This article investigates a unique iconographic anomaly in late medieval Dunhuang silk paintings: the conflation of the bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra. Focusing on two key artifacts from the 9th and 10th centuries and tracing their legacy to later folk prints, this study argues the phenomenon is not a scribal error but a creative Anomaly—a deliberate ritual synthesis. The analysis reveals this synthesis was driven by two forces: a phonetic re-semanticization in the local dialect and a theological logic born from the integration of Huayan School doctrines with Esoteric ritual practice. The paper demonstrates how Huayan metaphysics were operationalized through condensed Esoteric invocations, turning the inscription into a functional ritual shorthand. Crucially, this study demonstrates the genealogical survival of this Silk Road variant in Ming and Qing dynasty woodblock prints. It uncovers a parallel, non-canonical lineage of visual piety, sustained through workshop copybooks rather than elite textual discourse. This trajectory challenges the linear narrative of Buddhist art history, highlighting the generative power of localized adaptations existing outside the purview of the written canon.
Laura Cornara, Marco Valussi, Khilendra Gurung
et al.
Abstract Background In the Southern Tibet region, the Nepalese and Indian Himalayas many plants rich in aromatic resins are burned by populations who follow Tantric Buddhism, for both daily sacred activities and religious ceremonies. The main plant material used are branches of Juniperus indica Bertol. (Cupressaceae) and Rhododendron anthopogon D.Don (Ericaceae). The harvesting of these species, considered as sacred, is an ancient custom linked to folk medicine and the production of incense for religious practices or to purify the domestic environment as their essential oils (EOs) promote tranquility. We present here a study which, starting from a survey of the ethnobotanical uses of these two species, describes the traditional methods of collection and distillation in Nepal. Furthermore, we show the phytochemical profile of the two EOs and their biological activity on Central Nervous System (CNS), specifically their effectiveness in anti-acetylcholinesterase and anti-butyrylcholinesterase tests. Methods We recorded the methods of collection and distillation as recounted in an open interview (with an informed consent) with the local lama, whose family, for centuries, has been responsible for a household gompa and the rituals associated with it. The locally distilled EOs from the two species were phytochemically characterized by GC and GC-MS. Essential oils and their main constituents were then tested for their possible in vitro effects on the Central Nervous System, by assessing their activity on anti-acetylcholinesterase and anti-butyrylcholinesterase activities. Results The phytochemical profiles showed α-terpinene (38.21%) and α-pinene (10.73%) as main constituents in J. indica, and α-pinene (23.10%) and β-pinene (11.42%) in R. anthopogon. The anti-acetylcholinesterase and anti-butyrylcholinesterase assays showed that both EOs have a moderate inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. Conclusions Ethnobotanical data collected confirm the high ritual value of J. indica and R. anthopogon in the Indian Himalaya for both Tantric religious ceremonies and in the daily activity. The data obtained on the chemical composition of the EOs distilled on-site from these species and on their inhibitory activity on important enzymes of the CNS can validate, at least in part, the traditional use linked to their anxiolytic properties. The possible application of these EOs in the aromatherapy market, respecting traditional and eco-sustainable methods of collection and distillation, can represent a further source of income for local populations.
This paper explores the impact of Chinese landscape painting on the evolution of Japanese gardening styles, which is seldom mentioned in the development of ancient Japanese gardening. China and Japan have had a cultural exchange dating back to around 600 AD. The development of Zen Buddhism in China, accompanied by the emergence of landscape painting, played a crucial role in the perfect combination of philosophy and aesthetics that characterizes Chinese landscape painting. With the introduction and prevalence of Chinese Zen thought and landscape painting, Japanese classical gardening practices underwent significant transformation. The introduction of Zen Buddhism facilitated the formation and development of traditional Japanese gardens, while gardens became an integral part of Zen culture. Japanese gardens evolved from the Pure Land gardens of the Heian period to the Zen-style pond gardens of the Kamakura period, culminating in the mature form of dry landscape gardens under the influence of Zen thought. Against the backdrop of Zen monks gradually taking the initiative in garden making, Japanese garden forms were imbued with a distinct landscape painting character.
As an exemplary and quintessential representation of China’s late-stage religious stone-carving art, previous research on the Dazu Rock Carvings has primarily concentrated on the typical cave remains in core areas like Baoding and Beishan. These investigations have been highly adept at archeological typology and iconographic analysis. This study, based on 134 extant inscriptions, reassesses the Beishan and Nanshan stone-carving complexes from the perspective of cultural heritage integrity. Through long-term landscape analysis, we uncovered their distinctive value in the construction of religious spaces during the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. During the Song Dynasty (Zhao Song Dynasty), Buddhism held sway in Beishan, while Nanshan developed a comprehensive Taoist pantheon system encompassing the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and the Six Imperial Divinities (Liuyu). Together, they formed a religious spatial pattern of “Sakyamuni in Beishan and Taoist deities in Nanshan”. Furthermore, since the Shaoxing era (1131–1162), inscriptions left by Confucian scholars and officials during their visits to these two mountains have been frequently encountered. This spatial overlap phenomenon mirrors the profound integration of religious practices and secular power in the Bashu region during the Song Dynasty. This research breaks through the traditional case-study paradigm. By systematically examining the spatio-temporal evolution of the stone-carving complexes and the network of inscriptions, it reveals that the religious landscape of Dazu is, in essence, the outcome of the cumulative layering of political power, economic resources, and cultural aspirations across diverse historical periods. In particular, the transformation of Beishan and Nanshan from the merit caves of military generals in the late Tang Dynasty to the cultural spaces of the gentry class in the Song Dynasty vividly demonstrates the local practice model in the secularization process of Chinese religious art from the 10th to the 13th century.
Commented article: TIAN, T. The relationship between Tang-Song poetry and Zen Buddhism thought. Trans/Form/Ação: Unesp journal of philosophy, Marília, v. 47, n. 4, “Eastern thought”, e0240064, 2024. Available at: https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/transformacao/article/view/14581.
Introduction. The government’s turn toward relative liberalization of religious life and somewhat moderated positions on religious freedom witnessed since 1943 were replaced by a new trend in the late 1940s. The new vector implied an increased state control over activities of religious communities, and would introduce a variety of deterrent mechanisms aimed at reducing religiosity, limiting possibilities for official registration, increasing taxation of clergy, intensifying atheistic propaganda, etc. Goals. The article attempts an insight into the situation resulting from the Soviet religious policy of the late 1940s / early 1950s ― and faced by Tuva’s religious communities. Materials and methods. The study focuses on documents housed at the State Archive of Russia. The employed research methods include the retrospective, comparative historical, and chronological ones. Results. Since the late 1940s, religious communities of Tuva came under strict control and limitations. The paper reveals the actual Soviet post-war religious policy in Tuvan Autonomous Oblast was specifically characterized by that only Russian Orthodox Christians would enjoy somewhat relatively official status and activities, while other faiths and their groups remained as illegal regardless of the central government’s proclaimed agenda and changing sentiments. Local authorities and the Commissioner of the Soviet Council for Religious Cults in the region would turn to various excuses to avoid any legal registration of such communities. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the intensified restrictive measures (heavy taxation) finally undermined the once intensive activities of Buddhists. Furthermore, Evangelical Baptist Christians failed to reopen their prayer house in Kyzyl, while Old Believers of Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy never resolved the issue of a prayer building in Medvedevka (Kaa-Khemsky District).
History (General), Oriental languages and literatures
Vajrayana, or Bengali Buddhism, was a significant derivation from traditional Buddhist schools of ancient India. This Buddhist school was erected in ancient Bengal, adopting the prevailing esoteric tantric practices, and reigned every corner of Bengal from around the 7th to the 13th century. This morphological research focuses on the spatial layout of five Bengal Buddhist monasteries constructed between the 5th and 12th centuries and tries to find the underlying pattern of evolution through the lens of the philosophical development of Buddhism in Bengal. The findings show a significant shift in the morphological character of the Bengal Buddhist monastery after the 8th century ad. The introduction and growth of tantra-oriented Buddhist schools, primarily the Vajrayana school, played a vital role in the spatial evolution and transformation of the Buddhist monasteries of Bengal. This study tries to unveil how religion's intrinsic and extrinsic forces shaped forms and spatial patterns of Buddhist architecture in Ancient Bengal.
My central claim is that resonances between Transcendentalist and Chinese philosophies are so strong that the former cannot be adequately appreciated without the latter. I give attention to the <i>Analects</i>, the <i>Mengzi</i> and the Tiantai <i>Lotus Sutra</i>, which Transcendentalists read. Because there was conceptual sharing across Chinese traditions, plus evidence suggesting Transcendentalists explored other texts, my analysis includes discussions of Daoism and Weishi, Huayan and Chan Buddhism. To name just some similarities between the targeted outlooks, Transcendentalists adopt something close to <i>wu-wei</i> or effortless action; though hostile to hierarchy, they echo the Confucian stress on rituals or habits; Thoreau’s individualistic libertarianism is moderated by a radical causal holism found in many Chinese philosophies; and variants of Chinese Buddhism get close to Transcendentalist metaphysics and epistemologies, which anticipate radical embodied cognitive science. A specific argument is that Transcendentalists followed some of their Chinese counterparts by <i>conserving</i> the past and converting it into radicalism. A meta-argument is that ideas were exchanged via trade from Europe through North Africa to Western Asia and India into the Far East, and contact with Indigenous Americans led to the same. This involved degrees of misrepresentation, but it nonetheless calls upon scholars to adopt more global approaches.
The central question of this paper is what kind of view Dōgen had about Mazu. At first glance, this may seem completely irrelevant to the theme of this issue. In fact, however, Dōgen’s view points to a subtle relationship between Buddhism and Hinduism in an interesting way. Dōgen seems to regard Mazu as an ambiguous figure, standing on the borderline between Buddhism and Hinduism. However, Dōgen’s intention was to save Mazu and keep him on the side of Buddhism. So how can Mazu be saved? To answer this question is to trace the fundamental boundary between Buddhism and Hinduism according to the outstanding Zen master. In this study we adopt the usual method of textual analysis. Our discussion proceeds in the following order. (The steps do not correspond exactly to the section breaks.) (1) First, the argument of a person called Senni is presented from Dōgen’s <i>Bendōwa</i>, where Dōgen severely criticizes him as a non-Buddhist heresy. At this step we will confirm that Senni is a Sāṅkhya theorist (hence, a Hinduist). (2) We take up a parallel to the above passage from Dōgen’s <i>Shōbōgenzō,</i> Chapter “<i>Sokushinzebutsu</i>”. It becomes clear that the true target of Dōgen’s criticism was Mazu, the great Chinese Chan master. (3) The above operation shows that Dōgen was trying to position Mazu as someone on the borderline between Hinduism and Buddhism. (4) We try to reconstruct from the text what in Senni angered Dōgen, or, in other words, from what he wanted to save Mazu. As a result, the borderline as seen by Dōgen will be visible to us. The main findings of this paper are as follows: (1) The mark that distinguishes Buddhism from Hinduism, according to Dōgen, is the presence of the never-ending Bodhi-mind. This is in fact what TSUNODA Tairyū suggested in his 1985 article. Dōgen implemented this idea as an endless loop of Bodhi-mind, which makes the goal unreachable. (2) The implicit object of Dōgen’s criticism is not the Japanese Tendai or the Darumashū, but Mazu, as HE Yansheng indicated in his 2000 book. The so-called Critical Buddhism movement began on the basis of a misunderstanding. The large amount of secondary literature that has resulted is also indirectly based on this error.
Introduction
Mindfulness techniques, which are currently widely used in psychosomatics and psychotherapy, pose challenges when treating people coming from Buddhist groups for several reasons.
Objectives
For their treatment, it is important to take into account decontextualized terms that underlie crucial group dynamics and the effects of damaging neologisms in international Buddhist organizations.
Methods
In the current research project, this topic is approached in combining quantitative with qualitative data. Whereas the data collection is still ongoing, the replies of twelve people are presented.
Results
As commitments to secrecy hinder people to ask for psychotherapy for long, they were asked on their thoughts about secrecy in Buddhist groups. Five of them agreed that acts against them were declared secret, which they then further specified. Six probands agreed having witnessed acts directed toward others being sworn to secrecy, four of which told this was about sexual abuse. Whereas nine agreed having experienced enemy images being built up, three agreed and specified how their own freedom was impaired and six witnessed and specified other group members’ freedom having been constrained. While six persons agreed that it was assumed in their group one or more persons could ‘purify’ someone else in the sense of a ‘karma purification’ and specified their replies, two replied this concept was used to rationalize actions towards themselves and how it has affected.
Conclusions
As for psychotherapy, it is important to take into account rationalization of violence and abuse through neologisms, pseudotherapies and structural issues in context.
Conflict of interest
This research is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
This paper reports on a study into the potential for ancient Chinese belief systems to provide a foundation for environmental accountability in China. The global environmental impact of China is such that there is an urgent need for improved environmental accountability in China. The paper uses a theoretical model based on the work of Michel Foucault on episteme change as well as Systems Theory. Interviews and surveys are analysed using qualitative thematic analysis and descriptive statistics. There is evidence that the Chinese accountants were influenced by the ancient philosophies of Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. In turn, this influence results in a deep reverence for Nature and a strong desire for harmony between humans and Nature. The conclusion is that the Chinese accountants do have a strong environmental ethic derived from their beliefs and that this supports their roles in providing environmental accountability and hence sustainability. Conducting research in China was difficult and the number and quality of the interviews are limited because of this. Furthermore there were problems associated with interpretation and translation across languages and cultures. Nonetheless, this research has the potential to help empower Chinese accountants to improve their environmental accountability. Much research has already focused on Chinese business and traditional Chinese philosophy but this study contributes to the knowledge and understanding of the relations between Chinese accountants, environmental accountability and ancient belief systems. As such, the study makes an important contribution to Chinese, and hence global, sustainability.
Environmental sciences, Environmental effects of industries and plants
Contemporary Buddhist violence against minority Muslims in Myanmar is rightfully surprising: a religion with its particular moral philosophies of non-violence and asceticism and with its functional polytheism in practice should not generate genocidal nationalist violence. Yet, there are resources within the Buddhist canon that people can draw from to justify violence in defense of the religion and of a Buddhist-based polity. When those resources are exploited in the context of particular Theravāda Buddhist practices and the history of Buddhism and Buddhist identity in Burma from ancient times through its colonial and contemporary periods, it perpetuates an ongoing tragedy that is less about religion than about ethno-nationalism.
In contemporary Japan, a Buddhist discourse has emerged that links life and food and centers on gratitude. While the connection between animals and gratitude has a long history in Buddhism, here the meaning of repaying a debt of gratitude has shifted from an emphasis on liberating animals to consuming them with gratitude, thereby replacing anti-meat-eating arguments with a sacrificial rationale. This rationale is also apparent in <i>Partaking of Life</i>, a children’s book written by a Jōdo Shin Buddhist adherent, which has found a receptive audience in Jōdo Shin circles, including the voice-acting troupe Team Ichibanboshi. This article provides a close reading of <i>Partaking of Life: The Day That Little Mii Becomes Meat</i>, followed by historical contexts for Buddhist vegetarianism and discrimination against professions that rely on killing animals, particularly as these themes pertain to Jōdo Shin Buddhism. The essay ends on an analysis of Team Ichibanboshi’s sermon on <i>Partaking of Life</i>.
The article introduces into scientific discourse the text of the Oirat manuscript ‘Ekeyin zürken tarni orošiboi’ (‘Hṛdaya-dhāraṇī of Mothers’). The text is stored in the collection of the National Museum of the Tyva Republic under inventory number M-835. Analysis of Mongolian and Oirat written monuments is urgent for the investigation of the history of spiritual culture of Mongolian peoples, as well as Turkic peoples that lived in the same cultural area. The article is a scholarly publication reflecting the historical and ethnocultural contacts between the Oirat-Mongols and Tuvans. Undoubtedly, one of the key unification factors for these nations is Buddhism. The paper provides a brief analysis of the contents of this manuscript that includes several short dhāraṇī-texts from the gZungs ‘dus collection of ritual texts.
The article also provides a transliteration of the Oirat manuscript supplemented with a Russian parallel translation.
The article examines participation of the Buddhist clergy in social and political life of the Kalmyk uluses and interaction with the government of Russia and regional authorities after 1771. The exodus of a considerable part of Kalmyks to China determined creation of a new system of social and political contacts between the Russian government and Kalmyk secular and clerical elites, a new structure of interaction between Buddhist monastic complexes of the Kalmyk uluses. The measures implemented by the government for isolation of the Kalmyk Buddhist clergy from their coreligionists in China and Tibet and those of the regional authorities aimed at isolation of politically dangerous lamas to prevent further decampment are analyzed in the article. Specific changes in missionary activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Kalmyk uluses in the 1770-1780s are investigated. Defined are the main directions of restrictive policies imposed upon the Kalmyk Buddhist clergy by the Russian government at the same time striving to retain constructive bilateral contact in the context of the social and political crises in the Kalmyk uluses. Using a set of unpublished historical records (correspondence between Astrakhan governor N. Y. Arshenevskiy and Sobing-bagshi) formation of the new interaction system between the Kalmyk clerical elites and Astrakhan governors in the 80-90s of the 18th century has been described.
History (General), Oriental languages and literatures
As nurses, we seek to better understand how to apply nursing knowledge in our daily practice. Nowadays, the term philosophy is widening used in many areas, including nursing. However, there is existence of unclear understanding about nursing knowledge development derived from standpoint of philosophical and methodological perspectives. This article discusses about this issue and mainly focus on empiricism, postpositivistic view, the philosophy of Buddhism and an example related to asthma.
The interpretation of early Buddha images with a crown has long been a source of debate. Many scholars have concluded that the iconography of the crown is intended to denote Śākyamuni as a cakravartin or universal Buddha. A few have suggested it represents a sambhogakāya Buddha in Mahāyāna Buddhism. This art historical and Buddhological study examines the visual record of early crowned Buddhas along the Silk Road, focusing on the iconographic signifiers of the crown, silk items, and ornaments, and interprets them within a broader framework of Buddhist theoretical principals and practice. Not only is this a visual analysis of iconography, it also considers contemporary Buddhist literary evidence that shows the development of the iconography and ideology of the crowned Buddha. As a result of this examination, I propose that the recurring iconographic evidence and the textual evidence underscore the intention to depict a form of sambhogakāya Buddha as an early esoteric meditational construct. Moreover, many Buddhas perform one of the two mudrās that are particular to the esoteric form of Vairocana Buddha. Therefore, the iconography also signifies the ideology of the archetypal Ādi Buddha as an esoteric conception.
History of scholarship and learning. The humanities
Crónica del viaje que realizó un monje budista llamado Hwui Shan que arribó a la tierra del Fusang, probablemente Mesoamérica, entre 499 d. C. y 548 d. C. y que retornó a China con noventa años de edad. En el año 629 d. C. un grupo de historiadores oficiales de la corte de la dinastía Liang documentó el extraordinario viaje de los cinco monjes y sus descripciones de la tierra del Fusang. Extractos del Liáng Shū fueron también incluidos por Ma Taulin o Ma Twan-lin en su enciclopedia histórica llamada Wen-hsien t’ung-K’ao «Investigaciones de antiguallas» publicada por el emperador mongol Jintsung alrededor de 1321. Este artículo nos documenta además la resistencia oficial mexicana para abrirse a la posibilidad de iniciar investigaciones ciertas ya que las ofrecidas hieren cierto orgullo nacionalista de los antropólogos mexicanos e impiden profundizar mediante una investigación multidisciplinaria en la posibilidad de alguna interacción cultural asiática en Mesoamérica
Abstract
Chronicle of the journey made by a Buddhist monk named Hwui Shan who arrived to Fusang, probably Mesoamerica, between AD 499 and AD 548 and returned to China when he was 90 years old. In AD 629, a group of official historians from the court of the Liang dynasty documented the extraordinary journey of five monks and their descriptions of the Fusang. Ma Taulin or Ma Twan-lin's historical encyclopedia called Wen-hsien t'ung-K'ao (“Investigations of Antiques”), published by Mongol emperor Jintsung around 1321, also included excerpts from the Book of Liang or Liáng Shū. This article also documents the Mexican official reluctance to be open to the possibility of initiating true research on this topic since the existing one hurts some kind of nationalistic pride of Mexican anthropologists and prevents to dig into, through multidisciplinary research, the possibility of some Asian cultural interaction in Mesoamerica.