道教神仙信仰与人们的社会追求

神仙信仰是道教信仰中重要的组成部分,由于神仙信仰而期望得道成仙、长生不死,不仅是古代修道者终生不渝的追求目标,也为当时社会中许多不同身份的人所企盼和津津乐道。这种久远漫长的历史现象,既说明道教作为我国本土出现并承传至今的宗教,与世世代代生息繁衍于华夏大地上的中华民族仰慕和崇奉神仙的传统有密切的关系,同时,在很大程度上反映了自古以来人们对人生多方面的美好向往与追求。因此,对道教的神仙信仰应作为中华民族传统文化的组成部分加以研究,本文拟就这方面的内容进行一些简要探讨。神仙信仰是指人们对神仙的相信、崇敬和追求…     

论道教神仙信仰的社会分层

本文认为 ,道教神仙信仰在其历史发展的过程中 ,呈现出了明显的信众分层现象 :在学者型道士和一般民众阶层 ,神仙信仰内涵并不一致 ,二者既有区别又有联系。     

中国西南少数民族与道教神仙信仰

随秦汉以来中华民族多元一体格局的形成,道教逐渐传播进入西南少数民族地区.本文通过西南少数民族地区神仙信仰典型事例的论析,说明道教与西南少数民族文化的相互融摄,构成了具有地域特色的中国传统文化.     

武当山玄岳门与道教神仙信仰

玄岳门是武当山"治世玄岳"石牌坊的俗称,它位于冲虚庵与遇真宫之间,上依层峦叠嶂的道教圣地武当山,下临烟波浩淼的南水北调中线水源地丹江口水库,湖光山色,互相辉映.玄岳门既是全国重点文物保护单位,又是世界文化遗产--武当山古建筑群的重要组成部分,它的鼎建与道教的神仙信仰思想有着密切的关系.     

从神仙信仰看道教对工匠建房巫术的影响

道教作为一种具有明显咒术倾向的宗教,对我国工匠建房巫术产生了极其深远的影响。第一种情形是道教神仙直接或间接地对工匠建房巫术系统的形成产生增益作用;第二种情形是在道教的影响下,建房工匠祖师鲁班最终演变成道教散仙,并成为建房巫术仪式中祭祀的主神。从神仙信仰来看道教对工匠建房巫术的影响,可以清楚地看到道教的民间化和世俗化倾向,也可以验证巫术与道教之间"你中有我,我中有你"的关系。     

简评《道教神仙信仰与祭祀仪式》

时值羊年早春二月,得泽洪君惠赠其新作《道教神仙信仰与祭祀仪式》,此科仪新著洋洋31万言,系台湾文津出版社2003年1月版本,斋醮科仪为老夫兴趣所在,得此道学书籍自然仔细阅读。泽洪君在1999年出版之《道教斋醮符咒仪式》基础上,又经不断探索,于科仪内涵更有诸多发明。此书主论斋醮科仪思想历史,以见道教神仙信仰之精义,实为百年道教学著述中之上乘。泽洪君多年勤奋执着地精敏研究,终于撰成科仪课题的佳作,伏案读之欣敬咸服。此巨著探讨领域学人少及,可资借鉴颇希。资料见于《道藏》、《藏外道书》巨函,而采择史籍文集笔记小说尤多,以今人释…     

论道教神仙信仰的长生思想

道教是我们中国土生土长的宗教,与其他宗教相比,道教的最大特点是除能给人以精神慰藉和精神寄托外,尤其重视自身生命、注重医学养生、追求健康长寿。道教的另一大特点是“我命在我不在天”,相信通过自     

“玉”与道教的神仙信仰

自古以来,“玉”在中国人的心目中就占据着几近神化的地位。人们视“玉”为瑞宝,认为它可以趋吉避凶,带来吉祥福祉。人们为了朝礼神明祖先,敬畏诸神,用玉献祭,把它作为沟通人世间生灵与神灵的法物。《礼记·月令》:“仲春三月,祀用圭璧。”《周礼·春官·大宗伯》云:“以玉作六器,以礼天地四方……。”以“玉”祭神、通神,发展到以“玉”喻神、称神特别是天神),从而使玉与神仙思想紧密地联系起来。我们从一些称谓天帝诸神的词语上就可窥见一斑,如人们称至高无上的天之主宰为“玉帝”和“玉皇”;称玉帝的居处为“玉虚”;称天神的居所为“玉台…     

道教闾山派与闽越神仙信仰考

闽越巫文化的信仰与闾山教的关系,主要体现在闽越神仙信仰对闾山教的影响,以及闽越神仙信仰在闾山教中至今仍保存下来的一些信息,本文试图通过对这一教派中的巫仙信仰人物、古老的巫法、古巫的神仙世界、古巫的信仰行为等方面来作一些考证,从历史学、人类学、宗教学的角度来探讨闾山教之教派生成因素及发展轨迹。     

中国古代小说视野中的民众“仙界”观念

道教创立后,在汲取古代神话传说及民间信仰基础上,形成了自己的神仙境界系统,并对中国文学产生了巨大影响。“仙境”的观念早在道教之前就存在。虽然道教产生后在汲取“仙境”传说基础上形成了宗教色彩更浓的神仙境界理论,但“仙境”本身并非是一个纯宗教范畴。从最早的乐园神话开始,“仙境”就是中国先民集体意识中和谐富裕、平和安乐生活的象征,是中国人理想生活的一个缩影以及隐蔽在他们心灵深处的一个美好梦想。道教在先民原有的“仙境”思想的基础,又构造了自己的神仙谱系。道教认为,神仙有不同等级,居于不同的仙境,《太平经》分神仙为…     

Variation in the anthropomorphization of supernatural beings and its implications for cognitive theories of religion

The cognitive study of religion has been highly influenced by P. Boyer's (2001, 2003) claim that supernatural beings are conceptualized as persons with counterintuitive properties. The present study tests the generality of this claim by exploring how different supernatural beings are conceptualized by the same individual and how different individuals conceptualize the same supernatural beings. In Experiment 1, college undergraduates decided whether three types of human properties (psychological, biological, physical) could or could not be attributed to two types of supernatural beings (religious, fictional). On average, participants attributed more human properties to fictional beings, like fairies and vampires, than to religious beings, like God and Satan, and they attributed more psychological properties than nonpsychological properties to both. In Experiment 2, 5-year-old children and their parents made both open-ended and closed-ended property attributions. Although both groups of participants attributed a majority of human properties to the fictional beings, children attributed a majority of human properties to the religious beings as well. Taken together, these findings suggest that anthropomorphic theories of supernatural-being concepts, though fully predictive of children's concepts, are only partially predictive of adults' concepts.     

Dialogue of life and faith

DIALOGUE OF LIFE AND FAITH: SELECTED WRITINGS OF BISHOP BIENVENIDO S. TUDTUD. Philippines: Claretian Publications, 1988. 189pp. P$49.00. ISBN 971–501–267–1.

MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS ON THE EMMAUS ROAD. Edited by J. D. WOODBERRY. California: MARC, 1989. 392pp. n.p. ISBN 0–912552–65–4.

RELIGIONS IN CONVERSATION: CHRISTIAN IDENTITY AND RELIGIOUS PLURALISM. By M. BARNES. London: SPCK, 1989. 200pp. £9.95. ISBN 0–281 ‐04418‐X.

THREE FAITHS — ONE GOD: A JEWISH, CHRISTIAN, MUSLIM ENCOUNTER. By J. HICK and E. S. MELTZER. London: Macmillan, 1989. 229pp. £29.50. ISBN 0–333–43970–8.     

Positivism and its vicissitudes: The role of faith in the social sciences

Positivism is a subject about which much is said, yet little understood. Of central importance for the history of the social and behavioral sciences, Postivism appears in widely various guises: as logical positivism of the Vienna School, as a sort of anti-theoretical empiricism against which many theoreticians have railed, and as a doctrine of faith for the regeneration of a broken society. Concentrating on the latter, the author inquires into the development of Positivism in nineteenth-century France in the writings of Saint-Simon, Comte, and Durkheim, all of whom emphasized the role of faith in determining certainty, or, at the very least, in keeping doubt at bay. The thinking of these French Positivists is then linked with the pragmatism of William James.     

入世济世与神仙超越

传统道教伴随着现代化步伐已进入了二十一世纪。在新的世纪里 ,世界各大传统宗教都因应社会的现代化进程 ,程度不等地表现出世俗化倾向 ,从而对人们的物质和精神生活继续发挥着积极作用。但由此也引发了神圣与世俗之关系的讨论 ,宗教的神圣性与世俗化究竟是此消彼长还是相得益彰 ,再次成为宗教界和学术界共同关注的焦点。诚如许多学者所指出的那样 ,宗教的神圣性与世俗化的关系 ,是各大宗教都不可回避的老问题 ,只是由于各大宗教在信仰、教理教义以及所处环境方面存在着差异 ,所以对问题做出了不同的回应。就道教来说 ,所谓世俗与神圣乃是入…     

The interleaving of actions in everyday life multitasking demands

It has been argued that executive tests should capture central aspects of executive functions in everyday life such as initiating and monitoring parallel actions in low-structured environments (so-called multitasking; see Burgess, 2000). We present a cooking task in order to assess executive function impairments in brain-damaged patients, which focuses on a central feature of multitasking, the interleaving of tasks (Burgess, 2000). Behavioural performance of 21 brain-damaged patients (stroke, traumatic brain injury) and of a group of matched controls was analysed on the basis of a standardized protocol. In comparison to controls, the patients explored less, were less successful in monitoring their actions and corrected errors less efficiently. Interleaving of actions was observed less frequently in patients, with respect to both cooking itself as well as to subordinate goals (e.g., cleaning up). Interleaving proved efficient, as it was associated with less time to complete the task. Patients' scores in the cooking task correlated with performance in both the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS) Zoo Map Test and the BADS Six Elements Test, but not with tests of attention, verbal memory, or figural fluency, thus demonstrating convergent and discriminant validity. In summary, our task demonstrates that cooking can provide a valid testing ground for assessing a central aspect of everyday multitasking demands, namely, the interleaving of actions.     

Atheism,faith, and the social scientific study of religion

The social “scientific”; study of religion originated in atheism and the basic theses pursued today, especially by psychologists and anthropologists, are little changed since they were first proposed by militant opponents of religion in the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. In this essay I trace these links from major scholar to major scholar across the centuries. I then examine the remarkable irony that the recent emergence of a truly scientific approach to religion was accomplished mainly by an influx of “believers”;. I sketch why and how this happened before turning to an assessment of the persistence of atheistic biases. I conclude with suggestions about how a truly scientific study of religion can be pursued by both believers and unbelievers, if not by fanatics of either stripe.