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 | |
---|---|---|
December 30th, 1995, Serial No. 04043 New Year, Six Realms, Karma, Religion, Renewal, Fasting, Beginners, Samsara, Chanting... |
Dec 30 1995 Unknown |
|
January 4th, 1996, Serial No. 00781, Side B Religion, New Year, Tassajara, Teacher-and-Student, Aspects of Practice, Practice... |
Jan 04 1996 |
|
Rite of Passage - Ceremony and RitualSerial: BZ-00813A Saturday Lecture Ceremony, Family Practice, Karma, Tassajara, Repentance, Bell, Religion, Priest,... |
Jan 06 1996 Berkeley Zen Center |
|
March 2nd, 1996, Serial No. 00284, Side A Heart Sutra, Offering, Family Practice, Priest, resistance, Chanting, Daily Life,... |
Mar 02 1996 |
|
Sunday LectureSerial: SF-03572 Includes Q&A Blue Cliff Record, Evil, Absolute-and-Relative, Religion, Don't Know Mind,... |
Mar 17 1996 Green Gulch |
|
May 6th, 1996, Serial No. 00804, Side A Practice Period, War, Impermanence, Happiness, Bell, Conversation, Offering, Posture... |
May 06 1996 |
|
May 9th, 1996, Serial No. 00249 Platform Sutra, Sixth Patriarch, Evil, Demons, Discrimination, Echo, Ordination,... |
May 09 1996 |
|
Lotus Sutra ClassSerial: SF-03193 Chapters 15, 16, 25, 26, 2t Lotus Sutra, Gratitude, Demons, Birth-and-Death, Religion, Manjushri, Faith, Ceremony... |
May 28 1996 Green Gulch |
|
May 30th, 1996, Serial No. 00251 Buddha Nature, Repentance, Nirvana Sutra, Evil, Duality, Karma, Confession-and-... |
May 30 1996 |
|
June 8th, 1996, Serial No. 00802, Side B Buddha Nature, Practice Period, Oneness, resistance, Discrimination, Bell, Nirvana,... |
Jun 08 1996 |
|
Bodhisattva CeremonySerial: BZ-00799B Saturday Lecture Bodhisattva Ceremony, Karma, Four Noble Truths, Teacher-and-Student, Buddha Nature,... |
Jul 06 1996 Berkeley Zen Center |
|
Saturday Lecture Passions, Religion, Light-and-Darkness, Suzuki Roshi, Politics, Platform Sutra, Zazen... |
Aug 17 1996 City Center |
|
Autobiographical: Beatnik GenerationSerial: BZ-00790A Saturday Lecture Way-Seeking Mind, Priest, Doubt, Priest-and-Lay, New Year, Religion, Precepts,... |
Oct 05 1996 Berkeley Zen Center |
|
Practicing With Afflictive EmotionsSerial: SF-02722 Antidotes - Shantidvea/Dalai Lama/Hui Hai Forgiveness, Anger, Emotions, Suzuki Roshi, Non-duality, Tassajara, Offering,... |
Oct 09 1996 Unknown |
|
Sandokai Class Discrimination, Oneness, Darkness and Light, Letting Go, Branching Streams,... |
Nov 05 1996 Green Gulch |
|
November 17th, 1996, Serial No. 00787, Side B Gratitude, Commitment, Silence, Passions, Mindfulness, Precepts, Religion, War, Peace... |
Nov 17 1996 |
|
Sandokai ClassSerial: SF-03177 Like forward and backwards steps - phenomenon exist like box and cover joining, principle accords like arrows points meeting Oneness, Suzuki Roshi, Absolute-and-Relative, Practice Period, Tassajara, Attachment... |
Nov 19 1996 Green Gulch |
|
Sandokai Class Evil, Religion, Funeral, Tassajara, Discrimination, Suzuki Roshi, Emptiness, Oneness... |
Nov 25 1996 Green Gulch |
|
February 1997 talk, Serial No. 01505 Politics, Religion, War, Fasting, Practice Period, Building, Peace, Emotions,... |
1997 |
|
Dogen's Life Suzuki Roshi, Buddha Nature, Family Practice, training, Monastic Practice, Rinzai,... |
Jan 25 1997 Unknown |
|
January 26th, 1997, Serial No. 00783, Side A Attachment, American, Emotions, Interview, Non-duality, Concentration, Separation,... |
Jan 26 1997 |
|
Recollections of Early Zen Priest, Demons, Vinaya, Funeral, Religion, Ceremony, Lay Practice, Six Realms,... |
Feb 08 1997 2 of 3 Green Gulch Farm |
|
March 13th, 1997, Serial No. 00850 Religion, Buddha's Birthday, Renunciation, Vows, Lotus Sutra, Describe,... |
Mar 13 1997 |
|
Faith/Belief, DeathSerial: BZ-00361A Saturday Lecture Faith, Death, Religion, Birth-and-Death, Practice Period, Evil, Hate, War |
Mar 29 1997 Berkeley Zen Center |
|
March 29th, 1997, Serial No. 01555 Religion, Birth-and-Death, New Year, Heart Sutra, Evil, War |
Mar 29 1997 |
|
March 29th, 1997, Serial No. 01556 Religion, Birth-and-Death, Heart Sutra, Evil, War |
Mar 29 1997 |
|
April 10th, 1997, Serial No. 00846 Evil, Four Noble Truths, Sangha, Lay, Darkness and Light, Non-violence, Religion,... |
Apr 10 1997 |
|
1997.04.26-serial.00059 Four Noble Truths, Subject-and-Object, Ego, Non-duality, Duality, Zazen, Religion,... |
Apr 26 1997 |
|
Mothers' DaySerial: SF-03101 Sunday Lecture: being born from a mother guarantees two ingredients, a bit of love and suffering, both necessary for enlightenment. The essential point of zen is questioning;... Manjushri, Commitment, Karma, Four Noble Truths, Letting Go, Religion, zen meditation... |
May 11 1997 Green Gulch |
|
June 5th, 1997, Serial No. 00536 Anger, Nirvana, Addiction, Precepts, Religion, Evil, Teacher-and-Student, Describe,... |
Jun 05 1997 |
|
June 16th, 1997, Serial No. 00114 Ordinary Mind, Conversation, Buddha Nature, Silent Illumination, Religion, soto,... |
Jun 16 1997 |
|
June 16th, 1997, Serial No. 00779 Ordinary Mind, Silent Illumination, Conversation, soto, Buddha Nature, Religion,... |
Jun 16 1997 |
|
Wednesday Lecture Karmic Consciousness, Separation, Fasting, Precepts, Karma, Religion, Balance,... |
Jul 30 1997 Green Gulch |
|
Save The Redwoods - Mother Theresa and Lady DianaSerial: SF-00088 Saturday lecture. Vows, Precepts, Interdependence, Gratitude, Enemies, Religion |
Sep 06 1997 City Center |
|
Bankei And Horse SenseSerial: BZ-00321B Saturday Lecture Bankei, Bell, Religion, Separation, Absolute-and-Relative, War, Conversation, Duality... |
Sep 13 1997 Berkeley Zen Center |
|
Majjhima Nikaya ClassSerial: SF-03192 Middle-length Discourses Evil, Letting Go, Birth-and-Death, Karma, Faith, Precepts, Liberation, Karmic... |
Sep 23 1997 Green Gulch |
|
Majjhima Nikaya ClassSerial: SF-03195 Middle-length Discourses Attachment, Addiction, Mindfulness, confusion, Four Noble Truths, Emptiness, Zazen,... |
Oct 14 1997 Green Gulch |
|
November 9th, 1997, Serial No. 00151 uchiyama, Religion, Faith, Money, Six Realms |
Nov 09 1997 |
|
Scholarship Conference PaperSerial: SF-03238 Sunday Lecture Heart Sutra, Lineage, Platform Sutra, soto, Religion, Study Period, Emptiness,... |
Nov 16 1997 Green Gulch |
|
ForgivenessSerial: BZ-00339B Saturday Lecture Forgiveness, Forgiveness, Anger, Buddha Nature, New Year, Karma, confusion, Samsara,... |
Dec 13 1997 Berkeley Zen Center |
|
1998.MM.DD-serial.00137B Posture, Desire, Bowing, confusion, Zazen, Balance, Doubt, Religion, Gratitude,... |
1998 |
|
Buddhism at Millennium's Edge - Seminar 1Serial: SF-03511 Copyright 1998 by Gary Snyder - Unedited Preview Cassette Religion, Conversation, Demons, Peace, resistance, Precepts, Zendo, Non-violence,... |
1998 Unknown |
|
Buddhism at Millennium's Edge - Seminar 2Serial: SF-03512 Copyright 1998 by Gary Snyder - Unedited Preview Cassette Sixth Patriarch, Lotus Sutra, Religion, Priest, Mahayana, Samsara, Sangha, Offering,... |
1998 Unknown |
|
Buddhism at Millennium's Edge - Poems 1Serial: SF-03521 Copyright 1998 by Gary Snyder - Unedited Preview Cassette Zendo, Continuous, Politics, Religion, Ceremony, Fox, Patience, Mahayana, Chanting,... |
1998 Unknown |
|
Buddhism at Millennium's Edge - Seminar 3Serial: SF-03513 Copyright 1998 by Peter Matthiessen - Unedited Preview Cassette Mahayana, Priest, Lay, Commitment, Religion, Mill Valley, Transmission, Monastic... |
1998 Unknown |
|
January 24th, 1998, Serial No. 00341, Side A Culture, Ego, American, Building, Religion, Darkness and Light, Bodhidharma, Duality... |
Jan 24 1998 |
|
April 26th, 1998, Serial No. 01895 Bodhidharma, Buddha Nature, Platform Sutra, Doubt, Faith, New Year, Describe,... |
Apr 26 1998 Unknown |
|
Green Gulch History training, Fox, Offering, Lay, Zendo, Priest, Doubt, Religion, realization, Peace... |
May 10 1998 Green Gulch |
|
Origins of Zen Faith, Diversity, Lotus Sutra, Don't Know Mind, Daily Life, Religion, Enthusiasm... |
May 16 1998 Unknown |
|
Sunday Lecture Heart Sutra, zen meditation, Mindfulness, Religion, Koan, resistance, Letting Go,... |
May 17 1998 Green Gulch |