Understanding Of Buddhism Research Articles

Plural Narratives of the Sri Lankan Nation in Manuka Wijesinghe’s Theravada Man

In Theravada Man (2009), the second novel by Sri Lankan novelist and playwright Manuka Wijesinghe, mimesis takes over diegetic techniques, and dialogues become prominent, with the aim of effecting a poignant criticism of Sri Lankan ideologies and institutions, namely history and government, as well as of religious and nationalist strictures. This article discusses the critique the novel addresses to the main character, a strict Theravada observant, and reads as a critique to relevant aspects of the country’s political life: where the Iskolemahaththaya fails to see beyond the rationalism inherent to his understanding of Buddhism, the nation governments have systematically failed to acknowledge the plurality and diversity of Sri Lankan cultures. Thus, set in the Ceylon of the 1920s and 30s, Theravada Man explores the inherent contradictions and shortcomings of totalitarian systems of thought, and it does so through the inscription in the narrative of beliefs and philosophies which coexist with Theravada Buddhism, inhabiting the land before the advent of Buddhism and the alleged arrival of Aryans. This paper explores these aspects of the novel, interpreting them as a symptom of Wijesinghe’s anti-essentialist agenda in political terms.

Transient light: Enchanted encounters with dappled light

Abstract The Dapple Light Project is a moving video and live dance performance installation, offering intimate encounters with dappled light as a vibratory place of sensuous enchantment. The article illuminates enchantment experiences in the videoing processes and installation scenography of this project, approaching wonder as a secular attunement with the physical, the digital and the moving presence of this elusive light. Jane Bennett’s theories on materiality shape reflections on the wonder experience and inform a view of enchantment in action. Laura Marks’ writings on haptic visuality and Gaston Bachelard’s contemplations on reverie and home offer intimate and sensuous dwellings for reflecting on mysteries of body, abode and interiority as materialized in this video installation. The article contemplates the transient fluctuations of dappled light as embodied enchantment and considers this in relation to Buddhist understandings of impermanence and dependant arising.

Max Ladner (1889–1963) und die frühe Rezeption des Buddhismus in der Schweiz

Abstract Switzerland has been an important place in the reception of Buddhism since the nineteenth century. Especially during the Second World War and the 1950s, the Buddhist Community Zürich, with its founder Max Ladner (1898–1963), was one of the most prominent institutions in making Buddhist teachings available in Europe. Ladner wrote four books and several articles, which demonstrate his interpretation of a presumed “authentic” Buddhism (“Urbuddhismus”) preserved in the Pāli-canon. For Ladner, self-responsibility and independent thinking were of utmost importance. He saw these values represented in Theravāda Buddhism. His interpretation of Buddhism was at first formulated in a critique of Nietzsche’s interpretation of Buddhism. Ladner aimed at refuting Nietzsche’s portrayal of Buddhism as a pessimistic and nihilistic doctrine. With the foundation of the Buddhist Community Zürich in 1942, Ladner intended to bring together like-minded people and thus to refine his own understanding of Buddhism. Besides that, he corresponded with Buddhists and intellectuals all over the world, which was a major factor in spreading Buddhist ideas and connecting Buddhists in Europe.

Архетипы духовного движения в русской историософии

Sorokina Tatyana Evgenievna The article considers the main principles of Russian philosophy of history. The most discussed historiosophical idea, going through a variety of transformations, remains Slavyanofil doctrine of special destiny of Russia, its spiritual integrity. The author focuses on the fact that preserving «national archetype» as a key issue, Russian historiosophy offered various options related to the West as a symbol of a different worldview. Mindful of the global fascination with Buddhist understanding of human destiny and history of the world, it must be said that the Russian historiosophy presumed itself in opposition to the Buddhist concept of the historiosophical. Briefly it is explained the reasons for the occurrence of classical Russian literature historiosophical space. 1. The national literature was perceived by Russian thinkers as the «second history». 2. Figures of historical discourse were five Russian classics: Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy. 3. The fate and the works of Russian writers of the inherent rationale of national historical path in its different variants. 4. The Russian philosophy of history, to show interest in religious issues, examines the life and work of every writer as a definite spiritual model of public importance and is being implemented in the historical world. It is commented on historico-philosophical concept of Leontiev and Fedorov, Rozanov and Solovyov who emphasize that eschatology is the semantic core of Russian philosophy of history. Key words : Russian historical philosophy, national archetype, historiosophical concept, Slavophile doctrine, Buddhism, eschatology.

From Buddhist sati to Western mindfulness practice: A contextual analysis

ABSTRACTOver the last three decades, the practice of mindfulness has grown to become one of the most widespread health promoting applications in the West—so much that terms like yoga and meditation have now become standard household words. The purpose of this article is to discuss the meaning of mindfulness within both its Buddhist and its Western contexts. In the former case, the aim will be to shed light on mindfulness as a concept and practice that is rooted in Buddhist understandings (i.e., the Buddhist perspective); and in the latter case, the meaning of mindfulness will be more broadly explored in terms of its relevance to society, social work, and everyday life (i.e., the social [work] perspective).

Perception of Monastic Slaves by Scholar-Officials and Monks in the Late Koryŏ and Early Chosŏn Periods

This paper is an attempt at re-envisioning pre-modern Korean Buddhism by engaging the issue of monastic slaves during the late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn. The approach is to accept “mundane provisions” adopted by temples as a closer reflection of Buddhism in its practiced form than doctrine-focused Buddhism. Consequently, this paper concludes that we cannot infer from doctrine, as we often do, the actual actions of monks. Our doctrinal understanding of Buddhism is far from being an accurate depiction of monastic Buddhism; it is rather a rhetorical representation. If we accept the voices of the late-Koryŏ and early-Chosŏn monks, the custom of monastic slavery did not transgress from any monastic regulations nor any Buddhist ideals. To interpret the actions of the monks as transgressions of the Vinayic codes or some highly held ideals reduces the issue at hand to a unidimensional matter and leads to an oversimplification of the complex dynamics of socio-economic and historical forces that have shaped and re-formed Buddhism in Korea.

Mormonism’s Encounter with Other Religions

I argue that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (in other words, Mormonism)1) is in principle open to encounters with other religions, first because the Church teaches that God has inspired all of the major religious leaders of the world, and second because Mormonism is a religion of practices?a specific way of being in the world?more than it is a theological religion. As I understand Mormonism, this focus on imitating Christ by one’s acts is one of the things that makes the Mormon Church open to encounter with other religions because it makes the theological questions less important. I will illustrate my claim that Mormonism is open to encounter with other religions by talking about a Mormon practice and a Mormon belief, rites for the dead and eternal progression. I will compare the first to Confucian filial piety and veneration of ancestors. I will compare the second to the Buddhist understanding of Enlightenment. Thus, the thrust of this paper has two major prongs: showing that Mormonism has a friendly face to other religions and showing that there are significant parallels between its beliefs and practices and those of other religions, including non-Christian ones.

Shifting the Paradigm: The Aniconic Theory and Its Terminology

Focusing on imagery that purportedly depicts life events of Śākyamuni Buddha, this essay examines the terms ‘iconic’ and ‘aniconic’ as they have been applied to interpreting the early Buddhist art of India. In this context, ‘iconic’ has been used to refer to a figurative depiction of Śākyamuni Buddha; the antonym, ‘aniconic,’ has been used to refer to trees, stūpas, pillars, and other non-human subjects that are claimed to be substitutions for the figurative. Because one of the terms, aniconic, is a negation of the other, a binary, oppositional construct is automatically created. However, the so-called aniconic subjects are not the opposite of figurative depictions nor are the scenes in which these motifs occur representations of Śākyamuni’s life events. Examination of the art indicates that the objects depicted and the Buddha figures are both important but neither is a replacement for the other. Further, both terms are exogenous to India, having been introduced from Europe and carrying meanings from the Abrahamic religious traditions. These terms project ill-fitting concepts onto the understanding of Buddhism, including the suggestion that Śākyamuni Buddha was a deity. Removing the artificial framework these terms create paves the way to studying the art within the Indic cultural context and in its own right.

Competing Interpretations of Buddhism's Revival in the Russian Republic of Kalmykia

This article uses a multiple methods framework to interrogate notions of religious revival among Buddhists in the Russian republic of Kalmykia. Survey results indicate high levels of self-identification among Kalmyks as Buddhists, as well as general support for the notion that the religion has re-established its place in the public sphere in the post-Soviet period. This straightforward interpretation of religious revival is contested, however, in interviews with religious elites and focus group conversations. Interlocutors in these forums were more critical and more nuanced in their understanding of Buddhism's role in contemporary Kalmykia.

Chinese Christianity: An Interplay between Global and Local Perspectives by Peter Tze Ming Ng (review)

with much earlier notions of cultivation that had widespread and lasting influence throughout the twelfth to seventeenth centuries and indeed, up to present times. In addition to a rich assortment of texts, the volume includes a “Quanzhen Technical Glossary” (Appendix 1) with 171 terms. Chinese is not included but entries can be cross-referenced with what seems to be a comprehensive “Chinese Character Glossary” (pp. 383–416). Also a welcome feature is a wellorganized nineteen-page index and a substantial bibliography. The scope and volume of material offered in this anthology represent a considerable achievement on the part of the translator that should prove useful for non-specialists. Specialists too should find this a useful source for quickly orienting themselves to a broad swath of texts associated with individuals who shaped Quanzhen ideology, doctrine, and praxis. The work is a welcome addition to the growing list of well-translated texts constituting literary expressions of Chinese religiosity from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries. PAUL CROWE Simon Fraser University PETER TZE MING NG, Chinese Christianity: An Interplay between Global and Local Perspectives. Religion in Chinese Societies, vol. 4. Leiden: Brill, 2012. xiii, 258 pp. e105, US$144 (hb). ISBN 978-90-04-22574-9 The title of Peter Tze Ming Ng’s recent book is both a statement and a description. Making a statement about “Chinese Christianity” is possibly presumptuous, and one could easily make a claim for the use of “Christianities” instead, and this is also mentioned in the book. However, such a description is also interesting, and with the global presence of Christianity, as well as the particularity of its Chinese manifestations, “global and local” perspectives should always be taken into account when writing about Christianity. Seeing the title, I was therefore curious to read the book to see what new might reveal itself. Starting to read, however, I found a collection of previously published articles and lectures from the last fifteen years, with an added self-reflective introduction by the author. Thefirstchapterdealswiththenotionsof“ChineseChristianity”and“Christianityin China,”andPeterNgpointstothenotionof“three-self”(sanzi三自)anditsimportance toChineseChristianityalreadyinhisintroductorychapter.“Three-self”ismentionedall throughthebook,especiallyinthechaptersonY.T.Wu(WuYaozong吳耀宗)andK.H. Ting (Ding Guangxun 丁光訓). Despite its importance for the development and recent history of Chinese Christianity, the notion and concept of “three-self” is not really critically analyzed, and Peter Ng seems to have more or less accepted the interpretations laid out by Ting and Wu, despite the apparent politicization of the “three-self” idea in China. The book obviously represents a personal reflection and standpoint, but some diversified comments on “three-self” would have been welcome. Other chapters reflect on the Boxer movement, and discuss indigenous Christian movements from the perspective of the Edinburgh conference of 1910. Professor Ng has also added a chapter on Christian education, a topic that he has taken particular interest in. The remaining seven chapters focus on individuals that Ng argues have made particular contributions in regard to the global and local perspectives of Chinese Christianity, including Timothy Richard, Francis Wei (Wei Zhuomin 韋卓民), BOOK REVIEWS 111 T. C. Chao (Zhao Zichen 趙紫宸), and K. H. Ting. Francis Wei, T. C. Chao, and C. Y. Cheng (Cheng Jingyi 誠靜怡) certainly deserve much more attention in the West, and in China, but unfortunately these chapters add little new to what is already available elsewhere. I was glad to see the chapter on Timothy Richard and his translation and understanding of Buddhism, as Richard was undoubtedly an important individual for the development of both China and Christianity. However, his work on Buddhism and role as translator was and is not without controversy. Richard also seems a little out of place in the company of Y. T. Wu and K. H. Ting, and their ideas of indigenization and adaptation. The Richard chapter is only one example of the difficulty to find a clear line for the whole of the book. Professor Ng poses interesting questions in the conclusive chapter (p. 246), such as “How the Chinese people became Christians?” and “Why did the Chinese often say: ‘One more Christian, one less Chinese’?,” and those questions would have better fit the introductory chapter, providing a starting point for the following. Instead of an initial chapter called “My personal...

Why do we Suffer? Buddhism and the Problem of Evil

AbstractThis paper explains the Buddhist concept of suffering (dukkha) and its relation to the Christian problem of evil. Although there is no problem of evil in Buddhism, the Buddhist understanding of the origin and causes of suffering will help us to find new approaches to the problem of evil. More specifically, I argue (1) that the concept of evil can be interpreted in terms of dukkha; (2) that the existence of suffering or dukkha is necessarily inevitable for finite beings, given the metaphysical structure of the world and ourselves; and (3) that this reasoning can be interpreted as a defense against the problem of evil.

Buddhist Memories of Normalization in Czechoslovakia

The study presents the outcomes of pioneer research on Buddhism in Czechoslovakia during normalization. The research draws on Misztalʼs intersubjectivist sociological approach towards memory and focuses on Buddhist narrative reconstructions of the normalization period. Although the reflection of the religious situation during normalization has not raised much interest, yet, undoubtedly, this period influenced the post-revolutionary relationship of Czech society towards religion, specifically its strongly atheistic character. Either for its historically short local presence or persistently quantitatively low membership, Buddhism is not a representative example of religion within Czech society. Nevertheless, its specifics imply that Buddhism can provide a promising study ground for processes related to the presence of religion within a strongly secularized society such as Czechoslovakia during normalization. Based on the thematic analyses of autobiographic data the study reveals the importance of three major narrative themes: inclusive understanding of Buddhism and the exclusivity of Buddhists, the control-based interpretations of the state’s relationship towards Buddhists that was traversed through the change of regime in ʽ89, and the ultimate importance of transnational ties.

Fusing and refreshing the memory: Conserving a Chinese lacquered Buddhist sculpture in London, UK

This paper examines the conservation treatment of a lacquered Buddha sculpture undertaken by a Buddhist conservator as part of a postgraduate heritage conservation training programme in London. This creative process selects from a mixture of ideas and practices as a specific response to the people, time, and place of the conservation treatment. Rather than seen as a polarized choice between versions of ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ approaches, the conservation practice is interpreted though a Buddhist understanding of the sculpture in relation to the secular requirements of the current owner. The treatment addressed issues of the physical stability of the object, the reversibility of applied treatments, and the accommodation of Buddhist concepts of ‘completeness’, ‘toplessness’, and ‘no killing’. The result was a Buddha sculpture made into a ‘plausible’ conservation object that represents the compromises necessary at the time and place of the conservation intervention.

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.

‘Things said or done long ago are recalled and remembered’: The ethics of mindfulness in early Buddhism, psychotherapy and clinical psychology

I argue that current theoretical understandings of mindfulness as an attention regulation strategy for psychological stress reduction and enhanced adaptation to society may produce de-ethicised therapeutic applications. I show how understandings of mindfulness in early Buddhism, psychotherapy and clinical psychology have changed over time. Current understandings of mindfulness as a skill or technique of bringing non-judgmental awareness (or bare attention) to present moment experience are historically recent and differ from early Buddhist understandings in at least one crucial respect: definitions of mindfulness as attentional control or metacognitive awareness lack an emphasis on deep ethical reflection. As such, we need to re-ethicise our conceptual understanding of mindfulness by remembering early Buddhist texts, where mindfulness involves the cultivation of an ethically sensitive style of remembering, which has largely been lost in contemporary definitions.

Three Boys on a Great Vehicle: ‘Mahayana Buddhism’ and a Trans-National Network

From 1915–1916 there was in Kyoto a trans-national group of Buddhists named the Mahayana Association, which published an English Buddhist periodical, Mahayanist. Two members of the Mahayana Association, William Montgomery McGovern and M. T. Kirby, were among the earliest cases of Westerners ordained in the tradition of Mahayana Buddhism in Japan. Kirby explored the temples of Jōdo Shinshū and the monastic life of Rinzai Zen and Theravada Buddhism in search of salvation. McGovern, on the other hand, had been searching for an alternative to Christianity, which he found unscientific and dissatisfying. He finally found Jōdo Shinshū, which he held to be the essence of Mahayana Buddhism. His understanding of Buddhism was influenced by D. T. Suzuki's version of Mahayana Buddhism. Utsuki Nishu, who helped McGovern and Kirby run the Association, joined the Theosophical Society (Adyar, India) while he was studying at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles and later helped Beatrice Suzuki run the Mahayana Lodge of the Theosophical Society. Drawing on forgotten documents discovered only recently in a Japanese temple, this paper offers a progress report on research into these documents and explores a significant but hitherto unknown side of the history of modern Japanese Buddhism.

Compassion im Buddhismus

In all forms of Buddhism, compassion (karunā) counts as a major spiritual-ethical ideal. Particularly within the various schools of Mahāyāna-Buddhisms this ideal has come to take a central position. Following a brief description of the basic principles of the Buddhist understanding of compassion, this paper outlines the further development of this concept in the writings of four classical Buddhist authors (Buddhaghosa, Śāntideva, Gampopa, Shinra) concluding with a few remarks about the role of compassion in the interreligious ecumenism of the 14th Dalai Lama.

Using Neurotechnologies to Develop Virtues: A Buddhist Approach to Cognitive Enhancement

Recently, Fenton (2009) has argued that Buddhist ethics can accommodate the use of attention-enhancing drugs, and Walker (2006, 2009) has argued that future neurotechnologies may be used to enhance happiness and virtue. This paper uses a Western Buddhist perspective, drawing on many Buddhist traditions, to explore how emerging neurotechnologies may be used to suppress vices and enhance happiness and virtue. A Buddhist approach to the authenticity of technologically-mediated spiritual progress is discussed. The potential utility and dangers of mood manipulation for a Buddhist understanding of liberation are outlined. Then the ten paramitas of Theravadan Buddhism are explored to frame an exploration of the potential genes, neurochemicals and brain structures that could be targeted as part of a program of neurotechnological moral enhancement.

The Multi-life Stories of Gautama Buddha and Vardhamana Mahavira

Like Buddhist traditions, Jain traditions preserve many stories about people’s past lives. Unlike Buddhist traditions, relatively few of these stories narrate the past lives of the tradition’s central figure, the jina. In Jainism there is no equivalent path to the bodhisatt(v)a path; the karma that guarantees jinahood is bound a mere two births before that attainment, and the person who attracts that karma cannot do so willfully, nor is he aware of it being bound. There is therefore no Jain equivalent to the ubiquitous j?taka literature. In this paper I will explore what the absence of a j?taka genre in Jain traditions tells us about the genre’s role in Buddhism. Focusing upon the multi-life stories of Gautama Buddha and Vardham?na Mah?v?ra, I will ask how these two strikingly similar narratives betray some fundamental differences between Buddhist and Jain understandings of the ultimate religious goal and the method of its attainment.

Compassion, Ethics, and Neuroscience: Neuroethics Through Buddhist Eyes

As scientists advance knowledge of the brain and develop technologies to measure, evaluate, and manipulate brain function, numerous questions arise for religious adherents. If neuroscientists can conclusively establish that there is a functional network between neural impulses and an individual's capacity for moral evaluation of situations, this will naturally lead to questions about the relationship between such a network and constructions of moral value and ethical human behavior. For example, if cognitive neuroscience can show that there is a neurophysiological basis for the moral appraisal of situations, it may be argued that the world's religions, which have traditionally been the keepers and purveyors of ethical values, are rendered either spurious or irrelevant. The questions point up broader dilemmas in the interface between science and religion, and raise concerns about the ethics of neurological research and experimentation. Since human beings will still arbitrate what is "moral" or "ethical," how can religious perspectives enrich the dialogue on neuroethical issues and how can neuroscience enrich dialogue on religion? Buddhist views on the nature of consciousness and methods of practice, especially meditation practice, may contribute to discussions on neuroscience and theories about the interrelationship between consciousness and ethical awareness by exploring the role that karma, intentionality, and compassion play in Buddhist understandings of the interrelationship between consciousness and ethics.