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Vendere la felicità: media, marketing e nuove religioni giapponesi: il caso del kofuku no kagaku
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Media and New Religions in Japan
Get PDFJapanese "new religions" (shinshūkyō) have used various media forms for training, communicating with members, presenting their messages, reinforcing or protecting the image of the leader, and, potentially, attracting converts. In this book the complex and dual relationship between media and new religions is investigated by looking at the tensions groups face between the need for visibility and the risks of facing attacks and criticism through media. Indeed media and new technologies have been extensively used by religious groups not only to spread their messages and to try to reach a wider audience, but also to promote themselves as a highly modern and up-to-date form of religion appropriate for a modern technological age. In 1980s and early 1990s some movements, such as Agonshū , Kōfuku no Kagaku, and Aum Shinrikyō came into prominence especially via the use of media (initially publications, but also ritual broadcasts, advertising campaigns, and public media events). This created new modes of ritual engagement and new ways of interactions between leaders and members. The aim of this book is to develop and illustrate particular key issues in the wider new religions and media nexus by using specific movements as examples. In particular, the analysis of the interaction between media and new religions will focus primarily on three case studies predominantly during the first period of development of the groups
The Shifting Narratives and Circling Bodhisattvas of Baoguo Si: A Study of Lay Buddhist Ritual at an Historic Temple on Mt. Emei, Sichuan China.
No full textChina has an ancient tradition of sacred mountain pilgrimage. One of these sacred mountains is Emei Shan 峨嵋山, located in Sichuan province. For the past 1500 years Emei Shan has been associated with the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra普贤菩萨, and many monasteries have been built on and along its pilgrimage route. My research focuses on lay Buddhist ritual at Baoguo Si 报国寺, an ancient and prestigious temple located at the foot of the Mt Emei Shan.
During the Ming Dynasty Baoguo Si was established under the name of the Huizong Tang 会总堂. Originally it served a different function; a temple established for dialogue and communal practice of Buddhists, Daoists and Confucians. During the Qing dynasty it was shifted to a new location, then was converted into a Buddhist temple, and Emperor Kangxi gave the temple its current name Baoguo Si. The temple was used by the Nationalist Army and then by Sichuan University during the Sino-Japanese wars. Like most Buddhist monasteries in China, Baoguo Si was "closed" during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) its monks were forced to return to lay life and many traditions fell into disuse. After 1979, Baoguo Si was permitted to reopen and there has been a revival of lay interest in this important monastery since that time.
Today Baoguo Si receives some two million visitors annually, as it is an important gateway along Emei Shan’s ancient pilgrimage route. While today there are such a large number of visitors to Baoguo Si, it is not possible to isolate them into two distinct groups of tourists and pilgrims. This is because most visitors engage in standard rituals that are performed at almost any Buddhist monastery (offering incense, lighting candles and prostrating to the buddhas and bodhisattvas). However there is a group of lay Buddhists known as laopusa 老普萨 (old bodhisattvas) who visit the monastery to engage in a circumambulatory procession and recitation that takes place in the Samantabhadra Hall.
This study first examines how narratives have played a role in making Baoguo Si so popular and creating an image for this temple as both an historic heritage site and a sacred temple. To do this I examine contemporary publications that promote Baoguo Si and Emei Shan. Then I present an ethnographic study of how laopusa use the temple today
The Shifting Narratives and Circling Bodhisattvas of Baoguo Si: A Study of Lay Buddhist Ritual at an Historic Temple on Mt. Emei, Sichuan China.
Get PDFChina has an ancient tradition of sacred mountain pilgrimage. One of these sacred mountains is Emei Shan 峨嵋山, located in Sichuan province. For the past 1500 years Emei Shan has been associated with the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra普贤菩萨, and many monasteries have been built on and along its pilgrimage route. My research focuses on lay Buddhist ritual at Baoguo Si 报国寺, an ancient and prestigious temple located at the foot of the Mt Emei Shan.
During the Ming Dynasty Baoguo Si was established under the name of the Huizong Tang 会总堂. Originally it served a different function; a temple established for dialogue and communal practice of Buddhists, Daoists and Confucians. During the Qing dynasty it was shifted to a new location, then was converted into a Buddhist temple, and Emperor Kangxi gave the temple its current name Baoguo Si. The temple was used by the Nationalist Army and then by Sichuan University during the Sino-Japanese wars. Like most Buddhist monasteries in China, Baoguo Si was "closed" during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) its monks were forced to return to lay life and many traditions fell into disuse. After 1979, Baoguo Si was permitted to reopen and there has been a revival of lay interest in this important monastery since that time.
Today Baoguo Si receives some two million visitors annually, as it is an important gateway along Emei Shan’s ancient pilgrimage route. While today there are such a large number of visitors to Baoguo Si, it is not possible to isolate them into two distinct groups of tourists and pilgrims. This is because most visitors engage in standard rituals that are performed at almost any Buddhist monastery (offering incense, lighting candles and prostrating to the buddhas and bodhisattvas). However there is a group of lay Buddhists known as laopusa 老普萨 (old bodhisattvas) who visit the monastery to engage in a circumambulatory procession and recitation that takes place in the Samantabhadra Hall.
This study first examines how narratives have played a role in making Baoguo Si so popular and creating an image for this temple as both an historic heritage site and a sacred temple. To do this I examine contemporary publications that promote Baoguo Si and Emei Shan. Then I present an ethnographic study of how laopusa use the temple today
Mediated Representations: Japanese New Religions and Social Media
Get PDFSocial Media significantly affect the way religion is presented and represented online, and allow a variety of religious actors to create a new type of charismatic authority for themselves, similar to that of celebrities. Drawing on examples derived from the use of the Internet by two established Japanese New Religions, Tenrikyō and Seichō no Ie, I argue that even where religious movements are resistant to using this medium at the organization level, new interactive digital spaces are changing the way religion is communicated online. This is because the agency of individuals and groups linked to the movement in these environments often overlaps with that of the organization itself, as a result of how meaning-making and public representation work on these platforms. For religious organizations which actively promote their use, Social Media provide ways to reinforce the authority of their current leadership despite the potential for harsh and undermining criticism opened up by these new spaces. That is, Social Media make available new tools and features that allow religious leaders to construct celebrity-like personae on these platforms, where the divide between their social roles of private persons and religious leaders is made thinner by the strategies of presentation, the effect of mediation, and the interactive nature of the Presentational Media.
Communication is a fundamental element of religion. There would be no religion at all, if religious actors were not able to communicate their ideas and their beliefs, if they were not empowered to share their experiences and their interpretations of the world we live in. Communication is not just an effective tool for teaching doctrines and gaining new adherents; more often, it is evident that communication plays an active religious function, which can be justified from within the theology of the religious movement. It is therefore important to understand how Social Media are changing the way religious actors communicate through the Internet. Communicating religion through potentially interactive and collaborative channels does influence how religion is presented, represented, and transformed online, often despite the official policies of the religious movements involved. Unlike so-called traditional media, social spaces built in the Web 2.0 and beyond present characteristics of their own, which have altered how users get access to religious information, materials, and experiences, as well as what they can do with them. Because of their immediacy, Social Media have proven to be flexible digital environments, where religious information can be shared right here and right now. Moreover, the information is potentially subjected to the immediate and active attention of other users, who, in turn, are able to comment on it and re-share it in other platforms as well. That is, these environments also provide a space where religion can be enacted, and not just discussed.
Japanese New Religions (shinshūkyō ) have been noticeably affected by this change. Whether these organizations seek to resist or to harness the use of Social Media at the organization level, Social Media have opened new spaces where religion can be discussed and enacted. In this thesis I draw on examples taken from Tenrikyō and Seichō no Ie, as these movements can be considered representative of the two general tendencies underlined above. In other words, Tenrikyō has been shown to be resistant to the use of Social Media, at least insofar as its central religious bureaucracy and its policies are concerned. By contrast, Seichō no Ie has been actively involved at the organization level in implementing new communication technologies, including new Internet-based platforms, where social interactivity is paramount. In both cases, new interactive digital spaces have been shown to have a noticeable effect on religious communication. That is to say, Social Media have empowered various religious actors of Tenrikyō with a voice and the possibility of creating multiple mediated representations of the group in these interactive digital environments, regardless of the general attitude (and policy) of the organization on the matter of using such media for communicating religion online. By comparison, Seichō no Ie’s President, Taniguchi Masanobu, was able to use these presentational platforms to his advantage, creating a religious persona online with characteristics similar to those of celebrities, alongside the active effort of his organization and staff to promote Social Media for communicating and practicing religion.
The effect of Social Media on Japanese New Religions is also connected with how the movement is officially structured offline, how its leadership is organized and represented publicly, and its level of internationalization. Yet, the impact of Social Media on Japanese New Religions is significant and is likely to become even more so in years to come
Exploring Spirituality in a New Zealand Oncology Unit
Get PDFSpirituality, as presented in this paper, is characterized as an individual’s inherent need to find meaning and purpose in life, and as being the fabric that makes each person whole, (encompassing beliefs, values, attitudes, identity, and for some, religion). Further, it is argued that the ideas about spirituality as presented within are important and relevant in providing holistic care, especially in the context of oncology care.
A gap has been identified between research related to spirituality and spiritual care in hospital settings. The New Zealand Cancer Control Strategy aims to provide quality cancer care services through a holistic health care model with a person-centered approach which “recognizes a person’s total well-being including their physical, emotional, spiritual, social and practical needs.” However, research conducted in New Zealand on the spiritual dimension, spiritual needs of patients with cancer, and spiritual care are absent from the cancer control section, which dictates areas of ongoing research. The purpose of this study is to explore and understand spirituality and spiritual care within a New Zealand hospital oncology setting by listening to the voices within those settings: patients, nurses, oncologists, and chaplains. The research questions addressed understandings and treatment of spiritual concerns in an oncology unit within a New Zealand public hospital. This study uses a qualitative approach which combined a literature review with in-depth interviews, totaling eight participants (patients n=3, doctors n=2, nurses n=2, chaplain n=1).
Although findings suggest that spirituality is understood in a variety of ways, common themes emerged, including: emphasis on relationships, holistic understandings (i.e. “who you are as a person”), and the tendency to distinguish spirituality from religion. The evidence presented suggests that education in spiritual literacy is lacking, resulting in confusion and misunderstanding of the terms, which are factors that influence how spiritual care is delivered. This study concluded that spirituality is broadly understood by participants, it is an important component in holistic health care, and it may be valuable for medical staff to have an understanding of spirituality (as it is discussed in contemporary health care discourse) so that spiritual needs of patients with a diagnosis of cancer can be fully met in the context of holistic care
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