Search Results (5,894)

This study focuses on the translation of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese, specifically the Faju jing, a Chinese version of the Dhammapada completed in the third century CE. It reveals that the Faju jing is not a straightforward translation but a combination of different sources. The translator, Zhi Qian, faced challenges in integrating multiple translation practices, dealing with diverse original Indian languages, incorporating pre-existing phrases from other translators’ work, and managing divergent opinions within the translation team regarding the translation style. This multi-layered process of translation, involving the participation of multiple translators, also likely occurred in other early translations. These challenges extended beyond mere comprehension of the Indian text, resulting in potential errors and deviations from straightforward translations. It is possible that some mistranslations were a consequence of integrating multiple traditions within the source text, making it difficult for translators to maintain a consistent linguistic framework and leading to errors. Furthermore, this study highlights the remarkable efforts of Chinese translators who collaborated with foreign monks in translation groups. It emphasizes the important role of Chinese translators in integrating diverse translation processes and refining the language to suit Chinese readers. They incorporated earlier translations and modified the language to align with Chinese forms. Overall, this case study sheds light on the complexity of early Chinese Buddhist translations, influenced by the integration of multiple traditions and the localization of the texts. It underscores the significance of Chinese translators in the translation process and their contributions to the development of Chinese Buddhist literature. Full article

This research paper is based on the study of the evolution of pilgrimages on the Santiago Way, highlighting the Portuguese Way to Santiago—Central Portuguese Way and Coastal Portuguese Way—which has experienced massive popularity over the years. The primary objective of this work is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the pilgrims’ motivations to undertake the Santiago Way pilgrimage. A mixed methods approach is adopted based on the simultaneous use of quantitative and qualitative data. So, an analysis of secondary data, provided by the Oficina del Peregrino de la Catedral de Santiago de Compostela and by the Municipal Department of Cultural Heritage Management of Porto is combined with a thematic analysis of seven interviews with stakeholders of the Portuguese Way to Santiago. The findings suggest that there is an increase in cultural and sports motivations, although spiritual and religious motivations continue to have a strong presence. The ecumenical character of the Santiago Way is also proved, given the large number of pilgrims of religions other than the Catholic one, who travel these paths—the vast territories that are traversed—until reaching the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. A new paradigm still needs to be registered, perceptible in the rise of Turigrims, pilgrims who benefit from support services that mitigate the hardships of the way. Full article

Abū ‘Alī ibn Sīnā (d. 428/1027) is regarded as the most influential philosopher in Islamic intellectual history. Of his numerous contributions, none has garnered more attention than his ontological proof for the existence of God, known as ‘the Demonstration of the Truthful’ (Burhān al-ṣiddiqīn). In this proof, Ibn Sīnā argues that only one being can be ‘necessarily existent’ (wājib al-wujūd). He goes on to say that all the attributes of God mentioned in the Qur’an are derived from this primary attribute of necessity. The influential mystic, Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240), is clearly influenced by this proof, but he reformulates it to suggest that the primary attribute of God is mercy rather than existence. However, this is not the type of mercy that entails forgiveness or the bestowal of favors; rather, it is a necessary mercy that brings everything into existence. All of God’s other attributes flow from this primary one of necessary mercy in the same way as all of God’s attributes flow from His necessary existence for Ibn Sīnā. Full article

There is an undeniable relationship between humanity and tian 天 in the philosophy of the Mengzi 孟子 where the latter is generally conceived as the metaphysical or ontological source of the morality and ethics of the former. However, this line of interpretation is misleading because it not only imports foreign notions of transcendence into the thought of the Mengzi but also because it ignores the contribution humans make to tian. At the same time, there have been attempts to read the Mengzi in biological terms, thereby naturalizing human morality. This likewise does not satisfy as an adequate account of human morality because it also reduces it to a natural or biological realm where human culture is an external accessory. However, the relationship between humanity and tian in the Mengzi is one of mutual influence and emergence; therefore, this article analyzes their relationship and argues that tian is to be understood as “tradition” whereby humans in their process of becoming humans contribute to and invigorate it as successive generations carry it on into the future. Full article

The burning ground is both a place and a metaphor in the religion of Shaktism or Goddess worship in West Bengal, India. As a place, it is where corpses are cremated. As a metaphor, it refers to the human heart, which has been left as a wasteland through sorrow and tragedy. It is when the soul loses its attachment to this world, when the heart is desolate and alone, that the dark Goddess Kali descends from the heavens. She may bring the gift of salvation, bringing the soul to her paradise, or she may save it from unhappy rebirth by bringing a new and better life. She may also bring the universal consciousness that is moksha or liberation. Transcendence from the bondage of worldly attachments, which are left behind amid the ashes of the burning ground, brings divine vision and realization. This paper explores the roles of negation and desolation in ritual practice and religious experience in Bengali Shaktism. Full article

For a long time, scholars have been applying the view of Confucius on Wen and Zhi, centering on Li (rites) and Ren and Yi (benevolence and righteousness), to the Taoist concepts of them. This inevitably leads to many misunderstandings and overlooking the unique characteristics of the Daoist view. In the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi, Zhi represents the natural state of human nature that is simple and desireless, while Wen refers to the corresponding expressions of speech and behavior generated based on Zhi. Under the Daoist Dao (the way)–Wu (object) model, the relationship between Wen and Zhi in Laozi and Zhuangzi is closely related to human nature and emotions, presenting Ti (source)–Yong (function) as the unity with nature as Ti and emotions as Yong. Secondly, Laozi and Zhuangzi’s view on Wen and Zhi is closely related to the thoughts of self-cultivation and governing the country, with the latter as the foundation for the former. Their view of Wen and Zhi shows the relationship of Ben (root)-Mo (branch) The probing into the Laozi and Zhuangzi’s concept of Wen and Zhi helps to understand the unique characteristics of the Taoist view, thereby further excavating the theoretical value and practical significance of the relationship between Wen and Zhi. Full article

In Paul’s eschatologically informed reading of Scripture, the Torah was never intended by God to be itself sufficient to secure membership in Abraham’s family. Because membership here had always been secured on the most fundamental level by God’s ḥesed, a future move of divine initiative is what the Torah and the prophets had all along anticipated. The redemption and reconciliation wrought by Christ has happened then in order to fulfill the original promise to Abraham, as seen through the lens of a broader salvation–historical matrix, in which the restoration of Israel and consequent ingathering of the nations envisaged by the prophets is integral. Romans 4 centrally concerns this new social phenomenon—the coming together of Jews and gentiles into a single, unified, eschatological covenant community, in which previous social identities necessarily retain their fundamental significance. The crucial implication of Paul’s theologizing is that to be a child of Abraham neither eradicates the import of traditional ethnic markers of Judaism, nor, wholesale, the ethnic distinctiveness of the varied people groups of the non-Jewish world. However, both groups are also therein transformed and united as one renewed humanity in Christ. Moreover, as the first person to be brought into a covenant relationship with God on the basis of God’s ḥesed, which was then met by the appropriate response of faithfulness toward God, Abraham functions for Paul as an ingroup exemplar for the Christ community. Full article

Decent, affordable housing and secure housing tenure remain elusive for Africa’s urban majority. The urban majority is expected to live in self-help housing, reflected in the fact that 62% of African urban dwellers live in urban informal settlements. The inability to access safe, decent, and secure housing, and the reality that Africa’s urban majority is perpetually precarious, have a severe impact on Africa’s urban households and the well-being of individuals, families, and neighborhoods. This article articulates housing as a critical and urgent Christian social practice in African cities—an extension of the church’s pastoral and missional concern. It considers housing both as a product and a process: people need housing to live secure lives; yet, the process of housing is as critical as the outcome. It then proposes housing, as a Christian social practice, being engaged in (i) supporting precarious households; (ii) preventing homelessness; (iii) creating housing; (iv) supporting rights-based land and housing movements; and (v) centering housing pastorally–liturgically. The article grounds itself in Jean-Marc Ela’s insistence on God’s presence ‘in the hut of a mother whose granary is empty’ and in Letty Russell’s ‘household of freedom’. Full article

The Eighth Crusade was launched by Saint Louis against Tunis in Summer 1270. For a few months, the French kingdom and its allies posed a serious threat to the Hafsid regime. Even though they ultimately failed to conquer the capital city, they heavily weakened the rule of al-Mustanṣir (r. 1249–77), emptying his coffers and damaging his prestige. In this paper, we first inventoried the points at stake. Then, we identified the rationale behind the expedition, evaluated the balance of the armed forces, and measured the losses and gains for each side. Second, the sources showed how the authors could depict the situation and assess its aftermath, depending on their political agenda. The Hafsid thurifers tended to minimize the sultan’s impotency, while others (e.g., the Mamluks) sometimes harshly criticized it. Third, the courtiers resorted to poetry and satirized “al-Franṣīṣ” for his setback of the Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) which he had led too. They mocked him in famous epigrams that we translated and analyzed. In conclusion, we examined why they concealed the blow. The Literati of the Restoration (ca 1370–1488) strove to portray al-Mustanṣir as a model king for the First Golden Age (until 1277) in a long series of sovereigns that stretched over more than two centuries. Full article

The five acts of jihadist violence between 2012–2020, particularly the 2015 Paris attacks, combined with an increasingly polarized political discourse in France, have pushed jihadist extremism to the center of government policy and public opinion. Approaches to jihadist extremism in the last decade have comprised two characteristics: claims amalgamating Islam and Muslim religious practice—especially in its stricter forms—with extremist violence, along with the idea that such forms of dangerous religious indoctrination are best battled through education. As a result, there has been a renewed debate concerning the principle of laïcité (secularism) within public schools and other public institutions. One of the leading efforts in this context has focused on processes of “deradicalization”. These projects include various educational tools, rehabilitation attempts inside and outside of prisons, cultural and artistic initiatives, and administrative bans imposed on organizations inciting violence. However, the most ambitious of these efforts have also been subject to the greatest criticism. Projects within the public school system have been accused of securitizing education and stigmatizing Muslim students, whereas measures undertaken in prisons are currently limited to risk assessment of inmates linked with jihadist violence, while lacking more meaningful plans for their rehabilitation. Public–private partnerships have developed more promising initiatives, but their moderate success is still recent and requires further study. Full article

This article discusses Zhuangzi’s metaphysical theory from the standpoint of a form of structural ontology that was developed by neurophilosopher Northoff and which differs from typical studies of Zhuangzi’s metaphysics. According to Nossoff’s world–brain relationship, a structural positivism based on relationships, the body is nested in the world and the brain is nested in the body. Northoff contends that elements of Eastern philosophy support this viewpoint. I have examined three aspects of Zhuangzi’s philosophy by interpreting his texts: the existence of a world independent from the subject and mind, the subject and mind dependent on the world, and the coexistence of differentiation and inclusiveness between the world and the subject. The problem this article attempts to address is how Zhuangzi achieved a Copernican revolution within the framework of non-reductive neurophilosophy, bringing about a shift away from non-anthropocentrism. Full article

Phenomenology and theology continue to induce interdisciplinary analysis of selfhood and spiritual experience. In what follows, I discuss minimalist and maximalist phenomenologies. The latter opens up space for phenomenology to be informed by the theological concept of mystery. A maximalist phenomenology makes possible a particular variety of selfhood, what I call the dilated or middle-voiced subject, which belongs neither to pure passivity of recent French phenomenology nor to the strong agency of Cartesian and Kantian legacies. Such a middle-voiced structure facilitates the given to be received in the act of dilation or expansion of the self. The final section discusses the implications this may hold for spiritual experience. Full article

The panda’s thumb argument, championed by the late Stephen Jay Gould, stands as one of the most famous polemics for common ancestry. In this essay, I analyze Gould’s argument in several steps. First, I attempt to reconstruct the argument in both deductive and likelihood formulations. I contend that both versions of the argument rest on a theological claim—namely, that God would not (likely) create or allow a suboptimal panda’s thumb. I then argue that a wide range of people are not rationally obligated to accept this theological claim. Next, I give special attention to the likelihood formulation’s emphasis on a contrastive argument for evolution over special creation. I contend that a great number of people are not rationally obligated to accept this formulation either. I next consider and reply to an objection that Gould never intended the panda argument as an apologetic for evolution (and an attack on special creation) but rather as a critique of adaptationism. Finally, I argue that the panda argument conflicts with Gould’s broader views about the human mind and the relationship between theology and science. I also note along the way that the shortcomings of the panda argument apply to a number of other arguments for evolutionary theory. To be sure, I do not criticize evolution itself or the comprehensive grounds for it. Instead, my primary aims are to analyze the panda argument and suggest that caution is in order about similar arguments as well. Full article

This paper carries out a comparative analysis of the religious beliefs and practices of residents in France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, using two waves of the World Values Survey. The main objective is to investigate the impact that secularization has had on the religious experience in these countries. More specifically, the prospection is carried out around the Christian creed in its Protestant and Catholic manifestations, understood as the majority beliefs in these countries. To carry out this task, we compiled a series of data distributed around the following categories: Contextualization: The importance of religion within different aspects of life; level of religiosity and membership in religious denominations; the sphere of beliefs: Belief in God, belief in life after death, belief in hell, and belief in heaven; scope of practices; and the nones. Subsequently, we carry out an explanatory-interpretative analysis articulated around four questions or challenges faced by these religious forms in the context of secularization: 1. The crisis of Christianity; 2. the thesis of European exceptionalism; and 3. the rise of the nones. In conclusion, the data analyzed allow us to affirm—with nuances—the following: 1. The existence of a process of dechurching in the heart of Christianity; 2. the confirmation that the European case is exceptional if we compare it with other trends or other cultural programs of secularization; 3. that the area of greatest dechurching is linked to community practice, something that allows this research to adhere to Davie’s thesis, which defines the current religious situation as believing without belonging; and 4. as a consequence of the process of dechurching, there is a rise of a social group without religious adscription: The nones. Full article

This article studies six sermons related to proper social behavior from a Christian perspective by fourth-century theologian Gregory of Nyssa. A brief comment on the dating and the context of the sermons is given before the different themes discussed in the different liturgical seasons are analyzed, and then the content of each of these sermons is explored in some depth. Following this, an analysis of the persuasive and instructive styles in these sermons is made, underlining the different ways the bishop exhorts his people according to the matters at hand. When discussing issues that set a bad example, such as the practice of usury and the rejection of correction, the language used is very harsh; in other cases, the tone is softer, such as when it comes to deciding whether one should postpone his baptism or not or how one should behave vis-à-vis the more needy in society; when dealing with sensitive issues like fornication, given the natural human weakness in this aspect, the language is much more pastoral. Finally, a comment on the narratives used concludes the study. Full article