Sculpting Humanity

Zen Buddhism is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China, as Chan Buddhism. Zen focuses on spiritual practice and the use of self-discipline, mindfulness, meditation ( zazen ), and dedication to understanding one's own "Buddha nature", in the hopes of attaining enlightenment. In the thirteenth century Zen Buddhism became deeply rooted in Japan and, as with Chan Buddhism, would develop into two main schools: Rinzai and Soto. Despite being distinct schools "Rinzai and Soto were not so much antagonistic rivals as they were different alternatives." (Bresnan 497) Springing from the same root stock these branches of Zen differ in ways that would appeal to different audiences in thirteenth century Japan, perhaps explaining the lack of antagonism. The fundamental differences between Rinzai and Soto includes the social class they appealed to when they became established in Japan and; more importantly, their specific meditative practices and how these practi...

This week while learning about the Silk Road, I ended up obsessively pondering ethics (or lack thereof) in archeology. I attempted to research further, to dig myself out of this negative thought spiral but at this point I doubt I'll be able to walk through a museum without questioning if all of the artifacts on display were obtained nefariously. I guess the best way to explain how I got to this point is to start where I began, the Silk Road.  The Silk Road was made up of numerous trade routes that enabled the flow of goods and ideas between the Middle East, Asia, and Europe from 130 BCE and 1453 CE. Among the many outposts that existed along these routes was Dunhuang, China, which would become a hub for Buddhism along the Silk Road with 15 monasteries by the 10th century. This wasn't unusual since many religions spread along the trade routes but what made this stop exceptional were the caves that Buddhists carved out to serve as places of worship. Dunhuang (Mogao) Caves The inc...

The Period of Warring States was a turbulent time in China's history. As feudal lords fought for power, a large number of philosophies emerged to make sense of life in trying times. Among the most notable of these burgeoning schools of thought were Confucianism and Daoism which, along with Buddhism, would become known as The Three Teachings in ancient China.  Confucius handing a baby Guatama Buddha to the elderly Laozi,  Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=858723 Confucianism and Daoism were both born from the idea that a healthy, thriving society needs to be in harmony with the natural order (for Confucianism that was the natural order of society and human relationships, for Daoism that was the natural order of man's relationship with nature). The two schools also agreed that this ideal required specific kinds of people to see it through. "Like the Confucianists, the Daoists believed that the solution depended on the fashioning of a "new pe...

After Gautama Buddha's death, Buddhism would remain relatively local to India until adopted by King Ashoka during his rule (268-232 BCE). Upon his conversion to Buddhism, Ashoka would become a valuable sponsor for Buddhism and missionary work that spread Buddhism beyond India. One of the most notable accomplishments of this missionary work was the introduction and adoption of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, where Buddhism would strongly take root. After Ashoka's death, royal sponsorship of Buddhism ceased and Buddhism entered a period of decline, with one exception. "Only Theravada and its sister traditions, safely ensconced on the island of Sri Lanka, managed to survive and remain healthy." (Bresnan 251)  Theravada would establish itself as one of Buddhism's great traditions and, through dissatisfaction among some practitioners, would give rise to another great tradition called Mahayana. This post will outline what was happening to Theravada Buddhism that opened the way f...

       The Bhagavad Gita (also referred to as the Gita ) is an incredible piece of Hindu scripture. Consisting of 700 verses, the Gita is a small piece of a the much larger, 200,000 verse epic,  Mahabharata . There is no consensus as to the authorship of the Gita , some attribute the piece to the sage Vyasa (also Veda Vyasa) who is a key character in the Mahabharata. The dating is estimated anywhere between the 5th and 2nd century CE, depending if one believes the Gita was written at the same time as the Mahabharata  or written after and inserted into the larger text. In this post I'll be focusing on the Gita, providing a brief synopsis, my reactions, and a case for why you should consider reading it, if you haven't already. For those of you interested in the Mahabharata,  here's a video (the first in a series) to help introduce you to the massive epic.      The Bhagavad Gita presents itself as a conversation between Arjuna and his chari...

Perspective is a funny thing. Consider a scenario where you have two sources of historical information covering the same topic. What information do they have in common? What information does one source choose to omit or condense that the other source focuses on? Why would there be significant differences between sources? This is what ran through my mind as I discovered more about the incredible Indus Valley Civilization using two main sources: chapter one of  Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought  by Patrick S. Bresnan and the video  Indus: The Unvoiced Civilization.  In this post I’ll briefly compare and contrast how Bresnan and  Indus  explored the Indus Valley people and consider why the two sources would vary. The achievements of the Indus Valley Civilization are astounding. Both Bresnan and Indus outlined the sophisticated and complex structures of the cities built by the Indus Valley people. These cities were built using a gri...