scholarly journals Dharma-based person-centered approach in Japan

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Zen Buddhism ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Pure Land ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Human Relationships ◽  
Counseling Group ◽  
The Buddha ◽  
Person Centered Approach ◽  
Jodo Shinshu

My presentation is based on my personal experience of a psychology professor and a long-term leader of the “Shinchu Counseling” group. There are three reasons for this presentation. First, within themselves, Buddhism and PCs are inextricably linked with each other. Secondly, I would like to present at this international forum a Buddhist school to which I belong. In Japan, it is called Jodo Shinshu, or simply Shinshu. In English, it was introduced as Buddhism by Jodo Shinshu, Buddhism, Shin, or True Buddhism of Pure Land. Jodo Shinshu is the most influential Buddhist school in Japan; She has the largest following and more deeply rooted in the spiritual life of the Japanese than Zen Buddhism, which is more widely known outside of Japan. Thirdly, my sincere desire is to deepen the link between Shinshu and SPS at the levels of theory and practice so that the “counseling of Shinshu” helped create a new look at humanity and new human relationships for the 21st century. I believe that the term “Buddha Dharma” better reflects the religious system, which is commonly called Buddhism. The reason is that it is a way of life for all mankind, and not simply “ism”, which is a system of thinking. Buddha Shakyamuni has achieved an ideal awakening to the truth and reality of human suffering, and this awakening is called “wisdom”. From condolence to people, he decided to share his realization with them in order to free them from suffering. Since it came from the highest awakening of the Buddha and contains the dynamic power of human salvation based on its wisdom and compassion, I want to call Buddha's doctrine the “Dharma Buddha” in order to help people, solve their suffering and torture. I believe that the Dharma Buddha can be closely linked to psychotherapy, counseling and other activities aimed at helping people in a difficult position.

Materiality and Spiritual Economies in Premodern Japanese Buddhism: A Problem in Historical Change

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galen Amstutz
Keyword(s):  
Good Deal ◽  
Historical Change ◽  
Japanese History ◽  
Pure Land ◽  
Japanese Buddhism ◽  
Pure Land Buddhism ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Cognitive Shift ◽  
Jodo Shinshu

Abstract The recent emphasis on materiality in religion has encouraged a good deal of attention to materiality in Buddhism, but that attention has fallen entirely on Buddhist traditions with conventional monastic orientations. Yet the major Japanese Buddhist school known as True Pure Land Buddhism (Jōdo Shinshū) has also historically possessed a highly important, if different, material dimension, for which one touchpoint has been its merchant members called Ōmi shōnin who flourished in later premodern Japanese history. After alluding to the difficulty of isolating the ‘material’ in any religious culture, the article sketches the transition in Christian materialities in Europe which marked a cognitive shift from medieval modes of thinking (exteriorized, animistic-monistic, oriented to relics and ancestor religion) towards modern modes (interiorized, oriented to abstraction and the psychological individual). Against that paradigm, almost all premodern Buddhist materialities, including those in Japan, can be seen as medieval in nature. However, Jōdo Shinshū was a departure employing an innovatively interiorized doctrine. From that perspective, both Europe and Japan were highly complex civilizations displaying a long-term medieval-to-modern shift, which impacted the material manifestations of religions by gradually replacing older economies of ritual exchange with more modern-looking economies of preaching, religious publication and commercial life. Western scholarship has resisted appreciating these issues in an Asian setting.

Liberating Afghan Women

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Afghan Women ◽  
The Media ◽  
Policy Priority

Public opinion in the United States and elsewhere celebrated the liberation of Afghan women following the defeat of the Taliban government. The United States promised to stay in Afghanistan and foster security, economic development, and human rights for all, especially women. After years of funding various anti- Soviet Mujahidin warlords, the United States had agreed to help reconstruct the country once before in 1992, when the Soviet-backed government fell, but had lost interest when the warlords began to fight among themselves. This time, however, it was going to be different. To date, however, conditions have not improved for most Afghan women and reconstruction has barely begun. How did this happen? This article explores media presentations of Afghan women and then compares them with recent reports from human rights organizations and other eyewitness accounts. It argues that the media depictions were built on earlier conceptions of Muslim societies and allowed us to adopt a romantic view that disguised or covered up the more complex historical context of Afghan history and American involvement in it. We allowed ourselves to believe that Afghans were exotic characters who were modernizing or progressing toward a western way of life, despite the temporary setback imposed by the Taliban government. In Afghanistan, however, there was a new trope: the feminist Afghan woman activist. Images of prominent Afghan women sans burqa were much favored by the mass media and American policymakers. The result, however, was not a new focus on funding feminist political organizations or making women’s rights a foreign policy priority; rather, it was an unwillingness to fulfill obligations incurred during decades of American-funded mujahidin warfare, to face the existence of deteriorating conditions for women, resumed opium cultivation, and a resurgent Taliban, or to commit to a multilateral approach that would bring in the funds and expertise needed to sustain a long-term process of reconstruction.

Right Thoughts at the Last Moment

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline I. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Historical Records ◽  
Pure Land ◽  
Ritual Performance ◽  
Medieval Japan ◽  
Religious Professionals ◽  
Devotional Practices ◽  
Evil Person ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Buddha ◽  
The Ideal

Buddhists across Asia have often sought to die, as the Buddha himself is said to have done, with a clear and focused mind. This study explores the reception and development in early medieval Japan (roughly, tenth through fourteenth centuries) of the ideal of “dying with right mindfulness” (rinjū shōnen) and the discourses and practices in which it was embedded. By concentrating one’s thoughts on the Buddha at the moment of death, it was said, even the most evil person could escape the round of deluded rebirth and achieve birth in the Pure Land; conversely, even the slightest mental distraction at that juncture could send the most devout practitioner tumbling down into the evil realms. The ideal of mindful death thus generated both hope and anxiety and created a demand for ritual specialists who could help the dying to negotiate this crucial juncture. Examination of hagiographies, ritual manuals, doctrinal writings, didactic tales, diaries, and historical records uncovers the multiple, sometimes contradictory logics by which medieval Japanese approached death. Deathbed practices also illuminate broader issues in medieval Japanese religion that crossed social levels and sectarian lines, including intellectual developments, devotional practices, pollution concerns, ritual performance, and divisions of labor among religious professionals.

Mindtree: Tryst with the Corporate Control Market

2021 ◽  
pp. 227797792199190
Author(s):  
P. Bala Bhaskaran
Keyword(s):  
Capital Market ◽  
Corporate Control ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Market Theory ◽  
Strategic Fit ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
The Capital Market

The case is structured around the takeover of Mindtree Ltd (ML) by Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) in June 2019. ML was founded and nurtured by a group of software professionals. In two decades, it had blossomed into an enterprise with global presence, US$ 1 billion turnover and a unique organizational culture. In a strange sequence of events, more than 20% of ML’s shares landed in L&T’s lap. L&T grabbed this opportunity and ran a systematic campaign to acquire the company. In about 100 days, L&T achieved its objective and got into the driver’s seat. The case traces the evolution of ML from a start-up to a publicly held company with global standing. It examines the circumstances and events leading to L&T getting the initial stake in the company; it examines the acquisition campaign of L&T and the response of the top management of ML. Research Questions Was there a strategic fit between ML and L&T? Were the capital market processes just and fair to all the stakeholders involved in the acquisition? Was L&T fair, prudent and sensitive in the acquisition process? Was Siddhartha loyal and fair to the founders of ML? Link to Theory The theoretical concepts that would enable a better comprehension of the case are: Analysis of strategic fit in M&A situations Capital market: Theory and practice Strategy for corporate control of an enterprise Significance of culture and ecosystem in knowledge organizations Phenomenon Studied Leadership styles relevant at different stages of evolution of an enterprise are different. A leader, at a given point of time, is successful when he is able to match his aspirations with the leadership needs of the enterprise at that point of time. The case can be used to demonstrate this phenomenon. Case Context Context of the case is that of an emerging infotech enterprise, coming under corporate raid and the unfolding capital market processes. The case highlights the shortcomings of the co-founders, leading to their unseating as also the sensitivity of the incoming management in handling the transition. Findings The case demonstrates the ability of the capital market to be fair to all stakeholders ensuring reward for competence and punishment for sloppiness. The case emphasizes the need for co-founders to have an effective strategy for corporate control; only then they could hope to achieve the long-term objectives. The case also illustrates the significance of sensitivity in handling softer issues like people and ecosystem in ensuring long-term success. Discussions At the outset, the case may appear to be that of a big fish swallowing a small fish. But a closer scrutiny would reveal the multiple dimensions of the case. Consider the role of Siddhartha. He seeded the idea of the company; he was a financier to it; he remained an investor in the company longer than most of the founders; when he pulled out, the co-founders could not hold the company together. Neither Siddhartha nor the co-founders had the far-sightedness to consolidate their shareholdings for effective control of the company into the future. This would trigger discussions on the differing roles of technocrats, managers, leaders and founders. Another point worthy of discussion would be: How were the co-founders choosing their leaders? Was it by rotation among themselves, or did they engage a set of criteria to identify an incumbent capable of leading a global company?

The Buddha's Path of Peace

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Gombrich
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Human Relationships ◽  
The Core ◽  
World Today ◽  
Introductory Overview ◽  
The World ◽  
The Buddha

The Buddha’s Path of Peace sets out the basic instructions for the life-changing way of the Buddha (the so-called “Noble Eightfold Path”) wholly in the context of contemporary and everyday life, personal experience, human relationships, work, environmental concern and the human wish for peace. In this book, the core of the Buddha’s teaching is comprehensively cast in modern models of thought—borrowed from science and philosophy—and informed by contemporary concerns. The reader, who may be completely new to Buddhism, is accompanied along the Path with practical exercises that are fully explained. The Path begins with an introductory overview and then proceeds through Right Speech, Right Acting, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Concentration, Right Mindfulness, Right Understanding and Right Resolve, and concludes with a short chapter on the relevance of the Path to the multiple crises facing the world today. The reader is mentored throughout by practical meditational and contemplative exercises, with tables, diagrams, analogies and stories. Gradually the reader who has followed this handbook with commitment will feel the benefits of growing peacefulness, wisdom and compassion.

Applying the FEW nexus concept at the local scale

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry P. Huntington ◽  
Jennifer Schmidt ◽  
Philip A. Loring ◽  
Erin Whitney ◽  
Srijan Aggarwal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Local Scale ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Food Energy ◽  
Cross Domain ◽  
Rural Alaska ◽  
Domain Interactions ◽  
The Cross

The food-energy-water (FEW) nexus describes interactions among domains that yield gains or tradeoffs when analyzed together rather than independently. In a project about renewable energy in rural Alaska communities, we applied this concept to examine the implications for sustainability and resilience. The FEW nexus provided a useful framework for identifying the cross-domain benefits of renewable energy, including gains in FEW security. However, other factors such as transportation and governance also play a major role in determining FEW security outcomes in rural Alaska. Here we show the implications of our findings for theory and practice. The precise configurations of and relationships among FEW nexus components vary by place and time, and the range of factors involved further complicates the ability to develop a functional, systematic FEW model. Instead, we suggest how the FEW nexus may be applied conceptually to identify and understand cross-domain interactions that contribute to long-term sustainability and resilience.

An Organisational Evaluation Capability Hierarchy Model for Self-diagnosis1

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 27-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin A Sharp
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Evaluation Theory ◽  
Information Systems Management ◽  
Capability Maturity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Hierarchy Model ◽  
Management Project

The use of Capability Maturity Models in financial management, project management, people management and information systems management in a wide variety of organisations indicates the potential for an Organisational Evaluation Capability Hierarchy to guide the self-diagnosis of organisations in building their evaluation maturity. This paper is about the theory behind this growing trend in organisational governance and organisational diagnosis, and explores its relevance to evaluation theory and practice. This theoretical analysis may have long-term practical benefits for evaluation practitioners, as is being developed in the fields of project management, financial management, and people management in a wide range of organisations.

scholarly journals 'To do or not to do'? The neurobiology of decision-making in daily life: I. Getting the basics

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Palmini ◽  
Victor Geraldi Haase
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Temporal Perspective ◽  
Prefrontal Cortical ◽  
Cortical Regions

Abstract The constant conflict between decisions leading to immediate pleasurable consequences versus behaviors aiming at long-term social advantages is reviewed here in the framework of the evolutionary systems regulating behavior. The inescapable temporal perspective in decision-making in everyday life is highlighted and integrated with the role of the executive functions in the modulation of subcortical systems. In particular, the representations of the 'non-existent' future in the prefrontal cortical regions and how these representations can bridge theory and practice in everyday life are addressed. Relevant discussions regarding the battle between emotions and reasons in the determination of more complex decisions in the realm of neuroeconomics and in moral issues have been reserved for a second essay.

Freedom of Choice for the Mentally Handicapped

1983 ◽  
Vol 46 (12) ◽  
pp. 356-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Bodenham
Keyword(s):  
Independent Living ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Freedom Of Choice ◽  
Mentally Handicapped ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Training Team

This article deals with the resettlement of long-term mentally handicapped patients into independent living in wardened accommodation at Priory Court. The emphasis has been on ‘survival‘ and every person thought suitable for the project was given the opportunity to expand his concept of living and be discharged from a long-stay institutional environment. Motivation was the key factor, and staff and patients learnt much from the opportunity. The author gives an outline of the course taken and discusses some of the difficulties and triumphs. It was 3 years ago that long-stay institutional patients were discharged to the freedom of choosing a fuller way of life and from a distance the training team are able to see that these people are succeeding.

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