Search Results (7)

Energy healing refers to a globalising market of healing rituals that aim to stimulate the clients’ self-healing process. In the context of healing, the term ‘energy’ has multi-layered meanings and may denote physical, psychological, social, as well as spiritual principles of restoring well-being. This article demonstrates how the idea of energy as a healing agent was embedded within the occult cosmology and anthropology of the British-American post-Theosophist Alice A. Bailey (1880–1949). Applying historical discourse analysis, Bailey’s impact on the emergence of energy healing is examined. Her theory of energy is explored against the backdrop of her esoteric grand narrative. It is demonstrated how Bailey’s principles of energy formed the basis for her vision of a “medicine of the future”. A concluding discussion proves the global influence of Bailey’s ‘energetic turn’ and how it modelled the approach of major holistic actors of the later twentieth century. Full article

Yangzhi jingshui 楊枝淨水 (willow twigs and clean water) are part of one of the most popular rituals used in Chinese Buddhist practices. In order to preserve dental health and eliminate bad odors, the Vinaya texts specify rules on chewing willow twigs as a form of tooth brushing in one’s daily facial washing process. Willow twigs are also frequently employed in Esoteric (mijiao 密教) rituals, where they are accompanied by spells to create intricate ceremonies that have the power to heal illnesses, ward off bad luck, and bring about happiness and tranquility. For the development of this ritual in China, the usage of yangzhi jingshui was not originally connected to any particular deity, but later on, the ritual became primarily linked to Avalokitêśvara (Guanyin, 觀音), who was believed to use them as crucial tools for healing and saving lives. The symbolic meaning of using willow and water has been thoroughly discussed by Master Zhiyi 智顗 (538–597) and then has since developed into the more complete Repentance Practice of Guanyin (Guanyin chanfa 觀音懺法). Using yangzhi jingshui to save people as well as trees is also an important aspect described in Buddhist biographies and Chinese novels, such as Gaoseng zhuan 高僧傳 [The Biographies of Eminent Monks], Song Gaoseng Zhuan 宋高僧傳 [Biographies of Eminent Monks in the Song Dynasty], and stories of collected in Taiping guangji 太平廣記 [Extensive Records of the Taiping (xingguo) Period], Lunhui Xingshi 醒世輪回 [Reincarnation Stories to Awaken the World], and Xiyou ji 西遊記 [Journey to the West], which all demonstrate the rich cultural significance of this ceremony. Through the narratives of monks, the worship of Yangliu Guanyin, and its portrayal in the literature, yangzhi jingshui evolved from a cleansing tool in scriptures to a ritual object in Esoteric Buddhist healing ceremonies, ultimately becoming a common Buddhist practice. While new elements were added over time, its core themes of healing and purification have remained consistent. Full article

The Yogalehrbuch is said to have been established in Central Asia and to have a similar terminology to the Sarvāstivāda. However, the exact background of the relation is yet unknown. This paper discusses two points. First, I examine the structure of ānāpānasmṛti and how the meditative images relate to the descriptions of Abhidharmic texts. The results show that the Yogalehrbuch adopts the steps of the Sarvāstivāda but does not reflect a highly systematized doctrine. The second is a comparison of its unique meditative images (oil, abhiṣeka, the Buddhas of the past, and Maitreya) with two meditation manuals, the Secret Essentials and the Methods of Curing, and two early esoteric sūtras. The results show that the abhiṣeka in the Yogalehrbuch is close to the two meditation manuals, while it represents more the life of Śākyamuni, which is also found in esoteric Buddhism, rather than the healing of illness. However, the Methods of Curing refers to a dhāraṇī similar to those found in two esoteric sūtras. The two sūtras use abhiṣeka as the name of dhāraṇīs, not as meditative images. From the above, it is hypothesized that the Yogalehrbuch was established within a background in which elements of early esoteric Buddhism could be found but had not yet seen the development of dhāraṇīs. Full article

This article discusses the emergence, transformation, and transmission of an esoteric Buddhist movement that Hoedang (孫珪祥, Kyu-shang Sohn [or Sohn, Gyu-sang], 1902–1963) began in the 1940s and 1950s. Starting in the middle of the eighth century, the history of Korean Esoteric Buddhism indicates that the tradition continued to exist (albeit marginally) until the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). However, this case study, which focuses on the new religious sect of Jingak, explorers Jingak’s reformist characteristics and its efforts toward the renewal of Korean Buddhism in contemporary society. The article argues that the founder was intellectually receptive to other teachings, including the performance of esoteric healing, the prosocial characters of Pragmatic Buddhism, the doctrine of Japanese Shingon, and permitting priests to marry. This article additionally attempts to identify the innovative philosophy (including Simin, 心印, original sinless self) of Korean Esoteric Buddhism, in the combined concepts of Jinho gukga bulsa (鎭護國家佛事, Protecting the nation by the teaching of Buddhism), Iwon Weonri (二元原理, Relative Principle), Simin Bulgyo (心印佛敎, Mind-seal Buddhism), and Silhaengnon (實行論, The Teachings of Hoedang—Practical Theory). Full article

This paper discusses the concept of New Age healing. Its emergence into popular culture in the 1980s can be traced to burgeoning interest in human potential and holistic health in the 1960s and 1970s. These phenomena in turn, were rooted in the appearance of Theosophy, New Thought, and spiritualism in the 19th Century. Rather than a social movement, or even a singular phenomenon, the New Age is characterized as a hodgepodge of several elements with a characteristic inclination to borrow beliefs and practices from the other traditions and systems of belief and practice. These include mysticism, esoteric metaphysics, the occult, and self-actualization regimens. The rise of New Age healing has sparked converging conservative religious, secular-rationalist, and biomedical critiques of the phenomenon. Since the 1990s, the New Age label has mostly disappeared from popular usage, but associated beliefs and practices have been successful in seeding themselves into contemporary Western medicine and mainline religion, with implications for their intersection. Full article

In light of new discoveries of his writings, recent studies on the medieval Japanese monk Yōsai (or Eisai; 1141–1215) have moved away from longstanding preoccupations with his role in establishing Zen in Japan and instead stress his career-long orientation as an esoteric Buddhist monk of the Tendai school. Although these revisions have led to innovative readings of his promotion of tea in the first fascicle of his Record of Nourishing Life by Drinking Tea (Kissa yōjōki), similar approaches have yet to be attempted for the second fascicle of this well-known work, in which Yōsai argues for the apotropaic efficacy of mulberry against pathogenic demons. In this article, I seek to remedy this gap firstly by situating Yōsai’s healing program within broader contemporary trends in esoteric ritual healing. Examining the place of mulberry across esoteric liturgical discourse reveals a rich semiotic network in which the tree was tied to three other key ritual and medicinal materials: milkwood, milk, and the bodhi tree. In the second half of the article, I explore the ways that Yōsai’s argument for mulberry’s efficacy was shaped by an “exoteric” source, namely the biography of Śākyamuni Buddha. In this way, my analysis of the Kissa yōjōki provides insight into the interplay of “esoteric” and “exoteric” elements in Yōsai’s thought and career, even as attention to the specificity of his therapeutic claims for mulberry encourages us to move beyond sectarian frameworks. Full article

From the mid-10th century onward, in cases of illness, the Japanese aristocracy relied on new Buddhist healing methods based on spiritual possession techniques. This essay examines the features and procedures according to which monks and mediums operated the healing. This method, of Indian origin, was imported in Japan through Esoteric Buddhism, and was adapted in order to fit healing purposes. The author focuses his analysis on the role played by an invisible “spirit” who acted to catch the ill-causing demon within the patient’s body and expelled this malign entity from it. The article ends with a translation of a unique ritual text entitled Genja sahō 驗者作法, which describes these rituals in detail. Full article