Search Results (7)

Salvation through Refinement (liandu 鍊度) is a distinctive Daoist rite aimed at rescuing the souls of the deceased from hell, enabling their rebirth, and ultimately facilitating their transcendence. The Golden Writings on the Great Achievement of Deliverance by the Numinous Treasure of Highest Clarity (Shangqing Lingbao Jidu Dacheng Jinshu 上清靈寶濟度大成金書), compiled by Zhou Side 周思得 (1359–1451), preserves a wealth of material related to Salvation through Refinement. This content can be divided into two parts: the ritual procedures of Salvation through Refinement and the associated internal practices (neishi 内事). Zhou explicitly stated that the Salvation through Refinement ritual originated from the Golden Book of Salvation according to the Lingbao Tradition (Lingbao Lingjiao Jidu Jinshu 靈寶領教濟度金書), compiled by Lin Lingzhen 林靈真 (1239–1302), whereas the internal practices are not attributed to any specific source. Comparative analysis confirms that the section on internal practices derives from the Brief Discussions of Inner Method of Taiji for Sacrificing to and Sublimating [the Souls of the Deceased] (Taiji Jilian Neifa Yilüe 太極祭鍊內法議略), compiled by Zheng Sixiao 鄭思肖 (1241–1318). Zheng Sixiao’s Salvation through Refinement method centers on Visualization and Actualization (cunxiang 存想), with the entire process taking place internally within the ritual master’s body. Building upon this foundation, Zhou Side incorporated additional ritualized actions and recitations, striving to integrate external ritual with internal practice. In doing so, he constructed a model of Salvation through Refinement characterized by the union of inner methods and outer rites. Inner Sublimation emerged during the Southern Song period, likely influenced in both principle and method by the then-prevalent School of the Mind (xinxue 心學). It sought to counter the increasing complexity of ritual practices at that time. Meanwhile, the continued practice of traditional forms of Retreats (zhai 齋) and Offerings (jiao 醮) reflected the Ming (1368–1644) rulers’ emphasis on the didactic function of such rituals. In his compilation, Zhou cited the views and materials of others under the name of Tian Sizhen 田思真 (fl. early 12th century) to articulate the inner meanings and core doctrines of the Numinous Treasure (lingbao 靈寶) rites. By positioning Tian Sizhen as an intermediary, Zhou not only established a line of transmission between the rites he compiled and the orthodox Numinous Treasure lineage represented by Lu Xiujing 陸修靜 (406–477) but also affirmed his conscious identification with the Daoist ritual tradition and his stance regarding its lineage. Full article

This study explores the archaeoacoustics of rock imagery at Site 26LN211, the northernmost petroglyph site in the White River Narrows (WRN) Archaeological District, Nevada, USA. The research examines the relationship between rock writing placement and acoustic properties, considering their potential significance to indigenous groups such as the Southern Paiute and Western Shoshone. Fieldwork conducted in 2024 employed impulse response recordings to analyze sound behavior in various spatial configurations, including near and distant measurements. The results indicate that, unlike other WRN sites with strong echoes and reverberation, Site 26LN211 exhibits clear sound transmission with limited acoustic reflections. This suggests its suitability for oral storytelling, song recitatives, and ritual practices rather than sound-enhanced ceremonial performances. Additionally, the presence of vision quest structures above the site implies spiritual significance, although the results do not show a significant acoustic relationship between them and the petroglyph zone. Comparative studies with other indigenous sites reinforce the role of acoustics in shaping cultural landscapes. These findings contribute to broader discussions on the interplay between rock writing, sound, and indigenous traditions, emphasizing the need for preservation. Full article

In the region where the Precious Scrolls of Hexi (Hexi Baojuan) are recited, people often use the Precious Scrolls (Baojuan) as a tool to pray for peace and happiness, to prevent plagues and calamities, and to heal ailments. By creating a sacred healing field, the rituals of Hexi Baojuan materialize, symbolize, and sanctify the space to expel disasters and cure illnesses. Through the mechanism of imagination and symbolism, its functions of averting disasters and curing diseases become apparent. Full article

Religious Jewish tradition has specific rituals for mourning the loss of a relative. They include receiving visitors during shiva, the recitation of the Kaddish in the first year, and the annual marking of the Yahrzeit. There are also customs for commemorating collective disasters. Foremost among them are the diminution of joy on specific dates, and setting permanent fast days. Towards the end of World War II, when the extent of the destruction became apparent, initiatives began around the world to process the collective mourning and to perpetuate the disaster in religious settings. Many survivors later joined these initiatives, seeking to establish new customs, out of a deep sense that this was an unprecedented calamity. The growing need to combine private and collective mourning stemmed from an awareness of the psychological and cultural power of private mourning customs. Proposals therefore included the observance of a community yahrzeit, a collective Jewish shiva, along with a fast for the ages. This article explores the initiatives undertaken between 1944 and 1951—the time when intensive processing was needed for the survivors and the relatives of those who had perished—discussing their motivations, unique characteristics, successes and failures, and the reasons for them. Full article

Recent scholarship focuses on the plasticity of the concept of “scripture” as it is defined by different religious traditions. Based on its contents, the Quran is most commonly compared to the Bible, yet such an approach misses the distinct way that the Quran is understood as an authoritative text by classical Muslim scholarship. Even “basic” information—knowing the number of words, the names of surahs, the structure of the text—is essential to understanding how Muslims see the Quran as scripture and the foundations upon which it is built. Muslims regard the Quran as the word of God, revealed to the prophet Muhammad, the primary source for determining the beliefs and practices of Islam. The text of the Quran is used in the teaching of Arabic and is the focus of Islamic learning. It is regarded as interceding on behalf of those who revere it, is recited as a part of regular rituals, and is treated as a sacred object in ritual and everyday settings. The exegetical and ritual use of the Quran is a fundamental means for Muslims to both relate and distinguish themselves from other religious identities, especially those such as Jews and Christians, with whom they share a common scriptural tradition. Full article

The Precious Scroll of the Blood Pond is a newly discovered manuscript (copied ca. 1993), used in the “telling scriptures” tradition in Changshu, which represents ritualized storytelling based on the vernacular narrative texts called “precious scrolls” (baojuan). The local tradition of “telling scriptures” can be traced back to the 19th century, though it may have even earlier origins. While it has been generally accepted that precious scrolls had ritual functions in the late imperial period, little research has been done on the local varieties of this type of storytelling in connection with ritual practices. The material of the Precious Scroll of the Blood Pond from Changshu demonstrates how the Mulian story, widely known in China, has been adapted to the folk ritual of the afterlife salvation of a female soul through repentance of her sin of physiological impurity. While the related ritual in the neighboring Jingjiang on the northern bank of the Yangtze River has been thoroughly studied, the Changshu practice has received little attention of scholars so far. The Precious Scroll of the Blood Pond from Changshu demonstrates that the Mulian narrative was also associated with the ritual of “breaking the Blood Pond” in the Jiangnan areas, which also provides a new angle of evaluation of the Jingjiang tradition of “telling scriptures”. This article discusses relations between modern ritual practices and several variants of the Precious Scroll of the Blood Pond, mainly using fieldwork materials collected by the author in Changshu and adjacent areas in 2011–2018. Full article

Qurrat al-ʿAyn is the name of the enigmatic Maiden who appeared alongside Ibn ʿArabī when he was inspired to recite the four verses that open The Interpreter of Desires, as he was wandering around the Kaʿba. In this article, through the analysis of the passage in which she is mentioned, the identity of the Maiden is explored from various perspectives typical of the author’s theo-anthropo-cosmovision, characterised by his concept of theophany (tajallī) or divine self-revelation, resorting especially to both the analysis of the lexical inter-reference in the roots of the Arabic terms used by Ibn ʿArabī in his Tarjumān al-ashwāq, as well as the study of the symbolism characteristic of the Arabic alphanumeric system. Furthermore, the article proposes that the kaleidoscopic structure of this collection of odes, studied here for the first time, is the result of a themenophany of the Kaʿba: the Tarjumān has been “inspired” by/on the Kaʿba itself, so that in a sense it is a bibliophany of the so-called House of God, to whose geometry—four corners, six faces, seven ritual turns, eight vertices—its structural conception corresponds. The symbolism of Arabic geomancy in relation to the structure of the Tarjumān is also considered. Full article