Annual Meeting 2024 Program Book

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In the Buddhist path toward liberation, cognitive objects serve as a double-edged sword: on one hand, they prompt cognitive and emotional attachments that hinder sentient beings from attaining liberation; on the other hand, they are essential for guiding one toward the liberating knowledge that alone serves as the key to liberation. This paper draws from the Yogācāra theory of three natures (trisvabhāva-nirdeśa) outlined in the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra to suggest that the key to resolving the above tension is the idea of pure dependent nature. When the dependent nature (i.e., cognitive objects) is detached from the imagined nature (i.e., concepts superimposed on cognitive objects), cognitive objects are perceived through non-conceptual perception. Only through non-conceptual perception of objects can further seeds of names and concepts be avoided in the storehouse consciousness. In essence, a proper mode of perceiving cognitive objects paves the way for their elimination.

This paper analyzes theories on subjectivity and how they changed from Abhidharma scholasticism to Yogācāra philosophy of mind. One of the most common and fundamental themes in Buddhist intellectual discourses is the denial of self (anātman). Throughout history, Buddhist thinkers have attempted to account for subjectivity, while rejecting self as the basis for perhaps the most intrinsic and ineradicable feature of our existence. The Sarvāstivāda-Sautrāntikas maintain the reductionist approach to self and explain our sense of self through the function of the mental factor, the view of self (satkāyadṛṣṭi). However, under this Abhidharmic model subjectivity is at best episodic and sporadic. The Yogācāra thinkers then proposed the theory of the afflicted mentation (kliṣṭaṁ manas) which constantly ruminates and is responsible for the sense of self. This paper investigates the transition from the Abhidharma to the Yogācāra model and the intellectual context in which this transition emerged.

Sthiramati is a prominent commentator of the Yogācāra tradition, however his contributions to tackling key issues in Buddhist philosophy are often overlooked in scholarship. In his commentary on Vasubandhu’s Triṃśikā, the Triṃśikāvijñaptibhāṣya, Sthiramati claims that one of the purposes of Vasubandhu’s work is to reject the ‘extreme doctrine’ of the Ābhidharmikas that “just like consciousness, the object of consciousness also substantially (dravyatas) exists”. Although Sthiramati sides with the Ābhidharmikas (over the Mādhyamikas) in accepting that consciousness substantially exists, he denies the same status to the objects of consciousness. This talk investigates Sthiramati’s attempt to adhere to fundamental Abhidharmic presuppositions in philosophy of mind and perception while criticizing and reinterpreting the Ābhidharmikas’ view that the object-condition (ālambana-pratyaya) of consciousness is a mind-independent entity. With regard to his critique, I pay special attention to how Sthiramati combines various metaphysical and epistemological considerations used for a similar purpose in Vasubandhu’s and Dignāga’s works.

Renunciant traditions are known for their ambiguous views on drama since aesthetic experience distracts mendicants and laypeople from the right path rooted in equanimity and self-discipline. Having recognized the powerful effects of drama, however, Jains developed some of the earliest theories on drama and aesthetics, which they imbued with social and ritual efficacy. For instance, in the Piṇḍanijjuti, a drama about the world-emperor Bharata encourages five hundred kṣatriyas to renounce the world. In the Rāyapaseṇiya, a devotional performance by the god Sūriyābha represents a ritual internalization of the Jina’s biography. Through the analysis of these and other examples from early Jain literature, this paper argues that Jains envisioned aesthetic experience produced by drama and poetry as a source of social and ritual transformation, which affected individuals and communities.

This paper examines the early Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ideological evolution, highlighting its strategic appropriation and subsequent rejection of Christian elements in the pursuit of national salvation. Building on the framework of Goossaert and Palmer, it interprets the CCP’s inception as a religious endeavor, where Christianity initially served as a model for moral and social reform. Through a detailed analysis of Chen Duxiu and Yun Daiying’s transformations—from viewing Christianity as a valuable source of sacredness to denouncing it in favor of Communism’s promises of social overhaul and enhanced organizational cohesion—the study illustrates the CCP’s shift towards positioning Communism as the ultimate sacred narrative. This exploration into the complex interplay between religious faith and political ideology helps illuminate the forces shaping modern China’s religio-political landscape and the role of sacredness in its nationalist and revolutionary discourses.

The term “Sino-Foreign Protestant Establishment,” defined by noted Chinese historian Daniel H. Bays, is central to understanding the evolution of Christianity in early twentieth-century China. Flourishing during the Republican era and unraveling in the mid-20th century with the rise of the Chinese Communist regime, this roughly four-decade-long Establishment underwent a significant shift. This paper explores, by introducing the concept of “Sino-Foreign Protestant Estrangement,” how the religio-political mechanisms catalyzed the shift from Sino-Foreign Protestant collaboration to estrangement. It focuses on Y. T. Wu, a pivotal Protestant leader in post-1949 church-state relations. The study argues that the transition from the Establishment to the Estrangement was orchestrated through three key strategies: ideological reconstruction, institutional rebuilding, and individual decoupling, all aimed at removing foreign influences from the initial Establishment. These tactics culminated in what is termed “Cold War Christian Chineseness,” a new phase of Chinese Christian self-identity shaped by these transformative processes.

Margaret Emma Barber (1866–1930), a British female missionary, significantly influenced the spiritual development of Watchman Nee (1903–1972), a prominent leader of churches in China. Despite their significant impact, their mentoring relationship remains understudied in scholarly literature. This paper aims to fill this gap by examining the dynamic interaction between Barber and Nee in the 1920s, shedding light on the complex dynamics between Western missionaries and Chinese converts. Drawing on historical documents, personal writings, and contextual analysis, the study will explore Barber’s guidance and Nee’s perception of Barber’s personality and mentorship. The research aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the cultural and theological exchanges between Western missionaries and indigenous Chinese Christians in twentieth-century China and beyond. The study aims to enrich the narrative of Chinese Christianity by highlighting the significance of mentorship and cultural exchange in shaping its development across geographical and cultural boundaries.

The new generations of Chinese urban elite Christians have been searching for an intellectually robust political theology to guide their cultural ambition and their reformist drive. Some of their recent discourse, for example their endorsement of American Christian nationalism, their hostility toward the ordination of women, and their rejection of separation of church and state, calls into question what kind of political theology that had influenced them the most. For some influential and outspoken Chinese Christian leaders of the 21st century, the answer is clear. They adopted Christian Reconstructionism, sometimes also called theonomy, of American fundamentalists such as Rousas Rushdoony and Gary North. This paper traces the historical contingencies through which Christian Reconstruction theology made its way across the globe to China, and came to be favored by many Chinese Christians.

As hip-hop celebrates its 50 years aniversary, one of the cultures four elements is entering another historical milestone. Breaking is for the first time  an olympic sport at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Scholarly writings on hip hop and religion seems to favorize rap and rap lyrics. In academic studies on religion and dance, breaking is as good as absent. This paper will explore the art and spirituality of Carlos David Catun Quintanas, AKA B-Boy Gato, known as one of the most innovative breakers from Guatemala City, Guatemala. Having received death threats from one of the most notorious gangs in Guatemala city, B-Boy Gato now lives in exile. The aim of this paper is to examine two of his productions, reflecting contexts of violence and exile. Building on theories developed by Homi Bhabha and Edward Soja among others, spirituality will be explored along spatial terms.

Although Rolling Stone journalist Touré’s 1994 review criticizes Wu-Tang's underground style, calling them “ciphers” who embrace the aesthetics of the “have-nots,” the cipher in fact signifies both zero and the whole within the context of the Five Percent Nation’s Supreme Mathematics, which Wu-Tang further correlates to the 360 degrees of a circle via the thirty-six deadly pressure points found in the Wubei Zhi (a Ming dynasty military treatise). This paper will examine Wu-Tang’s zero-is-hero trajectory and its parallels to the tale of Chan Buddhist patriarch, Huìnéng 慧能, the “barbarian” whose rhymes revealed a natural knowledge of dharma as no thing. In scripting a context for their own hero's narrative from Supreme Mathematics, kung fu cinema, and lyrical sword style, the Wu-Tang Clan has taken the blank canvas of the self and built a chamber, a cipher, and a sphere of enlightenment for themselves and their fans.

Early studies have generally used a dyadic schema to explain the pervasiveness of Hindu themes in Southeast Asia’s myriad religious cultures. Whereas Hindu traditions which appear indigenous are described as « Indianization » stemming from age-old processes of cultural exchange, the more recognizable forms of Hindu-ness in Southeast Asia are attributed to a modern Indian diaspora born of Western colonialism. In recent times, scholars have questioned these paradigms, especially with regards to present-day Thailand. My presentation offers ethnographic vignettes from fieldwork at two temples in suburban Bangkok—Wat Saman Rattanaram and Thewalai Khanetinsuan. Centered on the god Ganesha, the sites represent distinct but overlapping attitudes toward the public worship of Hindu figures in Thailand: one subsumes Ganesha under a Buddhist rubric, the other presents a vision of Ganesha which, although founded and managed by Thai Buddhists, retains a decidedly Hindu identity.

This paper aims to map the progressive settlement of Murugan worship throughout the indentured Tamil communities of Mauritius island, in the early decades of the 20th century. I locate the emergence of Murugan-centered within a departure from the historically dominant ritual economy of Mariamman and Draupadi worship, confined to sugar estate temples under direct White planters’ patronage.

The establishment of Murugan cultic centres map instead the settlement of a new class of upper-caste Tamil landlords moving from small plantation holdings to more mercantile ventures. Through the foundation narratives of two important Murugan temples, I argue that the peripatetic and metamorphous deity provided to formerly indentured migrants a Bhakti of economic freedom and political ascension.

As index of this devotional discourse, my analysis of three poems of Mauritian Murugan devotee Vadivel Selvam Pillai (1899-1978) showcase this association between the deity and a hard-won material liberty.

Making use of previously neglected English- and Chinese-language sources, including hundreds of hours of archived recordings, and interviews conducted over nine months of ethnographic fieldwork (July 2022–May 2023), this paper explores (1) how and why, since the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, various citizens of the People’s Republic of China have come to embrace lives of devotion centered on the Hindu deity Kṛṣṇa, and (2) how, despite the social and political challenges they face as religious actors in China, devotees manage to maintain and even strengthen their faiths. In grappling with the former, this paper reveals a combination of factors—ideology, “religious capital,” social bonds, and “direct rewards”—which draw and facilitate the conversion of Chinese to Hinduism. In dealing with the latter, it expands upon anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann’s theory of “real-making,” arguing that practitioners can become more certain of Kṛṣṇa’s existence through, among other things, affective synchronization.  

 This paper examines the challenges faced by Hindu immigrants in practicing their religion and establishing temples in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a predominantly Islamic country. Against the backdrop of global conflicts rooted in religious diversity, the paper enhances the discourse on religious pluralism by analyzing the historical development and architectural evolution of Hindu temples in the UAE. Drawing on my historical and ethnographic research, I argue that despite Hinduism’s status as a minority religion in a Muslim-majority nation, the reciprocal relationship between Hindu pluralistic approaches and the UAE government’s religious inclusion policies has facilitated the practice of Hinduism, the construction of temples, and the promotion of religious diversity and inclusion in the UAE. The paper analyzes the religiopolitical dynamics, interreligious tensions, and roles played by Hindu temples in promoting cultural exchange, social cohesion, and community empowerment, offering insights into Hindu-Muslim relations, religious pluralism, and cultural integration in the UAE.