Search

The anonymous author of the medieval Christian classic 'The Cloud of Unknowing' describes a form of prayer that also aptly describes the essence of Buddhist meditation. This deepest form of prayer is really just the willingness to be still and let the longing in ones heart go out without defining or understanding where it is going.

The fifth century was an epoch for the predominance of Buddhist precepts in East Asia. The study presented sketches out a history of the development of the Buddhist precepts in China, by making careful distinction between the period and the region for the development of each.

The two issues related to Sikansanada Avatamsaka translation office, its location and the identity of the chief members of the translation team are clarified. The study also sheds light on the historical value of the text which originated within the Chinese Avatamsaka tradition but to which historians of East Asian Buddhism have paid insufficient attention due to its highly polemical and mythological nature.

The article traces the genesis of soku, a particle elevated to the status of an operator of dialectical logic by Japanese philosophers of the Kyoto school, to a translation problem that occurred when Buddhist thought spread from India to China. On the basis of the analysis of its most famous locus of occurrence, a passage in the Heart Sutra, it is shown how eva, a Sanskrit particle with the function of distinguishing between logical types of sentences, was transformed into a modifier of identity statements and an indicator of the inability of language to express deep-level Buddhist insights exhaustively., One of the basic questions about Asian philosophical systems, both those that have developed mainly on the premises of their own cultural tradition and those that have consciously tried to [...]

Religious practices serve as evidence of beliefs but defining religion in terms of beliefs gives rise to problems. Materialities of religious practices, ideas and its relationship serve as evidences of beliefs.

Professional secular and traditional religious social service delivery systems in northern Thailand that have global trends towards secular provision and are parallel are presented. The systems are studied in their historical and cultural context and the future directions of the parallel service delivery models are discussed.

The work of Maxine Hong Kingston who is known as the veteran of peace and has dedicated her life to the Veterans Writing Workshop and has published The Fifth Book of Peace is presented. Her views of the difference between Buddhism in the U.S. and in other countries especially Asia wherein in Asia in democratic nature is presented.

The article examines the Buddhism in West and itEs spreading in the context of the existing world under the conditions of liberalism and globalization. The rising interest of Buddhism may be an effective index in the West or response to specific conditions present in and through the developing global economy and liberalism.

The way in which the American fascination with the exotic East is reflected in their desire to escape from and to protest against the emerging urban industrial world and to come to terms with modernization and mechanization in the Glided Age is addressed. It was observed that Buddhist practitioners were forward looking modernists who helped to pave the way for the arrival of an international world order that would bring together Eastern and Western cultures.

The article explores the fortunes of Manichaeism in Bactria which was condemned across the East-West divide of the Ancient World. The political support sought and gained by Manichaeism and the encounter and interaction of Manichaeism with other religious traditions in the area such as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism are highlighted.

The author delves into the methods that ancient Tibetan historians used to record medical histories and the subsequent effects it had on the political and ideological concepts of Buddhism.

Byline: Hans-Guenter Wagner The views and values of Buddhist economics play a growing role in the present discourse on 'green' economics. These ancient teachings represent an alternative paradigm and holistic concept of economic action opposed to the reductionist mainstream economics. In this paper, the main content and assumptions of Buddhist economics as laid down in the canonical scriptures are introduced and contrasted with those of western economics. The Buddhist concept of happiness, and of economic action in general, the recommendations on right livelihood as well as the corresponding notions about the source of wealth, its proper use and distribution are reviewed and discussed. It is shown that these ancient teachings share many common facets with the ecological movement and its approach to economics. Particular attention is given to review the actual impact of Buddhist economic ethics on the social and economic history of Asian Buddhist countries.

Byline: Richard Welford Key principles of Buddhist economics are discussed in relation to the private sector's role in contributing to sustainable development. It is suggested that many aspects of a Buddhist approach are consistent with recent developments in the field of corporate social responsibility. But a more radical approach to that concept is required if we are to attain anything close to sustainable development. That approach is well informed by notions of Buddhist economics.

The source of the effort to confirm one's solidity is an uncertainty as to whether or not one exists, and driven by this uncertainty, one seeks to prove one's existence by finding a reference point outside one's self. The process of confirming the solidity of I and the other, that is, the development of ego is understood more clearly with the help of the five skandhas, a set of Buddhist concepts which describe ego as a five-step process.

Discussions were made on the Korean Buddhism's role in society, it seems to cover the nature of enlightenment in the Seon Buddhist tradition. It was argued that both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism were socially and politically passive because of their emphasis on individual salvation.