Buddhist Beliefs Research Articles

The Vajrayāna personality. A mixed quantitative-qualitative study on Tibetan Buddhism in Spain / La personalidad Vajrayāna. Estudio mixto cuantitativo-cualitativo con budistas tibetanos de España

This article presents a psychological study with Tibetan Buddhism from Spain. Employing a mixed quantitative-qualitative approach, the study investigates how Buddhist beliefs, meditation practices and social belongingness are related to personality traits. In the quantitative analysis, significative lower scores in Sensation Seeking-Impulsivity and Activity were found when comparing the Tibetan Buddhist group ( N = 30) with a non-Buddhist religious group ( N = 30) and a non-religious group ( N = 30). Furthermore, lower scores in Neuroticism-Anxiety and Future Anxiety were found when comparing a Buddhist group with a religious group. In-depth interviews with a subset of Buddhist participants ( N = 8) shed light on the subjective perceived psychological effects of Buddhist practices, highlighting their role in coping with problems related to Future Anxiety, Sensation Seeking-Impulsivity, Aggression-Hostility and Neuroticism-Anxiety. The qualitative analysis also reveals an ‘ascetic’ profile among participants, characterized by an energetic and empathic style, yet with less attachment to conventional social norms and materialistic achievements.

From Palace Lady to Tara: Exploring the Transformation of the Female Role in Buddhist Belief through the Sinicization of Buddhism

From Palace Lady to Tara: Exploring the Transformation of the Female Role in Buddhist Belief through the Sinicization of Buddhism

Contemporary Horror Story-Telling: Its Function and Reproduction of the Belief in Ghosts in the Thai Context

This article explores the function and reproduction of the belief in ghosts in the context of current Thailand through contemporary horror story-telling on the Internet. The study reveals that contemporary horror story-telling employs motifs and tale types as key elements in creating fear. Horror stories can be categorized into three tale types: ghost, sixth sense, and haunted place. Key motifs are the characters, objects, events or actions, and places. Contemporary horror story-telling plays crucial roles in creating entertainment, shaping moral standards in the society, reflecting fears, concerns, and problems in the contemporary society, and passing on Buddhist belief and ceremonies in the Thai setting. The transition from traditional horror story-telling to online platform exemplifies a success formula of horror stories on ghosts, which have long been popular in Thai society. Horror stories are reproduced as a vehicle for traditional horror story-telling in the contemporary Thai context. The phenomenon highlights the prevalent notion of traditional ghost stories while also building a new framework of horror stories tailored to the modern period.

Advocacy for a Buddhist approach to dementia care

ABSTRACT Despite the extensive literature on Christian and Muslim perspectives on dementia care, there has been an absence of scholarly research on dementia care from a Buddhist perspective. What appears to be largely missing from this discourse is the potential of incorporating traditional Buddhist beliefs and practices as part of a comprehensive approach to contemplative, spiritual caregiving for people living with dementia. A multi-faith approach to dementia care is necessary to truly appreciate the diverse spiritual/religious needs of individuals with this condition. Contemplative care informed by Buddhist ethics, beliefs, and practices is an approach that deserves further exploration. For chaplains and healthcare professionals who identify themselves as Buddhists, it is important to develop care strategies that are congruent with their spiritual and cultural beliefs to effectively support the well-being of individuals living with dementia.

The Impact of Culture on the Demand for Non-life Insurance Penetration in Developing Countries: Panel Data Analysis

Purpose: The impact of insurance market activity within financial development is gaining more attention in academia, as the sector experiences growth within emerging markets. The paper aims to understand which macro-economic and social variables impact the growth or decline of the non-life insurance sector broadly across European countries with a view to provide recommendations to drive increased penetration across the region.
 Methodology: Using Fixed Effects Panel Data Regression and annual data from 1990 to 2021 on 10 countries, the study examines the explanatory factors of non-life insurance demand in European countries (Australia, France, Austria, Italy, Canada, Luxemburg, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Portugal).
 Findings: The study found that GDP, and urbanization and education rates have a significant negative impact on non-life insurance penetration and density; urbanization, religion, education level and rule of law can explain positively variation in non-life insurance density and penetration across countries. Countries with higher urbanization levels, higher education level, Christian or Buddhist beliefs and more effective rule of law spend more on non- life insurance than other countries. The control of corruption and government effectiveness explain negatively variance in non-life insurance.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Notably, governments can develop the non-life insurance sector through policies that support urbanization.Similarly, ensuring an environment that promotes economic freedom (such as low tariff, high personal choice, low government spending and high security of property rights) could be an effective way of promoting non-life insurance demand. In contrast, policies that help to reduce the rate of urbanization may yield a double dividend: less population and congestion in cities and better opportunities for the development of non-life insurance markets. Also, countries with high level of education, can develop the development of non- life insurance demand. Among many socio-economic factors such as income, urbanization and education level, our analysis suggests that cultural dimensions such as beliefs and rule of law play a role.

Gender, Feeling and the Making of Korean Christian Knowledge in Sengoku Japan*

This essay explores the production of Korean Christian knowledge in Sengoku Japan by analysing narratives about a vision said to have been experienced by an evangelised Korean woman, which circulated within Jesuit correspondence from Japan and in subsequent publications. These texts, about a convert's journey to diverse netherworlds, made affective experiences central to spiritual perception, and to Jesuit interpretation of faith. They held important implications for how women living in a society permeated by Buddhist beliefs and practices could be represented as producers of Christian knowledge and as faith guides to others, whose bodies did not hinder spiritual perception but rather offered tools for achieving it.

Influencing Factors on Death Acceptance Among Thai Older Persons

ABSTRACT Objectives This study aimed to investigate both the direct and indirect effects of various factors on the acceptance of death. Methods This cross-sectional study included 800 older Buddhist persons in Thailand, who were recruited through a multistage sampling method. Data were collected using six questionnaires and analyzed through path analysis using the MPlus program. Results Death anxiety was the main factor influencing death acceptance, with death anxiety exerting a negative direct effect on death acceptance. Buddhist beliefs about death demonstrated both a positive direct effect on death acceptance and a positive indirect effect on death acceptance through Buddhist practices. Furthermore, Buddhist practices exhibited a positive direct effect on death acceptance, while social support also showed a positive direct effect on death acceptance. Conclusions This study highlights the significant direct and indirect effects on death acceptance among older Thai Buddhists. Clinical implications Buddhist-aligned interventions may be more effective and readily embraced by Thai older persons. For those who are receptive, nurses can foster death acceptance by developing interventions that reduce death anxiety and promote Buddhist beliefs about death, Buddhist practices, and social support.

In-between Institutional Religion and Folk Faith during the Transition into a Modern Political System – The Case of Giam Temples in Taiwan

“Giam” 巖 is a popular type of temple in Taiwan, also called “Giam-a”, referring to religious architecture related the concept of “mountains”. This type of temple was initially recorded as a geographical landscape or scenic attraction and was subsequently extended to indicate a specific form of worship space. This study explores the Giam architecture under the intervention of state power. The intervention process could be divided into two stages. The first stage involved the Investigation of Traditional Customs during the Japanese rule. The second stage involved interventions by the Buddhist Association of the Republic of China (BAROC) after World War II. This study depicts three significant Giam temple cases in Taiwan. From the perspective of spatial layout, architectural form, and ritual, discusses the development results of the Giam temple after the modern state system intervenes in religious affairs. Some Giam temples have made their choice between the folk beliefs and Buddhist beliefs as an adjustment, and others have still coexisted with both religious by separated them with spatial layout and different architectural style. The diverse sociocultural characteristic of the mountains makes the religious in it become the nexus of local power. So, as the state system and policy change, those religious spaces also need to change in some way, adjusting to balance the state and local power.

Acculturation of Hindu and Buddhist Culture at Goa Giri Putri Temple Nusa Penida

The purpose of this study is to determine the process of Hindu-Buddhist cultural acculturation in Goa Giri Putri Temple, identifying the form and meaning contained in the cultural acculturation. This study uses the theory of cultural acculturation to analyse the process and forms of the cultural acculturation that occur in the temple and multiculturalism theory to analyse the meaning/values involved in the cultural acculturation. The method used in this research is qualitative. Data were collected through an in-depth interview and observation. The data were analysed using a descriptive-analytical technique. The findings show that the process of cultural acculturation in Goa Giri Putri temple is the openness of the community to the entry of outside culture (Chinese culture) into Hindu culture and the existence of community beliefs or faith. Acculturation can be seen in the form of Buddhist worship statues placed alongside the worship (pelinggih) of Hindu gods at the Goa Giri Putri Temple. The means of worship used also do not distinguish between Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. Hindu-Buddhist cultural acculturation in Goa Giri Putri Temple has the meaning of providing an understanding of multicultural values and socio-religious values for the people of Karangsari Hamlet, Suana Village, Nusa Penida.

Sound Change, Value of PL-SKT Loanwords and Reflections of Society and Beliefs in the Epic Thao Hung or Cheuang

The objectives of this study were to explore the linguistic changes, to discover the value of Pali (PL) and Sanskrit (SKT) loanwords in an old and important epic work entitled “Thao Hung or Cheuang”, and to describe the society depicted in this work and its beliefs. The conceptual framework of this study consists of (1) usage of PL-SKT words through sound change theories (2) values of the PL-SKT loanwords applied in Thao Hung or Cheuang and (3) reflections on the society and beliefs of the people in this epic. A qualitative method was employed and the data were collected from volumes 1-4 of the Dictionary of the Vocabulary in the Northeastern Thai Literary Work Thao Hung or Thao Cheuang published by the Royal Society of Thailand. The findings revealed that there are 679 PL-SKT loanwords in the work. The vowel and consonant sound changes were made for the sake melodiousness of the poetry of the work. The values of PL-SKT words can be categorized into five dimensions, namely, 1) language usage 2) word usage 3) sound usage 4) semantic usage and 5) aesthetic usage. The work also reflects the society it depicts, namely: urban society on a plateau which is class-based and agricultural, in which there is gender inequality between men and women and marriage between relatives of the ruling class, and in which there are multiple cultural influences. The following two types of beliefs were found in the society, namely: old beliefs and Brahman and Buddhist beliefs.

Religious beliefs and wildlife value orientations influence tolerance of wildlife impacts in Bhutan

ABSTRACT Understanding peoples’ values and beliefs relating to wildlife is important in regions where human wildlife conflict is prevalent. This study investigated wildlife value orientations (WVO) among subsistence farmers in Bhutan. We explored WVOs and how they shape peoples’ attitudes toward wildlife using 48 semi-structured interviews and 8 focus group discussions in four districts. A qualitative thematic analysis of this data revealed alignment with seven WVOs identified from the literature. Most respondents showed positive WVOs related to widely held Buddhist beliefs; however, negative WVOs were dominant amongst herders, whose livelihoods were most affected by wildlife. This leads to personal and community dissonance between societal religious beliefs and WVOs. Policies that address HWC should capitalize on positive societal beliefs and WVOs but recognize that herders will need a particular focus to overcome negative WVOs. Policies need to be redesigned to avoid future negative impacts on people, livelihoods, and conservation objectives.

Making It Magical

Making It Magical

Religion and Philosophy Affected Stigma against Mental Illness and Impact on the Mental Health Care in India and China

Mental illness has been a prevalent issue around the world however; an existing stigma against mental illness is preventing the development of proper mental health care and resources. This phenomenon is seen in the countries of India and China. Considering a stigma is developed within the society based on some beliefs upheld by the general population, it was in the best interest to investigate religions and philosophies that people in both China and India follow and uphold. This paper aims to answer the research question of “In what ways has religion and philosophy, specifically Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, affected stigma against mental illness and thus the available mental health care in India and China?”. Through research done on the four religions/philosophies, certain connections could be made. In India, Hinduism views mental illness as a result of a lack of faith and adherence to rituals. In Islam, mental illness is also believed to be due to a lack of faith. Such negative views of mental health could be contributing to the large treatment gap in India. In China, Confucianism seems to be the reason why a mental illness stigma exists. Confucianism emphasizes adherence to societal views, even if that means suppressing emotion. This causes people to look down upon mental illness and justifies people staying away from those with mental illnesses rather than helping them. On the other hand, Buddhism, the majority religion/philosophy in China, seeks to reduce mental health stigma. Buddhist beliefs could be the cause of the increase in demand for mental health care. The connections made are beneficial to understanding the root of mental health stigma and can be used in the future to combat the stigma and start increasing awareness and available mental health care.

Islamisasi di Wilayah Indochina

Indochina was divided into three main regions namely Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. These three countries were countries where the majority of the population adheres to the Buddhist belief system or religion. Islam was a very minority religion in these three countries. This article aimed to explain how the process of Islamization in the Indochina region. This research used qualitative research methods by focusing on literature studies through historical methods with three stages, namely heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The results of this study indicated that the process of Islamization in Cambodia which was initially welcomed by the king and local people went through the dark period of the red Khemr regime and finally the Muslim community in Cambodia was free and they rebuilt their religious system, so that the latter could live hand in hand with other religions. The process of Islamization in Laos was engaged in trading and managing butcher shops. They lived in the jami' mosque in Vientiane. Meanwhile, the process of Islamization in Vietnam started from the kingdom of Champa. There were several theories which state that the process of the arrival of Islam in Vietnam started from the relationship carried out by the crew of the Champa royal ship with traders from Brunei and Banten (Indonesia).

Factors influencing resilience in patients with advanced cancer: A cross-sectional study.

Advanced cancer and its treatments lead to various detrimental impacts on patients. Resilience is an important ability to adapt to such adversity, but there is limited information about its influencing factors, specifically in patients with advanced cancer. This study aimed to examine the influence of social support, depression, anxiety, hope, optimism, spiritual well-being, religious belief, and hardiness on resilience among adults with advanced cancer. This cross-sectional research used multi-stage sampling to select 288 participants from a university hospital and three tertiary hospitals in northern Thailand. Data were collected using a demographic data collection form, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Thai version of the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), the Herth Hope Index (HHI), Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), Buddhist Belief Questionnaire, Health-Related Hardiness Scale (HRHS), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), from February 2021 to February 2022. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis. Depression (r = -0.47, p <0.01) and anxiety (r = -0.39, p <0.01) had a significant negative relationship with resilience. Spiritual well-being (r = 0.74, p <0.01), hope (r = 0.67, p <0.01), religious belief (r = 0.53, p <0.01), optimism (r = 0.40, p <0.01), social support (r = 0.33, p <0.01), and hardiness (r = 0.21, p <0.01) had significant positive relationships with resilience. Only hope (β = 0.29, p <0.01) and spiritual well-being (β = 0.59, p <0.01) together influenced resilience by 64.70%. Spiritual well-being and hope are crucial to resilience in patients with advanced cancer. Nurses should provide spiritual support to strengthen patients' ability to adapt successfully to life with advanced cancer.

Factors Predicting Coping of Pregnant Women Working in the Manufacturing Industry: A Cross-sectional Study

Pregnant women working in the manufacturing industry are at risk of experiencing stress both from pregnancy itself and from their occupation. Supporting them to cope effectively with this stress is an important role of the nurse-midwife. This cross-sectional study investigated the predictive power of job strain, pregnancy-specific stress, sense of coherence, self-esteem, religious belief, and social support in predicting coping among pregnant women working in the manufacturing industry. The participants were 288 women visiting the antenatal department of five provincial hospitals in Thailand. The research instruments were a demographic data recording form, and the Thai versions of the Job Content Questionnaire, the Revised Prenatal Distress Questionnaire, the 13-item Sense of Coherence, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Buddhist Belief Questionnaire, the Social Support Questionnaire, and the Ways of Coping Checklist-Revised. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and hierarchical multiple regression. The study results revealed that job strain, pregnancy-specific stress, sense of coherence, self-esteem, religious belief, and social support altogether could explain 60% of the variance in problem-focused coping and 57% of the variance in emotion-focused coping of pregnant women working in the manufacturing industry. Social support was the strongest predictorof problem-focused coping, while the sense of coherence was the strongest predictor of emotion-focused coping. The findings can be used by nurse-midwives in planning interventions to promote coping of pregnant women working in the manufacturing industry, focusing on enhancing social support and a sense of coherence and reducing pregnancy-specific stress.

Indonesian language training and introduction of Al-Islam Kemuhammadiyahan (AIK) to the Thai muslim community

Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia and is in the form of a unitary state with a majority population of Buddhist beliefs. However, in Southern Thailand, the majority are Muslims with Malay cultural features and there are many Islamic-based educational institutions. It is not uncommon for the people of Southern Thailand to send their children to study in Indonesia. One of the problems faced is the small number of Muslim people who can speak Indonesian. Therefore, we conducted a 1-month training in the context of providing language training and Al-Islam Kemuhammadiyahan (AIK) to the Thai Muslim community in collaboration with the Association of Education Cultural International (AECI). The results of the activity showed that the students' understanding of Indonesian grammar at Eakkapapsassanawich Islamic School and Adameesuksavittaya School increased significantly. Likewise with understanding related to Al-Islam Kemuhammadiyahan.

Tibetan Buddhist belief and disaster resilience: a qualitative exploration of the Yushu area, China.

The role of religious belief in disasters has attracted increased scholarly interest in recent years. This paper shows that religious belief can generate disaster resilience through the pathways of disaster framing, mental health, and disaster behaviours. Drawing on interviews conducted with Tibetan Buddhist believers in the Yushu earthquake area of China, this study indicates that notions of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as religious practices, helped locals to make sense of the 2010 event, obtain spiritual support in its aftermath, foster a sense of community, and develop a prosocial post-earthquake environment. These religious notions and practices also assisted in sustaining a faith-based network composed of two kinds of important local social relationships, layperson-layperson and layperson-monk, which increased local disaster resilience at the level of response behaviour. The findings enrich our understanding of the religious source of disaster resilience and yield insights into disaster risk reduction in religious regions, especially where Buddhist belief is prevalent.

The Archaeology of Ancient Japanese Gardens

abstract: This article summarizes the results of archaeological research on some 20 Japanese garden sites dating from the fourth to twelfth centuries a.d., emphasizing the site plan, remains of structures, stone groupings, and ponds. Associated plant remains from five sites are tabulated and briefly discussed. I introduce some early Chinese and Korean antecedents and provide historical context. Gardens with rectangular ponds were introduced from the continent in the Asuka Period (a.d. 538–710). From the Nara Period (a.d. 710–794), garden making was naturalized in a Japanese asymetrical curving style in which structures were located away from the central axis. The gardens discussed here represent a small sample of the original gardens. They include two early examples of an adopted continental style (i.e., Uenomiya and Furumiya), a garden from an imperial palace site, gardens enclosing Heian Period shinden type architecture (raised residence with side wings) and its adapted Pure Land form, and a garden associated with the palace of a retired emperor. Plantings show a combination of flowering trees and shrubs, many introduced from the continent, combined with native deciduous and evergreen trees. Continental examples of gardens with rectangular ponds belong to royal palaces and were symbols of royal authority, as were the examples dated to the Asuka Period. In the Heian Period, state gardens such as Shinsen'en were used for state functions and required ample space and simple organization, while gardens sponsored by elite courtiers such as the Fujiwara show the expression of Buddhist belief. In the Toba Rikyū, built by retired emperors under a complex insei (retirement) system, imperial mausolea shared the landscape with mansions, Buddhist temples, and chapels. Groupings of stones, curving streams, dry landscapes, and low waterfalls probably all occurred as early as the Nara Period.

Transforming Nurse Self-Care Through Integration of Spirituality: Lessons From an International Collaboration in Palliative Care.

With growing evidence of compassion fatigue and burnout in health care, it is time for a deeper look at the vital practice of self-care among professionals providing palliative care. The purpose of this study was to provide insights into ways empowerment, caring for self, environment, and building relationships impact well-being among palliative care professionals. Interpretative descriptive methods framed focus group interviews, conducted during a conference on palliative care integrative health practices held in Thailand. An interprofessional research team used inductive reasoning processes to analyze the interviews. Three themes emerged from the four focus groups (N = 22): Buddhist Beliefs and Practices, Community-mindedness, and Empowerment. Aspects of spirituality were consistently woven into self-care practices. Findings suggest that self-care can be reimagined to include highly personal and unique expressions of spirituality. Health care communities are called to integrate ritual in culturally congruent ways, thus supporting health care professionals to find new sources of meaning, enrichment, and empowerment.