Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Friday, May 31, 2019
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Monday, May 27, 2019
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Friday, May 24, 2019
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Monday, May 20, 2019
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Friday, May 17, 2019
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Monday, May 13, 2019
Sunday, May 12, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XLI Nerva
The death of Domitian leaves a Flavian-sized hole in the fabric of Rome. In this past this would be filled with a quick, dramatic round of 'Who's got the biggest army?', but in this case it's different. The senate acts fast, putting one of their own, Nerva, in the seat of power.
January 24, 2016 at 11:38 PM
19.7 MB (Audio)
January 24, 2016 at 11:38 PM
19.7 MB (Audio)
Saturday, May 11, 2019
New Books in Religion: Buddhism
In her recent monograph, Real and Imagined: The Peak of Gold in Heian Japan (Harvard University Asia Center, 2015), Heather Blair explores the religious and institutional history of Kinpusen, a mountain in central Japan that served as both a pilgrimage destination for aristocrats from the capital and as a site for mountain asceticism.
Focusing her attention on aristocratic, male lay patrons–women were barred from climbing the mountain–she shows how the urban elite saw the mountains (and, in this case, specifically Kinpusen) as the capital’s opposite, as an untamed place to which one might go to gain something not accessible in the ordered world of the city of Kyoto. And she describes how some understood the pilgrimage to Kinpusen to correspond to the path to awakening, thereby practicing what Blair calls “spatial soteriology.”
A central theme in this book is the difficulty of neatly fitting Kinpusen into a single category, such as “Buddhist” or “Daoist.” An illustrative example would be the mountain’s multi-faceted tutelary deity, who is not easily categorized and who played an important role in linking buddhas and bodhisattvas to Japanese deities.
In addition to looking at how Kinpusen was imagined, Blair devotes about a third of the book to records of pilgrimages to the mountain and activities undertaken on the summit. She provides us with rich descriptions of the preparatory rites and practices that pilgrims undertook for a period of some months prior to departure, of the offerings that were made during the nine-day journey to Kinpusen, and of the rituals performed atop Kinpusen’s peak. Addressing the burial of sutras, which was one of these rituals, Blair shows how on Kinpusen sutra burial was tied to meanings and symbolism specific to this mountain and its principle deity and that in the evidence available from Kinpusen there is little indication that anxiety about the decline of Buddhism, which is the the basis for this rite most often mentioned in scholarly literature on the topic, was not a central, motivating factor.
With the decline of Kinpusen’s main patrons, the northern branch of the Fujiwara family based in the capital, Kinpusen ceased to be a significant pilgrimage destination. In the final section of the book Blair examines this process and the decades-long conflict between Kinpusen and a powerful temple, and demonstrates how Kinpusen, rather than falling into ruin, was transformed as it shifted away from the capital’s realm of influence and was incorporated into a network of mountains and Nara-based temples. Through the production of engi (temple-origin legends) Kinpusen was reimagined and eventually, in the fourteenth century, linked to the tradition of mountain asceticism. While many have seen the religious practices carried out on Kinpusen and the production of engi about Kinpusen and associated mountains during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as being somehow opposed to the large, established monasteries and their interests, Blair shows that many of these engi were in fact produced and circulated within networks dominated by, or at least intimately tied to, the larger, landowning temples. In so doing she demonstrates that the distinction between lowland temple and mountain ascetic was not as clear as the rhetoric found in the engi would have us believe.
In addition, through her own fascinating theory of what she calls “ritual regimes,” Blair clarifies how rulers used ritual and pilgrimage as means of communication and control. Besides being of obvious importance for the study of pre-modern Japanese religion and Buddhism, this work will be of particular interest to those working on mountains in religion, sacred geography,
January 20, 2016 at 2:17 AM
31.8 MB (Audio)
Focusing her attention on aristocratic, male lay patrons–women were barred from climbing the mountain–she shows how the urban elite saw the mountains (and, in this case, specifically Kinpusen) as the capital’s opposite, as an untamed place to which one might go to gain something not accessible in the ordered world of the city of Kyoto. And she describes how some understood the pilgrimage to Kinpusen to correspond to the path to awakening, thereby practicing what Blair calls “spatial soteriology.”
A central theme in this book is the difficulty of neatly fitting Kinpusen into a single category, such as “Buddhist” or “Daoist.” An illustrative example would be the mountain’s multi-faceted tutelary deity, who is not easily categorized and who played an important role in linking buddhas and bodhisattvas to Japanese deities.
In addition to looking at how Kinpusen was imagined, Blair devotes about a third of the book to records of pilgrimages to the mountain and activities undertaken on the summit. She provides us with rich descriptions of the preparatory rites and practices that pilgrims undertook for a period of some months prior to departure, of the offerings that were made during the nine-day journey to Kinpusen, and of the rituals performed atop Kinpusen’s peak. Addressing the burial of sutras, which was one of these rituals, Blair shows how on Kinpusen sutra burial was tied to meanings and symbolism specific to this mountain and its principle deity and that in the evidence available from Kinpusen there is little indication that anxiety about the decline of Buddhism, which is the the basis for this rite most often mentioned in scholarly literature on the topic, was not a central, motivating factor.
With the decline of Kinpusen’s main patrons, the northern branch of the Fujiwara family based in the capital, Kinpusen ceased to be a significant pilgrimage destination. In the final section of the book Blair examines this process and the decades-long conflict between Kinpusen and a powerful temple, and demonstrates how Kinpusen, rather than falling into ruin, was transformed as it shifted away from the capital’s realm of influence and was incorporated into a network of mountains and Nara-based temples. Through the production of engi (temple-origin legends) Kinpusen was reimagined and eventually, in the fourteenth century, linked to the tradition of mountain asceticism. While many have seen the religious practices carried out on Kinpusen and the production of engi about Kinpusen and associated mountains during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as being somehow opposed to the large, established monasteries and their interests, Blair shows that many of these engi were in fact produced and circulated within networks dominated by, or at least intimately tied to, the larger, landowning temples. In so doing she demonstrates that the distinction between lowland temple and mountain ascetic was not as clear as the rhetoric found in the engi would have us believe.
In addition, through her own fascinating theory of what she calls “ritual regimes,” Blair clarifies how rulers used ritual and pilgrimage as means of communication and control. Besides being of obvious importance for the study of pre-modern Japanese religion and Buddhism, this work will be of particular interest to those working on mountains in religion, sacred geography,
January 20, 2016 at 2:17 AM
31.8 MB (Audio)
Friday, May 10, 2019
Progressive Spirit: Tom Boyd, Lusting For Infinity
They went into the wilderness to discover religion. What is it all about? Why are people religious? The adventure is recounted in Dr. Tom Boyd's, Lusting For Infinity: A Spiritual Odyssey. Dr. Boyd is professor emeritus of philosophy and religious studies at the University of Oklahoma. Reading Lusting For Infinity is like hanging out with your favorite professor and talking about all the great, honest, and real stuff you never have time for in class. An important book for those with inquisitive minds and searching spirits. A study guide is available as well.
January 17, 2016 at 2:00 PM
40.5 MB (Audio)
January 17, 2016 at 2:00 PM
40.5 MB (Audio)
Thursday, May 9, 2019
History and Myths of Greece and Rome: Nika, Nika, Nika, Win, Win, Win
Justin is the Emperor but he’s not really in charge. His nephew, Peter Sabbatius, gains a new name and a lot of power. Not only that, Peter has the ambition and drive to exercise his power.
January 17, 2016 at 7:47 AM
17.9 MB (Audio)
January 17, 2016 at 7:47 AM
17.9 MB (Audio)
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Philosophize This! Marx and Kierkegaard on Religion Part 1
Today we discuss Marx, his views on religion as a means of oppression, and his connection to Hegel's Dialectic.
January 16, 2016 at 7:07 PM
27.5 MB (Audio)
January 16, 2016 at 7:07 PM
27.5 MB (Audio)
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XL What is an Emperor (redux)?
Think about the time spanning from Julius Caesar becoming a dictator right through to the assassination of Domitian. In that period of time Rome has gone from a Republic to being a Monarchy in everything but name. So what is an Emperor now, how has it changed, and what does it mean to hold that power?
January 11, 2016 at 10:30 PM
27.5 MB (Audio)
January 11, 2016 at 10:30 PM
27.5 MB (Audio)
Monday, May 6, 2019
Mad Dog Mattis' Reading List
Who tops your reading list?
Colin Gray from the University of Reading is the most near-faultless strategist alive. Then there’s Sir Hew Strachan from Oxford, and Williamson Murray, the American. Those three are probably the leading present-day military theorists. You’ve got to know Sun-tzu and Carl von Clausewitz, of course. The Army was always big on Clausewitz, the Prussian; the Navy on Alfred Thayer Mahan, the American; and the Air Force on Giulio Douhet, the Italian. But the Marine Corps has always been more Eastern-oriented. I am much more comfortable with Sun-tzu and his approach to warfare.
Colin Gray from the University of Reading is the most near-faultless strategist alive. Then there’s Sir Hew Strachan from Oxford, and Williamson Murray, the American. Those three are probably the leading present-day military theorists. You’ve got to know Sun-tzu and Carl von Clausewitz, of course. The Army was always big on Clausewitz, the Prussian; the Navy on Alfred Thayer Mahan, the American; and the Air Force on Giulio Douhet, the Italian. But the Marine Corps has always been more Eastern-oriented. I am much more comfortable with Sun-tzu and his approach to warfare.