Jade Yoga and Heavenly Dharma

Greek Buddha ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher I. Beckwith
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Warring States Period ◽  
Persian Empire ◽  
Warring States ◽  
Chinese Thought ◽  
Early Buddhism ◽  
Constant State ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter considers the relationship of Early Buddhism to Chinese thought during the Warring States period (ca. 450 BC–221 BC). Chinese thought was in a nearly constant state of flux, if not turmoil, during the Warring States period, which began shortly after the death of Confucius. Ideas related to the Early Buddhism attested in the fragments of Pyrrho and Megasthenes are clearly present in Warring States writings, especially Early Taoist texts, including the Laotzu, the Chuangtzu, as well as the anonymous Jade Yoga Inscription. Some of the Early Taoist material is approximately contemporaneous with Pyrrho and Megasthenes. It seems that this material's appearance in China is connected to the fact that Central Asia, including Bactria and Gandhāra, was part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire down to Alexander's invasion and conquest of the region in 330–325 BC.

Greek Buddha

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher I. Beckwith
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
David Hume ◽  
Indian Philosophy ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Persian Empire ◽  
Warring States ◽  
Northwestern India ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
Early Buddhism ◽  
The Buddha

Pyrrho of Elis went with Alexander the Great to Central Asia and India during the Greek invasion and conquest of the Persian Empire in 334–324 BC. There he met with early Buddhist masters. This book shows how their Early Buddhism shaped the philosophy of Pyrrho, the famous founder of Pyrrhonian scepticism in ancient Greece. The book traces the origins of a major tradition in Western philosophy to Gandhara, a country in Central Asia and northwestern India. It systematically examines the teachings and practices of Pyrrho and of Early Buddhism, including those preserved in testimonies by and about Pyrrho, in the report on Indian philosophy two decades later by the Seleucid ambassador Megasthenes, in the first-person edicts by the Indian king Devanampriya Priyadarsi referring to a popular variety of the Dharma in the early third century BC, and in Taoist echoes of Gautama's Dharma in Warring States China. The book demonstrates how the teachings of Pyrrho agree closely with those of the Buddha Sakyamuni, “the Scythian Sage.” In the process, it identifies eight distinct philosophical schools in ancient northwestern India and Central Asia, including Early Zoroastrianism, Early Brahmanism, and several forms of Early Buddhism. It then shows the influence that Pyrrho's brand of scepticism had on the evolution of Western thought, first in Antiquity, and later, during the Enlightenment, on the great philosopher and self-proclaimed Pyrrhonian, David Hume.

Early Buddhism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinru Liu
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Social Hierarchy ◽  
Persian Empire ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Economic Disparity ◽  
Early Buddhism ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Four Noble Truths

South Asia around the mid-1st millennium bce was a politically and socially turbulent time. Siddhartha, a young man of the Shakya ganasanga, witnessed the cruelty of warfare and the rising social and economic disparity of his time. He realized that the world is full of suffering. This observation evolved into the foremost truth of his doctrine of the Four Noble Truths. This essay will attempt to vividly portray the world of Buddha. It was a world where Brahmans and rajas, merchants and bankers, scribes and artisans, servants and slaves, courtesans-cum-musicians and dancers, farmers and fishermen, and people from mountains and forests, all strived to further (or at least maintain) their place on the newly formed social hierarchy. Some of those from low castes and outside the social core managed to penetrate the mainstream, but some never made it. Others born from elite families were cast out. Meanwhile, the presence of Achaemenid Persian Empire in the northwest of the subcontinent during the Buddha’s time, followed by the establishment of Hellenistic states after Alexander’s invasion in the late 4th century bce, brought new waves of immigration—thus exchanges of goods and ideas—with west and central Asia. Buddhist sangha and other communities of dissidents were refuges for some of the more unfortunate men and women looking for sanctuary. Based on stories in early Buddhist texts, namely the Pali canon and contemporary Brahmana texts (along with inclusion of Buddhist artwork of his time and after, this article will attempt reconstruct the historical Buddha and the time in which he lived.

Teuvoa, a new lichen genus inMegasporaceae(Ascomycota:Pertusariales), includingTeuvoa junipericolasp. nov.

2013 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad SOHRABI ◽  
Steven D. LEAVITT ◽  
Víctor J. RICO ◽  
Mehmet G. HALICI ◽  
Gajendra SHRESTHA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Sister Relationship ◽  
New Synonyms ◽  
Nuclear Its ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe relationship ofAspicilia uxoriswithinMegasporaceaeis assessed within a phylogenetic context. ‘Aspicilia’uxorisand other related species are recovered as sister to the genusLobothallias. str. and described here as a new genus.Teuvoa(Ascomycota,Megasporaceae) is erected based on nuclear ITS and LSU sequence data and morphological characters. In addition toTeuvoa uxoris, a second species,T. junipericola,is added to the new genus based on material collected from North America.Teuvoa junipericola, T. uxorisandT. tibeticaform a group with 8-spored asci, absence of extrolites, rather short-sized conidia and ascospores, lack of a subhypothecial algal layer, and different substratum preferences (on organic substratum) with a sister relationship to genusLobothallias. lat. (AspiciliasubgenusPachyothalliaClauzade & C. Roux). Based on spore measurements of the holotypes,Lecanora ferganensisTomin from central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan),Lecanora atrodiscataGintovt, from Tajikistan andLecanora takyroidesDzhur. from Turkmenistan are new synonyms toT. uxoris. A lectotype forLecanora ferganensisis designated, expanding the known distribution ofT. uxorisfrom Algeria, Morocco and Spain, into Central Asia.

scholarly journals Double-track governance in traditional Chinese society: Dialectics between the enfeoffment system of fiefdom and the bureaucratic prefectural system

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-389
Author(s):  
Jingdong Qu
Keyword(s):  
Historical Change ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Warring States Period ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Warring States ◽  
Dialectical Tension ◽  
Break Up ◽  
Wang Fuzhi ◽  
Double Track ◽  
The Relationship

Beginning in the Yin-Zhou and Qin-Han periods, development of the Chinese imperial system revolved around the dialectical tension between the “enfeoffmental system of fiefdom” ( fengjian zhi, or the fengjian system) and the bureaucratic prefectural system ( junxian zhi, or the junxian system). In Fei Xiaotong’s words, this was a dual-track politics of the “power of the monarch” and the “power of the gentry”. Under the enfeoffmental system of fiefdom, the relationship between the monarch and his kinsfolk was governed by the Confucian hierarchical principle of “favoring the intimate” ( qin-qin) and “respecting the superior” ( zun-zun), and ritualized by the patriarchal order of clan, mourning rites, and ancestral worship. In addition, the “mandate of Heaven” solidified an organic relationship between the emperor and his subjects and became the foundation for monarchical rule. The bureaucratic prefectural system highlighted the historical change since the Warring States period, which had abolished the enfeoffmental fiefdom system and given birth to the concept of “all-under-Heaven” ( gong tianxia). Thinkers like Wang Fuzhi and Gu Yanwu placed emphasis on the enfeoffmental system of fiefdom as a counterpart of to the bureaucratic prefectural system which helped break up the centralization of power and renew the debate on the dialectic between “public” and “private”. In sum, the enfeoffmental system of fiefdom in China still needs to be clarified through re-examining the Classics.

scholarly journals Foreign Policy Interests of the Russian Federation in Central Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-85
Author(s):  
S. N. Pogodin ◽  
T. S. Tarakanova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Asian Region ◽  
Political Analysis ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
Cis Countries ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This work is devoted to the analysis of the evolution priorities and features of the policy declared by Russia in relation to the CIS countries, in particular to the countries of the Central Asian region. Regional policy is important from the viewpoint of building the relationship of a state with a certain region for the realization of its national interests. The article was written using general scientific research methods and methods of political analysis. As a result of the study, the authors concluded that the countries of the Central Asian region occupy a significant place in the Russia’s foreign policy, but there is no clear strategy in relation to the countries of the analyzed region. As for the priorities of Russia’s foreign policy in the countries of Central Asia, they directly depend on the growing importance of the region for the key powers of the world community, especially in terms of energy and security.

scholarly journals Searching for the Way in Life: Yang Zhu’s Theory of Tending Life in Liezi

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (01) ◽  
pp. 140-153
Author(s):  
Nan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Warring States Period ◽  
Main Obstacle ◽  
Warring States ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

Known as a Taoist, Yang Zhuw lived in the Warring States Period. In his only transmitted work named ‘Yangzhu’in Liezi, he presented the “tending life” theory which was considered by most scholars as a sort of “hedonism,”  “extreme egoism” or “indulgence.” However, the “tending life” theory should not be simply regarded as an avocation of physical enjoyment. First, ‘Yangzhu’ defined Tao（the Way） as a “weak power” which only assists things to “auto-generate” and “self-transform,”  so that “tending life” is also a pursuit of the ultimate meaning of Tao. ‘Yangzhu’ further argued that the best way of “tending life” is not to restraint and suppress one’s natural desire, for the realization of “tending life” should be based on the preservation of the body. ‘Yangzhu’ discusses the relationship between the “Ming”(name/reputation) and the “Shi”(Reality), which reveal that the attachment to the “reputation” is the main obstacle of the realization of “tending life.” At last, Yang Zhu proposed that the most ideal life should “roaming as the nature prompt” through a dialectical discussion. Therefore, the theory of “tending life” also reflects a pursuit that to some extent transcends the physical life.

China in the Shadow of Russia: Covert Tools for Expanding China’s Influence over Kyrgyzstan’s Security

2022 ◽  
pp. 097492842110681
Author(s):  
Zamira Tulkunovna Muratalieva ◽  
Asia Tashtanbekovna Esenbekova ◽  
Nadezhda Sergeevna Tatkalo
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Traditional Role ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Private Military Companies ◽  
Military Contractors ◽  
Leading Position ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Depth Interviews

The article examines the set of tools that China is using to expand its influence in Kyrgyzstan’s security sphere and the relationship of these actions to Russia’s traditional role in the region. Through in-depth interviews with experts in the military field, the authors conclude that Beijing is gradually ‘maximising power’ in relation to Russia, which still occupies a leading position in Central Asia (including education and the supply of weapons), in a manner that is non-aggressive and covert. These actions are reflected in the non-institutionalised nature of China’s interactions with countries in the region, which are more beneficial, in contrast, to institutionalised mechanisms. Beijing is betting on its ‘safe city’ system in Central Asia, which will allow the country to solve its own internal problems (Uyghur separatism, terrorism) while also strengthening Chinese influence in the security sphere by permitting it access to the data of Kyrgyz citizens and by making Kyrgyzstan more financially dependent on China; its educational programs for security service employees in Central Asia, which will, in turn, prepare the ground for the legalisation of the activities of Chinese PMCs (military contractors or ‘private military companies’).

Naming and Cosmology: The Role of Names in the Onto-Generative Process

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Katerina Gajdosova
Keyword(s):  
Warring States Period ◽  
Generative Process ◽  
Warring States ◽  
Self Actualization ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Generative Approach

Abstract The article takes the excavated cosmological texts as a basis for reinterpreting the relationship between cosmology, epistemology, and action in Warring States period thought, by focusing on the role of names in situatedness and self-actualization of being. It proposes to view the speculative and the practical concerns in terms of a dynamic union of the receptive and the creative within the onto-generative cycle. Building on Chung-ying Cheng’s onto-generative approach and Heidegger’s hermeneutics of Dasein in Sein und Zeit, the article identifies names as the centre (Gadamer’s Mitte) in which the receptive and the creative aspect of being come together.

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