Search results for "Buddhism"

Tales of saviours and iconoclasts. On the provenance of "the Dead Sea Scrolls of Buddhism"

2021

Academic research on newly discovered ancient Buddhist manuscripts is largely based on objects that come from the antiquities market and to a much lesser degree on objects coming from documented and controlled archaeological excavations. Despite their being unprovenanced, collectors and scholars often present such objects with narratives mimicking provenance. The use of the label "Dead Sea Scrolls" attached to archaeological material without connections to Judaism or early Christianity is a prevalent example of this scholarly praxis. In this article, we deconstruct provenance narratives associated with the undocumented Buddhist manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection and discuss their implica…

Reliģiski-filozofiski raksti, 26

2019

Volume XXVI is dedicated to the themes discussed during the scientific conference Dynamic Asia: Shaping the Future that took place in Riga on 13–15 April 2018, and were further explored after this conference. The conference was organised in cooperation between the Latvian Society for the Study of Religions and the Baltic Alliance for Asian Studies. This event brought together more than 80 participants from 20 countries. The topics presented at the conference are reflected in the current volume. Many of these articles are dedicated to Japanese culture, where spiritual, material and routine aspects intermingle in all walks of life. The Far East topic is expanded in papers on Korea and South E…

The Subject is beyond Space and Time

In physics »the subject« is considered as one who is observing and experiencing a given physical phenomena and also observing a mind model which describes this phenomena. The subject has an inherent ability to be aware of material and psychological phenomena (scientific models created by the mind, thoughts, memories, emotions) and also to be aware of “spaces” in which these phenomena are taking place. Material phenomena exist in outer physical space, psychological phenomena happen in inner psychological space. The ability of “space observation” indicates that from ontological point of view observer is “beyond” physical and psychological space.

Science and Religion Dialogue: What is Life? Zinātnes un Reliģijas Dialogs: Kas ir dzīvība?

2013

Juris Cālītis, Paskāla liesmas, Dekarta rēgs un cilvēka dzīvība Dzintars Edvīns Bušs, Dzīvības jēdziena aprises dvēseles, gara un apziņas izpratnes kontekstā Dainis Zeps, Dzīvība un Matemātika: vai ir kāds kopsakars? scireprints.lu.lv/227/ Pāvils Tjurins, Huligānisma psiholoģija (Dabas normativitāte un psihes nenormativitāte), scireprints.lu.lv/229/ Jānis Rudzītis, Dzīvība Vecajā Derībā Enoks Biķis, Cilvēka dzīvība bioloģiskā un medicīniskā aspektā Normunds Titāns, Bioloģisks universs? Inteliģenta ārpuszemes dzīvība? Astroteoloģija? scireprints.lu.lv/228/ Kaspars Mičulis, Dzīvība un saprāts pašorganizācijas un antropā principa kontekstā, scireprints.lu.lv/226/ Florian Gahbauer, Dzīva būtne:…

Is our brain hardwired to produce God, or is our brain hardwired to perceive God? A systematic review on the role of the brain in mediating religious…

2009

To figure out whether the main empirical question "Is our brain hardwired to believe in and produce God, or is our brain hardwired to perceive and experience God?" is answered, this paper presents systematic critical review of the positions, arguments and controversies of each side of the neuroscientific–theological debate and puts forward an integral view where the human is seen as a psycho-somatic entity consisting of the multiple levels and dimensions of human existence (physical, biological, psychological, and spiritual reality), allowing consciousness/ mind/spirit and brain/body/matter to be seen as different sides of the same phenomenon, neither reducible to each other. The emergence …

Frequencies of the Buddhist Meditative Chant – Om Mani Padme Hum

2016

Om Mani Padme Hum is a six syllable mantra in Tibetian Buddhism associated with the bodhisattva – Avalokitesvara. This mantra as known by the Buddhist generates positive energies within the body through mystical vibrations and frequencies when chanted repeatedly. The mantra has shown enhanced cognitive effects in organisms without auditory apparatus where the interaction is assumed to be taking place at a cellular and biochemical level (Pereira 2015a, b; Pereira 2016a,b). Based on the results of these studies, this paper evaluates the frequencies associated with each syllable of the mantra comparing it to therapeutic/healing effects that have been known or studied for some frequencies by ho…

Tyniecka ikebana

2016

Tyniec ikebana or tynike is a creative reinterpretation of the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement used for the liturgical purposes and for the proclamation of the Christian message. In my article I will present the basie features, history and principles of ikebana and the relationship between Buddhism and Japanese culture and ikebana. Next I am going to describe the cultural role of flowers in Europę, and the reception of ikebana in the Western culture. But the main purpose of the article is to show the specificity of the ikebana practice in Benedictine monastery in Tyniec (Poland) as a new, interesting way of evangelization. The main problem is the tension between the Buddhist …

Per un’educazione universale. La via del Buddhismo nelle società post-secolari

2018

The paper examines Buddhism as a religion that suggests to the post-modern and post-secular West a new, inclusive, non-violent and ecological education. It proposes an universal education that responds to the request of religiosity of our societies. Buddhism is investigated as a millennial pedagogy, in which the path of spiritual growth coincides with a path of self-education that is articulated through an interior and social education. The center of the Buddhist doctrine is the meditation (dhyan), that leads the disciple, with the support of a master and the community, for a rebirth that, declaring him as the author of his own realization, leads him to establish empathic relationship with …

Unwanted effects: Is there a negative side of meditation? A multicentre survey

2017

Objectives Despite the long-term use and evidence-based efficacy of meditation and mindfulness-based interventions, there is still a lack of data about the possible unwanted effects (UEs) of these practices. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of UEs among meditation practitioners, considering moderating factors such as the type, frequency, and lifetime duration of the meditation practices. Methods An online survey was developed and disseminated through several websites, such as Spanish-, English- and Portuguese-language scientific research portals related to mindfulness and meditation. After excluding people who did not answer the survey correctly or completely and those w…

The Serenity of the Meditating Mind: A Cross-Cultural Psychometric Study on a Two-Factor Higher Order Structure of Mindfulness, Its Effects, and Mech…

2014

Objective To investigate the psychometric and structural properties of the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) among meditators, to develop a short form, and to examine associations of mindfulness with mental health and the mechanisms of mindfulness. Methods Two independent samples were used, a German (n = 891) and a Spanish (n = 393) meditator sample, practicing various meditation styles. Structural and psychometric properties of the FFMQ were investigated with multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory structural equation modeling. Associations with mental health and mechanisms of mindfulness were examined with path analysis. Results The derived short form broadly ma…