Buddhist Studies Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

A Guide To Secondary Scholarship For Pure Land Buddhism Using Japanese Periodicals, Rebecca A. Stover

Journal of East Asian Libraries

This paper presents the process of locating Japanese language periodicals relating to Pure Land Buddhism and compiles a bibliography of open-access Japanese language sources for students in the process of Japanese Language acquisition. The paper attempts to scaffold the research process for students in the process of language acquisition and function as a guide to finding information.

In Defense Of Religion-Sport Separation In Coaching, Lou Matz

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

Can a coach rightfully integrate a religious orientation in their coaching in a public institution? In its recent Kennedy v Bremerton School District (2022) decision, the U.S. Supreme Court defended the educational value of players’ exposure to diverse expressive activities as a part of learning how to live in a pluralistic society. I contend that religion-sport separation is the most philosophically defensible position, based primarily on the problems with supernatural theism in religions like Christianity. Nonetheless, there is a form of religion-sport integration that is theoretically possible within my critique of theism which could strengthen the inner morality of sport. …

Bad Behaviour, Christopher R. Deacy

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Bad Behaviour (2023), directed by Alice Englert.

Book Review On Mindfulness-Based Emotion Focused Counselling (By Padmasiri De Silva), Kathleen Higgins

Comparative Philosophy

No abstract provided.

Zero, Śūnya And Pūrṇa: A Comparative Analysis, Animisha Tewari

Comparative Philosophy

Due to apparent duality in this world, one has to face a lot of difficulties while searching for the Truth. Our ego is the root cause for perception of duality and this in turn leads to suffering. This suffering can only be extinguished by attainment of the Truth, i.e, non-duality. However, in order to enable the finite intellect to comprehend the incomprehensible non-duality, this undifferentiated whole is sometimes denoted by nothingness (śūnya) or fullness (pūrṇa). Non-duality is usually understood by the numeral ‘1’ which stands for unity or oneness. The main aim of this paper is …

Caducitas And Śūnyatā: A Neoplatonist Reading Of Nāgārjuna, Fabien Muller

Comparative Philosophy

In this paper I am addressing the question whether Nāgārjuna’s doctrine should be understood as a theory that describes reality itself (ontology) or as a theory of our relation to reality (epistemological, logical, psychological, etc.). To answer this question, I propose to compare Nāgārjuna’s concept of emptiness to that of ‘caducity’, a key element in the ontology of Renaissance Neoplatonist philosopher Francisco Patrizi. By showing that these concepts are similar, I argue that Nāgārjuna’s standpoint can be considered as that of ontology.

Seeing And Unlearning Whiteness: A Mindfulness Workshop For Racial Justice, Emily Haranas

Mindfulness Studies Theses

Racism is a deeply embedded, foundational aspect of American society. However, because the privilege of Whiteness insulates White individuals from the workings of systemic injustice and oppression and enables them to choose the conditions of their accountability in the movement for racial justice, many remain painfully blind to this fact. As such, there is a significant need for those who have been racialized White to develop a critical awareness of the powers and privileges ascribed to their racial identity. The working premise of this thesis is that mindfulness can assist White individuals in unlinking the socialized habits of mind that …

Two Dimensions Of A Bodhisattva, Douglas Duckworth

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

This paper presents two dimensions of a bodhisattva, the ideal of Maha- ya- na Buddhism. One dimension involves contemplative practices that disclose a pure nature that is always already present; this reality is unveiled after the obscurations that cloud it are removed. I refer to this as a “top-down” approach because it is based on qualities of awakening that are already there, yet lie beyond an ordinary being’s comprehension. The second dimension, which I refer to as a “bottom-up” approach, involves directed training and discipline. Unlike the top-down approach, this is not about “going with the flow” or simply letting …

Seeing The Unseen: Bridging Realities Of Experience Through Dependent Origination, Shubham Sapkota

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Overall, this project looks into the problem and history of colonialism, the impact of it on the people and knowledge coming from South Asia, and offers an alternate view to understand our world. The notion of seeing the unseen acknowledges that there are facets of our day-to-day reality that we are often unaware of when thinking about our communities and ourselves. Yet, being able to fully acknowledge and understand the seen and unseen aspects of our community is necessary if we are to work towards improving our communities for the long run. By relying on the Buddhist teaching and discourse …

From Building To Dwelling: Unfolding Infinity Through Bioregional Fulfillment, Sanjana Bhatnagar

Pitzer Senior Theses

The causes of anthropogenic climate change touch every feature of our modern-day existences. Approaches to sustainability tend to focus on material actions, but unsustainable practices are guided by an ontological orientation of individuality and human exceptionalism. This thesis provides an alternate account of being that decenters individuality through weaving the metaphysics of Fazang of the Huayan School of Mahayana Buddhism with the metaphysics of Martin Heidegger. To encompass the whole of the relational network that constitutes and conditionally defines our existence, I expand Heidegger’s account of locales as relational sites which are put forth solely by humans to an account …

วรรณกรรมเกี่ยวกับการปฏิบัติกรรมฐานของธรรมยุติกนิกาย พ.ศ. 2367-2438, สิรภพ ชลหาญ

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

วิทยานิพนธ์เรื่องนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาวิเคราะห์แนวคิดและวิธีการการปฏิบัติกรรมฐานของธรรมยุติกนิกาย และความเป็นธรรมยุติกนิกายจากข้อสังเกตที่ได้จากวรรณกรรม คือ จากพระราชนิพนธ์และงานนิพนธ์ของคณะผู้ร่วมก่อตั้งจำนวน 4 ท่าน ซึ่งแต่งขึ้นในปีพุทธศักราช 2367-2438 ได้แก่ (1) วชิรญาณภิกขุุ หรือ พระบาทสมเด็จพระจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว (2) สมเด็จพระมหาสมณเจ้า กรมพระยาปวเรศวริยาลงกรณ์ (3) สมเด็จพระวันรัต (ทับ พุุทฺธสิริ) และ (4) พระธรรมไตรโลกาจารย์ (เดช ฐานจาโร) ผลการศึกษาพบว่า การทำกรรมฐานเกี่ยวพันกับการพัฒนาตนตามหลักไตรสิกขา กรรมฐานที่ปรากฏในวรรณกรรมมีจุดมุ่งหมายเพื่อพระนิพพาน ช่วยเจริญสมาธิและปัญญาของผู้ปฏิบัติตามคติในคัมภีร์พระพุทธศาสนาเถรวาท ทั้งยังสร้างสำนึกทางพระพุทธศาสนา กรรมฐานที่นำเสนอมีทั้งสมถะและวิปัสสนา สมถกรรมฐานเน้น “จตุรารักขกรรมฐาน” อันได้แก่ พุทธานุสติ เมตตาพรหมวิหาร มรณานุสติ และอสุภสัญญา ในระยะแรก ภายหลัง จึงแสดงวิธีการอื่นตามแนวทางของคัมภีร์วิสุทธิมรรค ส่วนวิปัสสนากรรมฐานเน้นการพิจารณาขันธ์ 5 โดยความเป็นของไม่เที่ยง เป็นทุกข์ และมิใช่ตัวตน วรรณกรรมกรรมฐานทำให้ความรู้เรื่องกรรมฐานเข้าถึงได้ด้วยการอ่าน ผู้ปฏิบัติกรรมฐานสามารถฝึกฝนโดยไม่ต้องพึ่งพาพระวิปัสสนาจารย์ ทำให้กรรมฐานเป็นข้อปฏิบัติสำหรับผู้ปฏิบัติให้เข้าถึงไตรสิกขา ทั้งยังเป็นเครื่องช่วยเตือนสติและให้ความรู้ในการดำเนินชีวิตตามคติพระพุทธศาสนา การปฏิรูปแนวทางกรรมฐานตามแนวทางดังกล่าวแสดงให้เห็นความเป็นธรรมยุติกนิกายในระยะแรกที่ยังคงเป้าหมายพระนิพพาน ความเชื่อมั่นในวิจารณญาณในการคัดสรรและประยุกต์คำสอนพระพุทธศาสนาให้เหมาะสมกับยุคสมัย และการรับวิทยาการจากตะวันตก ภายหลังเมื่อคณะธรรมยุตมีสถานะมั่นคงขึ้นโดยได้รับการยอมรับจากชนชั้นนำจนให้จัดการศึกษาคณะสงฆ์ วรรณกรรมกรรมฐานบางเล่มใช้เป็นหนังสือเรียนในหลักสูตร ทำให้กรรมฐานแบบโบราณที่เคยปฏิบัติสืบต่อมาค่อย ๆ สูญหายไป

Book Review: Animal Care In Japanese Tradition: A Short History, James Stone Lunde

Asia Pacific Perspectives

No abstract provided.