Asian religions : a cultural perspective / Randall L Nadeau.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nadeau, Randall Laird, 1956-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Religions.

Asia--Religion.

Asia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (279 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Malden, Massachusetts : John Wiley & Sons, 2014.

Summary:

This lively introduction offers a complete overview of the main Asian religions, their traditions and contemporary relevance, and how they are lived and practiced today. Provides readers with an all-embracing introduction to Asian religions, covering each of the main traditions in a style that is lively and distinctive Focuses on Asian religions as lived and practiced by real people, leading readers to a deeper understanding of Asian spiritualities and traditions, and their contemporary relevance Uses exercises, activities, and an appealing mixture of examples, such as novels, throughout the book, to both inform and engage readers Employs a comparative approach, highlighting the contrasts between Asian and Western modes of thinking and living Debates the influence of religion on real-world issues including work, economic growth, the environment, human rights, and gender relations Written by an acclaimed scholar in this field, who is able to draw on his remarkable knowledge across all relevant religious traditions.

Contents:

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.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed January 15, 2013).

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-118-47195-4

1-118-47193-8

OCLC:

866450312