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La tesi restituisce un resoconto etnografico del revival buddhista sull'isola di Giava, in Indonesia. Il lavoro di tesi è basato su due periodi di fieldwork multisituati a Giava centrale e orientale. L'etnografia segue i processi tramite i quali comunità buddhiste rurali e urbane mettono in atto pratiche percepite come "di revitalizzazione", un processo che è sempre tanto religioso quanto economico-sociale. Repositori discorsivi di questo percorso di revival sono, alternativamente, i mondi religiosi della Giava pre-islamica e/o la comunità religiosa precedentemente all'espansione egemonica contemporanea dell'Islam e del Cristianesimo. La tesi segue questi processi utilizzando come cartina di tornasole la pratica degli eventi e dei festival culturali, oltre che ai rituali religiosi tradizionalmente intesi. Oltre a un'evidente influenza del Buddhismo Theravada di matrice thai e birmana, queste pratiche evidenziano anche quanto il religioso si ponga in relazione di continuità con altre sfere del sociale e la misura in cui i "revival" si costituiscano in realtà come complessi multiformi che assemblano vari processi discorsivi e fenomenici. Analiticamente il lavoro di tesi fa uso degli apparati teorici derivati dal nuovo materialismo e del vocabolario filosofico di Deleuze e Guattari. The thesis returns an ethnographic account of the Buddhist revival on the island of Java, Indonesia. The thesis work is based on two periods of multi-site fieldwork located in Central and Eastern Java. The ethnography follows the processes by which rural and urban Buddhist communities carry out practices perceived as "revitalization", processes that are always about the religious experience as much as they are about the socio-economic domain. Discursive repositories of these paths of revival are, alternatively, the religious worlds of pre-Islamic Java and / or the perceived compactness of the religious community prior to the contemporary hegemonic expansion of Islam and Christianity. The thesis follows these processes using as a litmus test the practice of cultural events and festivals, as well as more traditionally understood religious rituals. In addition to the increasing influence of Theravada Buddhism of Thai and Burmese lineages, these practices also highlight how the religious is on a complex continuum with other spheres of the social and reveals the extent to which "revivals" are constituted as multiform complexes, in that they assemble various discursive and phenomenal processes. Analytically, the thesis work makes use of the theoretical grids derived from new materialism and of the philosophical vocabulary of Deleuze and Guattari.

Nowadays, the enjoyment of certain rights closely connected to the individuals’ religious freedom is seriously challenged in some countries with a Buddhist and Hindu majority. In recent years, in these very countries, the religious freedom has suffered heavy limitations. The object of these restrictions is twofold: on the one hand, the right of individuals to be able to change their religious orientation, and on the other, the possibility to freely manifest and spread the creed they belong to. The aim of this paper is to explore the legislation on anti-proselytisation and anti-conversion laws in order to outline both the ratio legis of the measures and possible points of convergence between the legislation of these countries.

Se ha llevado a cabo una investigación acerca de una religión sincrética denominada Rokugo Manzan, donde el shintoísmo, buddhismo y el culto hacia la montaña en la región peninsular de Kunisaki se reúnen para dar origen a esta peculiar religión con más de 1300 años de antigüedad. Dicha investigación se realizó debido a la curiosidad en el hecho de que dos religiones, además del culto a la montaña, hayan podido reunirse y conformar una sola. Este contexto define el marco en el que se desarrollara este estudio ya que el hecho de que la gran mayoría de religiones sean excluyentes y no se den casos de uniones de este tipo. La investigación se centrará desde el siglo VIII, para ser concretos desde el año 718 ya que en ese año fue cuando se instauró oficialmente Rokugo Manzan como religión o culto propiamente dicho, en la península de Kunisaki, hasta la actualidad. También se explicará a grandes rasgos su historia, los templos que lo componen y su importancia en el presente, pero centrando el estudio en la unión del shintoísmo y buddhismo que se da en Rokugo Manzan. Además, también se desarrollarán algunos de los casos de sincretismo que se han dado en Japón a lo largo de su historia mostrando como no únicamente se ha dado este sincretismo en Rokugo Manzan. An investigation has been carried out in which Shinto, Buddhism and the cult towards the mountain in the peninsular region of Kunisaki, where they meet to give rise to a peculiar religion with more than 1300 years old, called Rokugo Manzan. This research has been carried out due to curiosity in the fact that two religions, in addition to mountain worship, have been able to meet and form one. This context defines the framework in which this study will be developed because many religions are usually exclusive and do not occur in the case of unions, unlike on this occasion. The research will focus from the eighth century, to be concrete from the year 718 since that year was when Rokugo Manzan was officially established as a religion or cult itself, in the Kunisaki peninsula. It will also explain a little its history, the temples that compose it and its importance in the present but focusing the study on the union of Shintoism and Buddhism that occurs in Rokugo Manzan. In addition, also exposing some of the cases of syncretism that have occurred in Japan throughout its history showing how not only this syncretism has occurred in Rokugo Manzan. Universidad de Sevilla. Grado en Estudios de Asia Oriental

Il Buddha diceva di non essere un maestro "dal pugno chiuso", di quelli che trasmettono insegnamenti segreti, esoterici, il cui senso più profondo è riservato a pochi. Il suo messaggio vuole essere chiaro, lineare, accessibile a tutti e da tutti verificabile. Questo libro intende presentarlo ispirandosi a questa stessa chiarezza, mostrando i diversi passaggi logici e filosofici del Dharma del Buddha in modo colloquiale, quasi intimo. Più che come una religione, ossia un insieme di pratiche, di rituali, di concezioni codificate, il buddhismo è avvicinato come l'esito di una ricerca filosofica al tempo stesso profonda ed umanissima (poiché parte da ciò che c'è di più umano: la sofferenza), e tuttavia fallibile, aperta a nuovi contributi, a sviluppi inediti, anche in seguito all'incontro con l'Occidente e la sua tradizione di pensiero.

The issue of dialectics has been very important in Modern Japan. In the later philosophy of Nishida Kitarō, dialectics is crucial for both the structure of his philosophy and its relationship with Buddhism, since according to him it would help define important and desirable features of Buddhist thought. Therefore, a discussion on this aspect may prove to be decisive in order to understand the overall meaning of Nishida’s thought. This essay aims at discussing the meaning and the implications of dialectics in Nishida Kitarō from the perspective of the philosophical theme of the world’s fundamental ambiguity and its linguistic consequences. Contrary to the political nature of Aristotle’s idea of the principle of non-contradiction, Nishida Kitarō aims at a contemplative approach to the ambiguous world, but falls short of facing the problem of modernity, and is therefore unable to connect the world’s ambiguity with its destructive sides. From such a perspective, his philosophy appears to be inclined to metaphysics rather than to a practical and transformative attitude., Kervan. International Journal of Afro-Asiatic Studies, V. 22 (2018)

Among the various transformations experienced by China since the inception of the ‘Reform and Opening-up’ era, the relationship between spirituality and the official State-ideology professed in Beijing stands out as a generally neglected and overlooked topic. Marginalized during the Maoist period, by the early 1980s the religious sphere has started to regain an increasing room for manoeuvre in the country, thanks also to the unprecedented attractiveness displayed in recent years by the spiritual dimension in the eyes of Chinese leaders as an innovative source of domestic consensus and political influence. Up to now, such a sophisticated ‘charm offensive’ with spiritual nuances has already been translated into several kinds of initiatives, encompassing the sponsoring of international religious forums, the disbursement of aid programs to revive important monasteries across the region, as well as the dispatch of sacred relics on tours to other Buddhist nations. The impact of these efforts in nourishing mutual understanding, trust, and empathy is nowhere more visible than in the current evolution of the Chinese influence in Myanmar, where Beijing’s foreign policy is increasingly confronted with negative connotations of the country as an highly exploitative actor of local resources. Building upon this puzzling and fast-changing scenario, the following article investigates the theoretical and analytical roots behind China’s religious diplomacy and soft power conceptualization, in order to assess its concrete implementation and outcomes through the lens of contemporary Sino-Myanmar ties.

In his first descriptions of Japan, Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier highlighted the existence of some institutions that he had identified as “universities,” which he had not been able to find in India. With this word, he actually meant different kinds of organizations, such as the Zen temples of the capital city, Miyako; or the great monastic complexes of mounts Hiei and Kōya; or the famous Confucian academy of Ashikaga, in the north of the country. From Xavier’s point of view, the most important and unifying characteristic of these universities was their ability to grant authority to Christian teachings. In a country politically fragmented by civil war, the Jesuit missionaries could gain status by debating with these institutions’ students, and converting them. In Xavier’s plans, therefore, Japan should have been evangelized by a team of selected missionaries, who had studied the local language and doctrines, and could prove the existence of God to the Japanese scholars. Riassunto: Già nelle sue prime descrizioni del Giappone, il missionario gesuita Francesco Saverio pose l’attenzione su certe istituzioni che egli identificava come “università,” e che gli era stato impossibile trovare in India. Con questo termine egli voleva indicare in realtà strutture di vario genere, che andavano dai templi Zen della capital Miyako, ai grandi complessi monastici dei monti Hiei o Kōya, fino alla famosa accademia confuciana di Ashikaga, nel nord del paese. Dal punto di vista di Saverio, la caratteristica saliente ed unificante di queste università era che avrebbero potuto garantire status ed autorità alla religione cristiana, nel paese politicamente frammentato dalle guerre civili, se i gesuiti avessero potuto sostenere delle dispute e convertire i loro studenti. Nelle sue intenzioni dunque, il Giappone avrebbe dovuto essere evangelizzato da un gruppo di gesuiti scelti, istruiti nella lingua e nelle dottrine locali allo scopo di dimostrarsi l’esistenza di Dio ai letterati nipponici.