scholarly journals The religious prism of South East - Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 54-68
Author(s):  
KVVS Satyanarayana Satyanarayana
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Religious Tradition ◽  
The Other ◽  
Mahayana Buddhism ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Confucian Philosophy ◽  
Mahāyāna Buddhism

When two or more religious belief systems are combined into a new system, this is known as religious syncretism. It may also be defined as the incorporation of beliefs from unconnected traditions into a religious tradition. Polytheism and numerous religious affiliations, on the other hand, are seen as diametrically opposed to one another. These situations can arise for a variety of reasons, with the latter scenario occurring quite frequently in areas where multiple religious traditions coexist in close proximity to one another and are actively practised in the culture. It can also occur when a culture is conquered, with the conquerors bringing their religious beliefs with them but not succeeding in completely eradicating the old beliefs, and especially the old practises. Faiths' beliefs or histories may have syncretic components, however members of these so-labeled systems sometimes object to the label's use, particularly those who belong to "revealed" religious systems, such as Abrahamic religions, or any system that takes an exclusivist stance. Syncretism is viewed as a betrayal of the pure truth by some supporters of such beliefs. According to this logic, introducing a belief that is incompatible with the original religion corrupts it and renders it untrue altogether. Indeed, detractors of a certain syncretistic trend may occasionally use the term "syncretism" as a derogatory pejorative, meaning that individuals who attempt to adopt a new idea, belief, or practise into a religious system are really distorting the original faith by doing so. A fatal compromise of the integrity of the prevailing religion is, according to Keith Ferdinando, as a result of this development. Religions that are not exclusivist, on the other hand, are likely to feel free to absorb other traditions into their own systems of thought. Many traditional beliefs in East Asian civilizations have become entwined with Buddhism due to the assumption that Buddhism is compatible with local religions. The Three Teachings, or Triple Religion, which harmonizes Mahayana Buddhism with Confucian philosophy and elements of Taoism, and Shinbutsu-shg, which is a syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism, are two examples of notable concretizations of Buddhism with local beliefs. The Three Teachings, or Triple Religion, harmonizes Mahayana Buddhism with Confucian philosophy and elements of Taoism, and Shinbutsu-shg, which East Asian religious beliefs, practises, and identities (who, by any measure, constitute the majority of the world's Buddhists) frequently incorporate elements of other religious traditions, such as Confucianism, Chinese folk religion.

The Iconostasis and Darśan in Orthodox Christianity and Mahāyāna Buddhism

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 38-64
Author(s):  
Junhyoung Michael Shin
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
Pure Land ◽  
Orthodox Christianity ◽  
Mahayana Buddhism ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Esoteric Buddhism ◽  
Mahāyāna Buddhism

Abstract This essay discusses how Orthodox Christianity and Mahāyāna Buddhism understood the acts of both seeing and being seen by the divine, and how such ideas affected the making and use of icons in these two religious traditions. I focus on the visual culture of the Byzantine and Russian Orthodox churches between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, and that of the East Asian Pure Land and Esoteric schools between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, respectively. I interpret the function of the iconostasis as an enduring remnant of the Jewish veil used to obstruct God’s vision. Here, Jacques Lacan’s concepts of the gaze and the screen provide a thought-provoking rationale. In turn, I investigate the mandala and icon in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, in which both seeing and being seen by the divine were deemed spiritual blessings granted by the divine being. This thematic comparison brings to light the less discussed aspects of Christian and Buddhist visual experiences.

scholarly journals Javanese religion, Islam or syncretism: comparing Woodward’s Islam in Java and Beatty’s Varieties of Javanese Religion

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 223
Author(s):  
Agus Salim
Keyword(s):  
Religious Life ◽  
Religious Tradition ◽  
Field Research ◽  
The Other ◽  
Wide Sense ◽  
Narrow Sense ◽  
General Development ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Key Terms

It has been proven that the different findings in examining Javanese religious life<br />are led by the differences in terms of academic approaches. It includes the ways<br />some key terms are perceived and elaborated. The term ‘Islam’ is defined in its<br />wide sense by one and its narrow sense by the other. The popular rite of Slametan<br />is also elaborated its different aspects by different authors, one leading to Islam<br />and the other leading to animism. The notion of mysticism and mystical practices<br />are also employed to refer to something different, one referring to Sufi tradition,<br />and the other referring to authentic Javanese mystical practices.<br />In addition, authors’ perspectives matter. Particular understanding of some no-tions applied from the beginning of the observation has been guided the attention<br />to particular aspects of religious life. Certain understanding about Islam has made<br />one author emphasize more on the aspects of Islam, rather than different reli-gious tradition. On the other hand, an empty-assumption-like autor to conduct<br />observation on religious life of Javanese has been easily fallen to the dominant<br />view of previous examination on the field. Those factors may lead to using differ-ent sort of data. If a single religious tradition like Islam is considered, the useful resources are textual, since they tell much about the general development of the<br />tradition. However, while no single religious tradition is considered more impor-tant than others, one may find that ethnographical account is the best way to see<br />what kind of religious traditions exist and how the traditions are perceived and<br />practiced. Lastly, as the leading notion and the subsequent sort of data used are<br />different, the aspects of a religious tradition are emphasized differently, one the<br />great and the other the little tradition. Therefore, the awareness -that ‘there is<br />subjective involvement in the process of knowing’ is confirmed in this thesis. It<br />has been proven by the fact that different findings of the same field research are<br />caused by the ways researchers approach the problem. In fact, they have differ-ent approaches.<br />Telah terbukti bahwa perbedaan temuan dilapangan dalam penelitian tentang<br />keberagamaan masyarakat Jawa dipicu adanya perbedaan pendekatan penelitian.<br />Perbedaan tersebut diantaranya adalah perbedaan cara memaknai beberapa<br />kata kunci. Kata ‘Islam’ oleh satu peneliti didefinisikan secara luas, sementara<br />oleh peneliti yang lain didefinisikan secara sempit. Pembahasan tentang Slametan<br />juga ditekankan pada aspek-aspek yang berbeda oleh masing-masing penulis.<br />Hasilnya, sementara yang satu menunjukkan bahwa upacara tersebut Islamik,<br />yang lainnya cenderung animistik. Wacana tentang paham dan praktek mistik<br />juga dikembangkan mengarah pada klaim yang berbeda, yang satu tradisi Sufi,<br />yang lainnya paham kebatinan asli Jawa.<br />Selanjutnya,  beberapa  point  penting  terkait  dengan  perspektif  yang<br />dikembangakan oleh peneliti. Istilah kunci yang dipegang sejak awal menuntun si<br />peneliti untuk menekankan pada beberapa aspek kehidupan keberagamaan. Is-lam yang menjadi faktor penentu mengarahkan si peneliti untuk lebih banyak<br />menekankan data dan penafsirannya pada Islam, daripada tradisi keagamaan<br />lain. Disisi lain, karya yang nampak diawalnya tanpa pretensi apapun tentang<br />tradisi keagamaan tertentu, bahkan mudah jatuh pada tuntunan karya-karya<br />sebelumnya. Faktor-faktor tersebut mengarahkan para peneliti untuk memakai<br />perangkat data yang berbeda. Jika yang banyak diperhitungkan sejak awal adalah<br />suatu tradisi keagamaan tertentu, misalkan Islam, sumber yang lebih berguna<br />adalah text, untuk melihat perkembangan umum dalam beberapa tingkat tradisi.<br />Namun jika tidak ada prioritas satu tradisi tertentu, si peneliti menganggap bahwa<br />catatan ethnography akan lebih banyak berguna. Taerakhir, adanya perbedaan-perbedaan yang telah disebutkan tadi akan mengarahkan pada penekanan pada<br />aspek-aspek tradisi yang berbeda.<br />Dengan demikian, keyakinan bahwa ‘ada pengaruh subjective dalam proses<br />mengetahui’ sebagaimana yang dikembangkan oleh sosiologi pengetahuan telah<br />terbukti dalam. Faktanya adalah pernbedaan temuan lapangan dipengaruhi oleh<br />secara apa masalah penelitian tersebut didekati. Nyatanya, perangkat penelitian<br />yang mereka gunakan memang berbeda.

scholarly journals Forgotten, but not forgiven: facing immunization challenges in the 21st century

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-192
Author(s):  
Ricardo Palacios
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Events ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Vaccination Campaign ◽  
The Other ◽  
Swine Flu ◽  
Mmr Vaccine ◽  
Serious Adverse Events ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Pandemic Flu

The creator of several vaccines given to children around the world everyday, Maurice Hilleman, advised that at the same time that new vaccines would emerge in the 21st century due to technological advances, unfounded criticisms of vaccines would extended beyond spurious belief systems to actual anti-vaccine movements. He pointed out that these movements are aimed at disruption of vaccine programmes through use of public media including the press, television and the Internet in his response to the spurious association between autism and Crohn's disease with one of his main creations, MMR vaccine (1). Andrew Wakefield, author of an unsound scientific paper in 1998 proposing such association, was motivated by an undue agreement to support a lawsuit (2). Nevertheless, Wakefield remains as an outstanding voice in the anti-vaccine movement (3). Why the once feared diseases disappeared from collective memory? On the other hand, adverse events following immunization that we used to bear as a fair risk for the expected benefit are not accepted anymore? Why we have forgotten the benefits, but not forgiven the risks? How could we define new strategies to face the challenges of immunization programmes? The 1976 swine flu immunization programme in United States was a landmark on the questioning of risk-benefit ratio for vaccines. The concern on a new pandemic flu after triggered a large mass vaccination campaign. Pandemic flu cases did not appear, but serious adverse events did raise questions on public opinion (4). This contrasted with most of the vaccines where decreasing incidence of a preventable diseases compared with safety concerns seems to be acceptable for the society. On the other hand, efficacious vaccines, like whole-cell pertussis vaccine (wP), have been also on the spot due to relevant adverse events after immunization...

Fully Human Being

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake Poller
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Aldous Huxley ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Mahayana Buddhism ◽  
Perennial Philosophy ◽  
Utopian Community ◽  
Mahāyāna Buddhism

In Island (1962), Aldous Huxley presents a utopian community in which theinhabitants aim to become "fully human beings" by realizing their "potentialities."I demonstrate how Huxley's notion of the "human potentialities" havebeen misrepresented, both by scholars and by the founders of the Esalen Institute.Huxley's focus on human potentialities arose from a shift in his thinkingfrom the other-worldly mysticism of The Perennial Philosophy (1945) to thelife-affirming traditions of Tantra, Zen and Mahayana Buddhism. In Island,the population attempt to realize their human potentialities and engage in anexperiential spirituality that celebrates the body and nature as sacred throughthe use of the moksha-medicine and the practice of maithuna. I argue thatwhereas Tantric adepts practised maithuna as a means to acquire supernormalpowers (siddhis), in Island the Palanese version of maithuna is quite differentand is used to valorize samsara and the acquisition of human potentialities.

Religie als bron van zingeving en sociale binding. Godsdienstpsychologische reflecties bij Gijs Dingemans’ In vredesnaam

2010 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-107
Author(s):  
Hetty Zock
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
The Other ◽  
Stereotyped Behaviour ◽  
Existential Meaning ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Psychological Theories ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Group Identities ◽  
The One

The author argues that individual usage and appropriation of religious traditions has become increasingly important. Therefore, church leaders and pastors should pay more attention to the psychological functions of religion. On the one hand religion serves as a source of existential meaning-making and on the other hand as a powerful glue of group identities. By discussing the psychological theories of Erik H. Erikson, Hubert Hermans and James W. Jones, the Janus face of religion is highlighted. Religion may lead to intolerance and stereotyped behaviour (when it is only used to reduce identity anxiety and narcissistic problems), but it may also stimulate empathy and dialogical capacities.

Spandrels, Gazelles and Flying Buttresses: Religion as Adaptation or as a By-Product

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 293-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Sjöblom
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cognitive Mechanism ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Theories Of Religion

AbstractThis article discusses recent naturalistic theories of religion from the viewpoint of how the deal with the issue of the origins of religion. It will be argued that the theories can be divided according to if they view religion as being an adaptation or not, on the other hand, and if they consider it to be mostly natural or cultural on the other. On the basis of this discussion, it is suggested that a cognitive mechanism referred to here as the narrative drive seem to have a fundamental role to play in the formation of religious beliefs and, thus, in the origins of religion.

scholarly journals The Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā and the Sky as a Symbol of Mahāyāna Doctrines and Aspirations

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 849
Author(s):  
Jaehee Han
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual History ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Basic Structure ◽  
Mahayana Buddhism ◽  
Textual History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Comprehensive Introduction ◽  
Mahāyāna Buddhism ◽  
Scholarly Attention

The Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā is a Mahāyāna dharmaparyāya and is the eighth chapter of the great canonical collection of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the Mahāsaṃnipāta. The text is lost in the original Indic, but survives in Chinese and Tibetan translations, with several passages of the Sanskrit version preserved as quotations in later commentaries. It has been regarded as an authoritative canonical source throughout the intellectual history of Mahāyāna Buddhism, but scant scholarly attention has been paid to this important text. Thus, this paper aims to provide a concise yet comprehensive introduction of the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā, including its textual history, its basic structure, and its reception in Indian, Tibetan, and East Asian Buddhist traditions. It also examines how the fundamental concepts of Mahāyāna Buddhism, such as emptiness, endlessness, and imperishability, are signified in the Gaganagañjaparipṛcchā by the image of the sky (Skt. gagana), the central metaphor of the text.

scholarly journals Kontrowersje wokół powstania człowieka - wstępna analiza ankiet studentów

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-59
Author(s):  
Jacek Tomczyk ◽  
Grzegorz Bugajak
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Popular Literature ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Origins ◽  
University Professors ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Book Of Genesis ◽  
Origin Of Man

The paper presents the results of the research which was carried out as a part of the project: Current controversies about human origins. Between anthropology and the Bible, this project was focused on the supposed conflict between natural sciences and theology (or religious beliefs) with regard to the origin of man. The research was aimed at finding out whether such a conflict really exits. For we cannot exclude the possibility that these controversies have no factual ground and their significance is inflated by American popular literature. If, on the other hand, we assume that the conflict is real, it should be worthwhile examining its sources. Such an approach may prove helpful in systematize the highly emotional debates about the origin of man. One of the ways of tackling the issue was a questionnaire which was distributed among students, teachers and university professors. Our respondents represented three disciplines: theology, philosophy and natural sciences, t t e paper presents selected results of the questionnaire which was addressed to a group of students, they were asked to fill in the form consisting of eleven questions, these questions concerned the following issues: the existence of the conflict between evolutionism and creationism, the definitions of creation and evolution, the existence of the spiritual element in man, and the ways of interpreting the Bible (esp. the first chapters of the Book of Genesis).

scholarly journals Terroryzm i religia

Etyka ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 9-30
Author(s):  
Jacek Hołówka
Keyword(s):  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
The Other ◽  
Reliable Criterion ◽  
Religious Conviction ◽  
Philosophical Interpretation ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
White Horse

The Twin Towers were destroyed by Muslim fanatics. Their inability to perceive the repulsive aspect of their act is remarkable and requires a philosophical interpretation. Obviously, religious beliefs can not be tested on empirical grounds or by logical arguments. On the other hand it would be wrong to assume that every religious conviction is as credible as any other. The author tries to separate innocuous religious beliefs from insane claims by arguing that the most reliable criterion of religious plausibility can be derived from Plato’s Phaedrus and the story of two horses, one white and one black, pulling the chariot of our souls. The white horse stands for saintliness, the black for sin. One can not do much more to make the distinction between the safe and uplifting aspect of religion and the dangerous and irresponsible aspect of faith more precise and specific. Terrorism is a deviation that arises within a religion where this distinction has been completely confused, where goodness is identified with a blind and unconditional submission to one group of religious adherents and evil with distancing oneself from the group. Social and political loyalty has replaced religious loyalty. So narrow an interpretation of can not be reconciled with an impartial concept of sin and righteousness.

From Idolatry to Religions: the Missionary Discourses on Hinduism and Buddhism and the Invention of Monotheistic Confucianism, 1550-1700

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 499-536
Author(s):  
Joan-Pau Rubiés
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Popular Religion ◽  
The Other ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Japanese Buddhism ◽  
Christian Apologetics ◽  
The One

Abstract The emergence of a European discourse to distinguish, analyze, and historicize various non-Biblical religious traditions within Asia involved a significant amplification of the concept of idolatry. The Jesuit experience of Japanese Buddhism in the second half of the sixteenth century posed a particular challenge, because of its overt atheism. The patristic models of Christian apologetics, based on distinguishing elite monotheism from popular religion in ancient paganism, had been useful in India, but in Japan had to be replaced by a system where the elite cultivated an atheistic form of esoteric monism. When focusing their dialectical firepower upon the doctrines of double truth and non-theistic monism, the Jesuits, led by Alessandro Valignano, were in fact responding to the doctrinal distinctiveness of East Asian Buddhism, notably the emphasis on provisional teachings, on the one hand, and Buddha-nature, on the other. When in China Ricci decided to classify the Confucian literati as civil philosophers rather than as a religious elite, he also transferred Valignano’s critique of Buddhist pantheism to specifically Neo-Confucian doctrines, distinct from the supposed monotheism of the original Confucians.

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