scholarly journals Preliminary Practices: Bloody Knees, Calloused Palms, and the Transformative Nature of Women’s Labor

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 636
Author(s):  
Kati Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Buddhist ◽  
Physical Pain ◽  
Women's Labor ◽  
Transformative Experience ◽  
Qinghai Province ◽  
Labor Practices ◽  
Lay Women ◽  
The One ◽  
The Buddha ◽  
Unique Relationship

In this article, I explore the prostration accumulation portion of the Preliminary Practices of a specific group of Tibetan Buddhist women in Bongwa Mayma, a rural area of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province. I focus specifically on the nuns and lay women who utilize this set of teachings and practices. The Preliminary Practices not only initiate practitioners into a specific tradition (that of the Drikung Kagyu and more specifically the Amitabha practices of this lineage), but also more fundamentally into Vajrayāna Buddhism as it is practiced in contemporary Tibet. Although monks and male lay practitioners in this region also tend to perform the same Preliminary Practices, I focus specifically on women because of their unique relationship with bodily labor. I begin this article with a discussion of the domestic and economic labor practices of contemporary Tibetan women in rural Yushu, followed by an analysis of Preliminary Practices as understood through the Preliminary Practice text and oral commentaries utilized by all interviewees and interviews (collected from 2016–2020) with female practitioners about their motivations, experiences, and realizations during the Refuge and prostration accumulation portion of their Preliminary Practices. Women themselves view bodily labor as a productive and inevitable aspect of life. On the one hand, women state openly that their domestic duties impede upon their ability to achieve religious realization. On the other, they frequently extol the virtues of hard work, perseverance, patience, and fortitude that their lives of labor helped them to cultivate. Prostration is meant to embody the act of going for Refuge, of submitting oneself to the teachings of the Buddha, to the path of the dharma, and to the community of religious practitioners with whom they will study and grow. Prostrations are meant to embody the extreme difficulty of Refuge, to remove obscurations, to crush the ego, and to confirm a dedication to endure the hardships on the path to realization. Buddhist women, despite their ambiguous relationship with physical labor, see the physical pain of this process as a transformative experience that allows them a glimpse of the spaciousness of mind and freedom from attachment-filled desire promised in the teachings they receive.

Do the Arahant and the Buddha Experience Dukkha and Domanassa?

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-70
Author(s):  
Ashin Sumanacara
Keyword(s):  
Human Beings ◽  
Physical Pain ◽  
Physical Disease ◽  
Mental Pain ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Unpleasant Feeling ◽  
The Buddha

The P?li Nik?yas describe a range of painful feelings that are experienced by human beings. The painful feelings are primarily divided into the categories of dukkha and domanassa. In its broader sense, dukkha covers a complete range of different types of painful or unpleasant feeling. But when it appears within a compound or together with domanassa successively within a passage, its meaning is primarily limited to physical pain while domanassa refers to mental pain. This article investigates the question of whether or not the Arahant and the Buddha experience mental pain as well as physical pain. My analysis of doctrinal explanations demonstrates that the Arahant and the Buddha are subject to experience physical pain and physical disease but not mental pain. This article also clarifies why and to what degree the P?li tradition sees them as experiencing physical pain and disease.

Social Groups and Ranking: an Aspect of Ancient Indian Social Life Derived From the Pali Canonical Texts

1967 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-316
Author(s):  
N.K. Wagle
Keyword(s):  
Triple System ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Group Affiliation ◽  
Social Ranking ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One ◽  
Canonical Texts ◽  
The Buddha

AbstractIn summing up, a number of conclusions can be drawn. We have tried on the one hand to establish the various de facto social groups implied in the formulae of address, reference and salutation ascertaining the group affiliation of the persons involved. We have also tried to bring out the meaning of various terms and establish a triple system of ranking. The meaning attached to these terms, we may point out, is specifically interactional, and the proof of its validity lies only in its consistency. We have demonstrated this throughout our presentation of the data as well as the conclusions. Our conclusions mainly indicate a three-fold system of ranking. In the social sphere the brāhmanas successfully maintain their hostile equality with the Buddha. But in the religious and political fields, they are not as successful. In the religious field the Buddhist order more than holds its own and claims several distinguished brāhmanas within its fold. Politically too, the Buddha is less encumbered than the brāhmanas. Unlike them, he is not servile to the king. Despite their actual humility in the king's presence, in their mode of address the brāhmanas recognize no superior in any system of ranking, but at the most only equals. They and the Buddhists have an equal hold on the gahapatis, who represent the secular population, the prizes in the religious struggle. Having analysed the social groupings, we may further comment on them and see if we can relate our "inferred" social ranking of the groups to what is already stated about them in the texts. We may

scholarly journals Forced labor practices of Indonesian migrant fishing vessels crew on Taiwan-Flagged Ships? A need for cognitive framework transformation

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-182
Author(s):  
Fitri Soulina ◽  
Nadia Yovani
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
Labor Rights ◽  
Fishing Vessel ◽  
Labor Practices ◽  
Fishing Vessels ◽  
Cognitive Framework ◽  
Labor Exploitation ◽  
Foreign Labor ◽  
The One

The foreign labor market delivers Indonesian workers with low qualifications for work in the informal fisheries sector as a fishing vessel crew (AKP). On the one hand, the use of Indonesian workers assists in increasing the absorption of domestic labor. Still, in real conditions, the workers are confronted with violations practices of labor rights. More than that, in the homestead, migrants' fishing vessel crew experience the repudiation of labor rights and human rights. Based on previous studies mapping, the phenomenon 'labor exploitation' is associated with functional dimensions of policy and regulation and its relation to rational action in the economic context. Those case studies of Taiwanese flagship's fishing vessel crew have not yet caught on to the complexity of continuous practice in Indonesian migrants from recruiting procedures to entirely adhering to the causes of migrants' precariousness. Using institutional analysis, the findings show the dynamics between institutions and actors in the labor market, ignoring important micro aspects to transpose to eliminate occupational practices. Neglect of the social-economic context's cognitive element builds a considerable gap between existing beleid and the resulting transformation. 

scholarly journals Buddhist Science in Kundalakesi

2021 ◽  
pp. 24-30
Author(s):  
Sankar M
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
The People ◽  
The World ◽  
The One ◽  
The Buddha ◽  
Scientific Ideas

The Buddha attained enlightenment by renouncing royal life and practicing meditation and yoga to alleviate the sufferings of the people due to illness, old age and death. The one who made the world realize the lofty thought that desire is the cause of suffering. Many of the scientific ideas have been stated during the time of Buddhism which appeared to be centered on his teachings. The main purpose of this article is to show how thoughts are recorded in Kundalakesi.

scholarly journals The Yugapad-Way Of Using Words: How a Linguistic Taboo Became a Crucial Literary Strategy

2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-122
Author(s):  
Tiziana Pontillo
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Word Form ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Single Word ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
Effect Relation ◽  
One To One ◽  
The One ◽  
Unique Relationship

Abstract As Kātyāyana emphasizes while commenting on the ekaśeṣa-rules, words apply per object. Consequently, no word should be capable of conveying more than one object. By contrast not only does paronomasia, the so-called śleṣa, break the one-to-one relation between the śabda- and artha-levels of language; there are also grammatical rules which look like deviations from the naturally expected cause-effect relation between word forms and their meanings. The ekaśeṣa-rule represents one of these exceptions, since some parts of the artha are comprehensible, even without employing the word-form denoting them, such as mātṛ in the dual noun pitarau, meaning ‘mother and father’ rather than ‘the two fathers’. P atañjali already mentions an intriguing option in the use of śabdas, when he notes that a word form can merely convey its primary denotation, such as candra denoting the ‘moon’, or can express something that is ‘like something else’, such as candra conveying the sense of a ‘face like a moon’. These exceptions are reconsidered here within the framework of the “yugapad-expression”, which is how Bhartṛhari defines one of the two language options (the other one being kramaḥ ‘sequence’), an option realised when a single word simultaneously conveys more than one meaning, but an option whose use is discouraged. Technical (ritual and grammatical) speculations on simultaneity as an exception to the bi-unique relationship between a cause and its effect date back to the 2nd to 3rd centuries BC. Nonetheless, grammarians insist on excluding these extreme applications of meaning extension; only the late kāvyālaṃkāraśāstra- authors extol the virtues of the phenomenon. The paper focuses on the trajectory that might have been followed in the intervening changes.

scholarly journals Self-Immolation in Early Indian Buddhism

2020 ◽  
Vol 01 (01) ◽  
pp. 2050006
Author(s):  
HAN-SANG KIM
Keyword(s):  
Strong Sense ◽  
Physical Pain ◽  
Extreme Form ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Loving Kindness ◽  
Indian Buddhism ◽  
Self Immolation ◽  
The Buddha ◽  
Voluntary Termination

Self-immolation refers to ascetic Buddhist practices that include the voluntary termination of one’s life or the offering of parts of one’s body usually by setting oneself ablaze. In both the Northern (Mahāyāna) and Southern (Theravāda) Buddhist traditions, self-immolation has been considered a heroic bodhisattva act to end one’s life with a spiritual motivation and strong sense of determination. In modern times, self-immolation is often used as an extreme form of protest or an act of martyrdom. In early Indian Buddhism, self-immolation was not justifiable for the following reasons: First, self-immolation cuts short one’s opportunity to attain liberation before having made proper use of one’s life to its fullest potential. Second, self-immolation is a form of self-modification or severe asceticism because it causes extreme physical pain and may lead to death. Third, self-immolation is an act motivated by a craving for non-existence (vibhava-taṇhā) and is rooted in the “personality-view” (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) or “ego-view” (atta-diṭṭhi). Lastly, self-immolation goes against the concept of “self-love” (attā-piya) or “self-affection” (atta-kāma), which is considered a necessary prerequisite for expressing “loving-kindness” (mettā) toward other beings. Thus, I can safely say that self-immolation is not in keeping with the original teachings of the Buddha and that self-immolation cannot in any way be recognized as heroic or noble.

scholarly journals Forced labor practices of Indonesian migrant fishing vessels crew on Taiwan-Flagged Ships? A need for cognitive framework transformation

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-182
Author(s):  
Fitri Soulina ◽  
Nadia Yovani
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Forced Labor ◽  
Labor Rights ◽  
Fishing Vessel ◽  
Labor Practices ◽  
Fishing Vessels ◽  
Cognitive Framework ◽  
Labor Exploitation ◽  
Foreign Labor ◽  
The One

The foreign labor market delivers Indonesian workers with low qualifications for work in the informal fisheries sector as a fishing vessel crew (AKP). On the one hand, the use of Indonesian workers assists in increasing the absorption of domestic labor. Still, in real conditions, the workers are confronted with violations practices of labor rights. More than that, in the homestead, migrants' fishing vessel crew experience the repudiation of labor rights and human rights. Based on previous studies mapping, the phenomenon 'labor exploitation' is associated with functional dimensions of policy and regulation and its relation to rational action in the economic context. Those case studies of Taiwanese flagship's fishing vessel crew have not yet caught on to the complexity of continuous practice in Indonesian migrants from recruiting procedures to entirely adhering to the causes of migrants' precariousness. Using institutional analysis, the findings show the dynamics between institutions and actors in the labor market, ignoring important micro aspects to transpose to eliminate occupational practices. Neglect of the social-economic context's cognitive element builds a considerable gap between existing beleid and the resulting transformation. 

scholarly journals Korean Drama Constructing Multiculturalism among Muslim Women Students

Al-Albab ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Okta Nurul Hidayati ◽  
M. Endy Saputro
Keyword(s):  
Women Students ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
The Other ◽  
Korean Culture ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
New Form ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
The One ◽  
Unique Relationship

Abstract This paper aims to understand the unique relationship between Korean drama and the formation of multicultural identity among Muslim women students. On the one hand, as a form of racial activity, watching Korean dramas can establish a new form of identity while at the same time enriching a new perspective of building multicultural sense. On the other hand as a part of Muslim, they can control Korean culture that is incompatible with Islamic doctrine. This paper argues that adopting Korean dramas positively supports students in creating multicultural cultures. These findings may contribute to the formation of cultural diversity within the Islamic context.

Women Entrepreneurs, Global Microfinance, and Development 2.0

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radhika Gajjala ◽  
Dinah Tetteh
Keyword(s):  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Global South ◽  
Labor Rights ◽  
Women's Labor ◽  
Grameen Bank ◽  
Global North ◽  
Women And Girls ◽  
The One

The 1970s brought forth strong movements for the financial empowerment of women and women’s labor rights protections in rural, developing world regions such as India. For instance, 1972 is when the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) was registered as a trade union in India. Its main goals were full employment and self-reliance for women from the unorganized sectors. In the 1970s, several developing world countries saw the rise of microfinance interventions. What started as a public policy strategy and intervention for rural finance in the newly independent India of the 1950s has shaped subsequent patterns for rural credit and microcredit in most of the developing world. For instance, the Bank Dagang Bali (BDB) was established in Bali, Indonesia, in September of 1970, and the Grameen Bank was established in Bangladesh in 1974. Around the same time, the U.S.-based NGO Accion began to give loans in Brazil. The founder of the Grameen Bank, Muhammad Yunus, became a legend and is well known for his belief that women make better borrowers than men because they find ways to repay the loans. As a result, a development model has emerged that focuses on women’s self-empowerment through micro-entrepreneurialism and the promise of microfinance. Simultaneously, in global settings, there emerged a model of “Development 2.0,” which uses Web 2.0 tools and practices to mobilize connectivity, action at a distance, and relational, interpersonal investments through digital and mobile tools. The resulting model of microfinance therefore occurs through Web 2.0 and mobile phone–based technologies and also works to connect women and girls from the Global North (including immigrants) and women and girls from the Global South through movements such as The Girl Effect. What we see here is a paradigm based in a neoliberal market economy framework that mobilizes women’s labor from the Global North and from the Global South in the service of a global digital financial capitalism. This article maps out a literature review that connects the idea of Development 2.0 with the economic and political visibility of the girl child and of the woman as the one who empowers while also still needing to be empowered.

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