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The paper and pulp industry (PPI) is one of the largest industries that contribute to the growing economy of the world. While wood remains the primary raw material of the PPIs, the demand for paper has also grown alongside the expanding global population, leading to deforestation and ecological imbalance. Wood-based paper production is associated with enormous utilization of water resources and the release of different wastes and untreated sludge that degrades the quality of the environment and makes it unsafe for living creatures. In line with this, the indigenous handmade paper making from the bark of Daphne papyracea , Wall. ex G. Don by the Monpa tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, India is considered as a potential alternative to non-wood fiber. This study discusses the species distribution modeling of D. papyracea , community-based production of the paper, and glycome profiling of the paper by plant cell wall glycan-directed monoclonal antibodies. The algorithms used for ecological and geographical modeling indicated the maximum predictive distribution of the plant toward the western parts of Arunachal Pradesh. It was also found that the suitable distribution of D. papyracea was largely affected by the precipitation and temperature variables. Plant cell walls are primarily made up of cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectin, and glycoproteins. Non-cellulosic cell wall glycans contribute significantly to various physical properties such as density, crystallinity, and tensile strength of plant cell walls. Therefore, a detailed analysis of non-cellulosic cell wall glycan through glycome profiling and glycosyl residue composition analysis is important for the polymeric composition and commercial processing of D. papyracea paper. ELISA-based glycome profiling results demonstrated that major classes of cell wall glycans such as xylan, arabinogalactans, and rhamnogalacturonan-I were present on D. papyracea paper. The presence of these polymers in the Himalayan Buddhist handmade paper of Arunachal Pradesh is correlated with its high tensile strength. The results of this study imply that non-cellulosic cell wall glycans are required for the production of high-quality paper. To summarize, immediate action is required to strengthen the centuries-old practice of handmade paper, which can be achieved through education, workshops, technical know-how, and effective marketing aid to entrepreneurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year, the Vietnamese people reportedly burned thousands of tons of votive paper in the hope of pleasing the dead and getting spiritual peace in mind and material rewards. The discourses surrounding the practices lay great emphasis on burning votive offerings, or the excessive forms of this practice as superstitious. Findings from the study of burning votive paper in Vietnamese Buddhist Temples reveal that the practice has become associated with wastefulness, fire hazard, and environmental concerns. For this reason, the present study firstly traces the origins of votive paper burning of the ancient people. Secondly, the study focuses on its introduction into Vietnam as an act of worship in Vietnamese folk tradition and its current negative impacts. Finally, the author then tries to analyze based on Buddhist perception on life and death in order to reject this practice as its incompatibility with Buddhism. Despite the fact that a single case does not aim at generalization, research outcomes raises-some viewpoints of the relevant agencies on the practice of burning votive paper that contribute to the protection of the spiritual tradition and natural environment of Vietnam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

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]

Zen Buddhists take the bodhisattva vow to save all beings. At Clouds in Water Zen Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, this means engaging in specific activities geared toward eliminating social and systemic injustice while also working to eliminate the causes and conditions of suffering within oneself. At Ryumonji Zen Monastery in Dorchester, Iowa, the bodhisattva vow to save all beings means to wholeheartedly engage in everyday activities, such as doing the dishes, without attachment or aversion; Ryumonji sees no need to engage specifically in socio-political activities. Clouds has a robust program of workshops and retreats on social engagement and participates locally in socio-political activism as part of its Buddhist practice. On the contrary, Ryumonji does not have a distinct program for social engagement but contextualizes every activity as already having a socio-political effect. Ryumonji Zen Monastery and Clouds in Water Zen Center are less than a hundred miles away in the American Midwest and both follow the same Sōtō Zen lineage of the Japanese priest Dainin Katagiri. Yet, they offer two different ways of responding to the world’s suffering. This paper analyzes the differing views and practices for social engagement at Ryumonji and Clouds, revealing differing interpretations of the central Buddhist teachings of interdependence, the bodhisattva vow, and the inseparability of individual and social liberation. It situates the divergent interpretations in their respective rural and urban contexts, regional Midwestern context, and within the larger context of development of Buddhism in America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the influence and significance of the activities of the monks' militia during the Japanese invasion of Chosŏn, from the perspective of the religious efficacy of Buddhism and the spread of the Buddhist concept of wonder. After examining the concept that the monks' militia played an important part in the war, fighting against enemies in major battles and constructing and defending fortresses, this paper proposes that the religious efficacy of Buddhism was revealed through the performance of burial and guiding ceremonies. Restoring the religious wonder of Buddhism, which had been criticized by the Confucian literati, Buddhist rituals for consoling the bereaved and praying for the welfare of the dead came to thrive. A dilemma existed between the principle of keeping the Buddhist precepts and the reality of fulfilling the demands of loyalty since the activities of the monks' militia greatly damaged the Buddhist community. While killing was a direct infringement of the values of the sangha, the monks violated this precept in the cause of protecting the state and practicing loyalty. In this situation, where there was such a dilemma between the Buddhist and secular worlds, these monks' prioritization of loyalty not only indicated the desperate national situation of the time but also reflected the social, cultural, and political context of the Confucian society of Chosŏn. This paper also explores how renowned generals of the monks' militia, including Samyŏng Yujŏng, emerged as heroes among the people, and memories of their deeds were transmitted through wonder stories. Yujŏng was highly praised as a symbol of Buddhist loyalty, and his heroic story was expanded and reproduced among the population through folk tales and novels. While the intellectuals of Chosŏn who followed Confucian values did not believe those wonder stories, the trauma that the war left behind demanded the appearance of wondrous heroes who helped people overcome that trauma, and this demand enabled Yujŏng to emerge as one of these heroic figures. The activities of the monks' militia, the religious efficacy of Buddhism, and the creation of the heroic narratives of the monks' militia generals prove that Buddhism had a firm foundation in late Chosŏn society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

The corridor-enclosed cloister characterized Buddhist monasteries during the Sui and Tang periods. This architectural form was first introduced by Emperor Liang Wudi from the palace and continued to prevail until the eleventh century, when a gradual transformation occurred, resulting in the corridor evolving into a long, narrow image hall. This paper examines the ritual and pictorial programs of the Sui-Tang Buddhist corridor to gain insight into this transformation and its ceremonial significance. Specifically, it explores how the corridor was empowered by the state-sponsored maigre feast as a place of worship and how the monastic community of a particular school appropriated the space to celebrate an unbroken dharma-transmission lineage from the Buddha to a specific group of Chinese patriarchs. Lastly, the paper aims to comprehend the adaptation of the corridor into an image hall, which was influenced by political and religious shifts in the eleventh century when Buddhist monasteries were no longer designated as the ritual arena for the state-sponsored maigre feast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an investigation of two recently discovered paper sheets of the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment from the Silla kingdom, this paper reveals that early Korea had more diverse forms of dhāraṇī practices than previously assumed. Through analyses of these incantation sheets, this paper contributes toward filling the gap in our current understanding of the material practice pertaining to the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment of medieval East Asia. Previously, all known traces of material dhāraṇīs from early Korea, with just a few exceptions, were related to the Sūtra of the Pure Light Incantation enshrined in the relic crypts of pagodas—a practice that has little connection to contemporaneous Chinese dhāraṇī practice. However, the newly discovered Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment sheets, whose date this paper infers to be between the eighth and ninth century, show that Unified Silla had a dhāraṇī practice closely linked to coeval Chinese practice. The Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment sheets from Silla show the modification and continuation of Chinese dhāraṇī practice. Unlike the Chinese amulet sheets of the Incantation of Wish-Fulfillment that were buried in tombs, the Silla amulet sheets were likely enshrined in one of the pagodas erected on Mount Nam in Silla's capital. At the same time, they were placed in the pagoda to wish for good afterlives of the soldiers who died at the battle, suggesting that they had a mortuary function similar to those buried in Chinese tombs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Introduction, I will explain, firstly, our choice to use a transnational approach over a globalisation approach for our analysis; and, secondly, the definition of Chinese Buddhism and the common determinants in transnational Buddhism that emerged from our three papers. Although my paper does not talk about Chinese Buddhism I per se i , the two case studies in my paper are located in Taiwan, a society where Chinese Buddhism is the mainstream form of Buddhism. Furthermore, transnational Buddhism is not a modern product and, as Lee and Chang point out, it has a longer history than "globalisation" and conceptualises the individuality of each connecting node better than a globalisation approach does ([14], 13). Since Buddhism is very diverse - even Buddhism as practised by people in China has many different schools of thoughts, cultural traditions, etc. - it is necessary to explain the term "Chinese Buddhism" or "Han Chinese Buddhism" as used in our papers. [Extracted from the article]

When discussing Buddhism in practice, we should first note that the word practice has a multilayered meaning in Buddhism. For the purposes of this paper, I would like to simplify things considerably, and divide those multiple meanings into two groups. The first involves the training of one's mind and body. By engaging in such training, the practitioner is said to draw closer to Buddhist enlightenment. This practice takes various forms depending on the time and place, such as observing the precepts or engaging in meditation, and is referred to as 'benefiting the self' (jiri 自利). Second, there is the practice that consists of Buddhists' activities vis-à-vis society. Even Buddhists, whose fundamental orientation is towards leaving the secular world (shusseken 出世 間), have engaged in activities in society that have taken a variety of forms. There are records of Śākyamuni having given various pieces of advice to rulers during ancient times. We also find many records of later Buddhists engaging in missionary and charitable activities. This is referred to as 'benefiting others' (rita 利他). In particular, Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes the inseparability of 'benefiting the self' and 'benefiting others'. Although Buddhist practice is traditionally divided into two categories: self-interest and altruism, it would not be true to say, in fact, that 'benefiting others' has always been as much of a primary concern as 'benefiting the self.' Rather, it can be said that concern for others has always been a weakness of Buddhism, overshadowed by concerns with 'benefiting the self.' Thus, Mahayana Buddhism's emphasis on the importance of benefiting others, on the contrary, could be said to imply that this was a weakness of the Buddhism at the time of the Mahayana arose. My paper focuses on recent developments surrounding Buddhism and its practice in contemporary Japan, particularly the element of 'benefiting others.' The question of how Buddhists should contribute to society has continually and repeatedly appeared from the origins of Mahayana Buddhism to the present. Against this backdrop, an event occurred in Japan in recent years that marked a major turning point in the issue of Buddhist contributions to society. That event is the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. In this paper, I consider the issue of 'benefiting others' in Buddhism in light of the effects of the tragic earthquake disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Buddhist system of two truths provides a descriptive framework with criteria for what counts as real in contrast to what does not. This paper looks at the relationship between these two truths in the works of two seventh-century Indian philosophers, Dharmakīrti and Candrakīrti, and draws implications for comparison and contrast with modern scientific understandings of the world. It highlights important features of Dharmakīrti's epistemology that aim to circumvent cultural conventions in a way that resonates with scientific representations of knowledge. It also contrasts this approach with one inspired by Candrakīrti in order to argue for the place of ethics and persons in a hybrid Buddhist–scientific picture of the world. [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]

This article challenges the dominant Christian-centered approach to Black religious life by exploring contemporary Womanist Buddhist and Black Buddhist practice, writing, and thought alongside writings of early East Asian Buddhist nuns, noting similarities, differences, and the intersections among and between these written accounts. "Reading Between the Times" signals the ongoing nature of this project, and this particular paper draws heavily upon Kathryn Ann Tsai's 1994 translation Lives of the Nuns: Biographies of Chinese Buddhist Nuns from the Fourth to Sixth Centuries along with several Womanist and/or Black Buddhist voices, such as Faith Adiele, Melanie Harris, bell hooks, Layli Maparyan, Carolyn Jones Medine, Alice Walker, reverend angel Kyodo williams, Jan Willis, and Pamela Ayo Yetunde. Rather than make definitive claims, this paper becomes curious with initial observations surrounding authorial voice, intersections of race/gender/class within a particular temporal space, "legitimacy" questions, and others—and, of course, invites more work in the future. Deploying an engaged Buddhist pedagogy to inform mindful scholarship, this paper reminds us that we have more commonalities than oppressive systems often admit or acknowledge, and it concludes with a call to action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops the philosophical work of Joanna Macy. It argues that ecological grief is a fitting response to our ecological predicament and that much of the 'mental ill health' that we are now seeing is, in fact, a perfectly sane response to our ecological reality. This paper claims that all ecological emotions are grounded in love/compassion. Acceptance of these emotions reveals that everything is fine in the world as it is, providing that we accept our ecological emotions as part of what is 'in the world'. This is non-dualistic acceptance or 'fierce' acceptance. This paper focuses primarily on the revolutionary qualities of ecological grief: a paradoxical revolution, coming as it does from a profound process of acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buddhism has been a significant part of Hangzhou's rich history. Throughout the twentieth century, Hangzhou's Buddhist culture continued to inspire many Chinese writers, one of the most prominent being Yu Dafu. The writer stayed in Hangzhou several times during the 1920s and 1930s and wrote numerous travel notes, including many describing his and his friends' visits to temples in and around Hangzhou. These short travel notes, written in modern Chinese with the characteristics of modern prose, opened a relationship between Buddhism and Chinese literature, effectively inaugurating a fresh genre of Chinese Buddhist literature. This paper focuses on Yu Dafu's travel notes, considers extensive historical sources, and explores how they recorded and represented Chinese Buddhist culture in Hangzhou and more broadly. This paper also explores the reciprocal influence of contemporary Hangzhou's Buddhist culture on writers' cognitive frameworks, spiritual solace, and literary choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I discuss the evolution of Buddhist civilisational populism in modern Sri Lankan politics and civil society. I do this by historicising early forms of Buddhist civilisational populism in the country, during its occupation by the British Empire (1815–1945). As I discuss in this paper, some of the key concepts of "civilisationism" central to leading social and political movements in British Ceylon were a result of the disruptions caused by centuries of European colonial rule. Consequently, issues of identity and belonging have carried on to the post-independence context. In this paper, I discuss what these dynamics could possibly mean for the future of Sri Lankan politics and society, in the wake of the nation's debilitating economic crisis last year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I begin this essay with a brief introduction to cross-cultural comparisons and their importance for our understanding of lived Buddhism and its localization. Before examining the papers on rebirth, I first present rebirth in non-Buddhist contexts to locate our discussion within broader understandings of rebirth. I then discuss the the rebirth papers highlighting their similarities and differences. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

This qualitative investigation examines fish conservation practices in the community water resources of three northeastern Thai provinces. Data was gathered from documentary review and field study, through observation, interviews, and focus group discussions. The findings revealed that fish resources are decreasing in Northeastern Thai communities. This is due to a combination of factors, including unsystematic conservation methods and negative human impact. In acknowledging the ecocontextual nature of Thai Buddhism, this investigation argues a case for the adoption of Buddhist principles toward environmentalism as a means for more sustainable and successful fish conservation. The paper outlines eight key religious principles compatible with conservation approaches and recommends their inclusion in government policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the majority of Abhidharmic Buddhist schools, smṛti serves the crucial function of ensuring the recollection of past events and is thus conceptualized as memory in scholarly discourse nowadays. Nevertheless, upon closer examination of various doctrinal perspectives, the interpretation of smṛti diverges significantly among different schools. Notably, it is deemed to be omnipresent in every moment of perception within the Sarvāstivādin tradition, while in Yogācāra, it is regarded as a specific response to an experienced object. This paper seeks to delve into the concept of smṛti within the latter tradition, with a specific focus on the Cheng Weishi Lun (成唯識論, henceforth: CWSL). Drawing upon the foundational principles of Yogācāra doctrine, which posit the ālayavijñāna as an underlying substratum responsible for retaining past information, I contend that smṛti embodies a cognitive faculty that intensifies the apprehension of learned objects when they are present. Furthermore, I argue that smṛti serves as the inception point for a series of cognitive processes acquiring knowledge that helps decision-making. Additionally, I will demonstrate that the function of smṛti in the CWSL diverges from both traditional Buddhist conceptions of memory and contemporary understandings thereof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern scholarship discusses 'Buddhist influences' on the Patañjali's Yogasūtras (YS). Indeed, Patañjali borrowed key Buddhist concepts, particularly from Yogācāra. But this borrowing does not evince that the YS is just 'crypto-Buddhism'. In fact, during the first millennium CE, the YS was equally influential on Buddhist thinkers. I make this argument by focusing on YS 3.25, which discusses the yogic ability to see subtle (sūkṣma), hidden (vyavahita), and far-off (viprakṛṣṭa) objects. Tracing textual occurrences of these three words, I use this stable mimetic trope to demonstrate the influence of YS on Buddhist, Nyāya, and Vaiśeṣika writings. This influence is all the more interesting given that Buddhists explicitly disagree with many of the theoretical suppositions latent in YS 3.25. I demonstrate that despite this theoretical disagreement, Buddhists make ample use of YS 3.25. This paper thus complicates any clear direction of influence between Buddhist and Hindu traditions, and further questions the cogency of strict delineations between different philosophical schools. I also offer the method used in this paper as a novel approach to textual exegesis. By focusing on stable textual memes and tracing their occurrences across sources, we gain a powerful method to more deeply plumb India's rich intertextual intellectual history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vernacular settlements, it is a common practice to venerate religious icons. The figure of the God Shiva Mahadeva is one of the icons of Hinduism generally venerated in India. Interestingly, this figure is carved on the relief of the Buddhist temple, Borobudur in Indonesia. The visualization shows that the figure is God Shivam and its presence can be interpreted as a form of visual communication representing the interactions between the Hindu and Buddhist communities living in the surrounding vernacular settlements of the Borobudur temple. This article reviews the art historiography and raises several research questions regarding the visualization of Hindu icons in this Buddhist temple. The study examines the visualization of the figure of God Shiva in one of the relief panels of the Borobudur temple. The paper employs a case study method. It produces visual comparisons of approaches to artistic practice and art history delineated through the characteristics of the visual elements of God Shiva in the 104 Gandavyuha relief panels. Data was collected through photo documentation, visits to the Borobudur temple, photograph tracing, making lithography, and comparing visual findings with published literature. This is to ensure the accuracy of the visualization and investigate Hindu-Buddhist interactions in Java in the 8th--9th centuries. It concludes that the figure carved on panel 104 in the second gallery of the Gandavyuha reliefs is God Shiva, a Hindu icon as per the Gandavyuha Sutra text where God Shiva is mentioned as a spiritual guide who has carried out dharma as a bodhisattva. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioethics provides a new perspective for the comparative study of Christianity and Chinese Buddhism. This paper provides a comprehensive comparison of the sources, states of existence, and fundamental principles and purposes of the Christian and Chinese Buddhist perspectives on human life, focusing specifically on the realm of bioethics. It places special emphasis on teachings about God's creation and dependent origination, original sin and Buddhist causality, as well as love and compassion. Despite the significant geographic distance between Christianity and Chinese Buddhism, the dialogue highlights potential cultural differences and interpretations. It also demonstrates mutual acceptance and the process of redefining one's own identity. Religious bioethics greatly benefits from a comprehensive study of various religions from around the world. It aims to encourage cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research on different religions globally. It promotes religious bioethics as a relevant field of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Yang Xuanzhi's account of the burned-down Luoyang city during the Northern Wei dynasty and contemporary archeological discoveries, this paper tries to decipher the pre-Luoyang memory and imperial identity of the Northern Wei royal family that are embedded in the urban planning of Luoyang city by understanding the reformation of Buddhist politico-religious policy through both a historical approach and literary analysis. Buddhism played a crucial role in the Northern Wei's campaign of establishing their rulership as a legitimate one from the Chinese perspective. Buddhist temples became structures where commoners interacted on a daily basis, and, in these interactions, the Xianbei rulers managed to bring multiple factors into balance: Northern Wei imperial and Chinese identities and the tension between preserving the ancestral memory and merging the Northern Wei regime into a Chinese political context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mantingan Mosque, the second oldest mosque after the Great Mosque of Demak is located in Mantingan Village, Tahunan District, Jepara Regency. It was built in 1481 Saka or 1559 AD by Sultan Hadlirin. This mosque is rich in white stone carvings that reflect the influence of Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese and Islamic culture. This paper investigates the implications and pragmatic power of the carved ornaments on the interior walls of the Mantingan Mosque. The study used observation and interview techniques as data collection methods. Data was collected through interactions with mosque administrators, visitors, traders and the community around the mosque. Contextual analysis was used to process the data. Findings show that the carved ornaments in the Mantingan Mosque did not merely have a role as aesthetic elements, but also had deep pragmatic power in social and religious contexts. These ornaments show how Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese and Islamic cultural elements did not only combine visually but also played a pragmatic role in supporting the functions of the mosque as a center of the community activities. It shows that the use of ornaments in the Mantingan Mosque was a representation of cultural integration and the sustainability of the socio-religious function of the mosque. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to examine whether Buddhist ethics can improve the health and well-being of Buddhist practitioners during pandemics like COVID-19. It is hypothesized that diseases are part of suffering, and Buddhist teachings aim to eliminate the suffering of all beings. Buddhism also offers ethical codes of conduct for its practitioners to improve their health and well-being. So, the Buddha's teaching or Buddhist ethics, when practiced seriously, should be able to improve one's health, physically and mentally, enhancing the well-being of all Buddhist practitioners during the spread of all pandemics including COVID-19. The present study found that Buddhist ethical practices like the chanting of Buddhist suttas and the development of mindfulness, concentration/meditation, and insight (vipassanā) can improve both physical and mental health, which are important for dealing with any pandemic, tremendously. If the cores of Buddhist ethics (morality, meditation, and wisdom) are perfectly practiced, not only will one live with good physical and mental health but one also will be able to eliminate all the mental defilements that are the root causes of all illnesses and thus enter nibbāna, the state of mind that is beyond all sources of suffering including pandemics/epidemics. More specifically, this paper highlights a set of Buddhist practices, called four bhāvanās (types of development), that can be used to improve health and well-being during any pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jesuit mission to East Asia highlights the polemical difficulties inherent in the process of introducing, translating, and creating a new theological paradigm within a host culture without a common religious worldview. Both Matteo Ricci in China and Ricci's erstwhile teacher, Alessandro Valignano, in Japan, both inveighed against Buddhism for positing a "void" as the Absolute rather than God. The East Asian Jesuit mission had an incomplete understanding of what emptiness/nothingness/void referred to until the native Japanese convert and former Zen monk, Fukansai Habian, took up the mantle as the Jesuit polemicist against native systems of thought, in particular, Buddhism. Whereas Ricci and Valignano attacked the "void" within the context of a negation of "something", Habian correctly understood the void as akin to the pleroma, the fullness of possibility, and the creative principle, but used his more nuanced understanding as a polemical expedient to deny or negate all Buddhist doctrines as expressing nothingness (which he erroneously equates with the void), even such form-affirming schools as the Pure Land school with its clearly defined goal of a physical post-mortem Pure Land. The polemical paradigm engendered by this encounter also served as the starting point for Buddhism's appearance in the Western imagination. This paper will make a comparative investigation of the polemical discourse between the Jesuits and Buddhists regarding the Absolute and demonstrate how this historical instance would have far-reaching consequences that have ongoing relevance regarding the interplay of Christian and Buddhist teachings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commentarial literature constitutes a cornerstone in the edifice of Chinese Buddhism, providing critical exegesis of Indian Buddhist texts. This paper examines the pivotal role of Chengguan (738–839), the fourth patriarch of the Huayan school, revered for his extensive commentarial work on the Chinese translations of the Buddhāvataṃsaka-sūtra. Chengguan not only composed a written commentary but also engaged in discourses with the monastic and lay communities at Wutaishan, prompting the creation of a sub-commentary derived from these oral elucidations. The study posits that the composition of Chengguan's audiences, comprising Confucian-educated scholars and Buddhist monks, necessitated a pedagogical strategy that integrated Chinese intellectual traditions into the Buddhist narrative to enhance comprehension. This analysis focuses on Chengguan's citations of the Analects, showcasing how he interweaves Confucian maxims into the fabric of his commentary to illuminate Buddhist doctrines. The research articulates the method he employed to make the Buddhist texts resonate with a Chinese audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the disagreement between scholars of Buddhism around whether the tradition is or is not amenable to environmental concerns. It identifies the gap between the two sides as arising from a problem in how historical-critical methods divorce moral concepts from materiality in the study of religious history. This paper considers paticca-samuppada as a central moral concept in Buddhist tradition, one that has indeed changed via translation over the course of Buddhist history. This is the moral concept that leads directly into current environmentalist discourse, in its translation as interdependence. The paper first considers the translation of paticca-samuppada in historical tradition as well as in the hands of environmentalist authors. It then considers why paticca-samuppada as interdependence is a context-appropriate contribution, in settings of industrial political economy heavily directed by an abstract, mathematical concept of capital in connection with the moral concept of unlimited growth. The paper concludes by suggesting that contemporary Buddhist environmentalism be understood as a case of religious change. It concludes that the Buddhist eco-critical position is untenable, in light of processes of change in religious traditions, and suggests that the study of religious history should better account for how it is that religious change occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines Wu Bin's (c. 1543–c. 1626) Ten Views of a Lingbi Rock (1610) from the perspective of Buddhist epistemological notions in seventeenth-century China. In studying a series of gazes focusing on a single object—a stone with a very complex surface—my discussion posits an act of excessive seeing as a process of making worlds. I take a theoretical cue from contemporaneous intellectual discourses, especially those that flourished with the revival of Yogācāra Buddhism in late Ming China. This paper will show how an art object comes into being in perceivable worlds interconnected by the individual's sensory experiences. My study aims to inquire into the role of illusion as sensory experiences, phenomenological processes, and even notions of soteriological efficacy beyond formal artistic devices. To that end, this paper is the first attempt to situate Ten Views of a Lingbi Rock alongside Buddhist thoughts and artmaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will use the case study of a Chinese Mahayana Buddhist nun in a border town in Shan state, Myanmar, to explore the importance of identity in transnational Buddhism. Three life stories related to the Chinese Mahayana Buddhist nun will be told; that is, stories of her mother, her tonsure grandmaster, and herself. The main discussion of this paper is on the analysis of three dimensions of the nun's identity, which are overseas Chinese, Mahayana monastic, and Buddhist nun. This paper will argue that identity is a crucial factor in transnational Buddhism, for identity helps an individual to communicate, interact, and take actions with others transnationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on Foucault's theoretical framework of "space and power", this paper examines the discursive construction of "knowledge" in the context of Chinese Buddhist education. It traces the historical transformation of Chinese Buddhist education from the traditional "Sangha Forest"(the monastic community; 叢林 Conglin) style education to the Buddhist Academy, and analyzes how modern Buddhism reshaped its social image and function from a faith-based to a knowledge-based culture. Furthermore, this paper explores the reasons why modern Buddhism requires "knowledge" as a bridge between its worldly and transcendental dimensions, and the roles of elite laymen and monasteries as "Buddhist Institutes" in the new discursive practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper addresses esoteric Buddhist rituals in Japan, with special focus on the changes that happened in its practice in the first couple of centuries after its initial arrival to the country. Although esotericism originated in India, it was the brief spotlight it gained in China during the Tang Dynasty (especially in the 8th century) that determined its transmission to Japan in the beginning of the 9th century, where it spread rapidly and reached a particular culmination within the same time period, i.e., the Heian Period (794 to 1185/1192). On the one hand, the Shingon school, established by the monk Kūkai (774-835), was essentially the first time the esoteric Buddhist teachings were systematised, and although the founder's person and teachings are still very much revered to this day, changes have begun right after his death in 835. On the other hand, the Tendai school, a rival for imperial recognition and support and also established (or rather introduced) in the beginning of the 9th century by the monk Saichō (767-822, a contemporary of Kūkai) included some esoteric teachings, and with the practices introduced by later Tendai monks, such as Ennin (794-864) or Enchin (814-891), this school cultivated esoteric practices that are still extant in Japan today. Firstly, the meaning and usage of the honzon (an icon of a deity) in esoteric Buddhist rituals is clarified in the paper, while later the evolution of two specific icons that were used during the Fugen Enmei rituals of both the Shingon and Tendai schools is introduced, with explanations as to why there are two different types of iconographies extant for the same kind of ritual. The paper contributes to the study of those esoteric practices that were created and developed in a locally recognized Buddhist milieu that served specific purposes in Japan and are found in no other Buddhist cultures in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Buddhism, the fundamental question regarding practice is what practice will allow one to overcome the suffering of samsara. Shinran offered a unique answer to that question based on the transformation of his understanding of Buddhism brought about through his encounter with Hōnen, a Buddhist thinker who advocated exclusively practicing the recitation of the nenbutsu. This paper aims to clarify the significance and originality of Shinran's grasp of what that practice is through a careful reading of his works. Shinran holds that his encounter with Hōnen's teaching led him to shift from the self-power practices of the Path of Sages to the Other Power of the Pure Land tradition. After describing the traditional view of practice laid out in the Path of Sages, which aims to attain enlightenment through severing one's mental afflictions and developing wisdom through meditative concentration, I discuss Hōnen's understanding of the nenbutsu as an Other Power practice selected in Amida's original vow. From Hōnen's perspective, people are incapable bringing about the sort of transformation that was sought after through those traditional, self-power practices such as keeping precepts and engaging in mediation. Rather than engaging in such an impossible endeavor, Hōnen advocated reliance on the compassionate action of Amida's original vow, which promised to bring all who relied on it to ultimate enlightenment. Then I discuss how Shinran developed Hōnen's ideas to shift the significance of practice to one entirely based on Other Power faith. Shinran does not focus on the act of vocal recitation of the nenbutsu, but instead emphasizes the importance of the experience of hearing the significance of the name of Amida as explained by awakened predecessors and the arising of faith toward that message. From Shinran's perspective, the name of Amida represents the virtues of true suchness that have already been fully realized entirely independent of the actions or intentions of the individual practitioner. For Shinran, recognizing and accepting the virtues that are shown to exist through the Amida's name is the key to being liberated from samsara and is possible in an instant of insight that is available to anyone regardless of their abilities or actions. Through these considerations, this paper shows how Shinran's emphasis of Other Power faith is an essential element of his clarification of the True Pure Land Buddhism as the consummation of Mahayana Buddhism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daochuo 道綽 (562-645) is revered as a patriarch of both the Pure Land and the True Pure Land schools of Buddhism in Japan. In his Anleji 安楽集 he makes a variety of arguments about the necessity and importance of relying on the 'path of easy practice' whereby one aspires to enlightenment through birth in the Amituo's Pure Land based on the working of the other power of Amituo's vows. Daochuo's prioritization of the Pure Land teachings is well know both inside and outside of Japan, but previous scholarship has focused particularly on Daochuo's arguments that the Pure Land teachings should be taken as the centerpiece of Buddhism due to the degenerate nature of the age and the inferior capacities of the people. Therefore, previous scholarship in both Japanese and English on Daochuo has primarily characterized him as offering an easy practice for incompetent people who were unlucky enough to have been born at a time far removed from Śākyamuni. Through a careful analysis of passages in the second fascicle of the Anleji, in the first section of this paper I show that this understanding of Daochuo's view of the 'path of easy practice' fails to take into account the severity of his criticisms of the Buddhist practices that were preached in the Buddhist scriptures and prevalent at his time and therefore mischaracterizes the nature of his choice of Pure Land Buddhism as the most effective and excellent form of Buddhism and the only avenue for anyone at any time, regardless of their individual capacities or temporal relation to a Buddha, to genuinely fulfill the Mahayana ideal. Although Daochuo took a very broadminded stance toward practice, holding that any practice undertaken with a desire to be born in the Pure Land would qualify the practitioner to receive the benefits of the other power of Amituo's vows, there are also several points in the Anleji where he singles out the practice of the nianfo 念仏, particularly vocal recitation of the nianfo, as the most appropriate and effective practice for people to engage in. In the second section of this paper, I introduce the passages where Daochuo encourages the practice of the nianfo and show that he prioritized it both because he held it was most appropriate for the sentient beings of the Latter Days of the Dharma and because it afforded practitioners with a variety of benefits that were not available to those who sought after birth in the Pure Land through other practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the utilization of the mantra of light and its associated maṇḍala practices by Wang Hongyuan 王弘願 (1876–1937), a Chinese Buddhist during the Republican Period, and his adherents, which has not yet been noticed by previous scholars. With the import of esoteric Buddhist doctrines and practices from Japan, the mantra of light, which was a rarely used mantra in pre-modern China, gained renewed significance. This led to the widespread adoption of the ritual practices of this mantra by Wang Hongyuan and his surrounding Buddhist groups in early modern China. The rituals of this mantra were used as a supplement or substitute for near-death Pure Land practices. This paper presents Pure Land Buddhist practices intertwined with esoteric Buddhist elements or "esoteric" approaches to Pure Land rebirth in modern Chinese Buddhism which have been overlooked by previous scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of karma is of great significance for scholars of modern China seeking to comprehend the impact of Buddhism on the Second Sino-Japanese War. This paper explores the sociopolitical function of karma within China's wartime society and its profound implications for Nationalist politics. It examines how karma was articulated by wartime Chinese Buddhists as a means of Nationalist mobilization for China's war effort. Moreover, this paper situates the discourse on karma within the framework of modern nationalism by comparing the sociopolitical utilization of karma by Chinese and Japanese Buddhists during the war. As such, it reveals that the divergent interpretations of karma by Buddhists in the two nation-states had enduring and far-reaching consequences on their respective societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary Buddhism has been fashioned from cross-cultural interactions between a long history of Asian traditions and the expansionist drive of modernity. As part of this engagement, Buddhism, particularly in the West, has developed a close relation with transpersonal psychology. This essay forms an introduction to the special issue of articles approaching this relation between Buddhism and psychology in different ways. While some articles probe the difference in aims of the two disciplines, some are concerned with the decontextualized uses of Buddhist techniques such as mindfulness, some explore the possibilities of Buddhist practice in cognitive or other psychological terms and some ground Buddhism in ecopsychological concerns as forms of engagement. This paper outlines the historiography of modern Buddhism and introduces the papers in this special issue of IJTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many issues are raised by thinking about "The Idea of Text in Buddhism." This paper concentrates on scriptures of Indian Buddhism, and considers some of the questions raised or inspired by the papers presented at the 2019 Jerusalem conference on "The Idea of Text in Buddhism." Consideration is given among other topics to multilingualism, in which context a comparison is offered with the traditions of the Targums in Jewish literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the relation between meditative practices and games, and argues that it is reasonable to see meditative practices as games based on structural features they have in common as well as the text in the 15th Assembly of the Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, which teaches the perfection of meditative absorption and compares meditative practices to playing games implicitly. This paper then puts meditative practices seen as games in the big picture of the Buddhist Path to Enlightenment, points out in contrast to meditative practices, playing games involves two problems people face nowadays, which I call the win–lose mindset and being too emotionally invested in playing games, and develops coping strategies to cope with these problems. These coping strategies are not constructed arbitrarily but of essential features of Bodhisattvas' meditative practices, such as non-dualistic perspectives and non-obtainment, and these features lead to a path of cessation of both problems that afflict present-day game-playing. All in all, paying more attention to mental qualities that can be engendered and cultivated in playing games is suggested in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tibetan Buddhism has an inseparable connection with the spatial characteristics, development process, and human-natural environment of the Tibetan Plateau. This paper takes monasteries as carriers of Tibetan Buddhist culture in U-Tsang region which is one of the traditional geographical units of Tibet. Using geospatial analysis methods, this study explores the spatial quantification characteristics of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes the factors that influence the spatial distribution of monasteries. The results indicate that: (1) Political activities of human society influence the pattern of political power. Under the unique context of Tibetan theocracy system, the scope of political authority has a significant influence and affects the religious spatial pattern in the U-Tsang region throughout history. The distribution of monasteries in the U-Tsang region shows significant spatial differences at three sub-regional scales. (2) The religious spatial pattern in the U-Tsang is the result of the diverse interaction of human-natural factors. The results indirectly endorse that religious space is an inevitable product of the interaction between humans and the environment. (3) The religious spatial distribution patterns in the three major Tibetan regions have distinct characteristics, closely related to the superior conditions of their respective historical and geographical environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The religious worldview of the mantranaya (esoteric Mahāyāna or Vajrayāna) can arguably be seen as rooted in the perspective that reality (tattva) is to be self-experienced (svasamvedya) through contemplative practices, serving as both their means (upāya) and expression (caryā). The tantric path-model of Padmavajra's Guhyasiddhi, an exegetical text in the Guhyasamāja tradition, supposedly enables individuals to rapidly realize reality, a state also referred to as mahāmudrā or other, within a single lifetime. This path-model describes a transformation leading to the revelation of ultimate realization leaving behind conventional means. These two levels correspond to two stages, the stage of arising (utpattikrama), serving as the foundation for the stage of the arisen (utpannakrama). While the first stage is like a supporting framework giving rise to the correct view, in the second stage, the practitioner cultivates the view that has arisen. The practices of the latter stage eventually become inseparable from the view itself, meaning they are practical expressions of the view exemplified in doctrines like unmattavrata and other forms of observances integral to the mahāmudrā doctrine. Thus, contemplative practices and the established worldview mutually inform each other in a reciprocal relationship. Simultaneously, this system of practice and view continues to influence and shape religious practices and rituals as they are transmitted, e.g., through teacher–disciple lineages (guruparaṃparā). In this paper, I will explore this relationship through the critical edition and annotated translation of Guhyasiddhi's first chapter by Padmavajra (ca. late 8th and early 9th century), in which a clear exposition of the relationship in question is presented. My analysis of it, thus connecting the work to more general Buddhist concepts, follows a two-level framework, that is, the well-known two-fold system of conventional/implicit (a) and definitive/explicit (b), which can be seen as equivalent to utpatti- (a) and utpannakrama (b). The efficiency of promoted practices accords with the practitioner's correct assessment of tattva which, following Padmavajra, is the basis for engagement in tantric practices per se. The first part provides the analysis, given in 1.1–1.5, of Padmavajra's system and is based on the second part, the annotated translation (2.1) and critical edition (2.2) of Padma-vajra's Guhyasiddhi chapter one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of the "Self" is one of the most critical issues in contemporary cognitive science. Whether the self is a single and independent real entity or a collection of constantly changing experiences has been at the core of debates between the substance theory and the illusion theory. Compared to the neglect of this issue in Western tradition studies, the meticulous practice of mindfulness/awareness in Eastern research traditions has long focused on this contradiction. This paper navigates the intricate dimensions of the "Self" by weaving together the Oriental framework of the five aggregates with the Middle Way, the principles of constructivism, and the empirical methodologies of experimental philosophy. This approach bridges the gap by synthesizing introspective first-person experiences with objective third-person scientific observations to enrich the understanding of self-constructivism. The implications of these findings extend into the practical realms of psychology and philosophy, offering a scaffold for future research to elucidate the multifaceted nature of the self further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses Jack Kerouac's brief but intense conversion to American pseudo-Buddhism and the artistic effect of this biographical development, arguing that his conversion was total from a spiritual point of view and that its almost immediate effect was the production of a literary piece which should be read as a (fictional) pseudo-Buddhist hagiography, or a pseudo-ojoden. The article investigates Jack Kerouac's life as the life of a modern American Buddha, as a person engaged in a constant quest for spiritual enlightenment, who imbued his work with a spiritual feeling derived from his personal, direct, albeit limited experience with spirituality. His novel, The Dharma Bums, is a (fictional) pseudo-Buddhist hagiography because it is (auto)biographical, and the central characters are portrayed as enlightened, "holy" beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper focuses on the strategies for adapting the specific Buddhist plot (the story of the two brothers travelling beyond the sea in search of a magical pearl) that has been recounted over the course of centuries in classical Korean literature. The objective of the article is to examine the adaptation of this plot through a comparative analysis of similar narratives, highlighting the distinctive features and changes determined by the various genres and philosophical ideas under the influence of which these texts were written, the purposes of creating these narratives, the target audience, etc. The comparison is based on three texts: Ten Stages of Tathagata Shakya's Practices (1328), Worin Sokpo (1459) and the vernacular fiction Story of Chyok Syongŭi (19th century). Furthermore, the article lists all relevant previous Buddhist manuscripts containing the plot of interest, provides a brief outline of Korean Buddhist literature tradition, and emphasizes literature as a universal medium connecting Confucian and Buddhist cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If an object changes its spatial position over time, or moves from one place to another, we say that the object is in motion. But in Mādhyamika Buddhist philosophy reality of motion has been questioned. Nāgārjuna, the renowned philosopher in Mādhyamika school, has argued that motion is an absurd concept—it is empty. In the second chapter of Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Gatāgata-parikṣā) Nāgārjuna examined the notion of motion and showed that motion exists neither in past, nor in present, and nor in future—the notion of motion is paradoxical. This paper intends to critically examine those arguments from a realist point of view, and tries to demystify the paradox analyzing its nature and origin. Nāgārjuna's arguments on motion have two different interpretations, and the paper shows that it is possible to counter both of the interpretations from the Nyāya point of view. The paradox does not arise in the Nyāya and the Vaiśeṣika ontology. The paper also tries to find out why the paradox arises in Nāgārjuna's theoretical framework. This paper also examines Nāgārjuna's refutation of the commencement and cessation of motion and shows how these arguments could be answered from a realist point of view. In this context the paper also examines a modern interpretation of Nāgārjuna's arguments offered by Westerhoff (J Indian Philos 36(4):455–479, 2008). Nāgārjuna argues that motion and mover are mutually interdependent, hence have no intrinsic nature—they are empty and absurd. He uses this argument as an argument template to refute other notions like pramāṇa and prameya. This paper analyzes that argument template and shows that the argument from mutual interdependence can also be countered. Time is an important presupposition for an account of motion. Nāgārjuna refutes the reality of Time which implies that there cannot be any motion. But the Naiyāyikas have refuted this position and presented arguments in favour of the reality of time. It supports the claim that motion exists—it is not an absurd concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a continuation of an earlier study published by the current author dedicated to the virtually unexplored tantric Buddhist scholar of the phyi dar period, *Jñānākara (11th century), through the textual analysis of his masterpiece, the Introduction to the [Path of] Mantra (Skt. *Mantrāvatāra), now available only in the Tibetan translation as Gsang sngags 'jug pa. In the previous paper, I have discussed the broader historical framework of the eleventh-century Indo-Tibetan world and *Jñānākara's role in establishing, what I called, the "orthodoxy of tantric practice". I have also provided a critical edition of the root text, the *Mantrāvatāra, accompanied by an English translation. While the previous study focused mainly on the debatable and highly controversial issue of tantric sexual initiations adopted by the monastics and hermeneutical tools employed by *Jñānākara to refute the literal interpretation of tantric scriptures, the current paper will concentrate on the exposition of tantric practice understood as the accumulation of causes and conditions (hetu-pratyaya) leading to the status of the siddha. This paper will trace tantric and non-tantric elements in *Jñānākara's construction of the Buddhist siddha that integrated the kāya doctrine of the Yogācāra. My analysis will be based on *Jñānākara's auto-commentary to his root text, the Commentary to the Introduction to the [Path of] Mantra (Skt. *Mantrāvatāravṛtti, Tib. Gsang sngags 'jug pa 'grel pa) which has not received any scholarly attention so far. Special attention will be paid to the intertextual dimension of his discourse that integrates the Mahāyāna models of the bodhisattva path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the life of Liu Shu (1520–1657), a woman warrior who lived through the social and political turmoil of the violent dynastic transition from the Ming (1368–1644) dynasty to the Qing (1636–1911) dynasty. Drawing on the writings of Liu Shu and on different versions of accounts of her life written by male literati in different time periods, this paper intends to reveal the multiplicity and complexity of how a woman could exert her agency and interact with the dominant structure. Commonly, women's agency has been understood as resistance against the male-dominant patriarchal system. However, recently, scholars such as Saba Mahmood have problematized universalizing overtly resistant acts against the patriarchal society to bring radical changes as demonstrations of women's agency. These scholars argue that this approach fails to recognize that through their autonomy and while living a life of self-fulfillment, women have the capacity to reproduce, sustain, or subtly change the social norms and views of values that justify and support the patriarchal structure. In light of these scholars' studies, this paper explores Liu Shu's engagement in political and military activities and her Buddhist practices to analyze how she transgressed established gender norms in order to uphold rather than reject the virtues promoted by patriarchal ideology. The paper also discusses how conflicting demands on women by a male-centered society in the drastic dynastic transition enabled her to negotiate with or challenge the dominant structure. It also considers how her disobedient acts were accepted and applauded by some male literati to address their own agenda in different cultural, historical, and political contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]