This is the new and final version of the book, Performing Prowess: Essays on Localized Hindu Elements in Southeast Asian Art from Past to Present. It explores Hindu elements which have been localized in Southeast Asian art and culture from the ancient to contemporary periods.

This essay shows that physicians of early Āyurveda adopted a pragmatic approach to the challenges dharma imposed on them. While the concept and its importance is generally accepted in the medical compendia, various passages stress the fact that good health is an indispensable precondition to pursue dharma and other goals of life. In the interests…[Read more]

This essay shows that physicians of early Āyurveda adopted a pragmatic approach to the challenges dharma imposed on them. While the concept and its importance is generally accepted in the medical compendia, various passages stress the fact that good health is an indispensable precondition to pursue dharma and other goals of life. In the interests…[Read more]

article + 6 photographs from the Manuscriptistan Project

Abstract: The causes of suffering are a central topic in Buddhism as well as in Ayurveda. The Pāli Canon and other early Buddhist texts like the Milindapañha mention eight specific causes resulting in disease or suffering at several places. In contrast, early Ayurveda, as presented in the Carakasaṃhitā, knows a threefold causal complex of dise…[Read more]

Abstract: The causes of suffering are a central topic in Buddhism as well as in Ayurveda. The Pāli Canon and other early Buddhist texts like the Milindapañha mention eight specific causes resulting in disease or suffering at several places. In contrast, early Ayurveda, as presented in the Carakasaṃhitā, knows a threefold causal complex of dise…[Read more]

Although a plethora of ancient South Asian sources refer to situations that would be considered crises by modern standards, the early Sanskrit vocabulary lacks a word that we could understand as a distinct equivalent of the term “crisis” and its Greek and Latin predecessors. Nevertheless, the descriptions and discussions of personal and col…[Read more]

Although a plethora of ancient South Asian sources refer to situations that would be considered crises by modern standards, the early Sanskrit vocabulary lacks a word that we could understand as a distinct equivalent of the term “crisis” and its Greek and Latin predecessors. Nevertheless, the descriptions and discussions of personal and col…[Read more]

La question du libre arbitre – Stephen Cave souligne que la recherche sur le « libre arbitre » et ses implications ne sont pas nouvelles. Ce qui est nouveau, cependant, c’est la propagation du scepticisme du libre arbitre au-delà des laboratoires et dans le grand public.

Les recherches menées par Kathleen Vohs et Jonathan Schooler ont montr…[Read more]

This book explores localized Hindu elements in Southeast Asian art from ancient times to present

In modern understanding, a crisis can be an event or a period of (or leading to) an unstable or dangerous situation. It can affect an individual, a group or the whole society. However, a crisis is not only a threat, it also implies the need for (and the chance for) change and improvement. Historically, the term was borrowed from Greek…[Read more]

In modern understanding, a crisis can be an event or a period of (or leading to) an unstable or dangerous situation. It can affect an individual, a group or the whole society. However, a crisis is not only a threat, it also implies the need for (and the chance for) change and improvement. Historically, the term was borrowed from Greek…[Read more]

Two of the most fundamental distinctions in metaphysics are (1) that between reality (or things in themselves) and appearance, the R/A distinction, and (2) that between entities that are fundamental (or real, etcetera) and entities that are ontologically or existentially dependent, the F/D distinction. While these appear to be two very different…[Read more]

Āyurveda, the predominant medical system in pre-modern South Asia, is by definition a very individualistic tradition of healing, discerning and treating the patients under special consideration of their personal constitution, diet, physical strength, habituation, character and age. Furthermore, the āyurvedic source texts show a strong commitment t…[Read more]

Āyurveda, the predominant medical system in pre-modern South Asia, is by definition a very individualistic tradition of healing, discerning and treating the patients under special consideration of their personal constitution, diet, physical strength, habituation, character and age. Furthermore, the āyurvedic source texts show a strong commitment t…[Read more]

लगभग एक सौ वर्षों से, भौतिकवादियों ने तर्क दिया है कि मानव चेतना मस्तिष्क में न्यूरॉन्स की सक्रियता तक ही सीमित है और इसलिए कोई सामाजिक चेतना नहीं हो सकती है। यह एक बेतुका तर्क है. इस तथ्य से कि मस्तिष्क में न्यूरॉन्स सक्रिय होते हैं, इसका मतलब यह नहीं है कि कोई सामाजिक चेतना नहीं है।

आदेश के बिंदु के रूप में मैं इस बात पर प्र…[Read more]

A survey of Buddhism in Japan from roughly the time of its introduction into the mid-ninth century. The following topics are covered:
The Introduction of Buddhism to Japan – Transmission Myths – The Myth of Prince Shōtoku – The Myth of a Buddhist-Shintō Rivalry – Temples in and around the Capital – Provincial Temples – The Order of Nuns – Female…[Read more]

Three consecutive patriarchs of Esoteric Buddhism were Amoghavajra of India, Huiguo of China, and Kūkai of Japan. This paper foregrounds the usually taken-for-granted but vital historical role of language education and translation in the international spread of religion and culture. There had to be sufficiently educated bilingual or multilingual…[Read more]

While the colonial and modern history of epidemics in South Asia is well researched, the earlier developments of this subject area have hardly been studied. The project Epidemics and Crisis Management in Pre-modern South Asia aims to fill part of this gap by exploring the intellectual history of epidemics and similar disasters in South Asia and…[Read more]

Through the book Kūkai the Universal, the podcast guest discusses the life and times of Japan’s great saint Kūkai, Esoteric Buddhism, and Zen, in terms of East Asian history, language education, and translation issues including voice.