This paper provides a brief introduction to the secret level of Tibetan spiritual biographies (gsang ba’i rnam thar) and autobiographies (gsang ba’i rang rnam) with a focus on visions in meditation and dreams. In the analysis section, some appropriately selected episodes of such secret aspects taken from one of the spiritual autobiographies of the Second Pawo, Tsuklak Trengwa (dpa’ bo gtsug lag phreng ba; 1504–1566), called The Mirror Reflecting the Illusory Countenance (‘khrul pa’i bzhin ras ‘char ba’i me long) are presented and interpreted.

Civilization as a Process: The Crisis of the Idea

The article presents the history of the notion of civilization at the stage of emerging civilizational pluralism. This presentation offers a critical reconstruction of civilizational essentialism, at least partially racist in character, which at the turn of the 20th century became the basic method for civilizational studies. In order to fully reveal the grounds upon which civilizational studies adopted “scientific” racism in the middle of the 19th century the text discusses the history of this research paradigm beginning from when the term “civilization” became prominent not only in moral but also historical and sociological analysis. On the one hand, this throws a clear light on the uncomfortable heritage of the discipline in terms of its mission to “civilize,” one that civilizational studies have faced until the present day. On the other, the article shows that the direction they chose in the times of social darwinism’s cultural triumph was not inevitable. In its shadow there have existed alternative civilizational studies with Norbert Elias as their early proponent. In order to develop them further one must not forget the history of the paradigm and hence this article is devoted to discovering the causes of the crisis in the colonial era of the Enlightenment idea of civilization, so important for Elias.

“And Gabriel Kept on Writing” (Megilla 16a). Literary Features of Traditions Involving Supernatural Entities in the Babylonian Talmud according to the Elyonim veTachtonim Project

In this paper, I explain the theoretical and pragmatic aspects of the annotation system of the literary features used in the Talmudic database developed within the Elyonim veTachtonim project. In the first section, I recapitulate the theses concerning the production of the Babylonian Talmud and operationalise the formal indicators (i.e., language and attribution) of its specific layers. In the second section, I review the scholarship on the Talmudic genres and propose a categorisation that adheres to the cross-cultural framework of the Elyonim veTachtonim project. In the final section, I offer an illustration: a qualitative scrutiny of a fragment from Berakhot 62a and a quantitative-qualitative analysis of the data gathered from the Talmudic inventory.

Keywords: Babylonian Talmud, Digital Humanities, literary studies, angelology, demonology

This paper examines the symbolic designs of expressive creativity on African fabrics in textile art. It highlights the variations on the theme, symbolic design, colour, and techniques used for the production of African fabrics. Data for the study rely on primary and secondary sources. The primary data were obtained from in-depth interview, samples of African fabrics drawn from exhibition catalogues as well as unstructured interview schedules with primary artists producing some of the textiles in Africa and users wearing clothes drawn from the African people in Nigeria, Mali, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Tanzania. The illustration of the variations in symbols found in African textile, derived from exhibition catalogues, were used to express the cultural contextual meaning of design patterns on African fabrics. Cultural nationalism and identity dominate the printed geometric forms of flora and fauna as well as other patterns of symbolic designs found on the fabrics. The symbolic designs and variations in theme, colour and patterns on African textile represent rare artistic creativity and expression in the current development of textile art in Africa.

Keywords: African fabrics, symbolism, visual art, Yoruba culture

Bhikkhu Buddhadasa’s Demythologization of Buddhism

The article discuss life and activity of Thai Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Buddhadasa. It presents his views that criticized the traditional understanding of Theravada Buddhism. At the root of his perspective one can distinguish the crisis of Buddhist sangha, the development of modern science and his knowledge of books from other Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions. Buddhadasa’s demythologization of Buddhism means a rejection of rituals and ceremonies, refutation of studies of Buddha’s written teachings, replacement of traditional scholastics with his own exegesis, rejection of hierarchy in sangha, and recognition of the equality of all religions. His approach in identifying religions, psychology and empirical science is superficial and cannot be defended.

Key words:  Buddhism, Theravada, demythologization, nibbana, science

The Polish stage of the “Hiroshima-Auschwitz Peace March” 1962‒1963. Buddhist-pacifist and political contexts of former German Nazi concentration camps as places of remembrance of the Holocaust and World War II

As a result of the increased activity of organizations for former prisoners of the concentration and extermination camps, shortly after World War II, the memory of events at KL Auschwitz-Birkenau reached a global scale. In February 1962, an interreligious group of four young people, led by Satō Gyōtsu (1919‒2018) – a monk from a Buddhist order named Nipponzan-Myōhōji (Nichiren tradition) – undertook to march between Hiroshima and Oświęcim. Their purpose was to tell the truth about the crimes committed in both cities and spread the ideas of pacifism and disarmament. Within ten months, they visited 22 countries. The article primarily analyzes the Polish stage of the “Peace March,” based on an analysis of materials written by veterans and former prisoners of the camp in Auschwitz as well as texts published in the daily press. The second part of the article deals with the religious aspect of the “Peace March” in a broader context, discussing the complicity and collective responsibility of religious organizations, including Buddhist, for the drama of World War II. This “Peace March,” according to the author, was a form of confession of repentance and religious redress.

Key words:  Peace March, Buddhism, Japanese Buddhism, Nichiren tradition, Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist order, Hiroshima, Auschwitz-Birkenau

The Role of Easter Dyed Eggs in Ukrainian Rituals

The article describes the phenomenon of one of the oldest and most significant fields of Ukrainian folk art ‒ Ukrainian Easter dyed eggs, represents the mythical origins of Easter dyed eggs, explains the process of making decorated eggs and highlights their role in Ukrainian folk ceremonies, mainly spring and Easter rites and traditions. In purpose to demonstrate the phenomenon of Ukrainian painted eggs, the author formulates a hypothesis from which it follows that the Easter dyed egg plays a very important role in Ukrainian rituals, both pagan springtime and Christian Easter. The article refers to the achievements of Ukrainian researchers in this area of study, notably the scientific studies of Mykoly Sumcova, Erasta Biniashevskiego, Vasylia Sapigi, Oleksy Voropaja and others.

Keywords: egg, Easter dyed egg, pysanka, Ukrainian folk art, rituals, traditions