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URL
Title/Description
Author/Host
Area
Keywords
Format
Access
Content
Other Notes
Religious Tradition
https://treasuryoflives.org/institution/Women

བུད་མེད། Women: Biographies (n.d.)

The Treasury of Lives
Tibet
Tibetan Buddhism
life stories
female Buddhist practitioners
biographies
Samding Dorje Pakmo
Chokyi Dronma
Kunga Sangmo
Trimalo
Semarkar
Sera Khandro
Shukseb Ani
Sonam Peldren
Tamdrin Lhamo
Ayu Khandro
Tseten Chodzom
Pema Trinle
Tswewang Lhamo
Tsunma Yulha
Wencheng Kongcho
Yangchen Dolma
Yeshe Tsogyal
Rinchen Peldzom
Nangsa Wobum
Nene Metokma
Kunzang Chokyi Dolma
Drigung Khandro Choden Zangmo
Chonyi Wangmo
Kunga Trinle Wangmo
Jomo Menmo
Tare Lhamo
Machik Jobum
Chime Tenpai Nyima
Machik Labdron
Machik Ongjo
Machik Zhama
Mandarava
Menjangma
Mingyur Peldron
Yuthok Dorje Yudon
website
bibliography
images
text
open access
scholarly
primary
Biographies of female Tibetan Buddhist figures between the 7th and 20th centuries. The individual entries include: text, images, maps, bibliographies
Buddhism
https://arrow-journal.org/buddhism-feminism/

Special Issue: Buddhism & Feminism (2016)

The Arrow Journal
North America
Buddhism and feminism
Buddhism and gender
Buddhism in the West
pdf
article
open access
scholarly
The Arrow Journal explores the relationship among contemplative practice, politics, and activism. This issue was published in 2016 as Special Issue: Buddhism & Feminism. It includes articles by Alexis Shotwell, Holly Gayley, Sara E. Lewis and Judith Simmer-Brown. The issue can be downloaded for free (you need to scroll down) but the website suggests a donation of US$10.
Buddhism
https://lhakardiaries.com/2017/05/24/decolonial-intersectional-interventions-against-neoliberal-feminism-reflections-on-tibetan-feminisms/

Decolonial & Intersectional Interventions against (Neo)Liberal Feminism: Reflections on Tibetan Feminisms (2017)

Dawa Lokyitsang
Tibet
North America
Tibetan feminisms
intersectionality
decolonization
assemblage
(neo)liberal feminism
native feminist theories
blog
article
open access
scholarly
About the blog: "Lhakar Diaries is a blog dedicated to Lhakar, or, "White Wednesday," a non-cooperation movement in Tibet based on non-violent strategy, where ordinary men and women actively resist China's occupation by supporting Tibetan businesses, eat Tibetan food, wear Tibetan clothing, speak Tibetan language and celebrate the Tibetan identity. We are a team of young Tibetans around the globe, highlighting these examples of civil resistance inside Tibet. Lhakar Diaries serves as a platform t
Buddhism
https://vimeo.com/334744179

Ama Adhe (2019)

Latse's Oral History Archive
Tibet
Oral history
traditional marriage in Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan women
Tibetan culture
hair
material culture
Tibetan language
video
open access
primary
Video (2:55). A short video clip of Ama Adhe talking about how to distinguish married from unmarried women in Kham. Tibetan and English subtitles. This clip is provided by Latse's Oral History Archive, which has accumulated 300 interviews, documenting local and individual histories and religious, artistic, and cultural practices (for the most part currently not available online).
Buddhism
https://highpeakspureearth.com/a-tibetan-woman-that-you-rarely-see-in-films-by-melong-art/

"A Tibetan Woman That You Rarely See in Films" By Melong Art (2018)

High Peaks Pure Earth
Tibet
Tibetan women
Tibetan girls
continuity and change
tradition and modernity
Tibetan Buddhism
video
interview
website
text
open access
public discourse
Transcribed interview text & documentary trailer (2:59). The website High Peaks Pure Earth has translated an interview with the Tibetan director Tashi Chophel. Tashi Chophel's documentary called “Gangla Metok” was screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival in June 2017. Filmed in Amdo and in Xining, the film puts a spotlight on the changing roles and aspirations of Tibetan women. / The trailer is at the very bottom of the article; Tibetan with Chinese and English subtitles. Quote from
Buddhism
http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/preliminary-practices-bloody-knees-calloused-palms-and-transformative-nature-womens-labor

Preliminary Practices: Bloody Knees, Calloused Palms and the Transformative Nature of Women’s Labor (2020)

Kati Fitzgerald
Tibet
Women
nuns
female lay practitioners
preliminary practices
ngöndro (Tib. sngon 'gro)
body
merit
domestic labor
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhist non-monastic practitioner
video
open access
scholarly
Video (35:08); the talk includes photos, slides, charts, etc. Description of Kati Fitzgerald's talk: "In this paper, I explore the Preliminary Practices of a specific group of Tibetan Buddhist women in Bongma 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 m
Buddhism
https://www.lionsroar.com/the-sakyadhita-movement/

The Sakyadhita Movement (2019)

Judith Hertog
Transnational
Feminism
contemporary Buddhism
text
open access
public discourse
Article about the contemporary Sakyadhita movement (international association of Buddhist women) and their annual meetings.
Buddhism
https://insightmyanmar.org/complete-shows/2020/6/9/episode-11-covid-19-in-myanmar-womens-edition

Episode 11, COVID-19 in Myanmar: Women's Edition (2020)

Insight Myanmar
Myanmar
Female practitioners
Myanmar
pandemic
contemporary Buddhism
podcast
open access
primary
Podcast (1:34). Podcast on European women practitioners' experiences in Myanmar and abroad during Covid-19. From website: "In this second episode of our ongoing series about COVID-19 in Myanmar, we present the Women’s Edition. In this show, we hear from four female practitioners who describe their views and thoughts on the ongoing crisis."
Buddhism
https://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/50486/Sky-Dancer

Sky Dancer (2010)

Jody Kemmerer
Tibet
Tibetan Buddhism
life stories
Tibetan Buddhist non-monastic practitioner (Tib. sngags pa/mo)
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
video
open access
primary
public discourse
Video (45:20). "Sky Dancer" (2010) is a film about the Tibetan Buddhism female master Khandro Kunzang Wangmo. Directed by Jody Kemmerer. Synopsis: "Sky Dancer" is a film about the daily life and teachings of one of Tibetan Buddhism's great female masters. In a world where ethnic and political tensions are driving people apart, we are transported to a community where Chinese and Tibetan students study together and are treated as equals. Khandroma Kunzang Wangmo the matriarch and spiritual leader
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgPbXaMki78&ab_channel=UniversityoftheWest

Sangyum Kamala Rinpoche "Enlightened Women of Buddhism" (2018)

University of the West
North America
Tibetan Buddhism
non-monastic practitioner (Tib. sngags pa/mo)
yoginī/yogini
dharma teaching
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
dharma talk
Nyingmapa
Vajrayāna
video
open access
primary
public discourse
Video (2:17:42). Sangyum Kamala Rinpoche is known as the consort of highly renowned Tibetan Buddhist master Kyabjé Chatral Rinpoche (who passed away in 2015). Short bio on Rigpawiki: https://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Sangyum_Kamala
Buddhism
https://audiodharma.org/teacher/253/

Scholarly dharma talks by American Buddhist feminist scholar of religion Rita Gross (2015, 2014)

Rita Gross
North America
(Western) Tibetan Buddhist practitioner
scholar-practitioner
study of religion
gender
gender and enlightenment
Vajrayāna
audio
open access
primary
Audio files. There are two talks listed on this website: (1) How to Internalize Dharma (42mins) and (2) How Clinging to Gender Identity Subverts Enlightenment (45:10). There are also links to two series, which are listed as a separate source. About the speaker: Rita Gross has been studying, practicing and teaching Vajrayana for forty years. She is internationally known for her innovative work on gender and religion. She also has extensive training and experience as a professor of comparative st
Buddhism
https://audiodharma.org/series/253/talk/4577/

The Women around the Buddha: New Perspectives on Early Buddhist History and Modern Practice (2014)

Rita Gross
North America
(Western) Tibetan Buddhist practitioner
scholar-practitioner
study of religion
gender
early Buddhist history
Buddha and women
gender in early Buddhism
storytelling
feminst scholar
audio
open access
primary
public discourse
Audio files (each is 1-2hrs) / Part 1 of the series starts at minute 8. Description from the website: "Presented by Rita M. Gross Early Buddhist history and the legendary lives of Siddartha Gautama are important for and fascinating to Buddhists of all orientations. However, in many accounts, the stories of the women central to the Buddha, especially his foster-mother and his wife, are obscured or forgotten. A great deal of Buddhist story-telling has grown to fill out our impressions about the li
Buddhism
https://audiodharma.org/series/253/talk/5461/

Introduction to Vajrayana Buddhism: For those unfamiliar with it - theory and practice (2015)

Rita Gross
North America
(Western) Tibetan Buddhist practitioner
scholar-practitioner
study of religion
Vajrayāna
introduction to Vajrayāna
feminist scholar
Buddhism
audio
open access
primary
public discourse
Audio files (each >2hrs). Description from the website: "In this daylong workshop, scholar-practitioner Rita M. Gross presented an introduction to Vajrayana – the form of Buddhism most strongly associated with the Buddhism of Tibet. The day was meant for those curious about this valuable form of Buddhism but know little about it. She explained both those aspects of Vajrayana Buddhism that most distinguish it from other forms of Buddhism and its underlying similarity with better-known forms of Bu
Buddhism
https://emergencemagazine.org/story/radical-dharma/

Radical Dharma An Interview with angel Kyodo williams (n.d.)

angel Kyodo williams
North America
(Western) Zen Buddhism
Zen priest
female Black Buddhist teacher
spiritual crisis
social crisis
inter-faith communication
interview
difference
queer
America
podcast
open access
public discourse
Podcast (38:52). From the website: "In this in-depth interview, Reverend angel Kyodo williams reflects on our widespread crisis of story, the failure of institutional religions to offer a new way forward, and her philosophy of Radical Dharma—a path to individual and collective liberation."
Buddhism
https://dipama.com/

Dipa Ma (n.d.)

Amy Schmidt
Myanmar
India
North America
Theravāda
Vipassana
meditation
Buddhism in the West
female master
female teacher
Bengal
Myanmar/Burma
India
America
householder life
Theravada
website
open access
primary
Website with a compilation of sources about the female Buddhist master Dipa Ma (dharma talks, short videos, photos, etc.). About Dipa Ma: "Dipa Ma’s influence has been widely felt in the West, in part due to her relationship with the three founders of the Insight Meditation Society. She was a primary teacher of Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg, as well as one of Jack Kornfield’s teachers." (Quote taken from Amy Schmidt & Sara Jenkins essay "Who was Dipa Ma?" found under https://www.lionsroar
Buddhism
https://www.windhorsepublications.com/an-interview-with-amy-schmidt-author-of-dipa-ma-the-life-and-legacy-of-a-buddhist-master/

An interview with Amy Schmidt, author of ‘Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master’ (2012)

Amy Schmidt; Windhorse Publications
North America
Theravāda
Vipassana
meditation
Buddhism in the West
female master
female teacher
feminism
storytelling
website
open access
public discourse
Amy Schmidt is a Vipassana teacher. The interview is brief but helps to contextualize the life of Dipa Ma and opens up avenues for further discussion; e.g. "I think Dipa Ma was an especially powerful role model for Indian women because she lived at a time when there weren’t many female meditation masters out there, and there were a lot of ‘no’s’ around women in her culture. And she walked right through all the ‘no’s’ – she just ignored them. "
Buddhism
https://www.elizabethmattisnamgyel.com/

Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel (n.d.)

Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel
North America
Buddhism in the West
female teacher
female master
Tibetan Buddhism
yoginī/yogini
dharma teaching
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
website
open access
primary
Personal website. About: "Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel has studied and practiced the Buddhadharma for 35 years under the guidance of her teacher and husband Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. She is the retreat master of Samten Ling in Crestone, Colorado and has spent over six years in retreat. She holds a degree in anthropology and an M.A. in Buddhist Studies. She teaches throughout the U.S., Australia, and Europe." Note: There is also an option to ask Elizabeth quesions via an online form: https://www.eliz
Buddhism
https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2020/01/women-in-buddhism-at-the-time-of-the-buddha.html

Women in Buddhism at the time of the Buddha (2020)

British Library
Myanmar
UK
Women and the life of the Buddha
Myanmar/Burma
manuscripts
illustrations
Buddhism
blog
images
manuscript
open access
public discourse
From the website: "The Canon of Buddhist teachings in Pali, called the Tipitaka, records the practice of loving kindness taught by the Buddha, directed at all human beings. This blog post recalls episodes from the Life of the Buddha highlighting the role of women in Buddhism at the time of the historical Buddha Gotama, with illustrations from Burmese manuscripts."
Buddhism
https://www.bl.uk/sacred-texts/articles/women-in-theravada-buddhism

Women in Theravada Buddhism (2019)

Ajahn Sister Sundara
North America
UK
Theravāda
Theravada
nuns
Buddhism in the West
gender equality
nun orders
article
images
open access
primary
public discourse
From the website: "Writing from the perspective of the Theravāda tradition, Ajahn Sister Sundara explores the role of women in Buddhism, in particular the role of Buddhist nuns."
Buddhism
https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/bhikkhuni-patimokkha

19th century manuscript: Bhikkhuni Patimokkha (full title: Bhikkhupātimokkha and Bhikkhunīpātimokkha) / Collection of rules for Buddhist nuns (n.d.)

British Library
Myanmar
UK
Manuscript
Pāli
rules for nuns
nuns
Buddhism
manuscript
images
website
open access
primary
About the manuscript: "The Bhikkhuni Patimokkha contains the full set of the rules of monastic discipline to be observed by Buddhist nuns. The word ‘patimokkha’ refers to the two sets of codified rules that govern the monks’ and nuns’ lives. In contrast to the 227 rules for monks, there are 311 rules for nuns in the Vinaya Pitaka."
Buddhism
https://cutt.ly/Kgdvxrw

Brief tour of "Maison Alexandra David-Néel" (2020)

Maison Alexandra David-Néel
France
Alexandra David-Neél
Tibetan Buddhism
places
emplacement
memory
Buddhism in the West
museum culture
material religion
early Buddhist studies
female teacher
female master
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
video
open access
public discourse
Museum tour (01:30). This place is also known as "Samten Dzong," it is where Alexandra David-Néel and Yongden lived around 1946. It is now a museum with a garden and located in Digne-les-Bains, France. The tour offers interesting impressions of some of Alexandra-David Neéls belongings, surrounds and memorabilia. The museum has a website, which currently does not work (https://www.alexandra-david-neel.fr/en/home/). It also maintains an Instagram account that provides photos of some of the objects
Buddhism
https://vimeo.com/37114392

The Freedom of being a Buddhist Nun (2011)

Planetary Collective
UK
Tibetan Buddhism
nun
Buddhism in the West
Western Tibetan Buddhist nun
video
open access
primary
Video (07:19). About this short documentary documentary: "This is a short film about the Tibetan tradition English nun Ani Chudrun, who now lives an ascetic life near a forest in Sussex, England. Previously a successful presenter on Top Gear, a BBC TV program about cars and driving, she gave it up after a trip to Kathmandu, where she first saw a famous, and very haunting, photo of the Karmapa as a young boy. She decided to go and ask him the right questions, and although we don't learn what they
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLdwCuEoZ_6l55Y4ieWbH6G0JBxj_O3tlj&v=GvzKfwF5vDk&ab_channel=BodhicittaFoundation

Life in Red - A Journey from Sydney Suburbs to Nagpur Slums (2016)

Bodhicitta Foundation
Australia
India
Ambedkar
caste system
Dalits
untouchability
India
Maharashtra
Nagpur
patriarchy
equal human rights
Tibetan Buddhism
nun
Western Tibetan Buddhist nun
socially engaged Buddhism
Buddhist charity organisation
compassionate action
bodhisattva
video
open access
primary
Video (11:33). Description: "Ayya Yeshe, an Australian Buddhist nun, working in slums of Nagpur, India, with Dalits (ex untouchables), speaks about her work and life. In this process, she also unveils many unspoken issues within Tibetan Buddhist structure." Link to Ayya Yeshe's foundation: https://bodhicitta-vihara.com/ (From the website: "We are a grassroots Buddhist charity empowering some of the poorest and most oppressed communities in the world to break the cycle of poverty and oppression."
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZn4pQK9Gzw&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=TibetanNuns

Life of Tibetan Buddhist nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery near Dharamsala (2016)

Tibetan Nuns
India
Tibetan Buddhist nuns
India
nunnery
life in a nunnery
Buddhism
Vajrayāna
video
open access
primary
Video (17:47). Description: "Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute is a non-sectarian nunnery located in the Kangra valley near Dharamsala, northern India. Officially inaugurated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on December 8, 2005, the nunnery is fully funded by the Tibetan Nuns Project and was the first institute dedicated specifically to higher Buddhist education for Tibetan Buddhist nuns from all traditions."
Buddhism
https://www.en.transtibmed.ethnologie.uni-muenchen.de/survey/index.html

Preservation and Transfer of the Knowledge of Tibetan Medicine: Indoctrination and abuse in international Buddhist groups / Diagnosis and treatment of mental diseases in Tibetan medicine / Focus on the treatment of trauma and depression / Self-reference and emotion regulation as processes in transdiagnostic approaches in psychotherapy (n.d.)

Miriam Anders
n.a.
Indoctrination and abuse in international Buddhist groups
mental health
Tibetan medicine
diagnosis and treatment of mental diseases in Tibetan medicine
trauma
depression
questionnaire
wind (rlung) disease
Tibetan Buddhism
sexual misconduct
Buddhism in the West
survey
Vajrayāna
website
research project
open access
scholarly
The website contains a wealth of information, with many of the menus offering submenus. It is best to take time looking at everything. Note: people affected by indoctrination, manipulation and abuse in Buddhist groups can (anonymously) participate in surveys. Click on menu "Survey." Description: Miriam Anders' research project at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München investigates manipulation and abuse in Buddhism with a focus on mental health and mental healthcare. Project description: 1
Buddhism
https://newbooksnetwork.com/sarah-h-jacoby-love-and-liberation-autobiographical-writings-of-the-tibetan-buddhist-visionary-sera-khandro-columbia-up-2014/

Love and Liberation: Autobiographical Writings of the Tibetan Buddhist Visionary Sera Khandro (2014)

Sarah Jacoby
North America
Tibet
Female teacher
female master
Tibetan Buddhism
yoginī/yogini
dharma teaching
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
autobiography (Tib. rnam thar)
lay woman
religious identity
treasure teachings
terton (Tib. gter ston)
visionary revelation
biography
Vajrayāna
audio
interview
text
open access
scholarly
Text und audio interview (1:08:53). From the website: "Jacoby’s study is based in large part on two previously unexamined sources: a biography that Sera Khandro wrote of her male teacher, and Sera Khandro’s own autobiography. There are very few pre-1950s’ Tibetan primary sources authored by women, and these two documents allow Jacoby a unique view of a period usually seen through male eyes. In her discussion of Sera Khandro’s writings, Jacoby locates the aforementioned autobiography in the cont
Buddhism
https://hds.harvard.edu/news/2019/10/29/attending-to-animals#

Attending to Animals (2019)

Janet Gyatso
North America
Animals
compassion
ethics of perception
interview
text
open access
public discourse
From the website: "Gyatso’s new project draws on her lifelong study of Buddhism to consider our ethics toward animals from a “post-human” perspective. She shared her thoughts on this work and a wide range of contemporary issues, including factory farming, climate change, and whether genetic engineers ought to turn tigers into vegetarians." Prof. Gyatso's new project is not particularly about animals in the context of Buddhism, but given her background, there clearly is an influence from Buddhist
Buddhism
https://rsn.aarweb.org/spotlight-on/teaching/contemplative-pedagogy/reading-fresh-mind

Reading with a Fresh Mind: Contemplative Reading Exercise (2019)

Judith Simmer-Brown
North America
Contemplative pedagogy
reading exercise
classroom
sacred text
website
pedagogy
reading exercise
open access
scholarly
From the website: "Introducing the sacred texts of various religious traditions has been a staple in my undergraduate courses over the years. The purpose of the exercise is to encourage students to animate their personal encounter with the text as part of the learning process. It is also encouragement to study the cultural and religious context of a text with the quality of direct encounter as the ground."
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrj-E3oEYdc&ab_channel=StudyBuddhism

Women in Buddhist Texts (2017)

Khandro Rinpoche
North America
Women in Buddhist texts
Tibetan Buddhism
discrimination
Vajrayāna
Buddhist nun
dharma teaching
female teacher
female master
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
video
open access
public discourse
primary
Video (03:47). Description: "Mindrolling Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche talks about how women have been portrayed in Buddhist texts throughout history, and how to deal with things we might not agree with."
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RKrhktBg3E&ab_channel=StudyBuddhism

The Role of Women in Buddhism (2016)

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
North America
Tibetan Buddhism
Buddhist nun
dharma teaching
Vajrayāna
female teacher
female master
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
full ordination
Western Tibetan Buddhist nun
video
open access
public discourse
primary
Video (05:06). Description: "The role and status of women in religion is often a controversial subject. Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo looks at the position of women in Buddhism, both from an historical and a current perspective."
Buddhism
https://wisdomexperience.org/wisdom-podcast/ani-choying-drolma/

A Voice for Nepalese Buddhist Nuns (2018)

Ani Choying Drolma
Nepal
Nepalese Buddhist nun
Nepal
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
singer
gender discrimination
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
singing and meditation
podcast
interview
open access
public discourse
primary
Podcast (50:04). Description: "In this episode of the Wisdom Podcast, Daniel Aitken speaks with Ani Choying Drolma, Tibetan Buddhist nun from Nepal and internationally renowned singer of both traditional and contemporary Tibetan song. Ani-la is also founder of multiple nonprofits in Nepal, such as the Arya Tara School, which promotes the equality, education, and welfare of Nepalese Buddhist nuns."
Buddhism
https://objectlessonsfromtibetblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/27/tibetan-waxworks-of-the-living-and-the-dead/

Tibetan Waxworks of the Living and the Dead (2020)

Trine Brox
Tibet
China
Material culture
waxworks
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
statues
Buddhist objects
sacred objects
death
dead
Tibet
China
materiality
article
images
open access
scholarly
public discourse
From the website: "My research explores different Tibetan waxworks (in Kham and Chengdu in China) and how people discover, desire, produce, acquire, and engage with waxworks of the living and the dead – all of which are topics for future articles. In this article, I introduce the waxwork as a new medium of Buddhist materiality, and I present one assemblage of a deceased religious authority and its living maker."
Buddhism
https://objectlessonsfromtibetblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/10/collaboration-around-prince-peters-tibetan-collection/

Collaboration around Prince Peter’s Tibetan collection (2017)

Trine Brox, Miriam Koktvedgaard
Denmark
Tibet
Museum
archive
collection
materiality
material culture
objects
Tibet
Tibetan Buddhism
Kalimpong
Knowledge Recovery
Museum Collections
National Museum of Denmark
Prince Peter
blog
images
open access
public discourse
From the website: "In this short blog post, we want to share how we work with the collections and archives with our students, particularly the importance of experiencing the materiality of the objects."
Buddhism
https://objectlessonsfromtibetblog.wordpress.com/2020/06/10/29-july-1937-statue-of-jetsun-dolma/

29 July 1937: Statue of Jetsun Dölma (2020)

Emma Martin
Transnational
Object biography
colonialism
material culture
materiality
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibet
Jetsun Dolma
Green Tara
statue
image
Mongolia
British-Tibet relations
Charles Alfred Bell
sacred objects
blog
images
open access
public discourse
From the website: "With this post I want to highlight how one extremely well networked object reveals a set of relations that connect Tibetan aristocrats to British colonial officers, mountain climbers, and Mongolian lamas. It also traces out a map of entanglements that begins with a conversation in southern England and concludes in New York, but not before making connections in Lhasa, Beijing, Manchuria and Liverpool."
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6gBq7ingBY&ab_channel=TheBuddhistSociety

Thangka Conservation at The Buddhist Society (2018)

Ann Shaftel
North America
thangka (Tib. thang ka)
painting
textile
materiality
material objects
conservation
preservation
presentation
art conservation
sacred objects
hertiage preservation
scroll painting
Tibetan Buddhism
video
open access
public discourse
Video (06:43). This brief talk features a thangka examination and elaborates on the importance of thangka preservation. The difference between the work of conservators and art historians is addressed. For more information about Ann Shaftel see the article "Thangka Treatments: Forty Years Hindsight by Ann Shaftel" (https://www.iiconservation.org/node/7169)
Buddhism
https://cjbuddhist.wordpress.com/2019/10/29/blog-religion-and-politics-in-bhutan-an-interview-with-dagmar-schwerk/

Religion and Politics in Bhutan: An Interview with Dagmar Schwerk (CJBS) (2019)

Dagmar Schwerk
Bhutan
Bhutan
Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan
governance
secularity
mahāmudrā
religion
politics
Buddhism
Vajrayāna
text
interview
open access
public discourse
About the interview: "Drawing Lines in a Maṇḍala: A Sketch of Boundaries Between Religion and Politics in Bhutan” was published in August 2019. I had an opportunity to chat with Dagmar Schwerk about the research, the Kolleg-Forschergruppe “Multiple Secularities – Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities” project, her upcoming monograph and more."
Buddhism
https://th.boell.org/en/2016/01/05/i-am-first-buddhist-second-feminist

I am first a Buddhist, second a feminist (2016)

Dhammananda Bhikkhunī
Thailand
Thai Theravada nun
Theravāda Buddhism
abbess
female ordination
scholar-nun
Thailand
bhikkhunī
Supreme Sangha Council
Thai feminists
feminism
text
interview
open access
primary
public discourse
From the website: "Dhammananda Bhikkhunī, born as Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, is a renowned scholar in Buddhist studies and became the first Thai Theravada nun after she received her full ordination in Sri Lanka in 2003. Today she is the Abbess of Wat Songdhammakalyani, a monastery in Nakhon Pathom, roughly one hour west of Bangkok, where she teaches and carries out temporary and full ordinations for women. Srijula Yongstar and Florian Reinold met her for an interview at her monastery in July 2015."
Buddhism
https://www.jcms-journal.com/articles/10.5334/jcms.1021207/

Reflections Around the Conservation of Sacred Thangkas (2013)

Sabine Cotte
Australia
Tibet
thangka (Tib. thang ka)
painting
textile
materiality
material objects
conservation
preservation
presentation
art conservation
sacred objects
hertiage preservation
scroll painting
Tibetan Buddhism
article
images
open access
scholarly
Excellent introductory text to the subject by Sabine Cotte, a French-Australian private conservator.
Buddhism
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/an-interview-with-birgit-kellner-on-the-role-of-indian-manuscripts-in-the-history-of-tibetan-buddhism?fbclid=IwAR1tkdqr3HepHmKQ-8NgxMRFw0Rf1RR1UvmEA6RLfjbKrSf7HSwU3cnQRME#.XtUhYe8beYY.facebook

An Interview with Birgit Kellner on the Role of Indian Manuscripts in the History of Tibetan Buddhism (2020)

Birgit Kellner
Tibet
Indian manuscripts
Tibetan Buddhism
Indo-Tibetan Buddhism
Sanskrit manuscripts in Tibet
transmission/dissemination of Indian Buddhism to Tibet
text
interview
open access
public discourse
"Professor Birgit Kellner was the keynote speaker at the two-day Unlocking Buddhist Heritage conference at the British Library in London in February. Since 2015, Prof. Kellner has served as director at the Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Heidelberg, a corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and a vice pres
Buddhism
http://hyolmoheritage.com/

Hyolmo Heritage Project: The history, culture and religion of a Himalayan hidden land (n.d.)

Zsóka Gelle
Nepal
Nepal
Helambu
Hyolmo
heritage preservation
Tibetan Buddhism
Bon
Bön
earthquake
memory
website
images
interview
research project
open access
primary
public discourse
Project website (interviews, photos, etc.). About the project: "When the earthquake hit Nepal in 2015, most of the Hyolmo villages were destroyed. I started the project with the help of Khyentse Foundation in 2017 to preserve Hyolmo culture and create a platform where memories can be shared. Three members of the project recorded interviews in Hyolmo language (and a few in Nepali and Tibetan) on Buddhist practice, history, Bon tradition, pilgrimage, local art activities and memories of the past.
Buddhism
http://bodhitv.tv/program-video/dr-junu-basukala/

Dr. Junu Basukala on Buddhist art and culture (n.d.)

Junu Basukala
Nepal
Newar Buddhism
Nepali language
Nepal
art
paubha
scroll painting
Kathmandu
mural
Vajrayāna
video
interview
open access
primary
public discourse
Video/interview in Nepali w/o subtitles (30:17). Description: "Bharat Shakya talks with Dr. Junu Basukala on Buddhist art and culture. She talks about how Nepalis have tried to depict Buddhist philosophy through paintings. Paintings have become parts of life for Buddhists, specially among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley."
Buddhism
https://marginalia.lareviewofbooks.org/telling-the-story-of-women-in-japanese-religions-by-jessica-starling/

Telling the Story of Women in Japanese Religions (incl. review of Ambros’s "Women in Japanese Religions") (2015)

Jessica Starling
Japan
Women in Japanese Buddhism
Japan
gender
idealism
projection
romantization
ethnocentrism
feminism
text
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Extract of the review: "Ambros fruitfully uses the tactic of focusing on women’s activities to reveal “strikingly different vistas” of Japanese religion than have previous studies, which nearly all “foreground[ed] male religious figures and male-dominated institutions.” It is refreshing and enlightening to re-read Japanese religious history in this way." This insightful book review comes with several useful references/links to relevant works.
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2vVD-wC40c&ab_channel=FROGBEARProject

Educational Modernization in Chinese Buddhism: A Century of Transformation (2019)

Rongdao Lai
China
Chinese Buddhism
China
identity
institutions
politics
Buddhist academies
Buddhist seminaries (foxueyuan)
monastic education
Buddhist educational modernization
mainland China
Taiwan
clerical training
student-monk
scientific
secular
nationstate
video
open access
scholarly
Video (44:06). Abstract: "Monastic education is one of the most important projects in the modernization of Chinese Buddhism. This talk begins by exploring several paradigm shifts associated with Buddhist educational modernization that began in the 1920s, a period of fervent growth and significant changes. I argue that the reimagining of a national Buddhist community and reinterpretation of orthodoxy produced a distinctly Buddhist citizenship discourse, which became the basis for Buddhist engagem
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZpa0ywBKcc&ab_channel=FROGBEARProject

What Does It Mean to Be Modern in Chinese Buddhism? (2019)

Rongdao Lai
China
Chinese Buddhism
China
identity
institutions
politics
Buddhist academies
Buddhist seminaries (foxueyuan)
monastic education
Buddhist educational modernization
mainland China
Taiwan
clerical training
student-monk
scientific
secular
nationstate
video
open access
scholarly
Video (05:04). Concise introduction to the guest lecture (linked above).
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWSgLKiJEn4&ab_channel=SFTIndia

Prof. Carole McGranahan talk on Chushi Gangdrug Army (Tibetan Resistance Army) (2015)

Carole McGranahan
Tibet
Tibet
resistance army
freedom struggle
anthropology
exile
video
open access
public discourse
Video (1:03:09). Description: "We had a hugely successful talk with anthropologist and historian Dr. Carole McGranahan at Jimmy's Italian Kitchen. Through a simple, human narrative, Dr. McGranahan told us the story of the Chushi Gangdruk fighters - their hopes, fears, bravery and passion. Many in the audience were moved to tears by her talk. Gen Lhasang Tsering la (himself a veteran of the Tibetan Armed Resistance) presented a Khatak to Dr. McGranahan to thank her for her commitment and dedicati
Buddhism
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/interview-with-zorigma-budaeva-abbess-of-the-only-female-buddhist-monastery-in-russia

Interview with Zorigma Budaeva: Abbess of the Only Female Buddhist Monastery in Russia (2020)

Zorigma Budaeva
Buryatia
Russia
Buddhist women in Buryatia
Russia
nun
nunnery
abbess
lifestory
lay practitioner
Soviet Union
temple
monastery
Buddhism
text
interview
open access
primary
public discourse
"The Buddhist Female Datsan Zungon Darzhaling (“Prosperous and Noble Monastery”) is located in the Buryat capital Ulan-Ude. Its main building was consecrated in 2002, and two years later Zorigma Budaeva became its abbess." The website features an interview with Zorigma Budaeva. Extract from interview: "Our datsan is the first and the only one in Russia exclusively for women. To be first is always difficult. There are many Buddhist temples in Buryatia, but there were no female temples."
Buddhism
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/faces-of-the-buddhist-goddesses-an-interview-with-aryuna-balzhurova

Faces of the Buddhist Goddesses: An Interview with Aryuna Balzhurova (2019)

Aryuna Balzhurova
Buryatia
Russia
Buddhist women in Buryatia
museum
art
goddesses
images
material religion
deities
Russia
exhibition
face
Buddhism
text
interview
open access
public discourse
"Aryuna Balzhurova is a scientific secretary for the National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia. She worked as a curator for the museum’s “Buddhism” collection from 2011–19, and was a curator of the unique exhibition “The Faces of the Goddesses: Female Deities in Buddhism as the Guardian of the Hearth,” presented from November 2018 to May 2019 at the Museum of History of Buryatia."
Buddhism
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40613-016-0031-y

Tenzin Chodron: a scholar nun of post-Soviet Buryatia (2016)

Zhargal Aiakova
Buryatia
Russia
Buddhist women in Buryatia
Russia
nun
Soviet Union
scholar
introduction to Buddhism in Buryatia
social activism
autobiography
Buddhism
article
open access
scholarly
From the abstract: "Tenzin Chodron (b. 1951) is a scholar nun who has opened up new pathways for Buddhist women in the Republic of Buryatia. The paper describes how, at a critical juncture in the political and religious transition from Soviet rule to greater openness as a member state of the Russian Federation, she has endeavored to bring together scholarship, social activism, and religious life. An introduction to the Buddhist history of Buryatia serves as the backdrop for Tenzin Chodron’s auto
Buddhism
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40613-016-0027-7

Going with the flow and yet controlling the Flow: the Early Life, Education, and Scholarship of Takatsukasa Seigyoku, Current Abbess of Zenkōji’s Daihongan Convent (2016)

Matthew S. Mitchell
Japan
Japan
Japanese pilgrimage temple Zenkōji
abbess
Buddhism
Daihongan convent
Pure Land Nuns
scholar
article
open access
scholarly
From the abstract: "Takatsukasa Seigyoku (b. 1929) is the current abbess of Daihongan convent, which is one of the two administrative heads of the popular Japanese pilgrimage temple Zenkōji. In this paper, I analyze Takatsukasa’s autobiographical materials about her early life, her monastic education, and her scholarly works."
Buddhism
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40613-016-0029-5

Buddhist women masters of Kinnaur: Why don’t nuns sing about nuns? (2016)

Linda J. LaMacchia
India
India
Himachal Pradesh
nuns
Kinnaur
song
singing
dance
jomo
nun gurus
women masters
female masters
Buddhism
article
open access
scholarly
From the paper: "In Kinnaur—a Himalayan tribal district of Himachal Pradesh, India, on the Sutlej River and at the Tibet border—Buddhism has been practiced, along with indigenous local Hinduism, for at least a thousand years. From ancient times too, Kinnauras have loved to sing and dance. In Kinnauri villages, jomos (celibate Buddhist nuns) and lamas (who in Kinnaur are male religious specialists and most often married) tell the story of Buddhism by reciting prayers and texts, performing rituals
Buddhism
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40613-016-0044-6

Illustrating the Way: The Life and Times of Bhikṣuṇī Shig Hiu Wan (2017)

Karma Lekshe Tsomo
Taiwan
Nun
female master
feminist
feminism
practitioner
teacher
artist
and poet
Taiwan
China
Chinese Buddhism
Taipei
Chan
ethnography
article
open access
scholarly
Extract: "Bhikṣuṇī Shig Hiu Wan was a Buddhist master in more than one sense of the word. She was not only a highly accomplished practitioner, teacher, artist, and poet, but she was also a feminist pioneer in higher education. When she arrived in Taiwan in 1966 and began teaching at the Chinese Cultural University, she was the first Buddhist nun to teach at the university level in Taiwan. (..) In this paper, I take a participant/observer approach in an effort to understand Shihfu’s unique teachi
Buddhism
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40613-017-0047-y

Women Buddhist Masters (2017)

Nona Olivia
n.a.
Female masters
women masters
Therīgāthā
Terigatha
nun
Buddhism
article
open access
scholarly
From the paper: "The aim of this paper is to two fold—first, to set forth a definition of "mastery" as it is understood across diverse Buddhist traditions. Secondly, using verses from the Therigatha, I argue that the first female monastics meet the criteria of Buddhist masters. My claim is based on evidence from the teachings of the historical Buddha and by citing examples from the elder female disciples, and finally, by illustrating that the embodied experience as women was central to their dev
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esvH5n2KhuM&ab_channel=TanyaDeogirikar

When Animals Speak: Speaking Animals in the Pāli Jātakas (2017)

Reiko Ohnuma
North America
Animals
Pāli
jātaka
jataka
fables
Buddhist literature
Buddhism
video
open access
scholarly
Video (43:34). Abstract: "The Pali Jātaka collection contains many stories that might be described as “animal fables,” featuring highly anthropomorphized animal characters who think, speak, plan, and reason, much in the manner of human beings. Their use of human language and the fact that they speak, not only to each other but also (in many cases) to the human beings they encounter, sharply distinguishes them not only from the more naturalistic animals depicted elsewhere in Buddhist literature,
Buddhism
https://www.inquiringmind.com/article/2302_15_shaw_passionate-dharma/

Passionate Dharma (2007)

Miranda Shaw
North America
Tantra
motivation
passion
desire
intimacy
sexuality
transformation
Vajrayāna
Vajrayana
sensual pleasure
consort
Buddhism
text
interview
open access
public discourse
Introduction: "Practitioners of Vajrayana Buddhism have a unique and, to some, shocking approach to the experience of desire, whether it be for sex, money, power—or even desire itself. No one explains this approach better than Miranda Shaw, Ph.D., author of the award-winning book Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism (Princeton University Press, 1995). Shaw focuses her research on gender, sexuality, goddess worship and sacred dance in Buddhism. Her latest book, Buddhist Goddesses o
Buddhism
https://kyotoreview.org/yav/buddhist-women-as-agents-of-change/

Buddhist Women As Agents of Change: Case Studies from Thailand and Indonesia (2015)

Lai Suat Yan
Thailand
Indonesia
Theravāda Buddhism
Theravada
Thailand
Indonesia
bhikkhuni
nun
ordination
socially engaged Buddhism
social change
international networking
minority
article
images
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Extracts: "While in Thailand the majority of its population are adherents of the Theravada Buddhist ‘tradition’, in Indonesia, Buddhism is a minority religion with the Theravada Buddhist ‘tradition’ embraced by the majority of Buddhists. (...) Buddhist women thus reclaim their identities and roles from only being supporters of Buddhism to that of spiritual leaders, religious innovators and ritual specialists. The Theravada Buddhist ‘tradition’ is a changing one as the female adherents stake thei
Buddhism
http://www.thaibhikkhunis.org/eng2014/network.html

Network of Thai Bhikkhuni Sangha (n.d.)

Thai Bhikkunis
Thailand
Thai Bhikkhuni Sangha
Theravāda
Theravada
Ven. Dhammananda
network
ordination
nun
socially engaged Buddhism
website
open access
primary
The website gives an overview on the activities and history of the Thai Bhikkhuni Sangha. The menu "publications" includes links to Youtube and social media accounts & a list of Ven. Dhammananda's publications.
Buddhism
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/reviving-the-bhikkhuni-sangha-in-indonesia-an-interview-with-ayya-santini

Reviving the Bhikkhuni Sangha in Indonesia: an Interview with Ayya Santini (2016)

Ayya Santini
Indonesia
Indonesia
Ven. Bhikkhuni Santini Theri
Ayya Santini
nun
Theravada
Theravāda
Buddhism
ordination
abbess
West Java
video
images
interview
open access
primary
Interview, photos, video (18:54). Introduction: "In 2000, Ven. Bhikkhuni Santini Theri, better known as Ayya Santini, became the first modern woman to be ordained in the Theravada Buddhist tradition in Indonesia. Now the abbess of Wisma Kusalayani, a women’s hermitage in Bandung, West Java, Ayya Santini represents a new wave of female Theravada monastics ordained in Asia, and has devoted much of her life to reviving the bhikkhuni sangha in her home country."
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/10/543

Gender Equality in and on Tibetan Buddhist Nuns’ Terms (2020)

Padma’tsho (Baimacuo), Sarah Jacoby
Tibet
North America
Gender equality
transnational feminism
Tibetan nuns
liberal rights
Larung Gar nuns
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Gender equality and feminism are often cast as concepts foreign to the Tibetan cultural region, even as scholarship exploring alliances between Buddhism and feminism has grown. Critics of this scholarship contend that it superimposes liberal discourses of freedom, egalitarianism, and human rights onto Asian Buddhist women’s lives, without regard for whether/how these accord with women’s self-understandings. This article aims to serve as a corrective to this omission by engaging transn
Buddhism
http://blogs.dickinson.edu/buddhistethics/files/2020/08/Liang-and-Taylor__20_F-1.pdf

Tilling the Fields of Merit: The Institutionalization of Feminine Enlightenment in Tibet’s First Khenmo Program (2020)

Jue Liang, Andrew S. Taylor
Tibet
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
nun
Larung Gar
social change
field of merit
scholar-nun
scholarship
degree
monastic education
gender equality
article
open access
scholarly
From the abstract: "This article documents the history and social effects of the khenmo (mkhan mo) program at Larung Gar (Bla rung sgar), the first institution in Tibet to systematically grant nuns advanced Buddhist degrees."
Buddhism
https://tnp.org/tag/geshema-degree/

Tibetan Geshema degree (n.d.)

Tibetan Nuns Project
India
North America
Tibet
Geshema degree
Tibetan nuns
scholar-nun
scholarship
scholasticism
monastic education
social change
gender equality
Vajrayāna
Tibetan Buddhism
tantric studies
ritual studies
canon
blog
video
open access
primary
public discourse
Blog posts (includes short videos). "Some Short Facts About the Geshema Degree: - The Geshema Degree is roughly equivalent to a doctorate in Buddhist philosophy. For males, it is called the Geshe degree. - It is the highest level of training in the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism. - Until recently, this highest degree could only be earned by monks. - In 2011, a German nun, Kelsang Wangmo, who spent 21 years training in India, became the first female to receive the Geshema title. - The histori
Buddhism
https://lhakardiaries.com/2015/12/23/ayu-khandro-the-traveling-yogini-of-kham/

Ayu Khandro: The travelling yogini of Kham (2015)

Dawa Lokyitsang
Tibet
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
female master
life stories
Tibetan Buddhist non-monastic practitioner (Tib. sngags pa/mo)
Kham
East Tibet
article
website
open access
scholarly
Extracts: "Ayu Khandro was a highly regarded neljorma, yogini, in eastern Tibet, who was born in 1839 and died in 1953 at the age of hundred-and-fifteen. Unlike Sera Khandro, Ayu Khandro did not leave behind an autobiography. Instead, Namkhai Norbu, a highly recognized Dzogchen practioner who continues to teach throughout Asia and the West, composed a short biography of her life when he was sent by his teacher in 1951, at the age of fourteen, to receive the Vajra Yogini initiation from Ayu Khand
Buddhism
https://lhakardiaries.com/2016/10/05/decolonizing-ethnographic-responsibility-towards-a-decolonized-praxis/

Decolonizing Ethnographic 'Responsibility:' Towards a decolonized praxis (2016)

Dawa Lokyitsang
Transnational
Tibet
North America
Tibetan Buddhism
orientalism
decolonizing
methodology
responsibility
ethnography
anthropology
native scholars
community
ethics
structural colonization
resistance
allyship
marginality
indigenous voices and epistemologies
struggle
self-immolation
article
website
video
open access
scholarly
From the essay: "What does it mean to be a responsible scholar attuned to decolonization as a method? Responsible to whom, when, and why? I am struck by how simple yet complex this question is for me. Easy because I am a Native scholar doing work with my own community—I know to whom I am responsible, and my community’s path towards self-determination is closely tied to my own liberation. Thus, the kinds of work I produce impact my community and myself directly, so the question of who I am respon
Buddhism
https://snfwrenms.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/rev-ikuko-hibino-japan-1949-yes-a-woman-can-be-a-priest-in-japanese-buddhism/

Rev. Ikuko Hibino, Japan (1949 – ) : Yes, A Woman Can Be A Priest in Japanese Buddhism! (2014)

Lai Suat Yan
Japan
Japan
female priest
priestess
international Buddhism
life story
Jodo school priest
gender
nationality
sectarianism
race
article
open access
public discourse
Extracts from the article: "So, at age 26, in 1975 Rev, Ikuko Hibino officially became a priest. It took nearly 30 years later before she moved up the ranks and be certified as the chief priest of the Kayadera temple in 2002. While there were those, usually male priests or lay people, who were not supportive of her decision to be a priest, they were in the minority and she did not heed them. Instead she focused her attention on 90 per cent of those who supported and protected her."
Buddhism
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/one-face-of-liberation-buddhist-feminism-in-japan

One Face of Liberation: Buddhist Feminism in Japan (2017)

Gereon Kropf
Japan
Japan
Buddhism
feminism
magazine
autobiography
public
Zen
political activism
politics
self-determination
abortion
kenshō
gender
article
images
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Extract: "Hiratsuka Raichō (1886­–1971) made a name for herself as one of the first-generation feminists in Japan. Her opening editorial in the first issue of Seitō, probably first feminist magazine in Japan, titled “In the Beginning Woman was the Sun,” catapulted her into the Japanese public eye and into the center of controversy. Her lifestyle, which at times challenged and broke the social conventions of Japan in the early 20th century, and that she reflected upon in her autobiography by the
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/6/385/htm

Chŏng Suok’s Tour of Imperial Japan and its Impact on the Development of the Nuns’ Order in Korea (2019)

Eun-su Cho
Japan
Korea
Chŏng Suok (1902–1966)
Korean Buddhism during the Japanese colonial period
Buddhist nuns in Korea
Japanese nuns
feminist consciousness
scholar-nun
travelogue
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "The eminent scholar-nun Chŏng Suok (1902–1966) traveled from colonial Korea to Imperial Japan from 1937 to 1939 and wrote a travelogue that provides an important first-hand account from a woman’s perspective on the state of Japanese and Korean Buddhism during the early 20th century. Bemoaning the destitute state of Korean Buddhist nuns who had no schools, lecture halls, or even meditation rooms, she notes the stark contrast with the Japanese nuns who had access to proper education and
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQoYmVk7hLg&ab_channel=DanceMandalTemple

Video "Yogini Mandala" (2010)

Dance Mandal Portland
Nepal
Newar Buddhism
Nepal
caryā/charya
cacā
dance
meditation
Vajrayāna
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī/dakini
Nepal mandala
maṇḍala
sacred geography
body
embodiment
video
open access
primary
Video (03:57). The valley of Kathmandu comprises five yoginīs, embodied in this dance. This short video (produced by Dance Mandal Portland, Oregon) comes with a brief explanation of the subject and offers a first visual introduction to the topic of caryā dance.
Buddhism
https://www.lionsroar.com/forum-making-our-way-on-women-and-buddhism/

Making Our Way: On Women and Buddhism (2016)

Grace Schireson, Christina Feldman, Rita Gross, Lama Palden Drolma
North America
Inhabit leadership
teachers
practitioners
roles
gender
Western Buddhist female pioneers
history of Buddhism in the West
public
representation
equality
support
sexuality
ethics
feminism
hierarchy
power dynamics
liturgical language
Zen
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
Theravāda
patriarchy
inferiority
Buddhist organizations
translation of the dharma into the West
text
discussion
open access
public discourse
Intro: "Grace Schireson, Christina Feldman, Rita Gross, and Lama Palden Drolma discuss how women are defining new roles as Buddhist leaders, teachers, and practitioners. Introduction by Sandy Boucher."
Buddhism
https://www.lionsroar.com/path-of-peace-the-life-and-teachings-of-sister-chan-khong-may-2012/

The Life and Teachings of Sister Chan Khong (2017)

Andrea Miller
Vietnam
France
Thich Nhat Hanh
activist
teacher
Vietnam
Zen
lifestory
author
engaged Buddhism
France
Buddhism in the West
Plum Village
nun
text
images
website
open access
public discourse
Intro: "She’s best known as Thich Nhat Hanh’s invaluable collaborator, but Sister Chan Khong is also a dedicated activist and gifted teacher in her own right. Andrea Miller tells her extraordinary story."
Buddhism
https://www.lionsroar.com/waking-up-to-patriarchy/

Waking up to Patriarchy (2016)

Gloria Steinem, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
North America
Patriarchy
feminism
gender
nun
reproductive freedom
education
Tibetan Buddhism
text
images
discussion
open access
public discourse
Intro: "One helped transform American society, the other is helping to transform the lives of Buddhist nuns. In an event at the Rubin Museum of Art, feminist trailblazers Gloria Steinem and Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo talk candidly about the personal challenges they’ve faced, the progress they’ve seen, and why there’s still more to be done."
Buddhism
https://buddhiststudies.utoronto.ca/programs/podcast/

The Circled Square (n.d.)

Sarah Richardson
North America
Pedagogy
Buddhism
teaching
academia
classroom
storytelling
embodied experience
empathy
teaching philosophy
contemplative science
museum
material history
anti-colonial teaching
decolonizing the classroom
students
podcast
pedagogy
open access
scholarly
Podcasts series that explores the diversity of approaches to teaching and learning with Buddhism taking place right now. Produced at the University of Toronto, hosted by Sarah Richardson. From the website: "We interview professors from academic institutions around North America, creating conversations about innovative teaching. Buddhism is now taught in many disciplines beyond religion, including anthropology, art history, and cognitive science." There currently are 12 episodes available. The we
Buddhism
https://bhikkhuni-film.com/

Bhikkhunī – Buddhism, Sri Lanka, Revolution (Mistrzynie życia duchowego. Buddyzm, Sri Lanka, rewolucja) (2017/2018)

Małgorzata Dobrowolska
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
nun
bhikkhunī
bhikkhuni
revolution
Theravāda Buddhism
Theravada
full ordination
monks
video
partial open access
public discourse
A documentary film about the revival of women’s ordination in Theravāda Buddhism, directed by Małgorzata Dobrowolska. Video / donate (at least US$10) and download the documentary for personal, non-commercial use / educational single screening license (for events w/o entry fee) is available for US$35-55 / screening license is free for Bhikkhunīs or Bhikkhus. About the documentary: "Shortly after Enlightenment, the Buddha said: “I shall not come to my final passing away, until my bhikkhus and bhik
Buddhism
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/05/886043783/the-kung-fu-nuns-of-kathmandu

The Kung Fu Nuns Of Kathmandu (2020)

Windsor Johnston
Nepal
Druk Amitabaha Mountain Nunnery
Kathmandu
Gyalwang Drukpa
breaking gender stereotypes
kung fu
nuns
Nepal
Bhutan
Drukpa lineage
pandemic
COVID-19 prevention
martial arts
conservative
backlash
confidence
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
self-defense
rape
India
Ladakh
engaged Buddhism
teaching girls
equality
body
physical strength
text
images
open access
public discourse
Report about the Druk Amitabaha Mountain nunnery, close to Kathmandu. Extracts: Around ten years ago the Gyalwang Drukpa "encouraged the nuns to take part in religious rituals traditionally reserved for their male counterparts and gave them the highest level of teachings, called Mahamudra. (..) Drukpa's efforts to break down patriarchal traditions have sparked intense backlash from the more conservative Buddhist sects in the Himalayas. (..) Instead of backing down, the Gyalwang Drukpa decided to
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJj5iqdvWJk&ab_channel=BBCReel

Kung Fu Nuns: The Drukpa Order / The millennial nuns practicing a forbidden ancient skill (2020)

BBC
Nepal
Druk Amitabaha Mountain Nunnery
Kathmandu
Gyalwang Drukpa
breaking gender stereotypes
kung fu
nuns
Nepal
Bhutan
Drukpa lineage
martial arts
conservative
backlash
criticism
confidence
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
self-defense
engaged Buddhism
teaching girls
equality
body
physical strength
spiritual dance
cham ('cham)
mask dance
video
open access
public discourse
Video (06:51). The nuns speak in this short video, there is no externally speaking person [only subtitles]. From the description: "The nuns of the 900-year-old Drukpa Lineage in Nepal are challenging stereotypes by developing exceptional physical and mental strength. These nuns are the only female order to practice the deadly martial art of Kung Fu."
Buddhism
https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/changing-mindsets-tashi-zangmo-and-the-bhutan-nuns-foundation

Changing Mindsets: Tashi Zangmo and the Bhutan Nuns Foundation (2018)

Caitlin Dwyer
Bhutan
Nun
Bhutan
Bhutan Nuns Foundation
engaged Buddhism
education
gender equality
text
images
open access
public discourse
Extract: "Now the executive director of the Bhutan Nuns Foundation (BNF), Dr. Zangmo devotes her energy to the empowerment of Buddhist nuns in Bhutan. Under the guidance of the Queen Mother, Tshering Yangdoen Wangchuk, the foundation focuses on helping nuns in this Buddhist nation become well-educated, well-trained leaders in their communities, closing educational gaps, alleviating poverty, and helping with hospice care."
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoqxpifT7H8&ab_channel=MiceliProductionsPHOTO%2BVIDEO

Tibetan Nuns Build Mandala of Compassion at Trinity College (2013)

Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut)
North America
Nun
sacred art
compassion
ritual
maṇḍala
mandala
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
sacred space
impermanence
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:06). "Six Buddhist nuns from the Keydong Thuk-che Choeling Nunnery in Kathmandu, Nepal, arrived in Hartford on August 16, 2012 in preparation for building a mandala, a sand painting used for prayer, contemplation, and healing, at Trinity College, in Hartford, Conneticut."
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxjwRMa_n8o&ab_channel=CenterforBhutan%26GNHStudies

Yoginīs of Fire and Light: Gebchak Gonpa in Tibet (2016)

Elizabeth McDougal (Ani Tenzin Chozom)
Tibet
Nunnery
Kham
East Tibet
Nangchen
China
non-sectarianism
Ratna Lingpa
terma (gter ma)
tummo (gtum mo)
female lineage of yogic practice
inner heat
fire
tantric practice
Tibetan Buddhism
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
Drukpa
tsalung
rtsa rlung
guru devotion
Vajrayāna
six yogas of Naropa
Tibetan yoga
thrul khor ('khrul 'khor)
mind transmission
experience
tradition
innovation
study and practice
retreat
video
open access
public discourse
Video; talk and slides (16:15). Amazing talk about an autonomous lineage of female yogic nun practitioners; highly unusual in Tibet. About the speaker: "Elizabeth McDougal (Ani Tenzin Chozom) lived as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in India for fifteen years at Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery, Tsogyal Shedrub Ling Nunnery, and at Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi. Since 2006 she has been working for Gebchak Gonpa in Nangchen, Eastern Tibet, as the Nunnery’s English secretary and translator. Fascinated by
Buddhism
https://www.lionsroar.com/becoming-a-buddha-lessons-from-little-girls/

Becoming a Buddha: Lessons from Little Girls (2019)

Stephanie Balkwill
n.a.
Lotus Sūtra
lotus sutra
girls
enlightenment
gender
female body
textual studies
patriarchy
article
open access
public discourse
Abstract: "Through a textual analysis of the Lotus Sutra and its commentaries and The Sutra of the Girl Marvelous Wisdom, Buddhist scholar Stephanie Balkwill examines the historical arguments around the question: “Can women attain buddhahood in a female form?”"
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vicnkDbCpAc&ab_channel=FROGBEARProject

Did women produce Buddhist texts in Medieval China? And does it matter if they did? (2020)

Stephanie Balkwill
China
Medieval China
Buddhism
textual production
sūtra
sutra
female audience
transforming the female form
imperial women
court
text commissioning
video
open access
scholarly
Video (49:54). Abstract: "As the only woman to ever rule China in her own name, Wu Zetian (r. 690–705 CE) found much utility in Buddhist texts and legitimated her contested rule, in part, through their production and circulation. Notably, she commissioned the writing of a textual commentary which identified her as the rightful ruler and future Buddha. Her use of text befitted her rule: She ruled at a time when women could not rule and she produced text in a time period for which we too easily as
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_v7iLfP8Bk&ab_channel=FROGBEARProject

The Five Buddha Crown Consecration at Dunhuang: Textual and Visual Evidence (2020)

Amanda Goodman
China
Dunhuang
Buddhism
esoteric initiation
ritual
text
Buddha crown
China
comparison
empowerment
video
open access
scholarly
Video (24:19). Sound quality is low. Abstract: "Scattered among the Dunhuang finds are several unattested Chinese Buddhist works that provide ritual instructions for conducting esoteric initiation or empowerment rites (C. guanding 灌頂, S. abhiṣeka). These initiations read like royal investiture rites: the initiate is instructed to don yellow robes and wear the five-buddha crown while receiving consecration on a raised platform called a varjadhātu maṇḍala 金剛界壇. Alongside these ritual instructions
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFUHTCB7k0M&ab_channel=TheHoCenterforBuddhistStudiesatStanford

Mind pictures and manuscript paintings: Examples from twelfth century South Asia (2016)

Jinah Kim
North America
Nepal
Vajrayāna
meditation
scroll painting
manuscript
art
painting
Newar artist
Tibetan Buddhism
video
open access
scholarly
Video (1:24:48)
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibb9R07w1dQ&list=RDCMUCkn7wpgMPWBoEyeLEn0vigA&index=7&ab_channel=TheHoCenterforBuddhistStudiesatStanford

Dakini Wisdom: Tracing the Emergence of the Feminine Principle and the Role of Women in Buddhism (2016)

Lama Tsultrim Allione
North America
Vajrayāna
female form
body
Tibetan Buddhism
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
female master
video
open access
public discourse
primary
Video (1:14:33)
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lrG5VNoV_s&list=RDCMUCkn7wpgMPWBoEyeLEn0vigA&index=11&ab_channel=TheHoCenterforBuddhistStudiesatStanford

Teaching Tibetan Buddhism in Chinese on behalf of Mañjuśrī: The case of the Larung gar Five Sciences Buddhist Academy in Sertar (2017)

Ester Bianchi
Tibet
China
China
Tibet
Larung Gar
revival of Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
ecumenical Buddhism
rime (ris med)
monastery
video
open access
scholarly
Video (1:26:42)
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok0rxJb9ALs&ab_channel=DanceMandalTemple

Where Goddesses Reign: The Female Cosmology of Newar Buddhism (2020)

Miranda Shaw
Nepal
Newar Buddhism
Vajrayāna
Nepal
cosmology
goddesses
female deities
transformation
ritual
divine feminine
video
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Video (1:24:27). Description: "From the earliest historical evidence to the present, Newar Buddhism has accorded primacy to female figures and forces in every sphere. Dr. Miranda Shaw will provide a visual journey into the female cosmology of Newar Buddhism, wherein goddesses reign at every level of the pantheon as sources of life, sustenance, protection, wisdom, and transforming power. The program features beautiful, evocative slides of images, sites, and rituals that Dr. Shaw photographed du
Buddhism
https://www.buddhistphilosophy.co.uk/listen/episode-3-how-do-women-engage-with-buddhist-philosophy

How do women engage with Buddhist Philosophy? (2020)

Jin Y. Park
Korea
Comparative philosophy
narrative philosophy
women
feminism
Mahāyāna
Mahayana
Zen
East Asian Buddhism
Kim Iryŏp
gender
Korean studies
Asian and comparative philosophy
podcast
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (47:08). Begins at 01:05. The podcast is a discussion of Jin Y. Park's book "Women and Buddhist Philosophy: Engaging Zen Master Kim Iryŏp" (2017). Description: "How do women engage with Buddhist Philosophy? Who was Kim Iryop? What is narrative philosophy? How are feminist and existentialist issues related? How should we treat the Buddhist Mahāyāna body transformation literature? Why have Japanese and Korean philosophers struggled so much over whether Buddhism is a philosophy or a religio
Buddhism
https://www.buddhistphilosophy.co.uk/listen/f3zsxxfv1yfm6l43eqqifj1nhrdv6o

Buddhism and bell hooks (2020)

Leah Kalmanson
North America
Black feminist philosophy
bell hooks
Buddhism and race
no-self
philosophy
identity
Western philosophy
Sartre
radical black subjectivity
Dōgen
Zen
politics of race
emptiness
podcast
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (36:56). Begins at 00:59. The podcast is a discussion of Leah Kalmanson's paper "Buddhism and bell hooks: Liberatory Aesthetics and the Radical Subjectivity of No‐Self" (2012). Description: "What is no-self? What do feminists, good and bad, have to say about the concept? What is bell hooks’ aesthetics of radical black subjectivity? How no-self inform our understanding of bell hooks?" Paper abstract: "This article engages bell hooks's concept of “radical black subjectivity” through the le
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlC_db0yGxE&ab_channel=BodhiCulture

Nunhood - A Perspective from Buddhist Nuns #1 (2019)

Bodhi Culture
Tibet
China
Nun
Kham
East Tibet
China
Tibetan Buddhism
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
Vajrayāna
retreat
daily life
video
open access
public discourse
Video (01:50). Short clip in Tibetan (English subtitles). Description: "Gensangquzhen is an 83 year old nun who lives at the Manigange Old Nun Meditation Seclusion Center. From a young age, her fear of death lead her to studying dharma and devoting her life to spirituality and the teachings of Buddha."
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=500mDl5kYsQ&ab_channel=FrameofMindFilms

Nunhood - A Perspective from Buddhist Nuns #2 (2019)

Bodhi Culture
Tibet
China
Nun
Kham
East Tibet
China
Tibetan Buddhism
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
Vajrayāna
retreat
daily life
video
open access
public discourse
Video (01:27). Short clip in Tibetan (English subtitles). Description: "Nun Ciqingcuo is 93 years old and lives in the Manigange Old Nun Meditation Seclusion Center. She left the secular world when she was little and stayed within the temple all her life. Now, she continues to live her life practicing Dharma, meditating, and reciting scriptures. "
Buddhism
http://www.kuniyoshiproject.com/Prints%20depicting%20Otake.htm

Prints depicting Otake (n.d.)

William Pearl
Japan
Buddhism in Japan
Otake
Otake Dainichi Nyorai
Kuniyoshi
Edo
female Buddha
halo
divine being
paiting
print
artwork
art
visual culture
visual narrative
drawing
enlightenment
art history
images
open access
public discourse
Illustrations (prints). This page is part of a website with a catalogue raisonné of the signed artwork of Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川 国芳). The page here depicts 18 prints of Otake. Description: "Otake (Otake Dainichi Nyorai) was a humble maidservant of the Sakuma family in Odenma-cho in Edo, who was known for the extreme diligence she brought to even the most menial chores. A group of mountain ascetics, who were searching for the reincarnation of the Nyorai Buddha, found her. When Otake bent down to
Buddhism
https://www.ubasoku.net/otake.html

O-take Dainichi Nyorai, an Unlikely Shugendō Icon (2009)

Gaynor Sekimori
Japan
Buddhism in Japan
Otake
Otake Dainichi Nyorai
Edo
female Buddha
halo
divine being
paiting
print
artwork
art
visual culture
visual narrative
drawing
enlightenment
art history
enlightened activity
text
images
open access
scholarly
Research notes by Gaynor Sekimori. Originally printed in CSJR Autum 2009 Issue 18-19 (this issue is available as pdf here: https://www.soas.ac.uk/csjr/newsletter/file55523.pdf). Description: "In the goho-incantations of the various Shugen sects various manifestations/'local-traces' (垂迹) of what in their 'ground essence' are Buddhas (本地), are worshipped, praised and recognised daily. In this article world-renowned author, researcher and Haguro Yamabushi, Gaynor Sekimori, explores the popular fait
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG-RiTO3vjY&ab_channel=GoogleTechTalks

The Women's Meditation Tradition in Tibet (2010)

Wangdrak Rinpoche
Tibet
North America
Nunnery
Tibetan Buddhism
yoginī/yogini
Vajrayāna
Gebchak Gonpa
meditation practice
gender
equality
video
open access
primary
public discourse
Video (1:02:29). Rinpoche's talk starts at 13:36. Tibetan with English translation. Description (for long version see Youtube description box): "The Venerable Wangdrak Rinpoche is a native Tibetan and overseer of Gebchak Gonpa, which is the largest Buddhist nunnery in Tibet. Rinpoche will be speaking about the cultural and spiritual role of women meditators in a tradition that is typically very male-identified. His talk will reveal the rich cultural heritage and important role women play in Tibe
Buddhism
https://maitripa.org/podcast-gender-ven-damcho/

Mother, Daughter, Sex Worker, Nun: Transgressing and Transforming Gender Roles in Buddhist Narratives (n.d.)

Damcho Diana Finnegan
n.a.
Buddhist narratives
Tibetan Buddhism
gender roles
women
sex worker
prostitute
beggar
nun
mother
daughter
Buddha's female disciples
podcast
open access
primary
Podcast (1:27:50). Description: "Among the Buddha’s most prominent female disciples were sex workers, mothers, and the nuns who formed the female monastic order. Narratives of the lives of these earliest Buddhist women show them struggling to emerge, with varying degrees of success and failure, from the places in which a patriarchal society kept them. This talk explores ways in which the limitations placed on women in early Buddhist communities were challenged or transgressed, and ways in which
Buddhism
https://collab.its.virginia.edu/wiki/bibliographies/Gender%20%26%20Women%20Issues%20in%20Buddhism.html

Gender & Women Issues in the THL Bibliographies (until 2004)

Sarah Jacoby
Tibet
India
Indian Buddhism
Therigatha
Sri Lanka
Tibetan Buddhism
gender
sexuality
methodology
East Asia
bibliography
open access
scholarly
The list includes the following sections: (1) General Studies, (2) Indian Buddhism and Women, (3) Therigatha Related Sources, (4) Sri Lanka and Buddhist Women, (5) Tibetan Buddhism and Women/Gender/Sexuality, (6) Methodology in the Study of Women and Religion, (7) East Asian Buddhism and Women
Buddhism
https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=thrs-faculty

Contemporary Buddhist Women: Contemplation, Cultural Exchange & Social Action: Sakyadhita 15th International Conference on Buddhist Women (2017)

Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Chandra Kala Ghimire, Linda LaMacchia, Parboti Roy, Sonam Choden, Thi Hong Cuc Nguyen, Thi Bich Ly Le, Kwong-Chuen (Kenneth) Ching, Kam Kong Lam, Chuan Deng Shi, Fa Ren Sik, Annie Bien, Youngsuk Jun, Brooke Schedneck, , Ngar-sze Lau, Teresa I. (Teri) Sivilli, Yuande Shih, Meg Adam, Robert Krittler, Hyun-Jin Kim, Thich Nu Nhu Nguyet, Shelley Anderson, Janet Mei Hing Tam, Zizhou Shi, Anna Halafoff, Emma Tomalin, Bhikkhuni Lieu Phap, Ma Vipula, Jeokyeon Sunim, Amy Langenberg, Vanessa Sasson, Kat LaFever, Bee Scherer, Holly Gayley, Lyudmila Klasanova, Pema Khandro, Brianna Kathryn Morseth, Reena Tuladhar, Tong Thi Quynh Huong, Suat Yen Lai, Hiroko Kawanami, Monica Lindberg Falk, Nirmala S. Salgado, Genden Lhamu, Ellen Posman, Yu-Chen Li, Wei-yi Cheng, Darcie Price-Wallace, Carla Gianotti, Lozang Tseten, Yeshe Bodhicitta, Thubten Choedroen, Namgyal Chökyi, Yeshe Metog, Elizabeth Kenney, Alyson Prude, Tzu-Lung (Melody) Chiu, Hsiao-Lan Hu
Transnational
Manang
Khmer Theravāda
Theravada
Himalaya
Kinnaur
feminism
Hong Kong
translation
comparison
Korea
China
Chan Buddhism
Buddhism in the West
family
enlightenment
mother
literature
Vietnam
digital activism
social change
engaged Buddhism
education
female images of enlightenmen
Tara
gender
self
empowerment
Myanmar
Thailand
nuns
women masters
female masters
jo mo (jomo)
Tibet
Brazil
stereotypes
laywomen
Sakyadhita
text
conference
open access
scholarly
A wealth of topics over 306 pages. Extract from the preface: "The 15th Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women in Hong Kong celebrates thirty years of Sakyadhita’ pioneering work to benefit Buddhist women everywhere. (...) The 15th Sakyadhita Conference in Hong Kong set the stage for a fruitful exchange of ideas and experiences. The wide variety of perspectives presented offer glimpses of the history, values, and hopes Buddhist women share." List of contributors: Karma Lekshe Tsom
Buddhism
https://www.pemakhandro.org/buddhist-women-remembering-the-yoginis/

Buddhist Women – Remembering the Yoginis (n.d.)

Pema Khandro
Tibet
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
Vajrayana
non-celibate
non-monastic Buddhist women
lay
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
སྔགས་མ་
རྣལ་འབྱོར་མ་
སྒོམ་ཆེན་མ་
གཅོད་པ་
རས་མ།
རབ་བྱུང་མ་ཡིན་པ་
text
open access
primary
scholarly
The essay includes a section devoted to the terminology for non-celibate, non-monastic Buddhist women in Tibetan narrative literature. The text introduces the "diversity of women’s roles in Tibetan Buddhist narrative history, to point out that they cannot be accurately categorized as “monastic or lay.” Extract: "I used a study of three biographical collections, Nyoshul Khenpo’s Marvelous Garland of Rare Gems, Dudjom Rinpoche’s Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism and the Garland of White Lotuses,
Buddhism
https://www.pemakhandro.org/tibetanfemaletulku/

About Sonam Peldren – Tibet’s First Female Tulku (n.d.)

Pema Khandro
Tibet
Female tulku (sprul sku)
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
Vajrayana
non-celibate
non-monastic Buddhist women
lay
yoginī/yogini
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
text
open access
primary
scholarly
Brief introduction to Sonam Peldren, a Tibetan yogini, who was the earliest recorded female tulku and lived in thirteenth-fourteenth century Tibet.
Buddhism
https://collab.its.virginia.edu/wiki/bibliographies/Dakinis%20Bibliography.html

Dakinis Bibliography from the THL Bibliographies (2007)

Alison Melnick
Tibet
India
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
goddesses
female deities
bibliography
open access
scholarly
Description: "The role of the dākinī could be considered the most consistently prominent female position in Tibetan Buddhist history. Dākinīs are depicted in many different forms, and the term covers such a wide range of ideas that it is difficult to clearly define the term. These female deities, who may or may not appear in human form, are depicted as wrathful goddesses, as enlightened dispensers of dharma, and as the muses of tantric adepts. (...) This bibliography is an initial attempt to com
Buddhism
http://asianart.com/articles/richardson/index.html?mc_cid=17fe29e368&mc_eid=bbc52f383a

Painting the Path to Perfection with a Book on the Walls: The Buddha’s Former Lives in Shalu’s Circumambulatory Passage (2020)

Sarah Richardson
Tibet
Shalu
Zha lu
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
art history
murals
paintings
illustrations
temple
jātaka
jataka
inscriptions
article
images
open access
scholarly
First paragraph of the article: "We find at the temple of Shalu an explicit example of an opened and illustrated book painted into the long circumambulatory passage of the ground floor. In this great circumambulatory passage (the skor lam chen mo) a space was designed to allow people to move in walking circuits around the temple’s unseen sacred contents. During the fourteenth-century renovations at Shalu, this long and fully enclosed circumambulatory passage, the Korlam (skor lam) or “encircling
Buddhism
https://cross-currents.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/e-journal/photo-essays/tsultemin.pdf

Buddhist Revelations in Davaakhuugin Soyolmaa’s Contemporary Mongolian Art (2017)

Uranchimeg Tsultemin
Mongolia
Buddhist contemporary art
art history
Mongolia
female artist
paintings
revival
visual studies
deities
narratives
modern
Buddhist imagery in modern society
iconography
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "In 1990, a seven-decade socialist taboo on religion was lifted in newly transforming Mongolia, where democratic reforms and a peaceful transition to a market economy and multiparty government system were taking place. The country entered into a critical period of transition in 1992, when revisions to the constitution changed the Mongolian People’s Republic into the Republic of Mongolia. While political studies of this transitional period have been conducted, along with studies of the
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D3aUMHEcWA&ab_channel=BuddhistdoorGlobal

A Conversation with Tenzin Palmo on Nuns and Challenging Sexism (2017)

Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, Sónia Gomes
n.a.
Tibetan Buddhism
Vajrayāna
Vajrayana
nuns
Western (Tibetan) Buddhism
money
financial situation
support
sexism
racism
struggle
video
open access
public discourse
primary
Video (44:15). Description: "In this extended discussion recorded on the spot by Sónia Gomes, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo discusses important but often uncomfortable gender issues in Vajrayana, including the need to challenge engrained cultural sexism in monasteries and the plight of ordained Western women, who more often than not have no institutional, psychological, or moral support after becoming nuns."
Buddhism
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/131757/1/asia-2014-1004.pdf

Buddhist Scriptures in 17th Century Mongolia: Eight Translations of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā (2015)

Natalia Yampolskaya
Mongolia
Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita
Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā
Buddhist scripture translation
Mongolian Kanjur
translation practice in Mongolia
bKa’ ‘gyur
canonicity
pdf
article
translation
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "The article suggests an approach to studying Mongolian translations of Buddhist texts in the seventeenth century based on a hypothesis that emerged as a result of a comparative study of eight different Mongolian translations of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā sūtra. The comparative analysis was carried out in the light of canon studies, with a special regard to the way Buddhist sacred scriptures (in particular, texts from the bKa’ ‘gyur) were handled in seventeenth century Mongolia.
Buddhism
https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=thrs-faculty

Prayers of Resistance: Kalymyk Women's Covert Buddhist Practice (2016)

Karma Lekshe Tsomo
Kalmykia
Russia
Kalmykia
women
Russia
religious revival
pdf
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Throughout decades of Soviet repression of religion and into modern times, groups of Buddhist women known as babushki matsik, or ‘‘group of old women precept holders’’ have covertly engaged in Buddhist practices in Kalmykia, following the Tibetan tantric tradition. Located to the northwest of the Caspian Sea, the Kalmyk Republic of the Russian Federation is the only region of Europe with a predominantly Buddhist population. For centuries, the region has been the site of repeated migra
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FLytCCnrBI&list=PLAinme1AZLiTBPPj3y33cIGSO68GGEvIK&ab_channel=nbhandari3

Zhuangzi on Perfect Happiness (2016)

Livia Kohn
China
Zhuangzi
conventional happiness
nonaction
wuwei
harmony
Dao
wandering
uniqueness
video
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Video (4 videos in total, each around 20 minutes long). The audio quality is not the very best. Lecture starts at 05:25. This link is to video 1/4, the other three parts appear in the playlist right below the video.
Daoism
https://archive.org/details/thetaoistexperienceliviakohn

The Taoist Experience: An Anthology (1993)

Livia Kohn
China
Religious experience
the Taoist path
long life
eternal vision
immortality
tradition
translation
scriptures
vision
body
world
gods
energy
pdf
translation
book
open access
scholarly
Digitized book (available for download in different formats). Edited translations by Livia Kohn. Description: "Containing sixty translations from a large variety of texts, this is an accessible yet thorough introduction to the major concepts, doctrines, and practices of Taoism. It presents the philosophy, rituals, and health techniques of the ancients as well as the practices and ideas of Taoists today. Divided into four sections, it follows the Taoist Path: The Tao, Long Life, Eternal Vision, a
Daoism
https://www.persee.fr/doc/asie_0766-1177_2004_num_14_1_1197

A Thematic and Annotated Bibliography of Isabelle Robinet (revised and enlarged edition) (2004)

Isabelle Robinet, Monica Esposito
China
Annotated bibliography
Taoist studies
bibliography
open access
scholarly
From the introduction: "Born on October 18, 1932 Isabelle Robinet died in Paris on June 23, 2000. With her death, the pioneering phase of Taoist studies also seems to have come to an end. (...) Her writings are so numerous and widely spread that it seemed opportune to present a general bibliography of Robinet's publications along with an annotated bibliography organized by theme."
Daoism
https://www.goldenelixir.com/files/Robinet_The_World_Upside_Down_SAMPLE.pdf

The World Upside Down: Essays on Taoist Internal Alchemy (2011)

Isabelle Robinet, Fabrizio Pregadio
China
Waidan
neidan
Taoist cosmology
number
internal/external elixir
internal alchemy
yin and yang
numerological cosmogonies
five agents (wuxing)
pdf
partial open access
scholarly
This pdf is a preview of the book. Text by Isabelle Robinet, edited and translated by Fabrizio Pregadio (published 2011). This contains only the front matter, the initial pages of each chapter, and the back matter. The pdf includes several complete tables (trigrams etc.) at the end, as well as pictures and a glossary of Chinese characters.
Daoism
https://www.goldenelixir.com/publications/eot_shangqing.html

Shangqing: Highest Clarity (2008)

Isabelle Robinet, Fabrizio Pregadio
China
Shangqing
doctrine
practice
canon
texts
revival
revelation
salvation
immortality
cosmic saint (shengren)
gods
spirits
divinities
cosmology
cosmography
text
open access
scholarly
By Isabelle Robinet, edited by Fabrizio Pregadio (reproduced from Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism, 2008). First paragraph: "The term Shangqing initially denoted a corpus of scriptures revealed to Yang Xi (330-86) between 364 and 370 (see table 21). With later "apocryphal" texts, these scriptures were adopted by the southern Chinese aristocracy in the fifth and sixth centuries and were assigned the highest rank within the Three Caverns (sandong) of the Taoist Canon. Later, the same term also des
Daoism
https://www.goldenelixir.com/publications/eot_daojia.html

Lineage(s) of the Way (2008)

Isabelle Robinet, Fabrizio Pregadio
China
Daojia
Daojiao
school
lineage
Taoism
Daode jing
Zhuangzi
origin
qi
philosophy
text
open access
scholarly
By Isabelle Robinet, edited by Fabrizio Pregadio (reproduced from Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism, 2008). First paragraph: "The term daojia is a topic of debate among scholars, mainly concerning whether early Taoism constituted a "school" or "lineage," as the term jia seems to imply, and the distinction between daojia and daojiao, which is often understood to mean the religious forms of Taoism. The term daojia itself originated with Han historiographers as a bibliographic label, but has also be
Daoism
https://www.suppressedhistories.net/goddess/xiwangmu.html

Xi Wangmu, the shamanic great goddess of China (n.d.)

Max Dashu
China
Xi Wangmu
Hsi Wang Mu
Kunlun mountains
immortality
cosmic forces
Queen Mother of the West
shaman
tigress
iconography
art
material religion
great female principle
Tai Yin
goddess
female deity
divinity
article
images
open access
public discourse
scholarly
This article by feminist historian Max Dashu traces the history of Xi Wangmu. First paragraph: "One of the oldest deities of China is Xi Wangmu (Hsi Wang Mu). She lives in the Kunlun mountains in the far west, at the margin of heaven and earth. In a garden hidden by high clouds, her peaches of immortality grow on a colossal Tree, only ripening once every 3000 years. The Tree is a cosmic axis that connects heaven and earth, a ladder traveled by spirits and shamans."
Daoism
https://www.persee.fr/doc/asie_0766-1177_2004_num_14_1_1212

Sun-worship in China - The Roots of Shangqing Taoist Practices of Light: Part 1. Yuyi and Jielin: The Taoist God of the Sun and Goddess of the Moon (2004)

Monica Esposito
China
Yuyi
Jielin
solar mythology
sun-worship
god of the sun
goddess of the moon
light
Shangqing
canon
article
images
pdf
open access
scholarly
The abstract of this pdf is French but the article is in English (begins on page 346). Extracts from the abstract available on JSTOR (in English): "Since the remarkable article by Henri Maspero on mythological legends in the Shujing, no Sinologist or historian of religions has, in the West, devoted monographic studies on solar mythology in China. Recently, however, the work of Sarah Allan (based on the ancient theories of Hu Houxuan, Akatsuka Kiyoshi and Chang Tsung-tung, in particular), as well
Daoism
https://www.persee.fr/doc/asie_0766-1177_1985_num_1_1_860

The Habit of Perfection—A Summary of Fukunaga Mitsuji's Studies on the Chuang-tzu Tradition (1985)

Livia Knaul
China
Japan
Chuang-tzu
Zhuangzi
Fukunaga Mitsuji
Ch'an Buddhism
literature
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Daoism
https://www.persee.fr/doc/asie_0766-1177_2008_num_17_1_1274

The Emperor and His Councillor: Laozi and Han Dynasty Taoism (2008)

Anna Seidel, Lothar von Falkenhausen
China
Laozi
Han dynasty Taoism
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
By Anna Seidel, transl. Lothar von Falkenhausen (2008). Abstract and introduction to the piece are available here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/44171473?seq=1
Daoism
https://www.persee.fr/doc/asie_0766-1177_1989_num_5_1_950

Chronicle of Taoist Studies in the West 1950-1990 (1989)

Anna Seidel
Transnational
History of Taoist studies in the West
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Daoism
https://www.generation-tao-blog.com/catherine-despeux-tao/

Interview (no. 1) with French sinologist Catherine Despeux (2014)

Catherine Despeux
France
Tao
Zhuangzi
Laozi
follow the path of the Tao
experience
interview
text
open access
public discourse
Intro: "What devout Tai Ji Quan practitioner has not read the book: "Taiji Quan, Martial Art, Long Life Technique"? What Tao enthusiast has not immersed himself in reading “Taoism and the human body”? Thus Catherine Despeux has become an emblematic and essential figure of the Tao in France. She tells her story and shares with us her vision of the Tao."
Daoism
https://www.generation-tao-blog.com/catherine-despeux-dao/

Interview (no. 2) with French sinologist Catherine Despeux (2015)

Catherine Despeux
France
Women
internal alchemy
sexuality
gender
interview
text
open access
public discourse
Intro: "We asked Catherine Despeux, professor emeritus at INALCO and author of numerous books on Taoism, to tell us about the women who embark on the path of Taoist internal alchemy."
Daoism
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-new-books-in-art-31105874/episode/shih-shan-susan-huang-picturing-the-true-48352251/

Interview with Shih-shan Susan Huang about her book Picturing the True Form: Daoist Visual Culture in Traditional China (Harvard University Asia Center, 2012; paperback 2015)

Shih-shan Susan Huang, Carla Nappi
China
Production and use of images in their cultural context
Daoist visual culture
traditional China
material religion
Daoist imagery
Daoist canon
ritual space
liturgy
religious practice
esoteric
exoteric
comparative study
invisible images
Chinese art history
paintings
contextualizing art
interview
podcast
open access
scholarly
Podcast (70mins). Description: "Shih-Shan Susan Huang‘s beautiful new book explores visual culture of religious Daoism, focusing on the tenth through the thirteenth centuries. Picturing the True Form: Daoist Visual Culture in Traditional China (Harvard University Asia Center, 2012) is divided into two sections, devoted loosely to esoteric and exoteric realms of knowledge. The “Inner Chapters” of Part I of the book consider esoteric Daoist images associated with meditation, visualization, and bre
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x1kp_FJrbs&ab_channel=BBCPodcasts

BBC Discussion "Daoism (In Our Time)" (2018)

Hilde De Weerdt
China
Transnational
Introduction to Daoism
philosophy
religion
history
Daodejing
Confucianism
power
podcast
discussion
open access
public discourse
Podcast (43:41). Participants: Tim Barrett (Professor of East Asian History at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London), Martin Palmer (Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture), and Hilde De Weerdt (Fellow and Tutor in Chinese History at Pembroke College, University of Oxford). Dr. Hilde De Weerdt speaks about the following topics: 11:03 Relationship between Confucianism and Daoism 22:45 Daoist handbook on leadership 28:18 How Daois
Daoism
https://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Writings/Women.htm

Daughter/Wife/Mother or Sage/Immortal/Bodhisattva?

Joseph A. Adler
China
Confucianism
Daoism
Buddhism
textual traditions
social practices
gender
women
role
immortality
daughter
wife
mother
male gaze
class
elite
yin
yang
article
open access
scholarly
First paragraph: "Teaching the history of Chinese religions in a gender-balanced way involves a rather large number of variables. First, of course, there is the fact that one must deal with at least three religious traditions: Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, each of which itself varies both synchronically (at a given period of time) and diachronically (through time). (...)"
Daoism
http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue22/holmes-tagchungdarpa_review.htm

Review of "The Lady of Linshui: A Chinese Female Cult, by Brigitte Baptandier; trans. Kristin Ingrid Fryklund (2008)" by Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa (2009)

Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa
China
Chen Jinggu
the Lady of Linshui (Linshui Furen)
narrative
cult
role of women
gender
female body
Daoist cosmology
lived tradition
practice
text
open access
scholarly
The review offers a concise summary of the book.
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrKCP3ek2Lg&ab_channel=AsianReligiousConnections%2CHKIHSS%2CHKU

Elena Valussi 阿琳娜: Misconceptions about the role of women in Daoism 謬誤 —— 婦女在道教的角色 (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Gender
roles in society
concepts of the feminine
philosophy
yin
yang
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (02:41)
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UswAeo_N4S0&ab_channel=AsianReligiousConnections%2CHKIHSS%2CHKU

Elena Valussi 阿琳娜: Taming sexual desires arising from qigong 調息練功的性欲 (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Qigong
sexual desires
arousal
feelings
body
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (01:18)
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q20sBWBFDRs

Elena Valussi 阿琳娜: The spread of women’s qigong in contemporary China 女子氣功盛行於當代中國 (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Qigong and women
health
texts
modernity
nüzi qigong
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (02:23)
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ycH9YXafeY&ab_channel=AsianReligiousConnections%2CHKIHSS%2CHKU

Elena Valussi 阿琳娜: Woman still has a lower status in the Daoism hierarchy 道教女眾的地位仍然較低 (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Gender
roles
equality
Daoist religious structure
hierarchy
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (01:33)
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiYr0Jg1QCs&ab_channel=AsianReligiousConnections%2CHKIHSS%2CHKU

Part 1/2: Elena Valussi 阿琳娜: Nüdan – female alchemy 女丹 —— 婦女修練的內丹 (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Female alchemy
nüdan
neidan
transformation
female body
immortality
gendered language
texts
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (01:58)
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLs6QK2WeUg&ab_channel=AsianReligiousConnections%2CHKIHSS%2CHKU

Part 2/2: Elena Valussi 阿琳娜: Female alchemy practice 女丹的修練功法 (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Female alchemy
nüdan
neidan
transformation
female body
immortality
gendered language
texts
breasts
menstruation
uterus
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (01:21)
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga92vDjBR4Y&ab_channel=AsianReligiousConnections%2CHKIHSS%2CHKU

Elena Valussi 阿琳娜: Nüdan – a safe alchemy at home 女丹修練,安留在家 (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Female alchemy
nüdan
transformation
female body
immortality
gendered language
texts
textual production
home
menstrual blood
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (02:22)
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_mOAidzTEY

Elena Valussi 阿琳娜: How nuns practice nüdan today 當今女道與女丹 (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Female alchemy
nüdan
transformation
female body
immortality
nuns
Daoist monastery
texts
menstrual blood
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (04:36)
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HgfHZ-WTQw

Elena Valussi 阿琳娜: From nüdan to health practice 女丹修練演變為健身方法" (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Female alchemy
nüdan
transformation
female body
immortality
texts
menstrual blood
lay practitioners
health
nüzi qigong
female quigong
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (04:22)
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FKjwqdTea8&ab_channel=AsianReligiousConnections%2CHKIHSS%2CHKU

Elena Valussi 阿琳娜: Female alchemy after menopause 停經之後的女丹功法 (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Female alchemy
nüdan
transformation
female body
immortality
texts
menstrual blood
menopause
biological cycle of a woman
neidan
menstruation
energy
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (03:58)
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeC1IoMpfk8&ab_channel=AsianReligiousConnections%2CHKIHSS%2CHKU

Elena Valussi 阿琳娜: Nüdan and Chinese medicine 女丹與中醫 (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Female alchemy
nüdan
transformation
female body
immortality
texts
menstrual blood
menstruation
energy
Chinese medicine
traditional Chinese gynecology
health
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (03:17)
Daoism
https://archive.org/details/DaoismAShortBibliography/mode/2up

Daoism — A Short Bibliography (2016)

Fabrizio Pregadio
China
Bibliography
bibliography
pdf
open access
scholarly
The bibliography has a small section on "Daoism and Women" (on page 6), but includes works by women scholars throughout. Description: "This bibliography is addressed in the first place to students of my courses on Daoism. The earliest version dates from 1998. From time to time I update it, adding new materials and omitting a few of the older ones. The present version contains works dating to 2016. "
Daoism
https://www.learnreligions.com/gender-and-the-tao-3183069

Gender and Taoism (2019)

Elizabeth Reninger
n.a.
Introduction to Daoism
gender
cosmology
role of women
immortality
yin and yang
Daodejing
feminism
deities
text
open access
public discourse
Brief introduction to the subject.
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raDm2WluNxk&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=ReligioninTaiwanandSingapore

Guan Yin channelled through her spirit medium (tang-ki) / 新加坡觀音降駕乩童 12/10/2014

Religion in Taiwan and Singapore
Singapore
Guan Yin
lived religion
channeling
spirit medium
possession
trance
community
female deity
goddess
Singapore
tang-ki
ritual
performance
video
open access
primary
Video (03:08). The video does not explicitly state that this is a Daoist practice, but the deity pays respect to the Jade Emperor (01:03).
Daoism
https://9emperorgods.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/726/

Nine Emperors in Johor Bahru (2012)

Nine Emperor Gods Festival
Malaysia
Guan Yin
female Daoist priest
priestess
nu daoshi
trance
spirit medium
temple
festival
lived religion
community
female deity
goddess
Nine Emperors
Jade Emperor
Datuk Awang
Malaysia
blog
images
text
open access
public discourse
Blog post about the Nine Emperor Gods Festival at Sam Siang Keng temple in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Extracts: "As many already know, the priestess of the temple is Wee Ah Moi, who is now in her eighties. (...) Her mother was also a medium at this temple and it was when Ah Moi was 18 that she was chosen by the goddess to serve the community through her special abilities. (...) The priestess goes in to trance each afternoon during the Nine Emperor Gods festival, offering help to those in need of gui
Daoism
https://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/ieas/IEAS_32_0002.pdf

A Survey of Taoist Literature: Tenth to Seventeenth Centuries (1987)

Judith M. Boltz
China
Taoist literature
hagiography
ritual
epigraphy
historiography
anthology
encyclopedia
pdf
images
text
open access
scholarly
Daoism
https://vimeo.com/23583673

Dr. Xia Chen: A Daoist View of Ecology: The Co-Existence of Dao and Wu and the Interrelationship between Humans and the Natural (2012)

Xia Chen
China
Wu wei
Dao
interrelation
nature
natural laws
humanity
ecology
ecological balance
transformation
video
open access
scholarly
Video (1:12:08). Presented by the Brown University Department of Religious Studies and Contemplative Studies Initiative. About the lecturer: "Dr. Chen Xia is a research fellow at the prestigious Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Beijing. She received her Ph.D in Religious Studies from Sichuan University, taught there for 10 years, and moved to CASS in 2003. She has been a visiting scholar at Harvard-Yenching Institute and London University's School of Oriental a
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOlML5aWzMI&ab_channel=PatChoo

Bei Dou Xing Jun aka Dou Mu (2011)

Pat Choo
China
Dipper Mother
Dou Mu (斗母 – dǒumǔ)
Dou Mu Yuan Jun
Zi Jin Miao Xian Yuan Jun
Sheng De Shen Gouang Tian Hou
Dou Lau
Ursa Major
the Great Bear
Big Dipper
Northern Dipper
astronomy
cosmology
Seven Stars constellation
cosmic elements
iconography
star worship
pantheon
temple
material religion
goddess
female deity
video
open access
public discourse
primary
Video (07:10). The video comes with English subtitles. The imges/subtitles during the first few seconds are pixelated (gets better at 0:34).
Daoism
http://www.mysmu.edu/staff/margaretchan/documents/6_THE_TANG-KI_AS_COSMIC_ACTOR.pdf

The Tang-ki as Cosmic Actor (2009)

Margaret Chan
Singapore
Tang-ki
tangki
ritual
performance
body
dance
medium
shaman
demon
gods
possession
Daoist cosmology
text
images
open access
scholarly
Text and illustrations (floor plan of a ritual stage, trigrams). First paragraph: "Taoist worship is a religious practice that has no liturgical canon, but instead emphasis is placed upon the performances of rituals. Tang-ki ceremonies are ‘magical’ in that it is believed that the performance of ritual-theatre can move heaven and earth, bestowing peace and wellbeing upon man. Tang-ki performance employs a sacred choreography that recreates the magic of legendary Chinese emperor Yu the Great."
Daoism
https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935420.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199935420-e-11

Contemporary Daoist Tangki Practice (2015)

Margaret Chan
China
Tangki
tang-ki
possession
spirit medium
shaman
demon
ritual
gods
anthropology
Mainland Southeast Asia
Vietnam
Cambodia
Thailand
Indonesia
China
Malaysia
Singapore
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Since 1979, China has seen a renaissance of indigenous belief systems, including Daoist tangki spirit-medium practice. Tangki traditions have Neolithic roots. The founding myth is of a man who magically battled flood demons to save China. In imperial times, ordi-nary people, disenfranchised by the state religion and pawns of dynastic wars, created a soteriology of self-empowerment. Ordinary people would transform through spirit possession into warrior gods who would save the community
Daoism
http://www.mysmu.edu/staff/margaretchan/documents/4_MYTHOLOGY_AS_DRAMATIC_CANON.pdf

Mythology as Dramatic Canon (2009)

Margaret Chan
n.a.
Mythology
tang-ki
tangki
theatre
performance
ritual
storytelling
anthropology
iconography
possession
spirit medium
shaman
demon
gods
audience
anthropomorphism of Taoist deities
text
images
pdf
open access
scholarly
First paragraph(s): "The gods of tang-ki worship are drawn from folklore. Mythology supplied the drama of traditional Chinese theatre. Theatre has historically been the ultimate didactic tool used by the Chinese. The ordinary people were largely illiterate so that performance had priority over text. The extent to which a Chinese audience invests a theatrical performance with truth has no parallel in the West."
Daoism
http://www.mysmu.edu/staff/margaretchan/documents/5_TANG-Ki_COSTUMES.pdf

The Tang-ki's Costumes and Make-up (2009)

Margaret Chan
n.a.
Costumes
make-up
verstimentary practices
textiles
material religion
tang-ki
tangki
theatre
performance
ritual
storytelling
iconography
possession
anthropology
spirit medium
shaman
demon
gods
text
images
pdf
open access
scholarly
First paragraph: "The ritual costume of the tang-ki comprises two items of clothing; firstly a stomacher (tou-ioe 肚兜 pinyin du dou) which is worn over drawstring trousers and secondly, a ceremonial apron named lengkoon (龙裙pinyin longqun) the tang-ki’s three-panel ‘dragon skirt’. The stomacher symbolises the tang-ki’s status as naked, child diviner. The dragon’s skirt is an article of a general’s costume borrowed from Chinese opera and marks the tang-ki as a warrior. To these two ritual articles
Daoism
http://www.mysmu.edu/staff/margaretchan/documents/7_TANG-KI_SELF_MORTIFICATION.pdf

Tang-ki Self-Mortification (2009)

Margaret Chan
Singapore
Daoist cosmology
tang-ki
tangki
theatre
performance
ritual
storytelling
iconography
possession
anthropology
spirit medium
shaman
demon
gods
self-mortification
pain
body
text
images
pdf
open access
scholarly
First paragraph: "Self-mortification is a hallmark of tang-ki worship. However the tang-ki’s theatre of pain is not performed in order to impress an audience; instead it is a religious practice in which the tang-ki as warrior god, arms himself to do battle with evil demons."
Daoism
https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-16/issue-2/jul-sep-2020/medium

The Chinese Spirit-Medium: Ancient Rituals and Practices in a Modern World (2020)

Margaret Chan
Singapore
Modernity
modern practices
Daoist cosmology
tang-ki
tangki
theatre
performance
ritual
spirit medium
text
images
open access
scholarly
public discourse
First paragraph(s): "In Singapore, the sprit-medium stares straight ahead as five long skewers are driven through the flesh of his back. In Phuket, an umbrella is grotesquely twisted into a gaping wound on the face of his Thai counterpart. Meanwhile in West Kalimantan, steel wires bristle like catfish whiskers around the mouth of an Indonesian medium. These men, and they are usually men, are Chinese spirit-mediums. They are known by various names: in Singapore, they are called tangki, which is H
Daoism
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/685861

Daoist Ritual Manuals in Vietnam: Self-Cultivation, Cosmic Steps, and Healing Talismans (2018)

Ekaterina Zavidovskaia
Vietnam
Visual representation
visual culture
charts
talismans
drawings
art
material religion
ritual manuals
manuscripts
ritual specialists
images
China
Vietnam
healing techniques
Daoist priests
diagrams
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This paper examines visual representations—charts, talismans, and drawings—in Daoist ritual manuals contained in a collection of about 200 Chinese-language manuscripts from the Sino-Vietnamese border. Today kept in Taiwan, they presumably belonged to ritual specialists of Zhuang and Yao ethnic minority groups. This paper provides detailed analysis of many common graphic and pictorial images featured in Daoist manuals omnipresent in south China and, as this research shows, neighboring
Daoism
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/685859

Daoist Seals, Part 2: Classifying Different Types (2018)

Shih-shan Susan Huang
China
Talisman
graphic
seal script
image
relationship between text and image
visual culture
material religion
article
images
partial open access
scholarly
Note: Part 1 of the article is not openly accessible but available via institutional access (link to the article: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/647557) Abstract: "This second part of the study of Daoist seals focuses on types, building on Wang Yucheng's earlier studies. They come in four: 1) seal script; 2) heavenly scripts; 3) talisman-inspired; and 4) graphic. The underlining criterion is the Daoist strategy of image-making: it sheds light on the interlocking relationship of Daoist texts and
Daoism
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/685858

Losing What "Me"? An Existentialist Look at the Ego in the Zhuangzi (2018)

Gabriele Libera
n.a.
Zhuangzi
emptiness of the ego
existentialism
philosophy
comparison
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Even though the concept of ego is clearly not of Zhuangzi's time, and most of its uses are not appropriate categories to interpret the Zhuangzi, the existentialist conception of ego presents a relevant exception. Existentialist views on the ego's hypostatization and on its role as a source of alienation make Existentialism a good candidate to expound some aspects of the Zhuangzi and give its theory of mind a clearer theoretical basis. To grasp what it means for Zhuangzi to "lose one's
Daoism
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/685857

A Daoist Exploration of Shenming (2018)

Sharon Y. Small
China
Shenming
history of terms
intellectual history
history of ideas
meaning
cosmology
texts
comparison
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Shenming 神明 is an important term in pre-Qin Daoist thought, notably appearing in three excavated texts from two locations, Mawangdui 馬王堆 and Guodian 郭 店. The Mawangdui texts of the Shiwen and the Huangdi sijing show how shenming, both as a cosmological and a concrete physical concept, derives from the heavenly and is then applied to the human. In the Guodian text of the Taiyi shengshui, the term occupies a crucial position in the process of creation, beginning with the Great One and e
Daoism
https://theconversation.com/etre-moine-tao-ste-en-chine-aujourdhui-a-la-rencontre-de-maitre-feng-95196

Being a Taoist Monk in China Today: Meeting Master Feng (2018)

Adeline Herrou
China
Taoist monk
China
cultural revolution
Mao Zedong
lifestory
societal changes
ethnography
anthropology
text
images
video
partial open access
public discourse
scholarly
Essay "Being a Taoist Monk in China Today: Meeting Master Feng" by Adeline Herrou (2018). The essay outlines Adeline Herrou's documentary "Maître Feng" (Chinese with French subtitles). The essay comes with: Text, photos, video teaser (01:35). Introductory paragraphs: "Master Feng is an ethnographic film made in the south of Shaanxi province, central China. It portrays a Taoist monk in today's Chinese society. Entering religion "in the old China", he was forced to return to secular life durin
Daoism
https://mediatheque.mshmondes.cnrs.fr/s/exposition-vieux-maitres-et-nouvelles-generations-de-specialistes-religieux-aujourdhui-en-chine/page/1

Media Library "Old masters and new generations of religious specialists today in China: Ethnography of everyday life and anthropology of social change" (2016)

Adeline Herrou
China
Anthropology
ethnography
everyday life
masters
social change
coexistence
priest
Chinese religious specialists
religious diversity
images
video
open access
scholarly
The media library is based on the exhibition: Maison Archéologie & Ethnologie, March 30 to May 4, 2016, [within the framework of ANR Shifu program] / Coordinator: Adeline Herrou. The website comes with: Photographs, short video clips, terrain maps. Description: "A yin yang geomancer, an inspired script translator, a Taoist martial arts virtuoso master, a bimo shaman of the yi religion, an honorary Buddhist abbot, an astrologer calculating fate by the Eight characters of birth, but also a mediu
Daoism
https://sites.google.com/site/calanehome/cala-northeast-news-events/drluxichenschineselecturethewisdomtopreservepsychologicalhealthfromthedaodejing

The Wisdom to Preserve Psychological Health from the Daodejing (2014)

Lu Xichen
China
Chinese language
health
Daodejing
preservation
psychotherapy
ancient wisdom in modern times
video
open access
public discourse
scholarly
The lecture is in Chinese, split into four videos (30:43, 30:44, 22:46, and 16:51). Description: "On June 12th, 2014, with the Institute of Asian Studies at St. John's University, CALA/NE Chapter cosponsored a Chinese Lecture by Professor Xichen Lu on the topic of “The Wisdom to Preserve Psychological Health from the Daodejing”. The event was held at the Faculty Lounge in Sun Yat Sen Hall of St. John's University. (..) Audience was inspired by Professor Lu’s presentation on the heritage of Daois
Daoism
https://stephenjones.blog/2017/06/13/women-of-yanggao-13-daoist-families/

Women of Yanggao 1/3: Daoist families (2017)

Stephen Jones
China
Daoist household
family
public roles
women
wife
married women
domestic life
gender
ethnography
anthropology
blog
images
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
First paragraph: "In China, as in most societies, public performance—of all kinds, including ritual—is still largely a male monopoly. In the course of thirty years of documenting ritual groups in the countryside, it has been distressingly possible for me not to meet any women at all; from local cadres to temple committees, from shawm bands to ritual specialists, public roles remain largely monopolized by men. As until very recently in the Vienna Phil, women are invisible. Their absence from our
Daoism
https://stephenjones.blog/2017/06/14/women-of-yanggao-23-sectarians-and-mediums/

Women of Yanggao 2/3: sectarians and mediums (2017)

Stephen Jones
China
Daoist household
family
ritual roles
women
wife
married women
domestic life
gender
Bodhisattva Guanyin
spirit mediums
male domination
power
public roles
ethnography
anthropology
blog
images
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extract: "As with most public roles, ritual specialists (such as household Daoists or members of ritual associations) are male—or so it may at first seem. The few exceptions to the male monopoly—nuns performing public liturgy, unmarried daughters taking part in their father’s shawm band—only prove the rule. However, the role of women in ritual transpires to be substantial. (...) But it is as spirit mediums that I suspect women most commonly subvert male power."
Daoism
https://stephenjones.blog/2017/06/15/women-of-yanggao-33-singers/

Women of Yanggao 3/3: singers (2017)

Stephen Jones
China
Music
songs
singer
women
Chinese performance
gender
Chinese music history
narrative-singing
anthropology
ethnography
musicology
blog
images
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extract: "At a tangent from female members of Daoist families, or sectarians and spirit mediums, are the female vocalists who serve weddings, funerals, and celebrations—now mainly singing pop. As ethnographers we can no more ignore this than we can neglect pop music in our own cultures. First I should give a little overview of gender roles in Chinese performance. In their worthy goal of reinstating women into the story of Chinese music, the two articles by Cynthia P. Wong and Su Zheng in The Gar
Daoism
https://stephenjones.blog/2020/06/08/religion-gender/

Gender in changing Chinese religious life (2020)

Stephen Jones
China
Gender roles
double blindness
superstition
secular religiosity
modernity
female spirit medium
domestic confinement
anthropology
ethnography
blog
images
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extract: "(...) Within this ever-growing scholarly field, here I’d like to introduce two substantial recent discussions, by Kang Xiaofei and Elena Valussi. Focusing on prescriptive tracts by educated commentators, both authors highlight the “double blindness” between women’s studies and religious studies, revisiting the elite dichotomy between religious reformists and “superstition” in the first half of the 20th century, the influence of Christianity, the May Fourth movement, and Communist rheto
Daoism
https://stephenjones.blog/hebei-nuns/

Nuns of rural Hebei (n.d.)

Stephen Jones
China
Nuns
rural areas
countryside
gender roles
rituals
Daoist nuns (daogu 道姑 )
Daoist Granny Temple (Nainai miao)
temple
nunnery
instrumental music
anthropology
ethnography
blog
images
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extract: "In traditional China, ritual activity—indeed, public appearance altogether—appears to be male-dominated. We’ve noted that women have always been excluded from the core membership of both amateur ritual associations and household Daoist groups, but the role of women in religion is significant—as worshippers, as members of amateur sects, and notably as spirit mediums (for a roundup of posts, see here). Nuns hardly threatened the patrilineal traditions of ritual and instrumental music bef
Daoism
https://stephenjones.blog/2018/10/06/lives-of-female-mediums/

Lives of female mediums (2018)

Stephen Jones
China
Female spirit mediums
folk healthcare
gender
shamanism
possession
healer
blog
images
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extract: "The healing sessions of mediums, while now acting in tandem with (rather than in conflict with) more orthodox medical procedures, are clearly a significant and enduring aspect of folk healthcare. And in all these regions, mediums vocalise in various forms including singing: soundscape is always an important aspect of our ritual studies (see also here, and here). While it is hard enough to unearth the history of household Daoists under the Maoist era, it’s even more so for the female me
Daoism
https://singaporemotherhood.com/articles/2017/07/praying-zhu-sheng-niang-niang-baby/

Praying to Zhu Sheng Niang Niang (注生娘娘) for a Baby (2017)

Mandy Lim Beitler
Singapore
Modern religious practices
fertility
goddesses
female deities
body
women
pregnancy
rituals
worship
child birth
Zhu Sheng Niang Niang
Singapore
anthropology
blog
images
text
open access
primary
public discourse
This (non-academic) essay offers advice on how to conceive a healthy baby by praying to Zhu Sheng Niang Niang. It instructs how to make the appropriate offerings and includes a list of Zhu Sheng Niang Niang temples in Singapore. Extract: "A fertility deity in Taoist culture, Zhu Sheng Niang Niang governs everything to do with pregnancy, delivery and birth. In Chinese, 注生娘娘 literally translates to “goddess who watches over birth”. Believed to protect both mother and child, Zhu Sheng Niang Niang i
Daoism
https://www.learnreligions.com/sacred-mountains-of-taoism-4123124

Sacred Mountains of Taoism (2017)

Elizabeth Reninger
China
Sacred mountains
landscape
nature
introduction
earth
planet
environment
place
space
article
images
open access
public discourse
Brief introduction to the subject.
Daoism
https://www.learnreligions.com/taoist-visual-symbols-4123169

8 Important Taoist Visual Symbols (2019)

Elizabeth Reninger
n.a.
Symbols
introduction
yin
yang
visual culture
Taijitu Shuo
polarity
cosmology
Five Elements
Ba Gua
Lo Pan Compass
He Tu & Luo Shu Diagrams
Nei Jing Tu
Guodian Bamboo Strips
article
images
open access
public discourse
Brief introduction to the subject.
Daoism
https://www.learnreligions.com/the-taoist-altar-3182504

The Taoist Altar (2019)

Elizabeth Reninger
n.a.
Material religion
altar
introduction
objects
worship
rituals
article
images
open access
public discourse
Brief introduction to the subject.
Daoism
https://glam.uoregon.edu/s/fabric-of-collecting/page/collecting-silk

Essay "Collecting Silk" incl. references (n.d.)

University of Oregon Libraries, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
North America
China
Chinese status garments
vestimentary practice
silk
museum
robes / jiangyi (降衣)
iconography
symbols
fabric
textile
art history
collector
imagery
clothing
text
images
open access
public discourse
The website has a section about "Daoist Robes." Description: "Gertrude Bass Warner collected art extensively throughout Asia, especially in China. She was particularly drawn to silk textiles and the people who produced them, primarily the women in private households and commercial workshops. It was only in the 17th century when the production of court orders began to overwhelm the imperial workshops that commercial workshops took over some of the production. In these commercial workshops, most o
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69qOBsQkax4&ab_channel=JordanSchnitzerMuseumofArt

Gallery Talk "Reflections of the Cosmic Web" (2018)

Ina Asim
North America
China
Textiles
museum
robes / jiangyi (降衣)
tapestry weaving
imagery
art history
symbols
clothing
iconography
video
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Video (1:05:24). Starts at 2:50. Description: "JSMA founder Gertrude Bass Warner lived in China for many years, amassing an astonishing collection with special interest in art of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). She bequeathed enviable riches to the museum, among them some with fine Daoist iconography. Next to the teachings of Confucius, Daoism is one of the two indigenous philosophical traditions of China that have evolved over more than two thousand years. Followers of Daoism are committed to th
Daoism
http://www.eastasianhistory.org/38/Georgieva

'Crossing Over' to Immortality in the Daoist Ritual Regulations of Highest Purity (2014)

Valentina Georgieva
China
Ritual
initiation
crossing-over (guodu 過度)
spiritual transformation
sexuality
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extracts: "This paper re-examines the esoteric initiation manual called the Yellow Book Regulations for Crossing-over of Highest Purity (Shangqing huangshu guoduyi上清黃書過度儀, DZ 1294, hereafter abbreviated as Regulations for Crossing-over). A prime feature of this initiation ritual is the joint participation of a man and a woman in a complex series of exercises culminating in a religiously unitive experience enacted as a ritual congress. The prescribed sexual and ceremonial actions have been discus
Daoism
http://www.eastasianhistory.org/sites/default/files/article-content/13-14/EAH13-14_02.pdf

The Date and Compilation of the Fengdao Kejie, the First Hand book of Monastic Daoism (1999)

Livia Kohn
China
Monasticism
handbook
Fengdao kejie
medieval Daoism
texts
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
First paragraph: "Monasticism as a feature of medieval Daoism evolved und er Buddhist influence and on the basis of an extended and increasingly specialized priesthood in the sixth century. Its fundamental rules, organizational principles, and concrete establishments are first described in the Sandong fengdao kejie or "Rules and Precepts for Worshipping the Dao According to the Three Caverns, " today contained in the Daoist canon (DZ 11 25) and found in part in several Dunhuang manuscripts. (..)
Daoism
http://www.eastasianhistory.org/sites/default/files/article-content/02/EAH02_01.pdf

The Concept of Inherited Evil in the Taipingjing (1991)

Barbara Hendrischke
China
Maoshan sect
Taipingjing
evil
Han dynasty
texts
chengfu concept
salvation
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extracts: "The material for this paper stems from a corpus of texts edited in the sixth century AD by members of the Maoshan Sect, which was the dominant Daoist sect of that period. About one-third of this corpus has come down to us in approximately the same form as it was in the sixth century. In content and language, most of this corpus differs widely from all other transmitted writings of that sect and it can therefore be accepted that the corpus was indeed, as tradition has it, composed from
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btWUIi1CLYM&ab_channel=BridgeProjects

Daoism and Chinese Art (2020)

Robin Wang
China
Chinese contemporary art
Daoist art
art history
Daodejing
Zhuangzi
material culture
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (50:21). The presentation begins at 3:40. Description: "The common trope that Chinese contemporary art is merely westernized often ignores rich historical, philosophical, and spiritual traditions that inform Chinese art today. In this lecture, philosopher and scholar Dr. Robin Wang reflects on Taoism through its seminal texts the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) and Zhuangzi (Chuang tze) its early social context of ritual healing, philosophical idea of yinyang, and the aesthetic sensibility of com
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG87xzhz5TE&ab_channel=MeaningofLife.tv

Exploring Daoism | Robert Wright & Robin Wang (2020)

Robin Wang
China
Daodejing
Confucianism
Zen Buddhism
transcendence
yin
yang
introduction
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (1:02:19). The following timestamps are in the description below the YT video: Unpacking the Dao De Jing‘s famous opening line, “The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao” 3:40 “The way” as a descriptive and prescriptive moniker 8:18 Rising above the perspective of the moment 17:56 The relationship among Daoism, Confucianism, and Zen Buddhism 23:45 Spirituality and transcendence in Daoism 32:11 Robin’s work as a consultant on The Karate Kid remake 41:28 Why Robin’s book uses “y
Daoism
https://web.archive.org/web/20080823084857/http:/www.stthomasu.ca/~parkhill/cj01/ireplz.htm

Inquiry Report on the Chinese Goddesses

Laura Zinck
China
Hsi Wang Mu
Xi Wangmu
Queen Mother of the West
Ma-tsu
Mazu
goddesses
deities
gender
pantheon
article
images
text
open access
scholarly
Article available via WaybackMachine. Abstract: "Despite China's patriarchal social system, the Chinese have traditionally considered male and female spirits as having equal importance and power (Paper, 1989). The equality of the female and the male principles in Chinese religion is best exemplified by the complementary relationship between yin, female energy, and yang, male energy (Milcinski, 1997). However, Western scholarly approaches to Chinese religion have imposed a patriarchal system onto
Daoism
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b7855c23e2d09330f780093/t/5b96dee38a922de250fe6b07/1536614123717/Giuffrida_Royal_Taste_catalogue_small.pdf

Ming Imperial Patronage of the Wudang Mountains and the Daoist God Zhenwu (2015)

Noelle Giuffrida
China
Wudang mountains
Zhenwu
art history
patronage
sponsoring
Buddho-Daoist hybrids
artworks
material religion
text
images
open access
scholarly
(Exhibition catalogue) Essay. This pdf is linked on Noelle Giuffrida's website (See "pdf" on https://noellegiuffrida.com/publications). Extracts: "Imperial devotion to and patronage of Daoist gods, rituals, and institutions flourished during the Ming dynasty. Emperors, empresses, and eunuchs in Beijing, as well as princes enfeoffed in territories throughout the country, sponsored Daoist activities, many of which involved commissioning works of art. Emperors ordered the compilation and printing o
Daoism
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b7855c23e2d09330f780093/t/5b96e0a94fa51ac603b262c5/1536614572582/Giuffrida_Zhang_Daoling_Telling_Images.pdf

Transcendence, Thunder and Exorcism: Images of the Daoist Patriarch Zhang Daoling in Books and Paintings (2013)

Noelle Giuffrida
China
Zhang Daoling
art history
artworks
paintings
thunder
transcendence
exorcism
protection
narrative
pdf
images
article
open access
scholarly
This pdf is linked on Noelle Giuffrida's website (See "pdf" on https://noellegiuffrida.com/publications). Extracts: "Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) pictures featuring the founding patriarch of Celestial Master Daoism, Zhang Daoling (34–156), survive in many forms including illustrated scriptures and books, occasional and liturgical scroll paintings, and printed talismans. The initial impetus for my investigation into the patriarch came from a desire to situate Zhou Xun’s (1649–1729) paint
Daoism
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/daoi/hd_daoi.htm

Daoism and Daoist Art (2011)

Birgitta Augustin
China
Museum
art history
artwork
introduction
pictorial art
Yuan dynasty
sculpture
pantheon
statue
painting
landscape
text
images
open access
public discourse
Text with links to individual images incl. descriptions.
Daoism
https://www.earlywomenmasters.net/tao/chen.html

Writings on Tao or the Tao Te Ching / Daodejing / 道德經 by Women Authors (from past to present) [1916-2015]

earlywomenmasters.net
n.a.
Bibliography
bibliography
open access
public discourse
Daoism
https://vimeo.com/75572027

[Ethnographic footage] Ceremony "Petitioning the Eight Daoist Immortals" (2013)

Sharon Smith
China
Kundao
female master
female Daoist chujiaren
ritual
ceremony
Eight Immortals
performance
temple
video
open access
primary
Video (16:09). A brief explanation about the ritual appears at the beginnning of the video. Description: "In 2011, I was studying Chinese in Kunming in Yunnan province. I met a Kundao (female Daoist monk) who invited me to a temple for a ceremony to petition the 8 Daoist Immortals on behalf of two young women."
Daoism
https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/thinking-through-disability/0/steps/15485

Exploring non-western philosophies (n.d.)

Karyn Lai
China
Chinese philosophy
Western philosophy
plurality
uniformity
comparison
introduction
good life
Confucianism
Daoism
change
dynamism
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (07:31). Description: "Associate Professor Karyn Lai from UNSW Australia talks about the differences between the Western and Chinese conceptions of a good life. In particular, Karyn emphasises that in Chinese philosophy thinking about a good life means understanding that change is imminent and that we live in a plural world. (...) Karyn also explains how Daoism in particular asks people to find a good life by looking at what they have — their bodies, their capabilities and their materials
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebp2U2O9194&ab_channel=AboutUNSW

Associate Professor Karyn Lai: The Yijing (Book of Changes) and Chinese Philosophy (2012)

Karyn Lai
China
Change
philosophy
I Ching 易經
trigrams
history
plurality
harmony
yin-yang
Confucianism
Daoism
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (36:24). Introductory talk about the notion of change in Doaism. Note: The talk includes a concise explanation of the yin-yang symbol aided by visuals that illustrate the meaning of the yin-yang (26:19-28:50).
Daoism
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/confucianism-daoism-state-cult-han-six-dynasties-10/id633543482?i=1000146360615

Lecture 1/2 Confucianism, Daoism and the State Cult: Han - Six Dynasties (2012)

Suzanne Cahill
China
Material culture
Chinese bronze mirrors
objects
Han dynasties
state
ritual
art history
Confucianism
Daoism
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
This looks like a podcast but when you click on the play sign below the rhino image a video (54:54) starts. Link to the lecture outline and the recommended readings: https://www.societyforasianart.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Cahill.10.26.12.pdf
Daoism
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/confucianism-daoism-state-cult-han-six-dynasties-10/id633543482?i=1000146362540

Lecture 2/2 Confucianism, Daoism and the State Cult: Han - Six Dynasties (2012)

Suzanne Cahill
China
Material culture
Chinese bronze mirrors
objects
Han dynasties
state
ritual
art history
Confucianism
Daoism
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
This looks like a podcast but when you click on the play sign below the rhino image a video (29:31) starts. Link to the lecture outline and the recommended readings: https://www.societyforasianart.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Cahill.10.26.12.pdf
Daoism
https://www.earlywomenmasters.net/masters/buer/buer_poems.html

Poems by Zen-Taoist Master & Immortal Sister Sun Bu-er (Sun Pu-erh) (n.d.)

earlywomenmasters.net
China
Sun Buer
Sun Bu-er
poems
poetry
female master
woman
wife
mother
text
website
translation
open access
public discourse
Description: "These translations are from Thomas Cleary's Immortal Sisters: Secret Teachings of Taoist Women (Shambhala Publications, Inc. 1989/1996). (..) Thomas Cleary says: 'Sun Bu-er, whose given name means 'Peeless,' was born in 1124 C.E. She had three children and took up single-minded Taoist practice when she was fifty-one years old. This pattern of entering fully into spiritual Immortalism only after attaining maturity and fulfilling the normal requirements of social life was highly appr
Daoism
https://archive.org/details/seven-taoist-masters-eva-wong

Translation "Seven Taoist Masters: A Folk Novel of China" (2012)

Eva Wong
China
Daoist master
folk novel
narrative
philosophy
text
pdf
book
translation
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Description: "History and legend are interwoven in this folk novel that both entertains and instructs. Written by an unknown author, Seven Taoist Masters is the story of six men and one woman who overcome tremendous hardships on the journey to self-mastery. These characters and their teacher, Wang Ch'ung-yang, are all historical figures who lived in the Southern Sung (1127–1279) and Yuan (1271–1368) dynasties. Wang is regarded as the greatest patriarch of the Complete Reality school, a highly pu
Daoism
https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0103327

Imagery of female Daoists in Tang and Song poetry (2011)

Yang Liu
China
Yu Xuanji
Li Ye
Yuan Chun
Cao Wenyi
Sun Bu-er
Sun Buer
poetry
poems
female Daoists
history
female masters
image
representation
Tang
Song
Daoist nun
dissertation
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This dissertation involves a literary study that aims to understand the lives of female Daoists who lived from the eighth to the twelfth centuries in China. Together with an examination of the various individual qualities manifested in their poetry, this study includes related historical background, biographical information and a discussion of the aspirations and cultural life of the female clergy. Unlike some of the previous scholarship that has examined Daoist deities and mythical f
Daoism
https://tangshi.tuxfamily.org/xuetao/

Poems of Xue Tao (transl. 2015)

Hei Fengcong (黑瘋驄)/Lengmen Daoshi (冷門道士)/R. Earle Harris
China
Xue Tao
Daoist nun
poetry
poems
Tang
female Daoists
text
website
translation
open access
public discourse
Translation of 76 poems by Xue Tao; copyrighted (2014-2017) by Hei Fengcong (黑瘋驄)/Lengmen Daoshi (冷門道士)/R. Earle Harris. The poems come with additional reflections (in a casual tone) by the translator. Description: "Xue Tao (薛涛|薛濤), courtesy name Hongdu (洪度|宏度) lived from 768 to 831 and was a poet during the Tang Dynasty.Xue Tao was the daughter of a minor government official, Xue Yun (薛郧), who was transfered to Chengdu when she was still little, or possibly before her birth. Although her father
Daoism
https://tangshi.tuxfamily.org/yuxuanji/

Poems of Yu Xuanji (transl. 2015)

Hei Fengcong (黑瘋驄)/Lengmen Daoshi (冷門道士)/R. Earle Harris
China
Yu Xuanji
Daoist nun
poetry
poems
Tang
female Daoists
text
website
translation
open access
public discourse
Timeline of Yu Xuanji's life and translation of her poems; copyrighted (2014-2017) by Hei Fengcong (黑瘋驄)/Lengmen Daoshi (冷門道士)/R. Earle Harris. The poems come with additional reflections (in a casual tone) by the translator. Extract from the bottom of the website: "As with all her fellow women poets, men have preserved few facts of Yu Xuanji's life. Most of what is preserved is slanderous. And after dealing with this situation in the works of over half a dozen women poets, I'm tired of it, tired
Daoism
https://tangshi.tuxfamily.org/liye/

Poems of Li Ye (transl. 2015)

Hei Fengcong (黑瘋驄)/Lengmen Daoshi (冷門道士)/R. Earle Harris
China
Li Ye
Daoist nun
poetry
poems
Tang
female Daoists
text
website
translation
open access
public discourse
Translation of 16 of Li Ye's poems; copyrighted (2014-2017) by Hei Fengcong (黑瘋驄)/Lengmen Daoshi (冷門道士)/R. Earle Harris. The poems come with additional reflections (in a casual tone) by the translator. Extract: "We, of course, do not know very much about Li Ye. And most of what we know comes from secondary or worse sources. She lived from some time in the latter part of Xuanzong's reign (712-756) until early in Dezong's (780-805). As an adult, she lived in Wuxing (now Huzhou, Zhejiang). She was
Daoism
https://www.teacup.media/2019/06/17/chp-224-the-history-of-tang-poetry-part-7/

The History of Tang Poetry Part 7 (2019)

Laszlo Montgomery
China
Xue Tao
Daoist nun
poetry
poems
Tang
female Daoists
podcast
open access
public discourse
Podcast (28:18). The section about Xue Tao starts at 17:40. The podcast episode comes with additional material: (1) a list of terms used in the episode and (2) links to other resources. Description of the episode: "In this seventh installment of the history of Tang poetry we move on to the Middle Tang period. While the poetry might not be as celebrated as that produced during the High Tang, there were still many figures beloved in their own time and all through the centuries. We’ll look at three
Daoism
https://www.capstan.be/nushu-chinas-secret-endangered-female-only-language-is-now-being-revived/

Nüshu, China's secret, endangered, female-only language is now being revived (2020)

Pisana Ferrari
China
Language
nüshu 女书
secret women script
sisterhood
cultural history
gender
patriarchy
culture
text
images
open access
public discourse
Extracts: "“Holding my brush to write this letter, two streams of tears flow/ Of the thousands hardships I have suffered nobody knows” … These words are written in a language called “Nüshu”, which literally means “the script of women”. Nüshu is said to be the only writing system in the world created and used exclusively by women. It originated in China’s Jiangyong county, in southern China, most likely around the 9th century, during the beginning of the Song dynasty (960-1279) (...) Professor Zh
Daoism
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-8buh5-5b569c?utm_campaign=w_share_ep&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=w_share

In the Corner Back by the Woodpile #54: Tao of Tao III- Livia Kohn (2016)

Livia Kohn
China
North America
Daoist studies
cultivation dimension
qi
exercises
personal life
lived religion
organized religion vs. practice
podcast
open access
public discourse
Podcast (39:37). Description: "When it comes to Taoism, there’s few bright lights like Dr. Livia Kohn. A lecturer, author, publisher and a major translator of many obscure ancient texts, Dr. Kohn dropped by the In the Corner Back by the Woodpile podcast to share a little wisdom and talk about her own personal journey within the way."
Daoism
https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-b9icg-97e523?utm_campaign=w_share_ep&utm_medium=dlink&utm_source=w_share

In The Corner Back by the Woodpile #150: Tao of Tao XI - Livia Kohn and Taoist China (2018)

Livia Kohn
China
Daoist China
communist party
repression
organized religion in China
cultural revolution
superstition
state control
podcast
open access
public discourse
Podcast (39:19). Description: "Taoist Scholar Livia Kohn returns Back by the Woodpile to talk about her new book Daoist China, which is a look at the current state of the practice and wisdom tradition as it lives under the eye and fist of the Communist Party. " Link to the book Daoist China: Governance, Economics, Culture (Kohn 2018): http://www.ubcpress.ca/daoist-china Book description: "Traveling in China today and walking about in various cities, it is easy to observe the continued unbridl
Daoism
https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=cejournal

'The Doctrine of the 'Mysterious Female' in Taoism: A Transpersonalist View (2018)

Evgueni A. Tortchinov
n.a.
Mysterious female
womb
embryo
body
women
mother
archetype
philosophy
psychology
article
open access
scholarly
Extracts: "The principal purpose of this paper is to suggest the approach of transpersonal psychology for analysis of some important aspects of the Taoist doctrine, that is, the concept of the Tao as a female universal principle and the Taoist attitude "to be like an infant" or even as an "embryo." To understand these Taoist principles, we must begin from the very beginning-from the central concept of Taoism, that is, Tao (the Way, the True Way). This concept designates the prime ground of the W
Daoism
https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D88D17NF

The Way of Darkness and Light: Daoist Divine Women in Pre-Modern Chinese Fiction (2018)

Peng Liu
China
Imperial Chinese fiction
mysterious woman
immaculate woman
goddesses
martial arts
erotic stories
novels
literature
representation
gender roles
construction of femininity
dissertation
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extract from the abstract: "A mysterious goddess magically generates a swirling wind to conceal the body of a hero. A licentious flower deity seduces a male to experiment with forty-three postures of copulation in a picturesque garden. Such graphic details of late imperial Chinese fiction exhibit two types of power from women: their martial prowess and seductiveness. This dissertation brings these two types of female power together by focusing on the Mysterious Woman (Xuannü 玄女) and the Immacula
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_jZx3dk5-I&ab_channel=SinoVision%E7%BE%8E%E5%9B%BD%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87%E7%94%B5%E8%A7%86

This Artist [Heidi Lau] Brings Taoist Mythology in New York (2017)

Heidi Lau
North America
Modern art
contemporary art
snake goddess
heritage
creation
mythology
art history
Macau
installation
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:17). Description: "The Primordial Molder is an exhibition examining the creation myth of Taoist tradition at the Bronx Museum. The inspiration for the art work is Nüwa, the Snake Goddess who created human beings in Chinese mythology."
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs8xbUu-maA&ab_channel=%E8%AA%B0%E4%BE%86%E6%99%9A%E9%A4%90GuessWho

Documentary "阮頭家是媽祖婆|Matsu's My Boss" (2018)

誰來晚餐 GuessWho
Taiwan
Matsu
Mazu
Taiwan
female deity
goddess
spirit medium
possession
lived religion
channeling
community
family
ritual
performance
temple
anthropology
video
open access
public discourse
primary
Video (49:20). The video comes with English subtitles. Description: "62-year-old Cai Gui-ying is a 1st-generation spirit medium who channels Matsu, Taiwan's most popular Daoist goddess. Gui-ying’s feisty daughter, 36-year-old Zhu Yu-hui, is married to 40-year-old rough-diamond Cai Jia-zong, a truck driver-cum-spirit medium set to succeed Gui-ying at the temple. In this episode, we hear what unexpected encounter led Gui-ying to be chosen as Matsu’s spirit medium, how Cai Jia-zong abandoned his ph
Daoism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/1/66/htm

Conceptualizing the Interaction of Buddhism and Daoism in the Tang Dynasty: Inner Cultivation and Outer Authority in the Daode Jing Commentaries of Cheng Xuanying and Li Rong (2019)

Friederike Assandri
China
Chongxuan Xue
Tang
Cheng Xuanying
Li Rong
Buddhism and Daoism
Laozi Daodejing
Three Teachings
Buddho–Daoism
philosophy
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This paper takes the different interpretations of one and the same sentences in the Daode jing as “inner cultivation” or “worldly power” respectively, in the commentaries of two closely related early Tang Daoist authors, Cheng Xuanying 成玄英 and Li Rong 李荣, as a starting point to approach the question of interaction of Buddhism and Daoism from a new angle. Instead of trying to pinpoint influences, origins, and derivatives, I propose to delineate philosophical discourses that cross the b
Daoism
Buddhism
https://backdoorbroadcasting.net/2016/09/rose-kerr-zhenwu-the-dark-warrior-daoist-beliefs-and-imagery-in-china/

Dr. Rose Kerr on Zhenwu, the Dark Warrior: Daoist beliefs and imagery in China (2017)

Rose Kerr
China
Zhenwu
martial arts
deity
god
museum
state
warrior
art history
artworks
statues
figures
porcelain
audio
images
open access
public discourse
Duration: (File 1) Introduction (05:30) & Talk (46:25); (File 2) Questions (6:20). Comes with slideshow/Images.. Please note: The slideshow at the bottom of the website has two pages. Description: "Dr Kerr [Former Keeper of East Asian Art, Victoria and Albert Museum] provided an overview of the history and development of Daoism in China, and of how Daoism was interpreted and promoted by the Chinese state at different times. In that connection, the figure of the Daoist deity Zhenwu has also chang
Daoism
https://asia.si.edu/?s=woman&religion=daoism&search_context=objects&post_type=tms_object

Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art: 17 search results for "Daoism" and "female" (n.d.)

Smithsonian National Museum
North America
China
Silk
tapestry
female immortal
art history
artwork
women in art
visual culture
museum
sculpture
painting
figure
representation
images
text
open access
public discourse
Note: If you opened an image and cannot scroll down to view the detailed information provided below, you might first have to click somewhere at the very bottom of the screen (i.e. in the grey area right below the image, anywhere next to the icons). This will deactivate the interactive function and allow you to scroll.
Daoism
https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004366183/B9789004366183-s004.xml?rskey=vgmE6O&result=2

Picturing the Body in Chinese Medical and Daoist Texts from the Song to the Qing Period (10th to 19th Centuries) (2018)

Catherine Despeux
China
Body
Chinese medicine
texts
images
visual culture
visualization
text
images
book chapter
open access
scholarly
First paragraph: "This chapter considers visual images (tu圖) of the human body created in China over the thousand years from the Song to the Qing period in the contexts of medicine and Daoist internal visualisation. In particular, it takes a closer look at the relatively neglected field of forensic medicine, and the contested issue of dissection. By focusing on the context in which body images were produced, and their textual and intertextual environment, it aims to arrive at a clearer and more
Daoism
https://brill.com/view/journals/asme/11/1-2/article-p21_2.xml?rskey=kY0uC6&result=12

The Menstruating Womb: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Body and Gender in Hŏ Chun’s Precious Mirror of Eastern Medicine (1613) (2016)

Yi-Li Wu
China
Transnational
Womb
mensturation
body
gender
inner alchemy
cinnabar field (dantian 丹田)
blood
life
female alchemy (nüdan 女丹)
breast
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This paper analyses body and gender in East Asian medicine through a case study of Hŏ Chun’s 許浚 Precious Mirror of Eastern Medicine (Tongŭi pogam 東醫寶鑑, first ed. 1613). While Hŏ Chun’s Chinese sources classified menstrual ailments as a disease of women, Hŏ created a new nosological model that defined menstrual ailments as maladies of the ‘womb’, an internal body part found in men and women alike. I read back and forth between the Precious Mirror and the Chinese sources that Hŏ Chun ci
Daoism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuV_w-haGRY&ab_channel=IKGFErlangen

Conference "Spirit-Writing in Chinese History (IKGF Erlangen) / Talks by Elena Valussi" (2020)

Elena Valussi
China
Spirit-writing
divination
revelation
medium
possession
merchant communities
goddess
transmission
gender
women
video
open access
scholarly
After the short intro section, Dr. Elena Valussi speaks on the following topics: 2:42-4:45 What is spirit-writing? 4:50-6:55 The historical origins of spirit-writing 10:55-17:22 Spirit-writing and gender 21:06-24:45 Sichuan as a hub in the transmission of spirit-writing 26:30-27:35 Spirit-writing in the Chinese world today
Daoism
https://orias.berkeley.edu/resources-teachers/architecture-and-sacred-spaces-shinto

Teacher resource "Architecture and Sacred Spaces in Shinto" (n.d.)

Vimalin Rujivacharakul, Donna Kasprowicz
Japan
Shrine
architecture
sacred space
place
material religion
art
nature
syncretism
website
text
images
open access
scholarly
Extracts: "This page uses the architecture of Shinto shrines as a window into Shinto practices and worldview. Materials presented here were developed by teachers in a year-long ORIAS program, Teaching Comparative Religion Through Art and Architecture." The webiste comes with seven illustrated sections: 1) Harmony with Nature: Shinto Sites 2) First Structures: Early Shrine Architecture 3) The Geography of Sacred Space: Shrine Complexes 4) Influence of Buddhism: Syncretism in Architecture 5) Orga
Shinto
https://orias.berkeley.edu/yamato

The Hero's Journey: Yamato (n.d.)

Stephania Burke
Japan
Yamato
hero
epic
Kojiki
narrative
myth
cosmology
literature
interview
text
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Description: "This interview with Stephania Burke analyzes the Yamato epic through the lens of the Hero's Journey." There are several related websites: 1) Yamato plot summary: https://orias.berkeley.edu/yamato-plot-summary 2) Yamato glossary: https://orias.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/yamato_glossary.pdf 3) Yamato text excerpts: https://orias.berkeley.edu/yamato-text-excerpts
Shinto
https://www.kansaigaidai.ac.jp/asp/files/academics/course-syllabi/fall-semester-2018/REL2.pdf

Syllabus "Shinto" by Elizabeth Kenney, Kansai Gaidai University (Fall 2018)

Elizabeth Kenney
Japan
Introduction
syllabus
mythology
manga
animism
anime
shrine
deities
history
syllabus
pdf
open access
scholarly
Description: "Mythology and manga, animism and anime: Shinto, the ancient religion of Japan, is still today an important part of the Japanese cultural imagination. Shinto is visible everywhere, and there are few Japanese people who do not have some contact with Shinto, many of them on a regular basis. Yet it is not easy to answer the question, What is Shinto? We will look at Shinto from as many perspectives as possible: religious, philosophical, anthropological, and political. "
Shinto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3w9qKqHyF0&ab_channel=AsianArtMuseum

Amaterasu, The Sun Goddess (2013)

Liz Nichols
Japan
Amaterasu Omikami
Shinto goddess
material religion
museum
mirror
narrative
story
art history
sun
myth
video
open access
public discourse
Video (08:50). Description: "Asian Art Museum Storyteller, Liz Nichols, tells a Japanese story about Amaterasu, the sun goddess, in the museum's Japan galleries."
Shinto
https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/3517

Women and Sexism in Shinto (1993)

Okano Haruko
Japan
Sexism
gender roles
feminism
priestesses
society
history
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
First paragraph: "The task of this article is twofold. The first is to trace the change in the position, meaning, and role of women in Shinto, and the second is to consider critically how Shinto participated in the formation of women’s image and arrived at a sexist stance. I shall show this by reconsidering the meaning and role of women in Japanese society as developed by Shinto. My first aim is to delineate Shinto’s progressive disownment of women’s spiritual power which had been acknowledged b
Shinto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfuFxi-TNIk&ab_channel=UBCAsianStudies

2013 John Howes Lecture in Japanese Studies - Professor Helen Hardacre: Understanding Contemporary Shinto (2013)

Helen Hardacre
Japan
Society
popular culture
manga
anime
religion and state
Shinto and the law
shrines and politics
economy and shrines
priesthood
shrine Shinto
shrine stewards
shrine organization
kami
miko
Association of Shinto Shrines (神社本庁 Jinja Honchō)
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (59:15). The lecture starts at 07:45. Description: "In this talk Professor Hardacre will address the debate in Japan today regarding religion's contribution to the public good and how Shinto fits into it. This debate includes proposals to tax religious organizations, court cases regarding shrines and local government, and positions taken by the Association of Shinto Shrines on constitutional revision. Professor Hardacre will also examine Shinto in the popular imagination, works of contempo
Shinto
http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2788

Redefining the Gods: Politics and Survival in the Creation o f Modern Kami (2002)

Sarah Thal
Japan
Kami
Meiji
kito
gongen
Shugendo
legitimacy
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Interpretations of the gods change with each succeeding political transformation as ritualists redefine the objects of their worship in order to survive. In early seventeenth-century Japan, priests at sites of sacred power enshrined their deities as combinatory gods supportive of the Tokugawa regime. In the face of the threats and opportunities of late 1867 to 1874, ritualists asserted and supported the exclusive legitimacy of the emperor by redefining the combinatory gods as imperial
Shinto
http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=403

Encyclopedia of Shinto entry "Female Founders and Shamanesses" (n.d.)

Kokugakuin University
Japan
Encyclopedia
gender
priestesses
kami
Shintōkei shinshūkyō
Tenrikyō
Kitamura Sayo
Nakayama Miki
text
open access
scholarly
Shinto
https://dl.ndl.go.jp/view/download/digidepo_9602313_po_CRJ-187.PDF?contentNo=1&alternativeNo=#:~:text=The%20symbols%20of%20the%20kami,a%20symbol%20of%20the%20kami.

Compilation of Shinto symbols by Taka Yamada 1/2 (1966)

Taka Yamada
Japan
Miko
kannushi
visual culture
material culture
symbols
imagery
hitotsu mono
animals
kami
mountains
trees
stones
sun
moon
ritual
worship
shrine structure
torii
fence
kamigaki
pdf
images
text
open access
scholarly
First paragraph: "A symbol is an object, gesture, word, or anything which through relationship, association, convention, or accidental (not intentional) resemblance has acquired a special significance which causes it to suggest to the mind a certain person or persons, object, idea, etc. A symbol suggests or stands for something, usually, something quite different from the symbol itself. Its meaning depends entirely upon the knowledge and experience of the individual or group concerned. Where the
Shinto
https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/3164

Compilation of Shinto symbols by Taka Yamada 2/2 (1966)

Taka Yamada
Japan
Visual culture
material culture
symbols
imagery
equipment
material religion
shimenawa
shrine crests
talisman
shimpu
ofuda
shinsen
omamori
charms
mamorifuda
offerings
mikoshi
palanquin
kamidana
home shrine
mirror
sword
jewels
onusa
purification
gohei
offering wand
tamagushi
himorogi
ceremony
ritual
worship
pdf
images
text
open access
scholarly
First paragraph: "A great many articles are employed in conducting Shinto rituals and worship. These are called seikibutsu (sacred vessels) and are tokens of the kami, abodes of kami (kami'no-yorishiro), or decorations. They are almost all inseparable from Shinto. The articles employed in rituals are sanctified and treated as symbolic, or representative of Shinto."
Shinto
https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2720

Shinto Funerals in the Edo Period (2000)

Elizabeth Kenney
Japan
Shinto funerals
mortuary rites
Yoshida Shinto
Hashimoto Tsunesuke
monomasa
Amewakahiko
Edo period
death
ritual
ceremony
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Nowadays very few people in Japan have a Shinto funeral. But things might have turned out differently if Shinto activists during the Edo and Meiji periods had achieved their goal of making the Japanese way of death the “kami way, ” or making Shinto the Japanese way of death. This article presents a detailed look at the mortuary rites for two Shinto priests, one of whom died in the late sixteenth century and the other in the mid-eighteenth century. The first case is the earliest record
Shinto
https://apjjf.org/-Akiko-Takenaka/4377/article.pdf

Mobilizing Death in Imperial Japan: War and the Origins of the Myth of Yasukuni (2015)

Akiko Takenaka
Japan
Myth of Yasukuni
Yasukuni shrine
politics
Asia-Pacific War
nationalism
history
war criminals
war memorial
memory
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
The article "examines the earliest phase in the creation of “Yasukuni the belief,” the process through which Yasukuni Shrine was conceptualized in late Tokugawa Japan." (page 2) Additional link to an Aljazeera article (includes photos, videos & also quotes by Akiko Takenaka): https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2019/10/18/yasukuni-caught-in-controversy-as-japan-struggles-with-history
Shinto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoz5EKtFtmQ&ab_channel=BYUKennedyCenter

Memory and Spatial Practice: Yasukuni Shrine and Japan's Unending Postwar (2015)

Akiko Takenaka
Japan
Yasukuni shrine
politics
Asia-Pacific War
nationalism
history
war criminals
war memorial
memory
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (55:52). The lecture starts at 01:50. Description: "Takenaka offers a brief overview of her book [Yasukuni Shrine: History, Memory, and Japan's Unending Postwar 2015] then focuses on key points addressing the Pacific War, a time when the Yasukuni Shrine was the most active."
Shinto
https://thekojiki.wordpress.com/2016/12/17/do-kami-actually-exist/

Do Kami Actually Exist? (2016)

Motowori
Japan
Kami
ontology
worldview
existence
translation
gods
blog
text
open access
public discourse
Introduction: "A while ago I read a book called “Kannushi Life” by NAKAO Muneyasu (2010, 169-71), who is, unsurprisingly, a kannushi (Shinto priest). Specifically he is the guji at Takenobu Inari Jinja in Kyoto. The book is an easy read–even if your Japanese isn’t that good I recommend it–but goes into some of the complex aspects in between the various anecdotes of his life as a Shinto priest. One of the mistakes people make when talking about Shinto is asking the wrong questions. People tend to
Shinto
https://www.as.uky.edu/podcasts/competing-narratives-wartime-remembrance-akiko-takenaka

Competing Narratives of Wartime Remembrance (2011)

Akiko Takenaka
Japan
History
memory
Yasukuni shrine
politics
representation
war memorial
podcast
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Podcast (09:43; ends at 07:00). Description: "Akiko Takenaka is a professor in the Department of History and specializes in the social and cultural history of modern Japan, specifically the Asia-Pacific War. Takenaka discusses her research on the competing histories of World War II and how she uses the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo as a vehicle through which to analyze those narratives in Japan."
Shinto
https://fore.yale.edu/files/shinto_and_ecology_bibliography.pdf

Shinto and Ecology Bibliography (n.d.)

Rosemarie Bernard
Japan
Ecology
nature
environment
anthropology
bibliography
environmental preservation
sacred space
place
bibliography
pdf
open access
scholarly
List of resources complied by Rosemary Bernardon the topic of Shinto and ecology (from the 1960s through the 1990s). Link to the web version: https://fore.yale.edu/World-Religions/Shinto/Bibliography
Shinto
https://fore.yale.edu/World-Religions/Shinto/Overview-Essay

Overview essay "Shinto and Ecology: Practice and Orientations to Nature" (n.d.)

Rosemarie Bernard
Japan
Ecology
nature
environment
anthropology
folk culture
environmental preservation
sacred space
place
purification
introductory text
text
open access
scholarly
Extracts: "Shinto (or kannagara no michi, literally “the way of the deities”) is Japan’s indigenous religion. Shinto refers to diverse and localized religious beliefs, ritual practices, and institutions. On the one hand, Shinto encompasses local community practices, while on the other it also includes the elaborate and highly structured ceremonial practices of the imperial institution and, in earlier historical periods, of the state. (...) It is impossible to consider the topic of Shinto and eco
Shinto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwOkwZigTNM&ab_channel=CIISEWP

Shinto, Mythology, & Ecology: Remembering the Sacred (2015)

Hiroko Shiota
Japan
Sacredness
ecology
consciousness
myth
nature
kami
psychology
introduction
video
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Video (1:01:46). The lecture starts at 01:55. Abstract: "One of the ecological problems today is the notion that the earth is devoid of the sacred nature. When desacralized, the earth may become a mere resource for human use. To help enact a shift from this anthropocentric view to a “mutually enhancing relationship” (Thomas Berry) between humanity and the earth, I explore how Shinto, a Japanese indigenous spirituality, can reawaken a sense of the sacred nature of the earth and ourselves so that
Shinto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4jdxPqDUx4&ab_channel=PearsonOriginals

A Story of Shinto Faith | Pearson Originals (2018)

Lisa Uzunoe
North America
Shinto in the West
lived Shinto practice
introduction
kami
spirit
ritual
shrine
video
open access
primary
Video (04:45). Description: "The Shinto religion has no founder nor any doctrine. Instead it focuses on the worship of the forces of nature. While we often get caught up in our own needs and wants, the Shinto faith encourages self-reflection on what we can do to make the world a more harmonious place for all. This video follows Rev. Lisa Uzunoe as she explains how she incorporates her faith in her everyday life, how she uses it to help others, and the peace she finds in the practice of Shinto."
Shinto
https://www.persee.fr/doc/asie_0766-1177_2006_num_16_1_1254?q=shinto

Duality and the Kami: The Ritual Iconography and Visual Constructions of Medieval Shintō (2006)

Lucia Dolce
Japan
Iconography
art history
visual culture
medieval Shinto
kami
duality
icons
mantras
artwork
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract (extract): "Medieval discourse on the kami produced rich iconographic representations of deities. These images not only challenge the conventional wisdom that Shinto is a tradition without images, but they also testify to the fact that many ways of visualizing kami were experienced in the Middle Ages. In addition, they bring to the fore the variety of ritual performances relating to the kami, to which the production of religious imagery was linked. This article explores the iconography
Shinto
https://www.persee.fr/doc/asie_0766-1177_2006_num_16_1_1251?q=shinto

The Origins of the Miwa Lineage (2006)

Anna Andreeva
Japan
Miwaryu shintō
Miwa shinto
kami
mountain
Miwa lineage
medieval Japan
history
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Historical records suggest that around the 13th century, Mount Miwa, in the southeastern part of the Yamato 大 plain, became the center of a kami cult. Later, this cult will be known as the "lineage of Miwa shintō" or "Miwaryu shintō" 三 輪流 神道. Previous Japanese studies on this subject have often claimed that rituals invoking the kami began as early as 1266. In addition, sources dating from the late Late Middle Ages and the Edo period frequently describe Miwa's lineage from in such a wa
Shinto
https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/shinto-priesthood.html

Becoming a Shintō Priest or Priestess | Titles-Roles of Men & Women Serving Shrines (n.d.)

Mark Schumacher
Japan
Miko
shrine maiden
female Shinto priest
priestess
shrine
roles
gender
clergy
attire
robes
vestimentary practices
clothes
ritual
website
images
text
open access
public discourse
Scroll down to see the section "Miko 巫女 -- Priestess, Female Shaman, Shrine Maiden, Women Attendant." At the very bottom of the page is also a chart that depicts the robes worn today by Shintō priests and priestesses.
Shinto
http://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/cpjr/folkbeliefs/kawamura.html#para0002

The Life of a Shamaness: Scenes from the Shamanism of Northeastern Japan (1984)

KAWAMURA Kunimitsu
Japan
Blind shamaness
female shaman
ogamisama
medium
anthropology
article
open access
scholarly
First paragraph: "Japan's Miyagi Prefecture is home to numerous shamanistic figures, one type known locally as ogamisama, ogamisan, okamin or okaminsan, and another type known as kamisama or hayarigamisama. In general, members of the former group are blind shamans who act as mediums (kuchiyose or hotoke oroshi ["one who calls down spirits of the dead"]), while members of the latter group are normally sighted shamans who do not act in the capacity of mediums. At present, there are about forty-fou
Shinto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3RAQQ_8Dxs&ab_channel=DiscoverKyoto

Kyoto Event: Boiling Water Ritual at Jōnangū Shrine (Yutate Kagura) (2016)

Discover Kyoto
Japan
Miko
shrine maiden
ritual
performance
ceremony
blessing
priestess
video
open access
primary
public discourse
Video (02:43). Description: "Yutate Shinji, or "Boiling Water Rituals", are a common occurrence at Shinto shrines in the winter time, and Jōnangū shrine in southern Kyoto holds their Yutate Kagura ritual on Jan. 20th each year. A ritual for good health and prevention of illness, the Yutate Kagura begins with prayers at the main sanctuary and a blessing for the onlookers. Jōnangū is known for the skill of its shrine priestesses (miko), and four of these young women perform a series of sacred ka
Shinto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcTSQv-aDXw&ab_channel=DazaifuTenmanguofficial%E3%80%90%E5%A4%AA%E5%AE%B0%E5%BA%9C%E5%A4%A9%E6%BA%80%E5%AE%AE%E5%85%AC%E5%BC%8F%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%8D%E3%83%AB%E3%80%91

太宰府天満宮公式チャンネル] Introducing the world of shrine maidens - 巫女 MIKO (2019)

Dazaifu Tenmangu
Japan
Miko
dance
girls
shrine maiden
Michizane Sugawara
priestess
Dazaifu Tenmangu
video
open access
primary
Video (02:30). Japanese with English subtitles. This Youtube channel is maintained by Dazaifu Tenmangu, a Shinto shrine dedicated to the deity of learning, Michizane Sugawara.
Shinto
https://asianethnology.org/page/podcastbaffelli

Japenese New Religions: Media, Women, and Violence (2018)

Erica Baffelli
Japan
New religions
media
women
violence
podcast
open access
public discourse
primary
Podcast (41:59). Description: "This episode's guest is Erica Baffelli, senior lecturer in Japanese Studies at The University of Manchester. Erica’s research interests include religion in contemporary Japan, new religions, religion and media, and religion, women and violence. She discusses her work interviewing members of Japanese new religions and the issues researchers face while producing research on these groups." The resource is included since several of Japan's new religions were directly
Shinto
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/at/contemp_japan/cjp_religions_02.html

Shinto (n.d.)

Helen Hardacre
Japan
Shinto
introduction
shrine
kami
nature
symbols
video
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Video (02:22). Helen Hardacre talks until 01:23. There is a transcript available right below the video.
Shinto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmoQ-kUNRrM&ab_channel=TempleUniversity%2CJapanCampus

TUJ Philosophy Lecture Series Vol. 6: 'What Is Japanese Kami?' (2019)

Tomoko Iwasawa
Japan
Kami worship
Shinto
spirits
god
deity
philosophy
jingi
jindo
naru
tama
history
comparative religions
the divine
myth
dualism
immanence
embodiment
transcendence
good/evil
video
open access
scholarly
Video (1:21:50). This interesting lecture comes with helpful slides but the audio quality is low. Description: "Tomoko Iwasawa, Professor of Comparative Religions at Reitaku University (Chiba, Japan), investigates the meaning of the Japanese concept of kami by analyzing its original meanings developed in ancient texts and rituals. The essence of Japanese religiosity can be best understood by way of tama, which underlies the concept of kami, usually translated as ‘God.’ Tama develops in ways that
Shinto
http://jpars.org/online/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/RSJ-vol4-02-SAKAMOTO.pdf

The Key Attribute of Shinme: Sacred Horses Dedicated to Ise Jingū since 1865 (2018)

SAKAMOTO Naoko
Japan
Horse
Jingū
jinja (Shinto shrines)
kami (deities)
shinme (sacred horses)
tane (seeds)
animals
gender
maleness
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This paper examines the attribute of “maleness” found in the sacred horses dedicated to Ise Jingū since 1865. Called shinme, horses kept at the Shinto shrine (jinja) are signified as mounts for the kami. Among the Japanese it is an ancient custom to offer horses to kami in return for asking blessings that their wishes come true. Previous studies highlight the whiteness of the horse. However, by analyzing records of shinme kept in Jingū I prove that maleness takes precedence over white
Shinto
http://people.brandeis.edu/~eschatt/ImmortalWishes/shrine.html

Akakura Mountain Shrine / Research Project Website (n.d.)

Ellen Schattschneider
Japan
Akakura Mountain
shrine
sacred beings
sacred places
worship
rituals
architecture
kami
introduction
ceremony
ancestral memorialization rite (Senzo Kuyo)
ascetic discipline (Shugyo)
pilgrimage
dragon
Amaterasu
website
text
images
video
open access
scholarly
primary
Introduction/extracts: "Immortal Wishes [monograph pubished in 2003] is based on Dr. Ellen Schattschneider's field research at Akakura Mountain Shrine (Akakurayama Jinja) on the lower slope of Akakura Mountain, at the southern end of the Tusgaru Plain, in Aomori Prefecture, northern Tohoku, Japan. The shrine emerged out of a series of revelatory dreams experienced by a local rural woman kamisama spirit medium in the 1920s. In time, this woman founded the shrine on Akakura's slopes, and has come
Shinto
http://people.brandeis.edu/~eschatt/ImmortalWishes/Readings.html

Annotated bibliography "Suggested Readings and Themes [for teaching Immortal Wishes]" compiled by Ellen Schattschneider (Brandeis University) (until 2000)

Ellen Schattschneider
Japan
Japanese culture
worship
sacred places
shamanism
asceticism
mountains
bibliography
open access
scholarly
Description: "The following are some of the texts that either strongly influenced me as I was writing Immortal Wishes or that I have come to think of as resonating in interesting ways with the book. I suspect that some of these readings would be helpful in teaching "Immortal Wishes," either as assignments for students or as resources for the instructor."
Shinto
https://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/cpjr/kami/matsumura.html

'Alone among Women:' A Comparative Mythic Analysis of the Development of Amaterasu Theology (n.d.)

MATSUMURA Kazuo
Japan
Women
myth
comparison
Amaterasu
theology
Kojiki
Nihon shoki (Nihongi)
goddess
rice
silkworm
sun
article
open access
scholarly
First paragraph: "The work of comparing mythic elements from Kojiki and Nihon shoki (Nihongi) with mythic traditions of countries close to Japan and analyzing the distribution of similar mythic elements has long been undertaken by students of Japanese ethnography. The results of work by Takagi Toshio, Matsumoto Nobuhiro, Oka Masao, Matsumura Takeo, Numazawa Kiichi, Mishina Shôei, Matsumae Takeshi, Ôbayashi TaryôItô Seiji, and Yoshida Atsuhiko have made it abundantly clear that the Kojiki and Nih
Shinto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q06Ibu73_lY&ab_channel=AsianArtMuseum

Shinto Art and Architecture (Part 1 of 2) (1999)

Mary-Ann Milford
Japan
Ceramics
material culture
art history
artworks
museum
painting
sculpture
gods
goddesses
torii
gate shrine
kami
ema boards
temple
blessing
video
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Description: "Mary-Ann Milford of Mills College discusses Shinto art and architecture." This part of the lecture centers primarily onto smaller, individual objects and starts to discuss shrines/architecture when the lecturer speaks about torii at 41:25. Note: There is a brief section that discusses Shinto in the context of everyday life and a slide shows how Shinto priests bless cars. Car blessing: 47:10-48:10.
Shinto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lSSbz1jyQY&ab_channel=AsianArtMuseum

Shinto Art and Architecture (Part 2 of 2) (1999)

Mary-Ann Milford
Japan
Ise Grand Shrine
Ise-jingū
Amaterasu
shrine
torii
sacred builings
architecture
Izumo-taisha
Izumo Ōyashiro
video
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Video (50:53). Description: "Mary-Ann Milford of Mills College discusses Shinto art and architecture." This part of the lecture focuses on architecture.
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/150973

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: Ame-no-Kaku - Amaterasu’s Divine Deer Emissary" by Kikuko Hirafuji (2020)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
Amaterasu
deer
animal
myth
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extracts: "However, deer appear a great deal in the myths of Japan, playing a variety of roles and taking on a number of unique personalities. In particular, a number of uniquely individual deer appear in Fudoki, local records that detail local legends and the origin of place-names. These include a tale of a deer captured by some villagers for repeatedly ravaging their farm fields that begs for mercy when its head is on the chopping block. Another tale relates a deer that views a dream in which
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/150997

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: What Do Myths Tell Us?" (2020)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
myth
Amaterasu
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extracts: "How did such mysterious tales come to be? People have considered several reasons for this since long ago, but one of the most common ideas states that myths are symbolic expressions of the natural world and ethical principles. We can interpret the myth of Amaterasu fearing Susa-no-O’s violence and hiding in the Amano-Iwato (Heavenly Cave) as a great storm blocking out the sun or as a solar eclipse. Another theory argues that historical events inspired the creation of myths. Many peopl
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/150943

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: Yamata-no-Orochi-The Eight-headed, Eight-tailed Serpent" by Kikuko Hirafuji (2020)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
myth
serpent
Susa-no-O
Yamata-no-Orochi
mythological monster
snake
divinity
animal
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
First paragraph: "The Yamata-no-Orochi is perhaps the most frightening of all Japan’s many mythological monsters. According to the Kojiki, this fearsome serpent had eight heads and eight tails, with a body large enough to span eight valleys and a surface of such magnitude that moss and Japanese cedar trees grew upon it. The beast’s belly is said to have been covered in bloody red sores, while its eyes had the appearance of Chinese lantern plants."
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/142576

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: The Hare of Inaba: A Pitiful Hare Saved by Okuninushi" (2019)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
myth
hare
animal
rabbit
Shiro Usagi
white rabbit
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extracts: "Hares are animals that have long been very familiar to the Japanese people. At present, people tend to view them as cute pets, yet there are also areas where they are eaten as food. Hares have often been featured in old tales. In the famous Japanese folktale “Kachi-kachi Yama,” a clever hare uses his wisdom to take revenge on the tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog) that killed an old man’s wife. The hare that makes an appearance in the Kojiki is portrayed in a slightly different light from
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/145336

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: The Yatagarasu: The Three-legged Crow That Guided Emperor Jimmu on his Journey" (2019)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
myth
Yatagarasu
crow
symbol
Emperor Jimmu
animal
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extracts: "The Pillow Book is a book of daily observations and musings written in the middle Heian period by poet Sei Shōnagon. Within it, she mentions swarms of crying crows along with people engaging in lengthy chatter during busy moments, and a dog barking at the covert arrival of a lover, amongst her list of “hateful things” (things that are intolerable or unpleasant). Swarms of black crows that scavenge on rubbish may indeed be regarded as an animal that instills fear in people. The crows t
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/142558

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: The Unique Animals that Appear in the Kojiki" (2019)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
animal
myth
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
First paragraphs: "The protagonists of myths are of course deities and heroes. Nevertheless, there are many unique animals in Japanese mythology that are equally important. By reading through the tales of these animals, we are able to gain clues as to the kinds of animals the Japanese people of ancient times lived with, and the various emotions they harbored towards them. From there, it is also possible to think about the relationship between ancient Japanese people and nature."
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/130837

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: Yamato Takeru: The Hero who Pacified the East with the Sword Kusanagi" (2019)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
myth
Yamato Takeru
hero
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
First paragraphs: "Japan’s oldest book, the Kojiki. It dramatically illustrates the history of Japan from the beginning of the world, the appearance of the deities, to the Imperial succession. Behind each impressive episode, there exist numerous “mysteries” that are yet to be solved even today. By exploring each, we will think about the origin of Japanese beliefs and culture. Yamato Takeru is a hero who appears in the middle volume of the Kojiki. He was the son of the 12th emperor Keiko, but bec
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/127849

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: The Many Abilities of the Deities of the Kojiki" (2019)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
myth
deities
divinities
heroes
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extracts: "In Japan, there is the phase “the eight million deities.” “Eight” is used to represent a large number, likely signifying that there are more deities than anyone can count. The Kojiki, the oldest work of history to describe Japan’s myths, describes many unique deities and heroes who demonstrate special abilities in their exploits. These abilities are varied and numerous: gods of battle, of the harvest, of guidance. From the standpoint of ability, one can see many similarities with deit
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/142336

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: The God who Guided the Heavenly Grandchild – Sarutahiko" (2019)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
myth
god
deities
Heavenly Grandchild
Sarutahiko
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
First paragraph: "When descending to the Earth with other deities, Hononinigi, grandson of Amaterasu, was met by an unusual god who lit the heavens and the Earth at a crossroads. Amenouzume asked who he was, and he replied, “I am Sarutahiko. I am here to guide the descendants of Amaterasu.” Thanks to Sarutahiko’s guidance, the many deities were able to descend to the Earth. Sarutahiko, guide of the gods, can be seen as a god of guidance and travel."
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/133426

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: Toyo’uke – Goddess of Food worshiped at Ise" (2019)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
myth
Toyo’uke
goddess
food
Ise Shrine
rice
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extracts: "Eating is the single most important thing a person does to stay alive. The goddess associated with food is named Toyo’uke. According to the Kojiki, Izanami, who birthed the gods of the land and nature, finally gave birth to the god of fire. While suffering from the burns resulting from this delivery, the god Wakumusuhi was born from Izanami’s excrement. Musuhi means “the power to give birth.” Toyo’uke is the child of Wakumusuhi. Toyo means “bountiful” and uke means “food.”"
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/142363

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: Omoikane – Overcoming Numerous Difficulties with Wisdom" (2019)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
myth
Omoikane
wisdom
deity
god
divinity
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
First paragraph: "There are many deities that appear in Japanese myth, but there is one of supreme wisdom who served as the advisor to the other gods."
Shinto
https://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/en/article/142393

Short essay "Exploring the Kojiki: The Little Partner of Okuninushi: Sukunabikona" (2019)

Kikuko Hirafuji
Japan
Kojiki
myth
Sukunabikona
god
deity
divinity
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extracts: "The appearance of the smallest god in Japanese mythology, Sukunabikona, is filled with mysteries. One day, a small god clothed in the feathers of a wren crossed the sea on the sheath of a metaplexis vine to where Okuninushi was. Okuninushi, wanting to learn the truth behind this mysterious deity, asked nearby gods. A toad told him that Kuebiko likely knew. Kuebiko is the ancient word for scarecrow. The knowledgeable Kuebiko said this small god was Sukunabikona, child of Kamumusuhi."
Shinto
https://theconversation.com/in-japan-supernatural-beliefs-connect-the-spiritual-realm-with-the-earthly-objects-around-us-125726

Introductory text for the exhibition Japan supernatural (Art Gallery of New South Wales): "In Japan, supernatural beliefs connect the spiritual realm with the earthly objects around us" (2019)

Larissa Hjorth
Japan
Australia
Art history
popular culture
art gallery
supernatural
kami
yōkai
monsters
text
images
open access
public discourse
Extracts: "Defining the supernatural is a difficult task — reflecting our contested mortal and moral understandings. Japan has a compelling history of bringing the mystical to life — from the evocative woodcut prints of scholar, poet and artist Toriyama Sekien (1712–88), to the powerful storytelling of Hayao Miyazaki (of Spirited Away animated film fame) and the “superflat” popular character reinventions of Takashi Murakami. In Japan — informed by Shinto beliefs around notions of animism — a sou
Shinto
https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/princess-mononoke-understanding-studio-ghiblis-monster-princess/ch2-deer-gods-nativism-and-history-mythical-and-archaeological-layers-in-princess-mononoke

Deer Gods, Nativism and History: Mythical and Archaeological Layers in Princess Mononoke (2017)

Eija Niskanen
Japan
North America
Princess Mononoke
Mononokehime
Studio Ghibli
Hayao Miyazaki
anime
movie
film studies
animation studies
nature
ecology
popular culture
history
book chapter
images
text
open access
scholarly
First paragraph: "In Mononokehime (Princess Mononoke, 1997) Hayao Miyazaki depicts the main character, Prince Ashitaka, as a son of the Emishi nation, one of Japan’s vanished native tribes, who inhabited West-Northern Japan before the Eastern-Southern Yamato nation took control, starting in the area that is now the basis for modern Japan before claiming the entire country. Emishi, similar to the other native tribes of Northern Japan are often seen as non-civilized barbarians as opposed to the Ya
Shinto
https://www.mimusubi.com/2019/08/11/female-shinto-priests/

Female Shinto Priests (2019)

David Chart
Japan
Female Shinto priest
priestess
Buddhism and Shinto
blog
open access
public discourse
Extracts: "A couple of days ago, I was having a conversation with a professor of Shinto Studies at Kokugakuin University, and the subject of female priests came up. His speciality is the period 1868 to 1945 (a clearly distinct period of Japanese history), and what he had to say was interesting. Apparently, in the late nineteenth century, there were female priests at some jinja. (...)"
Shinto
Buddhism
https://education.asianart.org/resources/female-shinto-spirit/

Female Shinto spirit, approx. 1100–1200 (n.d.)

Asian Art Museum
Japan
North America
Female Shinto spirit
goddess museum
art
artwork
art history
material culture
image
shrine
figure
images
text
open access
public discourse
Extracts: "This figure represents a Shinto goddess; her name is not known. She is depicted as an aristocratic woman, dressed in a thick kimono-like garment. Shinto images like this one were not meant to be seen but were kept hidden in movable cabinets in a special part of shrines, where they were privately worshiped."
Shinto
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/a-spark-of-spirit-in-everything-1.3462036/by-tidying-so-much-i-ve-learned-all-things-have-spirit-in-them-marie-kondo-1.3465772

'By tidying so much, I've learned all things have spirit in them' - Marie Kondo (2016)

CBC
North America
Marie Kondo
miko
popular culture
everyday culture
kami
feelings
material culture
decluttering
home
tidying
domestic life
podcast
text
video
images
open access
public discourse
Podcast (09:05). Japanese with English translation. The black play symbol appears right below the black and white image on the top. Timestamps: 2:33 MK briefly talks about the god of tidying 3:11 MK mentions that things have spirit 4:20 MK discusses how in Japan "we say that things have spirit" 4:48 MK talks about her five years as a miko at a temple and how this has influenced her 6:15 Comparison of a decluttered house/home to a Shinto shrine Extracts of the short written text that accompan
Shinto
https://academic.oup.com/ssjj/article/4/1/21/1640475

Hybridity and distinctions in Japanese contemporary commercial weddings (2001)

Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni
Japan
Japanese wedding
marriage
modernization
modernity
globalization
hybridity
anthropology
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "By looking at modern Japanese wedding patterns and at recent changes in the wedding ceremony, this paper seeks a better understanding of the processes in which the foreign and the local interact in this so-called era of globalization. My alternative approach emphasizes distinctions. The commercial Japanese wedding, which is a combination of Japanese and Western styles, has the appearance of a chaotic cultural pastiche. However, in an interpretive and dynamic approach to anthropology a
Shinto
https://www.bustle.com/p/how-shinto-influenced-marie-kondos-konmari-method-of-organizing-15861445

Marie Kondo Credits This Spiritual Practice With Helping Her Figure Out Her Tidying Philosophy (2019)

Mika Doyle
North America
Marie Kondo
miko
popular culture
everyday culture
kami
feelings
material culture
decluttering
home
tidying
domestic life
text
images
open access
public discourse
Extracts: "To help demystify some of the aspects of Kondo's tidying methods, here are a few ways Kondo has integrated Shinto into her tidying process."
Shinto
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Megumi_Yama/publication/325620235_The_Routledge_International_Handbook_of_Jungian_Film_Studies/links/5b191dacaca272021ceed73d/The-Routledge-International-Handbook-of-Jungian-Film-Studies.pdf?origin=publication_detail

Spirited Away and its depiction of Japanese traditional culture (2018)

Megumi Yama
Japan
North America
Spirited Away
Studio Ghibli
Hayao Miyazaki
film studies
spirits
kami
popular culture
movies
Carl Gustav Jung
psychology
anime
animation studies
Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi
storytelling
narrative
imagery
translation
space
place
architecture
Jungian film studies
book chapter
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extracts: "While Spirited Away has become a global success, touching on concepts of the unconscious from a Western perspective, it also speaks to a particularly Japanese sensibility that I wish to explore in this chapter. (..) To begin an analysis of the film, I would like to look at its Japanese title, ‘Sen to Chihiro no Kami-kakushi’ – which in a literal translation reads, ‘Sen and Chihiro are hidden by kami’."
Shinto
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338873917_The_concept_of_kami_in_Shinto_and_holism_Psychotherapy_and_Japanese_literature

The concept of kami in Shintō and holism: Psychotherapy and Japanese literature (2019)

Megumi Yama
Japan
North America
Kami
spirits
literature
ambiguity
psychology
translation
syncretism
Shinto pantheon
Buddhism and Shinto
characteristics of ancient kami in Japan
myth
holism
psychotherapy
book chapter
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extracts: "When the major world religion of Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the sixth century, the indigenous belief was not replaced or regarded as inferior. On the contrary, the primary beliefs of ancient Shintō are still deeply imbued in the Japanese culture and respected by people in everyday life, though largely unconsciously. This fact seems to make the concept of kami in Japan ambiguous and unclear. In this paper, I would like to explore Japanese kami from the perspective of the idea
Shinto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0e1u1C7IBk&ab_channel=Ecology%2CSpirituality%2CandReligionProgram

Feeding a Thousand Souls: Women, Ritual and Ecology in India (2018)

Vijaya Nagarajan
India
Kolam
Kōlam
Tamil women
rice
ritual
Lakshmi
Bhudevi
ecology
video
open access
scholarly
Video (18:19). "Summary of talk: Daily, around dawn, in southern India, on the thresholds of households, temples and stores, millions of women perform the women’s ritual art form of the kolam, a drawing made of wet and dry rice flour. The kolam is eaten by birds, worms, and ants over the course of the morning. This talk focuses on the concept of “feeding a thousand souls,” an oral, dharmic injunction to honor those strangers we expect no gifts from. It is also the title of the forthcoming book,
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocjKWs8GV9k&ab_channel=HarvardDivinitySchool

Paradoxology: the Art of Praising the Deity (2016)

Vasudha Narayanan
India
Paradox
praise
deity
narrative
literature
stories
video
open access
scholarly
Video (1:29:14). Description: "Vasudha Narayanan discusses the role of paradox in the Vaishnava/Hindu traditions during the CSWR’s inaugural Hindu Way of Life Lecture. Narayanan is the Distinguished Professor, Department of Religion, at the University of Florida, and a past President of the American Academy of Religion (2001–02). The Hindu View of Life Annual Lecture series aims to address the urgent issues of our time from a perspective informed by insights and values arising from Hindu traditi
Hinduism
https://www.themahabharatapodcast.com/

The Mahabharata Podcast (2020)

Arti Dhand
India
Mahabharata
mahābhārata
epic
literature
narrative
podcast
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Episodes are around 20 minutes each. On January 14, 2021 there were 28 episodes available (the newest from January 4, 2021). Description: "The Mahabharata Podcast is hosted by Prof. Arti Dhand of the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto."
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOqOxzw8xS4&ab_channel=cec

Mirabai : Voice of Courage (2017)

Payal Nagpal
India
Bhakti
Mirabai
literature
poetry
devotion
self
poet
singing
video
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Video (56:56).
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCK5YWBsAnQ&ab_channel=AmericanAcademyinBerlin

Nature and Culture in the Kamasutra (2016)

Wendy Doniger
India
Kamasutra
kāmasūtra
literature
erotic love
nature
culture
gender roles
female sexuality
homosexuality
Sanskrit canon
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (1:17:03). Description: "The Kamasutra, composed in the third century CE, is the world’s most famous textbook of erotic love. For its time, it was astonishingly sophisticated and, even today, there is nothing like it. Yet it is all but ignored as a serious work in its country of origin—sometimes taken as a matter of national shame rather than pride—and in the rest of the world it is a source of amused amazement, inspiring magazine articles that offer "mattress-quaking sex styles" such as "
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=how-wI-Gxj4&ab_channel=AlephBookCompany

Wendy Doniger 'On Hinduism' (2013)

Wendy Doniger
India
Introduction
pluralism
gods
Hindu traditions
stories
narrative
women's voices
video
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Video (15:18). Description: "Through this magisterial volume which she calls "the book of my books" Wendy Doniger, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest and most original scholars of Hinduism, enlarges our understanding of an ancient and complex religion. Comprising a series of connected essays, 'On Hinduism' examines many of the most crucial and contested issues in Hinduism, from the time of the Vedas to the present day: Are Hindus monotheists or polytheists? Is it possible to reconcile im
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ohhYqE_Wg0&ab_channel=HarvardUniversity

Fleeting Moments That Last Forever: Violence Of and Against the Everyday (2015)

Veena Das
India
Violence
everyday life
anthropology
video
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Video (1:51:06). Starts at 06:50.
Hinduism
https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2052/

Aesthetics of Sovereignty: The Poetic and Material Worlds of Medieval Jainism (2016)

Sarah Pierce Taylor
India
Digambara
Tīrthaṅkara Ādinātha
Ādipurāṇa
narrative
premodern
sovereignty
society
literature
poets
medieval Jainism
dissertation
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract [extract]: "'Aesthetics of Sovereignty' explores how premodern religious communities employed narrative as a site to imagine ideal political worlds in ways that exceeded the capacity of formal philosophical and politico-theoretical discourse. Taking the Digambara Jain community of the ninth and tenth-century western Deccan as my primary focus, I argue that Jains theorized, modeled, and continually revised what it meant to be both a king and a Jain through literary and material improvisa
Jainism
http://www.sutrajournal.com/the-role-of-yoga-in-bengali-shaktism-by-june-mcdaniel

The Role of Yoga in Bengali Shaktism (2016)

June McDaniel
India
Bengali Shaktism
yoga
yogic ritual
bhakti
West Bengal
Shakta bhakti
ethnography
interview
Śāktaḥ
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Extracts: "Thus we have several basic relationships between bhakti traditions and yogic ritual. Yoga may be a way of limiting religious experience, and also of generating it. It may be a lineage practice to find the deity, and also a gift of knowledge from the deity who has appeared spontaneously. It may show authenticity, with the person being willing to act on his or her beliefs, and also heresy, violating the god’s will for human action. While the popular understanding of yoga is disciplined
Hinduism
https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004432802/BP000015.xml

Adapting Śaiva Tantric Initiation for Exoteric Circles: The Lokadharmiṇī Dīkṣā and Its History in Early Medieval Sources (2020)

Nina Mirnig
India
Śaivism
early Śaivism
Shaivism
tantric initiation
dīkṣā
ritual
tantra
tantric tradition
book chapter
text
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extracts: "The other, lesser-known form of exoteric initiation is the lokadharmiṇī dīkṣā, which forms the subject of this paper. This term translates as “the initiation which contains/adheres to the lokadharma,” the lokadharma denoting the sphere of observance that Śaiva sources consistently define as the exoteric religion of śruti and smṛti, that is to say the domain of the brahmanical householder.5 Unlike the nirbījā, access to the lokadharmiṇī initiation is not limited to specific groups, and
Hinduism
https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004432802/BP000004.xml

Why Are the Skull-Bearers (Kāpālikas) Called Soma? (2020)

Judit Törzsök
India
Kāpālika
soma
Śaiva ascetics
Śaivism
Shaivism
tantric tradition
skull
book chapter
text
pdf
open access
scholarly
First paragraphs: "The Kāpālikas or Skull-Bearers, who formed the third group of the Atimārga, alongside the Pāśupatas and the Lākulas,1 were perhaps the most notorious Śaiva ascetics of classical India. They were known for their cremation ground rituals and for wandering around with a skull for an alms bowl. The skull (kapāla), their most conspicuous attribute, also provided their name. But the Kāpālikas are also designated as Somasiddhāntins, “Those of the Soma Doctrine,”2 or the “Soma People
Hinduism
https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004432802/BP000008.xml

Some Hitherto Unknown Fragments of Utpaladeva’s Vivṛti (II): Against the Existence of External Objects (2020)

Isabelle Ratié
India
Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā
Utpaladeva
manuscript
Śaivism
Shaivism
tantric tradition
book chapter
text
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extracts: "The following pages are an attempt to edit and translate some brief marginal annotations borrowed from Utpaladeva’s lost Vivṛti on Īśvarapratyabhijñākārikā (henceforth ĪPK) 1.5.6 and 1.5.8–9. [...] The overall context of the fragments presented here is a controversy over the existence of a reality external to consciousness, and Utpaladeva’s main interlocutor at this point of the debate is a Buddhist Sautrāntika.11 The latter admits that we can never have direct access to any reality e
Hinduism
https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004432802/BP000011.xml

Reflections on the King of Ascetics (Yatirāja): Rāmānuja in the Devotional Poetry of Vedānta Deśika (2020)

Srilata Raman
India
Śrīvaiṣṇava literature
tantric tradition
Rāmānuja
devotion
poetry
Vaiṣṇavism
Vaishnavism
book chapter
text
pdf
open access
scholarly
First paragraphs: "The ocean of Śrīvaiṣṇava literature is vast and it is a humbling scholarly endeavor to realize that the more one works on it, the more there is to discover; thus, any conclusions that one reaches on the intellectual history of the tradition can only be tentative postulations which can and must be superseded by further research.1 This being said, it has become increasingly clear that we are seeing a particularly fertile period between Rāmānuja (traditional dates: CE 1017–1137 C
Hinduism
https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004432802/BP000026.xml

The Early Śaiva Maṭha: Form and Function (2020)

Libbie Mills
India
Early Śaivism
Shaivism
maṭha
tantric tradition
book chapter
text
pdf
open access
scholarly
First paragraphs: "We should begin by determining what we think a maṭha to be in the early Śaiva context. In the seventh and eighth centuries, maṭhas began to receive royal patronage. By the ninth and tenth centuries maṭhas collected taxes and agricultural profits (Sears 2014, 6). In the later period and in the south, maṭhas come to be a place for pilgrims passing through, or an institution for professional adepts, a place one might abide in on a hereditary basis. There is a rise in endowments f
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIK5xsRGqaM&ab_channel=LSE

What does the Hindu tradition have to say about the environment? (2020)

Shivali Fulchand
n.a.
Environment
earth
planet
svadharma
ahiṃsā
ahimsa
vasudhaiva kutumbakam
vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam
climate crisis
video
open access
public discourse
Video (07:20).
Hinduism
https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/25499831/Eck_India'sTirthas.pdf;jsessionid=E58F051D8DEF0D8D03B7471953191517?sequence=4

India's "Tīrthas:" "Crossings" in Sacred Geography (1981)

Diana Eck
India
Landscape
tīrtha
nature
place
space
sacred places
river
pilgrimage
sacred geography
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extracts: "One of the oldest strands of the Hindu tradition is what one might call the "locative" strand of Hindu piety. Its traditions of ritual and reverence are linked primarily to place-to hilltops and rock outcroppings, to the headwaters and confluences of rivers, to the pools and groves of the forests, and to the boundaries of towns and villages. In this locative form of religiousness, the place itself is the primary locus of devotion, and its traditions of ritual and pilgrimage are usuall
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le0IIlwldLE&ab_channel=BrownUniversity

Of Some Sacred Cows of Art History | Kajri Jain | "How Secular Is Art?" (2019)

Kajri Jain
India
Visual studies
art history
the spiritual and the aesthetic
secularity
images
popular culture
modern art
contemporary art
video
open access
scholarly
Video (39:45). Starts at 05:55.
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPJ_VF0E20M&ab_channel=IRCPL

When Gods Emerge from the Temples: Iconic Exhibition Value and Democratic Publicness in India (2019)

Kajri Jain
India
Visual studies
art history
temple icons
gods
democracy
the public
embodiment
domestic life
nationalism
modernity
secularity
video
open access
scholarly
Video (1:44:30). Starts at 04:15. Description: "We are well acquainted with how the affective forces of modern politics depart from the normative ideals of bourgeois publicness. But rather than treating this departure as a binary opposition perhaps it’s more useful to recognize the layered coexistence of, and circuits between, these modalities of publicness, as when electoral politics strategically deploys both religious and secular idioms while also keeping distinctions between them in play. Re
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR_yIyy4uO0&ab_channel=AsianDevelopmentResearchInstitute

Modernity and Modernism in the Hindi World (ADRI Silver Jubilee Lecture) (2017)

Vasudha Dalmia
India
Modernity
modernism
urban lives
Hindi novel
city
middle class
literature
literary history
modernization
video
open access
scholarly
Video (58:57). Starts at 02:12. The lecture is about Vasudha Dalmia's work Fiction as History: The Novel and the City in Modern North India (first published in 2017). Book summary [from https://www.sunypress.edu/p-6799-fiction-as-history.aspx]: "Explains the Hindi novel’s role in anticipating and creating the story of middle-class modernity and modernization in North India. Vasudha Dalmia offers a panoramic view of the intellectual and cultural life of North India over a century, from the aft
Hinduism
https://ochs.org.uk/lectures/%E2%80%9Cwhich-wise-man-would-worship-beings-who-are-tormented-sorrow-and-fear%E2%80%9D-powers-and

“Which wise man would worship beings who are tormented by sorrow and fear?” Powers and Weaknesses of Gods in Buddhist Literature (2011)

Ulrike Roesler
n.a.
Buddhist literature
gods
impermanence
saṃsāra
samsara
audio
open access
scholarly
Recorded lecture; audio (48:47). The recording must be downloaded in order to listen to it. Description: "Buddhists do not deny the existence of gods, but they regard them as beings who are subject to karma and samsara and are therefore not free from the fetters of cyclic existence. Their life is extremely pleasant, but when they die they experience horrible agonies, and Buddhists say that there is no greater suffering in the world than that of a god who is dying. In early legends, gods like Ind
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfCZOUXt2g4&ab_channel=OxfordCentreforHinduStudies

Śākta Traditions Lecture Series: Hinduism and the Goddess (2021)

Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen
India
Śākta Traditions
goddess
female deity
Śāktism
Shaktism
video
open access
scholarly
Video (36:59). Description: "Hinduism cannot be understood without the Goddess and the goddess-oriented Śākta traditions. Worship of the Goddess pervades Hinduism at all levels, from village deities to high-caste pan-Hindu goddesses to esoteric, tantric goddesses. Nevertheless, these highly influential forms of South Asian religion have only recently begun to draw a more broad scholarly attention. The Goddess and her network of Śākta traditions is often subsumed under the broad category of ‘Śākt
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQnWQpkKBgM&ab_channel=SOASUniversityofLondon

Revisiting Max Weber on the Religion of India (2016)

Romila Thapar
India
Western Europe
Max Weber
orientalism
the other
capitalism
Indian religions
rationality
Karl Marx
history
caste and religion
video
open access
scholarly
Video (54:01). Starts at 02:50. Description: "This lecture titled "Revisiting Max Weber on the Religion of India" was given as part of the conference Max Weber’s Hinduism and Buddhism: Reflections on a Sociological Classic 100 Years."
Hinduism
Buddhism
https://elisafreschi.com/

Thoughts on Sanskrit (and) Philosophy

Elisa Freschi
India
Philosophy
Sanskrit
mīmāṃsā
pratibhā
intellectual history
South Asian philosophy
Indian philosophy
Pāñcarātra and Vedānta
comparative philosophy
Advaita Vedānta
Vyākaraṇa
Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta
Vaiśeṣika
yoga
Śrautasūtra
Śaivasiddhānta
Sāṅkhya-Yoga
manuscriptology
Vaiṣṇavism
blog
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Elisa Freschi's personal blog. It offers a wealth of information on a variety of topics in the field of Sanskrit (and) philosophy. There is a "search" field; but if you scroll down you will find a helpful sidebar section with "categories" as well.
Hinduism
Buddhism
Jainism
https://elisafreschi.com/2019/02/19/introduction-to-south-asian-philosophy/

Introduction to South Asian Philosophy

Elisa Freschi
India
South Asian philosophy
Indian philosophy
introduction
ethics
epistemology
logic
philosophy of language
ontology
metaphysics
blog
syllabus
open access
scholarly
Elisa Freschi's tentative proposal on how to teach an Introduction to South Asian Philosophy course [= a syllabus draft.]
Hinduism
Buddhism
https://historyofphilosophy.net/mimamsa-freschi

History of Philosophy in India: Elisa Freschi on mimamsa (2016)

Elisa Freschi
India
mīmāṃsā
mimamsa
vedas
Indian philosophy
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (35:43). Description: "Mīmāṃsā expert Elisa Freschi speaks to Peter about philosophical issues arising from the interpretation of the Veda."
Hinduism
https://historyofphilosophy.net/jains-gorisse

History of Philosophy in India: Marie-Hélène Gorisse on Jain epistemology (2017)

Marie-Hélène Gorisse
India
Jain epistemology
philosophy
soteriology
Indian philosophy
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (32:10). Description: "We're joined by Marie-Hélène Gorisse for a look at the Jain theory of knowledge."
Jainism
https://historyofphilosophy.net/animals-carpenter

History of Philosophy in India: Amber Carpenter on animals in Indian philosophy (2018)

Amber Carpenter
India
Animals
Indian philosophy
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (26:06). Description: "An interview about the status of nonhuman animals in ancient Indian philosophy and literature."
Buddhism
Jainism
https://historyofphilosophy.net/mind-chadha

History of Philosophy in India: Monima Chadha on Indian philosophy of mind (2017)

Monima Chadha
India
Indian philosophy
mind
Sanskrit
consciousness
mental faculties
self and not-self
impermanence
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (29:42). Description: "Monima Chadha takes Peter through Buddhist-Hindu debates over mind and self."
Hinduism
Buddhism
https://historyofphilosophy.net/women-india

History of Philosophy in India: Better half: Women in ancient India (2016)

Peter Adamson, Jonardon Ganeri
India
Indian philosophy
misogyny
women
rebirth
privilege
gender roles
mahābhārata
Mahabharata
upaniṣad
upanishads
arthaśāstra
arthashastra
Kautilya
vedic sacrifices
podcast
open access
scholarly
Podcast (21:27). Description: "Women philosophers and ideas about women in Buddhism, the Upanisads, and the Mahabharata."
Hinduism
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/4/170/htm

Bloodthirsty, or Not, That Is the Question: An Ethnography-Based Discussion of Bhadrakāḷi’s Use of Violence in Popular Worship, Ritual Performing Arts and Narratives in Central Kerala (South India) (2020)

Marianne Pasty-Abdul Wahid
India
Goddess
ritual
performance
popular Hinduism
Dārikavadham
muṭiyēṯṯu
Kerala
Bhadrakāḷi
ethnography
Kālī
Kali
blood
devotion
narrative
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Violence is a characteristic that has somewhat become definitional for the Hindu goddess Kālī. But looking at it through the lens of folk narrative and the popular, devotion-infused and highly personalised opinions of her devotees shows that not only the understanding, but also the acceptance of this violence and the connected anger and bloodthirst that are usually attached to it, as well as the feelings of fear and danger that arise from them on the devotees’ end, are subjects open t
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1m6ULU4zoQ&ab_channel=HarvardDivinitySchool

Possessed by Mary: Hinduism, Roman Catholicism, and Spirit Possession in Tamil Nadu, South India (2012)

Kristin Bloomer
India
Spirit possession
Tamil Nadu
Blessed Virgin Mary
Marian possession
ritual
Roman Catholicism
gender
agency
healing
religious syncretism
power
women
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (57:30). Description: "A presentation on November 1, 2012, by Kristin Bloomer, Assistant Professor of Religion at Carleton College and Visiting Assistant Professor of Women's Studies and South Asian Religions at Harvard Divinity School." Kristen Bloomer's monograph on the topic: Possessed by the Virgin: Hinduism, Roman Catholicism, and Marian Possession in South India (Bloomer 2018). Abstract available at: https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780190615093.001.00
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmPW9nGlGtc&ab_channel=HarvardUniversity

Worlds of Wonder (2016)

Tulasi Srinivas
India
Bangalore
everyday life
creativity
technology
money
emotion
space
time
city
anthropology
wonder
temples
vaiṣṇava
Vaiṣṇavism
Vaishnavism
Śaivism
Shaivism
ritual
ethnography
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (51:23). Description: "As part of the 2016–2017 Fellows’ Presentation Series at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Tulasi Srinivas RI ’17 seeks a new way of understanding everyday modern, sacred life through the metrics of technology, money, emotion, space, and time. She is writing an ethnography of wonder and creativity in India by examining the ritual creativity in Hindu temples in the global city of Bangalore over a 15-year period."
Hinduism
https://historyofphilosophy.net/hinduism-frazier

History of Philosophy in India: Jessica Frazier on Hinduism and philosophy (2016)

Jessica Frazier
India
Philosophy of religion
god
the divine
Indian philosophy
classic Hindu texts
brahman
upaniṣad
upanishads
vedas
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (34:56). Description: "An interview with Jessica Frazier about philosophical ideas and arguments in the Vedas, Upanisads and later Hindu texts."
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lul_UYJpWOA&ab_channel=CharsurArtsFoundation

Tiruvāymoḻi Episode 1 - Select 10 Verses from First Hundred | Sikkil Gurucharan (2020)

Archana Venkatesan (translator)
India
Tiruvāymoḻi
Tamil
bhakti
Carnatic music
vaiṣṇava
Vaiṣṇavism
Vaishnavism
poetry
music
sound studies
devotional singing
Nammāḻvār
Karnāṭaka saṅgītam
video
open access
primary
public discourse
Video (25:42). Comes with transliterated and translated lyrics [Archana Venkatesan] and a written introduction to the work. Vocal: Sikkil Gurucharan Nadaswaram: Mylai Karthikeyan Translation: Prof. Archana Venkatesan Translations excerpted from Endless Song: The Tiruvāymoḻi of Nammāḻvār (Penguin, 2020) Description: "Charsur Arts Foundation in association with Sacramento Aradhana presents selection from the Tiruvāymoḻi’s First Hundred, four verses from the first decad (I.1), two verses from t
Hinduism
https://ochs.org.uk/lectures/texts-hindu-sacred-law-and-construction-womens-lives-part-towards-equality-writingreading

Texts of Hindu sacred law and the construction of women's lives (as part of 'Towards equality: writing/reading gender in texts of Hinduism' workshop) (2006)

Mandakranta Bose
India
Girl child
texts
Hindu sacred law
Hindu society
construction of women's lives
women's status
gender roles
women's rights
social practices
early Hindu society
vedic texts
Sanskrit texts
audio
open access
scholarly
Recorded lecture; audio (56:12). The recording must be downloaded in order to listen to it. Description: "In India the treatises of law founded upon the sacred books of the Hindus had a far-reaching and defining influence on social life. As foundational documents of the Hindu way of life which codified social relations as well as personal belief as religious imperatives, these texts have exerted the deepest influence on the lives and conduct of women through history and their teachings have not
Hinduism
https://ochs.org.uk/lectures/concept-nivrtti-translated-lives-women-hinduism-survey-part-towards-equality-writingreading

The concept of nivrtti as translated in the lives of women in Hinduism: A survey (as part of 'Towards equality: writing/reading gender in texts of Hinduism' workshop) (2006)

T.S. Rukmani
India
Manusmriti
manusmṛti
nivrtti
nivṛtti
women
law
Sanskrit texts
gender roles
audio
open access
scholarly
Recorded lecture; audio (1:02:26). The recording must be downloaded in order to listen to it. Description: "Nivrtti denotes disengagement with worldly conventions. Of course it is used more in the context of samnysins/samnyasinis in connection with the pursuit of moksa (liberation). But this paper intends to release the word nivrtti from this narrow application and look at it in a wider context. The paper will examine the instances in the texts which have representations of women who go against
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWxzlpW1CfI&ab_channel=USCDornsifeCollegeofLetters%2CArtsandSciences

Swami Vivekananda and Adi Sankaracharya: Similarities and Differences (2013)

T.S. Rukmani
India
Swami Vivekananda
Adi Sankaracharya
etymological inquiry
philosophy
history
national spiritual development
vedic heritage
upaniṣad
lokasaṅgraha
video
open access
scholarly
Video (49:32).
Hinduism
https://brill.com/view/title/56950

Mapping the Pāśupata Landscape (2020)

Elizabeth A. Cecil
India
Skandapurāṇa
place
space
sacred geography
Śaivism
Early Medieval India
place-making
Pāśupata communities
book
pdf
open access
scholarly
Description: "In Mapping the Pāśupata Landscape: Narrative, Place, and the Śaiva Imaginary in Early Medieval North India, Elizabeth A. Cecil explores the sacred geography of the earliest community of Śiva devotees called the Pāśupatas. This book brings the narrative cartography of the Skandapurāṇa into conversation with physical landscapes, inscriptions, monuments, and icons in order to examine the ways in which Pāśupatas were emplaced in regional landscapes and to emphasize the use of material
Hinduism
https://www.podchaser.com/creators/elizabeth-a-cecil-107aDv2ifu

Talk about Mapping the Pāśupata Landscape (2020)

Elizabeth A. Cecil
India
Skandapurāṇa
place
space
sacred geography
Śaivism
Early Medieval India
place-making
Pāśupata communities
podcast
open access
scholarly
Podcast (47:30). Talk about Elizabeth A. Cecil's book Mapping the Pāśupata Landscape (2020).
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i8mtq1jmjY&ab_channel=Heidelberg-KRS

Empathy, Facts, and Violence in Narrating Indo-Muslim History (2020)

Audrey Truschke
India
Hindu and Muslim Encounters
Indo-Persian history
Indian-Muslim history
politics
empathy
violence
narrative
Persian
Sanskrit
caste
class
culture
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (1:53:47). Description: "Audrey Truschke discusses two of her recent attempts to discuss Indo-Muslim history and reflects on the political pushback she has received for her scholarly work. This talk and the following discussion are part of the "Hindu and Muslim Encounters" seminar held at the South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University." Note: Audrey Truschke speaks about her new book The Language of History: Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule (2021) in this talk.
Hinduism
Islam
https://www.audreytruschke.com/podcasts-and-interviews

Collection of podcasts, interviews & lectures (until 2021)

Audrey Truschke
India
Aurangzeb
Narendra Modi
fake history
Sanskrit at the Mughal Court
Sanskrit Narratives of Indo-Muslim Rule
Hindutva
podcast
interview
video
open access
public discourse
Collection of links to public scholarly appearances; Audrey Truschke's personal website. See also the media section: https://www.audreytruschke.com/media
Hinduism
Islam
https://edblogs.columbia.edu/reliw4215-001-2013-3/the-bhakti-experience-of-women-in-the-durga-mandir/

The Bhakti Experience of Women in the Durga Mandir (2005)

Bali White
North America
Durga
goddess
bhakti
women
New York
temple
sacred space
worship
ethnography
blog
open access
scholarly
Includes bibliography. First paragraph: "The Durga Mandir, or ‘temple of Durga,’ in New Brunswick, NJ, welcomes both worshippers living nearby and those with a special affinity for a goddess who is both mother and warrior. People differ in how they approach the worship of the goddess and how they describe her impact on their daily lives. While women especially seem drawn to this space, their numbers are only about equal to those of male worshippers. As people come here for various reasons, thei
Hinduism
https://www.tarshi.net/inplainspeak/ardhanarishwara-celebrating-transsexuality-in-the-kolkata-durga-puja/

Androgynous Divinity: Celebrating transsexuality in the Kolkata Durga Puja (2018)

Kaustav Bakshi, Arnab Adak
India
LGBTQ
LGBTQI
heteronormativity
transgender
transsexuality
Durga
Ardhanarishwara
Kolkata
androgyny
gender
colonialism
sexuality
puja
worship
goddess
god
deity
text
images
open access
primary
public discourse
Extracts: "The appropriation of the image of Ardhanarishwara in Kolkata’s Durga Puja can be traced back to 2015. This sarbojonin pujo (public puja), organised by an NGO working for kothi and transgender citizens, was first held in a neighbourhood of North Kolkata; in 2016, the Puja changed location, and was held in South Kolkata. (...) The replacement of the traditional Durga idol by that of the Ardhanarishwara, without any obdurate protest, highlights the true carnivalesque spirit of Kolkata’s
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WhLZFLfbk4&ab_channel=TheSwaddle

Was the Colonial Debate on Sati Ever About Women's Rights? (2021)

Lata Mani
India
Widow
colonialism
private property
property rights
sati
women
tradition
social reform
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:50). Description: "How did the debate on sati in colonial Bengal become the battleground for defining ‘authentic’ Indian tradition? Dr. Lata Mani, historian and writer, explains."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/vibhuti-patel-on-the-evolution-of-feminism-in-india/

The Evolution of Feminism in India (2020)

Vibhuti Patel
India
Rape
body
feminism
sexual violence
women
patriarchy
political representation
gender
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (1:07:50). Description: "Dr. Vibhuti Patel, former professor at the Advanced Centre for Women’s Studies at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the autonomous women’s movement, gender-responsive budgeting, and the problems with women’s political representation in India."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-mrinalini-sinha-on-the-evolution-of-feminist-debates-in-modern-india/

The Emergence and Evolution of Feminist Debates in Modern India (2021)

Mrinalini Sinha
India
Bhadralok
Bengal
colonialism
power
gender
effeminate Bengali
Mother India
masculinity
caste
empire
feminism
nationalism
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (50:33). Description: "Dr. Mrinalini Sinha, Professor at University of Michigan, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the emergence of the stereotype of the ‘effeminate Bengali,’ why Katherine Mayo’s 1927 book ‘Mother India’ became controversial, and how women got divided along caste lines in the fight for their right to vote in colonial India."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-shohini-ghosh-on-media-censorship-and-queer-cinema-in-india/

Savita Bhabhi, Media Censorship, and Queer Cinema in India (2021)

Shohini Ghosh
India
Media
censorship
queer cinema
queerness
popular culture
visual culture
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (52:55). Description: "Dr. Shohini Ghosh, essayist on popular culture and documentary filmmaker, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the changing notions of media censorship, Indian movie stars embracing queerness, and why Rituparno Ghosh remains the most important figure in the world of queer regional cinema."
Hinduism
https://soundcloud.com/the-swaddle/in-conversation-with-dr-ranjani-mazumdar

The ‘Western’ Vamp, and How Globalisation Impacted Popular Indian Cinema (2020)

Ranjani Mazumdar
India
Globalisation
Bombay
cinema
popular culture
cinema studies
movies
film posters
visual culture
theatre
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (43:08). Description: "Dr. Ranjani Mazumdar, Professor of Cinema Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the death of the film poster, Helen and the birth of cabaret in Bombay cinema, and how globalisation impacted on-screen depictions of female sexuality."
Hinduism
https://soundcloud.com/the-swaddle/in-conversation-with-dr-geeta-patel

The 'Homely" Wife Ideal and the Heteronuclear Family in India (2021)

Geeta Patel
India
Women
gender
sexuality
modern Indian literature
nationalism
modernisation
society
wife ideals
anti-colonialism
heteronormativity
marriage
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (27:49). Description: "Dr. Geeta Patel, Professor at University of Virginia, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about why Ismat Chughtai’s Lihaaf was charged for being obscene, the ‘homely’ wife in matrimonial ads, and challenging notions of ‘respectability’ in Indian society."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-dipti-khera-on-the-cultural-importance-of-eighteenth-century-indian-art/

The Cultural Importance of 18th Century Indian Art and Architecture (2020)

Dipti Khera
India
Art history
architecture
18th century India
water
pleasure
palaces
consumption
politics
experiences of art
space
place
Udaipur
lake city
mood
affect
painting
emotion
voluptuous inactivity
productivity of pleasure
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (1:05:50). Description: "Dr. Dipti Khera, art historian at New York University, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about how looking closely at art can reveal the moods of a place and time, what lake palaces from the 18th century tell us about the relationship between pleasure and water, and the ways in which local Indian artisans impacted British consumer tastes. Dr. Khera has written extensively about the themes we discuss, in her book, ‘The Place of Ma
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-ulka-anjaria-on-the-subversive-potential-of-mainstream-bollywood/

The Subversive Potential of Mainstream Bollywood Cinema and Fan Cultures (2020)

Ulka Anjaria
India
Bollywood
popular culture
English language
literature
tradition
fan culture
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (30:30). Description: "Dr. Ulka Anjaria, Professor of English at Brandeis University, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about why critics misunderstand the form of Bollywood cinema, and how popular culture subverts traditional Indian norms on love and desire."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-janaki-nair-on-indian-law-religious-scriptures-and-womens-rights/

Religious Scriptures, Women’s Rights and the Law in India (2020)

Janaki Nair
India
Religious texts and traditions
scriptures
gender
women and law
colonialism
history
colonial law
child marriage
widow remarriage
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (29:40). Description: "Dr. Janaki Nair, historian, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about why religious scriptures formed the basis for colonial law in India, how women fought against child marriage in the 20th century, and why Indu Malhotra’s dissenting judgement in the Sabarimala verdict is significant."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/priya-satia-on-anti-colonial-thought-and-subversive-partition-narratives/

Anti‑Colonial Thought, and Reconsidering Popular Narratives on Partition (2020)

Priya Satia
India
History
partition
nationalism
British empire
anti-colonialism
ethics
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (42:10). Description: "Dr. Priya Satia, historian at Stanford University, and author of “Time’s Monster,” is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the evolution of the discipline of history, how Indian nationalists shaped British intellectual movements, and why historians need to speak truth to power." Link to the monograph: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674248373
Hinduism
Islam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbUqJiLGV_k&ab_channel=CaseWesternReserveUniversity

Pacifists Making Guns: The Galton Family and Britain's Industrial Revolution (2018)

Priya Satia
India
Imperialism
modernity
gun supply
British government
Quaker
war
industrial revolution
secular conscience
history
colonialism
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (1:04:11). The lecture starts at 06:30. Description: "The biggest gun-making firm in 18th-century Britain was owned by a Quaker family, the Galtons of Birmingham. They were major suppliers of guns to the slave trade in West Africa, the East India Company, settlers and trading companies in North America, and the British government. But a core principle of the Quaker faith is belief in the un-Christian nature of war. How, then, do we explain the Galtons? In probing the Galton’s conscience an
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-shailaja-paik-on-the-history-of-dalit-womens-education-in-india/

The History of Dalit Women’s Education in India (2020)

Shailaja Paik
India
Dalit women
discrimination
education
colonialism
colonial India
womanhood
modern India
modernity
caste
oppression
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (44:27). Description: "Dr. Shailaja Paik, historian at University of Cincinnati, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about how Dalit reformers forged a new idea of womanhood in colonial India, and the factors that have impacted Dalit women’s access to education over time." Link to the monograph Dalit Women's Education in Modern India Double Discrimination: https://www.routledge.com/Dalit-Womens-Education-in-Modern-India-Double-Discrimination/Paik/p/book/
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-charu-gupta-on-gender-and-print-culture-in-19th-century-india/

Gender, Sexuality and Print Culture in 19th Century India (2020)

Charu Gupta
India
Sexuality
caste
colonial India
colonialism
modern India
print culture
gender
communalism
print media
public
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (43:21). Description: "Dr. Charu Gupta, historian at Delhi University, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about public debates around gender and sexuality in 19th century India."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-jayakumari-devika-on-womens-resistance-in-kerala/

Women’s Resistance and the History of Birth Control in Kerala (2020)

Jayakumari Devika
India
Public
women's resistance
birth control
Kerala
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (1:19:47). Description: "Dr. Jayakumari Devika, feminist historian and social critic, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the Channar rebellion in the 19th century, women’s writing, and changing gender relations in Kerala."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/divya-kannan-on-gender-caste-and-the-histories-of-education-in-india/

Gender, Caste, and the Histories of Education in India (2020)

Divya Kannan
India
Childhood
the child's voice
history
gender
caste
education
power
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (43:21). Description: "Dr. Divya Kannan, historian at Shiv Nadar University, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the evolution of education in India, and how caste and gender played a role in determining access historically."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/radhika-chopra-on-what-it-means-to-be-a-man/

What It Means To Be a Supportive Man in a South Asian Family (2020)

Radhika Chopra
India
Masculinities in India
purdah
veil
gender roles
maleness
clothing
male veiling
feminism
feminist men
heterosexual men
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (44:28). Description: "Radhika Chopra, sociologist, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about South Asian masculinities, and what it means for heterosexual men to be feminists."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-atreyee-majumder-on-capitalism-and-environmental-justice/

The Connections Between Capitalism, Colonialism, and Environmental Justice (2020)

Atreyee Majumder
India
Capitalism
colonialism
environmentalism
postcolony
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (49:56). Note: Low sound quality. Description: "Dr. Atreyee Majumder, historical and political anthropologist, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about how colonialism shaped Indian environmentalism."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-payal-arora-on-decolonising-digital-privacy-and-digital-cultures-in-india/

Decolonising Digital Privacy and Digital Cultures in India (2020)

Payal Arora
India
Big data
Western bias
future
decolonisation
digital privacy
digital cultures
Silicone Valley
anthropology
digital leisure
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (33:34). Description: "Dr. Payal Arora, digital anthropologist, is in conversation with Karla Bookman, founder-editor at The Swaddle, about the need to ‘decolonise’ digital privacy, digital leisure and romance in India."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-nilika-mehrotra-on-the-disability-rights-movement-in-india/

Evolution of the Disability Rights Movement in India (2020)

Nilika Mehrotra
India
Disability studies
disability rights movement
language/terminology regarding disability
identity
politically correct terms
sexuality
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (38:51). Description: "Dr. Nilika Mehrotra, Professor of Sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Disability Studies Scholar, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the importance of language we use for people’s disabilities, and the ways in which women with disabilities have been rendered invisible by society."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/lata-mani-on-sati-in-colonial-india-and-feminism-as-a-utopian-project/

Sati in Colonial India, and Feminism as a Utopian Project (2020)

Lata Mani
India
Colonial India
secular
sacred
religious fundamentalism
secularism
feminism
modernity
equality
colonialism
sati
women
widow
tradition
social reform
ideology
Marxism
tantra
secular knowledge
construction of religion
history of caste
history of religion
spirituality
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (48:48). Description: "Lata Mani, historian, writer and filmmaker, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the colonial debate on sati, feminist discourse online, and why we need to engage with spiritual thought critically." Link to The Integral Nature of Things: Critical Reflections on the Present [free sample chapter available for download]: http://www.latamani.com/the-integral-nature-of-things Link to SacredSecular: Contemplative Cultural Critique:
Hinduism
Islam
Buddhism
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/how-the-1972-mathura-rape-case-changed-laws-on-sexual-violence/

How the 1972 Mathura Rape Case Changed Laws on Sexual Violence Against Women (2021)

Vibhuti Patel
India
Mathura rape case
caste bias
middle class bias
tribal girl
sexual violence
body
patriarchy
burden of proof
women
Mathura campaign
women survivor
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:55). Description: "The Supreme Court’s response to the 1972 Mathura rape case led to widespread agitations by women’s groups in India. Dr. Vibhuti Patel, Women’s Studies scholar, explains how women fought for legal reform at the time."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/does-classical-dance-favour-an-ideal-body-type/

Does Classical Dance Favour an ‘Ideal’ Body Type? (2020)

Ranjana Dave
India
Disability
body
functional senses
dance
ideal body
body type
social media
classical dance
privilege
eyes
vision
video
open access
primary
public discourse
Video (02:08). Description: "If dance privileges an ‘ideal’ body, what happens when your bodily experience doesn’t match that ideal? Ranjana Dave, dance practitioner and writer, explains." Link to the podcast with Ranjana Dave on the topic (25:02): https://theswaddle.com/podcast/ranjana-dave-on-desires-bodies-and-the-evolution-of-indian-classical-dance/
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/how-did-perceptions-of-same-sex-literature-change-in-colonial-india/

How Did Perceptions of Same‑Sex Literature Change in Colonial India? (2020)

Ruth Vanita
India
Homosexuality
same-sex literature
British influence on Indian literature
colonial India
comparison
attitude to pleasure
play
desire
modernity
puritanical worldview
society
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:18). Description: "Why did attitudes to same-sex literature change in colonial India? Dr. Ruth Vanita, gender and sexuality studies scholar, explains."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/are-indian-women-socialised-to-not-fight-domestic-violence/

Are Indian Women Socialised To Not Fight Domestic Violence? (2020)

Prita Jha
India
Domestic violence
marriage
women
girls
constitution
dependency
married life
divorce
unhappy marriages
child marriage
girl child
marriage as the aim of life
wife
family
video
open access
public discourse
Video (01:44). Description: "In what ways does society teach young girls and women to ‘compromise’ and accept domestic violence in marriages? Prita Jha, legal activist and scholar, explains."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/is-our-cultural-understanding-of-happiness-too-heteronormative/

Is Our Cultural Understanding of Happiness Too Heteronormative? (2020)

Niharika Banerjea
India
Heteronormativity
happiness
family
marriage
LGBTQI
LGBTQ
adoption
property rights
same-sex marriage
struggle
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:21). Description: "Where do queer critiques of the dominant idea of happiness come from? Dr. Niharika Banerjea, sociologist, explains."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/why-was-the-1891-age-of-consent-act-so-controversial-in-india/

Why Was the 1891 Age of Consent Act So Controversial in India? (2020)

Tanika Sarkar
India
Rape
girl child
age of consent act
childhood
child marriage
anti-colonialism
nationalism
demonstration
Hindu ritual
wife
marital rape
domestic violence
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:44). Description: "What does the debate around raising the age of consent for girls in 1891 tell us about attitudes towards marital rape? Dr. Tanika Sarkar explains the complicated power dynamics of one of the first public debates in colonial India."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/has-indian-cinema-always-been-queer/

Has Indian Cinema Always Been Queer? (2020)

Madhavi Menon
India
Queer film
Indian cinema
cinema studies
movies
gender
film
popular culture
Hindi movie
homosexuality
LGBTQI
LGBTQ
Bombay cinema
Bollywood
identity
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:24). Description: "Mainstream Indian cinema has a rich history of queerness. Madhavi Menon, Professor of English at Ashoka University, explains why we need to expand the idea of what we consider to be a queer film."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/how-women-occupy-public-spaces-in-early-urdu-poetry/

How Women Occupy Public Spaces in Early Urdu Poetry (2020)

Ruth Vanita
India
Urdu rekhti poetry
women
public
space
representation
literature
gender
same-sex relationship
homosexuality
men
landscape
place
women's voices
pleasure
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:35). Description: "How does 19th century Urdu rekhti poetry portray women in public spaces? Dr. Ruth Vanita, gender and sexuality studies scholar, explains."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/does-feminism-have-a-complicated-history-in-india/

Why Does Feminism Have a Complicated History in India? (2020)

Mary John
India
Feminism
social reform
sati
widow
female infanticide
law
colonialism
marriage
nationalism
cultural symbols
decolonisation
women
home
private
public
nation
patriarchy
child marriage
girl child
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:34). Description: "Feminism, Indian culture, and nationalism have a complicated history. Mary E John, Professor at the Centre for Women’s Development Studies, explains why."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/why-does-society-either-glorify-or-forget-women-criminals/

Why Does Society Either Glorify Or Forget Women Criminals? (2020)

Mahuya Bandyopadhyay
India
Criminal
women
criminal justice
women prisoners
crime
anthropology
Phoolan Devi
representation
gender
family
honour
criminal acts
social norms
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:05). Description: "How are Indian women prisoners doubly disadvantaged by the criminal justice system? Dr. Mahuya Bandyopadhyay, Associate Professor of Sociology at IIT-Delhi, explains."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/how-courtesans-shaped-bombay-cine/

How Courtesans Shaped Bombay Cinema (2020)

Ruth Vanita
India
Bombay cinema
Bollywood
Hindi movies
courtesan
gender
women
cinema studies
film studies
women director
women producer
actress
women choreographer
working women
single mother
property
premarital relationship
virginity
sex worker
gender roles
prostitute
dance
cabaret
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:38). Description: "How did courtesans shape Bombay cinema, and how has their depiction in cinema evolved with time? Dr. Ruth Vanita, gender and sexuality studies scholar, explains."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/why-do-indians-resort-to-sex-selective-aborti/

Why Do Indians Resort To Sex‑Selective Abortions? (2020)

Mary John
India
Abortion
women
sex-selective abortion
sex ratio in India
census
female infanticide
killing baby girls
dowry
Independence
sex ratio at birth
middle class
law
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:40). Description: "Why is India one of the only countries in the world with a skewed sex ratio? Dr. Mary John, Professor at the Centre for Women’s Development Studies, explains."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/did-humans-disrupt-the-indian-monsoon/

Did Humans Disrupt the Indian Monsoon? (2020)

Suprabha Seshan
India
Monsoon
climate change
environment
destruction
nature
water
agriculture
winds
weather
planetary cycles
modern industrial activities
environmental studies
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:10). Description: "Why is the Indian monsoon unpredictable now? Suprabha Seshan, ecologist and environmental educator, explains."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/videos/video/are-same-sex-unions-a-modern-phenomenon/

Are Same‑Sex Unions a ‘Modern’ Phenomenon? (2020)

Ruth Vanita
India
Kamasutra
kāmasūtra
homosexuality
same-sex union
desire
widow
Bhaghiratha
Bengal texts
literature
gender
sexuality
poetry
shaadi
rituals
video
open access
public discourse
Video (02:16). Description: "Same-sex unions are not a modern phenomenon. Dr. Ruth Vanita, gender and sexuality studies scholar, explains how Indian art and literature have documented narratives of such unions over time."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-anita-ghai-on-portrayals-of-womens-disability-in-india/

Social and Cultural Portrayals of Women’s Disability in India (2020)

Anita Ghai
India
Disability
women
mythology
cinema
disability rights movements
sexuality
health
language/terminology politics
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (36:35). Description: "Dr. Anita Ghai, disability rights activist and professor, is in conversation with Karla Bookman, Editor of The Swaddle, about disability in Indian mythology and cinema, the rise of disability rights movements in India, and the evolution of perspectives on sexuality and disability."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/kanchi-kohli-manju-menon-on-the-history-of-the-eia-in-india/

History of the EIA in India, and the Problem With Nature as a ‘Limitless’ Resource (2020)

Kanchi Kohli, Manju Menon
India
Economic crises
environment
environmental justice law
state policy
industry regulations
nature
environmental studies
local communities
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (1:00:30). Description: "Kanchi Kohli and Manju Menon, environment researchers at the Centre for Policy Research, are in conversation with Karla Bookman, founder and editor at The Swaddle, about environmental impact assessments in India, and the impact of environmental degradation on local communities."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-niharika-banerjea-on-the-women-loving-women-movement-in-india/

The Women Loving Women Movement in India, and the Politics of Categorising Human Sexuality (2020)

Niharika Banerjea
India
Transnational
Transnational feminisms
sexuality
gender
friendship
queer studies
power
same-sex relationship
women
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (38:51). Description: "Dr. Niharika Banerjea, sociologist at Ambedkar University, Delhi, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about transnational feminisms, the queer critique of happiness, and the revolutionary possibilities of friendship."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/ruth-vanita-on-the-history-of-same-sex-love/

The History of Same‑Sex Love and Desires in India (2020

Ruth Vanita
India
Same‑sex love
desire
relationship
literature
novel
homosexuality
women
friendship
courtesans
gender
sexuality
emotion
period novel
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (28:15). Description: "Dr. Ruth Vanita, gender and sexuality studies scholar, is in conversation with Karla Bookman, Editor of The Swaddle, about her latest novel, narratives of same-sex love in early India, and the challenges of running one of India’s first feminist magazines back in the 1970s." Link to Memory of Light (2020): https://penguin.co.in/book/memory-of-light/
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/seema-bawa-on-the-feminist-art-movement-in-india-and-reading-gender-in-early-indian-art/

The Feminist Art Movement in India and Reading Gender in Early Indian Art (2020)

Seema Bawa
India
Art history
feminism
gender relation
stereotypes
visual culture
ethnocentrism
tradition
classical art
early Indian art
change
continuity
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (35:09). Description: "Seema Bawa, Professor of History at Delhi University, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the common misconceptions about South Asian art, whether it is possible to read gender roles in early Indian art, and how artists view feminism differently today."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/tanika-sarkar-on-the-age-of-consent-debate-and-women-in-colonial-india/

The Age of Consent Debate and the Lives of Women in Colonial India (2020)

Tanika Sarkar
India
Rape
girl child
age of consent act
childhood
child marriage
anti-colonialism
nationalism
demonstration
Hindu ritual
wife
marital rape
domestic violence
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (35:20). Description: "Tanika Sarkar, retired Professor of History at Jawaharlal Nehru University, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the first public debates in colonial India, the complexities of the question of consent, and the woman’s voice in colonial India."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/safeena-husain-on-attitudes-towards-girls-education-in-india/

Attitudes Towards Girls’ Education in India (2020)

Safeena Husain
India
Pandemic
gender
inclusion
policy
poverty
patriarchy
family
girl child
education
women
child marriage
girls' education
role models
school
gender-lens
gender-disaggregated data
school budgets
Right to Education Act
law
domestic responsibilities
gender roles
unpaid work
self-worth
patriarchal norms
podcast
interview
open access
primary
public discourse
Podcast (21:45). Description: "Safeena Husain, social worker and founder of Educate Girls, is in conversation with Karla Bookman, founder and editor at The Swaddle, about families’ attitude towards girls’ education, and the impact of the pandemic on girls’ enrolment and learning outcomes in schools."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-mary-john-on-the-history-of-the-feminist-movement-in-india-and-major-challenges-today/

History of the Feminist Movement in India (2020)

Mary John
India
Feminism
social reform
sati
widow
female infanticide
law
colonialism
marriage
nationalism
cultural symbols
decolonisation
women
home
private
public
nation
patriarchy
child marriage
girl child
19th century
history
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (1:00:09). Description: "Dr. Mary John, Professor at the Centre for Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi, is in conversation with Shrishti Malhotra, producer at The Swaddle, about the relationship between feminism and the nation, the skewed sex ratio in India, and changing attitudes towards sexual violence."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/dr-sarah-pinto-on-perceptions-of-women-and-mental-illness-in-india/

Perceptions of Women and Mental Illness in India (2020)

Sarah Pinto
India
Mental illness
psychiatry
gender
medical anthropology
medical care
women
law
Global North vs. Global South
cultural differences
medicine
diverse understandings of personhood
hysteria
society
emotion
body
mind
trauma
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (40:15). Description: "Dr. Sarah Pinto, anthropologist at Tufts University, is in conversation with Karla Bookman, founder-editor of The Swaddle, about the links between women’s societal position and the diagnosis and treatment of their mental illnesses, and the powerful counter-narratives of women’s trauma in South Asian literature."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/madhavi-menon-on-histories-of-desire-queerness-and-sexuality-in-india/

Histories of Desire, Queerness and Sexuality in India (2020)

Madhavi Menon
India
Desire
sexuality
queerness
queer theory
heteronormativity
cinema
popular culture
identity formation
homonormativity
same-sex relationship
marriage
politics
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (37:33). Description: "Dr. Madhavi Menon, Professor of English at Ashoka University, is in conversation with Karla Bookman, founder-editor at The Swaddle, about the problems with categorising desire, and its varied manifestations in religious texts, cinema and popular culture."
Hinduism
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/mahuya-bandyopadhyay-on-the-prison-system-in-india/

Prisoners’ Rights and Prison Reform in India (2020)

Mahuya Bandyopadhyay
India
Prison
punishment
imprisonment
law
history
colonial history
modernity
anthropology
Foucault
sociology
colonialism
violence
human rights
women prisoners
criminals
criminal studies
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Podcast (39:45). Description: "Dr. Mahuya Bandyopadhyay, an anthropologist whose research revolves around the sociology of prisons in India, speaks with us about the idea of imprisonment, human rights, and the linkages between violence within the prison system, and violence in society at large."
Hinduism
Islam
https://theswaddle.com/podcast/prita-jha-on-realities-of-legal-recourse-for-violence-against-women/

Realities of Legal Recourse for Violence Against Women (2020)

Prita Jha
India
Transnational
Gender
sexual violence
law
domestic violence
legislation
social activism
public debate
feminism
policy
criminal justice
women's voices
child sexual abuse
domestic life
public and private
women's movements in India
urbanity
rural communities
podcast
interview
open access
primary
public discourse
Podcast (29:13). Description: "Prita Jha, legal activist and Founder of Peace and Equality Cell, is in conversation with Karla Bookman, founder-editor of The Swaddle, about the problems with implementation of laws pertaining to violence against women and child sexual abuse."
Hinduism
Islam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYSkN8Sw0k8&ab_channel=TheSanDiegoMuseumofArt

Beauty and Enlightenment: Looking at Jain Art (2013)

Phyllis Granoff
India
Art history
museum
Jain art
sculpture
painting
material religion
manuscripts
history
introduction
beauty
enlightenment
religious function of art
illustrated manuscripts
text and image
palm leaf
video
images
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (1:22:16). Starts at 04:50. Description: "Phyllis Granoff, Lex Hixon Professor of World Religions, Yale University Professor Granoff will explore remarkable examples of Indian art, and argue that aesthetic appreciation was a central factor in the development of images of worship in the Jain religion. Sponsored by the Committee for the Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Asian Arts Council."
Jainism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/1/9/htm

Coloring the World: Some Thoughts from Jain and Buddhist Narratives (2020)

Phyllis Granoff
India
Art history
color
Jina
Buddha
visual culture
material culture
manuscripts
material religion
upaniṣad
nāṭyaśāstra
Jain canonical texts to Buddhaghosa
meditation
visuddhimagga
purāṇa
texts
literature
artwork
jātaka
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This paper begins with an examination of early Indian speculation about colors, their number, their use, and their significance. It ranges widely from the Upaniṣads to the Nāṭyaśāstra, from Śvetāmbara Jain canonical texts to Buddhaghosa’s treatise on meditation, the Visuddhimagga, from purāṇas to technical treatises on painting. It turns then to examine how select Jain and Buddhist texts used color in two important scenarios, descriptions of the setting for events and the person of th
Jainism
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/1/57/htm

Introduction to the Special Issue: Seeing and Reading: Art and Literature in Pre-Modern Indian Religions (2021)

Sonya Rhie Mace, Phyllis Granoff
India
Gives an overview on the issue
visual culture
text
text-image-relationship
article
open access
scholarly
Extract: "This volume aims to celebrate the collaboration of seeing and reading, of cognizing both visual and textual sources without privileging one over the other as a primary document."
Hinduism
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/3/183

For the Love of Dogs: Finding Compassion in a Time of Famine in Pali Buddhist Stories (2019)

Phyllis Granoff
India
Animals
dogs
narrative
famine
merit
Rasavāhinī
care
kinship between humans and animals
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This paper focuses on stories from the 13th century Rasavāhinī in which feeding a starving dog is described as an act of great merit, equal even to the care of a monk or the Buddha. It begins with a reevaluation of passages from Buddhist texts that have been taken by scholars as evidence of pan-Buddhist concern for taking care of animals. It argues that they have been over-read and that the Rasavāhinī stories are distinctive. The setting in which these acts occur, a catastrophic famin
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/12/627/htm

Dyeing the Springtime: The Art and Poetry of Fleeting Textile Colors in Medieval and Early Modern South Asia (2020)

Sylvia Houghteling
n.a.
Color
textiles
dyes
festivals
poetry
painting
South Asia
art history
visual culture
visual arts
manuals
artwork
text and image
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This paper explores the metaphorical and material significance of short-lived fabric dyes in medieval and early modern South Asian art, literature, and religious practice. It explores dyers’ manuals, paintings, textiles, and popular and devotional poetry to demonstrate how the existence of ephemeral dyes opened up possibilities for mutability that cannot be found within more stable, mineral pigments, set down on paper in painting. While the relationship between the image and the word
Hinduism
Islam
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/9/467

The Translation of Life: Thinking of Painting in Indian Buddhist Literature (2020)

Sonam Kachru
India
Text and image
paintings
aesthetics
experience
aesthetic stance
ambiguity
time
artwork
art history
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "What are paintings? Is there a distinctive mode of experience paintings enable? What is the value of such experience? This essay explores such questions, confining attention for the most part to a few distinctive moments in Indian Buddhist texts. In particular, I focus on invocations of painting in figures of speech, particularly when paintings are invoked to make sense of events or experiences of particular importance. The aim is not to be exhaustive, but to suggest a meta-poetic ori
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/9/439/htm

The Carving of Kṛṣṇa’s Legend: North and South, Back and Forth (2020)

Charlotte Schmid
India
Kṛṣṇa
Krishna
text and image
sculpture
Tamil poetry
butter
Tamil Caṅkam
visual tradition
Bhāgavata-purāṇa
Harivaṃśa
Divyaprabandham
textual transmission
Pallava
Cōḻa
art history
material religion
artwork
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This paper emphasizes the role played by the sculptural tradition in the elaboration of religious narratives that today are mostly studied through texts. It aims to demonstrate that according to the documents we know, the legend of Kṛṣṇa has been built through one continuous dialogue between different media, namely texts and carvings, and different linguistic areas, Indo-Aryan and Dravidian. Taking the motif of the butter theft as a basis, we stress the role played by the sculptural t
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/7/364/htm

Words and Pictures: Rāmāyaṇa Traditions and the Art of Ekphrasis (2020)

Subhashini Kaligotla
India
Text and images
Rāmāyaṇa
Ramayana
art history
ekphrasis
Mewar
Valmiki
Vālmīki
Rajput painting
Indian epic poetry
space
time
material religion
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This article examines two ambitious enactments of the Rama story or Rāmāyaṇa, side by side: the 17th-century painted Mewar Rāmāyaṇa and Vālmīki’s epic poem (ca. 750–500 BCE). Through a formal analysis of two crucial episodes of the tale, it highlights the creative tactics of each medium and stresses their separate aesthetic interests and autonomy. While A. K. Ramanujan’s notion of the “telling” has been immensely influential in South Asian studies to theorize the Rāmāyaṇa’s multiplici
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/6/274

“On Golden Tablets”: The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Manuscript as a Self-Referential Icon (2020)

Reed O’Mara
Nepal
North America
Prajñāpāramitā
Prajnaparamita
icon
materiality
material religion
pothi
manuscript
palm leaf
Nepal
text and image
self-referential
goddess
deity
wisdom
visual culture
museum
Newar manuscript
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This article examines the paintings on the five surviving illuminated palm-leaf folios and the interiors of the two wooden covers of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s almost complete Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, or the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra, from the early twelfth century (CMA, Acc. No. 1938.301). Earlier scholarship on the CMA manuscript has overlooked the importance of the first folio, which depicts centrally a female personification of the Prajñāpāramitā t
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/5/230/htm

The Uses of Human Malleability: Images of Hellish and Heavenly Sojourns in Pre-Modern Burma (2020)

Lilian Handlin
Myanmar
Text and image
Pagan
Burma
Pali Daw
niraya
vimānavathu
saṃvega
pasāda
hirī
ottappa
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "For more than a millennium, Burmese donors sponsored elaborately decorated structures to publicize their allegiance to the Buddha’s Dhamma in its Pali version, illuminating their understanding of the human predicament. The structures always featured décor informed by revered texts, the Buddha’s words or Buddhavacana and its elaborators, that in the context of the biography of Gotama Buddha writ large, recalled numerous sub-chapters en route to Awakening. Throughout that immensely long
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/4/183/htm

Clearing the Course: Folio 348 of the Nepalese Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra in the Cleveland Museum of Art (2020)

Sonya Rhie Mace
Nepal
North America
Gaṇḍvyūha-sūtra
Gandavyuhasutra
Sudhana
heretics
palm leaf
manuscripts
Bhadracarī
art history
text and image medieval manuscript illumination
visual culture
Newar manuscript
museum
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "The final 15 folios of the Nepalese illuminated palm-leaf manuscript of the Sanskrit Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra of c. 1100 have more paintings per page, larger picture planes, and different types of scenes than are found on the leaves surviving from the first 340 folios. One example is Folio 348 in the Cleveland Museum of Art, which has been painted with scenes of a bodhisattva tossing a blue-skinned heretic, an unusual image of a monk or upāsika wearing blue robes, and a Vajrācārya priest sett
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/3/103

Traces of Reciprocal Exchange: From Roman Pictorial Models to the World’s Earliest Depictions of Some Narrative Motifs in Andhra Reliefs (2020)

Monika Zin
India
Text and image
Buddhist narrative reliefs
ancient Āndhradeśa
Gandhara
influences from the Mediterranean World
Kavikumāra
Mahāpaduma-jātaka
art history
material culture
visual culture
material religion
life stories of the Buddha
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Based on a selection of examples from the sculptural art of Andhra, the paper discusses what possibly motivated the inclusion of motifs and stylistic elements from the ancient Mediterranean into the Buddhist art of the region. While in some cases such adaptations may have been driven by the need to find suitable solutions for the depiction of critical events or by the fact that a foreign motif tied in perfectly with already existing concepts, and thus, reinforced the message to be con
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/3/119/htm

Tales of Endings and Beginnings: Cycles of Violence as a Leitmotif in the Narrative Structure of the Bhadrakāḷīmāhātmya (2020)

Noor van Brussel
India
Goddess
regional purāṇa
purana
Leitmotif
violence
time
Dārikavadham
Kerala
South India
asura
narrative
myth
death
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "The asura’s demise at the hands of the goddess is a theme frequently revisited in Hindu myth. It is the chronicle of a death foretold. So too is the Bhadrakāḷīmāhātmya, a sixteenth century regional purāṇa from Kerala, that narrates the tale of fierce goddess Bhadrakāḷī and her predestined triumph over asura king Dārika. Violence is ubiquitous in this narrative, which was designed with one goal in mind: glorifying the ultimate act of defeating the asura enemy. In its course the story e
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbWCRIPUDBU&ab_channel=IndischeTalenenCulturen-UGent

Mudiyettu performance (2014)

Noor van Brussel
India
Mudiyettu
dance
performance
ritual
Kerala
South India
Bhadrakali
Bhadrakālī
Kālī
Kali
goddess
demon
asura
intangible heritage
music
sound
song
ethnography
video
open access
primary
public discourse
Video (08:55). The video includes written descriptions throughout.
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/3/117

Situating Pārśva’s Biography in Varanasi (2020)

Ellen Gough
India
Jain sites of worship in Varanasi
Hindu city
Jain city
Varanasi
space
place
urban life
worship sites
biography
sacred space
monasticism
temple
Pārśva
Padmāvatī
article
images
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This study shows how Varanasi, a site that many people understand to be a sacred Hindu city, has been made “Jain” through its association with the lives of four of the twenty-four enlightened founders of Jainism, the jinas or tīrthaṅkaras. It provides an overview of the Jain sites of worship in Varanasi, focusing especially on how events in the life of the twenty-third tīrthaṅkara Pārśva were placed in the city from the early modern period to the present day in order to bring Jain wea
Jainism
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwUmNeepKME&ab_channel=LMUYogaStudies

Karmic Consequences and the Healing Power of the Bhaktamara Stotra (2016)

Ellen Gough
India
Power of sound
sound studies
Jain sound
karma
chanting
Prakrit
healing
health
magical diagrams
alternative medicine
senses
curing disease
mantra
yantra
stotra
Western medicine
philosophy of sound
wellness
mantra śāstra
mantashastra
Digambara
texts
commentary
Bhaktamara Stotra
Buddhism vs. Brahmanism
video
open access
scholarly
Video (44:36). Description: "This is a paper delivered by Ellen Gough as part of the Music and Poetics of Devotion in the Jain and Sikh Traditions Conference at Loyola Marymount University. This paper examines the philosophical foundations of a present-day interpretation of a single Prakrit praise: namo akkhinamahanasasam, “praise to those who have an inexhaustible kitchen.” Today, many Digambara Jains believe that this praise, when recited along with a mantra and the 45th verse of the Sanskri
Jainism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXoaYm12KXg&ab_channel=LMUYogaStudies

The History of the Bhaktāmara Stotra Yantras (2017)

Ellen Gough
India
Jain mantra
Power of sound
sound studies
Jain sound
karma
chanting
Prakrit
healing
health
medicine
senses
curing disease
mantra
yantra
stotra
Western medicine
philosophy of sound
wellness
mantra śāstra
mantashastra
Digambara
texts
commentary
Bhaktamara stotra
verses
Jain tantra
video
open access
scholarly
Video (30:02). Lecture starts at 03:30. Description: "Ellen Gough, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Religion at Emory University. She received her Ph.D. in Asian Religions from Yale University in 2015. Her research focuses on Jain Tantra, with other interests including yoga, meditation, astrology, and material culture. She has published several articles and book chapters on the history and present-day uses of important Jain maṇḍalas. Her current manuscript examines the life
Jainism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/8/455/htm

Using Verbal Art to Deal with Conflicts: Women’s Voices on Family and Kinship in Kāmākhyā (Assam) (2019)

Emilie Arrago-Boruah
India
Performance
ethnopoetics
gender
family
kinship
Assam
Kāmākhyā
goddess
ritual
verbal art
tale
song
house
space
women
conflict
women's voices
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Analyzing two women’s rituals in which verbal art on family and kinship is prominent, this article explores situations in which tales and songs in Assamese are staged by newly married and about-to-be-married young women. Active participation in stories and song sessions, under the guidance of older storytellers or singers, imparts practical knowledge to young women about the possible ways by which to retaliate against male domination and domestic tensions with one’s mother-in-law. The
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/6/381/htm

Mobilizing Shakti: Hindu Goddesses and Campaigns Against Gender-Based Violence (2019)

Ali Smears
India
Shakti
Śakti
goddess
activism
goddesses and women
gender-based violence
politics
feminism
marginalized identities
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Hindu goddesses have been mobilized as powerful symbols by various groups of activists in both visual and verbal campaigns in India. Although these mobilizations have different motivations and goals, they have frequently emphasized the theological association between goddesses and women, connected through their common possession of Shakti (power). These campaigns commonly highlight the idea that both goddesses and Hindu women share in this power in order to inspire women to action in
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/5/322/htm

Visions and Revisions of the Hindu Goddess: Sound, Structure, and Artful Ambivalence in the Devī Māhātmya (2019)

Raj Balkaran
India
Goddess
Devī Māhātmya
paradox
narrative
Mahādevī
kingship
divine feminine
ambivalence of sound
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "The Hindu Goddess makes her Brahmanical debut circa 5th century CE in the Sanskrit narrative work Devī Māhātmya, the “Greatness of the Goddess” (henceforth DM). This monumental mythic moment enshrines the first Indic articulation of ultimate divinity as feminine. That she is perennially feminine and ever omnipotent, there can be no doubt. But how do we further characterize this feminine face? This study performs a close synchronic examination of the DM to demonstrate the extent to whi
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/9/456/htm

Shani on the Web: Virality and Vitality in Digital Popular Hinduism (2020)

Varuni Bhatia
n.a.
Digital Hinduism
god posters
Shani
Hindu images
Hinduism and mediatization
internet
Web 2.0
god
deity
online platforms
digital religion
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "What do god posters circulating online tell us about the practice of popular Hinduism in the age of digital mediatization? The article seeks to address the question by exploring images and god posters dedicated to the planetary deity Shani on Web 2.0. The article tracks Shani’s presence on a range of online platforms—from the religion and culture pages of newspapers to YouTube videos and social media platforms. Using Shani’s presence on the Web as a case study, the article argues that
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/8/414/htm

The Feminization of Love and the Indwelling of God: Theological Investigations Across Indic Contexts (2020)

Ankur Barua, Hina Khalid
India
Bābā Farīd
bhakti
Bhāgavata-purāṇa
purana
Bulleh Shāh
Caṇḍīdās
Hīr-Rāṇjhā
Ibn ‘Arabī
Rabindranath Tagore
Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa
Rūmī
Rumi
Sufism
Vaiṣṇavism
Vidyāpati
virahiṇī
Wāris Shāh
Yūsuf-Zulaikhā
Vaishnavism
Hinduism and Islam
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Our essay is a thematic exploration of the malleability of idioms, imageries, and affectivities of Hindu bhakti across the borderlines of certain Indic worldviews. We highlight the theological motif of the feminine-feminised quest of the seeker (virahiṇī) for her divine beloved in some Hindu expressions shaped by the paradigmatic scriptural text Bhāgavata-purāṇa and in some Punjabi Sufi articulations of the transcendent God’s innermost presence to the pilgrim self. The leitmotif that
Hinduism
Islam
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/6/289/htm

The Challenge of Chronotopicity: Female Co-Cremation in India Revisited in the Light of Time–Space Sensitive Ritual Criticism (2020)

lbertina (Tineke) Nugteren
India
Sati
satī
widow-burning
ritual
chronotopicity
space
time
co-cremation
colonial period
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Rituals are embedded in a particular time and space, and so are their objects and meanings. The ‘chronotope’ we focus on here is the occasional—partly self-chosen, partly societally forced—ritual death of Hindu widows along with their deceased husbands. Although never widely practiced, widow-burning caught the imagination of Europeans as illustrating both Hinduism’s ‘barbarity’ and its ‘high conjugal ideals’. Although satī had been outlawed since 1829, in 1987 a new case inflamed oppo
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/2/95/htm

‘In Our Whole Society, There Is No Equality’: Sikh Householding and the Intersection of Gender and Caste (2020)

Nicola Mooney
India
Gender
caste
intersectionality
householding
Guru Nanak
incommensurability
caste and gender inequalities
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Sikhism is widely understood and celebrated as san egalitarian religion. This follows from its interpretation as a challenge to the caste schema of Hinduism as well as readings which suggest its gender equality. This paper explores the intersection of caste and gender in Sikh society in relation to Guru Nanak’s tenet that Sikhs be householders. Nanak’s view that householding is the basis of religious life and spiritual liberation—as opposed to the caste Hindu framework in which househ
Sikhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/10/554/htm

New Roles for Indigenous Women in an Indian Eco-Religious Movement (2019)

Radhika Borde
India
Sacred natural sites
place
space
indigenous
women
new religious movements
mobilizations
possession
goddess
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This article aims to study how a movement aimed at the assertion of indigenous religiosity in India has resulted in the empowerment of the women who participate in it. As part of the movement, devotees of the indigenous Earth Goddess, who are mostly indigenous women, experience possession trances in sacred natural sites which they have started visiting regularly. The movement aims to assert indigenous religiosity in India and to emphasize how it is different from Hinduism—as a result
other
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/12/666/htm

‘Mirrored in God’: Gramsci, Religion and Dalit Women Subalterns in South India (2019)

Karin Kapadia
India
Tamil
Dalit
women
Pentecostal
conversion
women’s politics
religious politics
cultural politics
Gramsci
proletarian hegemony
Dalit politics
caste
casteism
female-led conversion
subaltern
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "The Tamil Dalit Pentecostal conversion movement that has been active in Chennai’s slums and low-income settlements for the last four decades is also a political movement. It is, moreover, a women’s political movement. Normally both Dalits and women are ignored in India, they are considered people of no importance and irrelevant to the issues that grab the headlines. But it is important for us to recognize both the political nature and the importance of this Dalit women’s conversion mo
Hinduism
Pentecostalism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=154tmIOPDwE&ab_channel=SouthernAsiaatUChicago

Anti-Hagiography and Public Controversy in Colonial South India (2013)

Srilata Raman
India
Ramalinga Swamigal
Tamil Śaiva modernism
colonial India
South India
anti-hagiography
Śaivism
Shaivism
modernity
poet-saint
Tamil Nadu
public
controversy
video
open access
scholarly
Video (42:15).
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtmzKqgzJVE&ab_channel=TathagatTV

Machig - A Physic Gender Transition from India to Tibet (2019)

Andrea Loseries
Tibet
India
Machig Labdron
ma gcig lab sgron
female tantric practitioner
mother
life story
Vajrayāna
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhist renaissance
contemporary to Milarepa
wandering yogis
Indian Mahasiddhas
mahāsiddha
siddha
female saint
gender
chöd
chod
gcod
hagiography
liberation
miracles
namthar
rnam thar
bodhisattva
yoginī/yogini
dharma teaching
ḍākinī (Tib. mkha' 'gro)
dakini/khandro
Tara
Tārā
lineage
Prajnaparamita
Prajñāpāramitā
history of Tibetan Buddhism
transference of consciousness
wisdom
woman
women
video
open access
public discourse
primary
scholarly
Video (20:28). Description: "Paper by Andrea Loseries on a life story of women a Tibet Tantric Practitioner who originated several tibetan lineages of skillful Vajrayana practice ... delivered in Buddhism And Women's Liberation, International conference on 30-31 January 2019 in Bodh Gaya ,Bihar, India. Conference was Organised by Mahabodhi Society of India." About the speaker: "Andrea Loseries has studied History of Asian Arts and Museology at the École du Louvre and Musée Guimet, as well as
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F8T-HMkyQs&ab_channel=aaaricuny

How the Market Economy Transforms Community Through Community Thangka Art in Rebgong (2015)

Ming Xue
Tibet
China
Thangka painting
thang ka
art
artwork
material religion
ethnography
Rebgong
market
economy
anthropology
modernization in rural Tibet
cultural encounters between Tibetans and Han Chinese
video
open access
public discourse
Video (1:11:29). Description: "This talk is based on Dr. Ming Xue's ethnographic research in Rebgong from 2009 to 2013. In Rebgong, Buddhist thangka painting is one of the major sources of income of local residents. Although thangka was traditionally a painting for religious teaching and practice, the aesthetic and economic value of thangka art has been increasingly recognized by art dealers, collectors and tourists from other parts of China and overseas. Since starting her fieldwork in 2009, th
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxqticfg7Wk&ab_channel=CenterforBhutan%26GNHStudies

The Kālacakra Tantric Tradition in Mongolia and its Unique Features (2019)

Vesna Wallace
Mongolia
Imagination
visualization
Vajrayāna
Mongolian ritual texts
'pho ba
phowa
Mongolian phowa
transference of consciousness at the time of death
functions of visualization
Kālacakra tantra
Kalachakra
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (17:48). About the lecturer: "Vesna A. Wallace is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her fields of specialization are Indian Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhist traditions and Mongolian Buddhism. She has authored and translated four books related to Indian Buddhism, three of which pertain to the Kālacakra tantric tradition in India, published and edited a book on Mongolian Buddhism and about 70 articles on Indian and Mongolian forms of Buddhism. He
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iONhFjTM4I&ab_channel=CenterforBhutan%26GNHStudies

Reflections on Pema Lingpa's ‘Key to the Eight Principal Tantric Medicines’, and its Relevance Today (2017)

Cathy Cantwell
Bhutan
Pema Lingpa
Ratna Lingpa
national saint of Bhutan
Nyingma
rnying ma
medicine
medical texts
Nyima Ozer
medicinal practices
medical ingredients
texts
Vajrayāna
Dudjom Rinpoche
medicinal accomplishments
Tibetan Buddhism
tantric Buddhism
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (16:05). About the lecturer: "Dr. Cathy Cantwell has been a member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, since 2002. She is President of the UK Association for Buddhist Studies and is currently a KHK Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Bochum. Her work focuses on Tibetan and Himalayan tantric rituals of all periods from the 10th century CE, and especially the ritual texts and practices deriving from the “Early Transmissions” (snga 'gyur rnying ma). This work h
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF0tUH_Dh7o&ab_channel=CenterforBhutan%26GNHStudies

Mandala Symbolism in Vajrayāna Buddhism (2017)

Nalini Rao
India
Nepal
Bhutan
Tibet
bhāvacakra
Bhavachakra
wheel of life
mandala
maṇḍala
art history
visual culture
symbol
dharmacakra
Dharmachakra
Vajrayāna
Hinduism and Buddhism
kālacakra
Kalachakra
wheel of time
tantric practices
artwork
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (10:50). About the lecturer: "Nalini Rao holds a PhD in Art History from UCLA and a PhD in Archaeology from the University of Mysore, India. She is currently Professor of Art History, with specialization in Indian Art, and is also the Chair of the S. R. Rao Memorial Foundation for Indian Archaeology. Her books include Boundaries and Transformations, Royal Imagery and Networks of Power at Vijayanagara: A Study of Kingship in South India."
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVocNP7zgQw&ab_channel=AsiaSociety

A Closer Look at Tibetan Thangkas (2017)

Adriana Proser
North America
Tibet
Introduction
The Tucci Expeditions and Buddhist Panting
thangka
Tibetan Buddhist art
cloth painting
scroll painting
museum
video
open access
public discourse
Video (04:56). Description: "Adriana Proser, John H. Foster Senior Curator for Traditional Asian Art at Asia Society Museum in New York, provides an inside look at the Tibetan thangka paintings on display in the exhibition she co-curated, Unknown Tibet: The Tucci Expeditions and Buddhist Panting."
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LHkpI-F2oE&ab_channel=PhoenixArtMuseum

Sikh Gurus of Virtue & Valor: Sikh Art and Heritage (2017)

Janet Baker
North America
India
Sikh art
Sikh gurus
the Golden Temple
Sikhism and Tibetan Buddhism
art history
museum
artwork
narrative
virtue
portrait
spiritual leader
Guru Nanak
visual culture
painting
video
open access
public discourse
Video (28:59). Description: "In celebration of the newly-named Sikh Art Gallery, Dr. Janet Baker, Curator of Asian Art, will discuss selected works on view in Virtue and Valor: Sikh Art and Heritage, focusing in particular on portraits of the Sikh Gurus and images of The Golden Temple, with an insight into connections between Sikhism and Tibetan Buddhism. Presented by Asian Arts Council, a support group of Phoenix Art Museum. " Note: Guru Nanak, Sikhism and Tibetan Buddhism: 14:20-20:20.
Sikhism
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/9/537/htm

Contested Histories, Multi-Religious Space and Conflict: A Case Study of Kantarodai in Northern Sri Lanka (2019)

Elizabeth J. Harris
Sri Lanka
Multi-religious spaces
postcolonialism
interreligious relations
mythical space
Kantarodai
Kadurugoda
Sri Lanka
place
contested site
multi-religious history
Jaffna
religious diversity
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This article focuses on the archaeological site of Kantarodai (Tamil) or Kadurugoda (Sinhala) on the Jaffna peninsula at the northernmost tip of Sri Lanka to examine the power of spatially embodied, contested histories within postcolonial and post-war communities. The Sri Lankan military who control Kantarodai view it simply as a Sinhala Buddhist site. However, when it is viewed through the lens of international archaeological scholarship, its multi-ethnic and multi-religious history
Hinduism
Buddhism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/9/502/htm

River Goddesses, Personhood and Rights of Nature: Implications for Spiritual Ecology (2019)

Kelly D. Alley
India
Rivers
environment
nature
spiritual ecology
Ganga
Yamuna
water
nationalism
Hindutva
goddess
personhood
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Designating rights for nature is a potentially powerful way to open up the dialogue on nature conservation around the world and provide enforcement power for an ecocentric approach. Experiments using a rights-based framework have combined in-country perspectives, worldviews, and practices with legal justifications giving rights to nature. This paper looks at a fusion of legal traditions, religious worldviews, and practices of environmental protection and advocacy in the context of Ind
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoqzKmGTJus&ab_channel=Karwaan%3ATheHeritageExplorationInitiative

The Commemoration and 'Re-membering' of Vernacular Intellectuals (2020)

Purnima Dhavan
India
Spiritual leaders
Punjab
Sufi
poet
vernacular intellectuals
scholars
networks
bhakti
vernacular tropes
shrines
charisma
funerary monuments
Moghul rule
communities
poetry
economy
mobility
video
open access
scholarly
Video (22:29). About the lecturer: "Prof Purnima Dhavan's research interests encompass the social and cultural history of early modern South Asia, 1500-1800. The ways in which religious, linguistic, and status identities shaped the political and cultural institutions of the Mughal period is central to my work. Her teaching ranges from classes in South Asian history, the Mughal Empire, to classes in Environmental History. Her first book, When Sparrows Became Hawks: the Making of Khalsa Martial
Islam
Sikhism
Hinduism
https://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/1513/1363

Exit God: Border Crossings in Jīrṇoddhāra Procedure (2020)

Libbie Mills
India
jīrṇoddhāra
saṅkocana
niṣkrāmaṇa
sūtracchidā
Tantrasamuccaya
Piṅgalāmata
deity
temple
disposal
ritual
ritual manual
departure
replacement
displacement
pdf
article
open access
scholarly
Summary: "Jīrṇoddhāra, the disposal and replacement of an old idol or temple, necessitates the temporary departure of the deity from that place. The ritual for this departure will be followed as it is reported in two texts: the Piṅgalāmata and the Tantrasamuccaya. The Piṅgalāmata is useful in understanding the process of jīrṇoddhāra: the text defines the process, explains the need for it, rationalises the ritual procedure, and gives a brief account of it. The description in the Tantrasamuccaya
Hinduism
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02666030.2014.892371

Dating and Placing Early Śaiva Texts through prāsādalakṣaṇa, the Characteristics of Temples (2014)

Libbie Mills
India
Temple
text
architecture
Śaivism
Shaivism
early Śaiva
date
place
temple design
temple construction
article
not open access
scholarly
Needs institutional login. Abstract: "In this essay I examine the accounts of temple design and construction given by a group of six early Śaiva texts. The six texts are: the Bṛhatkālottara Mahātantra; the Devyāmata, also titled the Niśvāse Mahātantre Pratiṣṭhātantra; the Kiraṇāgama; the Mohacūrottara Pratiṣṭhātantra; the Mayasaṃgraha, with its commentary, the Bhāvacūḍāmaṇi; and the Brahmayāmala Jayadrathādhikāra Piṅgalāmata. I will seek indications of date and place for the textual accounts by
Hinduism
https://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/1507

“If I return this time I must return greater...” Kunwar Narain: His Reminiscences and Retellings of the Past (2020)

Monika Browarczyk
India
Kunwar Narain
poetry
short story
autobiographical motifs
Hindi
secular literature
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "Kunwar Narain (1927-2017), an eminent Hindi poet and writer, in his interviews, introductions to published works and public speeches discusses at length matters connected to his writing, poetry and aesthetics, but is somewhat reluctant to share details of his private life. The article is divided into two parts: the former studies the few and far between references Narain made to his own life in his para-textual writings and the latter close reads four of his poems and a short-story th
other
https://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/1508

Sītā of Sindh (2020)

Aleksandra Turek
India
Sindh
Sindhī community
Sindhī folk stories
Ūmar–Mārvī story
Sītā
comic book
Rājasthān
Rajashtan
tradtion
modernity
pdf
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "The aim of this paper is to show how the Sindhī community in India (Rājasthān) builds and strengthens its identity by using both traditional and modern means of transmission. The process of reinterpretation of tradition will be demonstrated by discussing the Ūmar–Mārvī story, which belongs to the repertoire of orally transmitted local Sindhī folk stories. The Ūmar–Mārvī story mainly emphasizes local patriotism and adherence to motherland. The message of the story is still valid in the
Hinduism
https://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/1510

The Female Voice and the Crossing of the Boundaries of Scholarship: A Note on the Rahasyam of the Lady from Tirukkōḷūr, with a Complete, Annotated Translation (2020)

Suganya Anandakichenin
India
Tirukkōḷūr peṇpiḷḷai rahasyam
Śrīvaiṣṇava hagiography
Rāmānuja
women’s literature
Paṉṉīrāyirappaṭi guruparamparāprabhāvam
Mummaṇi rahasyam
Piḷḷai Lokam Jīyar
Srivaishnava
female voices
Tamil
pdf
article
translation
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "The Śrīvaiṣṇavas are prolific writers, who masterfully used multiple languages for composing works in a range of genres, from commentaries to esoterical works, from devotional poetry to hagiography. But while this community, roughly half of which consists of women, claims equality with a difference for women—which includes the right to liberation at death and to religious, albeit non-Vedic, learning—it hardly seems to have encouraged them to emulate the male authors and produce works
Hinduism
https://journals.akademicka.pl/cis/article/view/1512

The Transforming Science: Some Remarks on the Medico-Alchemical Teachings in Selected Works of Siddha Yākōpu, with Special Reference to the Kuru Nūl Aimpattaintu (2020)

Ilona Kędzia
India
Tamil Siddha literature
Tamil Siddha medicine
alchemy
Irāmatēvar
Yākōpu
transformation
pdf
article
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "The paper explores the concept of variously conceived transformations associated with figurative transcendence of manifold limitations, referred to in medico-alchemical Tamil Siddha literature. The research has been based on the study of selected texts of Yākōpu alias Irāmatēvar, one of prominent Tamil Siddha authors dated to 17th–18th centuries. Special reference has been made to the Kuru Nūl Aimpattaintu (“Fifty-five [Verses] of the Book on the Excellence”), considered by its author
Hinduism
https://suganyasmusingsscribblings.wordpress.com/2021/01/30/kerala-manipravalam-vs-tamil-srivaisnava-manipravalam/

“Kerala Manipravalam” vs “Tamil Śrīvaiṣṇava Manipravalam” – a few thoughts (2021)

Suganya Anandakichenin
India
Maṇipravāḷam
Manipravalam
Kerala
Tamil
Līlātilakam
Śrīvaiṣṇava
Shrivaishnava
Malayāḷam
Malayalam
blog
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Additional link to "When did the Śrīvaiṣṇava Ācāryas call their language “Manipravalam”?: https://suganyasmusingsscribblings.wordpress.com/2021/01/21/when-did-the-srivai%e1%b9%a3%e1%b9%87ava-acaryas-call-their-language-manipravalam/
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/11/585

Mysticism among the Pedandas of Bali (2020)

June McDaniel
Indonesia
Priests
mysticism
Bali
pedanda
trance
religious experience
ethnography
tantra
mahabhava
suryasevana
water
possession
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "On the island of Bali in Indonesia, the traditional Hindu religious leaders are the pedandas, or brahmin high priests. Their religious status is largely based on their mystical states, during which they create the highest and most valuable form of holy water, which is needed for all religious rituals on the island. It is one of the rare examples in world religions where mysticism is not only integrated into the daily life of the community but is vital to it. These are the religious au
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/2/71/htm

Prayers of Cow Dung: Women Sculpturing Fertile Environments in Rural Rajasthan (India) (2019)

Catrien Notermans
India
Govardhan puja
Rajastha
cow dung
sculpture gender
ritual art
nature
human-nonhuman sociality
animals
symbolic anthropology
ethnography
women
materiality
material religion
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "In line with the special issue’s focus on material religion and ritualistic objects, this article focuses on the multi-sensory prayers that certain groups of Hindu women craft in cow dung at the doorstep of their residences during Divali. This yearly ritual of kneading and praying with cow dung is known as the Govardhan puja (worship of Mount Govardhan). It is generally said to be the worship of the popular cowherd god Krishna and the natural environment he inhabits. Ethnographic rese
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/12/408

Earning God through the “One-Hundred Rupee Note”: Nirguṇa Bhakti and Religious Experience among Hindu Renouncers in North India (2018)

Antoinette DeNapoli
India
Renunciation
Nirguna Bhakti
devotion
performance
Sadhus
nirguṇa bhakti
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This article examines the everyday religious phenomenon of nirguṇa bhakti as it is experienced by Hindu renouncers (sādhus) in North India. As an Indian language concept, nirguṇa bhakti characterizes a type of devotion (bhakti) that is expressed in relation to a divinity who is said to be without (nir) the worldly characteristics and attributes of sex and gender, name and form, race and ethnicity, class and caste. Although bhakti requires a relationship between the devotee and the dei
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/9/7/224/htm

Bare Feet and Sacred Ground: “Viṣṇu Was Here” (2018)

Albertina Nugteren
India
Material culture
materiality
ritual
Viṣṇu’s footprint
Vishnu
place
pilgrimage
sacred geography
imaginative embodiment
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "The meaning of a symbol is not intrinsic and should best be seen in relation to the symbolic order underlying it. In this article we explore the ritual complexities pertaining to the body’s most lowly and dirty part: the feet. On entering sacred ground persons are admonished to take off their footwear. In many parts of Asia pointing one’s feet in the direction of an altar, one’s teacher or one’s elders is considered disrespectful. Divine feet, however, are in many ways focal points of
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/5/3/738/htm

The Body Divine: Tantric Śaivite Ritual Practices in the Svacchandatantra and Its Commentary (2014)

Simone McCarter
India
Tantra
Śaivism
Shaivism
Kṣemarāja
Svacchandatantra
worship
Śiva
Shiva
cosmos
body
ritual
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "This work examines ritual, cosmology, and divinization as articulated in select passages of the Svacchandatantra and its commentary by the late tenth century non-dual theologian, Kṣemarāja. Both the Svacchandatantra and its commentary prescribe the worship of the deity Svacchandabhairava, a form of Śiva, and his consort Aghoreśvarī. Drawing on Gavin Flood’s notion of entextualization, I examine how the rituals described seek to inscribe the corporeal body so that the practitioner is m
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/12/685/htm

Qawwali Routes: Notes on a Sufi Music’s Transformation in Diaspora (2020)

Sonia Gaind-Krishnan
Transnational
Sufism
sound studies
qawwali
diaspora
voice
song
Indian diaspora
music
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "In recent years, alongside the concurrent rise of political Islam and reactionary state policies in India, Sufism has been championed as an “acceptable” form of Islam from neoliberal perspectives within India and the Western world. Sufism is noted as an arena of spiritual/religious practice that highlights musical routes to the Divine. Among Chishti Sufis of South Asia, that musical pathway is qawwali, a song form that been in circulation for over seven centuries, and which continues
Islam
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/11/569/htm

From Līlā to Nitya and Back: Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Vedānta (2020)

Arpita Mitra
India
Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa
Ramakrishna
Vedānta
Vedanta
Ādi Śaṁkara
Advaita
Upaniṣads
brahman
ātman
Śakti
vijñāna
samādhi
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "There has been a long-standing academic debate on the religious orientation of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṁsa (1836–1886), one of the leading religious figures of modern India. In the light of his teachings, it is possible to accept that Rāmakṛṣṇa’s ideas were Vedāntic, albeit not in a sectarian or exclusive way. This article explores the question of where exactly to place him in the chequered history of Vedāntic ideas. It points out that Rāmakṛṣṇa repeatedly referred to different states o
Hinduism
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/6/300/htm

Ecce Homo—Behold the Human! Reading Life-Narratives in Times of Colonial Modernity (2020)

Nandini Bhattacharya
India
Secularism
John Robert Seeley
Bankimchandra Chatterjee
natural religions
hagiography
auto-biography
Victorian Jesus
carita as genre
life narratives in colonial Bengal
Krishnacaritra
article
pdf
open access
scholarly
Abstract: "The essay explores Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s Krishnacaritra—published in 1886—the life of a humanised god, as engaged in cross cultural dialogues with John Robert Seeley’s Ecce Homo, Natural Religion, and The Expansion of England in particular, and the broader European tendency of naturalising religions in general. It contends that the rise of historicised life writing genres in Europe was organically related to the demythologised, verifiable god-lives writing project. Bankimchandra’
Hinduism
https://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/podcast/evangelical-yoga-cultural-appropriation-and-translation-in-american-religions/

Evangelical Yoga: Cultural Appropriation and Translation in American Religions (2017)

Candy Gunther-Brown
North America
Yoga
cultural appropriation
new religious movements
Evangelicalism
history of yoga in America
body
podcast
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Podcast (29:01). Starts at 01:13. Description: "In this interview, we discuss yoga as a new American phenomenon and the way that some evangelical Christians practice it. Brown provides a historic overview of bodily–religious practices in America, starting with mesmerism, occultism, osteopathy, and chiropractic in the nineteenth century." Transcript: https://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/transcript/evangelical-yoga-cultural-appropriation-and-translation-in-american-religions-transcript/
Christianity
Hinduism
https://vimeo.com/111191566

Interview with Guest Editor Rosalind O’Hanlon (2015)

Rosalind O’Hanlon
India
Early modern South Asia
early religion in India
intellectual history
Sanskrit intellectuals
history
sect
lineage
community
social history
religious geography
interview
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (18:52). Interview transcript (pdf): https://www.tandfonline.com/pb-assets/tandf/Migrated/transcript_rsac.pdf
Hinduism
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110557176-003/html

Visual Story-Telling in Text and Image: The Nāga as Inhabitant of the Cosmic Ocean and the Netherworld (2020)

Sanne Dokter-Mersch
India
Visual studies
text and image
text vs. image
nāga
naga
boar
varāha
skandapurāṇa
Vaiṣṇava myths
iconography
cosmos
book chapter
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extract: "In this article, I explore the use of both text and image as means to narrate the Varāha myth. After providing an overview of relevant Varāha iconography, I focus on one particular element that is present in almost all images, but appears to have no textual counterpart: the inclusion of one or more Nāgas, mythical serpents that live in the Nāgaloka (“world of the Nāgas”), a subterranean, underwater world."
Hinduism
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110557176-002/html

The Enigma of the Centauress and Her Lover: Investigating a Fifth-century Terracotta Panel from Ahichhatrā (2020)

Laxshmi Rose Greaves
India
kinnarī
centaur
centauress
visual studies
text and image
iconography
Ahichhatrā panel
celestial beings
art history
myth
book chapter
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extract: "This paper is concerned with early visual depictions of equine kinnarīs (centauresses), and particularly those in the company of a male with human form."
Hinduism
Buddhism
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110557176-006/html

Nonagonistic Discourse in the Early History of Indian Philosophical Debates: From Brahmodyas to the Mahābhāṣya (2020)

Evgeniya Desnitskaya
India
Indian textual history
debates
philosophy
texts
Brahmodyas
Upaniṣads
Mahābhāṣya
philosophical strategies
book chapter
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extract: "As the early history of Indian debates is generally reconstructed through textual evidence, the question may arise whether dialogues in these texts represent actual communication practices, or merely serve as narrative devices adopted by the authors for other reasons. To answer this question, I will analyze instances of nonagonistic argumentation in Brāhmaṇicbrahmodyas, the Upaniṣads, and the Mahābhāṣya with the aim of revealing shared patterns and identifying possible affinities betwe
Hinduism
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110557176-008/html

Clay Pots, Golden Rings, and Clean Upper Garments: Causality in Jaina Philosophy (2020)

Ana Bajželj
India
Jain philosophy
causality
Amṛtacandra Sūri’s Tattva-dīpikā
Digambara
Sanskrit
commentary
at-kārya-vāda
asat-kārya-vāda
book chapter
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extract: "Potter, however, concludes his introductory description of the Jaina causal model with the following reservation regarding its persuasiveness: “The question about Jainism, philosophically speaking, is whether or not it constitutes a genuinely alternative position or merely an ad hoc eclecticism, and this once again, depends on how successful an analysis of relations it can provide upon close examination.” This paper will address the question Potter poses, an un-equivocal answer to whic
Jainism
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110557176-007/html

The Legitimation of an Authoritative Discourse in Jainism (2020)

Marie-Hélène Gorisse
India
Jain philosophy
authority
authoritative discourse
authoritative teacher
book chapter
pdf
open access
scholarly
Extract: "This paper analyzes the development of critical strategies employed by Jain thinkers to establish the authority of the Jain corpus by refuting theses promoted by competitors from outside of the community. To trace this development, I focus on the Āptamīmāṃsā (Investigation on Authority; ĀMī), composed by Samantabhadra (530–590). This text provides an illustrative case study for my analysis because it marks a transition from a conception in which the reliability criterion of an authorit
Jainism
https://granta.com/tree-coon-in-conversation/

In Conversation: Ellen Coon & Isabella Tree (2021)

Ellen Coon, Isabella Tree
Nepal
Newar culture
divine feminine
environmental crises
nature
Kathmandu
memories
discussion
interview
text
images
open access
public discourse
Description: "Ellen Coon has been collecting oral histories in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal for over thirty years, recording the stories of the Newar people, an Indigenous community based in the region. Isabella Tree – our guest editor for Granta 153: Second Nature – wrote her first book on the Living Goddess tradition celebrated by the Newars. They came together early this year to discuss the Newar approach to the divine feminine and the care for the land it encourages, while considering what
Hinduism
Buddhism
https://vimeo.com/63650334

Living Goddess (2008)

Ishbel Whitaker
Nepal
Documentary
Newar culture
Kumari
child goddess
Bhaktapur
girl child
divine feminine
video
open access
public discourse
Video (1:29:06). Description: "Distributed by Netflix and made in association with Channel 4. The film follows the life of a girl worshipped as a goddess in Nepal. Shot during the people’s revolution that ousted their ruthless king, the film is an intimate portrayal of ritual and childish playfulness as violence erupts on the streets. We were given unprecedented access to the private life of the child goddess. This custom may well disappear post revolution as the pressures of modernity hold sway
Hinduism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCVOqmCkFRI&ab_channel=YaleUniversity

Tibetan Medicine (2013)

Sienna Craig
Tibet
Nepal
Transnational
Medical anthropology
Tibetan medicine
medical practitioners in Tibet
medical practitioners in Nepal
health
illness
video
open access
public discourse
scholarly
Video (09:25). Description: "In this video produced for the Yale Himalaya Initiative, Dr. Sienna Craig (Associate Professor of Anthropology at Dartmouth College) discusses the importance, breadth and adaptability of Tibetan Medicine in the Himalaya."
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k__pUkrtSg4&ab_channel=FrancesGarrett

Experiential learning in Biohacking Breath (RLG375) (2021)

Frances Garrett
North America
COVID-19
pedagogy
teaching online
study techniques
outdoor activities
outdoor learning
pandemic
biohacking breath
student well-being
course introduction
audio discussions and podcasts for teaching
teaching with videos
syllabus
experiential learning
video
syllabus
pedagogy
open access
scholarly
Video (10:09). Note: The video is geared towards students and serves a great inspiration for how to teach during the pandemic. Description: "This video is an introduction to the course Biohacking Breath, course code RLG375H, taught at the University of Toronto in the Department for the Study of Religion." Additional video (06:34) "Introducing the course syllabus for Biohacking Breath (RLG375H):" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM6hLMthric&ab_channel=FrancesGarrett Complementary article about F
Buddhism
http://teachingbuddhism.net/episode-12-teaching-a-zen-buddhism-course-online-with-student-preferences-in-mind-with-daigengna-duoer/

Teaching a Zen Buddhism Course online with Student Preferences in Mind (2020)

Daigengna Duoer, Sarah Richardson
North America
COVID-19
teaching strategies
Zen Buddhism
asynchronous teaching
student preferences
course survey
podcast
pedagogy
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (1:06:08). Description: "Gathering data about student expectations and experiences with new technology is essential to developing effective courses to be delivered online during the pandemic. In this interview we spoke with Daigengna Duoer, who taught an online course on Zen Buddhism at UC Santa Barbara this past summer. Daigengna surveyed her students to evaluate their preferences and comfort with the format and content of the course. In this episode, we hear about some creative and s
Buddhism
http://teachingbuddhism.net/episode-11-teaching-asian-art-as-storytelling-with-kerry-brown/

Teaching Asian Art as Storytelling (2019)

Kerry Lucinda Brown, Sarah Richardson
North America
Teaching
pedagogy
art history
storytelling
visual art
podcast
pedagogy
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (58:18). Description: "Dr. Kerry Lucinda Brown is a professor of art history at Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah Georgia and has a research focus on the religious arts of the Newar community of Nepal. In this episode we speak with Kerry about how she teaches Asian and Buddhist art topics in her context: that is, to students in a design college for whom the materials may be new and distant. Teaching Asian and Buddhist arts and their long and complex histories can be complica
Buddhism
http://teachingbuddhism.net/episode-09-living-religion-in-the-classroom-teaching-chinese-buddhism-with-rongdao-lai/

Living Religion in the Classroom: Teaching Chinese Buddhism (2020)

Rongdao Lai, Sarah Richardson
North America
Teaching
pedagogy
Chinese Buddhism
Quebec
teaching as ordained Buddhist nun
teaching Buddhism as a living religion
podcast
pedagogy
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (47:28). Description: "In this episode, Dr. Rongdao Lai discusses her approach to teaching Buddhism as a living religion, and not only as a philosophy. As an ordained Buddhist nun in the Chinese tradition, she is intimately familiar with the contrasts between the academic study of religion and her own training in Buddhist practices at temples. She aspires to teach all of her students how to develop a critical approach to evaluating the study of Buddhism and its canonical objects: why are
Buddhism
http://teachingbuddhism.net/episode-08-teaching-empathy-and-collaboration-with-frances-garrett/

Teaching Empathy and Collaboration (2019)

Frances Garrett, Sarah Richardson
North America
Teaching
pedagogy
empathy
collaboration
mental health
compassion
podcast
pedagogy
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (1:03:58). Description: "Dr. Frances Garrett, from the University of Toronto, talks about how she designs courses in creative ways that focus on developing student skills as well as sharing Buddhist studies content. Her courses have included an immersive year-long role-playing experience and a seminar where the students collaborated on writing and publishing an academic article. As a self-professed introvert for whom teaching has always been a struggle, Frances talks about how she center
Buddhism
http://teachingbuddhism.net/episode-07-embodied-experience-living-from-the-heart-with-ellen-katz/

Embodied Experience: Living from the Heart (2019)

Ellen Katz, Sarah Richardson
North America
Teaching
pedagogy
empathy
compassion
social work
embodiment
podcast
pedagogy
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (48:20). Description: "In this interview, Sarah Richardson sits down with Dr. Ellen Katz, who has a unique lens as both a practising Social worker and a practising Buddhist, and a professor who marries these two experiences in and for her students. She discusses how she teaches her students about experiential and embodied learning, and meditation practices, in an undergraduate course on mindfulness and mental health interventions, and in graduate courses on mindfulness for social work st
Buddhism
http://teachingbuddhism.net/wen-shing-chou/

Teaching Buddhist Art using Museum and Gallery Collections (2019)

Wen-shing Chou, Sarah Richardson
North America
Teaching
pedagogy
art history
museum
gallery
teaching in NYC
podcast
pedagogy
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (54:50). Description: "In this episode, Sarah Richardson talks with Wen-shing Chou, Associate Professor of Art History at Hunter College in New York, where she specializes in the art of China and the Himalaya. Sarah and Wen-shing discuss digital photography projects such as the Dunhuang Cave Foundation’s work with preserving and digitally archiving the contents of each cave, and they talk about taking students to see Buddhist art in galleries and museums in New York City during Asia Week
Buddhism
http://teachingbuddhism.net/vanessa-sasson/

Inhabiting the Stories: Buddhism from the Inside (2019)

Vanessa Sasson, Sarah Richardson
North America
Teaching
pedagogy
stories
positionality
podcast
pedagogy
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (1:01:31). Description: "In this episode, Sarah Richardson speaks with Vanessa Sasson, who teaches Religious Studies at Marianopolis College in Quebec, where she also co-teaches a popular course in which students travel to Nepal. Sarah and Vanessa talk about how Vanessa got interested in the study of Buddhism, about her new novel about Yasodhara, the Buddha’s wife, and about how writing a work of fiction has changed her approach to teaching." Transcript (with timestamps): https://secure
Buddhism
http://teachingbuddhism.net/natalie-avalos/

Anti-colonial Teaching and Buddhism (2018)

Natalie Avalos, Sarah Richardson
North America
Teaching
anti-colonial teaching
decolonizing the classroom
colonialism
pedagogy
indigenous traditions
Buddhist diaspora
Tibetan Buddhism
podcast
pedagogy
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (57:05). Description: "In this episode, Sarah Richardson speaks with Natalie Avalos, now a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder, but joining the department as an Assistant Professor in the 2020-21 academic year. Sarah and Natalie discuss Natalie’s unusual research specialization in both Tibetan Buddhism and Native American and Indigenous religions traditions. They explore how she prioritizes the undoing of colonization
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZtXWenaA9c&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=HoCentreforBuddhistStudies

Making Tibetan "Torma" with Urgyen Gyalpo (2020)

Sarah Richardson
North America
Offering
ritual
torma
gtor ma
Tibetan Buddhism
ritual cakes
food offering
instruction for students
online teaching
video teaching
offering cakes
video
open access
public discourse
primary
scholarly
Video (55:16). Video instructions for students on how to make Tibetan tormas. Description: Making Tibetan "Torma" (Offering Cakes) with Urgyen Gyalpo Fall 2020, Filmed in Toronto, Canada Featuring: Urgyen Gyalpo, Toronto Sarah Richardson, Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Toronto Filming, Video Production and Editing by Frances Garrett, Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Toronto Supported by the Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Budd
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAmRHobvDxU&ab_channel=HoCentreforBuddhistStudies

How To Use Mind Maps (2020)

Reiko Ohnuma, Frances Garrett
North America
Mind mapping software
mind maps
writing a book
writing an article
outlining large writing projects
organize thoughts
video
open access
scholarly
Video (13:44). Description: "Dr Reiko Ohnuma describes how she uses mind mapping software to outline her ideas when writing books and articles. Reiko Ohnuma is professor at Dartmouth College and a specialist in the Buddhist traditions of South Asia with a particular focus on narrative literature, hagiography, and the role and imagery of women. See more at https://faculty-directory.dartmouth.edu/reiko-ohnuma This video is part of a series called How Do You Do It?, in which scholars of Buddhist S
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r44keIt4SlE&ab_channel=GregorySoden

Buddhism Beyond Modernity (2019)

Ann Gleig
North America
Modernity
American dharma
online sanghas
de-instiutionalized Buddhism
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast/Video (no visuals; 59:09). Book discussion. Description: "Dr. Ann Gleig is associate professor of religious studies at the University of Central Florida. She is co-editor of Homegrown Gurus: From Hinduism in America to American Hinduism and has published widely on contemporary Buddhism. She is the author of “American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity,” from Yale University Press." Link to American Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Modernity: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300215809/american-
Buddhism
https://podtail.com/podcast/new-books-in-buddhist-studies/amy-langenberg-birth-in-buddhism-the-suffering-fet/

Birth in Buddhism: The Suffering Fetus and Female Freedom (2018)

Amy Paris Langenberg, Natasha Heller
India
Birth
suffering
body
women
fetus
purity
disgust
Buddhist depiction of female bodies
embryo scriptures
fertility
motherhood
Garbhāvakrāntisūtra
scripture
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (58:30). Starts at 01:08. Description: "Birth and suffering are deeply linked concepts in Buddhism, and their connection has shaped how the bodies and status of women were understood. Join us for a conversation with Amy Paris Langenberg about her book Birth in Buddhism: The Suffering Fetus and Female Freedom, published by Routledge in their series Critical Studies in Buddhism. Amy takes as her focus an early first millennium work, the Garbhavakranti-sutra, or Descent of the Embryo Script
Buddhism
https://podtail.com/podcast/new-books-in-buddhist-studies/sujung-kim-shinra-myojin-and-buddhist-networks-of-/

Shinra Myojin and Buddhist Networks of the East Asian 'Mediterranean' (2020)

Sujung Kim, Trevor McManis
Japan
Korea
China
Medieval Japan
Shinra Myojin
Shinra Myōjin
deity
Tendai Jimon
transcultural worship
networks
Korean connections to medieval Japanese religion
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (1:22:00). Starts at 01:12. Description: "Shinra Myojin and Buddhist Networks of the East Asian “Mediterranean” (University of Hawaii Press, 2020) is a fascinating study of the transcultural underpinnings of Medieval East Asian Buddhist traditions with an emphasis on Shinra Myōjin, a deity integral to the institutional development of the Medieval Japanese Tendai faction, the Jimon. It demonstrates the linkage between continental Buddhist Culture and Buddhism in Medieval Japan through the
Buddhism
https://podtail.com/podcast/new-books-in-buddhist-studies/caroline-starkey-women-in-british-buddhism-commitm/

Women in British Buddhism: Commitment, Connection, Community (2020)

Caroline Starkey, Olivia Porter
Great Britain
Ordained Buddhist women in Britain
British Buddhism
ethnography
nuns
women
community
ordination
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (01:08:00). Starts at 01:12. Description: "Based on detailed ethnographic research, this book explores the varied experiences of women who have converted to Buddhism in contemporary Britain and analyses the implications of their experiences for understanding the translation and transference of Buddhist practices temporally and geographically. Caroline Starkey's Women in British Buddhism: Commitment, Connection, Community (Routledge, 2019) examines how women initially engage with Buddhist
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1EWu8WICY&ab_channel=HoCentreforBuddhistStudies

Using Twitter as an Academic (2021)

Natasha Heller
n.a.
Twitter
social media
networking
online education
how to get started on Twitter
academic career
video
open access
scholarly
Video (08:55). Description: "Dr Natasha Heller talks about using Twitter as an academic. Natasha studies Chinese Buddhism in the context of cultural and intellectual history. Her research includes both the pre-modern period (10th through 14th c.) and the contemporary era. Heller's study of an eminent monk of the Yuan dynasty, Zhongfeng Mingben, and her current book project concerns picture books published by Buddhist organizations in Taiwan. See more at https://religiousstudies.as.virginia.edu/
Buddhism
https://theconversation.com/how-taiwan-uses-buddhist-literature-for-environmental-education-129970

How Taiwan uses Buddhist literature for environmental education (2020)

Natasha Heller
Taiwan
Buddhist literature
children's books
environmentalism
climate crisis
education
kids
school
recycling
karma
text
open access
public discourse
First paragraph: "Education is critical to confronting the climate crisis, and Taiwan offers an example of how to encourage kids to care about their environment."
Buddhism
https://nursingclio.org/2020/07/30/the-deathbed-and-the-sound-of-rebirth/

The Deathbed and the Sound of Rebirth (2020)

Natasha Heller
China
Chinese Buddhism
Amitābha Buddha
Amitabha
deathbed experience
Pure Land Buddhism
death
rebirth
scripture recitation
chanting
text
open access
public discourse
scholarly
First paragraph: "What is the soundscape of the deathbed? Most often, for Chinese Buddhists, it has involved the sound of human voices chanting the name of Amitābha Buddha. According to the core Pure Land scriptures, Amitābha vowed to save all those who called on him, ensuring that after death they would be reborn in his Pure Land, a place of comfort and ease."
Buddhism
https://podtail.com/podcast/new-books-in-buddhist-studies/courtney-bruntz-and-brooke-schedneck-buddhist-tour/

Buddhist Tourism in Asia (2020)

Courtney Bruntz, Brooke Schedneck, Daigengna Duoer
n.a.
Tourism
Asia
Buddhist imaginaries
place-making
secularization
commodification
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
Podcast (01:00:08). Starts at 01:08. Description: "This edited volume is the first book-length study of Buddhist tourism in contemporary Asia in the English language. Featuring chapters from diverse contributors from religious studies, anthropology, and art history, Buddhist Tourism in Asia (University of Hawaii Press, 2020) explores themes of Buddhist imaginaries, place-making, secularization, and commodification in three parts. The first part, Buddhist Imaginaries and Place-Making features fou
Buddhism
https://podtail.com/podcast/new-books-in-buddhist-studies/pilar-jennings-to-heal-a-wounded-heart-the-transfo/

To Heal a Wounded Heart: The Transformative Power of Buddhism and Psychotherapy in Action (2020)

Pilar Jennings, Yakir Englander
North America
Trauma
psychoanalysis
Tibetan Buddhism
childhood wounds
healing
intersection of Western psychology and Buddhist teachings
podcast
interview
open access
primary
public discourse
Podcast (53:40). Description: "Early on in her clinical practice, psychoanalyst Pilar Jennings was presented with a particularly difficult case: a six-year-old girl who, traumatized by loss, had stopped speaking. Challenged by the limitations of her training to respond effectively to the isolating effect of childhood trauma, Jennings takes the unconventional path of inviting her friend Lama Pema--a kindly Tibetan Buddhist monk who experienced his own life-shaping trauma at a very young age--into
Buddhism
https://podtail.com/podcast/new-books-in-buddhist-studies/neela-bhattacharya-saxena-absent-mother-god-of-the/

Absent Mother God of the West: A Kali Lover's Journey into Christianity and Judaism (2020)

Neela Bhattacharya Saxena, Raj Balkaran
North America
India
Kali
kālī
Bengal
goddesses
divine feminine
Black Madonna
Shekhinah
mother goddess
psychology
spirituality
women
emic/etic divide
literature
podcast
interview
open access
scholarly
primary
public discourse
Podcast (58:39). Starts at 01:08. Description: "In Absent Mother God of the West: A Kali Lover's Journey into Christianity and Judaism (Rowman, 2015) Neela Bhattacharya Saxena draws on her personal religious experiences and devotion to the Goddess Kali as a starting point to reflect on the absence of a Divine Feminine in Christianity and Judaism. We discuss the psychological and spiritual implications of that absence, along with discussing phenomena such as the Black Madonna and the Shekhinah in
Buddhism
Hinduism
Christianity
Judaism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeev0_8Z36A&ab_channel=KaliDasi

Tantra (2021)

Neela Bhattacharya Saxena, Sarah Kali Dasi
India
Kali
kālī
experience
Bengal
Kali worship
tantra
lived religion
goddesses
divine feminine
bhakti
women's experiences
internal experience
vision
miracle
transformation
śakti
shakti
video
discussion
open access
primary
public discourse
Video (2:06:56). Essay about/by Sarah Kali Dasi "Sarah’s Journey: A Tale Of A Muslim Woman Who Broke Away From The Chains Of Islam And Embraced Kali:" https://kreately.in/sarahs-journey-a-tale-of-a-muslim-woman-who-broke-away-from-the-chains-of-islam-and-embraced-kali/
Buddhism
Hinduism
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/south-east-se-asia/cambodia-art/a/angkor-wat

Angkor Wat (n.d.)

Melody Rod-ari
Cambodia
Temple
Khmer kings
Angkor Wat
art history
temple mountain
mandala
conversion
introduction
text
images
open access
scholarly
public discourse
First paragraph: "Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia is the largest religious monument in the world. Angkor Wat, translated from Khmer (the official language of Cambodia) literally means “City Temple.” As far as names go this is as generic as it gets. Angkor Wat was not the original name given to the temple when it was built in the 12th century. We have little knowledge of how this temple was referred to during the time of its use, as there are no extant texts or inscriptions that mention the tem
Hinduism
Buddhism
https://vimeo.com/174262472

Monumental (2017)

Melody Rod-ari
Tibet
North America
Thangka
thang ka
Maitreya
Tibetan Buddhism
museum
art history
material culture
18th century
materiality
silk
video
podcast
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video-Podcast (07:54). Description: "A Closer Look at the Norton Simon Museum’s Rare Thangka Future Buddha Maitreya Flanked by the Eighth Dalai Lama and His Tutor, Tibet, 1793–94. In this video podcast, Assistant Curator Melody Rod-ari discusses the history and production of the Norton Simon Museum’s rare, monumental thangka, "Future Buddha Maitreya Flanked by the Eighth Dalai Lama and His Tutor." Assistant to the Director of Operations David Johnson then explains the efforts to install this ext
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeeonBp9SLE&ab_channel=ColumbiaMuseumofArt

Icons for a New Generation (2021)

Kerry Lucinda Brown
India
Art history
identity
globalization
modernity
transportation
movement
South Asian visual culture
high art
popular culture
iconic forms
video
open access
scholarly
public discourse
Video (1:01:42). Description: "Throughout recent developments in India's political and cultural history, issues of industrialization, globalization, and social mobility have challenged definitions of identity. Contemporary artists working in India and abroad have attempted to navigate these changes, exploring both individual and collective responses to identity in their work. This lecture examines how Indian artists have utilized iconic cultural imagery to both challenge and confront these issue
other
https://sichuanreligions.com

A project that aims at gathering and disseminating information about religious traditions in the area of Sichuan, China.

Elena Valussi - Stefania Travagnin
China
sichuan
website
open access
scholarly
Buddhism
Islam
Christianity
Daoism
other
https://www.academia.edu/9441592/Questions_about_Mah%C4%81paj%C4%81pat%C4%AB_Gotam%C4%AB_s_Ordination

Questions about Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī’s Ordination

Julia Stenzel
India
Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī
bhikkhuni
Ordination
article
conference
open access
scholarly
Buddhism
http://ayuryog.org/timeline
A Timeline of Yoga and Ayurveda
Suzanne Newcombe and Jacquline Hargreeves
India
yoga
website
open access
Were health and wellbeing always goals of practitioners of yoga? Did ayurvedic physicians use yoga to seek health or liberation for themselves or their patients? This timeline highlights some of the key milestones and historically significant evidence in the entangled histories of yoga and Ayurveda.
https://ayuryog.org/AlchemyTimeline
Rasaśāstra: A timeline of Sanskrit alchemical literature
Dagmar Wujastyk and Jacquline Hargreaves
India
yoga
alchemy
website
open access
scholarly
A timeline of major known Sanskrit works on Alchemy
Hinduism
Jainism
Buddhism
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4ssviEb_KoAtb2U_XaXf_w
AyurYog Youtube Channel
Ayuryog Project Team
Tibet
India
alchemy
Tibetan Buddhism
Indian textual history
Hinduism and Buddhism
video
open access
scholarly
The AyurYog Youtube channel(link is external) hosts videos of presentations made at the AyurYog Workshop "Rejuvenation, longevity, immortality. Perspectives on rasāyana, kāyakalpa and bcud len practices" in October 2016.
Buddhism
Hinduism
Jainism
https://ayuryog.org/content/alchemy-reconstruction
ALCHEMY RECONSTRUCTION
Dagmar Wujastyk
India
alchemy
video
open access
scholarly
Dagmar Wujastyk introduces the second series of recreating alchemical procedures. In this series, we recreate formulations from a sixteenth-century alchemical treatise, the "Nectar Mine Light of Mercury" (Rasaprakāśasudhākara). The treatise focusses on the medicinal application of mercurials, but also contains a chapter on making alchemical gold and silver and artificial pearls and coral.
Hinduism
https://www.matasud.ca/
Motherhood and Maternal Figures in the Religious Traditions of South Asia (online symposium) / Maternités et figures maternelles dans les traditions religieuses de l’Asie du Sud (colloque en ligne)
Florence Pasche Guignard
India
female Buddhist practitioners
life stories
intersectionality
Women
nuns
body
mother
motherhood
mother goddess
pregnancy
Sikh gurus
Hindu society
early Hindu society
Hindu traditions
Hinduism and Buddhism
bibliography
conference
video
website
partial open access
scholarly
public discourse
Please visit the website and consider attending the symposium (sessions 2 and 5 are in English). Registration is free. The website will later feature recorded videos and already provides a link to a public Zotero Web Library with a bibliography on motherhood and religions in South Asia.
Buddhism
Hinduism
Sikhism
other
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