Buddhism Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

What implications does the Srin-mo, a pre-Buddhist deity who traverses across almost all of the periods of time in Tibetan religious life, have on the social status of women? Embodying the places and spaces of Tibet, a malevolent demoness called the Srin-mo has been essential in laying the formation of Tibetan Buddhism. The concept of the Srin-mo can be traced back to the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet: Bön. The story of the Srin-mo is not a creation myth in the sense of a worldly inception, but the story of the demoness does represent the creation of a harmonious society, spurring from the preceding time of primordial chaos found amongst the Bön religion. Looking at the origins of the demoness’ story is necessary in order to understand how and why the Srin-mo holds efficacious power over the land and people of Tibet. Here, I will investigate the case of the Srin-mo, which is controversially one of the most important beings in Tibet, but unquestionably, an irrevocable component of understanding what implications geography holds on Tibet.

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- Religion, Buddhism, Comparative Religion, Mythology And Folklore

A number of scientific writers have proposed manipulating the ecology of Mars in order to make the planet more comfortable for future immigrants from Earth. However, the ethical acceptability of such ‘terraforming’ proposals remains unresolved. In response, in this article I explore some of these scientific proposals through the lens provided by Buddhist environmental ethics that are quantitatively expressed by practitioners in the ethnographic field of the United States. What I find is that contemporary Buddhists combine philosophical notions of interconnectedness with moral considerations not to harm others and then creatively extend this combined sensibility to the protection specifically of abiotic features of Mars. In so doing these Buddhists significantly reject proposals to alter the Martian ecology planet-wide as beyond the ethical right of humans. Along the way these Buddhists also importantly provide an innovative basis for enriching Buddhist environmental ethical protection of abiotic locations, and this strengthening can assist in mitigating climate change on Earth.

- by Daniel Capper
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- Buddhism, Climate Change, Astrobiology, Environmental Ethics

In order to accept this Student Recruiter agreement with the College of Mental Health Counselling, you must believe in and agree with the value of learning about counselling through the online course described at www.ctihalifax.com, and you must act in good faith accepting that the College will remunerate you as per the terms of this agreement in #5 below. Because a Student Recruiter must communicate the following, therefore completing the below steps is considered a Skill Test in order to qualify. When the College receives full tuition from your first referral, you will be considered a Student Recruiter.

- by Daniel M Keeran MSW
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- Creative Writing, Marketing, Christianity, Buddhism

This paper examines the influence of Christianity in the formation of new Buddhism and the reformation agenda of traditional Buddhism during the first half of the twentieth century in
Korea. By new Buddhism, I am specifically referring to Wŏn Buddhism (圓佛敎), established by Sot’aesan Pak Chungbin 少太山朴重彬(1891–1943) in 1916. Since its foundation, Wŏn Buddhism has grown into one of the four major religious groups in South Korea, along with traditional Buddhism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. The paper begins by reviewing some of major issues in the Buddhist reform movements and Wŏn Buddhism. It then goes on to detail the formalistic similarities between Wŏn Buddhism and Christianity. The next section examines the visible influences of traditional East Asian religions in Wŏn Buddhism. In its
final part, the paper considers Sot’aesan’s approaches to different religious traditions and the eclectic nature of Wŏn Buddhism as a possible model for an interreligious dialogue, to include Buddhist-Christian dialogue.
Keywords: Wŏn Buddhism, Christianity, new Buddhism, Buddhist reform movements, ecumenism

- by Jin Y Park
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- Buddhism, Comparative Religion, Buddhist Studies, Korean Studies
- by YIMENG FENG
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- Religion, Buddhism, Chinese Studies, Sinology

Critical Analysis of Jack Maguire's "Essential Buddhism"

- by Andrew Rose
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- Buddhism, Epistemology, Epistemology (Anthropology), Religious Pluralism

A study of Buddhist sculptures of women at Sāñchī and Kanaganahalli, with profound implications for Buddhism and for the understanding of the origin of Christianity. (A revision which I recently made is this: I have replaced the earlier example of Buddhism’s occasional tendencies toward emphasizing the grotesque and unpleasant aspects of the human physical body [pp. 51-53] with a far more significant quoted description and illustration of the ghastly, midnight ‘Harem Scene’, which, in fact, represents the major turning point in the life of the Buddha-to-be [Prince Siddhārtha], and which, in this study, I am proposing as the very source of the enigmatic, so-called ‘Sheela-na-gig’ sculptures.)

- by Michael Lockwood
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- Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, Buddhist Art, Origins of Christianity

La letteratura buddhista del canone pali presenta un’estesa tassonomia di esercizi di meditazione. Lo scopo di questi esercizi è di raggiungere alti livelli di concentrazione e da lì forme di conoscenza intuitiva atte a dissipare l’illusione e a liberare la mente dalle contaminazioni mentali. Questo processo, descritto anche all’interno delle narrazioni tradizionali della vita del Buddha, verrà esaminato attraverso le sue principali fasi e componenti: prerequisiti, facoltà accessorie variamente interrelate, esercizi specifici per la focalizzazione dell’attenzione su un oggetto, rimedi agli impedimenti alla concentrazione, stadi profondi di assorbimento e relative acquisizioni, modelli progressivi di acquietamento della mente, contromisure all’identificazione egoica della mente con i livelli di concentrazione raggiunti, maturazione dei fattori contemplativi e cognitivi, rottura degli schemi del saṃsāra e conseguente liberazione.
Si analizzeranno alcuni testi e passi dedicati alla concentrazione meditativa, tratti dal Suttapiṭaka e da lavori esegetici, dal punto di vista delle sfumature lessicali, dei riferimenti incrociati, della coerenza dei contenuti, e dell’impatto di queste classificazioni sulla filosofia del buddhismo antico tout court, con particolare attenzione all’ontologia e all’epistemologia.

- by Giuliano Giustarini
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- Buddhism, Philosophy of Mind, Buddhist Philosophy, Mindfulness

According to a survey on the religious landscape in Korea, about half of the total population of Korea (53.4%) declared practicing religion. This number has shown a steady increase since the Gallup Korea conducted a survey in this field in 1984. 1 In understanding religion, religious phenomena, and religious practices in Korea, we should consider that the concept and expression of religion is relatively new in Korean culture. In this context, at least two preliminary remarks need to be made before we begin our discussion on the religions in Korea. The first is about the term religion. The expression religion did not exist in the vocabulary of East Asian languages until the late 19 th century. One origin of the modern term religion (Kor, chonggyo; Jan. shūkyō) can be traced to a trade document between Japan and Germany signed in 1869, in which the European term religion was translated into Japanese language, which was adopted by Koreans. 2 This does not mean that what is denoted by the term religion in English language did not exist in East Asia before the adoption of the expression. Instead of religion, traditional Korean religions such as Confucianism and Buddhism (which we will discuss in this chapter) were called teachings (Kor. kyo) or school (Kor. ga). This also indicates that the commonly known distinction between philosophy and religion in Western tradition does not strictly apply to Korean religious and philosophical traditions. The second issue to consider is the scope of religious phenomena. Religion is frequently and sometimes uncritically identified with religion as an institution. Institutionalized (or organized) religion features religious texts (sacred books), religious structure (church or temples), religious group (priesthood and believers), and moral and ethical codes (precepts). Religion is also often considered to be about God. Most of the major religions in the world share these components of religion, but religious phenomena are not limited to them, nor is what we denote by each of the above categories as clear as we might think. Several suggestions have been made for a comprehensive understanding of religious phenomena. One such example is to expand our concept of religion, from a singular-form religion to its plural form, religions. The pluralization of religious tradition enables us to further expand the scope of religions so that we can consider what constitutes the religious. 3 This paradigm can be applied to other concepts that are associated with religion. For example, we can expand our investigation from the concept of God to plural gods and then to the concept of the sacred (or the holy); from churches/temples to the place of worship and to the concept of the sacred space; and from examining precepts of a particular religion to the relationship between the finite and the infinite, and then to the issue of construction of value systems in human life. This is a process of creating a generic form (e.g., the sacred) from the collection of particular phenomenon (e.g., God). This process is necessary in order to have a comprehensive understanding of different religious traditions without privileging one religious tradition. This is especially relevant to our attempt to understand and evaluate Korean religious traditions. More often than not, students in the West ask how either Buddhism or Confucianism can be called a religion when these traditions do not have concepts that match what they find in Western religious traditions. Before we attempt to answer these questions, we should understand that such questions arise because we set a specific religious tradition as a standard for other religious traditions. In our discussion of Korean religions, we will divide them into three groups for the sake of convenience: the first is indigenous religions (Shamanism); the second is foreign-origin religions that became Koreanized (Buddhism and Confucianism); and the third is new religions that emerged during the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries (Tonghak and Won Buddhism).

- by Jin Y Park
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- Religion, Buddhism, Korean Studies, Shamanism

The Venerable Cheng-yen is an unassuming Taiwanese Buddhist nun who leads a worldwide social welfare movement with five million devotees in over thirty countries—with its largest branch in the United States. Tzu-Chi (Compassion Relief)... more

- by C. Julia Huang
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- Buddhism, Asian Studies, Philanthropy, Charity
- by Laurentiu Andrei
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- Buddhism, Hellenistic Philosophy, Stoicism, Zen Buddhism

ABSTRACT The Effect of Technology on the Psychology of Death and Dying: An Empirical Phenomenological Study by Dana F. Hodgdon This study explored the lived experience of death in the hospital intensive care unit (ICU) from the... more

- by Dana F Hodgdon
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- Buddhism, Stigmatization, Meaning, Trauma
- by Mickey Adolphson
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- Buddhism, Violence, Japanese medieval Buddhism

The Buddhist technical term was first translated as ‘mindfulness’ by T.W. Rhys Davids in 1881. Since then various authors, including Rhys Davids, have attempted definitions of what precisely is meant by mindfulness. Initially these were based on readings and interpretations of ancient Buddhist texts. Beginning in the 1950s some definitions of mindfulness became more informed by the actual practice of meditation. In particular, Nyanaponika’s definition appears to have had significant influence on the definition of mindfulness adopted by those who developed MBSR and MBCT. Turning to the various aspects of mindfulness brought out in traditional Therava ̄da definitions, several of those highlighted are not initially apparent in the definitions current in the context of MBSR and MBCT. Moreover, the MBSR and MBCT notion of mindfulness as ‘non-judgmental’ needs careful consideration from a traditional Buddhist perspective. Nevertheless, the difference in emphasis apparent in the theoretical definitions of mindfulness may not be so significant in the actual clinical application of mindfulness techniques.

- by Rupert Gethin
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- Buddhism, Mindfulness

“Stuart has elected not to describe the nature of Goenka’s practice and the detailed (and easily accessible) theory that underpins it. … [T]he biographer describes Goenka as ‘dedicated to serving as a powerful channel for his teacher’s [U Ba Khin’s] vijjādhātu, . . . the psychic force of the wisdom of vipaśyanā [insight meditation] made available to Goenka and his students by the grace of U Ba Khin and his enlightened nonhuman guides.’”

- by Daniel M Stuart
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- Buddhism, Hinduism, Buddhist Studies, Indian studies

Souvent présentée comme incertaine, l'étymologie du mot « pagode » peut être clarifiée et considérée comme la rencontre de deux mots, l'un indien, l'autre chinois.
Ce que ce mot désigne a fortement évolué : autrefois polysémique, « la pagode » ne renvoie plus aujourd'hui qu'à une seule réalité, ne concernant que le bouddhisme chinois et les traditions qu'il a suscitées.
D'où il s'ensuit que les monuments du bouddhisme Theravāda ne doivent plus être appelés « pagodes ».

- by Didier Treutenaere
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- Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist art and architecture
- by Miri Albahari
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- Buddhism, Philosophy of Mind, Self and Identity, Comparative Philosophy

Poceski, Mario. Introducing Chinese Religions. New York and London: Routledge, 2009. Also available in an e-book format, as Chinese Religions: The eBook (published by JBE Online Books), and in a Portuguese translation: Introdução às... more

- by Mario Poceski
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- Buddhism, Chinese Studies, Daoism, Chinese Religions

Previous scholarly studies have discussed the use of Zen Buddhism
within the person-centred approach of Carl Rogers, demonstrating the feasible influence of Buddhism over Rogers’s theories. The present research delves into the convergence and divergence of person-centred therapy and the Mahāyāna (one of the current mainstreams of Buddhism) philosophy explicated within the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra (a significant Mahāyāna canon); in particular, the bodhisattva spirit and four immeasurables, including loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. Findings indicate that Carl Rogers’s counselling principles and practices comply with the Buddhist teachings of phenomenal vision, actualising tendency, and innate eagerness to alleviate suffering. This discussion also analyses ideas that have
seldom been examined in person-centred principles, such as bodhisattva
altruism, mind purity in nature and impurity caused by bewilderment,
compassion fatigue, causes of suffering, and counselling techniques.
Mahāyāna wisdom potentially offers references to the Rogerian family of
theories, which also sheds light on the use of Buddhist-influenced non-medical interventions.

2017 The ten ox-herding pictures are some of the most famous illustrations in Buddhism. The commentaries that have been written on these pictures are vast and wide. In this workbook I've taken the opportunity to share my views about the pictures along with sharing the thoughts and ideas of other contemporary writers on Buddhism who have done so as well.

- by Kathleen A Bishop
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- Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, Zen Buddhism

This is the handout for a presentation I gave in February of 2020 in Heidelberg at the workshop "Textual and Visual Sources on Buddhist Meditation: 56 Years after the First Publication of the ‘Buddhist Yoga Manual.’" The talk was entitled "The Deities of Others: Visionary meditation as inter-tradition critique in the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra."

- by Daniel M Stuart
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- Buddhism, Hinduism, Buddhist Philosophy, Buddhist Studies
- by Philipp A Maas
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- Buddhism, Comparative Religion, Indian Philosophy, Plato

Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It began in the 6th century BCE in Nepal. Today, it has an international following of over 500 million people.
But Buddhism isn’t a single set of beliefs or practices. In fact, Buddhism is split into two major branches: Theravada and Mahayana.
What are the major differences between Theravada vs MahayanaBuddhism? And why did they split in the first place? These two branches of Buddhism each have their own unique identity. And you might be surprised by what each can offer the beginner practitioner learning how to practice Buddhism.

- by theravada mahayana
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- Religion, Buddhism, Comparative Religion, Buddhist Studies
- by Monica Sanford
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- Buddhism, Psychology, Buddhist Studies, Spiritual Formation
- by Allan Bomhard
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- Buddhism, Buddhist Studies, Theravada Buddhism

From an ecological, scientific perspective all phenomena found in nature posses both form and function, hence
being labelled as having ‘living’ qualities. Some, if not many man-made structures lack this quality and there is
scientific evidence conducted by Christopher Alexander that state the reasons why this is so. As architects we
must pay attention to this issue so we can avoid past mistakes and strive to create buildings and structures
that are architecturally ‘alive’. This research is vital because as architects we play a key role in shaping the
built environment, and this can have either a positive or negative effect on the surrounding environment and
community. The aim of this research is to test Christopher Alexander’s principles to see whether he holds the
key in decreasing the gap between nature and the built environment, using Boudhanath Stupa Kathmandu as
a case study. The structure of the research will be based on the scientific, explanatory and analytical method.
The research will outline Christopher Alexander’s Fifteen Fundamental Properties and exploring whether there
is evidence of these properties within Boudhanath Stupa. This research will be backed with recent on-site
analysis and architectural, religious and structural information. The qualitative research method will also be
employed within the research as it aims to gather an in-depth understanding of the stupa and its surrounding
environment. The research initially will be hypothesis testing as I will be testing Alexander’s theory against the
Boudhanath Stupa, however, I am aware that this may also be hypothesis generating as further research is
conducted by opening up and revealing questions along the way. If the Fifteen Fundamental Properties are
evident in the stupa, this may prove Alexander’s theory as being valid, and if this is the case, we can learn from
Alexander’s principles in order to create more examples of ‘living’ architecture.

- by Thomas Young
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- Buddhism, Sustainable Architecture, Organic Architecture, Christopher alexander

This article deals with an important festival in Tibet dedicated to the future Buddha Maitreya. It was held on three days in summer when three giant thangkas showing Buddhas Amitābha, Śākyamuni and Maitreya were put on public display. Introduced in the seventeenth century, it became a defining feature of the monastic life in the Dge lugs monastery of Bkra shis lhun po, the seat of the Panchen Lamas. It attained a supra-regional importance, which even extended to Mongolia. Based on a number of textual sources, this essay examines various aspects of this festival, how it was funded, who participated, and which rituals and ceremonies were conducted. It also analyses the history and iconography of the three giant textile thangkas by discussing in detail the contributions made during the reign of each respective Panchen Lama from the past to the present. In sum, the article argues that this festival has to be seen in the context of a special bond the Dge lugs school of Tibetan Buddhism maintained to have with the future Buddha Maitreya

- by Olaf Czaja
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- Buddhism, Cultural Studies, Asian Studies, Tibetan Studies

O zen-budismo é uma forma de budismo mahãyãna de origem chinesa e orientada para a meditação. O presente estudo é concebido “comparativamente”. As filosofias de Platão, Leibniz, Fichte, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche e Heideggeir, entre outras, são confrontadas com as inteleções filosóficas do zen-budismo. O “método comparativo” é utilizado aqui como um método desbravador de sentidos.

- by Lucas Nascimento Machado
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- Buddhism, Philosophy, Buddhist Philosophy, Zen Buddhism

Membership in Newar Buddhist monasteries includes individuals from the Vajrācārya and Śākya castes who serve as Tantric Buddhist householder monks. Of this population, the ten eldest members of each monastery are known as the Daśa Sthavira Ājus (Ten Elders of the Highest Esteem). Because of their position, these Ājus are the ritual specialists for their communities and serve as exemplars of the monastic ideal in Newar society. This paper explores the ways in which Newar Buddhists at the Kwā Bahā monastic complex in Patan, Nepal, utilize ceremonial dress to reinforce their Buddhist identity and publicly reaffirm their ancient Buddhist heritage in Nepal. This study, the first to analyze the Ājus’ ceremonial regalia, provides an analysis of the garments, headdresses, and ornaments worn by these figures to explain the ways in which dress embeds Buddhist iconographic symbolism into Newar visual culture. Additionally, this paper demonstrates that the ritual veneration of the Ājus gives their regalia agency, reinforcing their public, ritual role as living embodiments of buddhahood. [PDF of article available in link]

- by Kerry Lucinda Brown
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- Buddhism, Art History, History of Dress, Cultural Heritage
- by Allan Bomhard
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- Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism

The complete Circle of Bliss is now available under "Papers" in nine sections

- by John Huntington and +1
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- Buddhism, Buddhist Iconography, Buddhist Art, Indian Buddhism
- by David Drewes
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- Buddhism, Buddhist Philosophy, Chinese Buddhism, Buddhist Studies

The teachings of the tantric lineage of the Zur clan, which flourished in West Tibet during the early second millennium, have remained a missing element in the history of the “ancient,” Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. While the historical importance of the clan is well known and significant lines of transmission are attributed to it, few authentic works stemming from the Zur and detailing their tradition have appeared. The recent discovery of a major synthetic treatise, The All-Encompassing Lamp of Awareness, by a 12th century successor to the Zur and treating all major aspects of their doctrinal heritage, permits us for the first time to consider their contribution in substantial detail. The present article examines the provenance and authorship of this remarkable work.

- by Matthew Kapstein
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- Buddhism, Manuscript Studies, Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Art