Buddhism: 11 Common Misunderstandings and Mistakes People believe many things about Buddhism that simply are incorrect. They think Buddhists want to get enlightened so they can be blissed out all the time. If something bad happens to you, it's because of something you did in a past life. Everybody knows that Buddhists have to be vegetarians. Buddhism Teaches That Nothing Exists Many diatribes are written opposing the Buddhist teaching that nothing exists. However, Buddhism does not teach that nothing exists. The "nothing exists" folklore mostly comes from a misunderstanding of the teaching of anatta and its Mahayana extension, shunyata. Buddhism Teaches We're All One Everyone's heard the joke about what the Buddhist monk said to a hot dog vendor -- "Make me one with everything." In the Maha-nidana Sutta, the Buddha taught that it was incorrect to say that the self is finite, but it is also incorrect to say that the self is infinite. Buddhists Believe in Reincarnation However, there is a Buddhist doctrine of rebirth. Karma Is Fate
Freddie Mercury's family faith: The ancient religion of Zoroastrianism In the Freddie Mercury biopic, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” there’s a scene in which a family member scolds Mercury. “So now the family name is not good enough for you?” “I changed it legally,” Mercury responds. “No looking back.” It might come as a surprise to some that Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara. He came from a Parsi family that had roots in India and he was a Zoroastrian by faith. In the world religion courses I teach at the University of Florida, we discuss Zoroastrianism. Fleeing religious persecution from Muslims in Persia sometime between the seventh and 10th centuries, the Zoroastrians settled in India, where they came to be called “Parsis.” Like Freddie Mercury, they worked to integrate into their new surroundings. A precursor for Christianity? The Zoroastrian faith is one of the world’s oldest religions, one that could date back as far as 1200 B.C. Zoroaster, a prophet who lived in modern-day Iran, is viewed as the founder of Zoroastrianism. Like sugar in milk
Tricking and treating has a history Over the past few decades, Halloween celebrations have gained in popularity, not only with children and families, but with all those fascinated with the spooky and scary. As a scholar of myth and religion in popular culture, I look at Halloween with particular interest – especially the ways in which today’s Halloween tradition came to evolve. A pre-Christian tradition Many practices associated with Halloween have origins in the pre-Christian, or pagan, religion of the Celts, the original inhabitants of the British Isles, as well as parts of France and Spain. The Celts held a feast called Samhain – a celebration of the harvest, the end of summer and the turn of the year. Samhain was separated by six months from Beltane, an observance of the beginning of summer, which took place on May 1 and is now known as May Day. The Celts believed that the veil between the living and the dead was thinner during this time, and that spirits of the dead could walk on Earth. Later influences Halloween today
Religion and refugees are deeply entwined in the US Robert Bowers lashed out at what he believed to be a Jewish plot to bring more refugees and asylum seekers to the U.S. before allegedly murdering 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Bowers’s claim that HIAS, a prominent Jewish humanitarian organization, was bringing migrants from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala northward to commit violence was false. But it is true that many religious communities in the U.S., including American Jews, have long supported refugees and asylum-seeking migrants who arrive in the U.S. In my research on the nonprofits that resettle and assist these newcomers, I’ve found that while religious communities continue to do this work through faith-based nonprofits and individual congregations, there are signs that some white Christians no longer support this mission. Religious advocacy on behalf of refugees The idea of welcoming the stranger is central to Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The sanctuary movement Changing religious politics
Kabbalah Type of Jewish mysticism Kabbalah (Hebrew: קַבָּלָה Qabbālā, literally "reception, tradition"[1][a]) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism.[2] A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal (מְקוּבָּל Məqūbbāl "receiver").[2] The definition of Kabbalah varies according to the tradition and aims of those following it,[3] from its origin in medieval Judaism to its later adaptations in Western esotericism (Christian Kabbalah and Hermetic Qabalah). Jewish Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between the unchanging, eternal God—the mysterious Ein Sof (אֵין סוֹף, "The Infinite")[4][5]—and the mortal, finite universe (God's creation).[2][4] It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism.[2][6] Traditions[edit] Peshat (Hebrew: פשט lit. It is hard to clarify with any degree of certainty the exact concepts within kabbalah. Jewish and non-Jewish Kabbalah[edit] History of Jewish mysticism[edit] E.
The Fairy Faith: An Ancient Indigenous European Religion By Carolyn Emerick Fairies Looking Through A Gothic Arch, by John Anster Fitzgerald – 19th century There are two different meanings to the term “Fairy Faith.” On one hand, it simply refers to the old folkloric belief in fairies, and the practices found therein. This meaning is usually ascribed to the modern Celtic nations of Ireland and Scotland, where belief in fairies lingered long into the modern era. In this sense, it is analogous to other places where belief in fairy-like creatures continued even into the present day, such as in Iceland and even in some Native American or Canadian First Nations traditions. The second meaning is found in the modern neo-pagan community. Origins of Fairy Belief The modern notion of fairy vastly different from that which our ancestors knew, and even antiquated descriptions vary widely. In those times, ancestor worship was a common feature among Indo-European groups. Spirits of the mound are one direct foundation of elf and fairy belief. Fairies and Faith
How a Runaway Nun Helped an Outlaw Monk Change the World By Andrew Curry In terms of marriage prospects, Martin Luther wasn’t necessarily a natural pick. The middle-aged theology professor was known to be loud, argumentative, and judgmental. He was always on the road, came from a common family, and didn’t have enough money to buy a wedding ring. Oh, and the pope himself had compared the German theologian to a wild boar, declared him a heretic, and ordered all of his writings burned. But a noblewoman and former nun named Katharina von Bora saw something in the 42-year-old preacher that captivated her. October 31 marks 500 years since Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of a Wittenberg church, an act that secured his place in history. Luther’s bride was no ordinary woman, particularly for the 16th century. At some point, copies of Luther’s fiery pamphlets attacking celibacy and monastic orders may have inspired Katharina and others to reject their vows and leave the cloister.
Japanese Scroll printed thousands times 700 years before Gutenberg Empress Shōtoku occupied the Japanese throne twice. She ruled first from 749 to 758 C.E. as Empress Kōken, abdicating because she fell into a depression. In 761, following her mother’s death, a Buddhist monk named Dōkyō was brought in to help her. With Dōkyō at her side, she ruled as Empress Shōtoku from 764 to 770. So Empress Shōtoku did something that would reverberate throughout world history: she ordered the printing of one million dhāranī texts. The one million figure was, in the words of John Bidwell, Astor Curator of Printed Books and Bindings at the Morgan Library & Museum, “a notional number” meant to exemplify Shōtoku’s power. In fact, printing has existed since at least the early 700s. Though there are printings dated before the Hyakumantō dhāranī, these other samples, according to Bidwell, “don’t survive the way the thousands of these [Hyakumantō dhāranī scrolls] have survived.” In the case of the Hyakumantō dāranī, an expert craftsman likely cut the woodblock.
Salem Memorializes Those Killed During Witch Trials The 19 men and women who were hanged at Proctor's Ledge during the Salem witch trials 325 years ago have been memorialized at the site of their deaths in Salem, Mass. Stephan Savoia/AP hide caption toggle caption Stephan Savoia/AP The 19 men and women who were hanged at Proctor's Ledge during the Salem witch trials 325 years ago have been memorialized at the site of their deaths in Salem, Mass. The city of Salem, Mass., has opened a memorial to commemorate the people who were convicted and killed during its notorious series of "witch trials" in 1692. The memorial stands at the site where 19 innocent women and men were hanged. Andrea Shea of member station WBUR attended the ceremony at Proctor's Ledge and said Salem residents and descendants of those killed gathered to pay their respects. "We should not be here today. Wednesday's dedication of a memorial honoring those executed during the Salem witch trials drew a crowd to where researchers say was the site of the hangings.
NEW PODCAST: The Shadow Network – BillMoyers.com ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Moyers on Democracy. What is the shadow network behind the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court? Who selected and groomed her for this moment? Who’s financing the campaign to get her confirmed? BILL MOYERS: Welcome. ANNE NELSON: My pleasure. BILL MOYERS: Let me begin with the most current part of the story, which comes just a little bit after your book is published when the conservative movement is facing a very decisive encounter with the very forces it’s been trying to defeat now for 40 years. ANNE NELSON: Well, I think that they consider it a great triumph and a kind of culmination of 40 years of effort. BILL MOYERS: In the early 1970s, right? Read an excerpt ANNE NELSON: We’re going back to the ’70s and even earlier, because he was active on the Barry Goldwater campaign. BILL MOYERS: Paul Weyrich is the man I remember saying– PAUL WEYRICH: I don’t want everybody to vote. ANNE NELSON: That’s right. BILL MOYERS: No, that’s okay.
The Mystic In The Machine – Sam Barlow – Medium The Tao of computation Imagine a black dot on white paper. A visual representation of duality. This is a far from satisfactory situation. This is a good visualisation for contemplating the deceptive intricacy of duality. The fact that our laptops are based upon technology first conceived in a 3000-year-old text from Wei Dynasty China sounds like a tall tale, but this is precisely what happened, as they both utilise the positional system of binary arithmetic to compute data. The title of the I Ching, one of the seminal texts of the Taoists, translates as ‘The Book of Changes.’ The text was a computational technology that for the first time enlisted the elegance of the binary system to communicate myriad subtle and nuanced realities. When humans watch a film, are moved by music on Spotify or design a skyscraper, all of the required information is represented in binary code. The Somethings and Nothings of the I Ching are the universal dualities. Why?
Claire Beckett photographs American converts to Islam in her series, “The Converts.” Copyright Claire Beckett In post–Sept. 11 America, some have—wrongfully—imagined a line between American-ness and Islam. Claire Beckett’s portraits of American converts to the faith complicate that notion by shining a humanizing light on those who’ve experienced both sides of the supposed divide. “I intend for my photographs to open up questions for the viewer, to allow someone seeing this work to think through the issues on their own. Beckett’s series, “The Converts,” which is on display at Carroll and Sons in Boston until June 11, came as a response to the bigotry she observed as the United States waged its war on terror. Some of Beckett’s subjects converted decades ago. The past five years have seen little relief from the sort of prejudice that initially disturbed Beckett. “There is nothing inherently un-American about being Muslim.