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Revista Humania Del Sur Nº 5 FINAL.Pmd Humania del Sur. Año 3, Nº 5. Julio-diciembre, 2008. María del Pilar Quintero. Presencia del budismos de Níchiren Daishonin en Venezuela... pp. 87-103. Presencia del budismo de Nichiren Daishonin en Venezuela María del Pilar Quintero GISCSVAL / ULA MÉRIDA-VENEZUELA [email protected] Resumen Este ensayo explora aspectos relacionados con la presencia del Budismo de Nichiren Daishonin en Venezuela. Se inicia con una breve revisión de la relación entre religión, ciencia y conocimiento, en la cultura occidental. Luego se presenta una relación sucinta de la trayectoria histórica del Budismo y continúa con una breve exposición del Budismo de Nichiren Daishonin, con énfasis en la Sokka Gakkai Internacional. Finalmente, se hace una cronología y una relación de su presencia en Venezuela, la cual incluye numerosas actividades académicas con miras a la construcción de una cultura de paz. Palabras Clave: Historia de las Ideas, Budismo, Religión, Cultura de Paz. The presence of Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism in Venezuela Abstract In this paper we discuss some aspects of the presence of Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism in Venezuela. We start with a brief analysis of the relationship between religion, science and knowledge in Western culture. Then we provide a short relation of historical data and a brief exposition of the principles and history of Nichiren Daishonin Buddhism and in particular of the Soka Gakkai International, including a chronology of the latter’s existence in Venezuela, and a relation of the educational activities it carries out toward the building of an active culture of peace. Key words: History of Ideas, Buddhism, religion, culture of peace. Recibido: 10-10-2008 / Aceptado: 31-10-2008 Humania del Sur 87 Humania del Sur. Revista de Estudios Latinoamericanos, Africanos y Asiáticos. Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida. Año 3, Nº 5. Julio-diciembre, 2008. ISSN: 1856-7959. Introducción Para el historiador Arnold Toynbee, las religiones ocupan un lugar fundamental en el contenido y manifestaciones psico-sociales, culturales y económicas de las civilizaciones. Sin embargo, debido a la influencia del positivismo y el racionalismo, el estudio y conocimiento de las religiones fue un tema tabú en los ambientes académicos. Actualmente se puede encontrar una actitud más respetuosa y abierta hacia estos temas. En el grupo interdisciplinario El Círculo Eranos, constituido con la presencia e influencia de Carl Gustav Jung, se configuró y estimuló la obra de dos grandes figuras en el estudio y conocimiento de las religiones: Rudolf Otto y Mircea Elíade, este último con su obra monumental Historia de la Religiones, ha tenido un reconocimiento mundial. Mircea Elíade desde su vasta experiencia vital y su profundo estudio de las religiones dice que ha conocido dos modos de ser en el mundo: el sagrado y el profano, dos modalidades de estar en el mundo, dos situaciones existenciales, asumidas por los seres humanos a lo largo de su historia de vida. Estos modos de ser, corresponden a diferentes cosmovisiones y representan la manera como el ser humano se ubica en el cosmos y ante el cosmos (Elíade, M., 1981:21-22). Así, afirma: Para la conciencia moderna, un acto como la alimentación, la sexualidad, etc., no son más que procesos orgánicos, pero para el hombre y la mujer con la cosmovisión de lo sagrado, un acto tal no es nunca un acto fisiológico, por el contrario es, o puede llegar a ser un “sacramento”, una comunión con el cosmos, una comunión con lo sagrado. (Elíade M., 2000:22). Mircea Elíade hace en su obra una separación entre la cosmovisión producto de la modernidad caracterizada por un largo proceso de secularización y la cosmovisión de los seres humanos en los cuales predomina una concepción sagrada de ser en el mundo. La etimología de la palabra religión corresponde a “religare”, religar, ligar de nuevo, unir al ser humano con el cosmos. La humanidad ha creado a través de su largo tránsito en la tierra diferentes tradiciones religiosas que se han constituido como grandes experiencias espirituales, psico-socio-culturales compartidas por diferentes comunidades humanas en diversas trayectorias históricas. En la cultura occidental el hecho filosófico se ha deslindado del religioso, esto no ha sucedido en lo que 88 Humania del Sur Humania del Sur. Año 3, Nº 5. Julio-diciembre, 2008. María del Pilar Quintero. Presencia del budismos de Níchiren Daishonin en Venezuela... pp. 87-103. concierne al modo de ser de las culturas orientales y en particular del Budismo; por ello el Budismo puede ser entendido como un hecho filosófico que incluye simultáneamente lo filosófico y lo religioso. La experiencia religiosa es común a todos los pueblos, el mismo Mircea Elíade en su ensayo titulado “Permanencia de lo sagrado en el arte contemporáneo”, nos dice que el hombre y la mujer de la cultura moderna con gran frecuencia se proclaman arreligiosos, pero en sus sueños, y en sus “sueños de vigilia” continúan participando de lo sagrado. (Elíade, M., 2000:139-146). Ahora bien, los seres humanos que de una u otra forma pertenecemos a la cultura occidental hemos estado expuestos a una serie de ideas que nos han llevado progresivamente a un extenso proceso de secularización. Sin embargo, la presencia de la experiencia religiosa en sus diferentes vertientes, está presente en vastos sectores de la población. El estudio de las religiones -en plural- y de las ideas, símbolos y experiencias que las conforman, es hoy un resultado del cambio de paradigmas: la apertura respetuosa hacia otras culturas que viene desarrollando la cultura contemporánea occidental desde lo monocultural hacia lo multicultural y pluricultural; la revisión del eurocentrismo y el etnocentrismo occidental; la crítica al positivismo y a la concepción materialista-economicista de la sociedad; la revisión del paradigma newtoniano cartesiano, la emergencia del paradigma cuántico-relativista y la constitución y difusión de una ética de la interculturalidad, necesaria y urgente en el proceso de mundialización de la cultura. Este ensayo se inscribe en la perspectiva ética de la interculturalidad y en el estudio de la historia de las ideas. Con él queremos dar inicio a un proceso de historización de la presencia del Budismo de Nichiren Daishonin en Venezuela, que aspiramos desarrollar en una serie de sucesivos trabajos basados en una experiencia vivencial. El punto de partida teórico de nuestra investigación es la fenomenología, la hermenéutica filosófica de Hans Georg Gadamer y la relación entre la historia y las ciencias sociales tal como ha sido planteada por Fernand Braudel: como historia total. 1.- Una breve aproximación a la historia del budismo El interés por las culturas orientales y sus formas de pensar ha sido fuente de inspiración de grandes intelectuales y artistas de la cultura occidental, como Shopenhahuer, Nieztsche, Paul Valery, Herman Hesse, Humania del Sur 89 Humania del Sur. Revista de Estudios Latinoamericanos, Africanos y Asiáticos. Universidad de Los Andes, Mérida. Año 3, Nº 5. Julio-diciembre, 2008. ISSN: 1856-7959. Albert Einstein, David Bohm, Werner Heisenberg, Fritjof Capra, Los Beatles, para nombrar sólo algunos. Ahora bien, las sociedades occidentales presentan actualmente una serie de problemas: crisis de valores, vacío existencial, pérdida de sentido de la vida, alienación, soledad. Estos conflictos son el resultado de cambios profundos en los estilos de vida, expansión extraordinaria de la información, transformaciones en las relaciones con el tiempo y el espacio, el desarrollo abrumador de la ciencia y la tecnología, cambios profundos en la conformación de la familia y la comunidad; que se unen y contrastan con limitados conocimientos de las complejidades psíquicas y las necesidades espirituales de los seres humanos: su actuar, su pensar, sentir y sufrir. Ello ha despertado en estas sociedades una nostalgia por lo sagrado y un gran interés por el conocimiento de las culturas orientales y sus manifestaciones religiosas, entre ellas, el Budismo. Ya en 1.889, José Martí divulgaba por toda Iberoamérica, algunas nociones básicas de Budismo, que hoy nos sorprenden por su gran sensibilidad y amplitud de miras. Así en el texto titulado Un Paseo por la Tierra de los Ananitas, publicado en el número 4, volumen I de la revista para niños La Edad de Oro, Martí transmitió a sus lectores/as, en palabras sencillas, algunos temas legendarios de la vida del Buda Sâkyamuni: el relato de las cuatro puertas y los cuatro encuentros1 y algunos principios éticos filosóficos del Budismo. (Martí J., 1988:102-104). La literatura sobre la historia y los fundamentos del Budismo es extraordinariamente amplia. Su comprensión exige una vía gnoseológica que no puede reducirse a la asimilación mental de una información, a la erudición, sino que precisa de prácticas de comprensión singulares, que exigen de nosotros los que vivimos en Occidente, una disposición y una apertura filosófica y actitudinal hacia la interculturalidad y en particular hacia una ética intercultural. De acuerdo con las prescripciones de un trabajo como éste que exige el uso de un determinado espacio, presentaré a continuación una brevísima exposición de algunos aspectos fundamentales en la historia y la filosofía budista. Según las investigaciones históricas, el Budismo se origina en la India, en el siglo VI a.C. Su fundador es Siddartha Gautama, quien recibió el nombre propio de Siddartha (el que ha alcanzado la meta) y el apellido familiar Gautama. Sería también conocido más tarde como Sâkyamuni: el asceta silencioso de los Sakya; Buda: el despierto o iluminado; 90 Humania del Sur Humania del Sur. Año 3, Nº 5. Julio-diciembre, 2008. María del Pilar Quintero. Presencia del budismos de Níchiren Daishonin en Venezuela... pp. 87-103. Tathagata: el que ha recorrido el camino y Baghavat: el bienaventurado. (Mosterín J. 1983:23). Nació como príncipe, sin embargo, renunció a su vida secular, y se dedicó a la vida ascética religiosa con el fin de encontrar respuestas a los llamados cuatro sufrimientos de los seres humanos: nacer, enfermar, envejecer y morir.
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