Search Results (67)

New theologies developed in tandem with evolutionary biology during the nineteenth century, which have been called metaphysical evolutionisms and evolutionary theologies. A subset of these theologies analyzed here were developed by thinkers who accepted biological science but rejected both biblical creationism and materialist science. Tools from the cognitive science of religion, including conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) and blending theory, also known as conceptual integration theory (CIT), can help to explain the development of these systems and their transformation between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. The analysis focuses on several stable and popular blends of ideas, which have continued with some alteration into the twenty-first century. The three blends evaluated here are Progressive Soul Evolution, Salvation is Evolution, and Evolution is Therapy. Major contributors to these blends are the theosophist and theologian Helena P. Blavatsky and psychologist Frederic W. H. Myers, both influenced by the spiritualist movement, particularly the ideas of the spiritualist and biologist Alfred Russel Wallace. The influence of these blends can be seen in the twentieth-century “Aquarian Frontier,” a group of 145 thinkers and organizations identified in 1975 by counterculture historian Theodore Roszak. Part of the appeal of these blends may be seen in their use of metaphors, including the Great Chain of Being and A Purposeful Life is a Journey. The application of the polysemic term evolution in a sense that does much of the theological work of salvation in Christianity can in part be explained by applying the principles of blending theory, including the vital relation “achieve a human scale,” as well as compressions of time and identity. These blends have been successful because they meet the needs of a population who are friendly towards science but disenchanted with traditional religions. The blends provide a satisfying new theology that extends beyond death for a subset of adherents, particularly in the New Age and spiritual but not religious (SBNR) movements, who combine the agency of self-directed “evolution” with the religious concepts of grace and transcendence. Full article

This paper explores the role of forgetting in the thought of the Korean Sŏn (Chan in Chin.; Zen in Jpn. 禪) master Chinul (知訥, 1158–1210), situating it within broader East Asian philosophical and Buddhist discourses. While the concept of forgetting has often been treated negatively in Western philosophy—as a cognitive failure or loss—this study draws on recent comparative scholarship, including Youru Wang’s reading of Zhuangzi, to show how forgetting can be reframed as a conscious spiritual and philosophical practice. In particular, this paper examines how Chinul integrates the practice of forgetting into a systematic Buddhist framework grounded in no-self (anātman), emptiness (śūnyatā), and the unity of samādhi and prajñā. In Straight Talk on the True Mind (Chinsim chiksŏl 眞心直說), Chinul outlines ten distinct methods for cultivating no-mind by offering interpretations of teachings from various East Asian Chan masters. Through a detailed analysis of Chinul’s Chinsim chiksŏl, this paper argues that forgetting—when understood as the deliberate letting go of discursive thought, deluded conceptualizations, and habitual dualisms—becomes a powerful method for revealing the true mind. Ultimately, Chinul’s philosophy of forgetting offers a unique account of cognitive transformation—one that challenges conventional epistemologies and calls for a reorientation of perception itself. Therefore, Chinul’s teachings on no-mind and forgetting offer a profound understanding of how deconstructing ingrained cognitive habits can lead to the emergence of enlightened awareness, providing valuable insights into the transformative processes at the heart of East Asian Sŏn Buddhist practice. Full article

This paper analyzes the Hindu concept of sevā—selfless service—as a theo-ethical practice that reconfigures the relationship between religion and economy, offering a snapshot of an Indian perspective on the convergence between postsecularism and postcapitalist discourses. Rather than being reducible to acts of charity, sevā integrates spiritual, ethical, and social dimensions that challenge the neoliberal emphasis on individual self-interest and material accumulation. Rooted in the pursuit of liberation and relational well-being, sevā frames economic and moral agency in terms of embeddedness, reciprocity, and care. To illustrate sevā’s unique attributes, the paper engages with two case studies. The first explores Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy, where sevā is articulated through a non-anthropocentric ethic of nonviolence (ahiṃsā), obliging the reconstruction of eco-economic mechanisms and environmental responsibility. The second examines contemporary guru-bhakti communities in Delhi’s urban peripheries, where sevā functions as spiritual discipline (sādhana), a means for communal uplifting, and the expression of kalyāṇ—holistic well-being that transcends individual boundaries. In both contexts, sevā emerges as a practice that intervenes in and reshapes socio-economic life. By foregrounding sevā as a lived practice, the paper situates Indian religious traditions as a distinctive contribution to broader postcapitalist and postsecular debates. It argues that sevā offers an alternative model of personhood and ethical intentionality—one that contests dominant binaries of spiritual/material, secular/religious, and human/nature, and reimagines human flourishing through the lens of relational ontology and collective responsibility. Full article

Self-care is a complex concept that incorporates various strategies designed to promote personal wellbeing and prevent illness, which is a critical need in nursing given the profession’s inherent stressors. The physical, emotional, spiritual, and psychological demands placed on nurses can significantly influence their wellbeing and the quality of care they provide. Yet, professional accountability and responsibility for self-care remains contested within the profession. To support a healthier and more sustainable healthcare workforce, Approved Education Institutions (AEIs) delivering pre-registration nursing programmes can play a pivotal role in embedding self-care ethos and practices into the nursing curricula. Grounded in educational psychology and drawing on insights from related theories, this paper explores barriers to self-care, proposes actionable interventions, and advocates for its integration as a cornerstone of nursing education. Full article

This article offers a theo-phenomenological investigation of the body, exploring the dialogue between contemporary phenomenology—especially its theological turn—and Eastern Orthodox spirituality as found in the Philokalia. Building on the phenomenological distinction between body and flesh and drawing on Orthodox theology’s understanding of the body–soul unity, the article analyzes the intramundanity and finitude of the human body, as well as its transfiguration through ascetic practices and divine grace. The Incarnation of Christ is examined as a central paradigm for rethinking embodiment, revealing the eschatological promise of glorified flesh. Concepts such as ipseity, self-affection, intentionality, and counter-intentionality are employed to articulate a phenomenological vision open to theological transcendence. Ultimately, this interdisciplinary approach affirms the possibility of a body transformed by grace and destined for resurrection. Full article

Both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Zhuangzi lived in eras of profound social transformation. They both reconstruct virtue to respond to the meaning crisis in this social transformation. However, for the reason that their metaphysical foundations of virtue differ, there is a significant difference between them. Emerson’s concept of virtue promotes aesthetic appreciation of nature. Emerson regards nature as the best meaning of life. Meanwhile, Zhuangzi’s concept of virtue promotes the aesthetic appreciation of harmony between humanity and the Dao. He does not have Emerson’s sense of aesthetic appreciation of nature, including wilderness. In this paper, I will conduct a comparative study between Emerson and Zhuangzi based on the core categories in research on meaning in life, which are self-transcendence, value, and power. I aim to reconstruct Zhuangzi’s virtue through intercultural dialogue by absorbing Emerson’s virtue. Through this dialogue, we can deepen our understanding of Emerson and Zhuangzi in their efforts in the reconstruction of the self and value through virtue, which gives them enormous spiritual power to cope with the meaning crisis in their lifetimes. The new virtue is an integrated environmental virtue, which will give us a new understanding of the self, value, and power. The new self is an ecological aesthetic self, which is integrated with value in nature. The new self and value have the potential to shape new practices in the era of new transformation, which is generated by AI. Full article

Born the seventh son of a Louisiana preacher in 1942 and becoming the co-founder of the Black Panther Party in 1966, Huey P. Newton evidenced a complex, changing, and contradictory synthesis of faith and facts until his death in 1989. Focusing on 1960s’ U.S. Black Nationalism as materialist, Maoist, and Marxist in its appeals to objectivity, rationality, and positivist science, some scholars have presented Black Nationalist contempt for religion as pacifying and counter-revolutionary. Conversely, others have focused on the religious-like nature of formally secular 1960s’ Black Nationalism, even framing it as a “form of piety” and a “politics of transcendence”. Between these bookends, the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton have simultaneously been characterized as both “anti-religious” and as possessing an “innate spirituality”. I attempt to reconcile these divergent interpretations through an analysis of Newton’s worldviews (culled from his graduate school papers, published articles and books, and speeches and interviews). Newton frequently described aspects of the human condition as partially spiritual and in so doing, regularly married dialectical materialist variants of anti-capitalism, Black Nationalism, and ethno-racial self-determinism with “mystical” and theological aesthetics, concepts, stories, and styles from a variety of religious and philosophic traditions. These “paradoxical pieties” included, but were not limited to, the embrace and critique of spiritual existentialism and transcendentalism; deism and theosis; Christian hermeneutics; Zen Buddhism; and Vedic and Pranic Hinduism. Full article

The olfactory sense and experience are considered a conduit between spirituality and the divine realm in Daoism. The ceremonial use of incense in Daoism (shixiang 侍香) has been explored from various theological perspectives and described by numerous liturgists. Despite its importance, several questions about the development and history of Daoist olfactory culture remain unresolved. This paper examines medieval religious dialogs concerning divine smells and smoke before and during the Tang dynasty, a period marked by the interaction and mutual influence of Daoism and Buddhism in China. I argue that medieval Daoism enhanced its soteriology by adopting the concept of vāsanā (xun 薰) from Buddhism, particularly Yogâcāra. Xuan Zang’s 玄奘 translation corpus of Vasubandhu, Cheng Weishi Lun 成唯識論, along with the treatises of two Tang Daoist liturgists Zhu Faman’s 朱法滿 and Du Guangting’s 杜光庭, reveal a shared belief that sacred smells transform the perfumed at a profound level, embedding the divine essence within them. The Yogâcāra concept of vāsanā, elucidated by Xuan Zang, was readily incorporated into Tang Daoism due to their shared soteriological interests. Tang Daoism was in the process of codifying its rituals for self-purification and collective salvation, thereby enhancing the significance of incense through its dynamic absorption of vāsanā. The olfactory practices in medieval Daoism demonstrate that East Asian medieval soteriology promoted universalism through the ritual interactions between Buddhism and Daoism. Full article

Although the Zhuangzi is mentioned in late Warring States and Han Dynasty texts, it was in the post-Han Wei-Jin period that it first exerted a significant influence on intellectual life, becoming a central target for both praise and criticism, much of which focused on its transcendent attitude toward Confucian social values and secular interests. This paper examines these discussions, focusing on criticisms from the pragmatically minded realist Confucian literati of the period, who largely regarded the text as detaching and distracting scholars from the pressing needs of the state and responses from the more sympathetic and idealist “Neo-Daoist” figures of the Dark Learning (xuanxue) movement. For the latter, the spiritual self-transcendence that could be found in the Zhuangzi text was not only a source of personal satisfaction and joy but also served an important function in Confucian ethics, leading readers to transcend narrow obsession with individual self-interest, political power and social status. While these debates express the state of Chinese society after the collapse of the Han Dynasty, they have also been seen as reflecting wider issues that have become prominent in modern Western philosophical and religious thought, notably the concept of nihilism, an association that is here critically assessed in detail. Full article

In the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, Yunqi Zhuhong 雲栖祩宏 and Ouyi Zhixu 蕅益智旭 integrated Zen thought and Pure Land Buddhism based on the fusion of various Buddhist sects, which facilitated the transition to Chan Jing He Yi (integration of Zen and Pure Land Buddhism 禪淨合一). In this context, Journey to the West 西遊記, published in the late Ming Dynasty, reflects the characteristic of Chan Jing He Yi (integration of Zen and Pure Land Buddhism 禪淨合一). Based on the historical fact that the monk Xuanzang 玄奘 journeyed to India to seek Buddhist scriptures during the Tang Dynasty’s Zhenguan period, four relatively complete literary works that recount the stories of this westward journey were published over nearly a thousand years, from the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty: Da Ci En Si San Zang Fa Shi Zhuan 大慈恩寺三藏法師傳, Da Tang San Zang Qu Jing Shi Hua 大唐三藏取經詩話, the Journey to the West drama 西遊記雜劇, and Journey to the West. The Buddhist ideas in these four works went through a transformation from advocating yoga theory 瑜伽論 to advocating belief in Vaisravana 毗沙門天王信仰 and then to focusing on the “mind nature 心性” theory of Zen Buddhism. Finally, in Journey to the West, Buddhist thought is aimed at achieving rebirth in the Western Pure Land and supplemented with Chan Buddhist practices, which are aligned with the trend of Chan Jing He Yi (integration of Zen and Pure Land Buddhism 禪淨合一). In Journey to the West, the concepts of Ming Xin Jian Xing (find one’s true self 明心見性) and Ji Xin Ji Fo (the mind is the Buddha 即心即佛) differ from the Zen Buddhism concept of seeing one’s own nature. Instead, it requires seeking other Buddhas and ascending to the Western Pure Land to meet Amitabha Buddha in order to achieve complete spiritual cultivation. This had changed from the Wei Xin Jing Tu (mind-only Pure Land 唯心淨土) theory advocated by Zen Buddhism to the Xi Fang Jing Tu (Western Pure Land 西方淨土) theory advocated by the Pure Land School. The numerous depictions of Pure Land cultivation methods, such as Cheng Ming Nian Fo (chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha 稱名念佛), Chi Jie (commandment keeping 持戒), and the Pure Land reincarnation-type Guanyin faith 淨土往生型觀音信仰, also appear in Journey to the West, reflecting the profound influence of Chan Jing He Yi 禪淨合一 in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty on Journey to the West. Full article

Buddhism is renowned for its adherence to the principle of “Anatta”, yet it does not merely negate the self. Instead, Buddhism employs a flexible categorization and stratification of the self based on specific value orientations and practical objectives. Although Christian traditions present a variety of perceptions of the self, they align with Buddhism in terms of stratifying the self. In the practical path of self-cultivation, both religions adopt meditation as a spiritual exercise, aiming to manifest the true self. A comparative analysis of Buddhist and Christian meditation practices within the framework of naturalism not only enhances the profound understanding of the self-concept for both parties but also fosters the creative transformation and innovative development of the theories of self within these two religious traditions. Full article

In pre-Song Chinese thought, the afterlife, or the subterranean realm was a sacred space distinctly separate from the world of the living, an extension of the political–religious–cultural order of the Chinese empire. Even after the introduction of Buddhism to China, although the Buddhist concept of hell applied karmic retribution to the present life in an attempt to provide ethical norms for real life, the sacredness of the afterlife remained intact. Song Dynasty Chinese thought underwent a profound “modernization” transformation. Su Shi, with the concept of qing 情 [disposition] at its core, disenchanted the sacred afterlife, shaping a new, self-conscious individuality in the interplay between the living and the dead, the finite and the infinite, the mortal and the immortal. This new individuality, with its spiritual spontaneity and freedom, integrated the afterlife with the present world, internalizing infinity and immortality into a utopian spiritual homeland. This free individuality, entirely different from Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism, marking a hidden potential in the development of Chinese intellectual history that has yet to be fully revealed. Full article

This paper explores two paths that depth psychology, particularly the work of C. G. Jung, offers to the project of decolonizing knowledge. Jung was a complex intellectual pioneer who embodied and projected the limiting colonialist scientific presuppositions of his time also spent much of his career attempting to become familiar with the undisciplined domain of the Unconscious that offered access to ways of thinking that erased disciplinary boundaries that would separate psychology, religion, and science. Offering a close reading of Jung’s early work demonstrates how colonizing forms of knowledge perpetuate themselves through a self-legitimating mythic structure. Acknowledging Jung’s later work, which explored psyche as both “material” and “spiritual”, illustrates the potential that depth psychology offers for an undisciplined approach to thinking and reality. The focus throughout will be on the Shadow, one of the core archetypes in Jungian psychology. The first section, which associates Jung’s colonial bias with his ideas about rational consciousness, is followed by a second section that provides a critique of Jung’s colonialism, highlighting the implicit violence that accompanies Jung’s story about rationality. The third section provides an overview of different ways that shadows can be used, building on other depth psychological modes of exploring the unconscious. The paper concludes with a description of how embracing Shadow invites the concept of an undisciplined playfulness back into a decolonized, experiential approach to knowledge. This presents an improved version of the Shadow based on a framework of participation, rather than polarization, which opens a mode of belonging that bridges rifts that colonialism created. This demonstrates how depth psychology opens a path toward decolonizing knowledge and moving toward a consciously undisciplined form of experiential understanding. Full article

The increasingly popular minimalist consumption concept makes more people reflect on the harm of excessive consumption behavior to sustainability. In particular, the phenomenon of excessive apparel consumption is more obvious, resulting in the waste of resources and environmental pollution. In China, more and more bloggers publicize the life change and spiritual decompression brought by a minimalist lifestyle on the Internet. However, whether this guidance could have an impact on consumers’ rational consumption intention and its driving path are still unknown. This study explored the role of bloggers’ minimalist consumption guidance in influencing residents’ intention to reduce excessive apparel consumption in Web 2.0. Considering the bloggers’ guidance on reshaping the self-awareness of members in virtual communities, a comprehensive model is constructed, including bloggers’ attractiveness, bloggers’ minimalist consumption guidance, community belonging perception, (self-monitoring) self-efficacy perception, and (self-worth) ascription of environmental responsibility. Data were collected through questionnaires and the analysis results indicate that there is no significant relationship between bloggers’ minimalist consumption guidance and the intention to reduce excessive apparel consumption. This non-coercive media campaign does not directly affect residents’ behavior, but indirectly increases consumers’ intention to consume apparel rationally by acting on community belonging perception, self-efficacy perception, and ascription of environmental responsibility. In the Internet age, this study not only provides suggestions for guiding residents to consume apparel rationally in China, but also possibly serves as an inspiration for related research in other emerging economies. Full article

Comprehending the significance of legacy in end-of-life (EoL) situations helps palliative care professionals enhance person-centered outcomes for those with a life-threatening illness and their families. Our purpose was to conduct a concept analysis of legacy in EoL care. By employing Walker and Avant’s approach, we identified the concept’s defining characteristics. Subsequently, we established the antecedents, consequences, and empirical referents. After conducting a thorough review of titles and abstracts, a total of 30 publications were analyzed. These articles were sourced from three databases (CINAHL, Medline via PubMed, and Scopus) from 2002 to 2023. Our analysis identified several core attributes of legacy: (a) leave behind something of value that transcends death; (b) determine how people want to be remembered; (c) build and bestow across generations; (d) integrate advance care planning through EoL conversations and shared decision-making; and (e) develop strategies of dignity-conserving care. The consequences are related to improvements in spiritual and subjective well-being; coping with inevitable EoL existential issues; decreases in EoL suffering; engendering self-awareness, hope, gratitude, and peace; achieving and maintaining dignity; creating good memories; promoting mutually constructive and transformative relationships; and fostering the adjustment of bereaved people. Nevertheless, further effort is required to implement the key attributes of legacy that form the basis for creating legacy-oriented interventions near the EoL. Full article