Hasil untuk "Buddhism"

Yimin Liu

The so-called “counterfeit monks and nuns” 僧尼偽濫 is regarded as an important reason for the “Huichang Persecution of Buddhism” 會昌滅佛, but it reflects the central views of the Tang Dynasty. When we delve into the local society of the Mid-to-Late Tang period, we find that they developed their own narrative logic. From the perspective of the imperial court, Li Deyu 李德裕 criticized Wang Zhixing 王智興 for establishing an ordination altar in Sizhou 泗州 for personal gain. However, in the biographical inscription of monk Mingyuan 明遠 in Sizhou, Wang Zhixing is portrayed as a key figure who collaborated with Mingyuan to ensure the survival of the Kaiyuan Monastery 開元寺, with the inauguration of the ordination altar 戒壇 serving as a necessary means to obtain financial resources. In fact, Mingyuan had previously undertaken a similar operation at the Lingju Monastery 靈居寺 in Liuhe County 六合縣, Yangzhou 揚州. The inscription of the Lingju Monastery Stele 大唐揚州六合縣靈居寺碑 reflects the cooperation between local monks and secular people at that time. During the process of rebuilding the monasteries, Mingyuan cleverly exploited the cult of the divine monk Sengqie 僧伽 within the Society of Jianghuai 江淮. The cult of Sengqie had become a national belief during the Mid-to-Late Tang period, and the existence of the Sengqie pagoda 僧伽塔 made the Kaiyuan Monastery in Sizhou uniquely significant. Later on, Youxuan 幽玄 also carried out similar initiatives by establishing an ordination altar for the restoration at the Baoli Monastery 寶曆寺 in Hongzhou 洪州. If we set aside the shadow of the overarching theme of the Huichang Persecution of Buddhism on the history of Buddhism during the Mid-to-Late Tang period, we may uncover a more vibrant picture of local Buddhism.

Xiaolu Wu

This paper is a case study of the Tang-dynasty Gilded Silver “Bodhisattva Holding up the True Body” (<i>peng zhenshen pusa</i> 捧真身菩薩) Statue (dated 871) excavated from the relic crypt of the Famen Temple pagoda in Fufeng 扶風 County, Shanxi 陝西. Commissioned to commemorate Emperor Yizong 懿宗’s 39th birthday, the statue was designed both to support the Buddha’s relic and to express a wish for the emperor’s longevity. Most strikingly, the Bodhisattva is seated on a three-layered pedestal richly adorned with esoteric Buddhist images and Siddhaṃ scripts. Departing from previous Buddhalogical approaches, this paper suggests that the Famen Temple statue did not serve to illustrate a specific <i>maṇḍala</i>, theological doctrine, or scripture. Instead, together with the five miniature garments interred underneath it, the statue draws upon esoteric ritual technology—particularly the Three Siddhi mantras—as well as cosmological, botanical, and embryological imagery to create a soteriological matrix of bodily transformation for the intended beneficiaries. By situating the object within the historical circumstances and religious practices of the late Tang imperial court, this study illuminates the statue’s conceptual design, symbolic significance, and intended function—namely, to address the patrons’ concerns with spiritual salvation and the renewal of life after death.

Alexandr N. Komandzhaev, Baatr V. Ochirov, Nikolay B. Bovaev

Introduction. The article focuses on the figure of Noyon (Prince) Tseren-David Tundutov, a most renowned Kalmyk nobleman whose multifaceted efforts were derived from the dramatic social upheavals and disturbances of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The topic still remains understudied since earlier works contained only insufficient data which made it virtually impossible to describe his personality in greater detail. Furthermore, the bulk of the former were published in the Soviet era, and the evaluations of Kalmyk noblemen’s endeavors are definitely to be revised. Goals. So, the paper aims to — wherever possible — extensively outline sociopolitical, economic, and household aspects of Noyon Ts.-D. Tundutov’s life. Materials and methods. The study basically employs both general scientific and special historical methods, with particular roles to be played by that of systems analysis and the principle of historicism that have proved instrumental in examining Noyon Ts.-D. Tundutov’s deeds contextually. The principle of objectivity has been secured by specially selected and compared sources of diverse origin, including some newly introduced material pertaining to records management. Results. Noyon Ts.-D. Tundutov was taking a most active part in solving social and political issues that arose from facts of the early twentieth-century Kalmyk life, namely: land and nationality questions, religious problems, economic affairs, and his endeavors as a deputy of the Imperial Duma. Special attention should be paid to the complete data on the Noyon’s real and personal property uniquely published herein. Conclusions. Despite the 1892 Reform had virtually deprived him of any subject commoners he succeeded in gaining opportunities for a successful development of his gardens and farms reported to have became diversified enough. In social and political life, he did achieve a status of somewhat ethnos-wide leader capable of demonstrating personal qualities required by the community in the early twentieth century.

Naan Naan, Siti Aisyah

This study focuses on the discussion of Sufistic meditation as a form of happiness transformation. A discussion that has long been the subject of study. Happiness itself is the hope of everyone, but in reality, the happiness obtained is only false happiness, not eternal happiness. In Buddhist rituals, meditation is a practice that must be done in any school of Buddhism, and this has been a tradition since time immemorial. In this study, meditation from the Sufism perspective is presented as a method to enhance the transformation of true happiness. Meditation according to Buddhism has the same essence as the ritual practices in Islam, only the terms used vary. In Sufism, meditation has a word equivalent to the terms mentioned in Islam, namely Dhikr, tafakkur, mujahadah, muraqobah, riyadhah, and uzlah. In addition, the concept of happiness from several perspectives is also discussed, such as happiness from the perspective of Western psychology, happiness from the Sufistic perspective, and happiness according to experts. The author uses this topic as a study to further explore that Islam also has meditation methods with its perspective, and this Sufistic-based meditation is very supportive to improve the transformation of our spirituality in general and happiness in particular.   Kajian ini memfokuskan pada pembahasan tentang meditasi sufistik sebagai bentuk transformasi kebahagiaan. Suatu pembahasan yang sudah lama menjadi bahan kajian. Sebagaimana kebahagiaan itu sendiri menjadi harapan setiap orang, tetapi pada kenyataannya kebahagiaan yang diperoleh hanyalah kebahagiaan yang bersifat semu, bukan kebahagiaan yang abadi. Dalam ritual agama Buddha, meditasi adalah satu praktik yang harus dilakukan dalam aliran Buddhaisme mana pun, dan ini sudah menjadi tradisi sejak dahulu kala. Dalam kajian ini meditasi perspektif tasawuf hadir sebagai metode untuk meningkatkan transformasi kebahagiaan yang sejati. Meditasi menurut agama Buddha memiliki esensi yang sama dengan ritual praktik yang ada dalam agama Islam, hanya saja istilah yang digunakan beragam. Dalam tasawuf, meditasi mempunyai padanan kata dengan istilah yang disebut dalam agama Islam, yaitu Dzikir, tafakkur, mujahadah, muraqobah, riyadhah, dan uzlah. Selain itu, juga dibahas konsep kebahagiaan dari beberapa perspektif, seperti kebahagiaan perspektif psikologi barat, kebahagiaan perspektif sufistik, dan kebahagiaan menurut para ahli. Topik ini penulis jadikan sebagai kajian pembahasan guna mengeksplorasi lebih jauh bahwa Islam juga mempunyai metode meditasi dengan perspektifnya sendiri, dan meditasi berbasis sufistik ini sangat mendukung untuk meningkatkan transformasi spititualitas kita umumnya dan kebahagiaan khususnya.

Kulchalee Puangpejara, Chavalit Supasaktamrong

The purposes of this research were to: 1) study the local wisdom and cultural capital of the Thai Phuan community at Thanon Yai, Lop Buri Province, and 2) propose guidelines to promote participatory cultural tourism in accordance with wisdom and cultural capital of theThai Phuan community. The informant groups in this study, selected through purposive sampling, were agency executives and academic staff, community leaders and residents in the Thai Phuan community. This included document reviews, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and a community forum. The qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis of the local wisdom and cultural capital of Thai Phun community at Thanon Yai. The findings showed that residents in Thai Phuan community at Thanon Yai were unique in their traditional way of life, that is, having their own spoken language, and manner of adherence to Buddhism. There are sacred places including temples, grandfather shrines and grandmother shrines. They have their own traditions, cultures and local wisdom. In addition, Thanon Yai Sub-district also has a lime soil that can be used to produce white clay filler. The problems faced by theThai Phuan community were: lifestyles of Thai Phuan people were being gradually absorbed into the Thai way of life, Thai Phuan descendants lack awareness and they disregard the traditions of the community, there was no good systematic tourism management, lack of public relations and the government’s budget was insufficient. With regards to the guidelines for Thai Phuan community at Thanon Yai, it is recommended that a committee responsible for tourism should be established. Government sectors should allocate enough budget for supporting tourism cultural activities, improving museums and places, arranging cultural tourism activities, setting a systematic travel route, improving public relations and developing the potential of local tour guides.

Jing Guo

Besides the internal monastic supervision system of the “Three Principal Monks” already prevalent in the Sui and Tang dynasties, an additional lay-involved supervision system of <i>jiansi</i> was further added to the state religious policy to strengthen the control over the autonomy of the Buddhist community. This <i>jiansi</i> system can be seen once in the period of Gaochang Kingdom (449–640) in the Turpan region, and is traceable to the role of the Lay Rectifier of Monks created by Emperor Wu of Liang (r. 502–549) in the Southern dynasty. It is then officially created by Emperor Yang of Sui (r. 604–618) but failed quickly in the Tang dynasty. In the late Tang dynasty, it re-emerged in response to the state’s need to strengthen the control over Buddhist affairs and extended to new grassroots monastic officials such as Monastic Minister and Saṃgha Regulator in the Dunhuang area during the Tibetan occupation period and the Guiyi Army period. Thus, the development and evolution of the <i>jiansi</i> system in this period was both a reflection of the state-religion tension and a sinicization process of Buddhism.

Natchapol Sirisawad

The story of the Śrāvastī miracles is one episode of the Buddha’s biography that is depicted in the art forms of Dvāravatī from about the 7th to the 11th centuries CE. The fact that many artefacts were produced—in such variety, over such a long period, and at so many sites—shows the popularity of the scene of the Śrāvastī miracles in the Dvāravatī culture. The objective of this research paper is to analyze the significance of the story of the Śrāvastī miracles that affected the creation of Dvāravatī art in Thailand by examining the textual sources together with the Dvāravatī artefacts. The analysis shows that the stories of the Śrāvastī miracles were significant in various ways, being one of the Buddha’s necessary deeds, a principal miracle only performed by the Buddha, a means of converting others to Buddhism, and a key source for the idea of making Buddha images as an act of merit. These significant features may explain the popularity of the Śrāvastī miracle theme in Dvāravatī culture.

David W. Kim, Won-Il Bang

While the geopolitics of East Asia is a crucial issue among its nations (Japan, Korea, China, and Vietnam), Chinese culture has been transmitted into the lifestyle and history of each ethnic society in these countries. The globalization of philosophy, cosmology, and literature (either officially or individually) has spurred alternative lines of thought, and the transnational movement of traditional religions was no exception. Korea’s history proves that the fundamental teachings of Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism were passed onto the ancient and medieval kingdoms and dynasties in which they transformed local cultures and structures. The national philosophy of leadership was also affected by the dynamic of Chinese religions rather than that of Shamanism. Daoism arrived at the Goguryeo kingdom in 624 CE, while Buddhism was the key teaching for the establishment of the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Neo-Confucian thought served as one of the most substantial influences for the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Then, how did the Chinese tradition emerge in early Joseon? What was the social function of Jongmyo (宗廟)? How was the metaphysical philosophy of this religion embodied in the royal shrine? This paper explores the history, composition, procedure, and peculiarity of Jongmyo Jerye (ritual), Jerye-ak (musical performance), and architecture to argue that Confucian values of the initial royal religiosity are re-creatively represented in the State Shrine as the intellectual thoughts of the Joseon dynasty (or early modern Korea) in the aspects of Ye (禮, courtesy), Hyo (孝, filial piety), Chung (忠, loyalty), Samjae thought (三才思想), and the Yin-Yang and Five Elements theory (陰陽五行說).

Jaehee Han, Soonil Hwang, Hyebin Lee et al.

Zhi Qian (支謙, fl. ca. 220–257 CE), a prolific Yuezhi-Chinese translator of Indian Buddhist scriptures into Chinese, is widely known for his broad range of styles and terminology. For several decades, his translation activities and his legacy in the history of Chinese Buddhist literature have been a rich field of research, particularly within the context of the transmission of Buddhism from India to China. In the present article, as a follow-up study to “Buddhism for Chinese readers: Zhi Qian’s Literary Refinements in the <i>Foshuo pusa benye jing,</i>” recently published by the authors in this journal, we offer additional reflections on distinctive features of Zhi Qian’s language. We focus on four unusual and interesting renderings in the <i>Foshuo pusa benye jing</i> (佛說菩薩本業經<i>,</i> T. 281), namely (1) <i>santu</i> 三塗; (2) <i>shezui</i> 捨罪; (3) <i>kong</i> 空, <i>wu xiang</i> 無想 and <i>bu yuan</i> 不願; and (4) <i>sishi buhu</i> 四時不護. Through an analysis of these words and phrases, we discuss Zhi Qian’s translation techniques and lexical idiosyncrasies, highlighting their significance in our understanding of the dynamics of language contact and change in the early period of the Chinese Buddhist tradition. Thus, the paper investigates some key Buddhist terms as coined by the early translators on the basis of the classical Chinese and illustrates the semantic changes of the Chinese language taking place in the period as well as influence of Buddhist regimes of knowledge.

Venerable Guan Zhen

To what extent can the practice of Buddhist śamatha and vipaśyanā meditation be seen as “Chinese Chan”? This article takes the initiative to analyze a short yet classical Chinese Buddhist text, the Foundations for Developing Buddhist Tranquility  (Śamatha) and Insight (Vipaśyanā) Meditation童蒙止观. It examines the Foundations’ relationship with the elements of ancient Chinese culture and tradition that impact the practice of śamatha and vipaśyanā meditation. By revealing the fact that the meditation practice presented by the Foundations adopts substantial elements from ancient Chinese culture and tradition, this article suggests that the concept of “Chinese Chan” is significant for understanding the practice of śamatha and vipaśyanā meditation insofar as Chinese context is concerned.

Zhen-Dong Wang, Zhen-Dong Wang, Feng-Yan Wang et al.

Based on the construction of the “Taiji Model of Confucian Self” that aims to explain self-structure, the progression of self-cultivation and the dominion of person-making in the context of Chinese Confucian culture, according to the ideas of Taoism and Buddhism, the present study develops the “Taiji Model of Taoist Self” and the “Taiji Model of Buddhist Self” and identifies four realms of Taoist self-cultivation and five realms of Buddhist self-cultivation. In light of the Taiji Model of Taoist Self, self-structure can be divided into the soft self (the Yin part) and the hard self (the Yang part). The Taiji Model of Taoist Self splits the process of self-cultivation into four realms: suren (vulgarian), xianren (solon), shengren (saint), and zhenren (immortal). The Taiji Model of Buddhist Self splits self-structure into the dusty self (the Yin part) and the pure self (the Yang part) and divides the process of self-cultivation into five realms: Humans and Heaven, Arhat, Pratyekabuddha, Bodhisattva, and Buddha.

Rudolph Bauer

In his later life Maurice Merleau Ponty changed his understanding of how human beings know Being and how human beings know phenomena. His mature understanding went far beyond the early phenomenology of Husserl.  His understanding and intellectual position about the subjectivity of mind alone with its corresponding subject object duality dissolved into a experience of non duality within appearance. His dualistic understanding about Being changed to the vast nondual awareness of Being as the source of both subjectivity and objectivity.

Chiara Neri, Tiziana Pontillo

On the Boundary between "Yogakkhema" in the "Suttapiṭaka" and "Yogakṣema" in the "Upaniṣads" and "Bhagavadgītā" The combination of the stems yoga- and khema-/kṣema- occurs in phrases or compounds in both ancient and in middle Indo-Aryan sources but what is intriguing is that such a combination is generally interpreted as coordinating in the former occurrences and as subordinating in the latter ones. In particular, yogakkhema- within the Buddhist Theravāda Canon and its commentarial literature is regularly analysed as a tatpuruṣa and often translated as ‘freedom from bondage or safety’. We recently presented a part of the Vedic and Pali documentation collected in the context of more broadly shared research on this subject during the 18th Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (Section: “Buddhism and Its relation to other religions”) held at the University of Toronto on August 20th–25th, 2017, now published as Pontillo and Neri 2019. The case of yogakṣema/yogakkhema in Vedic and Suttapiṭaka sources. In response to Norman. In: Journal of Indian Philosophy 47(3): 527–563. Here, we shall take a further step in the above-mentioned comparison by concentrating on the occurrences of the compound yogakṣema/yogakkhema as found in the upaniṣads and in the Bhagavadgītā and in some comparable Suttapiṭaka passages with the aim of understanding what might have been the boundary that this word historically crossed in the framework of an assumed dialogue between different traditions.

Richard Payne

Lina Verchery

This essay takes up a paradoxical problem articulated by Buddhist philosopher, Nishitani Keiji: the eye does not see the eye itself. It argues that film has a therapeutic function by virtue of its ability to draw our attention to this precise aspect of our existential situation; namely, that we alternate between being in our experience and perceiving ourselves in our experience. Or, to borrow Nishitani&rsquo;s terms, we alternate between the act of seeing and the quest to see the eye itself. The essay explores this theme with reference to specific elements of formal cinematic language. Rather than focus on a particular film or set of films for analysis, we focus instead on how the grammar of cinematic language draws our attention to aspects of our existential situation that ordinarily escape our awareness. Insofar as this may also be a goal of Buddhist practice&mdash;that is, to expand one&rsquo;s ability to perceive reality for what it is, beginning with one&rsquo;s own experience of it&mdash;this essay highlights a few of the salient ways that perennial aspects of the human condition have been articulated through the languages of both Buddhism and film.

Mojca Krevel

The article addresses issues concerning objective, or systemic, violence which legitimizes and conditions other forms of violence – psychological, economic, sexual, physical, etc. These issues are approached from the perspective of frustrations and traumas experienced by individuals as a consequence of the shift of the sociohistorical paradigm, which has so far been principally governed by the mechanisms and interests of global postindustrial capitalism. Through the analysis of the status of reality and subject in A Tale for the Time Being, a 2013 novel by Japanese-American author Ruth Ozeki, I first identify the violent and traumatic aspects of contemporary conditions as experienced by the protagonists in the novel. Then, Ozeki’s literary scenario for improving quotidian existence of individuals via internalization of Dogen’s Zen Buddhist principles is assessed from the perspective of the philosophical definitions of the categories of subject and reality in postmodernity, as well as in relation to the actual conditions in the global consumerist societies of the digital age. The article maintains that Ozeki’s solution of the protagonists’ existential crises is rather significant since the fundamental premises of Zen Buddhism correspond to the metaphysical structuring of postmodernity. The novel hence illuminates the productive facets of the fractal nature of postmodern individuals, as well as the role literature can play in their concretisation.

David McMahan

Badaruddin Mohamed, Salasiah Che Lah, Noor Azam Azmi

This article aimed to provide documentation of information relating to local intelligence from the older generations, specifically the local intelligence of the Chinese community on gemstones.To better understand this issue, an informal interview had been conducted on an informant from the Chinese community who has vast experiences dealing with gemstone crafting. Literature reviews were also carried out to further understand the issue under discussion. It can be assumed that religion is the main factor influencing the use of gemstones among ancient Chinese. Although other aspects such as luck, prestige, and healing may also exist, the reasons would be solely based on the teachings of Buddhism. In summary, every God’s creations possess benefits and it is up to human to utilise them in either beneficial or adverse ways

Jennifer Dumpert

Anna Seo

Xu Guangqi is one of the most influential Chinese scholars who accepted Christian faith during the late Ming dynasty. His idea of “supplementing Confucianism and replacing Buddhism by Christianity” had great impact on the development of Christianity in China. His idea, however, has often been accused of syncretism, and genuineness of his Christian faith has been put into question. Some argue that his theology lacks Christology. Others suggest that his ultimate goal was to achieve the Confucian political ideals through adopting some of the Christian moral teachings. Through the analysis of Xu Guangqi’ works and life, we find that he accepted all the essential Christian doctrines and Christology is the core of his understanding of “Tianzhu”. His view on Confucianism itself is transformed through Christian perspective. In his new understanding, the ultimate goal of Confucianism is to serve and to worship “Tianzhu”，same as Christianity. The ultimate problem of life is to save one’s soul.Xu Guangqi considered his scientific works as a way to propagate Christian faith, since science was seen as an integral part of Christian thought and practice. His idea of “supplementing Confucianism by Christianity” integrated Confucianism into the overarching framework of Christian thought.