Asian Religions : A Cultural Perspective.

Cover -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Preface -- Part I: Introductory Material -- 1: Religion -- "Religion" and the Religions -- 2: Language -- Part II: The Confucian Tradition -- 3: Defining "Religion" -- The Confucian Response -- Confucian Cultures in East Asia -- The Confucian Program -- 4: The Religious Dimensions of Confucianism -- 5: The Self as a Center of Relationships -- Lasting Relationships -- The five relationships are hierarchical from top to bottom -- The five relationships are hierarchical from left to right -- 6: Learning to Be Human -- Survey 1 The Confucian Values of Li (禮) and Ren (仁) -- 7: The Lasting Influence of Confucianism in Modern East Asia -- Education as a Primary Indicator of Social Status and Achievement -- The Reluctance to Adopt Democratic Institutions, an Uncritical Acceptance of Political Authority, Conservatism in Politics and Economics -- Filial Piety, Active Participation of Parents in Children's Affairs, Support of Parents in Old Age, Strong Extended Family Identity -- Persistence of Filial Piety as an Abiding Cultural Value, though under Threat from New Family Models, Declining Marriage and Birth Rates, and Economic Changes -- Self-Sacrifice for the Benefit of Others and the Rejection of Western Individualism, Privacy, and Self-Interest: An Ethic of Conformity -- Public Support for the Arts and Civil Religion -- Hospitality, Social Grace, Emphasis on Social Identity -- Confucian Fundamentalism and the "National Studies Craze" -- Part III: The Taoist Tradition -- 8: What Is Taoism? -- Philosophical Taoism -- Yin-Yang Cosmology -- 9: Philosophical Taoism -- Major Themes of Philosophical Taoism -- Anti-Confucianism -- Uselessness (wuyong, 無用) -- Naturalness and spontaneity (ziran, 然) -- Non-action (wuwei, 無為) -- Intuition -- Transmutability (hua 化).

The "Uncarved Block" (pu, 樸) -- 10: Temporal Dimensions of Yin-Yang Cosmology -- The Beginning of Time -- The Ritual Calendar -- 11: Spatial Dimensions of Yin-Yang Cosmology -- Fengshui -- Chinese "Elemental" Theory -- Spatial Dimensions of Liturgical Taoism -- 12: Personal Dimensions of Yin-Yang Cosmology -- The Self as a Psychosomatic Whole -- Yin-Yang Souls and Spirits -- Taoist Long Life and Immortality -- Survey 2 Principles of Philosophical and Religious Taoism -- 13: Taoism as a Global Religious Phenomenon -- Taoism as a World Religion -- Part IV: The Hindu Tradition -- 14: What Is Hinduism? -- The Three Margas -- The Bhagavad Gita -- The Three Margas as Religious Discipline (Yoga) -- 15: Karma-marga -- Action and Its Consequences -- Varna-āśrama-dharma -- Karma-marga -- 16: Jñāna-marga -- The puruārthas -- Moksha as Unity with Brahman -- 17: Bhakti-marga -- Krishna: Knowing Brahman in Human Form -- Shiva: Knowing Brahman through Mystical Union -- Survey 3 Religious Attitudes Based on Hindu Worldviews -- 18: Hinduism in the Modern World -- Hinduism and Modern India -- Part V: The Theravāda Buddhist Tradition -- 19: Buddhism and the Buddha -- The Mythical Buddha -- The Life of the Buddha as a Model for Spiritual Self-Cultivation -- 20: Suffering and Its Causes -- Dukha -- Tahā -- 21: Buddhist Ethics -- The Eightfold Path -- Ethical Practice -- The vow to avoid harming sentient beings -- The vow to avoid taking that which is not freely given -- The vow to avoid sexual misconduct -- The vow to avoid harmful speech -- The vow to avoid intoxicants -- Survey 4 The Five Precepts Survey -- 22: The Fruits of Meditation -- Meditation -- Nirvāa -- Meditation Practices and Experience of nirvāa -- 23: Monastic Practice -- The Vinaya -- Pārājika -- Sangha-disesa -- Rules of comportment -- Female Monasticism and the Treatment of Women in the Vinaya.

Survey 5 Religious Dimensions of Gender and Sexuality -- Part VI: The Mahāyāna Buddhist Tradition -- 24: Faith -- Cosmic Buddhas and Bodhisattvas -- Amitābha (Radiant Light) -- Maitreya (The Kindly One) -- Avalokiteśvara (The Perfect Companion) -- Kṣitigarbha (Earth Matrix) -- The Bodhisattva Path -- 25: Principles of Zen Buddhism -- Legends of the Patriarchs -- Characteristics of Zen -- Emptiness of authority -- Emptiness of mind -- Emptiness of activity -- Emptiness of enlightenment -- 26: Buddhism as a Global Religion -- Buddhist Modernism: From Scientific Rationalism to Depth Psychology -- Engaged Buddhism in Asia and the West -- Part VII: Japanese Religions -- 27: Japanese Religion and Culture -- Characteristics of Kami -- 28: Shrine Shintō -- Dimensions of Sacred Time and Space in Japan -- Sacred Space -- The nation/natural world: kokoku (故国, native land) - boundary: the sea -- The community/Shintō shrine: jingu 神宮 (marked by the torii 居, gate) - ritual demarcation: the matsuri (まつり) festival -- The enclosure/homestead - demarcation: the fence and torii -- The home: ie (家) - demarcation: the genkan (玄 ) -- The self (heart and belly): kokoro (心) and hara ( ) - ritual purification: the mizuya (水屋) and the omamori (おまもり) -- 29: Dimensions of Religion in Modern Japan -- Religious Dimension of Japanese Aesthetics: Chanoyu and Haiku -- Religion in Japanese Culture -- Part VIII: Conclusions -- 30: "Religion" and the Religions -- Final Thoughts -- Survey 6 "Religion" and the Religions -- Appendix: Suggestions for Further Reading -- Shusaku Endo, Deep River, and John Dalton, Heaven Lake -- Michio Takeyama, Harp of Burma, and R. K. Narayan, The Guide -- Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha -- Films of Bae Yong-kyun (b. 1951) and Kim Ki-duk (b. 1960) -- Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West and Robert van Gulik, The Haunted Monastery.

Yasunari Kawabata, Thousand Cranes, and Haruki Murakami, 1Q84 -- Glossary -- Index.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.