Search Results (34)

This article explores the concept of mindful solitude as both an antidote and antonym to loneliness, integrating Buddhist doctrinal insights with contemporary psychological research. While solitude is often conflated with isolation or loneliness, we argue that when chosen intentionally and cultivated mindfully, it becomes a space of healing, insight, and relational depth. Drawing from classical Buddhist texts, historical exemplars such as Shakyamuni and Milarepa, and modern scholarship, we trace the evolution of solitude within Buddhist traditions, highlighting its role in ethical transformation and meditative insight. We contrast this with secular mindfulness programs, noting their therapeutic benefits while acknowledging their divergence from traditional Buddhist ethics and soteriology. Through interdisciplinary analysis, we propose a framework in which mindfulness mediates the experience of solitude, fostering autonomy, inner-directedness, and meaningful solitary activities. This reframing positions solitude not as absence but as presence: an intentional engagement with the self that enhances emotional regulation and social connectedness. In an age marked by hyperconnectivity and rising loneliness, mindful solitude offers a counter-narrative: a spiritually and psychologically enriching state that supports wellbeing and compassionate re-engagement. By bridging Buddhist contemplative traditions with empirical psychological findings, this article affirms solitude as a vital condition for both personal and collective healing. Full article

This paper considers how Buddhist art of the early Tang dynasty was shaped by concerns with states of consciousness and transmigrating spiritual entities. Focusing on the Medicine Buddha (Skt. Bhaiṣajyaguru) tableau in the main chamber of Mogao Cave 220, dated to 642 CE and among the earliest full wall transformation tableaux at Dunhuang, I propose that the tableau depicts a structured process centered around the transmigrating spiritual entity of spirit consciousness (shenshi 神識) and its transformations that were visually expressed by lighting devices. Other elements in the tableau, such as the dancers and bodhisattvas seated in the pond, are also part and parcel to this visual project of transformation, as indicated through the colors of their attire and the types of dance being performed. The spirit consciousness could be visualized through lighting devices in the Medicine Buddha tableau because of the associations of lamps with vital, spiritual parts of humans since the first century CE. More importantly, the central role of the spirit consciousness in the Medicine Buddha tableau shows that such Buddhist murals depicting rituals and performances situated among grand edifices could be visual expressions of states of spiritual entities and their transformations. Seemingly intangible spiritual entities in Buddhist art were thus inextricably intertwined with and visually expressed through physical objects and their representations. To this end, this study is a first step towards understanding the pictorial program of Mogao Cave 220 and similar cases through explorations of cognitive templates that informed the creation and production of Buddhist art, with the spirit consciousness as a case in point. Full article

Templestay programs in South Korea represent a unique convergence of Buddhist ritual, cultural immersion, and wellness tourism. While often treated as niche cultural experiences, their broader significance within sustainable wellness tourism remains underexplored. This study examines participant reflections from the Beomeosa Templestay program through thematic analysis of over 600 reviews sourced from TripAdvisor, Google Reviews, and handwritten guestbooks. Using a triangulated framework combining Grounded Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and the Wellness Tourism Model, the research identifies four recurring experiential themes: spiritual development, emotional healing, cultural immersion, and conscious consumption. Findings reveal cross-cultural variations: non-Korean participants emphasized spiritual exploration and cultural learning, while Korean participants prioritized emotional renewal and reconnection with heritage. Yet, across all groups, participants reported transformative outcomes, including heightened clarity, inner calm, and enhanced self-awareness. These results suggest that Templestays serve as accessible, culturally grounded wellness retreats that align with rising global demand for intentional, mindful travel. This study contributes to sustainable tourism scholarship by framing Templestays as low-impact, spiritually resonant alternatives to commercialized wellness retreats. Practical recommendations are offered to expand participation while maintaining program authenticity and safeguarding the spiritual and cultural integrity of monastic hosts in an increasingly globalized wellness landscape. Full article

A Sanskrit manuscript of the Prajñāpāramitā or Perfection of Wisdom in eight thousand verses, now in the Cambridge University Library, Add.1643, is one of the most ambitiously designed South Asian manuscripts from the eleventh century, with the highest number of painted panels known among the dated manuscripts from medieval South Asia until 1400 CE. Thanks to the unique occurrence of a caption written next to each painted panel, it is possible to identify most images in this manuscript as representing those of famous pilgrimage sites or auspicious images of specific locales. The iconographic program transforms Add.1643 into a portable device containing famous pilgrimage sites of the Buddhist world known to the makers and users of the manuscript in eleventh-century Nepal. It is one compact colorful package of a book, which can be opened and experienced in its unfolding three-dimensional space, like a virtual or imagined pilgrimage. Building on the recent research focusing on early medieval Buddhist sites across Monsoon Asia and analyzing the representational potentials and ontological values of painting, this essay demonstrates how this early eleventh-century Nepalese manuscript (Add.1643) and its visual program document and remember the knowledge of maritime travels and the transregional and intraregional activities of people and ideas moving across Monsoon Asia. Despite being made in the Kathmandu Valley with a considerable physical distance from the actual sea routes, the sites remembered in the manuscript open a possibility to connect the dots of human movement beyond the known networks and routes of “world systems”. Full article

The mental health challenges faced by aging societies, particularly within the context of Thai Buddhist communities, underscore the urgent need for capacity-building initiatives to support monks in promoting the psychological well-being of the elderly. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a mental health training program for monks, rooted in Buddhist principles. The primary aim is to assess how well the program equips monks to counsel the elderly in Thai Buddhist society. A quasi-experimental design was employed, involving 32 health volunteer monks selected through purposive sampling. The study assessed the monks’ knowledge and practical counseling skills and collected participant feedback. The results indicate significant improvements in both knowledge and practical skills, with marked progress observed from pre- to post-test scores (p < 0.001) and sustained effectiveness in follow-up assessments (p = 0.005). Approximately 71.88% of participants passed the knowledge post-test and practical skills evaluation, with 62.50% demonstrating proficiency in the follow-up assessment. These findings suggest that the program is effective in preparing monks to address mental health issues among the elderly in Thai Buddhist society. Additionally, integrating indigenous practices and beliefs into mental health interventions can enhance their cultural relevance and acceptance. This approach empowers local religious leaders and fosters culturally sensitive solutions to mental health challenges across diverse populations. Full article

The increasing mental health challenges among elders demand specialized interventions, especially within Thai communities where resources are limited and stigma persists. While monks offer spiritual support, there is a gap in addressing complex mental health needs. This research aims to develop a monk-led elderly mental health counseling program in Thai Buddhist communities. From January 2023 to March 2024, this study underwent four phases. Initially, qualitative interviews with thirty-six monk and elder participants elucidated requirements. The program development integrated findings from the requirement study, the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy process, and Buddhist mindfulness principles to create a prototype. The quality assessment involved expert content validation, feasibility examination by stakeholders, and a small-scale pilot testing with five monks. Finally, the feasibility of the program was assessed with thirty-two monks. The study reveals three key components of the monk-led elderly counseling program focused on mental health: the counseling process known as MPS-MAV-PI (an Introduction to Mindfulness, Identifying Problems, Assessing the Severity, Mindfully Observing Thoughts and Emotions, Acceptance, Visualizing Success, Planning Strategies for Problem-solving, and Implementation and Subsequent Monitoring), the C-TIME strategy (Collaboration, Training Manual, Implementation, the Monitoring, and Evaluation), and the program manual. Moreover, feasibility assessments among monks show the high feasibility of the program for implementation. The monk-led counseling program holds promise in addressing these challenges, with high feasibility indicating potential effectiveness and scalability. Future research will prioritize evaluating its cost-effectiveness and overall effectiveness. Full article

This study investigates the rationale behind the combination of Buddha mahāstūpas (mahācetiyas) and cetiyas (caityas) within a Buddhist monastery. In integrating a broader intellectual program, the universality of the concept is exemplified, wherein “mahācetiya and cetiya” are combined to symbolize the life of Buddha through architectural arrangements. Adopting a broader intellectual program grounded in the causality principle signifies an inclination toward universality. These combinations represent sacred places and events in Buddha’s life, from birth to Mahaparinirvana. They encompass significant moments, such as great departures, meditation, enlightenment, and preaching. The synthesis of mahācetiyas and apsidal shrines was a pivotal moment at the site, guided by the Mahāsaṅghika School, representing an innovative invention in the pursuit of narrative framing of Buddha’s biography. Full article

The corridor-enclosed cloister characterized Buddhist monasteries during the Sui and Tang periods. This architectural form was first introduced by Emperor Liang Wudi from the palace and continued to prevail until the eleventh century, when a gradual transformation occurred, resulting in the corridor evolving into a long, narrow image hall. This paper examines the ritual and pictorial programs of the Sui-Tang Buddhist corridor to gain insight into this transformation and its ceremonial significance. Specifically, it explores how the corridor was empowered by the state-sponsored maigre feast as a place of worship and how the monastic community of a particular school appropriated the space to celebrate an unbroken dharma-transmission lineage from the Buddha to a specific group of Chinese patriarchs. Lastly, the paper aims to comprehend the adaptation of the corridor into an image hall, which was influenced by political and religious shifts in the eleventh century when Buddhist monasteries were no longer designated as the ritual arena for the state-sponsored maigre feast. Full article

This study examines the teaching practices of a Korean Ganhwa Seon master to shed light on an effective approach to helping practitioners engage in Seon practice. Few prior studies have analyzed methods of teaching Ganhwa Seon, which is a traditional Buddhist practice for achieving sudden enlightenment. Using the CRISPA framework, which entails connection, risk-taking, imagination, sensory experience, perceptivity, and active engagement, we conducted a single intrinsic case study by observing and interviewing a Korean Ganhwa Seon master during a seven-day retreat program. The participating Ganhwa Seon master incorporated all six CRISPA elements, with an emphasis on active engagement, connection, and risk-taking. In addition, compassion was an essential component of Ganhwa Seon teaching. The findings distinguish the teaching of Korean Ganhwa Seon from the teaching of Chinese Chan, highlight the unique features of instruction in Korean Ganhwa Seon, and provide insight into effective ways to teach Seon practice. Full article

Templestay is a Korean program where participants have the chance to stay in a Buddhist temple and explore the historic buildings, statues, and natural surroundings of the temple grounds, while experiencing meditation and Buddhist rituals first-hand. Launched in 2002, approximately six million participants have attended Templestay programs over the last 20 years. However, in contrast to the great successes during the first ten years of the program’s existence, the last ten years have met with a significant decline in rates of participation. The aim of this article is to investigate the rise and fall in these figures to better understand the current wants and needs of participants and to consider the future of the Templestay program. Through an analysis of statistics garnered by the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism and a review of research studies on the growth and development of Templestay, this article considers why the program has recently been in decline and suggests how this may be remedied. Particular attention is given to how the needs of diverse participants can be met within a religious environment. In the conclusion, this article suggests that the number of participants may be increased with the implementation of programs more universally applied across all Templestay sites. Furthermore, critical concerns about over-commercialization are warranted insofar as marketing compromises the sense of authenticity sought by participants. Full article

Over the last three decades of evolution, the Jogye Order’s postulant education system has made considerable progress in standardizing, centralizing, and modernizing Buddhist education for aspiring monastics. As celebrated by the order’s 2022 publication The 30-year History of Buddhist Monastic Postulant Education, the order’s program has successfully seen over 9800 ordained novices graduate since its launch in 1991. However, there is a broad consensus within Korea’s Buddhist community that the religion is in crisis and, within the order in particular, that its future is in peril. Unless it is reversed, the trend portends the very real possibility of the order’s demise by the end of the century, if not sooner. The order recently vowed to reverse the downward trend in monastic recruitment and raise the annual number of ordained novices to 150 by 2025 through a multifaceted plan involving greater youth outreach efforts, an increased social media presence, and online Buddhist educational materials, along with an expansion of the order’s international missionary efforts. Given that postulant recruitment is critical to the order’s survival, this paper examines the past, present, and future of the Jogye Order’s postulant education system in light of the current membership crisis, as well as the order’s recent publication of The 30-year History of Buddhist Monastic Postulant Education. Full article

China’s religious social services complement the statutory welfare. Clarifying the situations and characteristics of different types of religious social services is conducive to promoting their better integration into public welfare. With the help of existing policy texts, research documents, and website data, this paper employs the thematic framework analysis method to analyze texts and documents and uses NVivo12 and SPSS26 to analyze website data. We explore the similarities and differences between contemporary Chinese Protestant social services and Buddhist social services from the perspectives of the service program, service organizations, and service resources, starting from multiple dimensions such as vertical and horizontal, similarity and difference. The main findings include the following: (a) In terms of service programs, Protestant social services are more inclusive than Buddhist social services and more public in terms of participant selection, religious environment, and the use of spiritual methods. Protestant social services are more open in terms of service value and public expression, while Buddhist social services are more localized and are politically consistent with the government. (b) In terms of service organizations, Protestant social services and Buddhist social services are based on three main types of legal persons. Protestant social services were the first to register organizational legal persons. Protestant social organizations differentiated into special service institutions and have core organizations with strong mobilization capabilities (CCC/TSPM). There is little difference between Protestant and Buddhist social services in private non-enterprise units and foundations (transparency index, business scope). (c) In terms of service resources, both Protestant and Buddhist social services rely on donations. The sources of funds for Protestant social services are more international, diversified, and market-oriented. In terms of government resource acquisition, Protestant social services actively “adapt”, while Buddhist social services passively “rely”. Full article

In order to objectively and quantitatively diagnose the conservation status of painting cultural heritages, a digital image analysis program was used for the digital image of a Korean Buddhist painting. A technical method for diagnosing the conservation status by analyzing the color space of the Buddhist painting and calculating the shape information and damage area was suggested. To verify the applicability of the program, a standard color chart on various ground materials was produced. Color difference values of color information obtained using a color meter and a digital image analysis program were compared. Work efficiency, according to image resolution, was evaluated. It was possible to work efficiently with a size similar to that of an FHD image. Through the comparative evaluation of the individual deviation by the user, the accuracy and temporal advantages of the method using the digital image analysis program could be confirmed. As a result of comparing by color region extraction conditions, it was confirmed that the error range of the measured color information decreased as the 25 pixel diameter circle (average of circled regions of interest) size region and the number of measurements increased. Color space information was adjusted according to the characteristics of each damage type, and the shape of the damage was classified. In addition, the conservation status was evaluated by quantitatively calculating the area of damage with the Intensity Mean of the divided shape image. Full article

Thailand faces many wealth inequities and child health-related problems. This study aimed to describe Thai child health and determine socioeconomic inequities following the child flourishing index, a tool used to measure children’s wellbeing based on the key relevant Sustainable Development Goals. The data from Thailand Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2019 were used to examine five indicators where Thailand had not yet achieved good results. The association of socioeconomic status with the five outcomes was explored using logistic regressions, comparing pseudo R-squared, and population attributable fraction analyses. Household wealth, urbanization, education, and primary language were significantly associated with Thai child health. Over 10% of children under 5 years were stunted and had a low birth weight. Fourteen percent of teenage girls had already become mothers. Living in poor households and rural areas, having a head-of-household who was non-Thai speaking, non-Buddhist, and had a low education were identified as risk factors for children with undernutrition status and low birth weight. However, having a head-of-household who spoke a non-Thai language was a protective factor against teenage mothers and having early marriages. Households with better economic status and education provided significant benefits for children and women’s health. The result of this study calls for public policies and multisectoral actions in the wider social and economic spheres that address the social determinants that span across lives and generations. Furthermore, specific social protection programs should be designed to be accessible by these most vulnerable and disadvantaged people. Full article

In the past, Tibetan nuns had no access to formal monastic education and thus could not obtain the two main diplomas and titles that are common in Tibetan Buddhism: the khenpo (mkhan po) degree in the more practice-oriented Nyingmapa school and the geshe (dge bshes) degree in the scholastic curriculum of the Gelukpa school; this essay traces the introduction of the Gelukpa study program in different nunneries based in India and Nepal in recent times; it addresses the question of gender asymmetry by showing the different hurdles that had to be overcome and the solutions, which have been found to allow nuns to become geshemas—the female form of geshe. Finally, I propose the first glimpse into the impact that the opening of higher Buddhist education to nuns has had and what this means for the future of the position of women in the religious sphere, as well as for Tibetan monasticism more generally. Full article