Exod 23：10-12 enjoins Israel to keep both a seventh-year Sabbath and a seventh-day Sabbath. The juxtaposition of these two Sabbaths in the text suggests a connection between the Sabbath and ecology, since rest and no...Exod 23：10-12 enjoins Israel to keep both a seventh-year Sabbath and a seventh-day Sabbath. The juxtaposition of these two Sabbaths in the text suggests a connection between the Sabbath and ecology, since rest and nourishment are required both the land and its inhabitants （i.e., humans and beasts）. This article exegetically analyzes Exod 23：10-12 and suggests some possible ecological implications. Accordingly, it is argued that while the biblical sabbatical year seems to have required a rest for the whole land--a practice which may seem impossible today--in modern times heavily cultivated portions of land could be allowed to lie fallow. Instead of overusing particular portions of land with the aid of agro-chemicals, farming systems such as land rotation could fruitfully be practiced. Such a practice may not only allow cultivable lands regain fertility, it may also contribute towards the sustenance of the wild including endangered species. This study may be particularly useful in the African context.展开更多
A commentarial project commissioned by emperor Ming Taizu （r.1368-1398） in 1377, which was dedicated to the Prajnaparamita-hrdaya-sutra, theVajracchedika-prajfiaparamita-sutra, and the Lankavatara-sutra, defined coh...A commentarial project commissioned by emperor Ming Taizu （r.1368-1398） in 1377, which was dedicated to the Prajnaparamita-hrdaya-sutra, theVajracchedika-prajfiaparamita-sutra, and the Lankavatara-sutra, defined coherent standards of Buddhist learning by reference to early Chinese translations and Indian commentarial literature. In order to provide a clear-cut basis for the education of the clergy, its selective and reductive approach aimed at a standardization of doctrine and homogenization of terminology. Production and purport of the commentarial project are documented in a series of paratexts, prefaces, colophons, production notes and memoranda. They indicate a strong consciousness for the institutional, ideological and political aspects of the production procedure and its benefits for controlling the formation of Buddhist authority. Such decidedly functional under- standing of the institutional aspects of the production of exegesis leads to the conclusion that besides the normativity of doctrinal knowledge the main objective was to establish a basis for institutional integration of those who are in the privileged position to select whom they allow to assume authority, and to define the selection standards as well.展开更多
文摘Exod 23：10-12 enjoins Israel to keep both a seventh-year Sabbath and a seventh-day Sabbath. The juxtaposition of these two Sabbaths in the text suggests a connection between the Sabbath and ecology, since rest and nourishment are required both the land and its inhabitants （i.e., humans and beasts）. This article exegetically analyzes Exod 23：10-12 and suggests some possible ecological implications. Accordingly, it is argued that while the biblical sabbatical year seems to have required a rest for the whole land--a practice which may seem impossible today--in modern times heavily cultivated portions of land could be allowed to lie fallow. Instead of overusing particular portions of land with the aid of agro-chemicals, farming systems such as land rotation could fruitfully be practiced. Such a practice may not only allow cultivable lands regain fertility, it may also contribute towards the sustenance of the wild including endangered species. This study may be particularly useful in the African context.
文摘A commentarial project commissioned by emperor Ming Taizu （r.1368-1398） in 1377, which was dedicated to the Prajnaparamita-hrdaya-sutra, theVajracchedika-prajfiaparamita-sutra, and the Lankavatara-sutra, defined coherent standards of Buddhist learning by reference to early Chinese translations and Indian commentarial literature. In order to provide a clear-cut basis for the education of the clergy, its selective and reductive approach aimed at a standardization of doctrine and homogenization of terminology. Production and purport of the commentarial project are documented in a series of paratexts, prefaces, colophons, production notes and memoranda. They indicate a strong consciousness for the institutional, ideological and political aspects of the production procedure and its benefits for controlling the formation of Buddhist authority. Such decidedly functional under- standing of the institutional aspects of the production of exegesis leads to the conclusion that besides the normativity of doctrinal knowledge the main objective was to establish a basis for institutional integration of those who are in the privileged position to select whom they allow to assume authority, and to define the selection standards as well.
