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History and Religion

2023-04-02T10:20:26-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Surprising History of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper

Last updated on: April 2, 2023 at 10:20 am By Barbara O'Brien

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Leonardo da Vinci‘s The Last Supper has a surprising history. Even being asked to paint it may have been a surprise to da Vinci. The Duke of Milan Ludovico il Moro originally had commissioned him to produce a grand equestrian statue honoring the Duke’s father, Francesco Sforza. It was to be the largest bronze equestrian statue in the world. And the Duke had acquired 70 tons of bronze to make it happen. The artist prepared meticulously over a period of... Read more

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2023-03-27T11:27:32-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How the Meiji Era Changed Japanese Buddhism

Last updated on: March 27, 2023 at 11:27 am By Barbara O'Brien

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The Meiji Era, which began in the late 19th century, utterly upended Japanese Buddhism. Sweeping changes enacted by the Meiji Emperor, Mutsuhito (1852–1912) had devastating impacts on Buddhism in Japan. Leaders of the various Buddhist schools responded with their own reforms, but in many ways Japanese Buddhism never recovered. First, some historical background. Japan had been ruled by military leaders called shoguns since 1192. For centuries the emperors were figureheads with little real power. But the last shogun resigned in... Read more

Buddhism

Buddhism in Japan

2023-03-27T11:13:29-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Buddhist Nuns of Japan vs. the Patriarchy

Last updated on: March 27, 2023 at 11:13 am By Barbara O'Brien

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The Buddhist nuns of Japan, like their sisters in other parts of Asia, struggled against patriarchy for centuries. There are many ancient tales of women leaders and warriors in Japan, which suggests Japanese culture wasn’t always patriarchal. And as we’ve seen, after Buddhism was introduced to Japan the first monastic ordinations were given to women. Nevertheless, nyonin kinsei―“no admittance to women”―was the rule in Japan from at least the 8th century and several centuries after. This meant that nuns were... Read more

Buddhism

Buddhism in Japan

Women in Religion

2023-03-18T19:00:51-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The First Japanese Buddhist Nuns: A Contentious Story

Last updated on: March 18, 2023 at 7:00 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The first Japanese Buddhist nuns were not welcome in Japan. It’s recorded that three Japanese women were the first people of Japan to receive any sort of Buddhist ordinations, as novice nuns, in the year 584. But Buddhism was a new and controversial religion in Japan. At least one powerful clan, the Mononobe, was against it. In 587, the Mononobe incited a mob to riot and destroy the nuns’ temple. The nuns were publicly defrocked and beaten. Somehow the three... Read more

Buddhism

Buddhism in Japan

Women in Religion

2023-03-16T09:46:05-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Chinese Buddhist Nuns: A History of Perseverance

Last updated on: March 16, 2023 at 9:46 am By Barbara O'Brien

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For centuries the only fully ordained Buddhist nuns anywhere were in east Asia — China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan. The Theravada nuns orders of India and Sri Lanka faded away in the 11th century and were never revived. It appears nuns’ orders never reached Tibet and other parts of Asia until relatively recently. But the Mahayana nuns’ order of east Asia thrived through the centuries to the present day. And the Buddhist establishments in east Asia were no more... Read more

Buddhism

Women in Religion

2023-03-16T09:50:18-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Determined Buddhist Nuns of Sri Lanka

Last updated on: March 16, 2023 at 9:50 am By Barbara O'Brien

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The Buddhist nuns of Sri Lanka have needed determination for there to be nuns at all. The last post, The Buddhist Nun Controversy, explained that Buddhist nuns’ orders died out in southeast Asia, including Sri Lanka, centuries ago. And because of ancient rules that govern the ordinations and training of monks and nuns, for centuries women in most southeast Asian countries were not allowed full ordination because there were no fully ordained nuns to ordain them. To recap: The Buddhism... Read more

Buddhism

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Women in Religion

2023-03-13T11:23:44-05:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Buddhist Nun Controversy

Last updated on: March 13, 2023 at 11:23 am By Barbara O'Brien

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The Buddhist nun controversy stems from the many barriers Buddhist women have faced in Asia. For example, the nuns’ orders of southeast Asia have been extinct for centuries. At the same time, the Buddhist establishment has resisted allowing the orders of nuns to be renewed. This means that many women who wish to live as nuns are denied full ordination. On the other hand, in Taiwan there are more nuns than monks, and the nuns enjoy respect, authority, and full... Read more

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2023-03-06T09:40:42-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Oneida Community: An Experiment in Perfectionism

Last updated on: March 6, 2023 at 9:40 am By Barbara O'Brien

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The United States in the 19th century was a surprising place. Although it was marked by the Victorian era, famous for fuddy-duddiness, it was also a time for exploring mysteries (see, for example, the previous post, “Talking With the Dead in 19th Century America“) and trying on new ideas about culture, society, and religion. And if you’ve not heard much about the Oneida Community of 19th century New York before, prepare to be surprised. The Second Great Awakening, with its... Read more

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Religion in U.S. history

2023-03-06T09:31:58-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Talking With the Dead in 19th Century America

Last updated on: March 6, 2023 at 9:31 am By Barbara O'Brien

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Talking with the dead was all the rage in the United States in much of the 19th century. Famous mediums attracted huge, and paying, audiences who wanted to communicate with their dearly departed. And the late 19th to early 20th centuries may have been the Golden Age of Séances, in both North America and Europe. The reasons for the heightened interest in talking with the dead are complex, but one was the rise of scientific discovery. For example, fossils were... Read more

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2023-02-26T16:11:36-06:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

13th Century Mystics and the Beguines

Last updated on: February 26, 2023 at 4:11 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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Christian mysticism flourished in 13th century Europe. Many of the 13th century mystics were Beguines, whom I wrote about in the last post. Beguines were laywomen who wore habits and lived lives dedicated to charity, chastity, austerity, and piety. But they did so without joining the formal nuns’ orders. This gave them a bit more independence from the patriarchal Church than they would have had as nuns. Many of these mystics are identified today as part of a particular school... Read more

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