History of Mahakala Cult in Buryatia

The history of the cult of Mahakala in Buryat Buddhism is considered. A short introduction to the history of the deity is presented. It is noted that this is one of the main patrons of the Geluk school, whose views and traditions have spread among the Buryats. A review of works containing the earliest information on the veneration of a deity in Buryat temples is carried out. It is reported that the cult of Mahakala in Buryatia is represented by the predominant veneration of its three forms: Six-armed, Four-faced and White Six-armed. The important role of the cult of Mahakala, which replaced the most revered shaman spirits-ongons in the common Mongolian world, is shown. It is reported that during the spread of Buddhism among the Buryats, the Sakyas direction with its main patron Gurgon Mahakala dominated among the Mongols. It is noted that, despite the Mongolian traditions, another — the Six-armed form of the deity — was established in Buryat Buddhism. The author believes that this is connected with the name of the first Pandito Khambo Lama Damba-Darzha Zayayev, who introduced veneration of this deity to Buryat Buddhism directly from Tibet and appointed him the patron of the first Buryat Buddhist temple. The conclusion is made about the significance of the Mahakala cult, which not only acquired great importance within the framework of its original religion, but also entered the system of shamanistic beliefs.

Além do Devir-animal: a co-criação egoísta da individualidade em um enterro budista de cachorros robôs | Beyond becoming-animal: the egoist co-creationof individuality in a robot-dogs Buddhist funeral

O pensamento egoísta de Max Stirner povoou a reflexão críticadesde oséculo XIX até à contemporaneidade, servindo como uma das bases para o movimento do anarco-individualismo. Entretanto, sua estrutura serve como início para uma aceleração da desconstrução da noção de individualidade– não mais lida, aqui, como uma essência presente em cada ser, mas como uma categoria viva que transpassa os corpos de quaisquer tipos de entidades que povoam o real e imaginário. Esteartigo é uma tentativa de expor tais significados e compreender essa relação como uma possibilidade de cocriação da individualidade, a partir do estudo da noção de devir-animal, em Julian Langer, e do evento do funeral budista de cachorros robôs no templo budista Kofuku-Ji, em Chiba,no Japão, em 2018.Palavras-chave: Egoísmo. Individualidade. Budismo. Devir-animal. AbstractMax Stirner’segoist thought populated the critical thinking fromthe XIX centuryup to the present, serving as one of the bases for the individualist anarchism movement. However, its structure serves as a start for an acceleration of deconstruction of the notion of individuality – here no longer read as an essence present in everybeing, but as a living category that permeates the bodies of any kindsof entities that populates the realityand the imaginary. This article is an attempt to expose these meanings and understand this relationship as a possibility forthe co-creation of individuality, from the study of the notion of becoming-animal, in Julian Langer, and the Buddhist funeral for robot dogs at the Kofuku-Ji Buddhist temple in Chiba, Japan, in 2018.Keywords:Egoism. Individuality. Buddhism.Becoming-animal. ORCIDhttp://orcid.org/0000-0003-2251-2413http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0459-6978

EXPLORING TOURIST PERCEPTIONS ON BUDDHIST TEMPLE STAY PROGRAMS IN SRI LANKA

Temple stay program is a newly formed but comparably mature religious and cultural tourism product in Sri Lanka that accommodates and caters to tourists in Buddhist temples and allows them to experience Theravada Buddhist traditions and culture. Through, temple stay program turns out to be a distinctive phenomenon which successfully establishes a unique identity of Buddhist culture and tourism, as well as expand the influence of Theravada Buddhism. However, the respective authorities have paid a little attention to religious and cultural purposes when visiting Sri Lanka by tourist. As a result, the main issue for this study stems from this scenario. Sri Lanka is researching and trying to launch new products, including Buddhist temple stay program, for the Sri Lankan tourism industry to attract more tourists who will benefit to tourism development. Education of Buddhist philosophy, spiritual development, develop self confidence, develop psychological strength and culture of Sri Lanka are main areas covered by temple stay program in Sri Lanka. This study is aim to gain and understanding on the current tourist perception on temple stay program in Sri Lanka. The main objectives of this study are: a) to identify the current behavioral pattern of tourist who engaged with temple stay programs in Sri Lanka; 2) to examine tourist perception on Buddhist temple stay programs in Sri Lanka as a concept of tourism development; 3) to identify the challenges facing by tourist while engage with Buddhist temple stay programs in Sri Lanka. This study conducted using structured questionnaire to collect primary data with 80 local and foreign tourist who engaged with temple stay programs in Kandy, Gampaha and Badulla district in Sri Lanka. The major source for information was the qualitative tool of in-depth interviews with tourists. Secondary data sources such as previous studies were the most significant used in this study; books, journals, reports, magazines and online data sources. The simple statistical analyses like demographic details and other patterns can be performed using the MS Excel software. The results of this study indicate that there is a positive tourist perception about temple stay programs in Sri Lanka. The respective authorities need to be identify the lacking areas and in order to develop strategies to maintain standards and improve temple stay programs in Sri Lanka. KEYWORDS: Temple stay program,Buddhist tourism, Spiritual tourism ,Tourism industry

Authority and Competition: Shingon Buddhist Monastic Communities in Medieval Japanese Regional Society

In medieval Japan, the development of Shingon Buddhist monastic communities in regional society greatly depended on communication and religious support from centrally located Shingon monasteries such as Daigoji. However, little is known about associations or competitions among regional Shingon temples. This article focuses on Shingon Buddhist temples in Echizen Province, an important area in which Daigoji monks, such as Ryūgen and Genga, were active in transmitting the minutia of ritual practices. By analyzing documents and sacred teachings related to Takidanji, a Shingon Buddhist temple located in Mikuni Port, its disciple temples, and other Shingon Buddhist temples in the region, this article clarifies the interplay of these institutions in the late medieval period. The article argues that the features of Shingon Buddhist monastic communities in medieval Echizen were multipolar, consisting of Takidanji, Shōkaiji, and Sōjiji. The connection with Daigoji monks, in fact, brought about rivalry among these regional temples.

EKŌ-JI

The EKŌ temple in Düsseldorf was built thanks to the initiative and financial support of the Japanese entrepreneur Numata Ehan as one part of a German-Japanese cultural center. Following the vision of its founder, the EKŌ temple is dedicated to all schools of Japanese Buddhism, even though its basic layout is that of a Shin Buddhist temple. This article explores Numata’s founding vision, which is based on a modern interpretation of Buddhism, and it also describes the different groups that are involved in the life of the temple today. Significantly, different conceptions of Buddhism and the meaning of a temple coexist at EKŌ. These differences are particularly noticeable between Western and Japanese visitors; furthermore, they hint at the different processes of modernization that Japanese Buddhism in the West and in Japan respectively underwent, both of which continue to influence Buddhism today.

Tourist Perceived Value, Tourist Satisfaction, and Life Satisfaction: Evidence From Chinese Buddhist Temple Tours

Prior research has mainly focused on the effect of tourist perceived value on customer satisfaction and behavior intention; the relationship between tourist perceived value and life satisfaction in religious tourism has been overlooked. This study aims to examine the link between tourist perceived value and life satisfaction and whether tourist satisfaction can play a mediating role in the process, specifically in the context of Chinese religious tourism. Data on Buddhist temple tours in China were collected through surveys, semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain the construct of the Buddhist tourist perceived value and regression analyses were used to test the study’s hypotheses. We developed and tested a scale of measurement of Buddhist tourist perceived value through 21 items grouped into seven dimensions: quality, price, emotional value, social value, educational value, physical attributes, and nonphysical attributes. Results from 537 tourists revealed that tourist perceived value is positively related to life satisfaction, and tourist satisfaction plays a mediating role in the relationship between perceived value and life satisfaction. Findings of this study provide a Buddhism-specific perspective for tourist perceived value.

MENARA KUDUS: IS IT A MINARET OR A TEMPLE? A STUDY OF ARCHITECTURAL ACCULTURATION

Menara Kudus is a minaret building property of an old mosque in Kudus city, Indonesia. The shape of the minaret building is unique and different from the shape of the mosque minarets in general, both in Indonesia and in the Islamic world; The shape of the building is more similar to a Hindu / Buddhist temple building in Java. This paper aims to find answers to questions raised by some scientists about the status of the Menara Kudus building; Is it a temple building that has changed its function, or is it a mosque minaret building. How is the architectural acculturation of the Menara Kudus building? The method used was comparative descriptive to describe the Menara Kudus, the Hindu / Buddhist temples, and the minaret of the old mosque. The comparative method compares the Menara Kudus building with the temple and the mosque minaret to get similarities and differences. The result is that the Menara Kudus is thought to be a temple building that has changed its function. There has been architectural acculturation, a mixture of local and non-local elements.