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History and Religion

2023-02-27T11:06:55-06:00

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 Beguines: Independent Holy Women of the Middle Ages

Last updated on: February 27, 2023 at 11:06 am By Barbara O'Brien

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Beguines were women of medieval Europe — and later — who dedicated themselves to charity, chastity, poverty, and piety. They wore habits and usually lived together in communities called béguinages. But they were not nuns. They did not join any official religious order of the Catholic Church, and they were free to walk away from the religious life whenever they wished. The origin of the name Beguine has been lost. Beguines were part of a larger religious movement of the... Read more

Contemplative

Catholic

Women in Religion

2023-02-19T16:56:54-06:00

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 Mirror of Simple Souls

Last updated on: February 19, 2023 at 4:56 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The Mirror of Simple Souls is a classic work of medieval Christian mysticism that was lost for centuries. The book was originally written in Old French in about 1290 or so, possibly a few years later. It became popular and was translated into several languages. But Church authorities disapproved of it. The Inquisition burned every copy it could find and burned the author at the stake as well. The book was forgotten. But a few translations, copied without the author’s... Read more

Catholic

2023-02-19T11:03:36-06:00

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.

How Hercules Reached Japan

Last updated on: February 19, 2023 at 11:03 am By Barbara O'Brien

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Heracles was a hero of ancient Greek mythology. He’s better known to most of us by his Roman name, Hercules. Hercules was a favorite subject of Greek and Roman art. His muscular likeness was so widespread in the ancient world that it influenced Buddhist temple art in far-away China and Japan. This is the story of how Hercules reached Japan. This story begins with Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE), king of Macedonia. Before Alexander was born, Macedonia had conquered Greece... Read more

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Buddhism

Religious Art

Buddhism

Religious Art and Music

2023-02-13T10:48:56-06:00

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.

Tibet’s Declaration of Independence and the Thirteenth Dalai Lama

Last updated on: February 13, 2023 at 10:48 am By Barbara O'Brien

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Tibet’s declaration of independence is a statement released by His Holiness the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso (1876–1933), on February 13, 1913. In this statement the Dalai Lama said that Tibet’s long-standing relationship with China had been one of priest and patron, between Tibetan Buddhism and the succession of Qing emperors, not with the nation of China. With the fall of China’s last imperial dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China, “the patron-priest relationship has faded like a... Read more

Buddhism

Dalai Lama

Tibetan Buddhism

2023-02-13T21:10:58-06:00

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.

When Britain Invaded Tibet

Last updated on: February 13, 2023 at 9:10 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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Britain invaded Tibet in 1903. The British did not intend to conquer Tibet but to warn Russia to stay out of it. British troops left Tibet in September 1904, believing they had made their point. But though this may be just a footnote of history, I say it’s a story worth telling. It reveals much about human nature, hubris, greed, confirmation bias, and the state of the world during a turbulent time. The invasion was not Tibet’s first encounter with... Read more

Buddhism

The Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

Tibetan Buddhism

2023-02-09T11:51:21-06:00

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 Golden Urn and the Succession of Dalai Lamas

Last updated on: February 9, 2023 at 11:51 am By Barbara O'Brien

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The government of China is in possession of a particular golden urn. This urn, it is alleged, is essential to choosing the tulku, or rebirth, of a Dalai Lama. You may be hearing a lot about the urn within the next few years. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, is 87 years old. With all sincere wishes for his good health and long life, it must be acknowledged that he doesn’t have a lot of years left. And... Read more

Buddhism

The Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

Religion and current events

Tibetan Buddhism

2023-02-01T10:01:22-06:00

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.

China’s Claim to Tibet and the Seventh Dalai Lama

Last updated on: February 1, 2023 at 10:01 am By Barbara O'Brien

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China’s claim to Tibet as a territory of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is an ongoing controversy. According to China, the invasion of Tibet by PRC troops in 1950 was not an invasion but a liberation. China and Tibet have been one nation since the 13th century, according to China. As you might have heard, Tibetans tend to see things differently. A large part of China’s claim to Tibet involves the lineage of Dalai Lamas. The last post, on... Read more

Buddhism

The Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

Religion and current events

Tibetan Buddhism

2023-01-28T10:48:56-06:00

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 Sixth Dalai Lama’s Short and Tragic Life

Last updated on: January 28, 2023 at 10:48 am By Barbara O'Brien

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The Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso (1683–1706) didn’t want the job. He was enthroned as the Dalai Lama at age 16, but he wanted only to be a teenager. He renounced monastic vows and preferred to spend evenings in taverns with his friends to studying Buddhist philosophy. Today he is sometimes called the Playboy Dalai Lama. But the Sixth Dalai Lama’s life story is more of a tragedy than a joke. The existence of the Sixth Dalai Lama was a... Read more

Buddhism

The Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama

Tibetan Buddhism

2023-01-30T14:35:55-06:00

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.

How the Fifth Dalai Lama Became Ruler of Tibet

Last updated on: January 30, 2023 at 2:35 pm By Barbara O'Brien

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The Fifth Dalai Lama, His Holiness Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682), was the first Dalai Lama to become the highest spiritual and political leader of Tibet. He is remembered by Tibetans as the Great Fifth. The boy who would be the Fifth Dalai Lama was born into a wealthy and aristocratic family in central Tibet. He also was born into a time of instability. Tibet had only recently been reunited after a period of fracturing, and the new King had ordered... Read more

Buddhism

Dalai Lama

Tibetan Buddhism

2023-01-22T09:49:17-06:00

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.

When U.S. Christian Denominations Split Over Slavery

Last updated on: January 22, 2023 at 9:49 am By Barbara O'Brien

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In the years before the U.S. Civil War, three major Christian denominations split over slavery. These were the Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist. In all three denominations disagreements over the morality of slavery began in the 1830s, and in the 1840s and 1850s factions of all three denominations left to form separate groups. However, the circumstances that caused the splits were unique to each denomination. Some background: The Atlantic slave trade that took people from Africa to be enslaved in the... Read more

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