Buddhist Studies

What implications does the Srin-mo, a pre-Buddhist deity who traverses across almost all of the periods of time in Tibetan religious life, have on the social status of women? Embodying the places and spaces of Tibet, a malevolent demoness called the Srin-mo has been essential in laying the formation of Tibetan Buddhism. The concept of the Srin-mo can be traced back to the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet: Bön. The story of the Srin-mo is not a creation myth in the sense of a worldly inception,  but the story of the demoness does represent the creation of a harmonious society, spurring from the preceding time of primordial chaos found amongst the Bön religion. Looking at the origins of the demoness’ story is necessary in order to understand how and why the Srin-mo holds efficacious power over the land and people of Tibet. Here, I will investigate the case of the Srin-mo, which is controversially one of the most important beings in Tibet, but unquestionably, an irrevocable component of understanding what implications geography holds on Tibet.

and Erik Braun (University of Virginia), provides a series of essays from scholars in the humanistic disciplines-religious studies and philosophy in particularon the issues surrounding the recent surge of scientific studies of Buddhist and Buddhist-derived meditation techniques. The introduction by McMahan and Braun works to give a framework to the chapters in the volume by providing a genealogy of the scientific study of meditation as it has come to be in the present, particularly in the United States, and considering its cultural and institutional place as well as the scrutiny that such studies and the promoters of meditation as a panacea for the ills of contemporary life have received. The editors note that "the goal of this volume is not to police the boundaries of Buddhist meditation by adjudicating these disputes"; rather, they state the chapters of their book show that "never before has meditation been put to so many varied purposes within so many different worldviews" (14-15). This genealogy is followed by an overview of the chapters and the intentions behind the curation of the volume. Consciously drawing contributions from a number of intellectual and disciplinary perspectives within the humanities, the editors state that "we hope that this volume exemplifies some of the ways that humanistic thought is essential to the study of meditation since, in our view, meditation in the laboratory can never fully account for how such practices function in the lives of practitioners in these complex social, cultural, and historical contexts" (15). Moreover, the editors claim that their intention is not to flatly oppose the scientific study of meditation, but to place such studies-their practices and assumptions-into a broader social and historical context. Including the Journal of Dharma Studies

2016 Madison South Asia Conference Abstract - Indian Buddhist ritual texts (ca. 6th-7th centuries CE) detail a systematization of mantra families (kulas) through which female deities gain new importance in Mahāyāna ritual and soteriological contexts. These systems consist of a minimum of three ritual families: the Buddha (headed by the Buddha Śākyamuni or Vairocana), the Lotus (headed by the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara), and the Vajra (headed by the Bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi). They are populated by a range of male and female deities who both effectuate practitioners' mantras and personify the physical and mental attributes of their kula leaders. The Mañjuśriyamūlakalpa, perhaps the earliest of these kula-system texts to survive in Sanskrit, characterizes the kula goddesses as female Bodhisattvas who respond to the mantras of their respective families and simultaneously work to establish beings on the path to Enlightenment. This paper focuses on the structure of a specific maṇḍala (sacred deity diagram) that encompasses all or most of these three kulas. It examines the ritual functions of a little-studied class of mantra goddesses (vidyārājñīs) including their processes of embodiment, personification, and positioning in relation to their kula leaders and male counterparts (vidyārājas). Navigating issues of erosion and absence, my analysis compares cognate forms of this early maṇḍala across mediums. Examples include: a stone relief sculpture in situ at the Pandavleni caves in Nāsik, Maharashtra (with figures missing), the sole remaining complete redaction of the Sanskrit Mañjuśriyamūlakalpa, and the Mahāvairocana Abhisaṃbodhi Tantra (a text that survives only its Chinese and Tibetan translations). Therefore, within this process of text-image comparison, my study emphasizes methodological points of difficulty due to the decay or erasure of my primary source materials (including lost sections of manuscript, manuscripts no longer extant, and the wearing away of sculptural imagery).

This paper examines the influence of Christianity in the formation of new Buddhism and the reformation agenda of traditional Buddhism during the first half of the twentieth century in
Korea. By new Buddhism, I am specifically referring to Wŏn Buddhism (圓佛敎), established by Sot’aesan Pak Chungbin 少太山朴重彬(1891–1943) in 1916. Since its foundation, Wŏn Buddhism has grown into one of the four major religious groups in South Korea, along with traditional Buddhism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. The paper begins by reviewing some of major issues in the Buddhist reform movements and Wŏn Buddhism. It then goes on to detail the formalistic similarities between Wŏn Buddhism and Christianity. The next section examines the visible influences of traditional East Asian religions in Wŏn Buddhism. In its
final part, the paper considers Sot’aesan’s approaches to different religious traditions and the eclectic nature of Wŏn Buddhism as a possible model for an interreligious dialogue, to include Buddhist-Christian dialogue.
Keywords: Wŏn Buddhism, Christianity, new Buddhism, Buddhist reform movements, ecumenism

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In order to create a better future in the struggle with climate change, many people are turning to Buddhism and its environmental principles of interconnectedness and compassion.  But do Buddhist values really lead to ecological sustainability, and if so, how?  Do Buddhists of different types even agree on how we should live ecologically?  This seminal book is the first to answer these questions through a comprehensive, critical, and innovative examination of the theories, practices, and real-world results of Buddhist environmental ethics.  In synthetically exploring lived ecological experiences across seven Buddhist worlds from ancient India to the contemporary West, this book helps one to discern attitudes and practices that lead to beneficial ecological interactions from alternative orientations that may result in unsatisfying outcomes.  Further, the book’s journey clarifies our understanding of crucial contours of Buddhist vegetarianism or meat eating, nature mysticism, as well as cultural speculations about spirituality in nonhuman animals.  With its accessible style and personhood ethics orientation this book should appeal to anyone who is concerned with how human beings interact with the nonhuman environment.  Representing the definitive analytic treatment of Buddhist environmental ethics, the book also offers great value in university classrooms involving environmental studies, religious studies, cultural studies, or philosophical ethics.

A study of Buddhist sculptures of women at Sāñchī and Kanaganahalli, with profound implications for Buddhism and for the understanding of the origin of Christianity. (A revision which I recently made is this: I have replaced the earlier example of Buddhism’s occasional tendencies toward emphasizing the grotesque and unpleasant aspects of the human physical body [pp. 51-53] with a far more significant quoted description and illustration of the ghastly, midnight ‘Harem Scene’, which, in fact, represents the major turning point in the life of the Buddha-to-be [Prince Siddhārtha], and which, in this study, I am proposing as the very source of the enigmatic, so-called ‘Sheela-na-gig’ sculptures.)

The Western reception of Buddhism has long been tied in knots over the seemingly intractable question: is it a religion or a philosophy? French philosopher Pierre Hadot's constructive redeployment of Ignatius Loyola's idea of "spiritual exercise" has therefore been seen as offering a welcome way to cut through the dilemma. The present volume, whose seven chapters skillfully explore the prospects for developing Hadot's thought within Buddhist Studies, represents a valuable new contribution to this important discussion.

“Stuart has elected not to describe the nature of Goenka’s practice and the detailed (and easily accessible) theory that underpins it. … [T]he biographer describes Goenka as ‘dedicated to serving as a powerful channel for his teacher’s [U Ba Khin’s] vijjādhātu, . . . the psychic force of the wisdom of vipaśyanā [insight meditation] made available to Goenka and his students by the grace of U Ba Khin and his enlightened nonhuman guides.’”

A jegyzetek a fordító, Fórizs László, és a szerkesztő, Szamanéra Gambhíró megjegyzései.
Kiadta: Aruna Publications, Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist Monastery, Harnham Hall Cottages, Harnham, Belsay, Northumberland, NE20 0HF UK
© 2012Harnham Buddhist Monastery Trust
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Souvent présentée comme incertaine, l'étymologie du mot « pagode » peut être clarifiée et considérée comme la rencontre de deux mots, l'un indien, l'autre chinois.
Ce que ce mot désigne a fortement évolué : autrefois polysémique, « la pagode » ne renvoie plus aujourd'hui qu'à une seule réalité, ne concernant que le bouddhisme chinois et les traditions qu'il a suscitées.
D'où il s'ensuit que les monuments du bouddhisme Theravāda ne doivent plus être appelés « pagodes ».

Academic study of the tantric traditions has blossomed in recent decades, in no small measure thanks to the magisterial contributions of Alexis G. J. S. Sanderson, until 2015 Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at Oxford University. This collection of essays honours him and touches several fields of Indology that he has helped to shape (or, in the case of the Śaiva religions, revolutionised): the history, ritual, and philosophies of tantric Buddhism, Śaivism and Vaiṣṇavism; religious art and architecture; and Sanskrit belles lettres. Grateful former students, joined by other experts influenced by his scholarship, here offer papers that make significant contributions to our understanding of the cultural, religious, political, and intellectual histories of premodern South and Southeast Asia.

Contributors are: Peter Bisschop, Judit Törzsök, Alex Watson, Isabelle Ratié, Christopher Wallis, Péter-Dániel Szántó, Srilata Raman, Csaba Dezső, Gergely Hidas, Nina Mirnig, John Nemec, Bihani Sarkar, Jürgen Hanneder, Diwakar Acharya, James Mallinson, Csaba Kiss, Jason Birch, Elizabeth Mills, Ryugen Tanemura, Anthony Tribe, and Parul Dave-Mukherji.

The publication is fully open-access and can be downloaded (in whole or chapter-by-chapter) from Brill's website: https://brill.com/view/title/56613

Poceski, Mario. Introducing Chinese Religions. New York and London: Routledge, 2009. Also available in an e-book format, as Chinese Religions: The eBook (published by JBE Online Books), and in a Portuguese translation: Introdução às religiões chinesas, published by Fundação Editora da UNESP, Brazil, 2013.

Nagarjuna, philosophe bouddhiste fondateur de l'école du Madhyamaka du Milieu au II° siècle, est reconnu comme un Patriarche  autant par les écoles tibétaines que par le zen japonais. Il influencera notament l'Hanna Shingyo, le célèbre Sutra du coeur qui est en résonnance avec sa pensée. Ses thèses hardies proposent une déconstruction des vérités bouddhistes sclérosées qui versent dans l'idéalisme ou le matérialisme, en invitant à emprunter une voie radicale de l'entre-deux, entre vérité relative et vérité au sens ultime, avec une approche radicale et décapante de la vacuité et de l'éveil, en phase avec les dernières découvertes de la physique quantique.  Ce nouvel article propose une approche globale de sa philosophie, en insistant sur les conséquences pratiques de sa pensée sur la méditation et les enseignements bouddhistes.

2017 The ten ox-herding pictures are some of the most famous illustrations in Buddhism. The commentaries that have been written on these pictures are vast and wide. In this workbook I've taken the opportunity to share my views about the pictures along with sharing the thoughts and ideas of other contemporary writers on Buddhism who have done so as well.

This is the handout for a presentation I gave  in February of 2020 in Heidelberg at the workshop "Textual and Visual Sources on Buddhist Meditation: 56 Years after the First Publication of the ‘Buddhist Yoga Manual.’" The talk was entitled "The Deities of Others: Visionary meditation as inter-tradition critique in the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra."

The question of how buddha nature (tathāgatagarbha) relates to Yogācāra psychology, and this tradition's idea of a substratum consciousness (ālayavijñāna) in particular, has long been a focus of intense discussion and debate among Buddhist scholars, both within and beyond the borders of India. Looking back on such exchanges, one is hard-pressed to find a scholar who has delved more deeply into the complexities of this issue than the Eighth Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507-1554). In reviewing his many and varied treatments of the matter, it becomes clear that the question was a focal point for several overlapping problems that were integral to his philosophical project. Among these were the problems of whether and how the Yogācāra ālayavijñāna-vāsanā model could be reconciled with [1] buddha nature theory, [2] tantric buddha nature proxies such as the unconditioned ground (gzhi) and causal continuum (rgyu rgyud), [3] Indian and Chinese Buddhist conceptions of an immaculate consciousness (amalavijñāna), 2 and [4] the Karma pa's own tradition's Mahāmudrā-based *Yuganaddha-Apratiṣṭhāna-Madhyamaka 3 (a Middle

Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It began in the 6th century BCE in Nepal. Today, it has an international following of over 500 million people.
But Buddhism isn’t a single set of beliefs or practices. In fact, Buddhism is split into two major branches: Theravada and Mahayana.
What are the major differences between Theravada vs MahayanaBuddhism? And why did they split in the first place? These two branches of Buddhism each have their own unique identity. And you might be surprised by what each can offer the beginner practitioner learning how to practice Buddhism.

The relationship between Buddhist psychology and the Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapeutic model is notable. Both assert that what we commonly think of as our 'self' is actually an aggregate of myriad parts acting from unmet desires, fears, and delusions. Both also maintain the possibility of actualizing a healthier, wiser, more compassionate 'self' by changing how we understand and relate to these internal parts. What may not be so apparent at first glance, is how the IFS notion of 'Self,' with a capital 'S,' reconciles with the Buddhist notion of non-self or anatta. Rather than being contradictory, Dr. Flint Sparks, psychotherapist and Zen priest, holds they are one and the same, and the Buddhist point of view brings a more nuanced approach to Self that IFS accommodates. 1

The Buddha: From Birth to Renunciation "Monks, there is a unique Being, an extraordinary person, who has appeared in the world for the welfare of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the good, welfare, and happiness of celestial beings (devas) and humans. Who is that unique Being? It is the Tathāgata, the Exalted, Fully Enlightened One. This, indeed, is that unique Being. "Monks, there is a Being who has appeared in the world who is the only one of His kind, without a peer, without a counterpart, incomparable, unequalled, matchless, unrivalled-the best of humans. Who is that unique Being? It is the Tathāgata, the Exalted, Fully Enlightened One. This, indeed, is that unique Being. "Monks, the manifestation of a unique Being is the manifestation of great vision, of great light, of great radiance; it is the manifestation of the six things unsurpassed; 1 the realization of the four analytical knowledges; 2 the penetration of the various elements, of the diversity of elements; it is the realization of the fruit of knowledge and liberation; the realization of the fruits of Stream-Entry, of Once-Returning, of Non-Returning, and of Arahatship. 3 Who is that unique Being? It is the 1 The "six things unsurpassed" (cha anuttariyā) are explained in the Anguttara Nikāya 6:130: (1) the unsurpassed sight (that is, the sight of a Buddha or His disciples); (2) the unsurpassed hearing (that is, the hearing of the Dhamma from a Buddha or His disciples); (3) the unsurpassed gain (that is, the gain of faith in a Buddha or His disciples); (4) the unsurpassed training (that is, the training in the higher morality, the higher mind, and the higher wisdom as taught by a Buddha and His disciples); (5) the unsurpassed service (that is, service to a Buddha or His disciples); and (6) the unsurpassed recollection (that is, the recollection of a Buddha or His disciples). 2 The "four analytical knowledges" (catasso paṭisambhidā) are the analytical knowledges of meaning, doctrine, language, and ingenuity. 3 The "fruits (phala) of stream-entry", etc. may be explained as follows: Between the states of delusion, bondage, and suffering and that of complete liberation (vimokkha) lie the paths and fruits of attainment, marked by the progressive elimination of ten fetters (saṁyojana). One who has put an end to the first three fetters is known as a Stream-Winner (Sotāpanna). When, in addition, the next two fetters are weakened, one becomes a Once-Returner (Sakadāgāmī). When all of the first five fetters, which are known as the grosser fetters, are completely destroyed, one becomes a Non-Returner (Anāgāmī). When all ten fetters are destroyed, one attains the state of Arahat. 2 THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA, ACCORDING TO THE OLDEST TEXTS Tathāgata, the Exalted, Fully Enlightened One. This, indeed, is that unique Being." 4 Introduction 5 History has produced many great figures, but none, in this present cycle of time, as impressive and memorable as Siddhattha Gotama, the Sākyan prince who became the world's greatest spiritual guide. He was unique as a personality and unique as a teacher. There were countless Enlightened Ones before Him, and there will be more, so long as cyclic existence (saṁsāra) endures, but He is the only one of whom we have actual historical knowledge, and His life has been a source of wonder and inspiration for more than 2,600 years. It continues to be so to this day. Every Buddhist is familiar with the miraculous stories connected with Prince Siddhattha's birth, early manhood, and later life as the Buddha. The traditional tales handed down from generation to generation of Buddhists are full of marvels, some of which are difficult for the modern mind to accept as literally true. In this, Buddhism is no different from other creeds. All of them have their mythological accretions-the legends that time and the devotion of the faithful have woven about the lives of their founders. But, whereas in most other religions, the supernatural events are an essential part of the faith, to be held as proof that the founder was a divine personage, an incarnation of God, or a prophet specially singled out to be God's spokesman on earth, in Buddhism, they have no importance whatsoever, because the Buddha did not claim to be any of these things. If one so chooses, the stories may be taken literally, or they may be regarded as fiction. The uniqueness of the Buddha does not rest upon miracles or myths, but upon the established, unembellished facts of His life, and, above all, on the realizable truth of His Teaching. The unembellished facts of His life alone are more than enough to move us to awe and veneration. They confront us with something outside normal experience, a challenge to the world's accepted values and to some of its most cherished goals. The world of the time in which Prince Siddhattha lived was not so different from our own. Then, as today, men were inclined to worship power; they strove for wealth and position, reveled in luxury when they could, and lamented their poverty when they could not. They loved and hated, they quarreled and cheated, they were cowards at times and heroes at others, they were mean and noble by turns, just as they are now. They placed great value on the pleasures of the senses and did their best to ignore the tragedies 4

This article deals with an important festival in Tibet dedicated to the future Buddha Maitreya. It was held on three days in summer when three giant thangkas showing Buddhas Amitābha, Śākyamuni and Maitreya were put on public display. Introduced in the seventeenth century, it became a defining feature of the monastic life in the Dge lugs monastery of Bkra shis lhun po, the seat of the Panchen Lamas. It attained a supra-regional importance, which even extended to Mongolia. Based on a number of textual sources, this essay examines various aspects of this festival, how it was funded, who participated, and which rituals and ceremonies were conducted. It also analyses the history and iconography of the three giant textile thangkas by discussing in detail the contributions made during the reign of each respective Panchen Lama from the past to the present. In sum, the article argues that this festival has to be seen in the context of a special bond the Dge lugs school of Tibetan Buddhism maintained to have with the future Buddha Maitreya

Membership in Newar Buddhist monasteries includes individuals from the Vajrācārya and Śākya castes who serve as Tantric Buddhist householder monks. Of this population, the ten eldest members of each monastery are known as the Daśa Sthavira Ājus (Ten Elders of the Highest Esteem). Because of their position, these Ājus are the ritual specialists for their communities and serve as exemplars of the monastic ideal in Newar society. This paper explores the ways in which Newar Buddhists at the Kwā Bahā monastic complex in Patan, Nepal, utilize ceremonial dress to reinforce their Buddhist identity and publicly reaffirm their ancient Buddhist heritage in Nepal. This study, the first to analyze the Ājus’ ceremonial regalia, provides an analysis of the garments, headdresses, and ornaments worn by these figures to explain the ways in which dress embeds Buddhist iconographic symbolism into Newar visual culture. Additionally, this paper demonstrates that the ritual veneration of the Ājus gives their regalia agency, reinforcing their public, ritual role as living embodiments of buddhahood. [PDF of article available in link]

The book is a critical biography and select translation of Sahodaran Ayyappan one of the lead disciples of Narayanaguru and a pioneer of letters, journalism, democracy and human rights in Kerala. He was a champion of the dalit rights and the down trodden in Kerala renaissance struggles who is also called Pulayan Ayyappan. He was an editor, anti caste crusader, a poet, orator, legislator and public figure. He is one of the founders of modernity and rationalism in Kerala. Sahodaran also initiated the neo Buddhist movement along with Mitavadi and C V Kunjiraman in the 1920s. The book features many of his works in verse and prose including editorials and speeches. Published by Other Books Calicut in 2012. Available online on amazon.in and other sites. To read the review and buy online visit amazon.in site by using the link below: (copy paste if needed)

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This spreadsheet compares the three teachings, in the way I believe the Buddha instructed monks to do in Council in DN 29, for the purpose of keeping the teaching pure. 

Link to the document: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tDOczWwmLYPmhJPYK2HL8lIojaN4CQDrDYQEoD4M904/edit?usp=sharing

Designed a poster for the twelve links (nidāna): Dependent Origination (paṭiccasamuppāda). This was a desideratum as I am running a Monday Q&A session on every nidāna. Vibhaṅga Sutta (SN 12.2) and Sammādiṭṭhi Sutta, (MN 09) are my references.

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As an incredibly diverse religious system, Buddhism is constantly changing. The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism offers a comprehensive collection of work by leading scholars in the field that tracks these changes up to the present day. Taken together, the book provides a blueprint to understanding Buddhism's past and uses it to explore the ways in which Buddhism has transformed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The volume contains 41 essays, divided into two sections. The essays in the first section examine the historical development of Buddhist traditions throughout the world. These chapters cover familiar settings like India, Japan, and Tibet as well as the less well-known countries of Vietnam, Bhutan, and the regions of Latin America, Africa, and Oceania. Focusing on changes within countries and transnationally, this section also contains chapters that focus explicitly on globalization, such as Buddhist international organizations and diasporic communities. The second section tracks the relationship between Buddhist traditions and particular themes. These chapters review Buddhist interactions with contemporary topics such as violence and peacebuilding, and ecology, as well as Buddhist influences in areas such as medicine and science.

Offering coverage that is both expansive and detailed, The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Buddhism delves into some of the most debated and contested areas within Buddhist Studies today.

The story of the discovery and interpretation of India for the European mind is really exciting. Not-so we shall regret the discovery geogrdfico, linguistic and literary, or shipments and searches, in a word, everything that constitutes the foundation of Hinduism Europe, but mainly to cultural adven-tures caused by the increasing revelation of the lan-guages, Indian myths and philosophies. Raymond Schwab, in his beautiful book La Renaissance Orientale (Payot, 1948) has described a good number of these cultural adventures. But the discovery of India prosi-gue, and nothing makes us think that this brought to term, because a culture andlisis reveals fordnea primarily as bus-cdbamos or what estdbamos prepared to discover. The Discovery of India habrd recently completed when the creative forces of Europe are inevitably exhausted. When it comes to spiritual values, the contribution of philology, however indispensable it may be, does not exhaust the richness of the object. It would certainly have been superfluous to want to understand the budis-mo while the texts were not edited correctly, and how-do the various Buddhist philology were not formed yet. Ana-give that comprehension of this vast and complex spiritual phenomenon was not infallibly secured by these excellent instruments work are critical issues, multilingual dictionaries, the historical monograph. Of abor-give an exotic spiritualism, especially man understands what std predestined to understand their vocation, their own cultural orientation and the orientation of the 'historical moment it belongs to. This truism is of general application; The image we have created the "inferior societies" during the nineteenth century, largely derived from the positivist attitude, anti-religious and a-metaphysics of some excellent explorers and ethnologists, who treated "savages" with the ideology of a contempordneo of Auguste Comte, Darwin or Herbert Spencer was found between "primitives" in any aspect, "fetishism" and "childish" religious, simply because you could not see anything else. It took the thrust of European metaphysical thought-border ate of this century, the religious revival, the multiple procurement action of depth psychology, poetry, the microphysics, in order to understand the spiritual horizon of the " primitiveing "the structuring of its symbols, the function of its myths, its mystical maturity. In the case of India, the difficulties were considerable mds even, on one hand, it was necessary to forge the tools, advance the philology; on the other hand, selecting those aspects of Indian spiritualism mds permeable to the European mentality. But, as expected, what seemed mds-permeable was just mind what mds replied to the urgent problems of European culture. The interest in comparative philology Aryan-Hindu, was mainly forcing sdnscrito study by mid-nineteenth cen-tury, as well as one or two generations atrds, India was seen "taking place under the impulse of philosophy idealistic or through the charm of the primary imdgenes who had just returned to discover the roman-ticismo alemdn. During the second half of last century, India was interpreted primarily in terms of mythology naturist and cultural fashion that the latter had established in Europe and America. Finally, the rise of sociology and cultural anthropology in the first quarter of this century, has inspired new perspectives. All these experiments were the prize because respon-dian primarily to the problems inherent in European culture. While the various access methods used by Western scholars could not always reveal the intrinsic values of spirituality hindu, why not give less help and little by little, the co-Menz India to assert its presence in the European consciousness. It is true that for a long time, this presence is revealed particularly in comparison gramdticas scanty, timidly, India made their appearance in histories of philosophy, where the oscillating position laba, according to the fashion of the day, between the alemdn idealism and "mint-ability pre-logic" when the interest in sociology was imposed, there were long epilogue on the caste system. But all these attitudes are explained by taking into account the horizons of modern Western culture. When a culture included among its capital problemus the explanation of a language law or a social struc-turing, invoking to India to resolve this etymology or illustrate such a stage of social evolution, did not mean to diminish India, was well mds assurances of respect and admiration. Moreover, the forms of access were not bad in itself, they were just too individual, and your opportunity to unveil the spiritual content of a large and complex intellectualism was limited, because of that, to the same extent. Fortunately, the methods are perfect and the failures of the past is not lost: soon learned to not renew the mistakes of predecessors. Simply measure the progress of the studies of Indo-European mythology, from Max Muller, po-der to judge the gains that draw a George Dumézil knew, so no-regret of comparative philology, but also of sociology, of history of religions and ethnology to give a precise and infinitely mds mds fruitful, major categories of the mythical Indo-European thought. Everything leads us to believe that at the current time becomes possible mds exact knowledge of Hindu thought. India has entered the circuit of History and the European spirit, rightly or wrongly, is inclined to take seriously mds philosophies present people in history. Moreover, especially after the last generation philosophical, std European spirit being taken on an increasingly intense mds defined with respect to issues of temporality and historicity. During mds of a cen-tury, the better part of the European scientific and philosophical effort was devoted to andlisis of the factors "condition" to be human hand could be demonstrated to what extent cudnto and std man conditioned by his physiology, by their heredity, their social, cultural ideology involved, by his subconscious, and, above all, by history, by its historical moment and by their own uniqueness personal history. This latest discovery of Western thought, namely that man is essentially an temporal and historical, that is not, nor can it stop being "a product of the history, philosophy still dominates Europe. Some philosophical reach the conclusion that the only task worthy and valuable offered to man, is free and fully assume this temporality and historicity this case any choice would be equivalent to an escape toward the abstract and untrue and would pay the sterility and death, which inexorably punished in the treason made history. Not for us to discuss these arguments. Senalonos however, that the problems that excite the European consciousness prepare pupils to better understand the Indian spiritualism: mds Moreover, the in-cite to use for his own philosophical work, an ancient Indian experience. To explain: it is the human condition which constitutes the subject of recent mds European philosophy, especially human temporality, the temporality is what makes possible all other "constraints" and that, ultimately, makes man a being "conditioned", a series of vague and evanescent "conditions". However, this problem of "conditioning" of man (and its corollary, almost neglected in the West: the "de-conditioning") is the central problem of Indian thought. From the Upanishads, India did not feel worried mds than one problem, and large: the structuring of the human condition. (What he has done that, not without reason, that all Indian philosophy has been and is still "existentialist.") Europe would have interest in learning because: 1) what India has thought of the multiple "conditioning" human, 2 °) how I approach the problem of temporality and historicity of man, 3 °) solution found for the anguish and despair, inevitably triggered by the notion of temporality, the parent of all " constraints. India is dedicated, with unparalleled rigor on the other hand, to analyze various human condition. We hasten to add that he did not to reach a precise and coherent explanation of man you (such as in Europe in the nineteenth century, when it was believed to explain the man's hereditary or social conditioning), but to know far areas ranging swim conditions of human beings and see if there is something even beyond these con-ditions. It is for this reason that, long before the deep psychology of the sages and ascetics Indians felt compelled to explore the dark areas of the subconscious, had found that the physiological condition, social, cultural and religious were relatively fdciles to delimit and therefore, to dominate, the major obstdculos for ascetic and contemplative life arose from the activity of the subconscious, of vasana samskara and "impregnation", "waste", "latency" which is what the psychology of what designated as deep content and structure-tions of the subconscious. Moreover, this anticipation is not pragmdtica certain modern psychological techniques as really valuable, but their use in order to "deconditioning" of man.

Paper for the panel: The Viṣṇudharma and the Śivadharma: points of influence and divergence, 33. Deutscher Orientalistentag, Jena, Germany, 18–22 September 2017 

* Published now in the Introduction to the book "A Śaiva Utopia" on Academia * :
https://www.academia.edu/67886226/A_%C5%9Aaiva_Utopia_The_%C5%9Aivadharma_s_Revision_of_Brahmanical_Var%E1%B9%87%C4%81%C5%9Bramadharma 

In a recent papers examining the Śivadharma[śāstra], I analyzed that way the author of this work has recast several of the distinctive categories of Smārta Brahmanical dharma, particularly the four-āśrama model, affirming the varṇa (social class) categories but extending the range of ritual agency available to Śūdras and women through devotional observances (and in one verse, even to foreigners, 1.26), and generalizing acts of generosity and hospitality prescribed in Dharmaśāstra only for high-status recipients so as to benefit the needy regardless of status. In general terms, the Viṣṇudharma, apparently dating to roughly the same period, likewise adapts the varṇāśrama-dharma of early Dharmaśāstra to a sectarian religious orientation — in this case, Bhāgavata rather than Māheśvara — but with notably different results. First, where the Śivadharmaśāstra evidently presupposes the older non-sequential āśrama model of the Dharmasūtras, the Viṣṇudharma adopts the sequential model introduced in Manu's code (ca. 200 CE). Whereas the Śivadharma redirects the Smārta guest-reception rite and madhuparka meal for the benefit of Śiva-bhaktas (lay Śaivas adhering to a formal vow), no comparable rite appears in the Viṣṇudharma (where the elements of guest reception appear only as part of the ceremony of worshiping deities or ancient sages). Most notably, the Viṣṇudharma (especially in chapters 24–25, 66, and 105) enters into sectarian polemic against the threat posed in this decadent Kali age by " heretics " (pāṣaṇḍas) of many stripes, including Buddhists, Jains, Sāṃkhyas, skeptics, and false ascetics. Arguments framed in foreign languages (hetuvādair … mlecchabhāṣānibandhaiḥ) are singled out for condemnation (105.44), and Śūdras who become ascetics and go about without caste-markers provoke serious concern. The Śivadharmaśāstra makes no reference to " heretics " (and only the most circumspect allusion to other religious groups), and adopts a more inclusive social policy. In short, the Viṣṇudharma's conception of Viṣṇu-bhakti pointedly defends classical Smārta status hierarchy and its prerogatives, foregoing the Śivadharma's modest moves toward social inclusion. This paper concludes by setting these observations in the context of later trends in the two traditions.