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ASIAN STUDIES RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL PRACTICES IN ASIA: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE Volume IV (XX), Issue 1 Ljubljana 2016 Azijske_studije_2016_1_FINAL.indd 1 3.3.2016 14:47:09 ASIAN STUDIES, Volume IV (XX), Issue 1, Ljubljana 2016 Editor-in-Chief: Jana S. Rošker Editor-in-Charge: Nataša Visočnik Proof Reader: Tina Š. Petrovič in Josh Rocchio Editorial Board: Ivana Buljan, Bart Dessein, Tamara Ditrich, Shaun Richard O’Dwyer, Raoul David Findeisen, Mark James Hudson, Ana Jelnikar, Mislav Ježić, Jeff Kingston, Mingchang Lin, Beatrix Mecsi, Tamae K. Prindle, Jana S. Rošker, Nataša Vampelj Suhadolnik, Nataša Visočnik, Mitja Saje, Geir Sigurðsson, Yuriko Sunakawa, Andrej Ule, Zouli Wang All articles are double blind peer-reviewed. The journal is accessable online in the Open Journal System data base: http://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/as. © University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, 2016. All rights reserved. Published by: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani/Ljubljana University Press, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana For: Oddelek za azijske študije/Department of Asian Studies For the publisher: Branka Kalenić Ramšak, Dean of Faculty of Arts Ljubljana, 2016, First edition Number printed: Print on demand Graphic Design: Janez Mlakar Printed by: Birografika Bori, d. o. o. Price: 10,00 EUR ISSN 2232-5131 This publication is indexed in the Cobiss database. This journal is published two times per year. Yearly subscription: 17 EUR Address: Filozofska fakulteta, Oddelek za azijske študije, Aškerčeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija tel.: +386 (0)1 24 11 450, +386 (0)24 11 444, faks: +386 (0)1 42 59 337 This journal is published with the support of the Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. / To delo je ponujeno pod licenco Creative Commons Priznanje avtorstva-Deljenje pod enakimi pogoji 4.0 Mednarodna licenca CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikaciji Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana 2-584(5)(082) 130.3:2(5)(082) RELIGIOUS and spiritual practices in Asia : continuity and change / [editor-in-charge Nataša Visočnik]. - 1st ed. - Ljubljana : Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete = University Press, Faculty of Arts, 2016. - (Asian studies, ISSN 2232-5131 ; vol. 4 (20), issue 1) ISBN 978-961-237-812-7 1. Visočnik, Nataša 283847936 Azijske_studije_2016_1_FINAL.indd 2 3.3.2016 14:47:09 Contents 3 Contents Introduction. .5 Jana S. ROŠKER The Concept of Time in Buddhism Progress and Free Will: On the Buddhist Concept of “Time” and Its Possibilities for Modernity . 11 Bart DESSEIN What is Time?: Yogācāra-Buddhist Meditation on the Problem of the External World in the Treatise on the Perfection of Consciousness-only (Cheng weishi lun) . 35 Jianjun LI Body and Mind, Subject and Object Buddhism and Cognitive (Neuro)Science: An Uneasy Liaison? . 61 Sebastjan VÖRÖS The Concept of Self in Buddhism and Brahmanism: Some Remarks . 81 Andrej ULE The Significance of “mushin”: The Essential Mind of Zen Buddhist Philosophy for Humans in a Contemporary World . 97 Hisaki HASHI Some Characteristics of Japanese and Korean Buddhism Bodhisattva Jizō and Folk Religious Influences: Elements of Folk Religion in Jizō’s Understanding in Japan . 115 Iva LAKIĆ PARAĆ Special Features of the Popularization of Bodhidharma in Korea and Japan . .131 Beatrix MECSI Contemporary Neo-Confucianism Modern Confucianism and the Concept of “Asian Values” . .153 Jana S. ROŠKER Azijske_studije_2016_1_FINAL.indd 3 3.3.2016 14:47:09 The Neo-Confucianism of the Joseon Dynasty: Its Theoretical Foundation and Main Issues . .165 HaeSung LEE Narrations and Religious Histories Buddhism between Asia and Europe: The Concept of Mindfulness through a Historical Lens . .197 Tamara DITRICH On the Simplest Reading of Bartol’s Alamut . .215 Tahereh AHMADIPOUR The Role of Religion in the Life of Zainichi Koreans in Japan . .229 Nataša VISOČNIK Asian Studies in Slovenia Ponovno ovrednotenje Webra na Japonskem in nekatera izhodišča za obravnavo religije v povezavi s potrošništvom . 247 Tinka DELAKORDA KAWASHIMA Azijske_studije_2016_1_FINAL.indd 4 3.3.2016 14:47:09 DOI: 10.4312/as.2016.4.1.5-7 5 Introduction Jana S. ROŠKER*1 Spirituality plays a significant role in shaping the cohesion of communities, their values, and their structures across the globe. Various religious practices and idea- tional systems are particularly complex in Asia. Home to some of the world major spiritual traditions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism, as well as to a relevant number of practicing Christians, Muslims, and self-iden- tified atheists and agnostics, Asia provides us with an intense and extraordinarily rich tapestry of different religious and spiritual practices. Because of their importance, these traditions and practices form the common thread behind the special theme of the present issue of the journal Asian Studies. The volume challenges the notion that Asian modernities are derivative imita- tions of the West. On the contrary, it argues that contemporary Asian societies have transformed their ancient traditions in unique ways, forming new distinctive and widespread spiritual and religious practices that are of utmost importance for the representation, preservation, and revival of traditions, as well as for forming the identity of modern peoples living in contemporary Asian societies. The volume is structured into five sections, including articles on The Concept of Time in Buddhism, contributions devoted to the issues of Mind and Body, Subject and Ob- ject in Asian religions, debates on the Some Characteristics of Japanese and Korean Buddhism, introductions to Contemporary Neo-Confucianism, as well as discussions of Narrations and Religious Histories. In the first section, Bart Dessein and Jian- yun Li explore some important connections between different Buddhist meditation techniques and the perception and sensation of time. To different degrees they all also touch on the problematic, but highly topical relation between the Buddhist and the cognitive studies. Bart Dessein, approaches the problems of time in Bud- dhism through a historical perspective. In his article “Progress and Free Will: On the Buddhist Concept of ‘Time’ and Its Possibilities for Modernity” he mainly ex- plores the notion of time through the ideas of progress and free will, which are also important concepts included in Buddhism, especially in the Mahayana School. Jianyun Li’s contribution entitled “What is Time? Yogācāra-Buddhist Meditation * Jana S. ROŠKER, Professor, Department of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. jana.rosker[at]ff.uni-lj.si Azijske_studije_2016_1_FINAL.indd 5 3.3.2016 14:47:09 6 Jana Rošker: Introduction on the Problem of the External World in the Cheng Weishi Lun” is also mainly focused upon the Buddhist concept of time and its relation to human perception and cognition. Both contributions contained in the first section, inter alia, at least briefly deal with the relation between Buddhism and modern cognitive studies. This relation is also a central topic of the second section entitled Body and Mind, Subject and Object. This section opens with Sebastjan Vörös’s essay, which directly addresses this relation and points out some central questions related to the topic through the lens of the study of consciousness in cognitive neuroscience. Andrej Ule’s contri- bution develops some further approaches to these questions through the Buddhist insight into forms of consciousness, which enable humans to become aware of the elimination of all differences between the individual (personal) self and the uni- versal Self, transcending even the very category of existence and not-existence. The author of the last article in this section is Hashi Hisaki. Her contribution deals with contemporary Zen Buddhism and focuses on some spiritual possibilities it offers to post-modern, alienated human beings. It describes the opportunities to seize and preserve in these digital era the original human consciousness with its creative thinking and acting, including its abilities to transmit one idea to another for re- forming and developing something new. Iva Lakić Parać and Beatrix Mecsi are the authors of the third section, which ex- plores “Some Characteristics of Japanese and Korean Buddhism”. While Parać’s essay opens the question of whether and to what extent the popular image of Bodhisattva Jizō in Japan still contains certain elements of native or autochtho- nous Japanese religions, Mecsi’s article deals with different forms of the popu- larization of Bodhidharma in Korea and Japan respectively through the lens of intercultural comparisons. The next section deals with the philosophical and spiritual stream of Contemporary or Modern (Neo)-Confucian thought. While Jana S. Rošker explores this stream through its relation to the concept of the so-called “Asian Values”, Haesung Lee introduces to the readers one of the most important Confucian discourses in the history of Korean philosophy, namely the Neo-Confucianism of the Joseon dynasty. The last section of this special issue is of a more general nature. It includes three articles on various topics concerning religious histories and religious narrations. While Tamara Ditrich explores the history of the modern concept of mindfulness and its recent post-colonial roots, Tahereh Ahmadipour introduces us a new in- terpretation of certain spiritual dimensions that can be found in Vladimir Bartol’s novel Alamut. The special issue concludes