Religion Talks
Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacredness, faith, and a supernatural being or beings.
The origin of religious belief is an open question, with possible explanations including awareness of individual death, a sense of community, and dreams. Religions have sacred histories, narratives, and mythologies, preserved in oral traditions, sacred texts, symbols, and holy places, that may attempt to explain the origin of life, the universe, and other phenomena.
Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities or saints), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, matrimonial and funerary services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, or public service.
There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, though nearly all of them have regionally based, relatively small followings. Four religions—Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism—account for over 77% of the world's population, and 92% of the world either follows one of those four religions or identifies as nonreligious, meaning that the remaining 9,000+ faiths account for only 8% of the population combined. The religiously unaffiliated demographic includes those who do not identify with any particular religion, atheists, and agnostics, although many in the demographic still have various religious beliefs.
Many world religions are also organized religions, most definitively including the Abrahamic religions Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, while others are arguably less so, in particular folk religions, indigenous religions, and some Eastern religions. A portion of the world's population are members of new religious movements. Scholars have indicated that global religiosity may be increasing due to religious countries having generally higher birth rates.
The study of religion comprises a wide variety of academic disciplines, including theology, philosophy of religion, comparative religion, and social scientific studies. Theories of religion offer various explanations for its origins and workings, including the ontological foundations of religious being and belief.
Title | Speaker | |
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ial No. 00217 Religion, Transmission, Evil, Chanting, Beginners, American, Liberation, Vinaya,... |
1993 |
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ial No. 00220 Nirvana, Religion, Daily Life, Happiness, Evil, Liberation, Silence, Interview,... |
1993 |
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March 11th, 1993, Serial No. 00263 Four Noble Truths, Culture, Nirvana, Religion, Karma, Enthusiasm, Anger, Hindrances,... |
Mar 11 1993 |
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March 21st, 1993, Serial No. 00285, Side B Priest, Ordination, Happiness, Precepts, Culture, Religion, War, Lay |
Mar 21 1993 |
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1993.05.14-serial.00114 Thich Nhat Hanh, Practice Period, Don't Know Mind, Greed, Religion |
May 14 1993 |
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1993.06.30-serial.00282 Blue Cliff Record, Sutra, Sesshin, Offering, Religion |
Jun 30 1993 |
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July 3rd, 1993, Serial No. 01515, Side B Mill Valley, Observe, Culture, Describe, Mindfulness, Tassajara, Conversation, Hate,... |
Jul 03 1993 |
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The Spiritual Life is Not Separate from the MundaneSerial: BZ-00668B Saturday Lecture Emptiness, Happiness, Mundane Life, Greed, Teacher-and-Student, Religion,... |
Jul 18 1993 Berkeley Zen Center |
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August 14th, 1993, Serial No. 00655, Side B Monastic Practice, Precepts, Religion, American, Emotions, Mindfulness, Daily Life,... |
Aug 14 1993 |
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August 28th, 1993, Serial No. 00627, Side B training, Oneness, Anger, Enemies, Lineage, Evil, Hate, Precepts, Posture, Religion... |
Aug 28 1993 |
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1993 Parliament of World ReligionsSerial: BZ-00628A Seeking Common Ground, Sesshin Day 1 Religion, Current Events, Religion, American, Politics, Separation, Buddha Nature,... |
Sep 04 1993 Berkeley Zen Center |
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October 2nd, 1993, Serial No. 00656, Side A Diversity, Religion, Politics, Culture, American, Priest, Vinaya, Ordination,... |
Oct 02 1993 |
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October 9th, 1993, Serial No. 02688 Freedom, Rumi, Instruction, Zazen, Doubt, Religion, Sanctuary, Funeral, Passions,... |
Oct 09 1993 Unknown |
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Nagarajuna and Dogen on BuddhanatureSerial: BZ-00659B Happiness, Reward, and Love, One-Day Sitting Buddha Nature, Happiness, Love, Buddha Nature, Happiness, Birth-and-Death, Daily Life... |
Nov 07 1993 Berkeley Zen Center |
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November 13th, 1993, Serial No. 00660, Side A Big Mind, Buddha Mind, Tassajara, Posture, Anger, Oneness, Discrimination, confusion... |
Nov 13 1993 |
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Mountain Practice, City Practice; RenunciationSerial: BZ-00959B Leaving for Tassajara, Saturday Lecture Monastic Practice, Daily Life, Renunciation, Cultivation, Soto Zen, Aspects of... |
Jan 08 1994 Berkeley Zen Center |
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January 9th, 1994, Serial No. 00983, Side A Beginners, Gratitude, Birth-and-Death, Bell, Silence, Separation, Culture, Religion,... |
Jan 09 1994 |
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January 12th, 1994, Serial No. 00982 Karmic Consciousness, Peace, Attachment, Rinzai, Culture, Religion, Enemies,... |
Jan 12 1994 |
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February 2nd, 1994, Serial No. 00224 Lotus Sutra, Chanting, Birth-and-Death, Lineage, Nirvana, Composure, Six Realms,... |
Feb 02 1994 |
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February 23rd, 1994, Serial No. 00225 Religion, Four Noble Truths, Dharma Transmission, Transmission, Practice Period, War... |
Feb 23 1994 |
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March 5th, 1994, Serial No. 00965, Side A Family Practice, Posture, Precepts, Perfect Wisdom, Daily Life, Sangha, Anger,... |
Mar 05 1994 |
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Madyamika/Yogachara Schools of Emptiness/SynthesisSerial: BZ-00964A Three Bodies of Buddha pt. II, Sesshin Day 2 Madyamika, Trikaya, Emptiness, Yogachara, Religion, Emotions, Karma, Sixth Patriarch... |
Mar 13 1994 Berkeley Zen Center |
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March 31st, 1994, Serial No. 00552 Sixth Patriarch, Culture, Mahayana, Religion, Echo, Four Noble Truths, soto, Lay... |
Mar 31 1994 |
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April 2nd, 1994, Serial No. 00962, Side A Ordinary Mind, First Principle, Blue Cliff Record, Practice Period, Bodhidharma,... |
Apr 02 1994 |
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June 18th, 1994, Serial No. 00942, Side A Vows, Silence, Chanting, Passions, confusion, Describe, Bell, Mindfulness, Separation... |
Jun 18 1994 |
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July 20th, 1994, Serial No. 00940, Side B Silence, Monastic Practice, Commitment, Culture, Religion, American, Big Mind,... |
Jul 20 1994 |
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November 12th, 1994, Serial No. 00955, Side A Buddha Nature, Religion, Don't Know Mind, Impermanence, Mindfulness, Daily Life... |
Nov 12 1994 |
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January 19th, 1995, Serial No. 00757, Side A Offering, Culture, American, Dragons, Religion, War, Interview, Precepts, Lay... |
Jan 19 1995 |
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January 28th, 1995, Serial No. 00946, Side B Practice Period, Tassajara, Study Period, Dependent Origination, Religion, Diversity... |
Jan 28 1995 |
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Tokubetsu Sesshin Priest, New Year, Rinzai, Religion, Ceremony, Tassajara, training, soto, Transmission... |
Mar 25 1995 |
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1995.04.08-serial.00021 Buddha Ancestors, Sangha, Dragons, Religion, Diversity, Practice Period, Compassion,... |
Apr 08 1995 |
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God/KarmaSerial: BZ-00977B Saturday Lecture Religion, Karma, Giving-and-Taking, Daily Life, Monastic Practice, Lotus Sutra, Big... |
Jun 03 1995 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Sunday Lecture Practice Period, Ceremony, Religion, Suzuki Roshi, Commitment, Evil, Priest, Right... |
Jun 04 1995 Green Gulch |
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Yurt LectureSerial: BZ-00744 Lecture Discrimination, Religion, training, Emotions |
Jun 24 1995 |
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Heart Sutra Pt.2Serial: BZ-00745B Lecture Nirvana, Samsara, Duality, Precepts, Dependent Origination, Bodhisattva Precepts, Non... |
Jul 12 1995 |
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Heart Sutra Pt.2 and Pt. 3Serial: BZ-00746A Lecture Birth-and-Death, Continuous, Dependent Origination, Don't Know Mind, War,... |
Jul 12 1995 |
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1995.07.29-serial.00266 Big Mind, Thich Nhat Hanh, Enemies, Culture, Religion |
Jul 29 1995 |
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Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo #1Serial: BZ-00824A Sesshin Day 1 Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo, Buddha Nature, Bell, Religion, Sangha, Anger, Nirvana Sutra,... |
Sep 02 1995 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Enlightenment to Faith in PracticeSerial: BZ-00821A Saturday Lecture Enlightenment, Faith, Practice, Buddha Nature, Intuition, Lotus Sutra, Vows, Aspects... |
Sep 30 1995 Berkeley Zen Center |
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October 14th, 1995, Serial No. 00820, Side A confusion, Four Noble Truths, Buddha Nature, Religion, Happiness, Describe, Duality,... |
Oct 14 1995 |
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October 21st, 1995, Serial No. 00820, Side B Chanting, Tassajara, Religion, War, Humility, Beginners, Precepts, Priest, Lay... |
Oct 21 1995 |
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Women in BuddhismSerial: SF-00153 Class Religion, Discrimination, Priest, Ceremony, Bodhisattva Vow, Buddha Nature, Ego,... |
Oct 23 1995 1 of 6 Green Gulch Farm |
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October 25th, 1995, Serial No. 02702 Hsin Hsin Ming, Composure, Emotions, Suzuki Roshi, Faith, Daily Life, Hate, Zazen,... |
Oct 25 1995 Unknown |
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Why We Sit in the MorningSerial: BZ-00819A Saturday Lecture Zazen, Daily Life, Religion, Priest, Separation, American, resistance, Bell |
Oct 28 1995 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Women in Buddhism Class Religion, Ceremony, Bodhisattva Ceremony, Precepts, Priest, Ordination, Suzuki Roshi... |
Oct 30 1995 Unknown |
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Women in Buddhism Class Emptiness, Balance, Liberation, Nirvana, Lay, Heart Sutra, Religion, Mahayana, Birth-... |
Nov 06 1995 Unknown |
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Karma and Family PlaceSerial: SF-02689A From the BZC archive Transmission, Karma, Offering, Lineage, Hindrances, Religion, Gratitude, Zazen,... |
Nov 12 1995 Berkeley Zen Center |
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Women in Buddhism Class Lotus Sutra, Mahayana, Buddha Nature, Six Realms, Instruction, Lay, Religion, Balance... |
Nov 13 1995 Unknown |
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Women in Buddhism Class Nirvana, Religion, New Year, Conversation, Lay, causation, Freedom, Intimacy, Demons... |
Nov 27 1995 Unknown |
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Title UnknownSerial: BZ-00816A Rohatsu Day 4 Thoroughness, Buddha Nature, Ego, resistance, Posture, Religion, Repentance, Enemies... |
Dec 06 1995 Berkeley Zen Center |