Illumine, Vol. 01, No. 1 (2002)
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Item The Origins of the Jingzong Xuehui 淨 宗 學 會, or the Pure Land Learning Center(Illumine, 2002) Ngai, May Ying MaryIt is because of the popularity of Lianshe, the Lotus Society, that Pure Land Buddhism became the most prevalent and influential Buddhist school among ordinary Chinese people. However, since the downfall of the Qing Empire in 1911, Chinese society has experienced drastic social and cultural changes, particularly after 1949, when two governments, one Mainland Chinese and the other Taiwanese, came to confront one another from across the Taiwan Strait. Nevertheless, a modernized Lotus Society, the Pure Land Learning Center, has emerged as the times require. These new, individually established Centers carry on the tradition into the age of globalization and computerization by developing an internationally based network that is well–equipped with updated information technology. In order to better understand the underlying reasons behind the success of these transformations, this pilot study intends to focus on the traces of the historical link and Dharma lineage of the Learning Center and its leader, Jingkong (1927–), a Buddhist master. Those who have influenced Jingkong include another Buddhist master, Yinguang (1860–1940), and two lay Buddhists, Li Bingnan (1888–1986), and Xia Lianju (1882–1965)Item The virgin’s peculiar breast: Negotiating nudity in devotional paintings(Illumine, 2002) Yakimoski, NancyAccording to hermeneutics scholar Margaret Miles, during Tuscany’s early Renaissance nudity in devotional art produced a tension between sexual (erotic) attraction and religious meaning. Specifically, glimpses of the Holy Mother’s exposed breast as she nursed the Christ child could encourage the ‘wrong’ kind of looking; this disrupted the sacred status of her image and destabilized religious meaning. To manage potential erotic readings while attempting to foster ‘proper’ (devotional) gazes, painters made specific artistic choices when representing the Virgin’s bare breast. Obliging artists turned to the art of an earlier era – art that emphasized the symbolic rather than the naturalistic. This paper argues that employing a pictorial program and style that consciously represented the breast as denaturalized and disembodied transformed it to a symbol which relieved the tension between religious meaning and voyeuristic looking while still communicating religious message(s).Item Overcoming metaphysics: George Grant and the good beyond being(Illumine, 2002) Peters, R. ‘Peg.’Heidegger that Western metaphysics had led to a hegemony of scientific rationality or calculative thinking. In light of the controlling nature of this paradigm of thought, Grant articulated a meditative or contemplative way of thinking that was grounded in Plato’s notion of the ‘Good beyond Being’.1 This paper critiques modern calculative thinking and argues that an overcoming of metaphysical language is necessary if we want to talk about reason, ethics, and God. Grant believes that only a knowing–in–love rooted in the Good beyond Being can provide a way of thinking and acting justly in the modern world.Item Dastafshani (Ecstasy): The art of S. Mohammad Ehsaey(Illumine, 2002) Stanick, LeslieA review of an exhibition of contemporary Islamic calligraphy as abstract painting by S. Mohammad Ehsaey at the Ziba Art Gallery, Vancouver, February 9 – March 7, 2002.Item Notes on contributors(Illumine, 2002) Yakimoski, Nancy; Ngai, May Ying Mary; Peters, R. ‘Peg.’; Amos, Patrick; Bentheim, Steve; Stanick, LeslieItem Eastern Buddhism and Western ethics: An interview with Robert Florida(Illumine, 2002) Bentheim, SteveThe differing Western ethical frameworks of Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan may reflect similar differences within Eastern Buddhism during the last 150 years, particularly on social concerns. Gilligan’s position to care for others first is more closely akin with the truth of Buddhism, according to Dr. Florida. In addition, the very sense of self is a different conception in Buddhism, contrasted with the more Western ideal of individualism. The interview describes how early Buddhism focused on its monastic society and showed little interest in direct social action, although it did offer ethical guidance to rulers and suggested Buddhist principles for bringing the social world more in line with the dharma. However, from roughly the 1850’s onward, Buddhists in Asia began to play a more active role in trying to change society. Robert E. Florida is Emeritus Fellow at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria. He was Professor of Religion and Dean of Arts at Brandon University. He researched at Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado, the East–West Centre at the University of Hawaii in Honolulun and Mahidol University in Bangkok.Item Coming to our senses: Rediscovering rites of passage for contemporary youth(Illumine, 2002) Amos, PatrickCross–cultural research on the initiatory rituals and education of youth suggest that initiatory processes are archetypal and intrinsic processes of the human psyche, and will occur regardless of whether or not they are legitimized by any particular, official adult culture. However, in our secularized (modern, Western) society, a youth’s transition from one life–stage to the next, while acknowledged, may not involve a profound transformation of his or her identity. As a contextual framework for this discussion, I will examine adolescent issues in light of the initiatory processes conceptualized by French anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep. Following is my presentation of a recently developed and implemented wilderness–based rites of passage experience, influenced by traditional Aboriginal cultures. It is designed to expand the initiate’s self–concept from one that is egocentric, to include a more eco–centric supra–personal (larger–than–individuated–self) identity with human and more than human relations. Finally, I will consider reasons for resistance to such practices in our contemporary society, including paradigmatic constraints, incomprehension, and the perceived dangers of engaging initiatory processes.Item Introduction(Illumine, 2002) Newlove, Nancy; Wender, Andrew M.Item Illumine: Vol. 1 No. 1 (2002)(Illumine, 2002)This is the full issue of Illumine, Vol. 1, No.1 (2002).