Entrenched in Indonesia’s context, this research explores the Edu-community practice in society and the religious communities’ engagement in religious education for all religions (REFAL) in community-based RE. This research addresses the gap in providing RE for each religion within formal education through community-based education. It aims to address the lack of RE content in formal education. This research includes three characteristic areas: urban (Yogyakarta), rural (Bangka Island) and remote (Kupang and Sabu Island) to explore various contexts of religious communities. It involves 40 interviewees from Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Edu-community is a community educational practice to empower REFAL. Edu-community creates religious educational systems involving religious leaders, youth, parents and children. Each religion has its form of RE, where children, teens and young adults are the target participants.
This article explores the profound historical and religious connection between Chhuksang, a sacred village in Mustang, Nepal, and Muktinath, a revered pilgrimage site in the Muktinath Valley, through the lens of Guru Padmasambhava’s enduring legacy. Drawing upon historical records, oral traditions, and religious texts, the study highlights the role of Mustang as a spiritual corridor linking Tibetan Buddhist tantric practices centred in Chhuksang with the Hindu-Buddhist syncretism embodied at Muktinath. Here, this article deals with the trade cum pilgrimage passes that were connected the concerned sites, to emphasize Guru Padmasambhava’s relevance as unifying force in correlating Vajrayāna with Vedic rituals and practices. Along with this, I am also going to highlight the continued spiritual practices, rituals, and cultural exchanges that have preserved and invigorated the shared heritage of Chhuksang and Muktinath by situating these sites in Himalaya’s religious landscapes to understanding the dynamic chemistry between geography, spirituality, and cultural identity in Mustang’s sacred landscape.
Deniz, Japonların inanç hayatında tarih boyunca varlık gösteren en etkili unsurlardan biri olmuştur. Fakat gerek Japon halk bilimcileri tarafından gerekse resmî söylemde fazla üzerinde durulmamıştır. Dolayısıyla Japon halk inançları üzerinde denizin etkisi modern döneme kadar anlaşılamamıştır. Bu çalışmada denizin Japon halk inançları üzerindeki etkisi Maitreya’nın gemisi örneğinden hareketle ortaya konulmaya çalışılmıştır. Japonya’ya dışarıdan gelen Budizm ve Maitreya Buda inancı öncelikle Japonların daha önce inandıkları ve ibadet ettikleri unsurlarla karşılaşmış, onların da etkisiyle farklı bir anlam ve yorum kazanmıştır. Bu çalışmada Budizm’in kurtarıcısı, geleceğin Buda’sı olan Maitreya’nın Japon halk inançlarıyla karşılaşması ve kaynaşması sonucunda nasıl bir renge büründüğü ele alınmıştır. Birinci kısımda deniz temelli bazı Japon halk inançları incelenmiştir. Özellikle Maitreya Buda inancını etkileyen tokoyo ve takarabune üzerinde durulmuştur. Tokoyo Japonların zamansal olarak ebedî, mekânsal olarak ise denizin ötesi olarak tasvir ettikleri bir öte dünyadır. Tokoyonun Kamiler ile ölen insanların ruhlarının göç ettikleri ve yaşamaya devam ettikleri yer olduğuna inanılmıştır. Ayrıca bazı ürünlerin Japonya’ya geldiği ilk kaynak yeri olduğu düşünülmüştür. Tokoyonun bir tür cennet tasviri olduğu düşünülse de tokoyoyla ilgili anlatıların tam bir cennet tasviri sunduğunu söylemek güçtür. Tokoyodan geldiğine inanılan gemiye ise takarabune denilmiştir. Bu geminin Shichi Fukujin adı verilen Yedi Şans Tanrısı tarafından yönetildiğine inanılmıştır. Yedi Şans Tanrısı, kökenleri Hint, Çin ve yerli Japon servet tanrılarına dayanan bir grup tanrıdır. Yedi Şans Tanrısı’ndan biri olan Hotei’nin kökleri Budizm’e dayanmaktadır. Hotei, genellikle şişman, neşeli ve kel bir keşiş olarak tasvir edilmektedir. Çocukların koruyucu azizi, olumsuz koşullara rağmen neşesini koruyan, mutlu bir kişiliği temsil etmektedir. Ona ait olduğuna inanılan bir şiirde kendisinin Maitreya Buda’nın enkarnasyonu olduğunu dile getirmiştir. Bu anlatılar Çin’den Japonya’ya ulaşmış ve Hotei, Yedi Şans Tanrısı’ndan biri haline gelmiştir. Hazine gemisiyle geleceğine, sırtında taşıdığı çantadan çocuklara hediyeler dağıtacağına inanılmıştır. İkinci kısımda Maitreya’nın gemisi üzerinde durulmuştur. Budizm Kore üzerinden Japonya’ya girmiş ve Japonya’ya gelen ilk yabancı din olmuştur. Kısa sürede imparatorun desteğini alan Budizm krallığın dinlerinden biri olarak kabul edilmiş ve devlet dini seviyesine yükseltilmiştir. Halk arasında yayılmasında rol oynayan anahtar figür ise kral naipliği yapan Prens Shotoku (574-622) olmuştur. Prens Shotoku’nun yönetimde yer aldığı dönem barış ve huzur içinde geçtiği için Maitreya Çağı’nda yaşanacak olan barış, huzur ve refahla özdeşleştirilmiştir. Prens Shotoku’nun da Maitreya’nın enkarnasyonu olduğu inancı halk arasında yayılmıştır. Maitreya’nın gemisinin pirinçle dolu olacağına ve denizin ötesinden Japonya’nın güneyinde bulunan Kashima açıklarına geleceğine inanılmaktadır. Bu inancın 14. yüzyıldan itibaren Japon halkı arasında yayıldığı düşünülmektedir. Bazı bölgelerde Maitreya’nın gemisinin gelmesi için yazılan şiirler ve yapılan danslar bulunmaktadır. Bu şarkıların sözlerinin büyük ölçüde Maitreya’nın gemisinin gelmesine ve bolluk çağını getirmesine yönelik bir tür dua oldukları anlaşılmaktadır. Bu şarkılarla birlikte insanlar dans edip ekilen pirinç tohumunun bol hasat vermesi ve bereketli olması için dua etmektedirler. Maitreya’nın gemisinin gelmesiyle ilgili şarkılar ve danslar günümüzde Japonya’nın bazı bölgelerinde festivallerde hala devam ettirilmektedir.
This article provides an in-depth exploration of the contextual, epistemic, ethical, personal, practical, religious, and socio-cultural factors that sixteen Western practitioners of Vajrayāna Buddhism highlighted as having particularly challenged their ability to learn and engage in deity yoga, including what strategies they may have adopted in attempting to overcome their impact. While these have been largely overlooked by empirical research on meditation, their pertinence to understanding practice efficacy and outcome, as well as the phenomenological unfolding of particularly adverse practice-related experiences, have recently been recognized alongside the prevalence of the latter. In addition, these practitioner testimonies shed light on how the cross-cultural transmission of Vajrayāna Buddhism involves a process in which practice approaches and environments are undergoing adaptation and negotiation in light of the needs and lifestyles of lay practitioners, while meaning is being synthesized through their responses to the experiences that unfold not only from their exposure to teachers and their teachings but also from their engagement in tantric practice.
Buddhism has been a significant part of Hangzhou’s rich history. Throughout the twentieth century, Hangzhou’s Buddhist culture continued to inspire many Chinese writers, one of the most prominent being Yu Dafu. The writer stayed in Hangzhou several times during the 1920s and 1930s and wrote numerous travel notes, including many describing his and his friends’ visits to temples in and around Hangzhou. These short travel notes, written in modern Chinese with the characteristics of modern prose, opened a relationship between Buddhism and Chinese literature, effectively inaugurating a fresh genre of Chinese Buddhist literature. This paper focuses on Yu Dafu’s travel notes, considers extensive historical sources, and explores how they recorded and represented Chinese Buddhist culture in Hangzhou and more broadly. This paper also explores the reciprocal influence of contemporary Hangzhou’s Buddhist culture on writers’ cognitive frameworks, spiritual solace, and literary choices.
கு. கார்த்திக் / K.Karthick, முனைவர் வெ. திருவேணி / Dr. V. Thiruveni
‘Puzhavar Puranam’ is a book written by Dantapani Swami who lived in the 19th century. The ideas expressed in it emphasize equality between the six Vedic Religions. It is also seen as an attempt of religious integration. Some stories in ‘Puzhavar Puranam’ have been told to emphasize that point. ‘Puzhavar Puranam’ is a book of 3005 poetries with 72 chapters which convey the stories of great Tamil Poets. Dantapani Swami has told stories and ideas to create a similarity between the Vedic religions that oppose the conflict of Saivam and Vaishnavam, especially in the ‘Sadakopar Sarukkam’ and ‘Thirumangaiyalwar Sarukkam’ which are the two chapters in ‘Puzhavar Puranam’. Even in the chapter sequence of ‘Puzhavar Puranam’, the discrimination between Vedic religions, such as Saivism and Vaishnavism, is not appreciated and the unity of Vedic religion is strongly expressed. In this scope, the ideas that create equality between the Vedic religions of Sauram, Saivam, Saktam, Vaishnavism, Ganapathyam and Kaumaram are prevalent. Dantapani Swami set the basic principles of Monotheism and Jeevakarunyam (Compassion) which he followed in valuing the religions. The ritual of burning animals, including cows and horses, to the deity, was instructed by the Vedas and practised by the Vedic religion. This ritual is called Velvi. Although it was obsoleted a few centuries ago, Dantapani Swami has exposed and opposed it in his works. The anti-Velvi stance taken by Jeevakarunyam is seen in various chapters such as ‘Thirugnanasambandar sarukam’, ‘Sadagopar sarukam’ etc. In many of his books, anti-Velvi, Jeevakarunyam and the philosophy of Monotheism are widely spoken. Hence, this article explores the reasons why Dantapani Swami hated it and did not accept Buddhism and Jainism, which practised Jeevakarunyam and anti-Velvi which are also his stance. It also discusses how the religious principles of Dantapani Swami, known through the ‘Puzhavar Puranam’, played a role in the religious and social life of Tamil Nadu in the 19th century. At the same time, it also addresses some of the contradictions between the doctrine of Dantapani Swami and his work.
In the history of Chinese Bible translation, the Psalms have been a privileged site for the encounter between biblical thinking, poetics, and Chinese classical literature. This encounter was initiated by the translators of the Delegates’ Version, followed by John Chalmers, and outstandingly represented in particular by John C. H. Wu吳經熊. In his version of the Psalms, underpinned by his cultural stance of “beyond East and West”, Wu borrows numerous Chinese idioms and popular verses and transposes Chinese traditions from Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Specifically, Wu’s rendition inaugurates an intertextual dialogue between the Psalms and <i>Shijing</i>, involving the disciplines of both comparative literature and comparative scripture at the same time. By adapting various Chinese classical poetry styles for his version of the Psalms, Wu transforms their spiritual traditions and broadens their representation spaces by injecting a Judeo-Christian spirit. Relocating the biblical texts among multifarious Chinese literary traditions, Wu’s translation of the Psalms achieves a deep interaction between the Bible and Chinese culture, provokes questions, and provides insights regarding the relation between biblical theology and intercultural poetics.
There are many tales in Kojidan (Tales about Old Matters), a setsuwa (short didactic tales) collection compiled in the early 13th century by the nobleman Minamoto-no Akikane, which deal with Buddhist monks. Amongst those monks one can find a multitude of well-known names: there are the founders of the major Japanese schools of Buddhism, such as Kūkai and Saichō, famous miracle-workers (including rainmakers), saints, as well as common monks. The biggest section of Akikane’s collection, consisting of 108 tales, is devoted to monks, but characters who took the vows also appear in other parts of Kojidan. To demonstrate what is the way of the monk, Akikane put together stories about the personal virtues of various characters, as well as tales about a variety of miracles. The ability of working miracles acts as some kind of measure of efficiency on the Way, but it can’t guarantee that a man will not fall from this path if he still is attached to worldly passions and still has bad affections. The author may talk about great saints and builders of temples, but he also includes tales about sinful and cruel monks. As in other collections of setsuwa tales, a picture of the cosmos is constructed, where a miracle is something natural and normal, something that takes place in accordance with the laws of causes and consequences, and due to the response of a buddha or kami to prayer and ritual.
This article considers the disagreement between scholars of Buddhism around whether the tradition is or is not amenable to environmental concerns. It identifies the gap between the two sides as arising from a problem in how historical-critical methods divorce moral concepts from materiality in the study of religious history. This paper considers <i>paticca-samuppada</i> as a central moral concept in Buddhist tradition, one that has indeed changed via translation over the course of Buddhist history. This is the moral concept that leads directly into current environmentalist discourse, in its translation as <i>interdependence.</i> The paper first considers the translation of <i>paticca-samuppada</i> in historical tradition as well as in the hands of environmentalist authors. It then considers why <i>paticca-samuppada</i> as <i>interdependence</i> is a context-appropriate contribution, in settings of industrial political economy heavily directed by an abstract, mathematical concept of <i>capital</i> in connection with the moral concept of unlimited <i>growth.</i> The paper concludes by suggesting that contemporary Buddhist environmentalism be understood as a case of religious change. It concludes that the Buddhist eco-critical position is untenable, in light of processes of change in religious traditions, and suggests that the study of religious history should better account for how it is that religious change occurs.
The academic study of Tibetan Buddhism has long emphasized the textual, philological, and monastic, and sometimes tended to ignore, dismiss, or undervalue the everyday practices and beliefs of ordinary people. In this article, I show that traditional folk songs, especially <i>changlü</i>, are windows into the vernacular religion of ethnically Tibetan Himalayans from the Nubri valley of Gorkha District, Nepal. While <i>changlü</i> literally means “beer song”, and they are often sung while celebrating, they usually have deeply religious subject matter, and function to transmit Buddhist values, reinforce social or religious hierarchies, and to emplace the community in relation to the landscape and to greater Tibet and Nepal. They do this mainly through three different tropes: (1) exhortations to practice and to remember such things as impermanence and death; (2) explications of hierarchy; and (3) employment of spatialized language that evokes the <i>maṇḍala</i>. They also sometimes carry opaque references to vernacular rituals, such as “drawing a swastika of grain” after storing the harvest. In the song texts translated here, I will point out elements that reproduce a Buddhist worldview, such as references to deities, sacred landscape, and Buddhist values, and argue that they impart vernacular religious knowledge intergenerationally in an implicit, natural, and sonic way, ensuring that younger generations internalize community values organically.
This research aimed to study the Thai EFL students’ perception of the development of English reading comprehension on Bud- dhist contents through PSQ6R technique. The sample included 47 students enrolled in Dhamma in English course at Nakhon Lampang Buddhist College in the 1st semester of academic year 2020. The samples were selected by the purposive selection method. The instrument for collecting data was a question- naire. The data analysis was done using descriptive statistics which are percentage, mean score, and standard deviation. The research result revealed that the students strongly satisfied (x =4.59) with the development of English reading comprehension on Buddhist contents through PSQ6R techniques.
The burgeoning application of contemplative pedagogy (CP) in Buddhist studies courses has been widely discussed; yet, how educators incorporate it with other teaching strategies has not attracted much scholarly attention. Drawing from the author’s teaching experience at a Jesuit University, this article demonstrates that integrating CP’s first-person, second-person, and third-person approaches with the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP) will create a multidimensional environment in learning Buddhism in higher education. This article first argues that the issue of avoiding even implied proselytizing can be successfully overcome, as it is related to the application of Buddhist-inspired contemplative practice, such as Cognitively-Based Compassion Training<sup>®</sup>, in class. Next, based on the principles of CP and the IPP, this study shows specific examples of multisensory contemplation activities that expand students’ ways of knowing about Buddhist practice and foster their consideration for others. Third, to complement the Jesuit educational purpose of students’ spiritual growth, and the CP’s advocating for inner growth, this research navigates these concerns in a way that also enhances students’ learning in the course content. In conclusion, a combination of CP and the IPP facilitates the whole-person development as well as deepens students’ understanding of Buddhism.
Anthropologists and religious scholars have long debated the relationship between doctrinal Theravada Buddhism, so-called 'animism', and other folk practices in southeast Asian societies. A variety of models of this relationship have been proposed on the basis of ethnographic evidence. We provide the first psychometric and quantitative evaluation of these competing models, using a new scale developed for this purpose, the Burmese Buddhist Religiosity Scale. Having tested existing hypotheses in our first study (n = 2285) we formulated an alternative model, which was then tested in our second study (n = 3377). We argue that this model provides support for a two-dimensional distinction between great and little traditions, shedding light on decades-old theoretical debates. Far from being in conflict, the transnational religious tradition of the literati and the variegated religious practices of locals appear to be reflected in two complementary dimensions of religiosity. This distinction has been heretofore neglected in psychometric research, but arguably merits attention beyond Buddhism, in the psychology of religion more generally. Our findings suggest that, insofar as research on religiosity relies on doctrinal pronouncements denigrating little traditions as mere superstition, it may be blinded to a crucial dimension of religious life.