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Starting with an initiative called Buddhicised education, there have been calls to reform Chinese Buddhism for a century. Based on documentary research of textbooks and in-depth interviews, this paper examines the reform of Buddhicised education in Hong Kong since 2000. Facilitated by the Hong Kong government's education reform, Buddhicised education has gone in a new direction. The promotion of character education and caring for the heart have become more significant than ever in addressing the daily life issues and social concerns of students. Buddhicised education can be broadly redefined as life education for whole-person development in terms of beliefs, values, morality, character, positive emotions and spirituality. Reforms have been made in both the formal and informal curricula by incorporating moral and life education, contemplative education and sustainable education, as well as taking a student-centred approach such as experiential learning. This paper also discusses the implications of Buddhist modernism and the prospects of Buddhicised education in the religious education context of Hong Kong.

This paper examinations the nexus between creativity and teacher identity in post-war peacebuilding. It aims to understand how infusing creativity into teacher preparation geared towards peacebuilding can help language educators reflect on their identities, values and their roles in bridging a fragmented society at the end of a war. Drawing on data generated from a visual ethnography carried out in the aftermath of Sri Lanka's civil war, one of the longest civils wars in recent history, this study explores the power of self-generated identity portraits in helping teachers to visualise their identities as second language educators. This paper highlights the potential of creativity and creative approaches to teacher education to help teachers articulate their identities, expectations, responsibilities towards their learners and challenges they face. The paper highlights the power of creative approaches to meaning making, especially in tapping into identities that are otherwise hidden and the need be for teachers to be included in larger discussions on educational reforms towards peace.

This storied paper reflects my awakening to the notion of interbeing, a core concept of Engaged Buddhism posed by the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh. My awareness was heightened in writing about a young Vietnamese child, Dylan, with whom I engaged in an early childhood study in Aotearoa New Zealand. Underpinned by Chen's "Asia as Method," interbeing is considered a research orientation for decolonization, an alternative way of knowing and thinking in mutuality and relatedness. In the light of interbeing, the writing is a process of living my lives and the others' lives as well as transforming myself to see with the child. The paper conveys critical moments in my writing path with the potential to integrate non-Western philosophy into qualitative research with young children.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate and discuss the application of mindfulness practices rooted in Buddhism as the methodological praxis in implementing participatory action research (PAR) projects with older Thai adults. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on the researchers' reflexive accounts of participatory action conducted with older Thai participants in a series of four PAR projects in the five senior schools located in the northern, southern, northeastern and central regions of Thailand. Findings: The paper demonstrates the translation of Buddhist mindfulness into a PAR methodological approach and shares actual practices of mindfulness in each stage of the research process. Originality/value: This paper provides practical implications for researchers to incorporate the mindfulness methodology to unlock presuppositions and attachments to pre-existing PAR frameworks and open new ways of knowing that emerge out of the lived experience at the present contextual moment.

The composer, author, and teacher, John Cage, was exercised by our 'inability' to truly listen when approaching sound. In exploring the influences on Cage's avant-garde style, specifically the spiritual discipline found in both Zen Buddhism and Chance operations, this paper attempts to distinguish his philosophy (and use) of "silence" and "chance" as an aesthetic pedagogy. In accordance with Dewey's aesthetic theory and Shusterman's Somaesthetics, resolving the inability to listen is aesthetically conceived as somatic 'attuning' to the occurrence of chance sounds in the ambience of the world. By maintaining Cage's spiritually informed approach as a compositional framework, this paper highlights how his philosophy of silence is pedagogically illustrative of the "active" engagement we can have with the world. This approach is most apparent in Cage's "4'33"," where the 'musicalizing' of everyday sounds erodes the boundaries between art and life, creating a continuity with the world. Somewhat problematically, Cage attempted to make this possible by channelling experience into a state of immersion, unifying art and life by 'letting go' of subjectivity. But as is shown by the Fluxus artists who were inspired by Cage's teachings, the possibility for negotiating Cage's terms brings with it an opportunity to theoretically reflect on the educational processes that underpin Cage's approach to sound.

The Xizi Pagoda (惜字塔) is a form of traditional religious building used for burning "Paper with Characters (字纸)", worshiping the gods, praying for blessings, revitalzing culture, and it is also an important material embodiment in the process of the development and evolution of religion in China, carrying China's unique "Scholarly Culture (书香文化)". This paper is the first study of the philosophy of religion of Xizi Pagodas (a vernacular stone religious architectural landscape). The research of the representative Xizi Pagodas in different parts of Hunan province were carried out to analyze the origin of Xizi Pagodas, cultural rituals, modeling paradigms, decorative art, and to explore the traditional Chinese religious and philosophical thoughts embedded in Xizi Pagodas through relevant literatures. The results show that Xizi Pagodas contain the religious concepts of "Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism (儒释道)": the emergence of Xizi Pagodas is connected to the development of Confucianism; Xizi Pagodas incorporate Buddhistic thoughts and inherit architectural features of Buddhist Pagodas; and the "Xizi (惜字)" ritual and images of deities on Xizi Pagodas are associated with Taoism. At present, the number of Xizi Pagodas is decreasing, and the remaining ones are in a serious state of dilapidation and disrepair, and the "Xizi" Culture is gradually being forgotten and fading away. This paper enriches the relevant research on the Xizi Pagodas and the "Xizi" Culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primarily driven by conflict, displacement and economic pull factors over the past three decades, a homegrown system of mother-tongue-based education for migrant children from Myanmar has been developed in Tak Province, Thailand. This network of Migrant Learning Centers depended mainly on external organisations for teacher professional development (TPD), with few Centres having opportunities to develop school-based models. This paper documents learning from creating the 'teacher leader' role to build school-level capacity to sustain TPD by giving new responsibilities to 31 teachers as peer coaches during the pandemic. Mixed-methods analysis used Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory, specifically, Power Distance, Individualism -- Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance and Long-Term Orientation to frame sensemaking and the extent to which teachers' perceptions of the new role were consistent with its implementation. The teacher leader role contributed to a perceived reduction of power distance between teachers and promoted long-term orientation regarding TPD. Its emphasis on collaboration allowed collectivist ideals to be played out practically without disturbing the status quo. The prioritisation of reflective practice and teacher-level collaboration improved coaching self-confidence and teaching competencies. Teacher-led peer-support systems within and across schools assisted in the retention of institutional knowledge.

Hager and Beckett assert that a 'characteristic feature of … assorted co-present groups is that their processes and outputs are marked by the "full gamut of human experiences" involved in their functioning'. My paper endorses and further develops this claim. I begin by expanding on their emphasis upon the priority of relations in terms of Dewey and Bentley's transactionalism and Buddhist dependent co-origination and emptiness. Next, I emphasize the importance of embodied perspectives in acquiring meaning and transforming the world. Here, too, we will find surprising Buddhist connections. Finally, I examine the primacy of practice: how we acquire our minds and selves by participating in shared social practices. This stance is shared by philosophers as diverse as Heidegger, Wittgenstein, and Dewey.

This paper studies the theory and practice of Minna in Manabi, as the Japanese concept of learning from the perspective of moral education. The Japanese word Minna, which means "all" or "everyone," plays an important role in Manabi. The word "Minna" is often found in textbooks used in moral education classes, and great value is placed on "thinking about everyone." Minna, a component of Manabi, not only makes the self (the learner) nothing and selfless, but also makes it possible to enter all, everyone, and the world. This may create possibilities for inclusiveness, reciprocal harmony, hospitality, solidarity, and cooperativeness. This Manabi of "thinking about everyone" can be found in moral classes and in all aspects of learning (educational) activities in Japanese schools. Among them, in addition to being a traditional Buddhist practice dealing with Nothingness and Selflessness, Souji (cleaning time) is also very important in schools as a Japanese moral practice of "thinking about everyone." The moral concepts developed in the West, such as democracy, community, solidarity, engagement, and citizenship, are not only realized through the establishment of the individual, self-realization, and perfection of personality, but by "thinking about everyone," as expressed in Nothingness, Selflessness, and Minna.

Scholars have presented the Buddhayana Movement as a diverse and localized form of Indonesian Buddhism, which was facilitated by the cooperation of transnational Buddhist networks. This paper raises two questions: (1) what were the impacts of Theravada Buddhism that facilitated the rise of Buddhayana? and (2) when Theravada became a symbol of authentic Buddhism and its identity could satisfy the state rather during assimilation policy, how did Buddhayana members balance the needs of the Chinese patrons and of the government? Based upon documentary methods combined with in-depth interviews, the data collected are analyzed through the concepts of transnationalism and the discourse of modern Buddhism. This paper proposes that (1) the birth of Buddhayana in the 1960s was facilitated not only by transnational relations, but also by the discourse of modern Buddhism, which led to an emphasis on Theravada Buddhism. Therefore, even though Buddhayana claimed to be open to Mahayana and Vajrayana as well, its official doctrines and ritual performances presented in public tend to be Theravada in character. (2) The politics of discrimination against the Chinese Indonesians helped to marginalize Mahayana Buddhism, a tradition that its image links to the Chinese culture. In consequence, Mahayana tended to play a role in the daily practices of the Chinese in their houses and klenteng, meanwhile Theravada in terms of philosophical teachings and huge rituals was chosen to be presented in the public sphere in accordance with the state’s needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, a substantial body of research exploring soundscapes in religious historical buildings has emerged, yet a comprehensive summary of this work is lacking. This paper selects 74 typical studies of soundscapes in religious historical buildings published between 2011 and 2022 to conduct quantitative statistics and visualization analysis from a bibliometric perspective. The selected literature is categorized based on the type of religious building, Christian, Islamic, or Buddhist. The literature is further segmented according to the research subject, including sound field studies, sound analyses, and evaluations of the acoustic environment. The research methods employed are also differentiated and include sound field measurements, acoustic simulations, questionnaires and auralization procedures. The analysis reveals pronounced disparities in research foci depending on the type of religious historical building. For instance, studies on the soundscape in Christian churches tend to focus on objective sound field attributes and frequently employ sound field simulations to analyse the acoustic parameters of diverse church spaces and materials. Conversely, research on the soundscape in Islamic mosques prioritizes speech intelligibility and acoustic comfort, while studies of the soundscape of Buddhist temples gravitate towards the impact of natural and religious sounds on individuals. This paper anticipates the future direction of soundscape research on religious historical buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores recently reported inscriptional and sculptural evidence from an early Medieval "Jayaskandhāvāra" i.e. the royal administrative headquarters of the Pāla dynasty, named Mudgagiri (present-day Munger), in Bihar, India. Xuanzang visited Mudgagiri during c. seventh century CE and mentioned the Buddhist vihāras and other sacred structures situated there. Sculptural evidence suggests that in addition to Buddhism, Brahmanical traditions including Śāktism, Vaiṣṇavism, and Śavism were also prevalent during the Pāla period. The practice of worshipping mainstream deities with local names is supported by inscriptional evidence. The depiction of several sculptures reflects the prevalence of revering warrior-like goddesses. The rare image of fleshy and serene Cāmuṇḍā presents one of the many forms of goddess sculpted in the eastern Indian context. The paper also analyses unfinished sculptures to understand the carving and polishing sequence employed by the śilpakāras. The present paper also aims to comprehend the role of "Jayaskandhāvāra" in the socio-political-economic milieu of the Pāla kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the problem of how Buddhism was reinstitutionalized in Russia in the frame of the meta process of mediatization. The empirical part of this study included two stages and was conducted during 2020–2024. In this paper, the authors focused mainly on the peculiarities of constructing strategies in the Internet and new media via traditional Gelug ethnic offline organizations, the Russian branches of the International Karma Kagyu Community, International Dzogchen Community and Russian-speaking community of Theravada converts. The methodological framework of the research included the institutional perspective developed by the Danish media scholar Stig Hjarvard for studying the mediatization of religion and the concept of "mediatized public religion" by Mia Lövheim and Marta Axner, as well as the concept of "digital religious innovators" by Heidi Campbell. The authors revealed that the processes of digitalization and mediatization have resulted in the emergence of Russian mediatized Buddhism. Various trends in modern Russian Buddhism are disproportionally represented in the public sphere of media; representation directly correlates with the strategies that Digital Buddhist creatives of different streams—Gelugpa traditional, Dzogchen, Theravada or Karma Kagyu—have chosen in relation to the Internet and new media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the context of Indian religions, Jainism has long been recognized for its extensive use of permutations and combinations. However, the application of these principles within Buddhist scriptures has received relatively little scholarly attention. This paper introduces a new example of the specific application of permutations and combinations in Buddhist scriptures. In this paper, we focus on the first saṅghādisesa rule in the Theravāda-vinaya, which lists a series of element sets and arranges these elements according to a certain pattern known as "ten-roots" (mūla), and we discover that these arrangements form a regular numerical sequence, called "oblong numbers". Moreover, similar patterns with different quantities are also found in the fourth Pārājika and the fifth saṅghādisesa rules. This indicates that the compilers of the Theravāda-vinaya did not use this mathematical knowledge without basis. Interestingly, we also found the use of this sequence in the Bakhshālī manuscript. Therefore, in this article, after summarizing and verifying the arrangement rules of the Theravāda-vinaya, we discuss whether the oblong numbers were influenced by Greek mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore and discuss the use of mindfulness in group work. We present a definition of mindfulness along with the differences in conceptualizations of mindfulness-based group work based in Buddhist and other nonwestern perspectives compared to Western stances. A brief history of mindfulness in Western psychology is provided along with an outline of the current research on mindfulness; both correlational research and controlled studies involving specific therapeutic modalities. Future research, limitations, and the use of mindfulness with those who have experienced trauma are then presented. An exploration of existing groups that incorporate mindfulness, is followed by suggestions on where mindfulness could be integrated. Finally, the paper concludes by exploring the implications for social work and the use of mindfulness in group therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses a lacuna in the literature concerning how a ruler's ideas shape their attitudes toward the world and others through their personality. It examines the political ideas of Chinese President Xi Jinping as his references to the self-in-relation rather than his schema to assess and treat alters-in-relation. In addition to allowing political actors to assess the world and engage in policymaking, personality may inspire them to use ideas conversely to prepare themselves for the acceptance of their perceived constituencies. In terms of Xi Jinping's evolving personality, an initial need to overcome his individual vulnerability by becoming one with the masses has grown into a quest for transcendence that is informed by the following elements: (1) Buddhism while practicing the Party self; (2) the notion of Confucian harmony for the self-cultivation of Party cadres while practicing the national self; and (3) a socialist sensitivity to the material needs of the disadvantaged while practicing the international self. This has been demonstrated through programs that include his anti-corruption campaigns, his Chinese dream of anti-poverty, and his notion of a shared future of humankind. This paper compares the Kyoto School's use of Buddhism, Mao's use of Confucianism, and Pol Pot's use of Maoism. It also discusses how an autocracy can suffer from involution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prolonged Sri Lankan conflict in Sri Lanka occurred between the majority Sinhala govt. and the minority Sri Lankan Tamils on the island. The discrimination of identity and ethnicity led to major ruins on the land. This paper emphasizes the role of Buddhist values in Sri Lanka during the ethnic conflict. The principles of Buddhism help people rehabilitate and restore peace in the war-torn nation. In particular, the paper attempts to examine the Buddhist values practiced by the people irrespective of their religious denominations during the Civil War, through the literary landscape of Anuk Arudpragasam's The Story of a Brief Marriage. The noble precepts of Buddhism are four noble truths and the eightfold path, which teaches non-violence, selflessness, and tolerance. The doctrines of Buddhism restored humanitarian values at the height of the ethnic conflict in society. The current research paper helps to identify the influence of Buddhism on the people of the island nation in maintaining self-control, self-discipline, and morally upright behaviors. However, it proves the absence and ignorance of the Buddhist precepts which incited many ethnic clashes among the people. Further, it focuses on the causes of the major devastation and the collapse of the Sri Lankan socio-political system and the role of Buddhism in restoring peace in the war-torn nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religiously inspired travel has burgeoned in Vietnam in recent years, amidst rapid economic development and a booming tourist industry. Buddhist pilgrimages particularly attract older women, who compose the majority of temple goers in Vietnam. Having lived through volatile historical periods of war, economic hardship, and political transformations, travelling on pilgrimage is the first opportunity for many older Vietnamese women to enjoy new places and experiences. Drawing on data collected during my field research among Buddhist women pilgrims in their sixties and seventies from Ho Chi Minh City, I show how pilgrimage is seen as a journey of a lifetime and how it reflects the perception of life and self-transformation along the life course. Drawing on Victor and Edith Turner's (1978 [2011]) discussion of pilgrimage as the antistructure of everyday social life, this paper explains why pilgrimage is markedly different from other life experiences of Vietnamese women, and how religious travel positions old age not as the culmination of self-development, but rather as an ongoing process of gaining wisdom., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper explores the life and teachings of the renowned Chinese Buddhist monk Master Hongyi (1880–1942), focusing on his transformative encounters with impermanence and their relevance for contemporary death education. Drawing upon historical records, personal writings, and the accounts of his contemporaries, this study traces Master Hongyi's profound spiritual journey from intense grief and existential crisis to enlightened equanimity in the face of mortality. It examines how his skillful application of Buddhist practices enabled him to find meaning, purpose, and liberation amidst the challenges of aging, illness, and dying. Through an in-depth analysis of Master Hongyi's wisdom and lived experience, this paper proposes the "Hongyi Model", an innovative paradigm for integrating the spiritual, psychological, and artistic dimensions of his approach into modern death education. The findings underscore the transformative potential of Buddhist teachings for fostering a more authentic, meaningful, and spiritually grounded engagement with mortality, offering valuable insights for educators, counselors, and healthcare professionals working in end-of-life care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the texts of Huayan Buddhism, the study of the Treatise of the Golden Lion remains at the level of literal translation. Neither the core doctrines of the Treatise nor the original contexts of its delivery have received much scholarly attention. This paper first contextualizes the preaching background of the Treatise and its relevant doctrines, and then conducts a section-by-section explanation of the Treatise with special consideration given to the intention of Fazang and his manner of preaching. The doctrines of the ten mysterious gates and the six characteristics, along with the manifestation of the distinctive teaching of one vehicle, constitute the key components of the preaching. They are the representation and revelation of the doctrine of the infinite dependent arising of dharmadhātu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most critics focus on the pain and suffering of the first-generation Vietnamese immigrants depicted in Lan Cao's Monkey Bridge. This paper explores how Cao strategically uses the philosophy of karma in Vietnamese Buddhism to provide a method for alleviating their suffering in this novel. It argues that she employs karma to investigate the origins of the adversity and trauma experienced by the first-generation Vietnamese immigrants, including the pro-American attitude of the early Vietnamese authorities during the Vietnam War, the imperialistic actions of the United States, and the resulting karmic consequences. In addition, they demonstrate, through actions like forming "hui", a way to change their fate and heal their trauma for later generations of Vietnamese immigrants, emphasizing positive transformation of karma. This paper suggests that the Buddhist philosophy of karma provides an effective strategy for Vietnamese American immigrants to reflect on the Vietnam War, overcome adversity, and heal their own trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last four decades there has been a significant growth of interest in mindfulness-based practices and their potential to foster improvements in health, wellbeing and human functioning in a variety of clinical and nonclinical populations. With this growth has come a renewed interest in understanding the psychological processes involved as well as the neuropsychological mechanisms by which such practices operate and effect transformative personal experiences and positive change. The current perspective paper (i) presents a basic taxonomy of meditation types and the structure and function of the processes believed to be involved, (ii) describes these components in terms of key neuroanatomical regions of interest, and (iii) critically appraises current findings regarding EEG measures as they relate to different aspects of meditation, functional activity and connectivity across regions of interest. The correlates between mindfulness and EEG are well described in terms of attentional and interoceptive processes and neuroanatomical regions of interest. To a lesser extent, there is also a growing understanding of such correlates for meditation techniques centred on compassion and loving-kindness meditation. However, the same does not apply to wisdom-based and null-state meditation practices where consistent associations between neuropsychological processes and EEG characteristics have proven elusive. These latter practices are viewed by many as key to fostering the deeper transformative experiences underlying psychological and spiritual development, and although studies of null-state meditation have yielded promising theoretical developments, more research is required. Future research could also benefit from better standardisation of EEG measures and analytic techniques to allow more robust metanalyses, and greater consistency of terminology regarding the fundamental components of meditation practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The character "即 (jí)" in Chinese shares the meaning of "is", indicating an identity or equivalence between two concepts. In this framework, one might expect the antecedent and the consequent of "即" to be identical in meaning, or at least for a term with a positive connotation not to be paired with one of negative connotation. However, in Tiantai Buddhism, many core propositions follow the structure "x 即 y", where x is negative and y is positive, or vice versa. This suggests an identity between opposites, creating a paradoxical feature in the system. This essay argues that the paradox within Tiantai Buddhism is a veridical paradox, as defined by Quine, meaning it can be resolved in various ways and does not reflect a genuine contradiction in reality. While Western Buddhist philosophers and logicians have focused primarily on the paradoxes in Nāgārjuna's thought, this essay demonstrates that Chinese Tiantai Buddhism offers practical resolutions to these paradoxes. The paper first explicates the paradox by examining its roots in Buddhist history, then explores responses to it. Finally, different methods for resolving the paradox are compared and evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the historical process of the Sinicization of Buddhism and the evolution of the value of female roles in Buddhist beliefs have advanced hand in hand; the more Buddhism becomes Sinicized, the higher the status of women in Buddhist beliefs becomes. To some extent, the Sinicization of Buddhism can be considered a feminization process. Female roles in Buddhist beliefs are often passive objects and marginal positions that are uncertain and continuously presupposed by others. This article starts from a cultural, philosophical perspective, aiming to examine the internal logic of the evolution of female roles in Buddhist beliefs. In terms of individual experience, the highlighting of the identity as a "subject" of sexual desire makes women a necessary but insufficient prerequisite "option" for guiding male sexual desire—in Indian Buddhist beliefs, women's enlightenment involves both reflecting on sexual desire itself and negating their own gender disadvantage. As Buddhism spread worldwide, Western Buddhist traditions laid the foundation of Buddhist belief on "sacred images", while various local cultural genes infiltrated the imagination of "Western Buddhist nations". The Buddha's gender orientation achieved a transcendence of both male and female or a bilateral blend, leaning more towards female. Ultimately, from the perspective of family identity, in a Chinese Buddhist belief world organized by the patriarchal system, the unique role of women in the family—"mother"—pushes Buddhist belief back to the scene of the emotional world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yogalehrbuch is said to have been established in Central Asia and to have a similar terminology to the Sarvāstivāda. However, the exact background of the relation is yet unknown. This paper discusses two points. First, I examine the structure of ānāpānasmṛti and how the meditative images relate to the descriptions of Abhidharmic texts. The results show that the Yogalehrbuch adopts the steps of the Sarvāstivāda but does not reflect a highly systematized doctrine. The second is a comparison of its unique meditative images (oil, abhiṣeka, the Buddhas of the past, and Maitreya) with two meditation manuals, the Secret Essentials and the Methods of Curing, and two early esoteric sūtras. The results show that the abhiṣeka in the Yogalehrbuch is close to the two meditation manuals, while it represents more the life of Śākyamuni, which is also found in esoteric Buddhism, rather than the healing of illness. However, the Methods of Curing refers to a dhāraṇī similar to those found in two esoteric sūtras. The two sūtras use abhiṣeka as the name of dhāraṇīs, not as meditative images. From the above, it is hypothesized that the Yogalehrbuch was established within a background in which elements of early esoteric Buddhism could be found but had not yet seen the development of dhāraṇīs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study unpacks the Buddhist assimilation of Namsan (South Mountain) in Kyŏngju through the creation and aggregation of Buddhist sculptures and structures on its slopes during the seventh to tenth centuries. Though steeped in native lore regarding nature deities and efficacious rocks, auspicious geological features such as Namsan were recast as part of a Buddhist landscape filled with manifestations of the Buddha and his attendants. These images served to demarcate claims of Buddhism's place in the peninsula and were situated within sites that were previously marked and claimed by indigenous systems of belief. Employing an approach that draws parallels with David Harvey's concept of urban environments as palimpsests, this paper reveals that Namsan was a multifaceted site, with military fortifications, temples, and rock-carved sculptures augmenting its spiritual and political significance. The repeated installation of Buddhist imagery 'recovered' the mountain, subsuming indigenous beliefs under Buddhist practices. This research finds that Namsan's landscape was purposefully layered, reflecting the dialectical relationship between various communities and their religious and social practices over time. Analyzing Namsan as a palimpsest underscores the strategic appropriation of the mountain's materiality and sacrality to establish a Buddhist territory deeply intertwined with the Silla elite's politics and ideologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the intricate interactions between heritage and religion in modern China, as well as the broader social and political implications of these interactions in relation to national heritage policies and local developmental practices. By conducting a longitudinal analysis of the social history of Baosheng Temple, this research traces its transformations over the past hundred years from a historically religious site to a local built heritage dedicated to preserving and displaying religious relics. This transformation highlights a shift in the role of religious relics from carriers of practice and thought to focal points for heritage preservation, aimed at supporting nation-building and, more recently, promoting local development through the tourism industry. These changes reflect continuous local responses to broader social transformations towards a modern nation-state as well as the influence of Western ideas and practices. The findings of this research illuminate the evolving values associated with religious heritage and the corresponding implications for Chinese modernity within a secular state context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting with an initiative called Buddhicised education, there have been calls to reform Chinese Buddhism for a century. Based on documentary research of textbooks and in-depth interviews, this paper examines the reform of Buddhicised education in Hong Kong since 2000. Facilitated by the Hong Kong government's education reform, Buddhicised education has gone in a new direction. The promotion of character education and caring for the heart have become more significant than ever in addressing the daily life issues and social concerns of students. Buddhicised education can be broadly redefined as life education for whole-person development in terms of beliefs, values, morality, character, positive emotions and spirituality. Reforms have been made in both the formal and informal curricula by incorporating moral and life education, contemplative education and sustainable education, as well as taking a student-centred approach such as experiential learning. This paper also discusses the implications of Buddhist modernism and the prospects of Buddhicised education in the religious education context of Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on Sāṃkhya-Yoga and Buddhist Abhidharma ontologies and their engagement. A close reading of two hitherto uncompared passages from Pātañjalayogaśāstra 2.13 and Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośabhāṣya 4.94 suggests that they are intertextual or interdiscursive. A mirrored argument form in the texts explains ethical causality (karma) in relation to rebirth (punarjanman). The arguments in both texts are similar in form, sequence, and even conclusion, although not in terms of the doctrinal basis of reasoning. On first examination, both arguments analyse how action (karma) sustains patterns of moral repercussion across life and beyond death in terms of singular and plural causes and effects. But a close reading shows that the level of conceptual engagement on this issue is more nuanced – centred on 'projecting' and 'completing' mechanisms of karmic retribution (ākṣepaka karman and paripūraka karman) as well as determinate or indeterminate (niyata and aniyata) maturation of karmic effects. The paper suggests that the function of Patañjali's passage was to serve as a structured engagement with Buddhist Sarvāstivāda karma theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper concentrates on the philosophical discourses of four thinkers - Soren Kierkegaard, M. K. Gandhi, R. D. Ranade and B. R. Ambedkar on Ethics and Religion. Soren Kierkegaard, whose journey in philosophy made him pass through the aesthetic stage to ethical stage and ultimately religious stage landing in the realm of "faith"; where an individual arrives at without any rational commitment. M. K. Gandhi, whose journey in life encompassed politics, economics, and social realms where the underlying paradigm has always been religion. He did not consider 'truth' and therefore 'morality' as segregated from religion. R. D. Ranade, while mentioning the criteria of mystical experience, very empathetically mentions that a mystic (a saint) has the element of universality, is intellectual, emotional, has the intuitive experience of 'spiritual realization' and cannot be devoid of morality. B. R. Ambedkar, instead of accepting Christianity or Islam, consecrated into Buddhism; that befitted Indian contextual situation critiquing the popular Brahmanism, believed that religion must be in amalgamation and consonance with reason and scientific temperament. And this criterion was fulfilled by Buddhism (indeed with other criteria). His adopting Buddhism was more of a political movement rather than spiritual; therefore, his Buddhism in the transformed format, is called Neo-Buddhism. The research article concludes by comparing these masters' views and ideologies in the context of 'a possibility of ethical religion' that has appealed my conscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction provides an overview to this special issue honoring the work and legacy of Jeremy D. Safran. Born of the Jeremy Safran Memorial Conference, held on April 2nd, 2023, this issue features a wide range of contributions from leaders in the field, former students, and early career professionals whose work engages and develops central ideas from Safran's work and reflects on his impact on their own clinical work and scholarship. Themes center around the three domains of Safran's major contributions: pedagogy; psychotherapy integration; and Buddhism, spirituality, and psychoanalysis. We observe among the contributions an experiential reconnecting with the deeply relational commitments of our friend and colleague. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shisong lü 十誦律, translated in the early 5th century, remains the only complete version of this Buddhist Vinaya text preserved to date and represents the first Vinaya text translated into Chinese. This Vinaya text introduced standardized terminology that significantly influenced subsequent translations of Vinaya texts and profoundly impacted Chinese Buddhism during the Six Dynasties period. Due to its complex translation history, the text is bifurcated into two lineages: the Northern lineage, featuring an initial 58-scroll version (without a preface), and the Southern lineage, with an expanded 61-scroll version (including a preface). This study examines the two oldest extant manuscripts of the Lüxu 律序 (Preface to the Shisong lü) from the Southern lineage—one from the Dunhuang collection currently preserved in Japan and the other from the Nara Japan. Through intensive comparisons with woodblock editions, these manuscripts from Dunhuang, and ancient Japanese manuscript Buddhist canons, this study not only traces the textual evolution of the Southern lineage of the Shisong lü from the 6th to the 13th centuries but also offers new insights into both the historical development and the relationship between these two lineages of the text. Methodologically, this paper provides inspiration for textual criticism of the Vinaya in particular and Buddhist studies in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Daitokuji Old Collection's 500 Luohans Paintings 五百羅漢圖, painted by Southern Song Mingzhou 明州 artists Lin Tinggui 林庭珪 and Zhou Jichang 周季常, have become a focal point in recent studies on the Chinese Buddhist material culture of the Song Dynasty. Among the 500 Luohans series, five paintings are related to the ancient Indian legend of Emperor Aśoka's creation of 84,000 stupas. These paintings include "Building a Stupa" (No.78), "King Aśoka Stupa Emitting Light" (No.79), "Precious Stupa on the Rock" (No.80), and "Miracle of Light-Emitting Relics" (No.81), which are currently housed in the Daitokuji 大德寺 in Kyoto, Japan, and "Luohans Watching the Relics' Light" (B5), which is housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the US. However, the way in which the "King Aśoka Stupa" 阿育王塔 and "Relics' Light" 舍利光 series were integrated into the overall visual narrative of the 500 Luohans in the Daitokuji and Boston collections, as well as the profound meanings and social-cultural contexts embedded in these images, have been rarely studied in depth. The introduction of the miraculous relics theme into the Daitokuji Old Collection's 500 Luohans Paintings originates from an earlier version by the monk Fa Neng. However, Fa Neng's version recorded by the Northern Song literati Qin Guan 秦觀 does not mention the King Aśoka Stupa. The artists had considerable freedom in depicting miraculous relic phenomena and King Aśoka Stupa. The specific details of King Aśoka Stupa's background in Tiantai Mountain 天台山, such as rock bridges, waterfalls, and rock caves, as well as the craftsmanship of King Aśoka Stupa, reflect particular contemporary ideas. The vivid depictions of the "King Aśoka Stupa" and "Relics' Light" in the Daitokuji Present Collection and the Boston Collection of the 500 Luohans may indicate a close connection between the creation of these images and the fervent Relics Worship at King Aśoka Temple 阿育王寺 in Mingzhou during Southern Song. This paper synthesizes these images, ancient Chinese and Japanese manuscripts, and fieldwork insights to interpret the sources and significance of these images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buddhist culture in Liaoning has a long and rich history. The continuous spread of Buddhism has promoted the development of Buddhist architecture, leaving us a rich architectural art heritage. Furthermore, it has also profoundly influenced China's architectural characteristics, social culture, and economic development. This paper takes Buddhist temples and pagodas in Liaoning as the research objects and uses methods such as the geographic concentration index, nearest neighbor index, kernel density estimation, and standard deviation ellipse to analyze their spatio-temporal distribution characteristics and influencing factors across different periods. 1. Temporal distribution. During the Liao Dynasty (907–1125 AD) and the Qing Dynasty (1636–1912 AD), the construction of Buddhist temples and pagodas was the highest, with a linear increase in the Qing Dynasty. 2. The overall spatial distribution of Buddhist temples and pagodas in Liaoning is uneven, showing an agglomeration distribution state. The distribution status of different periods was different, and the Ming (1368–1644 AD) and Qing dynasties (1636–1912 AD) showed obvious aggregation distribution. The overall state is "more in the west and less in the east" and "more in the north and less in the south". 3. In different periods, the spatial distribution direction of Buddhist temples and pagodas in Liaoning was relatively obvious and was southwest–northeast, and the center of gravity gradually shifted to the northwest. 4. The kernel density of different periods presents the density distribution and area of each period. The overall distribution is dense to scattered and then to highly dense. 5. The spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of Buddhist temples and pagodas in Liaoning are mainly composed of deep-seated political factors, rapid economic development and stable social environment, diverse culture, natural geography, cultural relics protection, and the artistic value of Buddhist architecture in the Liaoning region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the economics behind two large-scale rebellions in Japan throughout 1532–1536 and 1570–1580, launched by a religious organization called Honganji. The paper argues that Honganji's large-scale rebellions took off primarily due to religious reforms, particularly, the creation of an after-life pardon doctrine, which enabled the functioning of more potent incentives that fostered participation. First, the doctrine raised the costs of not joining a rebellion by excluding the non-participants and consigning them to hell. This resulted in immediate spiritual, social and economic penalties, as condemned individuals were considered religiously corrupt and were expelled from the sect's temple towns and sect-dominated village communities. Second, the after-life pardon doctrine reduced the costs of rebellious participation by guaranteeing an instant rebirth in paradise after dying for the sect's cause. As many individuals at the time saw the world through the lens of religion and spirituality, the guarantee of paradise was an especially potent incentive to join a rebellion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956), popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination against untouchables (Dalits) while supporting the rights of women and labourers. This article examines how Ambedkar is characterized in Thai language academic and general writings published between 1975 and 2017. The paper is based on textual analysis that interprets the books and articles on Ambedkar in Thai language as primary sources for understanding his image and thought as portrayed in Thailand. Ambedkar's forward-thinking ideas on democracy impressed Thai writers because Ambedkar attempted to dispense with the caste system and promote liberty, equality and fraternity among underprivileged communities in India. Ambedkar also served as chairman of drafting committee of Constitution and leader of the Dalit movement and community. Furthermore, Thai writers see Ambedkar's ideas about Buddhism as qualifying him as a messiah or bodhisattva who revived a neo-Buddhist movement in India. Thai monks have served as significant intermediaries in narrating Ambedkar's interpretation of Buddhism to the Thai Buddhist community because they have direct experience such as studying and staying in India. Academics and famous writers have also conveyed Ambedkar's ideas about Buddhism and democracy, which qualify him as a modernist and maha manav [great man]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maritime route connecting the Chinese continent and the Japanese archipelago facilitated a significant exchange of commercial goods and sociocultural knowledge throughout the Southern Song dynasty. Within this context, Japanese pilgrim monks traveling along this route acted as key conduits for the transmission of Buddhist teachings. Their journeys profoundly influenced the establishment and development of new Buddhist monasteries in Japan. Focusing on biographical accounts that portray the experiences of these pilgrim monks during their twelfth- and thirteenth-century sea voyages, this paper aims to explore how these accounts drew on intertextual links with existing Buddhist records to fulfill the compilers' intentions. Specifically, this paper examines the structure and sources of biographical accounts detailing miraculous encounters between pilgrim monks and Buddhist deities during perilous situations at sea. By interpreting the role of these deities in the corpus of Buddhist literature and within Japanese Buddhist monasteries founded by pilgrim monks, this paper argues that the increasing emphasis on pilgrim monks' attainment of divine protection in their biographical records suggests a growing concern for reinforcing the authority of their dharma lineages. Moreover, the composition and reception of these miraculous accounts reflected the changing religious needs and reshaped strategies for promoting specific Buddhist sects in subsequent periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humanistic Buddhism is one of the mainstreams of modern Buddhism, with special emphasis on the humanistic dimension. With the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, Humanistic Buddhism is also at an important stage of modernization and transformation, thus facing a continuous negotiation between religious values and technological innovations. This paper first argues that AI is technically beneficial to the propagation of Buddhism by citing several cases in which AI technology has been used in Buddhism. Then, by comparing Master Hsing Yun's Buddhist ethics to "Posthuman" ethics, it points out that the theories of Humanistic Buddhism share similarities with AI and Posthuman ethics. Among them, Master Hsing Yun's theory of "the nature of insentient beings" provides an important theoretical reference for the question of "whether AI can become a Buddha". From the technical and ethical dimensions, it points out that the interaction between Humanistic Buddhism and AI can promote original uses or implementations of AI technology. However, it should also be noted that compared to the cases of "Artificial Narrow Intelligence"discussed in the paper, the "Strong AI" could lead to much more ethical crises. It is also likely to cause the cult of science and technology, and thus subvert the humanistic tradition of Buddhism with a new instrumental rationality. In addition, there are some potential pitfalls that Humanistic Buddhism may encounter when using AI. Hence, while it is necessary to encourage the use of technologies such as AI in contemporary Buddhism, it is also important for Buddhism to keep a critical distance from digital technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first decade of the twentieth century marked a turning point for Japanese Buddhism. With the introduction of Western academia, Buddhist scholars began to uncover the history of Buddhism, and through their efforts, they discovered India as the birthplace of Buddhism. As India began to grow in importance for Japanese Buddhist circles, one unexpected area to receive the most influence was Japanese Buddhist art, especially in the representation of human figures. Some artists began to insert Indian female figures into their art, not only to add a sense of exoticism but also to experiment with novel iconographies that might modernize Buddhist art. One example included the combination of Indian and Japanese female traits to create a culturally fluid figure that highlighted the cultural connection between Japan and India. Other artists were more attracted to "Indianizing" the Buddha in paintings to create more historically authentic art, drawing references from both Indian art and observations of local people. In this paper, I highlight how developments in Buddhist studies in Japan led to a re-establishment of Indo–Japanese relationships. Furthermore, I examine how the attraction towards India for Japanese artists motivated them to travel abroad and seek inspiration to modernize Buddhist art in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the discourse of Lushan Huiyuan 廬山慧遠, the firewood–fire metaphor (xinghuozhiyu 薪火之喻) is employed to illustrate personhood (shen 神), referring to pudgala. Scholars often criticize Huiyuan for interpreting personhood as a true "self" (ātman) under the influence of the Vātsīputrīya school, thus contradicting the doctrine of non-self. This paper suggests that this might be a dual misunderstanding of both Huiyuan and the Vātsīputrīya school. Huiyuan's firewood–fire metaphor is indeed profoundly influenced by the Vātsīputrīyas' three kinds of designation. Yet, he never commits to the substantial self, and his argument primarily aims to refute the view of annihilationism (duanmie 斷滅), that is, that life ceases to exist after one period ends. This stance fully aligns with the doctrine of non-self that has been central since the inception of Buddhism. Additionally, Huiyuan's explanation of the indestructibility of personhood (shen bumie 神不滅) is a reluctant proposition; its fundamental purpose does not lie in discussing transmigration, but rather in demonstrating the state of "body and mind both cease" following the cessation of causes and conditions once "transmigration ends". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the life and works of Su Shi, a prominent intellectual and statesman during China's Song Dynasty, as a champion of interreligious harmony. We examine how Su Shi's vast philosophical and literary output demonstrates his deep engagement with Confucian ethics, Buddhist compassion, and Daoist tranquility. By analyzing his poems, essays, and other writings, we explore how Su Shi navigated these diverse traditions, finding common ground and promoting mutual understanding. This analysis highlights Su Shi's ability to bridge religious and philosophical divides, offering a valuable perspective for contemporary discussions on interfaith dialogue and peaceful coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the accumulation of Indian astronomical knowledge within Chinese Buddhist scriptures and its dissemination across Chinese society through a comparative study of the Modengjia jing (Ch1 of the ZKA) and the Xiuyao jing (XYJ). The period from the Ch1 of ZKA to the XYJ was a time when Buddhism was in the midst of developing and maturing within China. The Ch1 of the ZKA is regarded as the first Buddhist scripture including a complete account of Indian nakṣatra astrology and translated from Sanskrit parallel text, rather than a native work codified by Buddhists in Ancient China. The XYJ is not a translation but rather an authoritative handbook of Indian astrological knowledge taught by Amoghavajra. A detailed comparison of the contents of the two texts shows that the knowledge contained within Ch1 of the ZKA belongs to the Vedic era and that the XYJ belongs to the post-Vedic era. Beginning with the Ch1 of the ZKA and ending with the XYJ, Buddhist astronomical knowledge steadily grew. Yang Jingfeng's revision and explanation of the first fascicle of the Sutra reflects Ancient Chinese intellectuals' acceptance, digestion, and recreation of Buddhist astronomical knowledge. His abandonment of the "Calculation of weekdays" reflects the influence of the Chinese mathematical and astronomical tradition and the calendar tradition upon his perspective; perhaps this is one of the reasons why China has accepted the weekday within daily life up to the modern era. Every civilization, in learning to assimilate other cultures, has a choice between foreignization and domestication, within which a tension is reflected. Learning from foreign cultures is about keeping up with the most advanced civilizations in the world and advancing with the times, while maintaining one's own cultural identity and cultural characteristics is necessary for one's own civilization; these two notions are complementary and should not be neglected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article continues a series of publications on Tibetan texts dedicated to various Buddhist deities, discovered in Khara-Khoto within a large corpus of texts from the Tangut State period (11th-13th centuries). While the main part of this corpus was brought by Petr Kozlov to Saint Petersburg in 1909, a small yet significant collection was later acquired by Aurel Stein as a result of his 1913-1915 expedition. Among Stein's collection kept at the British Library (London) is a single manuscript folio, IOL Tib M 143, which contains what appears to be an entire text entitled Gtsug gtor rnam par rgyal ma'i bstod pa byin brlabs can ("The Hymn to Uṣṇīṣavijayā with the Blessing"), the colophon lacking any other details including the author's name. It is one of several pieces of textual evidence highlighting the important role of the cult of the goddess Uṣṇīṣavijayā, one of the most popular long-life deities, in 12th and early 13th century Tangut Buddhism. I would date the manuscript to this period as it features some elements of old orthography. This hymn is not found in the Tibetan Buddhist canon and may have been composed by a Tibetan-speaking author. This assumption is indirectly supported by the analysis of the assonances, alliterations and sometimes even rhymes in the text, which reveal a high level of poetic craftsmanship. Such sophistication might be less expected from a translation, although this does not preclude the possibility of a translation being equally skillful. The text consists of eight stanzas of praise and two stanzas of prayer, the latter seemingly referred to as "the blessing" in the title. The praising part moves from describing Uṣṇīṣavijayā's divine nature, merits, and main iconographic features to her spiritual and soteriological roles. The iconographic part is not very detailed, it omits attributes held by her in the eight hands or colors of her three faces. However, I provide these details in my paper for a fuller picture. The text of the manuscript is published as a diplomatic transliteration, where I attempted to address several issues with unclear places, particularly reconstructing lacunas caused by holes in the folio. I believe that, except for one or two instances, I was able to arrive at a reliable version. The full English translation of the text is also supplied. While the hymn does not explicitly provide any historical information concerning the cult of Uṣṇīṣavijayā among the Tanguts, this edition may prove useful for scholars of Tangut Buddhism. Perhaps they will be able to identify its Tangut or Chinese version among Khara-Khoto fragments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate on Buddhist eco-ethics emerged in the late 20th century and continues to the present day, which fosters the intersection of Buddhist eco-ethics with environmental ethics. However, the current understanding of Buddhist eco-ethics still falls short of a holistic concept. To fill the gap, this paper argues that different macro perspectives should be considered in the process of developing a concept of holistic Buddhist eco-ethics. For this, we firstly attempt to clarify the dispute over the feasibility of Buddhist eco-ethics from the internal, external, and Buddhists' perspectives. Then, we address the dispute concerning the classification of Buddhist eco-ethics, proposing a typology that accommodates different perspectives. Finally, two methods are suggested to mediate the dispute over Buddhist eco-ethics and justify its holistic concept, that is, regarding Buddhist eco-ethics as a form of virtue ethics and as a product of "engaged Buddhism." Here, it is also emphasized to include Buddhists' perspectives when mediating the dispute. Accordingly, we put forward a holistic concept for Buddhist eco-ethics that incorporates three main macro perspectives: ecological ethics in Buddhism, Buddhism in ecological ethics, and Buddhists' environmental activities. It is hoped that the wisdom of Buddhist eco-ethics can help us forge a path towards a more harmonious and sustainable world in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese intellectuals started to engage in Buddhist psychology in the early 20th century, a time when Western culture was greatly influencing the country. Taixu criticized Western psychology and proposed his Buddhist psychology. He proposed a tripartite psychology based on Buddhist doctrine: psychology on affection (qing 情); psychology on reflection (xiang 想); and psychology on wisdom (zhi 智). Perceiving Western psychology as lacking in both theoretical depth and breadth, he specifically criticized behaviorism. He integrated the interpretation of "sense faculties" (indriya) from the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, thereby reconstructing an Ideal Behavioral Science, a philosophical system that centers on behavior and encompasses all aspects of life. This paper argues that Taixu's critique of Western psychology and his construction of Buddhist psychology responded to the ideological trends of his era. In Taixu's conceptual system, Buddhist psychology was part of his theory on "Buddhism for human life" (rensheng fojiao 人生佛教), serving not only to explain the psychological state of human but also to guide cultivation and lead people to enlightenment, bearing practical significance. Taixu's study of worldly knowledge, including psychology, attempts to comprehensively construct a modern Buddhist system that integrates Buddhist Dharma and secular learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By thinking with and through Buddhist cosmology, this paper explores the emergence of an ethical sensibility—what we call planetary cosmopolitanism—that is based on not just a spatially expanded ethic of care to ecological worlds, but also a temporally extended sense of justice to the future Earth. This transtemporal sense of ethical becoming reflects how the possibility of future 'rebirth' and accountability for past actions can motivate new ecological consciousness in the present. We forge these ideas through an empirical focus on popular Buddhist ecological practices in Singapore, where green recovery visions have primarily been driven by a secular and technocratic ethos. In negotiating the prevailing modernist ecological discourses, many Buddhists tap into an alternative imagining of cosmological time that regards Earth not simply as a place to be left behind at the end of one's life, but a permanent home for all future beings. This reading of human–ecology relations emphasises a causal responsibility to secure planetary well‐being, moving the making of cosmopolitan sensibilities from the realm of beneficence into justice. Yet, this renewed cosmopolitan sensibility to Earth is not simply a prescriptive ethical framework articulated on an abstract level, but materially performed and negotiated at the level of everyday life. Recycling becomes a site of rapprochement that allows Buddhists in Singapore to promote and negotiate their ecological consciousness within the strictures of the secular state. In doing so, it opens up new spaces of postcapitalist possibility that enable Buddhists, alongside people of other or no faith, to imagine alternative ways of inhabiting the planet. By developing an alternative account of cosmopolitanism grounded in Buddhist cosmology, we identify Buddhism as a decolonial lens through which we can critically reimagine human–ecology relations, and illuminate diverse modes and practices of ethical becoming in this age of ecological crisis. This paper develops an alternative account of cosmopolitanism ‐ 'planetary cosmopolitanism' ‐ that is grounded in Buddhist cosmology. This account is based on not just a spatially expanded ethic of care for ecological worlds, but also a temporally extended sense of justice to the future Earth, thus moving the making of cosmopolitan sensibilities from the realm of beneficence into that of justice. Overall, the paper advances Buddhism as a decolonial lens from and through which human–ecology relations could be reimagined to illuminate diverse modes and practices of ethical becoming in this age of ecological crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composer, author, and teacher, John Cage, was exercised by our 'inability' to truly listen when approaching sound. In exploring the influences on Cage's avant-garde style, specifically the spiritual discipline found in both Zen Buddhism and Chance operations, this paper attempts to distinguish his philosophy (and use) of silence and chance as an aesthetic pedagogy. In accordance with Dewey's aesthetic theory and Shusterman's Somaesthetics, resolving the inability to listen is aesthetically conceived as somatic 'attuning' to the occurrence of chance sounds in the ambience of the world. By maintaining Cage's spiritually informed approach as a compositional framework, this paper highlights how his philosophy of silence is pedagogically illustrative of the active engagement we can have with the world. This approach is most apparent in Cage's 4'33", where the 'musicalizing' of everyday sounds erodes the boundaries between art and life, creating a continuity with the world. Somewhat problematically, Cage attempted to make this possible by channelling experience into a state of immersion, unifying art and life by 'letting go' of subjectivity. But as is shown by the Fluxus artists who were inspired by Cage's teachings, the possibility for negotiating Cage's terms brings with it an opportunity to theoretically reflect on the educational processes that underpin Cage's approach to sound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With regard to the assertion of the nature of the world, primitive Buddhism advocates "all phenomena that arise from causes" and opposes the existence of "God" or "Creator", who created everything in the universe, which is significantly different from monotheistic beliefs such as Brahmanism, Christianity, and Islam and is therefore often called "atheism". This paper introduces the Buddhist cosmology of Mount Sumeru and the tri-sahasra mahā-sahasra lokadhātu under the perspective of comparative religions and the first human beings who came to this world from the ābhāsvara-deva as recorded in the Buddhist scriptures and explores the question of whether Buddhism is atheistic. It is believed that the key to the debate between Chinese and Western scholars on whether Buddhism is atheistic is the difference in understanding the concept of "God". Buddhism does not deny the supernatural power of "ghosts and gods", so its essence is still theism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]