Search Results (19)

This study curates and structures knowledge concerning Buddhist learning resources for tourism, presenting it through a virtual tour of Wat Phra Pathom Chedi Ratchaworamahawihan in Nakhon Pathom Province. Employing a mixed-methods approach that integrates both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the research first establishes a structured knowledge base. This involves developing a comprehensive metadata schema for cataloging the temple’s diverse resources, including both sacred sites and artifacts, to enhance their searchability and accessibility. Subsequently, this knowledge is rendered into a virtual tour, which serves as an exemplary model of a Buddhist digital learning resource for tourism. The findings reveal the extensive diversity of resources within the temple. The developed virtual tour platform allows users an immersive exploration of the site via 360-degree panoramic views. This research presents significant implications for relevant agencies, offering a scalable model for the digital dissemination of cultural heritage. It is anticipated that this initiative will expand global access to and appreciation of the temple’s cultural value, thereby fostering international interest in visitation. Such engagement is poised to stimulate the local economy and bolster Thailand’s image as a premier cultural tourism destination. Full article

The vitality of areas around tourist attractions plays a crucial role in promoting the sustainable development of both tourism and the regional economy. However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies on the methods for mining vitality around attraction perimeters, and existing approaches are often inadequate to meet the evolving needs of contemporary tourism development. To address this gap, we proposed a method for inferring vitality around attractions based on a knowledge graph. Our approach began by analyzing the functional and morphological characteristics of the areas surrounding the attractions, followed by the design of a vitality calculation model for these regions. Next, we developed a knowledge graph structure tailored for vitality reasoning around the attractions and established reasoning rules based on this graph. Finally, we conducted experiments to apply the vitality inference method to the main urban area of Kaifeng City as a case study. The results indicated that our method could effectively reason about vitality around the attractions. Notably, the vitality levels around the attractions in Kaifeng’s main urban area exhibited clear spatial differentiation. Attractions such as the Yang Family’s Tianbo Mansion, the Millennium City Park, and Lord Bao’s Memorial Temple showed higher vitality values, largely due to their advantageous functional integration and synergistic morphological characteristics. Full article

Banking has evolved from ancient times of using grain banks and temple lending to modern banking practices. The transformation of the banking sector has ensured that banks play the crucial role of facilitating faster and efficient service delivery. This paper traced the evolution of banking and examined associated disruptions, opportunities, and challenges. With the specific objective of influencing policy-oriented discussions on the future of banking, this study adopted a literature review methodology of integrating various sources, such as scholarly journals, policy reports, and institutional publications. Public interest theory and disruptive innovation theory underpinned this study. Findings revealed that banking has evolved from Banking 1.0 to Banking 5.0 due to disruptive factors which have been pivotal to the significant structural sector changes: Banking 1.0 (pre-1960s); Banking 2.0 (1960s to 1980s); Banking 3.0 (1980s–2000s); Banking 4.0 (2000s–2020s); and Banking 5.0 (2020s to the future). Despite the existence of opportunities in the transformation, challenges include regulations, skills shortages, legacy systems, and cybersecurity that must be addressed. This calls for a coordinated response from stakeholders, with banking’s future requiring collaborations as cashless economies, digital economies, and digital currencies take centre stage. Full article

In contemporary Korea, particularly within the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, temple revenue relies on two primary sources: donations and production activities. With declining religious participation, donations alone are no longer sufficient for temple sustainability. In response, many temples have diversified into non-religious economic ventures—an approach that, while controversial, has historical precedent. Pre-modern Korean temples actively contributed to local economies and public welfare through various productive roles. A notable recent development is the rise of Buddhist social enterprises, which aim to reconcile financial sustainability with core Buddhist values. This paper examines two interrelated dimensions: first, the historical role of Korean Buddhist temples as economic actors and social welfare providers; second, the emergence of Buddhist social enterprises as a modern model for sustainable temple economies. The paper highlights their potential to balance spiritual integrity with economic viability while acknowledging the challenges they face in achieving broader institutional and public support. Full article

As Zen Buddhism continues into its second century in the United States, the practices and philosophies transmitted have gone through major, though necessary transformations. At present, the vast majority of Zen temples and centers are “convert” communities that have over time adjusted language, ritual, and tradition to suit pastoral and theological needs. This article lays out a blueprint for a Zen public “theology” by discussing the transformation of the exoteric, physical practice of Zen to an esoteric practice that governs inner conduct and community cohesion. For this piece, esoteric is used less in a mystical capacity, but more in terms of referring to a closed community of practitioners and initiates. The transformation from a historically exoteric practice in Japan to a generally esoteric practice in the United States reconfigured the priorities for longstanding Zen communities, who were (and still tend to be) diffuse and dependent on lineage bearing. The esoteric character of Zen practice in the U.S. is a response to several challenges in a “western” market economy- informed society. Challenges from the mindfulness industry, its minority status in a broadly Abrahamic society, and the struggle to understand the notion of tradition while in dialog with the main Soto Zen tradition in Japan present unique hermeneutical categories for Zen in America, prompting a reckoning with the fundamental principles of Mahayana Buddhism and the tenuous pluralism operative in American society. Full article

This paper considers the critical role of local markets in sustaining rural communities and forests through the trade of Boswellia serrata Roxb. gum-resin as a culturally significant non-timber forest product (NTFP). Despite its cultural significance in Hindu rituals, little is known about the market dynamics at the consumer end of the value chain. This is one of the first detailed studies on consumer behavior and seller economics of B. serrata gum-resin in temple contexts. Open-ended surveys with sellers and consumers reflect seller activities, incomes, and consumer perceptions within the markets, providing insights into the dynamics of the gum-resin value chain and the implications for sustainability. Challenges gum-resin sellers face are brought to light, with a notable struggle to secure a significant portion of the final product’s value. Consumer perceptions are identified as a pivotal aspect influencing this NTFP’s market dynamics. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding consumer demand and preferences in shaping market size and sustainability practices. The research advocates for establishing structured markets to enhance returns for harvesters and reduce costs for consumers. In providing insights into the socio-economic aspects of temple markets for B. serrata gum-resin, this study contributes to the understanding of NTFP value chains and their broader impact on the sustainability of forest-dwelling communities and forest ecosystems. The findings underscore the need for informed interventions and policy measures to address challenges, promote equitable practices, and ensure the long-term viability of NTFP-based economies. Full article

Local markets are vital for economic activity and preserving cultural heritage, especially through vegetables central to community diets and traditions. Despite their importance, the ethnobotanical potential of these vegetables remains underexplored, particularly regarding sustainability and food security. This study examines the role of local vegetables in markets, highlighting their ecological, economic, and cultural significance. Conducted at the Chai Chumphol Temple community market in Kantarawichai District, Thailand, this research assessed the economic, cultural, and medicinal values of local vegetables. Various indices, including the economic value of vegetables (EVV), use value (UV), cultural importance (CI), informant agreement ratio (IAR), and fidelity level (%FL), were used to analyze the role of vegetables in the community. The findings underscore the importance of these vegetables in supporting local economies, preserving cultural traditions, and contributing to sustainable horticultural practices. These results highlight the potential of local vegetables to enhance horticultural biodiversity, promote food security, and support sustainable farming practices in the region. Full article

While the trend of de-religiousization has accelerated globally, Korean Buddhism has become very hip around the world. While it was traditionally known as a symbol of a solemn and old religion, with its innovative transformation, Korean Buddhism has gained wide popularity in friendly and trendy atmospheres, especially among people in their 20s and 30s in Korea and abroad, regardless of religion. Thus, Korean Buddhism has a cultural affinity beyond religion, nationality, age, and gender. At the center of this popularization of Buddhism, there exists “Templestay”. Templestay is defined as staying in a Korean temple and experiencing traditional Korean culture, the spirit of Buddhist practice, the natural environment, and the daily life of temples. Templestay was selected as one of the world’s top five most successfully developed tourism and cultural resources by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and one of the top 10 icons representing Korea according to the Republic of Korea’s Presidential Council on Nation Branding. Thus, Templestay is not just a Buddhist cultural experience but has been officially recognized as a sustainable global cultural product representing Korea with a history of 1700 years, where a global cultural product is defined as a cultural product that is shared on a global level. Considering Templestay’s wide global popularity, as well as its significant impact on the national economy, tourism, and cultural succession, with over 7 million participants, it is important to investigate Templestay from the perspective of sustainable management, such as CSR, CSV, and ESG. However, while a few studies exist on Templestay, the theoretical aspects of Templestay as a subject of sustainable management have not been sufficiently developed, since most research on Templestay has focused on the perspectives of religion or visitor experiences. Thus, by focusing on Manggyeongsansa Templestay, which was selected as one of the best Korean temples among the 150 temples offering Templestay in 2023, the findings from this case study provide significant implications and practical guidelines for the sustainable management of global cultural products to address fundamental issues from an angle that has not been covered sufficiently. Full article

The experience of ontological and epistemological dominations made Africans lose their self-consciousness and become unfulfilled in life. Every human being has a life of integrity that must be lived. The Maccabees in the Bible were dominated by Antiochus IV, the King of Syria. He desecrated the Temple, changed their religion, politics, economy, and social life and above all made himself a god to be worshipped. He deprived the Jews of their identity and dominated them ontologically, but they had a life of integrity to live. Some of the Jews accepted the new way of life by Antiochus and helped to betray those few Jews who stood against this new system of Antiochus. Many of the pious Jews lost their lives, but with hope in Yahweh and persistent endurance they regained their identity and life of integrity. The plague of coloniality made Africans invariably lose their identity, and consequently their integrity as others determined their pace of life. The African story is like the Maccabean story; this article studies selected texts in Maccabees (1 Maccabees 2 and 3; 2 Maccabees 6 and 7) and suggests their regaining of identity and life of integrity to the African situation. The paper uses biblical exegesis and intercultural interpretations to unearth the buried African treasures for an integrity of life. Full article

Although there is a consensus on religious revival in China, it must be noted that popular religion and institutional religions such as Buddhism and Daoism adopt different strategies to survive the state’s regulations. Many temples that used to facilitate the worship of local deities have to establish some form of intangible cultural heritage or emphasize the deity’s history and folklore to de-religionize. During this process, a temple may earn its lawful place to survive, but risks its communality in the village. Based on studies of rural and urban temples in Henan and Shandong provinces, in this paper, I attempt to understand people’s religiosity and how they conduct the human–deity exchange under social transformation. Popular religion is characterized by the pursuit of efficacy and its embeddedness in rural life. The traditional binary exchange with deities could be used to maintain a relationship with deities as well as offer urgent solutions, while three-party chains of exchange not only constitute a religious gift economy but also offer a religious agent to seek answers. I argue that temples are marginalized and excluded from village life, so people need to find new means by which to continue their religious practices beyond what the state sponsors, and this has led to the flowing of sacred places. Full article

Small businesses in world heritage sites provide services to visitors and livelihood for residents. Besides the cultural and religious values promoted by these businesses, they also provide socioeconomic support to their owners. The Pashupatinath temple is known as Hindu’s major religious and pilgrimage destination in South Asia. Hundreds of businesses around the temple provide services to visitors. This study evaluates the socioeconomic impacts of these small businesses around Pashupatinath temple. Using a survey of 110 businesses, binary logistic regression models find that the owners of larger businesses selling religious supplies in this area are more likely to own houses in Kathmandu and to be more satisfied with their businesses. The study also finds that businesses without permanent stalls faced severe hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study assessed the socioeconomic status of a business owner through house ownership in Kathmandu, and finds that small businesses operating in the premises of the religious heritage site of Pashupatinath temple have a positive relation to the livelihood of the business owners and their families. It concludes that small-scale business in world heritage sites directly contributes to local livelihoods and economies. Full article

In Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, both coastal and sub-mountainous parts of Colchis underwent rapid urbanization. In the 12th century, the processes of decline began: Large settlements were replaced by small farmsteads with light wooden buildings, and the economy transformed from commodity-based to subsistence-based. What caused this decline? Was it the social and political events linked to the decline of the Byzantine Empire and changes to world trade routes, or were there other reasons? This article provides the answer. The synergy of archaeological, folkloristic, historical cartographic, climatological, seismological, and hydrological data depicts a strong link between these processes and climate change, which occurred at the turn of the 12th–13th centuries. The beginning of cooling led to a crisis in agriculture. A decline in both farming and cattle breeding could not fail to affect demography. Seismic activity, noted in the same period, led to the destruction of many buildings, including temples, and fortresses, and changes in hydrological networks, which were directly linked to climate change and caused water logging, led to a loss of the functions of coastal areas and their disappearance. Full article

Abydos Temple is one of Egypt’s most significant sites which has a long history that dates back to the ancient monarchy and continued until the coming of Islam and also served as one of Egypt’s most significant ancient royal and high-ranking official burial sites. The main objective of this work was discovering more archaeological features buried underground such as ancient walls, monuments, and tombs. This objective was achieved using two near surface sophisticated geophysical techniques, namely ground magnetic survey and ground penetrating radar (GPR). This site was surveyed firstly using ground magnetic survey as reconnaissance stage and the locations which contain potential anomalies were resurveyed using GPR technique for determination the depth and the geometry of this potential targets. This site was divided into four regular grids and GPR model SIR-4000 equipment with 200 MHz central frequency antenna was used in this survey. The output of the magnetic survey is a total magnetic anomaly map which was filtered using High pass (HP) and first vertical derivative (VFD) techniques to extract the residual component of the shallow objects which may be archaeological targets. The results of the magnetic methods showed a group of anomalies which appeared on the residual map and were attributed to archaeological features by comparing them with the current excavated objects in and around the site. Their geometrical shapes and depths were estimated using source parameter imaging (SPI) and analytical signal (AS) techniques in Geosoft Oasis Montag Software. The estimated depth of these objects is between 1–3 m. Several hyperbolic shapes appeared in the radargram sections, indicating the possibility of probable buried archaeological objects. These potential objects can be found at depths of 2 to 4 m below the ground surface. The presence of eight probable targets associated with archaeological features at depths between 1–4 m is therefore the most likely outcome from both magnetic and GPR approaches. Therefore, this site contains potential archaeological targets which need confirmation by excavation. These results will influence domestic and foreign tourism in Egypt, leading to an increase in visitors and a rise in Economy. Full article

An upsurge in Taiwan-based Mazu temple buildings has been observed in China (Tianjin, Kunshan, and Xiamen, etc.) recently. This paper applies qualitative research methods, including participatory observation and semi-structured interviews, to explore the development of Mazu temples in Tianjin, Kunshan, and Xiamen, China in terms of cross-regional connectivity, materiality, and cross-regional locality, to explore the process of transplantation and construction in the mainland. This paper finds that Mazu culture is a reproduction of the vision of “one race one culture” in the cultural space, and this spatial reproduction is realized through cross-strait religious and cultural exchanges. Informed by the perspective of the political and cultural context, three interconnected dimensions—cross-regional connectivity, materiality, and cross-regional locality—have influenced why, where, and how Taiwan Mazu temples have been transplanted and constructed. This kind of hybrid locality is an integration of urban space and religion, as well as an organic, complex process that integrates religious functions, local politics, and the cultural economy. With the ingenious localization efforts of Taiwanese businessmen, these new Mazu temples promote homogenization in the sacred space and create a unique mixed locality—a more-than-state. Full article

The polychrome statues of the Sage Mother Hall at the Jinci Temple in Taiyuan city are recognized as one of the three masterpieces of the Jinci Temple. They are also regarded as an outstanding representative of ancient Chinese temple statues. These statues possess great historical, artistic, scientific, cultural and social values, and they are an important physical material for the study of ancient Chinese history, culture, religion, politics and economy, as well as science and technology. The internal structure, plaster layer samples and surface pigments of the polychrome statues of the Sage Mother Hall were analyzed by optical microscope (OM) scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy (Raman), X-radiography and other analytical methods in order to gain an understanding of the production process and pigment composition of the polychrome statues of the Sage Mother Hall. According to the findings, the following steps were taken during the production of the polychrome statues that decorate the Sage Mother Hall at Jinci Temple: building a wooden skeleton, fixing the skeleton with rivets or twine, shaping the clay form with coarse clay, shaping the appearance with fine clay, refining the molded appearance, and white substrate layer painting. The majority of the pigments are inorganic mineral pigments: the red pigments include cinnabar and minium; the blue pigments include ultramarine; the green pigments include lavendulan; the yellow pigments include yellow ochre; the black pigments include carbon black; and the white pigments and substrate layers include white lead and lead sulfate. Some of the pigment layers can be seen in multiple layers, which indicates that over the history of the painted statues of the Sage Mother Hall, they have been subject to a series of repainting, with the more recent repainting time perhaps having taken place during the late Qing Dynasty and the following time period. Full article