Due to the contemporary trend of "Humanistic Buddhism" in China, the spread of the Buddhist culture has exhibited peculiar propensities of modernization and secularization. Since the 1990s, Fujian and Taiwanese Buddhist animations have had a broad impact on Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and other Chinese diaspora communities. In the present context, the ideals of "Non-Duality of Principle and Phenomena" and "Integration of Doctrinal Teaching and Chan Practice", in Chinese Buddhist tradition, are vividly reflected in these effects. It has a transitional spectrum from "the sacred" to "the secular": not only is it subjected to traditional iconography and pattern plots, but also formal adjustments to the specifics of audiovisual media. It means the different traditions of audiovisual media have variations, especially those which prepare animation. Moreover, in the protracted mediation of, on the one hand, "Principal" as compared to "Phenomena", on the other hand, "speech" as compared to "Chan", there have gradually arisen three principal forms of Buddhist animations, including Scriptural Animation, Doctrinal Animation and Buddha-nature Animation.
Submission: 17/11/2025 – Decision: 15/12/2025 – Revision: 21/1/2026 – Publication: 30/1/2026
This article compares the precept revival movements in Korean and Japanese Buddhism in the early modern period. It examines how monks in both countries, in particular, in the Korean Hyujŏng lineage and the Japanese Shingon sect, restored and utilized the precept tradition to re-establish Buddhist identity in the midst of rapid political and social change. Although in different ways, Buddhism in the early modern period in both countries experienced state control and an anti-Buddhist milieu, making it difficult to maintain its religious identity. Various efforts were made to overcome this hardship, the most prominent of which was the precept revival movement. In the early 19th century, in Chosŏn Korea, Taeŭn and Paekp’a sought to restore the bhikṣu lineage by overhauling the bhikṣu ordination rituals through the “reception of the precepts through an auspicious sign” and “the reception of the ten wholesome precepts”, respectively, while in mid-to-late 18th-century Japan, the Shingon master Jiun advocated a return to the teachings of Śākyamuni through the Shōbō-ritsu movement. While both countries focused on precept revival as a way to solidify Buddhist religious identity, Korea emphasized the restoration of the bhikṣu lineage, while Japan, especially in the Shingon-shū, emphasized a return to the fundamental teachings of the Buddha. These differences stem from the unique historical backgrounds of the two countries and the distinctive developments of their Buddhist traditions. By comparing the precept revival movements in both countries, this study examines how different precept traditions influenced the identity of East Asian Buddhism in the early modern period and how these efforts have been fundamental in maintaining Buddhist orthodoxy into the modern era.
This study utilized an actual participant qualitative field research paradigm to collect data for examining and analyzing the work of a clinical Buddhist chaplain within a rural, Catholic medical center in the US. Quantitative data collected from patient visits (n=1,329; total visits (tv.)=1,443) provided information for measuring the spiritual care needs of patients and the efficiency and consistency of a clinical Buddhist chaplain’s work. The results demonstrate that prayers and pastoral counseling for Catholic and Protestant patients (n=1,265; 95.17%) comprised the dominant work content of a clinical Buddhist chaplain. This study suggests that traditional Christian chaplaincy is practiced even by Buddhist chaplains in a rural, religious medical institution.
After Buddhism spread to the Zhejiang, it underwent sinicization, giving rise to Chinese Buddhist architecture and forming a secularized character. The spatial-temporal distribution of historical Buddhist architecture in Zhejiang is strongly representative of Buddhist architecture. From the perspective of religious cultural geography, this study takes 11 prefecture-level cities of Zhejiang as the basic research units, and employs the spatial-analysis method of ArcGIS to analyze the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of representative historical Buddhist architectural samples, and to explore the factors affecting their distribution. The research results indicate that the spatial distribution of representative historical Buddhist architectural samples in the Zhejiang is extensive, with a distinct single-core clustering characteristic. The mean-center movement of the representative historical Buddhist architectural samples in Zhejiang during different historical periods manifests in four distinct directional phases, overall moving from north to south. Natural, transportation, political, technological, economic, and religious cultural transmission factors collectively influence the spatial-temporal distribution of Buddhist architecture in Zhejiang. Especially the secularization of Buddhism and the syncretism of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism have been the primary drivers in the spatial-temporal distribution evolution of Buddhist architecture.
The exchanges between Manichaeism and Buddhism are one of the most-discussed topics in the religious study of Central Asia. Old Uyghur materials are often used in these discussions because the Uyghurs experienced the religious shift from Manichaeism to Buddhism. The sources attest that Manichaean and Buddhist communities co-existed under Uyghur rule, although the period of co-existence was limited. Thus, the texts produced in that period could show traces of exchange between these two religious communities. Previous studies, however, concentrate on the religious exchanges and do not consider the Uyghurs’ literary tradition, their historical background, and the language development in Old Uyghur. This paper re-examines the materials cited in previous studies, reconsiders exchanges between the two religious communities under Uyghur rule, and addresses the results of this survey.
With the accumulation of social understanding and practical experience of mindfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation has been accepted and applied by more people in practical life situations. Mindfulness meditation has become one of the important research topics today. Due to the current research focus being more on the correlation research and hypothesis description of influencing factors of mindfulness meditation, there is less empirical research on the mechanism exploration of mindfulness meditation. Further summarize the existing relevant research results and methods, and explore the psychological mechanisms of mindfulness meditation from its origins, concepts, and development, providing case and theoretical support for subsequent empirical research on mechanisms. A large number of researchers have found that mindfulness meditation has a positive regulatory effect on negative emotions in various contexts, and the concept of “mind” related to Buddhism and Zen in mindfulness meditation has similarities with the self-concept studied in Western psychology. Correctly understand the complexity of the development of mindfulness meditation, grasp core concepts in future empirical exploration and research on the psychological mechanisms of mindfulness meditation, and fully utilize new technologies to create more possibilities.
Emotion regulation is essential for healthy living. Previous studies have found that mental training such as compassion meditation could help with emotion regulation. However, the underlying neural mechanism and possible intervention strategies of group-based Mahayana Buddhist intervention involved in emotion regulation are still unclear. This event-related potential (ERP) study investigated how compassion and wisdom meditations, two key components of the Awareness Training Program (ATP), may regulate emotion during different mental processing stages, namely attention deployment, cognitive change, and response modification. Eighty-five middle-aged working adults with moderate stress were voluntarily recruited for this study, using a 128-channel electroencephalogram system. After 7 weeks of training, participants (ATP attendance, n = 42; waitlist control, n = 43) were instructed to view negative pictures while practicing compassion or wisdom meditation, with corresponding priming words. Another normal priming condition and a neutral picture condition were set as control conditions. ERP results in the ATP group showed that negative pictures induced greater prefrontal activity (N400 component) in both compassion and wisdom meditation conditions compared with the normal condition, while the control group showed little difference between the conditions. Significantly higher heart rate variability was found in the compassion but not wisdom meditation when compared with the neutral priming condition. Correspondent changes in behavioural data were also found. Converging evidence showed that compassion meditation training could modulate negative emotion processing in stages of attention deployment, cognitive change, and behavioural responses. The prefrontal lobe could play an important role in the process of emotion regulation by compassion meditation, possibly due to the emphasis of the ATP on contemplative practices.
Introduction. The contemporary transformation of the place and role attributed to shamanism in social structures cannot be explained in isolation from social and political trends. Goals. The study aims at revealing causes of shamanism’s revival in post-Soviet Russia, analyzing the latter’s mechanisms, and attempts an efficient policy roadmap that could be followed by the Government. Materials and methods. The comparative historical method identifies structural inconsistencies between official clerics and institutions supposed to sustain intrasystemic balance in human society — and individual shamans performing similar functions in the so called ‘big universe’ that additionally comprises the world of natural phenomena and that of spirits. Results. The paper shows that when social institutions headed by authorities are capable of securing acceptable solutions for most problems of an individual citizen, shamanism tends to turn vividly oppositional and retains its potentials in ‘peripheries’ only — within ‘gaps’ of social systems. Meanwhile, the experiences of post-Soviet Buryatia attest to that in acute crisis shamanism may be recruited again to tackle actual mundane objectives. In this case, it becomes an important structural element to a wider social relations system with boundaries of society proper further extended. Conclusions. The paper asserts the latter phenomenon may imply an efficient strategy be incorporation of shamans into the public law field with limited allocations of specific resources owned by the Government only. This may result in that the former’s spiritual potentials and impacts be used to common advantage — to avoid takeovers by spiritual leaders from peripheries of social systems.
History (General), Oriental languages and literatures
There are phenomena of Chan Buddhism as philosophical and religious dogma and embodiment of
its rules in the center of the article. Study object is poetry of monks and nuns written during Song dynasty
(lyrics of Dumu Jingang, Zhenru, Daoqian and Daoqiang).
The study is based on the works of the Chinese (Hu Shih), Ukrainian (N. S. Isaieva), Russian (M.I. Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya, M.S. Ulanov), French (H.Ciхоus, C. Clement), Germany (S. Weigel) and American
(N. Miller) researchers. However, in the same time we have noticed lack of the works addressed to analysis
of the Chan poetry, its’ themes, images and symbols, so this space is ready and open for follow-up study.
The main purpose of the article is to highlight the common and distinctive features of poetic works
written by women and men as well as to designate level of themes transformation specific for Chan Buddhist poetry written by nuns and monks of Song Dynasty after analyzing meanings and poetics of their
poetry.
To achieve this goal, several methods were used – hermeneutic, historical and cultural, historical and
literary, comparative methods as well as semantic and poetical analysis. This methodological base allow
considering the lyrics of monks and nuns through the prism of the right explanation. Moreover, it help us
to analyze gender and religious components, so we have highlighted the characteristics that are common
and different for the Buddhist poetry of women and men.
The article claims that particulary interesting point for researchers in feminist literary studies is the
question of whether the text of a female author is different from the text of a male author. The French theorist of feminist literary studies E. Cixоus and the American psychologist N. Miller argue that the «female
style» exists, but it is quite difficult to describe. According to the German literary critic S. Weigel and Doctor of Philology N.S. Isaeva, there are certain specific features that are inherent in works of art written by
women (discontinuity, indentation, inconsistency, subjectivity, the desire for pleasure, the description of
their own feelings), and for works written by men (logic, regularity, objectivity).
If take a look at the issue of «female» and «male» style from the standpoint of Chan Buddhism, the
closest position will be a completely different one. In some theoretical works concerning «feminine» it has
been repeatedly emphasized that it does not oppose «masculine», because «feminine» by its nature denies the binary, dichotomy and hierarchy of created structures (including textual). Similarly, the chan denies any opposition and contrast.
The results of our research show that Chan Buddhist poetry has a lot of themes created by using Chan
Buddhist images and symbols. We have established that due to approach of Chan women and men are collateral because there is no dualism in the world, but after conducting a gender study we found that despite the principles of Chan Buddhism, it is still possible to identify similar and different features in the poetry of monks and nuns. We have found some transformation in the poetry written by men and women: at
the level of themes, at the level of stylistic devices, as well as in the emotional component of poetry. Firstly, there are some themes which are found only in the poetry of monks: the theme of equality of everyone
in front of Buddhist teachings, the theme of solitude (loneliness) or the theme of excommunication from
the vain world, the theme of liberation from suffering (worries and attachments), the theme of meditative practices, the theme of accessibility of Chan teachings for everyone, the theme of suffering, the theme
of harmony. Accordingly, in the lyrics of the nuns we found out the theme of joy, the theme of death, the
theme of illusory contradictions. Secondly, there are small amount of stylistic devices in the Chan lyrics,
but, despite this, we have concluded that only epithets are common to both the poems of monks and the
poems of nuns. Antithesis and rhetorical questions are a sign of «male» style, and hyperbole is inherent in
«female» style. Thirdly, the poetry of monks are objective and rational, what is a characteristic of «male»
literature, while the poems of nuns are characterized by subjectivity and sensuality, what is a characteristic
of «female» literature.
On the contrary, we have detected that some themes are common for the monks’ and nuns’ poetry:
theme of life’s worldliness, theme of meditation, theme of ease and lightness, theme of contradictions’ illusory, theme of isolation and solitude, theme of separation people to Chan Buddhists and laymen. To embody these themes authors used different images and symbols and such variety of stylistic devices shows
that individual styles of writing in Chan Buddhism exist even though it may seem impossible in religious poetry, which conveys ideas of the certain religious doctrine.
In summary, there is a plenty of Chan lyrics that have not been researches by Chinese scientists.
Moreover, this poetry haven’t even been translated into other languages, hence, haven’t been analyzed
and expounded by not Chinese researchers, so it is long-rage field to be researched.
Background: The perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) and their victims have different emotional states. Abusers typically have problems associated with low self-esteem, low self-awareness, violence, anger, and communication, whereas victims experience mental distress and physical pain. The emotions surrounding IPV for both abuser and victim are key influences on their behavior and their relationship. Methods: The objective of this pilot study was to examine emotional and psychological interactions between IPV abusers and victims using quantified electroencephalogram (QEEG). Two abuser–victim case couples and one non-abusive control couple were recruited from the Mental Image Recovery Program for domestic violence victims in Seoul, South Korea, from 7–30 June 2017. Data collection and analysis were conducted using BrainMaster and NeuroGuide. The emotional pattern characteristics between abuser and victim were examined and compared to those of the non-abusive couple. Results: Emotional states and reaction patterns were different for the non-abusive and IPV couples. Strong delta, theta, and beta waves in the right frontal and left prefrontal lobes were observed in IPV case subjects. This indicated emotional conflict, anger, and a communication block or impaired communication between abuser and victim. Conclusions: Our study findings suggest brainwave control training via neurofeedback could be a possible therapy in managing emotional and communication problems related to IPV.
In Chan/Seon/Zen (禪, hereafter referred to as Chan) Buddhism, the <i>gongan</i> (公案), a word that can be literally translated as “public case”, is conceived as both the tool by which enlightenment is brought about and an expression of the enlightened mind itself. Among the diverse styles of <i>gongan</i>, perhaps the most puzzling is a form of its key phrase, <i>huatou</i> (話頭), that utilizes specific things in the world. These things are either real and empirically observable, or conversely, unreal and merely hypothetical. A typical example is the figure of the “cypress tree in the front yard”. This paper tries to demonstrate that such a <i>huatou</i> has a structural similarity to the <i>dṛṣṭānta</i> (喩), an element within the three-part syllogism of Buddhist logic, insomuch as it functions as an epistemic instrument for the disclosing of a truth.
Anthropological, sociological, and bioethical research suggest that various agencies affect one’s relationship with the dying process and end-of-life decisions. Agencies include the media, medical professionals, culture, and religion. Observing the prevalence of meditations and rituals relating to death at Thrangu Monastery Canada, I wanted to investigate how the latter two agencies in particular, namely culture and religion, impacted the monastery members’ views on the dying process. During 2018 interviews, I asked their opinions on the meaning of dying well, and on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), which was legalized in Canada in 2016. Although some scriptural examinations have suggested that voluntary euthanasia is contrary to Buddhist teachings, the majority of the monastery’s respondents support MAID to some degree and in some circumstances. Moral absolutes were not valued as much as autonomy, noninterference, wisdom, and compassion.
Elżbieta Bernaciak, Paulina Farbicka, Aleksandra Jaworska-Czerwińska
et al.
Introduction: Medical staff in Poland increasingly take care of a person representing a different culture.
Aim: To know nurses' knowledge about the customs of people presenting different religions and cultural issues in modern health care.
Method: The authoring three-part questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge of multiculturalism. Nonparametric tests were used for the comparison of variables: Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA and Wilcoxon pair order.
Results: The overall level of knowledge of different cultures /religions was 8.00 for the whole study group. The highest level of knowledge among nurses was knowledge about Buddhism (1.00) and the lowest level about Hinduism (0.40).
Conclusions: Most people did not have any lecture on multiculturalism in medicine during their education. The basic concepts of Judaism, Islam and Christianity are very well known. The knowledge of customs in different religions is small. Adaptation of multicultural education curricula in medical schools is an essential factor to ensure patients and their families appropriate conditions in the Polish health service.
There was no conflict of interest.
Since the expansion of Japanese comic books throughout western countries, the so-called “manga style” has get attention from audiences and theorists. But how can we identify such Japaneseness? Trying to fulfill readers` interests, books have been published under the how-to-draw-manga label, usually highlighting the visual composition of characters, from clothes to facial expressions to hairstyle. From the academic perspective, particularities of page layout have been also considered since Pierre Fresnault-Deruelle`s idea of tabularity. Such structuralist perspective is also echoed by contemporary scholars such as Benoît Peeters and Thierry Groensteen. Investigations on what is called the “grammar of mangas” were also proposed by Neil Cohn or Scott McCloud (or at least based on his contributions). But what are they referring to by “manga”? Artists from all around the world translate mangas into transnational experiences. This study proposes a wider understanding of the manga narrative style and its particular aesthetic influence on readers. The study focuses on the Asian philosophies of Tao and Buddhism, identifying how their ideals are articulated to promote reader’s immersion in the narrative. The article investigates the visual representations of the Taoist idea of vacuum and the Zen idea of trivia, which characterize the visual and narrative fluidity of manga – especially those whose stories are based on everyday life.
French literature - Italian literature - Spanish literature - Portuguese literature, Social Sciences
This article sheds light on the ways that mindfulness self-help literature carries with it a number of built-in tensions. First, mindfulness questions whether there exists a fixed self, yet the self-help genre’s focus on a You that is encouraged to change – a self that is performing work on itself – seems to reinforce the notion of a self. Second, though mindfulness is demarcated as something different than quick-fix techniques for self-improvement, the reader is presented with numerous techniques and methods for observing, assessing, testing and documenting the self. Third, while destructive thoughts and emotions are not to be “fixed” or resisted, the explicit goal is to become free of them. Finally, although mindfulness refers to our stressful and self-absorbed culture as a problem, part of its cultural dissemination has been through a genre that more than others emphasize self-investigation as a pathway to self-improvement.
Intention of this article is illustration of that which is in Buddhist terminology called ‘female aspect’, a feature that manifests in every sentient being regardless of gender or religious views. The article is based on the teaching of one of the well-known masters of Tibetan Buddhism Machig Labdron (1055–1145), the founder of a unique transmission lineage known as The Chod of Mahāmudrā. According to her teaching, female principle manifests on three levels. The article is structured with three respective subtitles that elaborate on the three levels of the main concern in more detail. The article does not only try to present the female aspect in itself, but also in its relation to the whole.