Buddhist Concept Research Articles

Transcending Individual Traditions: Zhang Taiyan’s Interpretation of Zhuangzi’s Notion of Chengxin

This article examines the nuanced interpretations of chengxin 成心 in the Zhuangzi 莊子, a foundational Daoist text, across different philosophical traditions. Historically, Daoist thinkers like Guo Xiang 郭象 and Cheng Xuanying 成玄英, along with Neo-Confucian scholars such as Lü Huiqing 吕惠卿 and Lin Xiyi 林希逸, have provided differing perspectives on the notion of chengxin. They regard it as either a source of subjective bias or an expression of heavenly principle. The core focus of this study is Zhang Taiyan’s 章太炎 innovative interpretation of chengxin as seeds (bijas) within ālaya-vijñāna (storehouse consciousness), integrating Yogācāra Buddhist concepts with traditional Daoist philosophy. The study conducts a textual analysis of Zhang’s Qiwulun Shi 齊物論釋, comparing his interpretation with earlier commentaries on the Zhuangzi. It is argued that Zhang’s approach is profoundly influenced by the Buddhist doctrine of non-duality, which underscores the interconnectedness of all phenomena. While Zhang’s interpretation has faced criticism from contemporaries and later philosophers for misunderstandings of Yogācāra theory and Kantian philosophy, it employs the method of geyi 格義 (matching concepts), not to impose one tradition over another, but to foster a dialogical process where the insights from each tradition mutually inform and transform one another. This article highlights the interpretative openness of the Zhuangzi, which invites diverse interpretations, and demonstrates how Zhang’s approach enriches this tradition by synthesizing various philosophical and religious frameworks. Zhang’s methodology remains relevant, fostering cross-cultural and inclusive philosophical dialog.

The Buddhist Logic of Distress (Saṃvega): An Exploration of Early Abhidharma Sources

In the early Buddhist discourses, distressing experiences like fear and disgust are evaluated in contradictory modes. These upsetting emotions are considered both a detriment and an advantage for those seeking liberation from suffering. This ambivalence is reflective of the classical Buddhist conception of distress. The earliest scholastic Buddhist texts (i.e., Abhidharma sources) have sought to resolve the ambivalence surrounding this conception. The Abhidharma texts thus explain precisely how, when, where and for whom distress can prove favorable. By tracing this intellectual endeavor, I examine in this article the systematic and philosophical treatments of distress (saṃvega) in early Buddhist scholasticism. I outline the reasons for considering the experience of distress to be beneficial, unveiling the religious framework within which distress is rendered positive and even essential. My central claim is that early Abhidharma sources conceive of distress as a potential source of energy that facilitates one’s progress on the religious path and determines how rapidly one can understand the truth.

Sustainability of Digital Friendship: Insights from Early Buddhist Mettā

One of the significant effects of technology on human relations is visible in friendship. Positively technology through its digital spaces is facilitating friendship that is instant and beyond the limitations of time and space. However, such digital friendships that operate through social media often suffer from issues of trust and sustainability. To resolve this predicament, we need to pause and reflect on how digital friendship can be reframed to improve its sustainability in a practical manner. The primary purpose of this article is to examine how helpful the early Buddhist concept of mittatā (friendship) is in sustaining friendship in the digital age. The article begins by eliciting the moral challenges people encounter in online friendships. The objective is to highlight the need for a more vital concept of friendship, such as the early Buddhist concept of mittatā, that can mitigate the moral concerns in digitized friendship, making it genuine and sustainable. The subsequent part of the article offers an overview of some of the significant theories of friendship upheld in the West and examines whether they can support the sustainability of a digitized friendship. The objective is to reflect upon the lacuna in the practice of such ideas of friendship in the contemporary digital age. To replenish the lacuna, the following section articulates the early Buddhist concept of mittatā as a noble concept of friendship that can be morally relevant and sustainable in this digital world. Based on the philosophical study of the early Buddhist literature, the present article investigates how helpful mettā (loving kindness) in this society to sustain a trustworthy friendship. It proposes an ethical and noble way to nurture and savour an honourable friendship relevant to the digital era by inculcating specific virtues advocated by the Buddha.

종교학 교육과정과 교과서의 불교 서술 고찰

[Objective] This study aims to examine the portrayal of Buddhism in the 'Religious Studies' subject curriculum and textbooks. This analysis aims to evaluate the alignment between the national curriculum and textbooks, which serve as the primary instructional tools in the educational context. [Contents] To achieve this objective, I closely examined two 'Religious Studies' textbooks approved by the Office of Education. I compared and analyzed the structure and content of the curriculum alongside the textbook materials, focusing on key Buddhist concepts. Additionally, I sought to determine the extent to which these textbooks reflect the curriculum guidelines and standards. [Conclusions] First, in both the religious studies curriculum and textbooks, Buddhism is primarily depicted as a world religion and a traditional Korean religion, with many of its concepts and theories presented appropriately. Second, the treatment of Buddhism’s role as a modern Korean religion is relatively brief. Third, while the two textbooks share many similarities, the later version incorporates improvements over its predecessor. To maintain this alignment and address limitations in future editions, I recommend the following: greater attention should be paid to enhancing the diversity and expertise of the authorship and review committees, as well as addressing the necessity of developing comprehensive teacher guides.

Boat of Wisdom: From a Buddhist Concept and Daoist Legend to the Bát Nhã Boat in Cao Đài Religion

Boat of Wisdom: From a Buddhist Concept and Daoist Legend to the Bát Nhã Boat in Cao Đài Religion

Wallace Stevens and Zen Buddhism

American poet Wallace Stevens describes nature in his poetry, discussing the relationship between poetry writing and nature, and expresses his ecological poetics to the world. The poet also integrates the concepts of Buddhism into his ecopoetry, advocating that humans should control the constantly expanding material desires, being indifferent to fame and wealth, and form a peaceful state of mind, thereby reducing human damage to the environment and nature, and constructing a deep ecological view which advocates all creatures are equal.

Minding the emptiness of nothing: methodological nothingness and the spatial anthropology of futility

ABSTRACT As an exercise in autoethnographic fieldwork, resolving to sit in meditation practice (zazen) in the middle of a road traffic island, flanked by the concrete expanse of an expressway flyover, one’s presence partly concealed by vegetation, does seem a rather pointless endeavour. And insofar as it does lack an obvious rationale, its ‘purpose’ becomes that of an exercise in futility predicated on the phenomenology of both emptiness and nothingness. Emptiness here is invoked with reference to the Mahayana Buddhist concept of sunyata, which prompts awareness of, and philosophical reflection on, the constitutive entanglements of form and emptiness. Nothingness, for its part, is oriented towards observation of what Georges Perec calls the ‘infraordinary’, a process of seeing and writing ‘flatly’ that is ‘barely indicative of a method’. Taking this method-that-is-not-a-method as its performative starting point, this paper sets out some tentative thoughts towards a spatial anthropology of futility that is centred around a futile fieldwork experiment in methodological nothingness. In keeping with the subject matter under discussion, the paper is written ‘on the go’ in the sense of starting from nothing and foregoing a purposeful direction of travel other than that which is tactically premised on the methodological elicitation of something from nothing.

God in Tibetan: On the Use of an Impersonal Concept as a Translation for “God”

The word for God used in many Bible translations in Tibetan-related languages is dkon mchog, a Tibetan Buddhist concept originally designating the so-called “Buddhist Trinity”: Buddha, dharma (the teachings), and sangha (the community of disciples). The expression was first used by Jesuit missionaries in the eighteenth century, and a review of their argumentation shows that its use is due to more than simply its superficial resemblance to the Christian Trinity. Expressions used in translation for unknown concepts undergo over time a semantic shift, by which the concept is reinterpreted and filled with new content corresponding to the biblical understanding. This shift can take place via metonymic or metaphoric extension, and the change is relatively unconstrained. The metonymic shift required in order for the concept dkon mchog to convey the biblical meaning is not likely to result in polysemy and may therefore give less cause for misunderstanding than the polysemous expressions (God/god) used in most other Bible translations.

Comparing the concept of "Removing Worms" between traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda -- An example of Qiye Qingnian Powder

The popular formula Qiye Qingnian Powder, prescribed by Hua Tuo (BC145 - 208), is believed to "remove three kinds of worms, be conducive to the five main organs, keep fit, and prevent one's hair from turning gray". It is a representative formula in terms of "removing worms to prolong life" in traditional Chinese medicine. This paper focuses on "Qiye" in this formula, which plays an important role in removing worms, reviews its place in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Tibetan medicine, and Ayurvedic medicine and compares the concept of "removing worms" in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. It was found that the name and efficacy of Bhallātaka in Ayurvedic medicine is related to "Qiye". It was also indicated that by comparing the concept of "worms" and the understanding of "removing worms" in traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurvedic medicine, in the theory of traditional medicines worms are the causative factor of diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine has rich connotations which involved medicinal concepts of Buddhism and Taoism and the idea of "removing worms to prolong life" is a unique contribution of traditional Chinese medicine to human health.

Holy love and compassionate love: A comparison of the essential differences between the concept of love in Lutheran theology and the Buddhist concept of love

Holy love and compassionate love: A comparison of the essential differences between the concept of love in Lutheran theology and the Buddhist concept of love

The Pathway To Peace And Harmony: A Buddhist Perspective

Buddhism has long been recognized as a non-violent, peaceful philosophy and religion. The suggested study aims to illustrate the Buddhist concept of harmony and serenity through a journey. Through the theory of dependent origination, Buddha preached that everything exists in relation to another and so do we human beings and our reactions to others depend on these factors and evils arising out of ignorance. The paper tries to examine the possibility of how global peace and harmony can also be accomplished through this dependency on ourselves as well as others in society. Buddha speaks of various causes of violence especially those arising within the human mind out of ignorance and false understanding of ourselves and our self-constructed world-views. Buddha also gives ways to tackle these violent forces within the individual and without. These have the potential to lead us to the pathways of realization of peace and harmony. Buddha is an exemplary visioner, practitioner and peacemaker; the Buddhist philosophy has contributions to the peace-making process while holding the potential to promote peace and harmony as a way of life through self-examination and self-reflection. In addition to the five precepts, they plant seeds and provide stability and footing for responding to oneself and others with kindness, love, affection, empathic delight, and serenity. This will result in a new way of thinking, believing, behaving, and living. As human behavior changes, the world around shall also respond accordingly and the attainment of peace and harmony becomes a reality. The peaceful means suggested by Buddha and emphasis on a holistic framework for all of mankind and to be practiced every moment of one’s existence, Buddhist philosophy plays a vital role in the peace and harmony-oriented paradigm having a practical outlook and impacting human lives globally.

BUDDHISM AND NON-VIOLENCE: EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUDDHIST TEACHINGS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

This paper explores the profound dating between Buddhist teachings and struggle decision, inspecting how concepts of non-violence, compassion, and interconnectedness can be carried out to present day worldwide conflicts. Beginning with the historical context of Buddhism, it delves into the origins and spread of Buddhist ideals on non-violence, especially the lifestyles of Siddhartha Gautama and early Buddhist texts on Ahimsa. The center Buddhist teachings, which includes the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, Karuna (compassion), and Metta (loving-kindness), are analyzed for their software in promoting non-violence. The paper also discusses the realistic applications of these teachings in current conflict resolution techniques, together with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and mediation. Through case research of historical and present day examples, together with Ashoka’s transformation, the role of Buddhist clergymen in the Vietnam War, and the Dalai Lama’s approach to the Tibetan warfare, the paper illustrates the effectiveness of Buddhist tactics. It concludes with coverage guidelines for integrating Buddhist concepts into war resolution frameworks and a comparative evaluation with other non-violent philosophies, highlighting the customary relevance of Buddhist teachings in fostering peace and harmony.

Abortion in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Ministerial Approvals in 2021 clearly articulated for the first time the wide range of circumstances under which abortion in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) is legal. These approvals likely reflect norms around abortion existent since the establishment of the Lao PDR in 1975: unregulated abortion is and remains illegal, but abortion that meets certain criteria is and has always been legal in Lao PDR. The legal status of abortion was fuzzy in practice until 2021, likely due to cultural factors. Buddhist conceptions of life and morality contribute to a widespread sense that abortion is fundamentally wrong and ought to be illegal. Laos’ political culture strongly values solidarity, meaning prolonged public discussion of potentially divisive topics is rare. As a result, abortion is often misunderstood in international research. For instance, Laos regularly appears on lists of the few countries where abortion is completely banned. Abortion is also not a politically charged topic in Lao PDR. Women’s experiences of accessing abortion are not rooted in a rights-based discourse. Instead, abortion is a possible (and legal) path in Laos, but one that entails considerable anguish and concern about its moral and ethical consequences.

A life of piety: aging and dying in a rural Sinhala Buddhist village

ABSTRACT This paper explores the relationship between aging, care, and death in a rural village in Sri Lanka from an anthropological perspective. It examines how the Buddhist concept of merit acts as a link between these elements. Through a 14-month ethnographic study, I observed how elders, and their younger caregivers engage in a reciprocal exchange of care and merit. Elders in the village engage in various pious activities to accumulate merit, which in turn leads to the care they receive from others as a meritorious deed. The responsibility of caring for the elderly primarily falls on women, who seek to accumulate more merit to alleviate their suffering. Both elders and caregivers believe that accumulating merit reduces suffering, leads to a good death, and ensures a good rebirth. These beliefs are reinforced and evaluated by Buddhist clergy in funeral sermons. This article illustrates how Buddhist ideas of accumulating merit give rise to an emerging ‘economy of merit,’ wherein elders are cared for by their families and communities. This finding has significant implications for understanding and addressing the challenges of an aging population in Sri Lanka.

Illuminating health aspects for immigrant Thai women in Swedish transnational marriages

BackgroundWomen who are migrants experience discrimination and face major risks, including sexual exploitation, trafficking, and violence, which affect their health and well-being.This study explored critical health incidents experienced by immigrant Thai women in marriage migration.MethodsA qualitative explorative approach with in-depth interviews was used. Forty immigrant Thai women who currently or previously had a Swedish spouse were recruited for the study. An inductive critical incident technique was used to collect and analyze the data as the first step. In a second deductive step, the Newman system model was used to categorize health dilemmas.ResultsThe women reported 438 critical health incidents in five main areas. Psychological health dilemmas included emotional abuse, feeling overwhelmed due to family responsibilities and the stress of leaving family behind. Sociocultural health dilemmas included transnational family duties or not performing family duties. Physiological health dilemmas included experiencing physical violence and environmental, domestic or work accidents. Developmental health dilemmas included failing health, difficulties upholding the duties expected of a spouse in the target culture and caring for an elderly husband. Spiritual health dilemmas included critical incidents in which the women perceived themselves to have failed in their hopes and duties as a wife, which intensified their dependence on faith, particularly the Buddhist concept of karma.ConclusionProfessionals in health and welfare practices in Thailand together with professionals in Western countries who work with women in marriage migration situations need to recognize the psychological, sociocultural, physiological, developmental, and spiritual health dilemmas experienced by these women. Furthermore, civil organizations that meet Thai women in foreign countries, such as Buddhist cultural associations, would benefit from the multicultural knowledge revealed by the present study. This knowledge can facilitate healthcare and welfare support for women in marriage migration situations.

Chan, Garden, and Poetry: The Tidal Sounds in the Changshou Monastery Garden of Canton in the Qing Dynasty

The Caodong School (曹洞宗) advocates the integration of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism (三教會通) and interprets Chan through the I Ching (以易釋禪). During the transition from the Ming to the Qing Dynasty, there was extensive interaction and mobility between the Ming loyalists (遺民) and Chan monks. This accelerated the secularization of monks and promoted the construction of temple gardens, which were expressed and preserved through literary Chan poetry. This study explores the relationship between Buddhist concepts and garden construction through a specific case, the Changshou Monastery Garden (長壽寺花園) in Canton (now Guangzhou) during the Qing Dynasty. This study examines how the Chan master Shilian Dashan 石濂大汕 (1633–1705), who journeyed to Dang Trong (Cochinchina 廣南) to spread Buddhist teachings, shaped the design and layout of the temple garden, reflecting Buddhist ideals and Caodong principles. This study analyzes the changes in landscape at the Changshou Monastery Garden, according to “the sound of tides” (潮音) from a Buddhist perspective. It also reveals how Dashan, as both a monk and a literati, blended Chan and Chinese philosophy in making the garden. The cultural resonance of tides within religious and literati traditions furnishes novel insights and prospects for the development of garden spaces.

Does Memory Reflect the Function of Smṛti? Exploring the Concept of the Recollecting Mind in the Cheng Weishi Lun

In the majority of Abhidharmic Buddhist schools, smṛti serves the crucial function of ensuring the recollection of past events and is thus conceptualized as memory in scholarly discourse nowadays. Nevertheless, upon closer examination of various doctrinal perspectives, the interpretation of smṛti diverges significantly among different schools. Notably, it is deemed to be omnipresent in every moment of perception within the Sarvāstivādin tradition, while in Yogācāra, it is regarded as a specific response to an experienced object. This paper seeks to delve into the concept of smṛti within the latter tradition, with a specific focus on the Cheng Weishi Lun (成唯識論, henceforth: CWSL). Drawing upon the foundational principles of Yogācāra doctrine, which posit the ālayavijñāna as an underlying substratum responsible for retaining past information, I contend that smṛti embodies a cognitive faculty that intensifies the apprehension of learned objects when they are present. Furthermore, I argue that smṛti serves as the inception point for a series of cognitive processes acquiring knowledge that helps decision-making. Additionally, I will demonstrate that the function of smṛti in the CWSL diverges from both traditional Buddhist conceptions of memory and contemporary understandings thereof.

Pema Tseden's Balloon: Reincarnation of a Semi-transparent Envelope

Buddhism provides the vocabulary for film auteur Pema Tseden to express a psychological dimension in his Amdo‐Tibetan stories. Drawing on the Tibetan Buddhist concept of bardo, the transitional space between sleep and waking, or death and rebirth, his works encapsulate surrealist flow of consciousness of the characters as they are torn between religious principles, modern imperatives, and conscience. Specifically, Balloon exposes an Amdo woman's choice between having an abortion in compliance with China's 1990s birth control policy or enabling the prophesized rebirth of a family forebear. The film extends Pema Tseden's earlier experiment in Jinpa, which enacts an intrapsychic dialogue in a dream, by using a religiously inflected visualization of the state of mind in the threshold between death and the next life. Balloon's passionate reenactment of a luminous afterlife landscape and its reflexive and even questioning attitudes toward the concept of reincarnation create an intriguing tension. Its central imagery, the inflated condom balloon, is a “semi‐transparent envelope,” to borrow British novelist Virginia Woolf's phrase, which suggests the inscrutability of the characters’ internal experiences. The balloon is also a “semi‐transparent filter” of the director's ambiguous affects, encapsulating cultural intimacy and cultural contemplation within a non‐dual framework.

Non-attachment, sense of coherence and happiness: an examination of their relationships through the Buddhist concept of virtue-meditation-wisdom

ABSTRACT This study aims to unravel the intricate mechanisms that intertwine non-attachment, sense of coherence, and happiness, employing the lens of the Buddhist framework, emphasizing virtue-meditation-wisdom. 123 undergraduate students participated in the study through an online survey utilizing purposive sampling. Results revealed support for a complementary model, indicating that the impact of non-attachment on happiness is not solely direct but is also indirectly influenced by the sense of coherence. These results suggest that cultivating non-attachment contributes to an individual’s enhanced ability to comprehend problems and utilize resources effectively to navigate challenges meaningfully, ultimately leading to an increased experience of happiness.

Inhaling tradition, exhaling innovation: controlled breathing as medicine in Tiantai Buddhism

ABSTRACT This research investigates the breath-centered therapeutic concepts and methods advocated by Zhiyi 智顗 (538–597), a distinguished Chinese Buddhist scholar-monk. It focuses on two significant changes he initiated. First, it studies Zhiyi’s reinterpretation of traditional Buddhist concepts of breath, highlighting its transition from a tool for concentration to a diagnostic device. Second, it examines his adoption of breath control techniques from external traditions, which represents a departure from the traditional Buddhist emphasis on natural and spontaneous breathing. Moreover, it investigates how Zhiyi’s Mohe zhiguan 摩訶止觀 adeptly addresses both practical and theoretical challenges in integrating the new methods into meditation practices. The final discussion focuses on different responses within the Buddhist community, demonstrating the complexities involved in adopting health-oriented practices. By examining Zhiyi’s therapeutic ideas and their subsequent reception, the study not only offers valuable insights into the changing notions of breath in Buddhism but also contributes to understanding the dynamic interplay between tradition and innovation in broader religious contexts.