Search Results (74)

In Indian religious traditions, pātāla denotes a seven-layered subterranean realm beneath the earth, a composite space that combines cosmological stability with mythic expressiveness. It serves as the dwelling of nāgas and asuras and connects with the human world through rivers and caves. Although Buddhist literature retains narratives about these beings and their splendid abodes, it never accepted pātāla as an independent cosmological unit. This article examines Pāli, Chinese, Tibetan, and Sanskrit Buddhist sources in comparison with Hindu epic and Purāṇic literature and analyzes the translation of pātāla in Chinese versions. It argues that Buddhism engaged in selective restructuring by de-emphasizing pātāla’s cosmological hierarchy and subordinating it to the Mount Sumeru framework, while transforming it in esoteric ritual literature into a liminal field of practice accessible through mantra, mudrā, and specific practices. Utilizing Arnold van Gennep’s liminality theory, the study shows that these spaces serve as an intermediary ritual field in Buddhist practice. Through ritual separation, liminal experience, and reintegration, practitioners acquire extended lifespan and merit that support the Mahāyāna goal of perfecting the two accumulations and attaining Buddhahood. The findings suggest that religious concepts cross traditions through disassembly, detachment, and functional reconfiguration rather than wholesale transplantation. Full article

Humming is a ubiquitous yet understudied form of human vocalisation that may play a role in regulating internal bodily states during early development. Unlike speech or singing with lyrics, humming consists of continuous, semantically unstructured vocal sounds produced with a closed mouth. It generates sustained sonic, vibratory and respiratory patterns that engage interoceptive and autonomic processes. This paper explores the hypothesis that humming critically contributes to homeostatic regulation in caregiver–infant interaction. Drawing on research in developmental psychology, perinatal care and vocal practice, we propose that humming provides a simple mechanism through which caregivers may scaffold the infant’s developing interoceptive awareness, paving the way to subsequent social cognition abilities. Through slow rhythmic breathing, chest and cranial vibration, and temporally structured vocal phrasing, humming may influence cardio-respiratory rhythms and support autonomic balance while also organising moments of social engagement. Evidence is gathered from studies of maternal humming during kangaroo care with preterm infants, showing that these vocalisations can stabilise physiological parameters and invite infant vocal participation. We argue that humming may function as an embodied, interoceptive form of co-regulation for both infants and caregivers, linking physiological homeostasis with early communicative exchange. Full article

This research explores how Chinese youth, most of whom lack formal religious beliefs or affiliations, engage with digital non-traditional religious music, such as electronic adaptations of the Great Compassion Mantra chant, on platforms such as Bilibili. A total of 15 interviews and one year of digital ethnography were conducted to examine how various music mediators, such as music, technology, the environment, and the cultural context, shape youth’s affective states, namely their states of tranquility, trance, and transcendence. This study reinserts musicality into the social and cultural studies of religious music and identifies more fluid, contingent, and processual forms of associations and articulations between different mediators, along with the more emergent and ambient affective states brought about by such mediators, their networks, and related mediation processes. In addition, this study reveals Chinese youth’s hybridized and idiosyncratic practices that combine alternative spiritual elements with secular experiences, highlighting the context-specific ways in which Chinese youth navigate spirituality in the post-secular age. Full article

Our annual environmental conference has been a pivotal platform for addressing the unique environmental challenges faced by underrepresented communities since 2006. Adapting to the global pandemic in 2021, we seamlessly transitioned to a virtual environment, enabling us to concentrate our efforts on the critical role of the diaspora in leveraging scientific knowledge. In 2023, we focused on Haiti, a nation currently facing significant political turmoil. Our one-day virtual event featured three expert panels that delved into multifaceted strategies encompassing agriculture, healthcare, political advocacy, social dynamics, and entrepreneurship. These discussions aimed to equip Haiti to navigate the impacts of climate change effectively. In partnership with the Haiti Development Initiative (HDI), we engaged in a dynamic brainstorming session to generate innovative approaches for cultivating a resilient and sustainable economy. Our guiding mantra, the Haitian Creole phrase “Chanjman atmosfè a,” reflects our commitment to transforming the environmental landscape—shifting the atmosphere. A highlight of the event was the presentation by Computational Biology students from the University of Wyoming. Their project, titled “Using R Software to Compare Climate Data,” showcased an innovative pedagogical approach to analyzing climate data using statistical software. Their presentation demonstrated the practical application of computational tools in understanding and addressing climate change, providing valuable insights and methodologies that can be applied to environmental research in Haiti and beyond. Full article

This paper is a case study of the Tang-dynasty Gilded Silver “Bodhisattva Holding up the True Body” (peng zhenshen pusa 捧真身菩薩) Statue (dated 871) excavated from the relic crypt of the Famen Temple pagoda in Fufeng 扶風 County, Shanxi 陝西. Commissioned to commemorate Emperor Yizong 懿宗’s 39th birthday, the statue was designed both to support the Buddha’s relic and to express a wish for the emperor’s longevity. Most strikingly, the Bodhisattva is seated on a three-layered pedestal richly adorned with esoteric Buddhist images and Siddhaṃ scripts. Departing from previous Buddhalogical approaches, this paper suggests that the Famen Temple statue did not serve to illustrate a specific maṇḍala, theological doctrine, or scripture. Instead, together with the five miniature garments interred underneath it, the statue draws upon esoteric ritual technology—particularly the Three Siddhi mantras—as well as cosmological, botanical, and embryological imagery to create a soteriological matrix of bodily transformation for the intended beneficiaries. By situating the object within the historical circumstances and religious practices of the late Tang imperial court, this study illuminates the statue’s conceptual design, symbolic significance, and intended function—namely, to address the patrons’ concerns with spiritual salvation and the renewal of life after death. Full article

Jñānakīrti (Tib. Ye shes grags pa), an eminent monk of the late Indian Buddhist period, composed the Tattvāvātara (De kho na nyid la ’jug pa, Realizing Reality), of which only a Tibetan translation exists in the Tibetan Tripiṭaka-Tanjur. The treatise is considered an exposition of the Mahāmudrā teachings, with the chapter entitled “Practices of the Secret Mantra Approach” (gSang sngags kyi sgo’i spyod pa) forms a large part. However, this part has been less frequently discussed. This chapter guides the practice of Mahāmudrā non-dual yoga, which is intended for practitioners with superior faculties. The core content of this chapter can be subsumed under the following two aspects: Mahāmudrā teachings involve practicing insight (prajñā), which represents the theory of meditation, i.e., the idea of emptiness (śūnyatā); it also involves practicing skillful means (upāya), which includes the methods of cultivation, such as tantric rituals such as Vajradhātu maṇḍala visualization. From the perspective of compositional length, the first half of the text contains numerous quotations of verses, with several being from Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, while the second half mainly draws references from the Tattvasaṃgrahatantra and the Guhyasamājatantra. More attention should be paid to the juxtaposition of the Mahāmudrā teachings with the Tattvasaṃgrahatantra and the Guhyasamājatantra, which reflect the early form of the Mahāmudrā teachings as they were introduced into Tibetan Buddhism. Full article

Used to mark devotion to the main propagators of Jainism, namely the Jina (arhat), the Liberated Souls (siddha), the Teachers (ācārya), the spiritual Guides (guru), the Preceptors (upādhyāya), and the monks (muṇi), the formula of homage to the five supreme entities (pañcanamaskāra) underwent a significant development in the medieval period where it became a mantra protecting against all evils and violence and symbolising Jainism in its entirety and its respect for life in all its forms amidst the various Indian religions. In the present paper, I intend to investigate how the formula was used in largely unknown romance poems composed in the Prakrit language by Jaina scholar monks in medieval North India between the 8th and 12th centuries. Particular attention will be paid to how the writer monks used the formula of homage in the narrative to avoid the use of violence. The analysis will also focus on the development of the formula in the hymns of praise of the romance poems and study its significance in the context of the spread of Jainism at the turn of the first millennium, a period that led to the advent of King Kumārapāla, who has remained famous in history not only for the imposing monuments he left behind, but also for his conversion to Jainism and his governance according to principles of non-violence. Full article

By examining the variants in the Dunhuang manuscripts and carving versions of the Guanding version of the Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha Sutra (Guanding Bachuguozui Shengsidedu Jing, 灌頂拔除過罪生死得度經, Chapter 12 of Sutra on Abhiṣeka (Guanding Jing 灌頂經), we can categorize it into five different editions based on the names of the eight bodhisattvas and the Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha Mantra: (1) without the names of the eight bodhisattvas and the mantra, (2) with the names from the earlier translation, but without the mantra, (3) with the names from the later translation, but without the mantra, (4) with the names from the earlier translation and with the mantra, and (5) with the names from the later translation and with the mantra. These editions reflect the diachronic evolution of the Guanding version of the Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha Sutra. The names of the eight bodhisattvas in the earlier translation first appeared in The Eight Lucky Mystical Mantra Sutra (Bajixiang Shenzhou Jing, 八吉祥神咒經), translated by Zhiqian (支謙, dates unknown) during the Three Kingdoms period. These bodhisattvas were atypical, including laymen and heavenly kings, rather than conventional enlightened figures. In contrast, the names from the later translation include well-known figures such as Avalokitesvara and Maitreya, selected by the compilers of the Guanding version. Notably, there is no direct connection between the earlier and later translations of the eight bodhisattvas’ names. Regarding the Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha Mantra, the Guanding version is the earliest known version, which has undergone three expansions. The names of the Buddha, including tathāgatāya (多他伽多耶), bhagavate (薄伽筏帝), arhate (阿囉𠿒帝), and saṃyaksaṃbuddhāya (三藐三勃陀也), were subsequently added to the final edition by Yijing (義浄, 635–713). Full article

Photographs of the recto side of the manuscript fragment B121:38 in Old Uighur, which was excavated from the northern section of the Dūnhuáng Mògāo Caves, were published in the second volume of The Northern Grottoes of Mògāo Caves. Because the verso side, which contains essential information, remains unpublished—despite the publication of the recto—the manuscript’s typology cannot be fully comprehended, and it has consequently not garnered substantial scholarly attention. Through site investigation, transcription, English translation, detailed annotation, and comparative analysis with parallel Tibetan texts, B121:38 is confirmed to be a balividhi fragment of Tantric Buddhist literature. This fragment comprises three parts: praise for the five ḍākas, a transference of merits, and a mantra. The findings provide compelling evidence of the prominence of Tibetan Tantrism among Old Uighurs. Full article

Among the most prominent Hindu festivals is the Rath Yatra, or Festival of Chariots, which is celebrated by parading three brightly decorated chariots containing statues of the deities Jagganath, Subhadra, and Balaram through the streets of a city on brilliantly decorated chariots. Rath Yatra is celebrated throughout India and increasingly throughout the world through such efforts as the Festival of India sponsored by the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which stops in several prominent locations throughout North America. Within Krishna Consciousness, temple worship is an aesthetically vivid sensory experience in which the various art forms—music, dance, theater, and the visual arts—serve to attach the devotee’s senses to the Divine through worship practices, including darshan—the exchange of gazes, kirtan—the singing of sacred mantras, and lila—the re-creation of the pastimes of divine characters. The festival experience—and the Festival of Chariots in particular—can serve to bring the practices typically associated with temple worship to the public. This article draws on several Rath Yatra events, giving special attention to the annual Rath Yatra parade held in New York City, where devotees parade their deities down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, and that held in Los Angeles on Venice Beach. These prominent American Rath Yatras serve as a study of the spiritual necessity of beauty and the spiritual necessity of joy, which are both addressed by the festival experience, as music and vivid visual imagery serve to transform urban space into sacred space by allowing bypassers as well as devotees to come into sensory contact with sacred imagery and sacred sound. Full article

Companies around the world are facing global challenges, such as internationally interwoven crisis situations and conflicts, climate change, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and technological disruptions. While the UN has developed a global agenda (namely, the SDGs) to drive sustainability, at a political and economic level, global players seem to have a rather heterogeneous understanding of the situation. How can companies successfully adapt to the resulting turbulent market environments? Design Thinking, a method for finding answers to complex and wicked problems, is experiencing a renaissance wherein it is being used not only as a tool for product innovation but also for organizational and strategic transformation. By incorporating the principles of Industry 5.0 into company visions and integrating Design Thinking and ecodesign at the level product innovation, Design Thinking can help strengthen the adaptability of companies and create sustainable innovations in these VUCA environments. However, the factors that are necessary to realize the full potential of Design Thinking for sustainable business transformation remain unclear in science. This paper presents a case study that shares key factors, including a company DNA that consists of a targeted orchestration of diversity and the company’s Love–Trust–Do mantra that, in combination, work transnationally in the company organization and can utilize the full potential of Design Thinking to foster sustainable innovation and thus strengthen the company’s resiliency in times of VUCA. Full article

Since 2006, the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework (HPF) reports have provided information about Indigenous Australians’ health outcomes. The HPF was designed, in consultation with Indigenous stakeholder groups, to promote accountability and inform policy and research. This paper explores bridging the HPF as a theoretical construct and the publicly available data provided against its measures. A whole-of-framework, whole-of-system monitoring perspective was taken to summarise 289 eligible indicators at the state/territory level, organised by the HPF’s tier and group hierarchy. Data accompanying the 2017 and 2020 reports were used to compute improvement over time. Unit change and confidence indicators were developed to create an abstract but interpretable improvement score suitable for aggregation and visualisation at scale. The result is an exploratory methodology that summarises changes over time. An example dashboard visualisation is presented. The use of secondary data inevitably invites acknowledgments of what analysis cannot say, owing to methods of collection, sampling bias, or unobserved variables and the standard mantra regarding correlation not being causation (though no attempt has been made here to infer relationships between indicators, groups, or tiers). The analysis presented questions the utility of the HPF to inform healthcare reform. Full article

Music has played a central role in Indian religious experience for millennia. The origins of Indian music include the recitation of the sacred syllable OM and Sanskrit Mantras in ancient Vedic fire sacrifices. The notion of Sound Absolute, first in the Upanishads as Śabda-Brahman and later as Nāda-Brahman, formed the theological background for music, Sangīta, designed as a vehicle of liberation founded upon the worship of Hindu deities expressed in rāgas, or specific melodic formulas. Nearly all genres of music in India, classical or devotional, share this theoretical and practical understanding, extending to other Indic religions like Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. What is less documented is how rāga music has been adopted by non-Indic communities in South Asia: Judaism (Bene Israel), Christianity (Catholic), and Islam (Chishti Sufi). After briefly outlining the relation between religion and the arts, the Indian aesthetics of Rasa, and the basic notions of sacred sound and music in Hinduism, this essay reveals the presence of rāga music, specifically the structure or melodic pattern of the morning rāga known as Bhairava, in compositions praising the divinity of each non-Indic tradition: Adonai, Jesus, and Allah. As similar tone patterns appear in the religious experiences of these communities, they reveal the phenomenon of “shared religious soundscapes” relevant to the comparative study of religion and music, or Musicology of Religion. Full article

I introduce a Buddhist god named Jiedi, believed to be a personification of the renowned gate mantra in the Heart Sūtra. I argue for a complex genesis story where the transference of the nāga-taming function and aquatic setting from the rainmaking spell in the Great Cloud Sūtra to the Heart Sūtra Mantra, coupled with its exegetical tradition emphasizing the soteriological metaphor of crossing, created an independent cult of the Jiedi Mantra. In battling chthonic snake spirits demanding virgin sacrifice in Sichuan, a regional variation of a cosmopolitan alchemical theme, the mantra was personified into a god associated with water and warfare. The exorcistic function of the mantra was the motor behind its apotheosis in Middle-period China. While he was elevated from a mere spirit to a vidyārāja (“wisdom king”) in tantric Buddhism, his cult was also disseminated in the Song, witnessing him provide broad deliverance in diverse areas such as industry, agriculture, infrastructure, military, and civil service. In late imperial China, he further imprinted himself on sacred geography, became a special class of warrior god, made inroads into Daoism and local religion, and proliferated in vernacular fiction and drama. An exotic Indian god was born on Chinese soil. Full article

Recently, deep learning techniques have been used for low-dose CT (LDCT) reconstruction to reduce the radiation risk for patients. Despite the improvement in performance, the network models used for LDCT reconstruction are becoming increasingly complex and computationally expensive under the mantra of “deeper is better”. However, in clinical settings, lightweight models with a low computational cost and short reconstruction times are more popular. For this reason, this paper proposes a computationally efficient CNN model with a simple structure for sparse-view LDCT reconstruction. Inspired by super-resolution networks for natural images, the proposed model interpolates projection data directly in the sinogram domain with a fully convolutional neural network that consists of only four convolution layers. The proposed model can be used directly for sparse-view CT reconstruction by concatenating the classic filtered back-projection (FBP) module, or it can be incorporated into existing dual-domain reconstruction frameworks as a generic sinogram domain module. The proposed model is validated on both the 2016 NIH-AAPM-Mayo Clinic LDCT Grand Challenge dataset and The Lung Image Database Consortium dataset. It is shown that despite the computational simplicity of the proposed model, its reconstruction performance at lower sparsity levels (1/2 and 1/4 radiation dose) is comparable to that of the sophisticated baseline models and shows some advantages at higher sparsity levels (1/8 and 1/15 radiation dose). Compared to existing sinogram domain baseline models, the proposed model is computationally efficient and easy to train on small training datasets, and is thus well suited for clinical real-time reconstruction tasks. Full article