Buddhist Ideas Research Articles

Recovery from Depression Through Buddhist Wisdom: An Idiographic Case Study

Results from the recent growing trend in using mindfulness training to deal with depression report an evident decrease in depressive symptoms. The present idiographic case study explores the lived experience of how a woman with depression recovered through Buddhist teachings and practices. This single case adopted multiple data sources, including interviews, autobiographies, a genogram, and an autobiographical timeline. Member-checking and peer analysis are employed to enhance the trustworthiness. The first-hand data, analyzed through interpretative phenomenological analysis, reveal the perceived factors causing the informant’s depression, as well as benefits gained from Buddhist practices, and the insight learned from experiencing depression; by which insight self-benefiting altruism can accomplish personal growth by converting suffering into assets that help others. This exploratory research offers an alternative view through which to understand depression and non-medication treatments through Buddhist ideas, and also proposes future research directions.

Buddhism goes to the movies: introduction to Buddhist thought and practice

Buddhism Goes to the Movies: Introduction to Buddhist Thought and Practice explains the basics of Buddhist philosophy and practice through a number of dramatic films from around the world. This book introduces readers in a dynamic way to the major traditions of Buddhism: the Theravāda, and various interrelated Mahāyāna divisions including Zen, Pure Land and Tantric Buddhism. Students can use Ronald Green’s book to gain insights into classic Buddhist themes, including Buddhist awakening, the importance of the theory of dependent origination, the notion of no-self, and Buddhist ideas about life, death and why we are here. Contemporary developments are also explored, including the Socially Engaged Buddhism demonstrated by such figures as the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other Buddhist activists. Finally, comparisons between filmic expressions of Buddhism and more traditional artistic expressions of Buddhism—such as mandala drawings—are also drawn. An important addition to any introduction to Buddhist philosophy and practice, Buddhism Goes to the Movies is an excellent way to bring Buddhist thought, history, and activity to the uninitiated and interested reader.

Suffering and the Shape of Well-Being in Buddhist Ethics

This article explores the defense Indian Buddhist texts make in support of their conceptions of lives that are good for an individual. This defense occurs, largely, through their analysis of ordinary experience as being saturated by subtle forms of suffering (duḥkha). I begin by explicating the most influential of the Buddhist taxonomies of suffering: the threefold division into explicit suffering (duḥkha-duḥkhatā), the suffering of change (vipariṇāma-duḥkhatā), and conditioned suffering (saṃskāra-duḥkhatā). Next, I sketch the three theories of welfare that have been most influential in contemporary ethical theory. I then argue that Buddhist texts underdetermine which of these theories would have been accepted by ancient Indian Buddhists. Nevertheless, Buddhist ideas about suffering narrow the shape any acceptable theory of welfare may take. In my conclusion, I argue that this narrowing process itself is enough to reconstruct a philosophical defense of the forms of life endorsed in Buddhist texts.

The Radicalisation of Buddhism in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries: The Buddhist Sangha in Sri Lanka

The ideas of non-violence, peace and non-discrimination have been systematically developed in Buddhism. Nonetheless, as research has shown, Buddhist ideas can also contribute to escalation of conflicts, racial belief systems and radical movements. Political theory suggests that political actors regularly try to exploit religion in order to remain in power or to establish exclusive group identities, and so on. From this perspective, religion does not have an independent role; rather, the state co-opts a certain form of religion. However, there is ample evidence that religious actors further their own objectives and strategies, and in extreme cases attempt to take over a political system. The development of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is presented here as an example of the radicalisation and politicisation of Buddhism. This case study deals with the role of religious actors in promoting ethno-religious nationalism, the exclusion of the minority population and the justification of violence.

A Sociology of No‐Self: Applying Buddhist Social Theory to Symbolic Interaction

Although fraught with complexity, the self is a central phenomenon of discussion and analysis within sociology. This article contributes to this discourse by introducing the Buddhist ideas of anatta (no‐self) and prattyasamutpāda (interdependence) as analytic frameworks to deconstruct and rethink the self within sociology. We argue that the sociological self, most clearly articulated by symbolic interactionism, is premised on a self‐other dualism. This dualism leads to a conceptualization of the self as constantly threatened and anxious. Using these Buddhist concepts we propose an alternative interpretive schema, a sociology of no‐self, for analyzing social interaction and understanding the roots of social angst.

Space Buddhism: The Adoption of Buddhist Motifs in Star Wars

The Star Wars film-series has been an unprecedented commercial success in the history of cinema and has made a huge cultural impact. This is not least because of its creator George Lucas making wide use of religious and mythological elements, in his search for a new spiritual and moral guidance for a young audience. In this process, Lucas also adopts Buddhist symbols, values, and ideas in his concept of the order of the Jedi and their spirituality. These include sitting meditation, mindfulness, compassion, interdependence, or the overcoming of attachment. Thus, Star Wars represents and promotes Buddhist elements, but deprives them of their Buddhist origin, as Buddhism as a tradition does not exist in Lucas’ ‘galaxy far, far away’. Although Star Wars might serve as a vehicle to bring Buddhist ideas to Western audiences, in fact Lucas uses the distance of Asian and Buddhist culture to the Western world to also enact the Jedi as the Other, mysterious and fascinating, in an approach that can be defined as orientalistic.

Differing Evocations of Buddhism in Two Works by Robert Morris and John Cage

DIFFERING EVOCATIONS OF BUDDHISM IN TWO WORKS BY ROBERT MORRIS AND JOHN CAGE ROB HASKINS HE VARIOUS INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS of Robert Morris are—like his music—wide-ranging and complex. A glance at the index in a recent collection of his essays shows the names of a number of scholars working in philosophy, mathematics, and religion.1 And indeed Morris ’s own scholarly writings have explored a broad range of topics, from the conceptualization of interactions between pitch and pitch class and various types of compositional spaces, to the analysis of South Indian music and the phenomenology of musical time.2 Much of his work, however varied it may be, speaks to a singular interest that has surfaced a number of times in both his writing and music: the core concepts in various traditions of Buddhism and their relevance to much contemporary music. For Morris, Buddhism encourages listeners to cultivate undivided attention as music unfolds T 346 Perspectives of New Music from moment to moment; the attending listener notes events as they pass, but is not caught by particular feelings or thoughts, nor does she indulge the familiar temptation to reify the music as a semi-rigid object whose trajectory—expressive, structural, or rhetorical—remains more or less the same from one performance to the next. Indeed, Morris proposes that, through sheer attention, a listener can develop new ways of perceiving time, not only to “perceive a thing-in-itself but to become one with it.”3 Any mention of Buddhism and twentieth-century music inevitably recalls the compositions of John Cage, who famously attributed much of his work from 1950 until his death in 1992 to his encounter with the Japanese philosopher Daisetz T. Suzuki. Cage’s well-known compositional methods employed various kinds of chance operations through which he believed he could remove, or at least seriously attenuate, his own authorial agency and, in so doing, liberate sounds so that they could be appreciated simply as sounds and not as the intellectual byproducts of compositional theory and practice. Cage’s approach could not, on the surface, be more different from Morris’s: much of Morris’s music pioneers new approaches to twelve-tone array composition, first theorized by Milton Babbitt. In contrasting his own Buddhist-informed aesthetics with Cage’s, however, Morris points to an essential difference between them. Cage’s use of chance procedures, Morris maintains, primarily are meant to challenge the autonomy of a reified musical work: Cage’s techniques guarantee the absence of “a syntax that would undercut the perception of the sounds in and of themselves.”4 However, Cage’s frequent admonitions to listen to sounds for their own sake may or may not imply the heightened quality of attention that Morris emphasizes in some of his writings. From the preceding, one might surmise that Morris’s exploration of Buddhist ideas might apply principally to the act of audition. And it is true that few composers or theorists have contributed as much as he has to the understanding of the listener’s experience of post-tonal music as opposed to its theory or practice.5 In particular, Morris has pointed out that the complete, undivided attention he considers ideal can be short-circuited by one’s past knowledge (for instance, once we know how a fugue goes, we may pay less attention to the particular sounding flow of a specific fugue). However, if we can develop the ability to attend to the character of musical sounds in their particularity, before assigning some label to them—to appreciate, as Morris says, the “suchness” of the sounds—then our minds are liberated to perceive kinds of music that convey the sensibility of flux or confusion, and the addition of knowledge and skill enhances our Differing Evocations of Buddhism 347 experience rather than forecloses it.6 A number of his works have also consciously evoked Buddhist ideas in their titles, for instance the three solo piano pieces Wabi (1996), Sabi (1998), and Yügen (1998) (the names refer to the concepts of transience, imperfection, and mystery), and the more modest piano solo Still (2000), whose title evokes not only the abstract expressionist painting of Clyfford Still but...

Maritime Southeast Asia Between South Asia and China to the Sixteenth Century

AbstractThe maritime regions of Southeast Asia played an important but varying role in connecting South Asia and China prior to the sixteenth century. With regard to commercial exchanges, traders, ships, and polities in Southeast Asia facilitated and sometimes controlled the flow of goods. Additionally, merchant associations from South Asia and China established their bases in Southeast Asia to participate in trading activities in the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea regions. At least three distinct networks emerged as a result of these maritime interactions: 1) networks of exchanges among the polities skirting the Bay of Bengal; 2) networks that connected the areas around the South China Sea; and 3) networks of direct exchanges between South Asia and China. Buddhist ideas also circulated through these networks, but seem to have made limited inroads in the maritime regions of Southeast Asia prior to the fifth century AD. By this time, Buddhism had already spread widely in China, with significant number of Buddhist missionaries arriving in the region through the maritime routes. Rather than playing a staging role in the transmission of Buddhism to China, the doctrine may have penetrated maritime Southeast Asia due to the vibrant Buddhist interactions and a significant increase in commercial activity along the networks linking South Asia and China during the fourth and fifth centuries. The use of Buddhism to legitimise new regimes in China and the diplomatic exchanges between Southeast Asian polities and these courts may have also facilitated the spread of Buddhism in the region.

Hindu and Buddhist Ideas in Dialogue: Self and No-Self Edited by Irena Kuznetsova, Jonardon Ganeri, and Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad (review)

Hindu and Buddhist Ideas in Dialogue: Self and No-Self Edited by Irena Kuznetsova, Jonardon Ganeri, and Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad (review)

Applying Buddhist principles to mode deactivation theory and practice.

The use of “secular” or ‘”Westernized’” Buddhism concepts and principles is becoming increasingly prevalent in Western psychological theories and therapy approaches. Systems such as Mode Deactivation Therapy (MDT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) incorporate mindfulness practices into the methodology to affect cognitive and emotional processes. However, there remains a need for understanding the mechanisms how emotions are dealt with in Buddhism and whether that knowledge and insight can be fruitfully applied in modern psychology. Already, beyond mindfulness, there are similarities in the Buddhist understanding of the human condition of suffering and psychological efforts to alleviate emotional distress. As such, there is a strong resemblance between the Buddhist idea of uh-attach ment and the principle of emotional and cognitive defusion in psychology. Both systems concede that unsatisfactoriness is caused by clinging to a perception of the self, others, and the world that is probably outdated and inaccurate. Often, based on uncontrolled emotions, these perceptions ultimately activate behavior that is unhelpful and inappropriate in the real situation—compared to how it is automatically perceived based on past experiences. In order to examine the compatibility of Buddhist concepts and practices with psychotherapy and specifically Mode Deactivation Therapy (MDT), this article engages the literature and tests that assumption.

Practise What you Preach: Counsellors’ Experience of Practising Buddhist Counselling in Thailand

This qualitative study considers Thai counsellors’ experience of practising Buddhist Counselling in Thailand, exploring how Buddhist philosophy is integrated into the counsellors’ personal lives and then brought into their therapeutic practice. The study involved a focus group and in-depth, semi-structured interviews with five practising Buddhist counsellors, with their accounts being analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Findings indicated that the participants considered their personal qualities as being key in generating therapeutic effectiveness within their Buddhist Counselling, and they believed that they fostered these personal qualities by internalising Buddhist ideas into their personal lives and by observing Buddhist practices. Implications for counselling practice, training, and research are discussed.

On illnesses and treatments of scholar officials in the Qing Dynasty from the perspective of Dou Ke-qin, a neo-confucianist philosopher

Illnesses and treatments are an inevitable part of life in the daily life of the neo-confucianist Dou Ke-qin whose life outlook on the treatment and recognition of diseases was influenced by his neo-confucianist conception. He claimed that diseases can be conquered by spiritual force formed on the basis of Neo-Confucianism and can be recovered by peace of the heart and moral merits and can be seen as an approach of self-accomplishment. He opposed Taoist and Buddhist ideas of life preservation and keeping fit by taking the advantages of external mystic force, and stressed that his own diseases and that of his relatives can be cured by the filial affection advocated by the Neo-Confucianism.

‘Greening Dharma’

Buddhist environmentalism in Japan during the last few decades manifests through various discussions and forms of activism and is characterized by the use of popular Buddhist ideas, such as aversion to greed, interdependence, and the universality of buddhahood. This movement gained strength after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, when several Buddhist organizations publicly expressed their disapproval of nuclear energy. I argue that rather than a timeless ‘green Dharma’ inherently close to nature, contemporary Japanese Buddhism is a ‘greening Dharma’ that for different reasons is gradually becoming engaged in environmentalism. Although the presence of sincere religious concern and a doctrinal anchorage cannot be overlooked, a crucial role is played by Japanese Buddhism’s need to reassert its presence in the public sphere, and by the involvement of this religious tradition in global dynamics related to residual problems, cultural ?ows, and glocalization.

Mettābhāvanā in Traditional and Popular Buddhist Contexts

Some have referred to relatively recent forms of popular Buddhism as an ‘engaged’ Buddhism that has revived or redirected traditional Buddhist ideas and practices found in meditation texts to reflect a greater social or worldly emphasis than suggested in earlier historical moments. One of these ideas is the quadripartite framework of the ‘immeasurable states’ (aprameya/appameya) or ‘divine abidings’ (brahmavihāra), the most prominent of which in popular Buddhism is mettā (friendliness/loving-kindness). This article traces the philosophy of the ‘immeasurable states’ found in meditation texts from various Indic traditions (Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu) and then presents the ways in which these traditional ideas (especially mettā) have informed popular Buddhist movements in the twentieth century. Points of discussion include: ‘engaged’ Buddhism's relationship with traditional Buddhist ethics; arguments concerning the coalescence of monastic-centred meditation practices with popular Buddhist notions of social service; and the distinct utilization of mettā in contemporary Buddhist societies in contrast to the mobilizing impulses of comparable religious communities (Hindu and Jain) with a similar heritage of mettā discourse in South Asia.

Hindu and Buddhist Ideas in Dialogue: Self and No-Self. Edited by Irina Kuznetsova, Jonardon Ganeri, and Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad.

Hindu and Buddhist Ideas in Dialogue: Self and No-Self. Edited by Irina Kuznetsova, Jonardon Ganeri, and Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad.

Evolution of the Therav?da Buddhist Idea of ‘Merittransference’ to the Dead, and its Role in Sri Lankan Buddhist Culture

The practice of merit-transference in Sri Lankan Therav?da Buddhism has evolved over three important stages of development, namely, assigning of dakkhi??, giving of patti, and direct transferring of merit. These stages are generally understood as similar practices but are significantly different from each other. It is not the merit but the meritorious act that is dedicated to, or shared with the departed ones in first two stages. Pattid?na, in this context, does not strictly mean giving merit or giving what is obtained or achieved, as it has so far been interpreted, but giving a share of or stake in the ownership of a meritorious act. It is in the third stage that the idea of merit-transference appeared in Buddhist practice in Sri Lanka. Understanding this historical development is important for interpreting Buddhist texts in their historical contexts as well as for realizing the larger role assigned to the living in the contemporary practice of merit-transference (pu?y?numodan?/ pin anumodan-/ pin d?ma) and its influence on other arena of social and cultural life in Sri Lanka. This idea of merit-transference transformed mourning and sorrowful funerals into merit-making events. Practices related to this idea of merit-transference also successfully fulfill the psychological needs of the living to assist departed relatives and to maintain some form of relationship with them. It also allowed local beliefs to be assimilated into the Buddhist fold and shaped the social structure of the living, particularly the lay-monastic relationship.

Being a therapist: Contributions of Heidegger's philosophy and the Buddha's teachings to psychotherapy.

Is there a place for Heidegger's philosophy and the Buddha's teachings (dhamma) in contemporary psychotherapy? The simple answer is yes. This article explores how the ideas of Being-in-the-world, Openness, Being-With, anticipatory care, letting be and letting go, cultivating a meditative attitude and a beginner's mind—promoted in Heidegger's philosophy, daseinsanalysis, and the Buddha's teachings—inform my approach to therapy and ground my Being as a therapist, and how this embodiment has been received by clients. Some important parallels and differences between Heideggerian and Buddhist ideas and practices are also discussed. Heidegger's philosophy, the Buddha's teachings, and daseinsanalysis provide therapists with important foundations for understanding their roles as cojourneyers with their clients, and embracing this attitude in therapy can make therapy truly a healing, rather than a curing, process.

SPIRITUAL POLITICS, POLITICAL RELIGION, AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN BURMA

The 2008 constitution of Burma (or Myanmar) ostensibly protects religious freedom, yet Buddhism has always had a special position. Research on religion in general, much less religious freedom specifically, has long been limited due to military rule since 1962. Fortunately, the situation for scholarly inquiry since the 2010 elections has begun to change. Burma Studies should take advantage of new openings to research the religious freedom dimensions of four key topical areas: (1) political interpretations and uses of Buddhist ideas, discourse, and practices; (2) the phenomenon of socially and politically engaged Buddhist monks; (3) Buddhist-Muslim conflict; and (4) Buddhist-Christian conflict.

Enacting Selves, Enacting Worlds: On the Buddhist Theory of Karma

The concept of karma is one of the most general and basic for the philosophical traditions of India, one of an interconnected cluster of concepts that form the basic presuppositions of Indian philosophy. The focus of this essay is on two interrelated aspects of the Buddhist theory of karma. After some preliminary comments on the general philosophical notion of karma and on the enactivist approach to philosophical psychology, I will explore the distinctively Buddhist idea that through the karmic process we enact ourselves—that is, we make and remake ourselves through our actions. Second, I will discuss the idea that we also enact our world(s) through karma—that is, our patterns of action and reaction bring forth meaningful worlds, which in turn shape those very patterns for better or worse. Finally, I will briefly discuss the character and cultivation of enlightened action, action free from the production of karma.

Zeami's Confucian Theatre

Buddhism, particularly Zen, is by far the most widely recognized extratheatrical influence on Zeami's drama theory and practice. This article argues that while Zeami draws extensively on Buddhist ideas to conceptualize his performance practices and especially to describe the relations between actor and audience, Confucianism is the fundamental influence on his thinking about nō . Confucianism establishes the purpose of nō as a performing art, namely, to promote peace and harmony among the people. To Zeami, the distinctive way that nō can realize this purpose is by fostering empathy in the audience through their identification with the experience and feelings of the characters on stage. This conviction inspires his lifelong search for the most effective means of engaging the audience in this process of identification. He regularly resorts to Buddhist aesthetic, psychological, and philosophical ideas to elucidate those means. But the purpose they serve always retains its Confucian inspiration.