Genesis of Buddhism in Japan: The Age of Nara – The Tokugawa Period

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4-1) ◽  
pp. 42-56
Author(s):  
Irina Rodicheva ◽  
◽  
Olga Novikova ◽  

This article considers the genesis and development of Buddhism in Japan from the age of Nara to the Tokugawa period. Revealing the problems of the first six philosophical and religious schools of academic Buddhism, namely Kusha, Sanron, Jōjitsu, Hosso, Risshu and Kegon, the authors of the article sought to fully explore the basic foundations of the philosophy of each of them, delve into the linguistic nuances of Japanese and Sanskrit terms, touching on such aspects like dharma, dukha, anatmavada, shunyata or emptiness, the "two truths" of the Buddha's teachings, etc. The text focuses on the role of Buddhism in the Nara period, it explores the main purpose of monks and the system of "local" temples which was not only an intellectual support of that era, but also played the role of an important military force. Drawing an analogy with the philosophy of the Rinzai-shu and Soto-shu schools, the authors analyze the expansion of the line of succession in Zen by monitoring the formation of groups of thinkers, their development and emergence of cultural capital through long-term discussions and continuous reflection over several generations. The work pays special attention to significant figures in Japanese Buddhism, it outlines the role of philosophical creativity, examines the social and religious transformations that occur over different eras and periods. The question of redistribution of power and basic economic resources, suppression of Buddhism, emergence of anti-Buddhist positions and formation of new doctrines are touched upon. As a result of the study, the genesis of Buddhism was described through the prism of Japanese culture, the trajectory of its development from inception to transformation processes in new trends as well as social phenomena that sometimes gave rise to a creative or destructive tendency and influenced the course of history. The authors note that Japanese society that tends to a greater extent towards abstraction and aesthetic pleasure managed to assimilate to the new realities of life and new teachings with pinpoint accuracy, transforming Buddhism into its culture and polishing and refining it in the Japanese style.

Author(s):  
Liesel Mack Filgueiras ◽  
Andreia Rabetim ◽  
Isabel Aché Pillar

Reflection about the role of community engagement and corporate social investment in Brazil, associated with the presence of a large economic enterprise, is the major stimulus of this chapter. It seeks to present how cross-sector governance can contribute to the social development of a city and how this process can be led by a partnership comprising a corporate foundation, government, and civil society. The concept of the public–private social partnership (PPSP) is explored: a strategy for building a series of inter-sectoral alliances aimed at promoting the sustainable development of territories where the company has large-scale enterprises, through joint efforts towards integrated long-term strategic planning, around a common agenda. To this end, the case of Canaã dos Carajás is introduced, a municipality in the State of Pará, in the Amazon region, where large-scale mining investment is being carried out by the mining company Vale SA.


Author(s):  
James ROSE

ABSTRACT Within the context of the work and achievements of James Croll, this paper reviews the records of direct observations of glacial landforms and sediments made by Charles Lyell, Archibald and James Geikie and James Croll himself, in order to evaluate their contributions to the sciences of glacial geology and Quaternary environmental change. The paper outlines the social and physical environment of Croll's youth and contrasts this with the status and experiences of Lyell and the Geikies. It also outlines the character and role of the ‘Glasgow School’ of geologists, who stimulated Croll's interest into the causes of climate change and directed his focus to the glacial and ‘interglacial’ deposits of central Scotland. Contributions are outlined in chronological order, drawing attention to: (i) Lyell's high-quality observations and interpretations of glacial features in Glen Clova and Strathmore and his subsequent rejection of the glacial theory in favour of processes attributed to floating icebergs; (ii) the significant impact of Archibald Geikie's 1863 paper on the ‘glacial drift of Scotland’, which firmly established the land-ice theory; (iii) the fact that, despite James Croll's inherent dislike of geology and fieldwork, he provided high-quality descriptions and interpretations of the landforms and sediments of central Scotland in order to test his theory of climate change; and (iv) the great communication skills of James Geikie, enhanced by contacts and evidence from around the world. It is concluded that whilst direct observations of glacial landforms and sediments were critical to the long-term development of the study of glaciation, the acceptance of this theory was dependent also upon the skills, personality and status of the Geikies and Croll, who developed and promoted the concepts. Sadly, the subsequent rejection of the land-ice concept by Lyell resulted in the same factors challenging the acceptance of the glacial theory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-223
Author(s):  
Nadir N. Budhwani ◽  
Gary N. McLean

The Problem There is a growing need to explore the role of the centuries-old tradition of Sufism and its teachings which, through social movements, have contributed to, and continue to influence, human resource development (HRD) at various levels—individual, group, organization, community, nation, and international. The Solution To address this need, we present cases of social movements inspired by Sufi teachings in selected parts of the world. We discuss, using literature and personal experiences, links among Sufi teachings, social movements, and HRD, and provide a framework for understanding Sufi teachings within the context of the social movement phenomenon. We end with recommendations for practice and research. The Stakeholders We target broadening the horizons of HRD researchers, practitioners, civil society members, and social movement activists, encouraging them to address long-term changes and collective learning through the quest for unconditional love and liberation, which represent the core of Sufi teachings.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidney Tarrow

Movements and parties have given rise to two largely separates specialties in the social sciences. This Element is an effort to link the two literatures, using evidence from American political development. It identifies five relational mechanisms governing movement/party relations: two of them short term, two intermediate term, and one long-term. It closes with a reflection on the role of movement/party relations in democratization and for democratic resilience.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Koziura

This article is part of the special cluster titled Bukovina and Bukovinians after the Second World War: (Re)shaping and (re)thinking a region after genocide and ‘ethnic unmixing’, guest edited by Gaëlle Fisher and Maren Röger. This article explores ways in which Habsburg nostalgia has become an important factor in contemporary place-making strategies in the city of Chernivtsi, Western Ukraine. Through the analysis of diasporic homecomings, city center revitalization, and nationalist rhetoric surrounding the politics of monuments, I explore hybrid and diverse ways in which Habsburg nostalgia operates in a given setting. Rather than a static and homogenous form of place attachment, in Chernivtsi different cultural practices associated with Habsburg nostalgia coexist with each other and depending on the political context as well as the social position of the “nostalgic agents” manifest themselves differently. Drawing from my long-term ethnographic fieldwork, I argue that in order to fully understand individuals’ attachment to space, it is necessary to grasp both the subtle emotional ways in which the city is experienced by individuals as well as problematize the role of the built environment in the visualization of collective memory and emotions of particular groups. The focus on changing manifestations of the Habsburg nostalgia can bring then a better understanding of the range and scope of the city’s symbolic resources that might be mobilized for various purposes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen L. Idler ◽  
David A. Boulifard ◽  
Richard J. Contrada

Marriage has long been linked to lower risk for adult mortality in population and clinical studies. In a regional sample of patients ( n = 569) undergoing cardiac surgery, we compared 5-year hazards of mortality for married persons with those of widowed, separated or divorced, and never married persons using data from medical records and psychosocial interviews. After adjusting for demographics and pre- and postsurgical health, unmarried persons had 1.90 times the hazard of mortality of married persons; the disaggregated widowed, never married, and divorced or separated groups had similar hazards, as did men and women. The adjusted hazard for immediate postsurgical mortality was 3.33; the adjusted hazard for long-term mortality was 1.71, and this was mediated by married persons’ lower smoking rates. The findings underscore the role of spouses (both male and female) in caregiving during health crises and the social control of health behaviors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetiana Kolodizieva

The article explores theoretical and methodical aspects of managing dual relationships that arise between participants in logistic cooperation in the process of formation and functioning of supply chains. The use of a behavioral approach to defining supply chains has allowed identifying and justifying the priority role of behavioral factors that influence modern logistics entities and determine the effectiveness and long-term satisfaction with logistics cooperation. Given the literature summary, the study has classified types of cooperation in logistic activity and proved that among the behavioral factors influencing the of logistical cooperation efficiency, the trust is of particular importance, which remains a limitation, a bottleneck in the process of formation and development of dual relationships in logistics chains. It is proposed to introduce a generic indicator, namely the level of confidence in the supply chain to assess the social, economic and strategic aspects of logistics interaction. A methodological approach to assessing the level of trust in logistic cooperation was adjusted based on determining the composition of criteria that directly affect this indicator and using the expert survey of supply chain participants. The study proposes to use the confidence indicator to form and improve networks and supply chains, taking into account its value when constructing a generalized outsourcing model.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Vesna Srnic ◽  
Emina Berbic Kolar ◽  
Igor Ilic

<p><em>In addition to the well-known classification of long-term and short-term memory, we are also interested in distinguishing episodic, semantic and procedural memory in the areas of linguistic narrative and multimedial semantic deconstruction in postmodernism. We compare the liveliness of memorization in literary tradition and literature art with postmodernist divisions and reverberations of traditional memorizations through human multitasking and performative multimedia art, as well as formulate the existence of creative, intuitive and superhuman paradigms.</em></p><em>Since the memory can be physical, psychological or spiritual, according to neurobiologist Dr. J. Bauer (Das Gedächtnis des Körpers, 2004), the greatest importance for memorizing has the social role of collaboration, and consequently the personal transformation and remodelling of genomic architecture, yet the media theorist Mark Hansen thinks technology brings different solutions of framing function (Hansen, 2000). We believe that postmodern deconstruction does not necessarily damage memory, especially in the field of human multitasking that utilizes multimedia performative art by means of anthropologization of technology, thereby enhancing artistic and affective pre&amp;post-linguistic experience while unifying technology and humans through intuitive empathy in society.</em>


Author(s):  
Defne Ozonur

Various definitions of alternative media have been put forward and a number of approaches to determining “alternative” suggested. Many theorists emphasize the administrative/organizational aspects of alternative media. Critics of this approach point out that such organizational structures can also be used in media advancing repressive ideas and argue instead for a focus on content. A more radical approach argues that to be determined as alternative, the content of any media must be critical. However, little attention has been given to what constitutes “critical content.” This study stands in the tradition of Marxist criticism and applies dialectical method to analyzing and understanding the social phenomena of critical content, arguing that only such an approach can reveal the social and political role of media for it to be considered alternative. From this perspective, alternative media can be seen as a theoretical weapon in the struggle for self-emancipation, as is dialectical materialist philosophy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio I. M. Poppi

Abstract In this article, I identify and describe multimodal hybrid metaphors—the conceptual representation of two elements represented as merged into a new single ‘gestalt’—represented by the machine and human body domains in “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” (鉄男: Tetsuo), a Japanese avant-garde film. Since “Tetsuo: The Iron Man” portrays the genesis of a man whose body becomes a human-machine hybrid, I explore to what extent this film can act as an example of how hybrid metaphors are conveyed. In line with the ideological function of metaphors, where the use of alternative metaphors may produce different meanings and potentially have different effects on the recipient, I also try to interpret how these hybrid metaphors reveal information about the contemporary Japanese society. Specifically, the ideological analysis considers how the notion of ‘artificial’ and the social phenomena of misogyny, homophobia and social deviance are held to characterise the post-World War II Japanese culture.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document