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As one of the most successful pieces of transnational popular culture, we rhetorically analyze the compelling critique of neoliberal capitalism in the 2020 anime film, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train. Alongside this criticism of neoliberal capitalism, we theorize relations of mujō (無常/impermanence) found in the film, foregrounding this Buddhist principle to advance ways of being that resist neoliberal capitalist impulses. We forward three tenets that emerge in our analysis of this film: (1) recognizing that all beings are embedded within shared entanglements; (2) holding all beings responsible to serve others; (3) transcending the bounds of death by passing the torch of omoi (想い/human feeling). We argue that Mugen Train's protagonists, the Demon Slayers, embody mujō that demonstrates how those under capitalist subjugation can only be liberated by recognizing human community grounded in such a relational ethic. We thus situate relations of mujō as a critical rhetorical theory that releases us from the neoliberal capitalist pursuit of mugen (無限/limitless). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objectives To investigate the relationships between life events and psychological distress in the postepidemic era as well as the effects of fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19) and impermanence on these relationships to enrich the study of the underlying psychological mechanisms of postepidemic psychological distress and to provide a theoretical basis for scientific prevention and intervention in individuals with psychological distress. Methods A survey of 504 adults (71.3% female; age M = 26.87, SD = 10.70) was conducted via the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, the FCV-19 Scale, the Impermanence Scale, the Anxiety Scale and the Depression Scale, and a structural equation model was established to explore the relationships between variables. Results The present study revealed the following: (1) there is a significant positive correlation between life events and psychological distress; (2) FCV-19 completely mediates the relationship between life events and psychological distress; and (3) impermanence moderates the mediation, regulating the path by which life events affect FCV-19 and the path by which FCV-19 affects psychological distress. Conclusions In the postepidemic era, impermanence can effectively mitigate the impact of life events on FCV-19 and the impact of FCV-19 on psychological distress.

Objectives: To investigate the relationships between life events and psychological distress in the postepidemic era as well as the effects of fear of COVID-19 (FCV-19) and impermanence on these relationships to enrich the study of the underlying psychological mechanisms of postepidemic psychological distress and to provide a theoretical basis for scientific prevention and intervention in individuals with psychological distress. Methods: A survey of 504 adults (71.3% female; age M = 26.87, SD = 10.70) was conducted via the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, the FCV-19 Scale, the Impermanence Scale, the Anxiety Scale and the Depression Scale, and a structural equation model was established to explore the relationships between variables. Results: The present study revealed the following: (1) there is a significant positive correlation between life events and psychological distress; (2) FCV-19 completely mediates the relationship between life events and psychological distress; and (3) impermanence moderates the mediation, regulating the path by which life events affect FCV-19 and the path by which FCV-19 affects psychological distress. Conclusions: In the postepidemic era, impermanence can effectively mitigate the impact of life events on FCV-19 and the impact of FCV-19 on psychological distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of death and the dying is a crucial aspect of patient care, especially for individuals with terminal illnesses. However, discussions about death and dying are often avoided during patient interactions. In this article, our aim is to explore the reasons behind our fear of death and dying and to assess the importance of addressing these issues in shaping and cultivating relationships with our patients and in our personal lives. We argue that being open to impermanence is a valuable tool in our work with patients and their families and should be integrated into conversations with them. Furthermore, discussions about death and dying should play a central role in medical and nursing education as well as professional development. [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 publication of Pedra de encantaria (2022) is an opportune moment for the reassessment of the vast oeuvre of Salgado Maranhão (1953--), one of the most innovative contemporary poets in the Portuguese language. This article takes as its theoretical starting points Paul Ricoeur's (1913-2005) suggestion that personal identity can only be articulated in the temporal dimension of human existence, as well as the dialectic between tradition and individual talent, proposed in the celebrated eponymous essay by T. S. Eliot (1888-1965). Pedra de encantaria reaffirms and complexifies the inextricable interconnections between the fluidity of identity, the transgressive force of poetic language, the historical, familial and personal importance of Afro-Indigenous- Brazilian culture, and the inescapable palimpsest of Luso-Brazilian poetic tradition, from Camões and Pessoa to Drummond and Faustino, which constitutes the trademark of Salgado's poetry, always generous and empathetic. This article aims to demonstrate how Pedra de encantaria represents a summa of the author's poetry and poetics. To this goal, it draws links to several of his previous books, such as Ebulição da escrivatura (1978), Punhos da serpente (1989), Palávora (1995), Sol sanguíneo (2002), O mapa da tribo (2013) and Ópera de nãos (2015). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dismissal of menstrual cycles from the philosophical discussions about how we get knowledge of the world rests on the assumption of a stable and unchanging self, which supposedly conflicts with the inherent dynamicity of changing cycles. Yet, instead of being an epistemological obstacle, this dynamicity can be a tool to better grasp our continuous state of change. It affects the perception of the world and the development of ethical relations with others. Passing through stages in which one feels particularly vulnerable is a reminder of human vulnerability to environmental and social changes. The awareness of this vulnerability can ground decision-making leading to precautionary actions. Plus, readiness to change and flexibility are crucial elements of ethics in a world in which we constantly need to adapt ourselves. The experience of menstruation sheds light on a conception of the self as an ever-changing, vulnerable and adaptive agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The Unified Flexibility and Mindfulness (UFM) model is a process-oriented multistage mechanistic model operationalizing the interplay between forms of mechanistic mindfulness and informed mindfulness, thereby representing holistic mindfulness as a set of interrelated processes and clarifying their links to well-being. Recent cross-sectional, correlational findings from a US sample supported the UFM model. The current study used data across 4 countries to link everyday aspects of Buddhism to components within the UFM model, thereby (1) extending work on the UFM model cross-culturally, (2) empirically tracing various aspects of mindfulness back to their origins, and (3) extending Buddhist psychology to embrace a broad operationalization of mindfulness within the Buddhism-Informed UFM (BI-UFM) model. Methods: A sample of 2091 online respondents (68% female, M = 32yo) drawn from 5 cultural groups (668 white Americans, 319 Asian Americans, 332 Chinese, 400 Japanese, 362 Taiwanese) completed the Three Teachings of East Asia (TTEA) inventory, the Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory (MPFI; a UFM measure), and measures of distress and well-being. Results: Confirmatory SEM analyses suggested that across random sample halves, culture groups, and Buddhists vs. non-Buddhists, key aspects of Buddhism (e.g., impermanence, meditation practice) were stably and consistently linked to greater mindful present moment awareness and decentering, which were in turn linked to value-driven behavior and well-being. Aspects of punishing karmic view were linked to higher distraction/inattention and defensively reacting to difficult experiences, which were in turn linked to aimless haphazard behavior and distress. Exploratory network analyses yielded comparable findings, highlighting the central nature of meditation practice and informed, value-driven behavior. The results more broadly supported the BI-UFM process model in which forms of mechanistic mindfulness were linked to greater informed mindfulness (e.g., decentering and value-driven behavior), highlighting possible paths toward cultivating holistic mindfulness, thereby promoting well-being. Conclusions: The current results support the BI-UFM model as a conceptual framework for understanding how Buddhist thought might shape the lives of individuals across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How did the exhibition in the Chinese pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale entitled Continuum – Generation by Generation (buxi 不息) mobilize the concept of buxi, which translates literally as “endlessness” or “never ceasing”? What does it mean to conceive of art, the world, and oneself through the lens of buxi, as endlessly intrarelated? This paper delves into this question from a multi-pronged perspective. First, it explains the meaning of buxi and analyzes how the show engages with aesthetic, epistemological, social and political implications of art and the world conceived through a contemporary perspective on the concept of “endlessness”. Second, the paper explores how a reading of the show and the artworks – their adopted aesthetic strategies, media, techniques, and materialities – through the lens of buxi complicates the critical and aesthetic framework for contemporary art in the global context. Finally, the paper evaluates the engagement with buxi – and the respective alternative processual ontology and temporality of art and world – as a useful mode of decolonizing the discipline of art history, even as it emphasizes the importance of adopting a dynamic pluriversal approach that attends to the transcultural relations that shape and reshape the multiplicity of meanings of art in a global framework, its multiple and entangled critical and aesthetic discourses, and the complexity of power structures, and avoids obscuring significant contexts and experiences.

How did the exhibition in the Chinese pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale entitled Continuum – Generation by Generation (buxi 不息) mobilize the concept of buxi, which translates literally as “endlessness” or “never ceasing”? What does it mean to conceive of art, the world, and oneself through the lens of buxi, as endlessly intrarelated? This paper delves into this question from a multi-pronged perspective. First, it explains the meaning of buxi and analyzes how the show engages with aesthetic, epistemological, social and political implications of art and the world conceived through a contemporary perspective on the concept of “endlessness”. Second, the paper explores how a reading of the show and the artworks – their adopted aesthetic strategies, media, techniques, and materialities – through the lens of buxi complicates the critical and aesthetic framework for contemporary art in the global context. Finally, the paper evaluates the engagement with buxi – and the respective alternative processual ontology and temporality of art and world – as a useful mode of decolonizing the discipline of art history, even as it emphasizes the importance of adopting a dynamic pluriversal approach that attends to the transcultural relations that shape and reshape the multiplicity of meanings of art in a global framework, its multiple and entangled critical and aesthetic discourses, and the complexity of power structures, and avoids obscuring significant contexts and experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lectio praecursoria: Lorella Scacco’s art history dissertation “A Phenomenological Approach to Media Art Environments: The Immersive Art Experience and the Finnish Art Scene” was examined at the University of Turku on the 13th May 2023. The opponent was Dr, Museum Director Leevi Haapala (Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma / Finnish National Gallery) and the custos was Professor Tutta Palin (University of Turku). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I examine Frankenstein and A Christmas Carol to depict pathological male grief and its relation to larger cultural and economic systems. The lenses brought to this endeavor are pastoral and psychoanalytic. By pastoral, I mean, generally speaking, the ways faith and care are manifested in relationships and are, therefore, integral to the reality of grief and mourning. More specifically, male pathological grief reflects distortions of both care and faith. In terms of a psychoanalytic lens, I rely on depictions of psychological defenses, unconscious motivations, and an altered version of Christopher Bollas's notion of transformational objects to depict and understand the psychopathology of Victor Frankenstein's and Ebenezer Scrooge's grief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the series Event of the Night in 1972 to Neige in 2003, via Gouttes d'eau (1979-2013), the painter Kim Tschang Yeul has developed a poetics of formlessness in which negation, emptiness and absence direct the creative process. The Korean plastic artist offers through the materiality of the work a meditation on the fluence of worlds and forms. The drop of water expresses the precariousness of things, but also evokes a beyond of representation whose richness is as great as its restraint. Water is the metaphor of the void without which the full cannot unfold; it introduces the practice of non-action, which does not consist in doing nothing but in letting the supporting factors at work in the form happen. The creative process abstains from any intentional action, to let the invisible power of the tao act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a brief overview about aesthetic and dramatic common motives in Salaviza’s work, we will focus on the hypothesis raised by the Cátia Diogo’s audiovisual essay Rafa and David (2022). The essay juxtaposes two scenes in Rafa (2012) and Montanha (2015), in which the condition of the “operative image” (Harun Farocki) is revealed. Taking into account a number of ideas that are expressed by the formal strategy that this audiovisual essay takes, we will speculate about how, in the intertextual relation between these films, is possible to envision a change of course in the work of João Salaviza, towards a cinema of impermanence.

This article is motivated by my personal wish to pay tribute to my beloved grandfather, who passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic while I was stranded in Australia. Relying on an evocative autoethnography of a grandson, a father, a PhD candidate and graduate, and a researcher, and in reference to the concepts of place-making theories such as time-space expansion, I tried to embrace my experience of grief and loss as well as to make sense of my feelings of distance, impermanence, and death during this chaotic period. The story I will tell below chronicles my emotional and spiritual journey from the moment I first learned of my grandfather’s illness (early 2020) until the time after his passing (October 2021). I have found out that during this process of attempting to converse with, heal, and take care of myself, I have transcended the physical-social aspects of place and touched on spiritual space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature reveals the norms of life required not only for an individual but also for the society surrounding him/her. The Sangam Literature that is considered the most ancient literature of the Tamil Community contains various teachings on the right ways of life. In Sangam literature, my research focuses on Kalitthogai, which records the secular life of Tamil ancestors, who lived 2000 years ago. Within Kalitthogai, Palaikkali contains in abundance, the profound and valuable insights of good-hearted people. In Palaikkali, Perungadungo has put into song, beneficial ideas which society can apply for a purposeful living. My research seeks to highlight the valuable insights given in Palakkali about the impermanence of certain aspects of life and discusses them in detail.

This film takes inspiration from the work of Kon Wajiro,- an architect, ethnologist and sociologist who created detailed sketches of everyday life on the streets of Tokyo in the 1920s. Shot in Aomori City, Japan in the depths of winter, Sonotoki captures fleeting movements through the snowy streets as they play out before a static camera. Humans are made of generations of cycles; each leaving subtle indications that are part of an inexpressible whole.

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Interkulturelle Germanistik is the property of Transcript Verlag and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Palíndromo is the property of Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

I approach Murasaki Shikibu's marvelous literary pearl The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) as analogous to glistening orbs that "come out of the disease of suffering oysters," the suffering being the death of her beloved husband Fujiwara no Nobutaka (950?–1001). In addition to drawing evidence from the novel itself, I have relied on Murasaki's lesser-known Poetic Memoirs and Diary that offer important insights into her state of mind and circumspect literary style. The Lotus Sūtra is the key that unlocks Murasaki's philosophical intent, with its use of parables and poems to provoke deeper understandings of Buddhism and personal realizations. The Buddhist principle of impermanence (Sanskrit anitya; Japanese mujōkan) serves as both the aesthetic of aware and an unavoidable fact that residents of the Heian court (like those in the Lotus Sūtra's Burning House) choose to ignore or escape by reveling in superficial pursuits of beauty and political power. Various characters in the novel attempt to follow the path to the epistemological awakening the author Murasaki sought for herself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chronica Mundi is the property of Chronica Mundi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the summer of 2021, the sun melted the King Edward VII Equestrian Monument in Queen's Park into a heap of bronze, releasing the occupants of the city of Toronto from the sculpture's (both symbolic and material) colonial power. The sun finally did its work in the wake of artistic engagements that, in previous years, had defied the monument's authority and challenged its permanence. These aesthetic actions both reveal the value of the equestrian monument to the neocolonial state (as a method of maintaining structures of hierarchy, exclusion and dominance), and offer the city's occupants opportunities to practice how we can live together otherwise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taoist and Zen texts contain a number of commentaries on the nature of materiality. This research explores how those observations might be applied to the design of built forms. It argues that the characteristics of materiality are particularly relevant to built form because materiality and its absence, space, are its fundamental components. The article suggests that in order to make these characteristics operational in building design, they need to be decoupled from their particular philosophical and cultural associations and translated into a more neutral formal language. With this in mind, the article first illustrates how these characteristics are manifested in the natural world; it then explains their expression in a range of Zen-inspired traditional Japanese art forms; and finally, it suggests how they might be translated into building design principles. It is suggested that because of their familiarity, these characteristics not only have the capacity to resonate across time and culture but also the potential to convey insights into the nature of our own being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The circumstances that produce architecture have profoundly changed and, among these, precisely those which perceive and use space-time in a different way in comparison with the past. This paper defines a conceptual reference framework by positioning the time factor in relation to the role of the project as an innovative and operational procedural tool in terms of sustainable conversion of cities. The essay aims to investigate the “addition strategy” as a paradigm of architectural grafting to achieve a balanced relationship between temporariness and permanence. It outlines scenarios in which a new design culture is capable of guiding the processes of transformation of the built environment by placing the idea of impermanence in a perspective that is closer to the current socio-technical condition.

This essay analyzes the children’s imaginative play in Kazuo Ishiguro’s various novels, with a special focus on Never Let Me Go. Children often engage in various types of repetitive imaginative play, acting out stories about things that do not actually exist in order to avoid the pain of confronting their problems. An exploration of children’s play and the roles performed by the guardians and Madam helps us read the novel from a new perspective – the Mujo view of Buddhism. Mujo is the Buddhist philosophy which describes “the impermanence of all phenomena.” In Never Let Me Go, shadows of death weigh heavily on the reader as an unavoidable reminder of the nature of life. This brings Mujo to the Japanese readers’ minds. The Mujo view of Buddhism has imbued Japanese literature since the Kamakura Era (1185), and a reading of Never Let Me Go from the Mujo perspective sheds light on the condition of its protagonists. My analysis aims to introduce the Mujo doctrine to anglophone literary studies by foregrounding the poignancy and resilience found in Never Let Me Go.

The exceptional work of Edmond Jabès benefited from abundant critical readings coming from multiple horizons. Nevertheless, one can observe a clear imbalance in favour of the volumes that constitute Le Livre des questions or, at least, the absence of in-depth studies analysing systematically the notion of “resemblance” and those other notions that, being closely associated with it, make it fully meaningful. This study, by making its way through the maze of concepts and images that Jabès elaborated around a poetic intuition, tries to understand the no-tion of resemblance, and the uncertainty that naturally accompanies it, through the experience of exile, the quest for thresholds, the practice of writing. L’œuvre exceptionnelle d’Edmond Jabès s’est épanchée sous l’impulsion de nombreuses lectures critiques venant d’horizons multiples. On constate néan-moins un déséquilibre en faveur des volumes qui constituent Le Livre des ques-tions ou, tout du moins, l’absence de travaux approfondis analysant de manière systématique la notion de ressemblance et celles qui, y étant étroitement associées, la rendent pleinement significative. Cette étude, en se frayant un chemin dans le dédale de concepts et d’images que Jabès a élaborés autour d’une intuition poétique, tente ainsi de comprendre la notion de ressemblance, et l’incertitude qui tout naturellement l’accom¬pagne, à travers l’expérience de l’exil, la recherche du seuil, la pratique de l’écriture.

Recognizing that Western ways of knowing have been an underlying force resulting in the current conditions of the earth, scholars and practitioners have been exploring other worldviews and understandings for hydrosocial research. Much of this work has been focused on Indigenous ways of knowing, which are often considered to be place and culture-based; and hence inappropriate in other contexts and/or for use by non-Indigenous actors. Alternatively, Buddhism was purposely disseminated widely and has been successfully adopted throughout the world over the past 2500 years. Like Indigenous knowledge systems, the very core of Buddhist philosophy is a different way of thinking and knowing, which is based on concepts like interdependence, impermanence, and ethics. We build off of previous work by scholars and Buddhist leaders to connect Buddhist philosophy and hydrosocial research, with the aim of developing a pluralistic framework to serve as a middle path of knowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on the commonality between free association and the practice of Buddhist meditation in light of the surprising fact that both great traditions devoted to healing human suffering rely on the same fundamental method. After reviewing some aspects of free association and evenly-suspended attention, relevant aspects of Buddhist meditation and Buddhism as a psychology, including thinking and emotion, are compared and contrasted with psychoanalysis. The Buddhist insight of impermanence is highlighted. Freud's telephone metaphor becomes the basis for a discussion of psychoanalysis as a two-person meditation. Bion's proposal for the analyst to eschew memory and desire to be in the moment with his patients serves as an introduction to a case by Thomas Ogden which illustrates both Bion's points and provides an example of a two-person meditation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic is a powerful border experience awakening us to our existential predicament. Such a predicament includes transience and impermanence, unpredictability, emptiness (existential vacuum), and the interdependence of life and death. The anxiety aroused by the pandemic can awaken us to an ontological mode of existence in which we are authentic, aware, responsible, and transcendent. The Chinese idiom reminds us that crises contain both danger and opportunity. Thus, this article explores how out of this awareness can emerge resilience, creativity, and meaning-making in the midst of confinement, isolation, and suffering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the threshold of design, craft and research, seaweed inspire the construction of a multidisciplinary know-how; a dialog between macro-algae and textile techniques, between nature and manufacture. The identity of these promising, biodegradable materials -magnificent kelp- raise a series of questions and reflections about our relationship to nature, and about our hopes and expectations from materials and objects. This eye-opening concept of reconciling to the impermanent rhythm of living beings invites us to draw on new ways of conceiving our relationship to our milieu and question where and when the action of our hands can re-align to our thoughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes eco-intermediality as a cross-fertilization between what has been the hitherto predominantly thematic orientation of ecocriticism and the more form-oriented concerns of intermediality studies. To explore the transformative potential of this eco-intermedial conceptual framework, I focus on the 2013 manga adaptation of Hōjōki by the Japanese visual artist Mizuki Shigeru. Hōjōki (1212) is a medieval essay written by the Japanese poet-monk Kamo no Chōmei and bearing witness to a string of environmental disasters that overtook Kyoto at around the end of the twelfth century. The combination of a poignant environmental theme with a long history of translations and adaptations makes this work particularly amenable to an eco-intermedial approach. My main argument is that the post-Fukushima adaptation by Mizuki is a game-changer in such history, inasmuch as the artist brings his unique environmental imaginary and the distinctive formal affordances of manga to bear on Chōmei's text, so as to convey the sense of a world where objects and phenomena are endowed with agency and thus outside full human control. The ultimate aim of the present article is to highlight the far-reaching ecological implications of the intermedial textures that Mizuki creates in his manga Hōjōki to express an environmental imaginary hinged on material agency and empathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of TECHNE: Journal of Technology for Architecture & Environment is the property of Firenze University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)