Kashmir has long occupied a sacred and strategic position in the Buddhist world, serving as both a sanctum of advanced learning and a dynamic center for trans-regional transmission of doctrine, art, and literature. While modern scholarship has often focused on other celebrated sites such as Nalanda or Bodh Gaya, this article argues that the geographical dissemination of Buddhism was significantly shaped by the intellectual and spiritual endeavours emerging from Kashmir. Through its monastic institutions, scriptural commentaries, and far-reaching missionary networks, Kashmir not only preserved key tenets of Sarvāstivāda and Mahāyāna traditions but also transformed them into exportable paradigms for China, Central Asia, and Tibet. This paper reconstructs the expansive role played by Kashmir from the reign of King Kaniṣka to the early second millennium CE, highlighting the works of master translators such as Kumārajīva, Saṅghadeva, and Śākyasribhadra. Drawing upon historical narratives, epigraphical sources, and cross-cultural testimonies from the Chinese Tripiṭaka, Tibetan annals, and Central Asian chronicles, the study demonstrates that Kashmir was not merely a transmitter but a generative source of Buddhist innovation, exegesis, and aesthetics.
This study explores how Buddhist mindfulness principles can effectively reduce stress and enhance overall well-being in the modern world. By examining the impact of mindfulness practices rooted in Buddhist teachings, the research demonstrates their significant benefits for stress management, emotional regulation, and general health. Through both quantitative and qualitative methods, the study presents evidence that individuals who engaged in mindfulness practices experienced notable reductions in anxiety and depression, improved emotional control, and greater feelings of calm and relaxation. The findings underscore the relevance of Buddhist mindfulness in contemporary society and highlight its potential to support mental health. They also illustrate the practical applications of applied Buddhism in everyday life, particularly for individuals, healthcare professionals, and organizations seeking to improve mental well-being through accessible and holistic approaches. Moreover, this research emphasizes the importance of cultural and spiritual contexts when applying mindfulness techniques. It suggests that a deeper understanding of the Buddhist origins of mindfulness can enrich its application and effectiveness across diverse populations and settings. The study also points to the need for further exploration into the limitations and potential adaptations of Buddhist mindfulness for various contexts. Overall, this study contributes to the growing field of mindfulness-based interventions and supports the integration of applied Buddhist principles into modern health and wellness practices.
In 2024, a two-volume edition of N.N. Trubnikova’s translation and study of Shasekishū was republished. Shasekishū is a 13th-century Buddhist collection of setsuwa didactic tales. The compiler of the anthology, monk Mujū Ichien (1226–1312), presents diverse narratives borrowed from numerous sources, providing them with religious-philosophical commentary, vivid and often very detailed. The second volume includes the researcher’s essays on Mujū Ichien himself, the historical and cultural context of the compilation’s creation, the setsuwa genre as a whole, and various aspects that were addressed in the monk’s discourses, alongside other supplementary materials.
Sayana B. Bukhogolova, Soelma R. Batomunkueva, Snezhana P. Garmaeva
Introduction. The article examines the biography and works of the 5th abbot of Aginsky datsan (Dechen Lhundublin) Galsan Zhimba Tuguldurov. The relevance of the study is determined by importance of the personality of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov. He was one of the most significant Buryat Buddhist leaders of the 19th century. Tuguldurov was one of the bright representatives of the Buryat priesthood, expert in Buddhist philosophy, astrology, medicine and lexicology (he compiled the first Buryat Tibetan-Mongolian dictionary Despite the weight of his multifaceted personality and the presence of works reflecting his activities, the information about the details of G. Tuguldurov's biography and writings continues to remain little known. The purpose of the article is to provide historiographic overview of researches on his biography and creative heritage, introduce some new information into scientific circulation. This information was obtained from archive documents written in Old Mongolic script from the preliminary translation of not studied before biography (namthar) of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov in Tibetan language. The title of the namthar is “The biography of Galsan-Zhimba Balzangpo — the abbot of the datsan Dechen Lhundubling (bde chen lhun grub gling gi khri pa chos rje skal bzang spyin pa dpal bzang po’i rnam thar gyi sa bon bzhugs)”. Materials and methods. The research is based on the works of Russian and Mongolian authors written in different times, archival data from funds of the State Archive of the Republic of Buryatia, Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs of the Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan studies of the SB RAS and namthar of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov in Tibetan language (archive of Aginsky datsan). The following methods were used: collection, analysis and processing of data, historical-systematic and retrospective analysis. The results of the research helped to restore the chronology of activities of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov. For the first time the biography of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov with additional and clarifying information has been put into scientific circulation. Therefore, the restored biography of G.-Zh. Tuguldurov can make a significant contribution into academic researches, especially into reconstruction of the spread of Buddhism in the region.
History of Asia, Political institutions and public administration - Asia (Asian studies only)
The *<i>Tattvasiddhiśāstra</i> played an essential role in the history of Buddhism during the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589). Hitherto, the academic world has not systematically studied this treatise’s influence on the Sinification of Buddhism, specifically manifested in the emergence and demise of the Chengshi School. The acceptance of the *<i>Tattvasiddhiśāstra</i> went through three stages. In the third stage, the Chengshi masters, who studied the *<i>Tattvasiddhiśāstra</i>, affirmed this treatise as part of Mahāyāna. They adopted Mahāyāna doctrines to overcome the *<i>Tattvasiddhiśāstra’s</i> main limitation, lacking in-depth doctrines and an imperfect understanding of emptiness. However, they had mistaken that it was nirvāṇa rather than emptiness that limited the *<i>Tattvasiddhiśāstra</i>. Although they omitted the final target of nirvāṇa, their approach to emptiness was still influenced by the progressive mode of the *<i>Tattvasiddhiśāstra</i>. This paper clarifies that the demise of the Chengshi School was due to the Chengshi masters’ overestimation of the *<i>Tattvasiddhiśāstra</i> and their misunderstanding of Harivarman’s intention. No matter how hard the Chengshi masters attempted to improve their understanding, the Chengshi School would have inevitably died out as the Sinification of Buddhism proceeded.
The two modern concepts, “Engaged Buddhism” and renjian fojiao 人間佛教, with the variety of its English translations (such as “Humanistic Buddhism”), were developed and discussed with and without reference to each other over several decades. This article raises the question of how “Engaged Buddhism” has been portrayed in the Chinese-speaking world. It therefore reflects on a hybrid conceptual history and distinguishes between “concept-unaffected” and “concept-affected” (“concept-affirming”, “concept-negating”, and “concept-corresponding”) positionings in the Buddhist world, as well as a “concept-distancing” and “concept-processing” scholarship of Buddhist studies. The concept of “Engaged Buddhism” has been rendered with various Chinese terms in mainland China and Taiwan, e.g., “rushi fojiao” 入世佛教 (Buddhism that Enters the World), “canyu fojiao” 參與佛教 (Participatory Buddhism), and “zuoyi fojiao” 左翼佛教 (Left-Wing Buddhism). As can be seen from a rich body of sources, its discussion among Chinese-speaking Buddhists and scholars increased over the past twenty years and has been strongly characterized by comparisons with “renjian fojiao”, which can lead to different currents, such as exclusivism, inclusivism, and pragmatism.
Social atomism is a view that informs much contemporary social thinking. Drawing on arguments from Marxism and Buddhism, I will argue that it is false, and explore the consequences of this for a number of issues, notably those related to the ideology of capitalism.
Ezequiel Martín Patri, Cyntia Eleonora Candido, Ana Sofia Ruiz Barrionuevo
et al.
This paper aims to explore research analyzing the relationship between Social Support and Psychological Well-being in Older Adults from the perspective of Positive Psychology. To this end, articles were selected that address the constructs of Social Support and Psychological Well-being individually, as well as the relationships between these two variables, based on a literature review in databases such as Redalyc, Scielo, and Dialnet. The work was conducted within the framework of a pedagogical internationalization initiative involving faculty and students from the University of Flores (Argentina) and La Universidad Científica (Peru). The studies included in the review conclude that social support networks and the positive perception of them are positively related to psychological well-being in the elderly population.
As a supplement to sermonizing, the use of images has been crucial to growing the lay Buddhist following in Japan since at least the tenth century. While it may be the case that Buddhist images, much more so than texts, have historically been better able to draw in popular audiences through their accessible means of communication, the emergence of contemporary literate audiences meant new modes of accessibility. This article explores both the textual and illustrative histories of a modern illustrated hagiography on the medieval Shingon Buddhist monk Kakuban 覺鑁 (1095–1143). By tracing earlier vernacular approaches to Kakuban’s narrative that emerged throughout the evolution of this hagiography, it becomes clear that images were merely auxiliary in their appeal to modern Japanese readers and that such an appeal had been a consideration for generations of Buddhist compilers. This example draws attention to the mutually constitutive relationship between otherwise traditionally distinct functions of text and image in Japanese Buddhist hagiography, but also common conceptual divisions between lay and monastic experiences and popular and elite reading practices.
Pontas Surya Fernandes, Philip Suciadi Chia, Jevri Terok
The Arfak tribe lives on the island of Papua as a part of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. In 2022 there was a division by adding four new provinces namely South Papua, Central Papua, Highlands Papua, Southwest Papua Provinces in accordance with the laws in force in Indonesia. Papuans belong to the Melanesian race and the Arfak tribe consists of four
sub-tribes namely the Hatam, Meyah, Molei, Sough.The Arfak tribe has its livelihoods in gardening, hunting, trading, raising livestock, collecting forest products. Most of the Arfak people are Christians. However, the people of the Arfak tribe still believe in Animism (a belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the entire material universe) and Dynamism (a belief that there are powers that exist in natural objects in the world e.g. a rock
or a tree might become an object of awe and veneration because it is believed to have great power) which is often termed Suanggi. Belief in Suanggi is in harmony with other religions which are considered to accept Animism and Dynamism in their beliefs such as those evident
in Hinduism, Ancient Egyptian Religions, and even Confucianism. This is driven by the search for a figure in power. However, there are differences in the beliefs of the people of the Arfak tribe about the resurrection of a person such as in Judaism Buddhism and some Christian sects. Christianity of course believes in the existence of an Ultimate Person, namely Jesus
the God-man as well as belief in the possibility of resurrection in the future life. Resurrection is a certainty in the Christian faith. The Arfak people who are Christians in orientation must also have the belief in death as an advantage towards life in eternity in God’s heavenly Kingdom. Christians must follow the teachings of the Holy Bible. As Christians, people who
have believed in Jesus Christ should not practice Suanggi in any shape or form because it is based on a malevolent spirit in the folklore of some islands in Indonesia. A discourse on Suanggi and malevolent spirits was carried out in this study using careful reflection on Holy Scripture and other relevant literature from academic books and journals.
Drawing on recent ethnographic research at a temple-based Buddhist charitable foundation in mainland China, this study joins recent scholarship that questions an understanding of karma as a solely individual soteriological enterprise. It shows how both volunteers and paid staff at the charitable foundation, many of whom were practicing Buddhists, focused on helping both people and other sentient beings as soteriological goals in their own right apart from a consideration of individual karmic benefit. Inspired by environmental awareness, this soteriological orientation saw the karmic fate of all beings as inextricably bound together, an orientation we can refer to as universal karma.
Although important advances have been made in society with regard to female academic training, this continues to be an enormous challenge for those women who, in addition to being students, are also mothers and workers. The objective of this work is to investigate the influence produced by the concomitant exercise of these roles on the quality of life of these women, as well as the recognition of those factors inherent to resilience that are necessary to exercise them. This is verified that the fulfillment of academic, work and family responsibilities by student mothers receive more attention than self-care itself. In addition, for this combination of roles to be possible and for these women to achieve their academic goals, personal life projects and the execution of work and/or domestic tasks, a great deal of resilience is necessary, manifested in effort, responsibility , commitment and organization of time. It is concluded that, in addition to implying one of the sources that requires the greatest dedication and attention, motherhood is presented as the basis of resilience that allows them to overcome the obstacles that come from the triple combination of roles.
Background: Cognition that is not dominated by thinking in terms of opposites (opposite diminishing) or by making judgments (non-judging) can be found both in Buddhist/mindfulness contexts and in mental states that are fostered by dissociative psychedelics (N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists) such as ketamine. Especially for the Buddhist/mindfulness case, both opposite diminishing and non-judging have been proposed to relate to mental well-being. Whether ketamine-occasioned opposite diminishing and/or non-judging relate to increased mental well-being in the form of antidepressant response is unknown, and was investigated in the present study.Methods: In this open-label outpatient study, the dose level and frequency for the ketamine infusions were adjusted individually in close consultation with the patients suffering from depression with the overall goal to maximize antidepressant benefits—a novel dose regimen that we term personalized antidepressant dosing. In general, treatment started with an initial series of ketamine infusions with a dosage of 0.5 mg/kg body weight and was then adjusted (usually increased). A possible relationship between ketamine-induced antidepressant benefits and retrospectively reported peri-infusion experiences of opposite diminishing and non-judging was assessed based on a total of 45 ketamine-infusion treatment sessions from 11 different patients suffering from depression. Opposite diminishing and non-judging were measured with the two items from the Altered States of Consciousness Inventory (ASCI) that measure these concepts. Depression was measured with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II).Results: Peri-infusion experiences of both opposite diminishing and non-judging were associated with antidepressant responses confirming our hypothesis. Furthermore, opposite diminishing and non-judging were closely related to one another while relating to antidepressant response in distinguishable ways.Conclusion: Future controlled randomized trials with dissociative and other psychedelics and with a larger number of participants are needed to establish the possible link of psychedelically induced opposite diminishing and non-judging with an antidepressant response more firmly.
The article presents an ethnography of Buddhist practice groups in Wutong village, an urban village in the Shenzhen metropolis area, relating to the village's predicament through the 1990s and until 2019. It discusses the relationship between two intertwined forms of soft power employed by the Chinese regime: 1) The push for cultural consumption within the framework of the re-development of urban villages. 2) The PRC’s re-definition of Buddhism as a culture instead of a religion. The author examines different lay Buddhist actors in the village, which operate within the current restrictive government policy towards religious groups. The ethnography of Wutong shows the non-dichotomic dynamic of suppression and support articulated by the state towards Buddhism's cultural and religious consumption. It focuses on the dynamic between state control and people's agency over their spiritual and religious realities, especially on the urban fringes. The article suggests that the urban art village can be understood as a sphere where lay Buddhists subvert state regulation by creating alternative Buddhist spaces for lay practice, in the form of cultural commodities. However, the article addresses the liminality of such urban spaces, which, aside from opportunities for religious entrepreneurship, also creates a state of precariousness for urban village inhabitants, including Buddhist practitioners.
This article is concerned with the study of the concept of death in general and the major causes of death in particular. Death can be explained as an action or fact of dying or ending the life of a human being or a living organism. It focuses on the concept of death in some religions. Also, it highlights the theme of death in The Jilting of Granny Weatherall. The story is one of Katherine Anne Porter's short story collections titled Flowering Judas, which is published in 1930. Katherine Anne Porter was a celebrated American reporter; she is a person who was writing for newspapers and magazines. She wrote dissertations and long short stories. The writer describes the most recent dreams such as emotions and memories of an aged woman whose name is Granny Weatherall, the main character, and the descriptive personality in the tale is mostly standing on Porter’s grandmother's life. The author uses her grandmother's surname Granny Weatherall for the title of the story. Granny was eighty years old, being around all of her relatives. Granny dies on her deathbed. Throughout her sickness, she remembers periods from her childhood to death. She suffers from a dangerous illness. Thus, Granny realizes that everything ends up, even the long-lasting relationship with her husband. She has been jilted first by her married man and the second husband by death. The story also deals with spiritual confidence and risky sickness. Finally, the story is semi-autobiographical, including events for Porter's own life and the main character Granny Weatherall because both had several unsuccessful marriages and they had intensely annoyed with bad health. The present research aims at reducing the impact of death in the community, especially among elders and adults who would be affected by the terror of one of their relative's death. The paper compares three religious thoughts about death which are Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism.
Pure land comes from the Indian term “sukha,” which means welfare and happiness. However, in East Asia, Buddhism has been associated with the theological concepts of the immortal realm in the bond of death and afterlife. This study reviews detailed conception of Pure Land architecture in Sanskrit literature, as well as Buddhist sutras. The thesis notes that the conceptual explanation of Pure Land architecture, which describes the real world, becomes more concrete over time. Such detailed expression is revealed through the depiction of the transformation tableau. Hence, through Pure Land architecture situated on Earth, this research shows that Buddhist monks and laypeople hope for their own happy and wealthy settlement in the Pure Land. The building’s expression of transformation tableaux influences the layout and shape of Buddhist temples built in the mundane real world at that time. Moreover, this study notes that Bulguksa Monastery is a cumulative product of U-shaped central-axis arrangements with courtyards, terraced platforms, high-rise pavilions, and lotus ponds, plus an integrated synthesis of religious behaviors by votaries as a system of rituals. Further, it merges pre-Buddhist practices and other Buddhist subdivisions’ notions with Hwaeom thought, in comparison with Hojoji and Byodoin Temples that follow the Pure Land tradition.
Positive psychology, as a distinctive paradigm, focuses on the remedy of pathologies and, by contrast, the promotion of positive experiences and conditions in life (e.g., encouraging a state of flourishing). Positive psychology, in its simplistic form, may provide evidence and insightful understanding into the proactivity of human agency (Seligman, 1999; Seligman and Csíkszentmihályi, 2000). Drawing from this emphasis, we have developed the theory of optimization, which attempts to explain the achievement of optimal functioning in life (e.g., optimal cognitive functioning: academic performance). By the same token, in the course of our research development into the theory of optimization, we have also delved into a comparable theoretical orientation, namely: the multifaceted nature of mindfulness, consisting of three interrelated components – the psychological component of mindfulness, the philosophical component of mindfulness, and the spiritual component of mindfulness. This conceptualization of mindfulness is rather unique for its incorporation of both Western and Eastern knowledge, philosophical viewpoints, and epistemologies into one holistic framework. The main premise of this conceptual analysis article is to advance the study of positive psychology by specifically introducing our recently developed model of mindfulness, in this case, the multifaceted structure of mindfulness with its three distinct components. Importantly, we make attempts to highlight the significance of this multifaceted model by situating it within the theory of optimization for academic learning. Using philosophical psychology and personal-based teaching and research reasoning, we provide a valid rationale as to how aspects of our proposed model of mindfulness (e.g., reaching a state of enlightenment) could act to facilitate and optimize a person’s state of functioning (e.g., cognitive functioning). Moreover, we posit that our rationale regarding mindfulness as a potential “optimizing agent” for the purpose of optimal functioning could, indeed, emphasize and reflect the salient nature of positive psychology. In other words, we contend that an explanatory account of mindfulness from the perspectives of Confucianism and Buddhism could, in this analysis, coincide with and support the meaningful understanding and appreciation for the study of positive psychology in educational and non-educational contexts. We conclude the article by exploring the complex issue of methodology – that is, for example, how would a researcher measure, assess, and/or empirically validate the multifaceted nature of mindfulness?
Since the ancient times the belief in the rise of the Reformer has been a fundamental principle. Many of the holy prophets have announced the advent of new prophet. Moreover in the announcements and indications of predecessors there are always allusions to "the Last Promised" and "the Savior of Last Days" under such titles as "Kalki", "Fifth Buddha", "Soshyans", "Messiah", "The Son of Man" and so on and so forth. Of course there are different types of belief in the last reformer in religions. In one place the Savior is merely a social reformer while in another place he is only after the spiritual salvation of people and even sometimes he undertakes both tasks. On the other hand, the Last Promised is once nationalist and once seeks to save the whole world.
This essay seeks to assay the views of pre-Islamic great religions including Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism as to the Promised Savior. This essay is an analytico-descriptive research which has based itself on the first hand works comprising the sacred scriptures of religions and proceeds through the typological analyses of idea of the Promised in religions.
Zoroastrianism: the idea of the Promised has been tied to the notion of Soshyant. Generally speaking, this notion alludes to a group of people who periodically emerge at the end of every millennium of the last three millennia of world's age so as to uproot evil and renew the world, the last one of these reformers is Soshyans. According to the aforementioned typology, Zoroastrian idea of Last Savior is among the Promised who saves the whole world. Moreover Zoroastrian Promised cannot be declared only a social savior as he is not wholly detached from people's spirituality too. From another point of view, Zoroastrian idea of the Promised represents a universal and not nationalist savior who is relatively a human and not divine entity who emerges in the last millennium of world's age.
Judaism: in the Old Testament Mashih (Messiah) means the anointed one by God and is the one who has been exposed to the spirit of Yahweh and this virtue has equipped him with all qualities which are necessary for an ideal king of Israel "the spirit of God will perch on that branch, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of council and power, the spirit of knowledge of Yahweh and fear of him." (Isaiah, 2: 11). Mashih recalls a Savior of political taste. According to Jews, when Messiah rises the kingdom of heaven becomes established on earth and all nations return to Jerusalem (Isaiah, 14: 45) and the golden age of Jewish rule over the world begins. Thus Jewish taking of the Promised is ethnically motivated whose main concern is reclaiming the dominance and prosperity of Jews and it is less concerned with spiritual salvation. Although this Savior is of a Jewish origin but since his personal qualities are not decided then it is impersonal and void of divinity.
Christianity: the idea of the Promised has revealed itself in Christianity in three forms: first in the form of Jesus of Nazareth who plays the role of Savior and fulfills the expectations; second, in the form of "Judge of worlds" who will reveal himself when Jesus returns to the earth at the Day of Judgment as he once left there (Acts, 1: 11). And third, in the form of a man whose advent is announced by Jesus Christ and is described as the "source of consolation" and "spirit of honesty" who will bless Jesus and approve him (John, 14: 17). Accordingly, Christianity contains three versions of the Promised idea.
According to the previously mentioned typology, the first countenance of the Savior in Christianity, i.e. Jesus as Messiah in the New Testament, not only does not indicate the occurrence of a social uprising for establishing a government or spiritual refinement of people but rather the Savior in this sense undergoes a severe agony to relieve humanity from the burden of original sin (Acts, 8: 32). This Christian taking of the Promised is unique in its kind and has no equivalent in other religions.
But in the second form which promises the return of Jesus to help people to reach their perfection (Mathew, 37: 24-27; Luke, 18: 69 & 22: 18). Then the Promised in this sense aims at universal spiritual flourishing and is a person but a divine person.
The third manifestation of the Promised which has been described as "the spirit of honesty" and the "source of consolation" is the Holy Spirit, according to the Christians, who leads the church in its quest for righteousness in the absence of Christ.
Typologically speaking, Christian taking of the Promised has a spiritual character. It is universal and pro-millennium.
Hinduism: Hindu taking of the Promised is built upon a figure called Kalki who emerges at the Last Day when darkness devours the whole universe and evil minds take the helm. By the end of this dark period the tenth and final incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu which is named Kalki, riding a white horse with a castrated sword and like a falling star rises to uproot the evil and wickedness and establish justice and virtue.
Bhagavata Purana indicates that: "his empire will be universal and his mission will be the resurrection of dharma (law) and justice and truth". Thus the Hindu promised Messiah is personal and divine and actually his mission is social and spiritual, so he is not ethnically motivated but is universal.
Buddhism: Promised Savior in Buddhism is explained by the concept of "Maitreya" which is a Sanskrit word meaning "loving-kindness". In Buddhist theology he is known as the fifth and the last ground Buddha who is yet to come but he will come to save all mankind. In Buddhism symbolism he is in shape of a sitting man who is ready to get up which is the symbol of his preparation to arise. In Mahavastu, a text book of sub sect Hinayana that is about history of Sri Lanka, chronology of events of Maitreya uprising is clearly mentioned. Based on the typology, the promised Buddhist Savior is spiritual saving and he does not have social purposes. He is a personal Savior and with human - divine characteristic. Since the mission of the fifth Buddha is not to rescue a specific nation it could be a universal mission.
The result of this study is that although expressions and typology of belief in Savior in mentioned religions is deferent, however there is an important common belief among all them, which is faith and hope in uprising of Savior in apocalypse.