(ESSAY) Beliefs and expectations shape our reality. Maybe nothing really spooky happened to either of us. We were just trying to explain the world with what we knew. For both of us, that knowledge was informed by Taiwanese culture, religion and superstition. Our reactions told us something about the world around us — but maybe even more so, they said something about ourselves.
Read More(ANALYSIS) For hundreds of years, people from different religious traditions across South Asia have retold the “Ramayana” through dramas, narrative poems, shadow puppet plays, pageants, folk songs, comics, television shows and many other mediums. Director Nitesh Tiwari’s upcoming “Ramayana” film is the latest retelling of this epic tradition.
Read MoreDefying all odds, the man who has done arguably the most convincing work in proving the scientific viability of reincarnation was an American psychiatrist who died in 2007. On this week’s podcast: A look back at the life and work of Dr. Ian Stevenson.
Read More(ANALYSIS) A team of researchers from Sivas Cumhuriyet University in Turkey is investigating a long-standing claim: That a boat-shaped geological formation in the country’s east contains the remains of Noah’s Ark. In the Book of Genesis, God decides to destroy the world with a flood. Following God’s instructions, Noah builds an ark to save himself, his family and animals of every kind.
Read MoreFindings are based on several data sets, including surveys distributed in seven languages to experts in 100 countries, in-depth interviews with country-specific experts, and onsite visits to select countries to verify data and collect additional information, as well as established resources including the World Christian Database, the World Watch List and World Development Bank indicators.
Read More(TRAVEL) We Bangaloreans are just a stone’s throw away from a place of worship. And if one threw a stone, chances are it would probably land on one of the beautiful, iconic places of worship in Bangalore. Or perhaps the stone might get stuck in one of the many traffic jams.
Read MoreExperts said that the Taliban is using women’s own Muslim faith to “dehumanize” them. “The very religion that gives them strength is being used against them,” one expert said. In a country where only Sunni Muslims are considered citizens, religious minorities increasingly face danger, imprisonment and even death.
Read MoreFarmers were not burning fields out of ignorance about the harm it caused — they were burning because it was what they had always seen done. The answer? The connecting of agricultural lessons with spiritual truths. For Delhi, whose winter air quality crisis is inseparable from what happens in Punjab’s fields each October, that lesson carries direct and urgent relevance.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As a scholar of “Buddhist medicine,” I have studied the connections between Buddhism and well-being since the late 1990s. During the course of that research, I would periodically run into sources claiming that meditation could sometimes have unexpected or adverse health effects. When I discovered in 2020 that psychologists were beginning to document the same thing, I began to examine more systematically how Buddhist texts address this issue.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Members of the Christian community arrived at the protest site in New Delhi alongside Hindu, Muslim and Sikh groups. The participation of religious groups and leaders is part of a broader, interfaith effort to show solidarity with youth and students demonstrating against the Indian government.
Read MoreBuddhism is experiencing a revival in northern Bangladesh as thousands of Indigenous Oraon people have embraced the faith since the mid-1990s. Supporters see it as a return to an ancient religious heritage, though the movement faces challenges, including a shortage of monks and criticism from some religious leaders.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Hundreds of pilgrims traveling to Mount Kailash were among those affected by devastating floods that struck the Nepal–Tibet border on Aug. 26. The floods destroyed the border crossing most commonly used to reach what is arguably the most revered holy mountain in the world, which sits in the Tibet autonomous region of China.
Read More(TRAVEL) I recently returned from leading an educational program in Thailand focusing on how Buddhists practice the religion in their day-to-day lives. The participants — Buddhist practitioners from North America and Europe — wanted to deepen their understanding and practice of the religion.
Read More(ESSAY) Taiwanese religious culture is a unique mix of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism and other Southeast Asian influences — and this blending is especially apparent at Taiwanese funerals. Now, as fewer Taiwanese folks have kids, raising pets instead, we can get a new perspective on these rites by observing the relatively new phenomenon of traditional pet funerals.
Read MoreChinaAid is seeking 100,000 signatures petitioning President Donald Trump to urge Pastor John Cao’s safe passage to the U.S. when President Xi Jinping visits Washington in September.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Nepal underwent major political upheaval just a year ago, toppling the government in a fashion few could have imagined. An even more dramatic development followed. Voters handed a near-supermajority to the Rastriya Swatantra Party, which was founded only four years earlier. Its senior leader, Balendra Shah, became the youngest prime minister in Nepal’s history.
Read More(ANALYSIS) India’s religious diversity has deep historical roots, reflected in the experiences of Hindu soldier Sitaram Pande and Muslim poet Mirza Ghalib. Their writings portray sacred landscapes shaped by multiple traditions while revealing identities that crossed religious boundaries, challenging contemporary claims that religious purity justifies anti-minority rhetoric or violence.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Today, amid Japan’s shrinking population and anti-immigrant sentiment, it might be jarring to remember that there once were hopes that the island nation would be the anti-colonial leader of the world’s Muslims and that some of Asia’s Muslims dreamed of an “Islamic Republic of Japan.”
Read MoreThey’ve survived ISIS, genocides and persecution. Their homeland has been destroyed. Now the Yazidis in Iraq are rallying together to build their own soccer stadium — a symbol of resilience and hope despite their difficult past.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Kashmir remains one of the world’s most contentious geopolitical flash points. What is overlooked in this coverage is Kashmir’s immense artistic, intellectual and spiritual heritage, one shaped by centuries of interreligious and intercultural exchange.
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