoric Of Self-Immolation, Daniel S. Capper

Faculty Publications

Review of John Whalen-Bridge, Tibet on Fire: Buddhism, Protest, and the Rhetoric of Self-Immolation, in Journal of Contemporary Religion

Review Of Seeing Like The Buddha. Enlightenment Through Film By Francisca Cho, Ronald S. Green

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

Korean Contributions To Japanese Buddhism, Ronald S. Green, Chanju Mun

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

Indian Foundations And Chinese Developments Of The Buddha Dharma, Ronald S. Green, Chanju Mun

Philosophy and Religious Studies

No abstract provided.

Visions Of Tibet, Paul K. Nietupski

2018 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Bridging Worlds: Buddhist Women's Voices Across Generations, Karma Lekshe Tsomo Phd

Theology and Religious Studies: Faculty Scholarship

Since 1987, Sakyadhita has worked to remind the Buddhist women of the world of their potential to correct social problems and create a world of peace and happiness for all living beings. We strongly believe in the value of awakening the world's 300 million Buddhist women to work for peace and social justice. Our work has been focused in Asia, especially among the poorest women. Sakyadhita's working principle has been to assist those in greatest need: women and children. We are convinced that educating women in disadvantaged segments of Buddhist society will act as a powerful catalyst for long lasting …

Experiences Of Wildness And Value, Hannah G. Mclean

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

The Empty Cup: Tea, Mythos, And Initiation Through Emergent Ritual, Katherine C. West

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

West, Katherine Church, M.A., Summer 2018

Master of Arts in Fine Arts, Integrated Arts and Education

Abstract

In our increasingly fast paced and busy world, the cultural value placed in ritual and ceremony has been lost. Yet, cultures for centuries have known the importance of such initiations to both usher us into and through important passages that mark a new time in our lives by deepening our awareness of our own lives and an understanding of the collective human experience.

This paper documents a two part project, one is the creation of a Gypsy Caravan, explored through the process of …

Latina/O Conversion And Miracle-Seeking At A Buddhist Temple, Stephen M. Cherry, Kemal Budak, Aida I. Ramos

Faculty Publications - Department of Sociology

The growing diversification of the US Latino religious’ experiences calls for scholarly attention beyond Protestant or Catholic categories. This study begins to answer this call. Using interview data with 26 Latinos collected over 2 years of observation at the True Lama Meditation Center (TLMC) in Houston, Texas, we describe how Latinos who convert to Buddhism or actively attend the temple while also continuing to attend Christian services (both Catholic and Protestant) see themselves and understand their religious identities and practices. We then explore the reasons for their conversion or changes in religious identities and practices through various theoretical lens. Although …

Countering Untouchability: The Stories Of Mātaṅga, Chandrabhan P. Yadav

Articles

Excerpt:

"In the Jātakas we get description of the Caṇḍālas which is rare as far as traces about this class from the early Indian past is concerned. In around eight stories we get description of the Caṇḍālas.1 Amongst those the Mātaṅ gaJātaka (No.497) is the most important story because of its sheer description which is comparatively more elaborate than the other stories. In this essay I shall not only be examining this particular story to see the everyday lives of the Caṇḍālas in the early historic period, but most importantly, I shall also be exploring those processes through which these …