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The Aesthetics Of Excess

01 Jan 2016-
TL;DR: The the aesthetics of excess is universally compatible with any devices to read and is available in the digital library an online access to it is set as public so you can get it instantly.
Abstract: Thank you for reading the aesthetics of excess. As you may know, people have search numerous times for their favorite books like this the aesthetics of excess, but end up in harmful downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they cope with some harmful virus inside their laptop. the aesthetics of excess is available in our digital library an online access to it is set as public so you can get it instantly. Our books collection hosts in multiple countries, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Merely said, the the aesthetics of excess is universally compatible with any devices to read.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argued that the interpretation of Buddhist texts, and in particular the Vinaya, in light of western ethical theory creates misunderstanding and argued that in each case of a supposed ethical dilemma, Buddhist ethics should be seen as empirical, since the ultimate point of reference for the choices involved in a proposed action lies in the purity and wholesomeness of each individual action.
Abstract: This article considers the recent debate over the nature of Buddhist ethics largely conducted by scholars who have argued in different ways that Buddhist ethics may be assimilated to or may correspond with different forms of western ethical theory.I argue that the interpretation of Buddhist texts, and in particular the Vinaya, in light of western ethical theory creates misunderstanding. I argue that in each case of a supposed ethical dilemma, Buddhist ethics should be seen as empirical, since the ultimate point of reference for the choices involved in a proposed action lies in the purity and wholesomeness of each individual action.My approach follows Foucault's argument for scepticism with regard to the notions of a universal nature or of a universal rationality. I argue that it is not instructive to read Buddhist texts against generalized standards. Rather, it is more productive to regard ethics as creating a space for the ethical, not in a normative sense but one arising from personal practice as relate...

24 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper argued that the patient neither experience nor plan to experience anger in response to (at least some) wrongs, but they remain capable of judging such actions to be wrong, which indicates that a different account of the relationship between anger and moral judgment is required.
Abstract: Although theorists disagree about precisely how to characterize the link between anger and moral judgment, that they are linked is routinely taken for granted in contemporary metaethics and philosophy of emotion. One problem with this assumption is that it ignores virtues like patience, which thinkers as different as Cassian, Śāntideva, and Maimonides have argued are characteristic of mature moral agents. The patient neither experience nor plan to experience anger in response to (at least some) wrongs. Nevertheless, we argue, they remain capable of judging such actions to be wrong. This indicates that a different account of the relationship between anger and moral judgment is required. We conclude by proposing one such account, showing how a metaethicist who was more attentive to the normative ethics of anger might set about reconstructing her position.

12 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: This article examined lay responses to the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni revival, focusing particular on the presence of strong affective relationships between laity and nuns in rural farming villages in Sri Lanka.
Abstract: Introduction (2) The Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist order of bhikkhunis, or fully ordained nuns, was revived in the late 1990s after a gap of circa 1000 years. Since 1998 bhikkhuni ordination ceremonies occur regularly in the country. (3) Estimates on the number of nuns in the new bhikkhuni order range between 1000 and 2000. The rapid growth of the bhikkhuni order is, perhaps, surprising given the fact that the Sri Lankan government and the bhikkhu sangha have not yet formally accepted the revival. Consequently, although it is legal to hold bhikkhuni ordinations and establish bhikkhuni temples, these temples receive no government funding, making it especially hard for nuns to get a monastic education. There are, however, a number of prominent bhikkhus advocating on behalf of bhikkhunis. (4) Thus formal recognition of the bhikkhuni revival may well come in the not-too-distant future. Until then bhikkhunis rely on lay support for all of their needs. As Janet Gyatso has observed, "the real fate of the new female [Sri Lankan bhikkhuni] order is being decided by the lay community" (5). It is precisely because laity support their local bhikkhuni temples--often with great enthusiasm--that the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni order continues to grow. This paper examines lay responses to the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni revival, focusing particular attention on the presence of strong affective relationships between laity and nuns. Affective ties between laity and nuns became the focus of my research while I lived in a rural farming village for five months toward the end of a longer two-year period of ethnographic research in Sri Lanka. I am especially concerned in this paper with the use of the word "love" (Sinhala: adaraya, adare) (5) to describe lay-nun relationships in this village. Laity told me that they "loved" their nuns. Just what laity mean by the word "love" and what this can tell us about the dynamics of the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni revival is the subject of this paper. Lay responses to the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni revival have not received much attention. Public discourse on the revival on the part of scholars, activists, government officials, and monastic authorities still centers primarily on questions of the revival's scriptural validity. According to Buddhist monastic regulations (vinaya) new bhikkhunls must be ordained by a quorum of both bhikkhus and bhikkhunls. In the absence of a living Theravada bhikkhuni lineage, South Korean and Taiwanese bhikkhunls, who follow Mahayana rather than Theravada Buddhism, made up the quorums that ordained the first Sri Lankan bhikkhunls. These Sri Lankan bhikkhunls were ordained at international ceremonies held in India by South Korean (1996) and Taiwanese (1998) organizations. Opponents of the bhikkhuni revival thus argue that all Sri Lankan nuns are really Mahayana nuns and should not receive formal recognition by the government or monastic authorities. (6) However much questions of scriptural validity matter to those engaged in public debate over the revival, my research indicates that lay patrons of bhikkhuni temples have very different concerns. Their primary concern is whether or not they can get their religious needs met at their local bhikkhuni temple, not whether the South Korean and Taiwanese ordination ceremonies conformed to Theravada monastic regulations. Given the importance of the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni revival to bhikkhuni movements worldwide, I was surprised to find that Sri Lankan laity are often unfamiliar with the history of their own bhikkhuni revival. Indeed unless they have personal contact with a bhikkhuni temple, they may not even be aware that a revival has taken place. How is this possible? An alternative female renunciant order of ten-precept nuns (dasasilmata) was founded in 1905 at a time when there was still insufficient support for a bhikkhuni revival in Sri Lanka. Ten-precept nuns are technically not members of the Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist sangha, although they live celibate monastic lives. …

11 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors compare Le Guin's short story, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" (1974) to the book of Job, and draw on George Bataille's theory of sacrifice as useless expenditure, and develop his concept of the will to chance in my reading of how each set of characters responds to the complex moral impasses faced.
Abstract: This article compares Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (1974) to the book of Job. Both stories feature characters who can be read as innocent victims, but whereas the suffering in Le Guin’s tale benefits many, Job is the victim of useless suffering. Exploring this difference, I draw on George Bataille’s theory of sacrifice as useless expenditure, and developed his concept of the “will to chance” in my reading of how each set of characters responds to the complex moral impasses faced. In the end, I read both stories as being about the struggle to create a viable, meaningful life in a world that is unpredictable and structurally unjust.

10 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the role of giving to temples in Mongolian Buddhism and found that people viewed their donations as payments for highly valued ritual services, bringing to the fore broader issues relating to spiritual authority, religious education and observance, and the necessary conditions for spiritual efficacy.
Abstract: Since the end of the socialist period in 1990, Buddhism in Mongolia has been undergoing a resurgence. Temples no longer oversee vast tracts of land and receive income from the activities of bonded nomadic herders as they did in the presocialist period. They must instead fund themselves from the freely given donations of lay Buddhists. Whilst the majority of the Mongolian population self-identify as Buddhist, regular donations to temples are not an assumed part of social and economic relationships. Unlike the case in most other Asian Buddhist societies, the concept of giving donations as a way to make merit was not present amongst my interlocutors. The urban Mongolians that I spoke to viewed their donations as payments for highly valued ritual services. The act of donating to temples was for some an ambivalent activity, bringing to the fore broader issues relating to spiritual authority, religious education and observance, and the necessary conditions for spiritual efficacy. In this article I investigate p...

8 citations


Cites background from "The Aesthetics Of Excess"

  • ...In Buddhist philosophy in order for an act to be positive it must arise from free choice and positive motivations (Heim 2003)....

    [...]

References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argued that the interpretation of Buddhist texts, and in particular the Vinaya, in light of western ethical theory creates misunderstanding and argued that in each case of a supposed ethical dilemma, Buddhist ethics should be seen as empirical, since the ultimate point of reference for the choices involved in a proposed action lies in the purity and wholesomeness of each individual action.
Abstract: This article considers the recent debate over the nature of Buddhist ethics largely conducted by scholars who have argued in different ways that Buddhist ethics may be assimilated to or may correspond with different forms of western ethical theory.I argue that the interpretation of Buddhist texts, and in particular the Vinaya, in light of western ethical theory creates misunderstanding. I argue that in each case of a supposed ethical dilemma, Buddhist ethics should be seen as empirical, since the ultimate point of reference for the choices involved in a proposed action lies in the purity and wholesomeness of each individual action.My approach follows Foucault's argument for scepticism with regard to the notions of a universal nature or of a universal rationality. I argue that it is not instructive to read Buddhist texts against generalized standards. Rather, it is more productive to regard ethics as creating a space for the ethical, not in a normative sense but one arising from personal practice as relate...

24 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper argued that the patient neither experience nor plan to experience anger in response to (at least some) wrongs, but they remain capable of judging such actions to be wrong, which indicates that a different account of the relationship between anger and moral judgment is required.
Abstract: Although theorists disagree about precisely how to characterize the link between anger and moral judgment, that they are linked is routinely taken for granted in contemporary metaethics and philosophy of emotion. One problem with this assumption is that it ignores virtues like patience, which thinkers as different as Cassian, Śāntideva, and Maimonides have argued are characteristic of mature moral agents. The patient neither experience nor plan to experience anger in response to (at least some) wrongs. Nevertheless, we argue, they remain capable of judging such actions to be wrong. This indicates that a different account of the relationship between anger and moral judgment is required. We conclude by proposing one such account, showing how a metaethicist who was more attentive to the normative ethics of anger might set about reconstructing her position.

12 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: This article examined lay responses to the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni revival, focusing particular on the presence of strong affective relationships between laity and nuns in rural farming villages in Sri Lanka.
Abstract: Introduction (2) The Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist order of bhikkhunis, or fully ordained nuns, was revived in the late 1990s after a gap of circa 1000 years. Since 1998 bhikkhuni ordination ceremonies occur regularly in the country. (3) Estimates on the number of nuns in the new bhikkhuni order range between 1000 and 2000. The rapid growth of the bhikkhuni order is, perhaps, surprising given the fact that the Sri Lankan government and the bhikkhu sangha have not yet formally accepted the revival. Consequently, although it is legal to hold bhikkhuni ordinations and establish bhikkhuni temples, these temples receive no government funding, making it especially hard for nuns to get a monastic education. There are, however, a number of prominent bhikkhus advocating on behalf of bhikkhunis. (4) Thus formal recognition of the bhikkhuni revival may well come in the not-too-distant future. Until then bhikkhunis rely on lay support for all of their needs. As Janet Gyatso has observed, "the real fate of the new female [Sri Lankan bhikkhuni] order is being decided by the lay community" (5). It is precisely because laity support their local bhikkhuni temples--often with great enthusiasm--that the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni order continues to grow. This paper examines lay responses to the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni revival, focusing particular attention on the presence of strong affective relationships between laity and nuns. Affective ties between laity and nuns became the focus of my research while I lived in a rural farming village for five months toward the end of a longer two-year period of ethnographic research in Sri Lanka. I am especially concerned in this paper with the use of the word "love" (Sinhala: adaraya, adare) (5) to describe lay-nun relationships in this village. Laity told me that they "loved" their nuns. Just what laity mean by the word "love" and what this can tell us about the dynamics of the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni revival is the subject of this paper. Lay responses to the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni revival have not received much attention. Public discourse on the revival on the part of scholars, activists, government officials, and monastic authorities still centers primarily on questions of the revival's scriptural validity. According to Buddhist monastic regulations (vinaya) new bhikkhunls must be ordained by a quorum of both bhikkhus and bhikkhunls. In the absence of a living Theravada bhikkhuni lineage, South Korean and Taiwanese bhikkhunls, who follow Mahayana rather than Theravada Buddhism, made up the quorums that ordained the first Sri Lankan bhikkhunls. These Sri Lankan bhikkhunls were ordained at international ceremonies held in India by South Korean (1996) and Taiwanese (1998) organizations. Opponents of the bhikkhuni revival thus argue that all Sri Lankan nuns are really Mahayana nuns and should not receive formal recognition by the government or monastic authorities. (6) However much questions of scriptural validity matter to those engaged in public debate over the revival, my research indicates that lay patrons of bhikkhuni temples have very different concerns. Their primary concern is whether or not they can get their religious needs met at their local bhikkhuni temple, not whether the South Korean and Taiwanese ordination ceremonies conformed to Theravada monastic regulations. Given the importance of the Sri Lankan bhikkhuni revival to bhikkhuni movements worldwide, I was surprised to find that Sri Lankan laity are often unfamiliar with the history of their own bhikkhuni revival. Indeed unless they have personal contact with a bhikkhuni temple, they may not even be aware that a revival has taken place. How is this possible? An alternative female renunciant order of ten-precept nuns (dasasilmata) was founded in 1905 at a time when there was still insufficient support for a bhikkhuni revival in Sri Lanka. Ten-precept nuns are technically not members of the Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist sangha, although they live celibate monastic lives. …

11 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors compare Le Guin's short story, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" (1974) to the book of Job, and draw on George Bataille's theory of sacrifice as useless expenditure, and develop his concept of the will to chance in my reading of how each set of characters responds to the complex moral impasses faced.
Abstract: This article compares Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (1974) to the book of Job. Both stories feature characters who can be read as innocent victims, but whereas the suffering in Le Guin’s tale benefits many, Job is the victim of useless suffering. Exploring this difference, I draw on George Bataille’s theory of sacrifice as useless expenditure, and developed his concept of the “will to chance” in my reading of how each set of characters responds to the complex moral impasses faced. In the end, I read both stories as being about the struggle to create a viable, meaningful life in a world that is unpredictable and structurally unjust.

10 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the role of giving to temples in Mongolian Buddhism and found that people viewed their donations as payments for highly valued ritual services, bringing to the fore broader issues relating to spiritual authority, religious education and observance, and the necessary conditions for spiritual efficacy.
Abstract: Since the end of the socialist period in 1990, Buddhism in Mongolia has been undergoing a resurgence. Temples no longer oversee vast tracts of land and receive income from the activities of bonded nomadic herders as they did in the presocialist period. They must instead fund themselves from the freely given donations of lay Buddhists. Whilst the majority of the Mongolian population self-identify as Buddhist, regular donations to temples are not an assumed part of social and economic relationships. Unlike the case in most other Asian Buddhist societies, the concept of giving donations as a way to make merit was not present amongst my interlocutors. The urban Mongolians that I spoke to viewed their donations as payments for highly valued ritual services. The act of donating to temples was for some an ambivalent activity, bringing to the fore broader issues relating to spiritual authority, religious education and observance, and the necessary conditions for spiritual efficacy. In this article I investigate p...

8 citations