Mahāyāna Buddhism and World Affairs
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 7095
Special Issue Editors
Interests: international relations; Mahāyāna Buddhism
Interests: East Asian Buddhism; Buddhist Manuscript culture; Chinese Buddhist thought
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue focuses on the possible contribution of Mahāyāna Buddhism to contemporary conflict resolution. Scholars of international relations (IR) are well aware that the contemporary world is full of uncertainty and unpredictability. Additionally, in this context, there is a growing expectation for Buddhism to provide an alternative cosmology for world peace. However, it must be acknowledged that applying Mahāyāna Buddhist teachings to contemporary issues is not an easy task, as it is marred by a dark history. Similar research projects in the past have been made possible by positioning the dark history that Mahāyāna Buddhist history tells us of as if it did not exist. This dark history refers to the Mahāyāna Buddhist organizations’ history of war collaboration described typically, but not limited to, by Brian Victoria in Zen at War. Conversely, studies that address these dark records have argued as if Mahāyāna Buddhism had no potential to contribute to contemporary conflict resolution. For them, Mahāyāna Buddhism is not qualified to talk about contemporary international conflicts. This Special Issue bridges these two streams of thought and reveals the potential contribution of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It looks directly at the dark history of Mahāyāna Buddhism and, based on this, explores how Mahāyāna Buddhism can contribute to the contemporary global community. In other words, it attempts to derive from the negative history of Mahāyāna Buddhism a positive future in terms of its contribution to the global community.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Kosuke Shimizu
Dr. Pei-ying Lin
Prof. Dr. Fumihiko Sueki
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- Mahāyāna Buddhism
- history
- war cooperation
- peace
- international conflict
- East Asian cooperation
- national identity
- immigration
- ethnicity
- transnational Buddhism
- Buddhism and political ideology
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.