New Voices in Buddhist Studies

This paper surveys the Buddhist meditation technique known as the reflection on the repulsiveness of food (Skt. āhārepratikūla saṁjñā), tracing its origins in early canonical texts to its eventual decline in Mahāyāna Buddhism. It explores how food is interwoven with Buddhist concepts such as suffering, non-self, and dependent origination. Within this framework, contemplating food—by eliciting loathing toward both food and the body—reinforces the realization of non-self, fostering disenchantment and ultimately leading to nirvāṇa. Early Buddhist texts, including the Pāli Nikāyas and Chinese Āgamas, employ vivid similes to depict food consumption as an experience of suffering, while later Abhidharma traditions of both Theravāda and Sarvāstivāda systematized the practice. With the rise of Mahāyāna Buddhism, doctrinal shifts emphasizing emptiness led to its reconfiguration, as reflected in widely circulated Mahāyāna texts. Overall, the paper examines the relationship between this practice and the evolving doctrinal understanding of food in Buddhism.

This paper examines representations of disability in Chinese narrative tradition from the fourth to tenth century, arguing that disability is not a fixed category, but a fluid condition embedded in broader discourses of the body, suffering, and karma. Through an analysis of both translated Indian avadāna literature and indigenous Chinese miracle tales, I explore how these texts frame disability in shifting and context-dependent ways, sometimes as karmic retribution, sometimes as a contingent condition to be healed, and sometimes as an ambiguous marker of distinction. Rather than reinforcing a moralist view of disability as punishment, Buddhist narratives allow space for an empathetic recognition of disability as a shared yet transient condition among all sentient beings. Engaging with scholarship on disability aesthetics and ethics, this paper highlights how Buddhist texts mobilize bodily difference not only to elucidate doctrine but also to invite moral reflection, compassion, and a reimagination of embodied experience.

This paper explores the treasure origin (gter 'byung) genre in Tibetan literature, focusing on the works of Guru Chowang (1212–1270 CE.) and Ratna Lingpa (1403–1478), whose works provide some of the earliest systematic reflections on treasure revelation. These texts serve dual purposes: they not only theorize the nature of treasures—defining their origins, categories, and legitimacy—but also offer richly detailed narratives of the discovery process. These accounts describe how revealers located treasures through visions, prophecies, and signs in the landscape, how they negotiated with guardian spirits, and how they verified and authenticated their finds. By examining both the theoretical frameworks and vivid discovery narratives, this study sheds light on how treasures shaped Tibetan Buddhist understandings of revelation, sacred geography, and lineage.

This paper explores the reframing of Buddhism as ‘culture’ amid its growing popularity in South Korea. Recent Buddhist events like DJ NewJeansNim’s Lantern Festival performance and the Seoul International Buddhism Expo have attracted immense public attention despite declining interest in organized religion. Notably, both non-Buddhist audiences and Buddhist organizers increasingly describe Buddhism as a ‘culture’ rather than ‘religion.’ This study examines how the categories of religion and culture are being understood in post-COVID South Korea, the consumerist impetus behind articulating Buddhism as culture, and the tension that arises when organized Buddhism engages in propagation within this climate. I argue that the concept of culture operates on two main levels: as a consumable form of popular culture and as national heritage. While this strategy enhances Buddhism’s visibility, it also raises questions about the intersection of propagation and consumerism, ultimately highlighting the fluid and contested nature of religion in contemporary, non-Western societies.