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.

From Religion on Wikipedia

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Title Speaker

State of the World Address: Causes and Excuses

Serial: BZ-01175

Power: Manipulation Through Maintaining Chaos, Saturday Lecture

Politics, Religion, War, Peace, Evil, Emotions, Anger, Attachment, Forgiveness,...
Jul 22 2006
Berkeley Zen Center

What Does It Mean to Practice Prajna Paramita?

Serial: BZ-01167

Sesshin Day 2

Heart Sutra, Religion, Nirvana, Four Noble Truths, Practice Period, Non-duality,...
Jun 15 2006
Berkeley Zen Center

(I, along with) All Beings, Am the World Honored One

Serial: BZ-01227B

Saturday Lecture

Buddha's Birthday, Buddha Nature, Buddha's Birthday, Buddha Ancestors,...
Apr 08 2006
Berkeley Zen Center

2006.01.29-serial.00118

Gratitude, causation, Dependent Origination, Culture, Politics, Religion, Ego,...
Jan 29 2006

Lecture on Four Vows

Serial: BZ-01208

Kid Zendo, Saturday Lecture

Vows, Vows, Four Noble Truths, Bodhisattva Ceremony, Manjushri, Religion, Culture,...
Dec 17 2005
Berkeley Zen Center

2005.11.06-serial.00193

Precepts, Family Practice, Heart Sutra, Intention, Vows, Subject-and-Object, Observe...
Nov 06 2005

2005.11.04-serial.00190

true dharma, Daily Life, Vows, Impermanence, Demons, Gratitude, Samsara, Repentance,...
Nov 04 2005

August 6th, 2005, Serial No. 01340

Bell, Tassajara, Instruction, Humility, Intimacy, Greed, Culture, Religion
Aug 06 2005

June 16th, 2005, Serial No. 01551

Offering, Birth-and-Death, Tassajara, Equanimity, Nirvana, Religion
Jun 16 2005

June 9th, 2005, Serial No. 01552

Daily Life, Duality, Absolute-and-Relative, Humility, Don't Know Mind, Non-...
Jun 09 2005

May 21st, 2005, Serial No. 01324

Discrimination, Peace, resistance, Instruction, American, Anger, Greed, confusion,...
May 21 2005

2005.05.06-serial.00180

Buddha Nature, Dependent Origination, Intention, Subject-and-Object, Interview,...
May 06 2005

2005.04.25-serial.00214

Instruction, Religion, Bell, resistance, Chanting
Apr 25 2005

March 15th, 2005, Serial No. 00766

Culture, Precepts, Practice Position, Bodhisattva Precepts, Evil, Patience, Religion...
Mar 15 2005

February 26th, 2005, Serial No. 01311, Side B

Vows, Bodhisattva Vow, Greed, Mahayana, Daily Life, Religion, American, Priest,...
Feb 26 2005

Shikantaza: Calm Mind

Serial: BZ-00570

Sesshin Day 1

Shikantaza, Birth-and-Death, Posture, Silent Illumination, Bowing, Big Mind, Buddha...
Feb 20 2005

February 18th, 2005, Serial No. 00772

Buddha Nature, Silent Illumination, Mahayana, Heart Sutra, Describe, Nirvana Sutra,...
Feb 18 2005

2005.01.30-serial.00279

Buddha Nature, Don't Know Mind, Ordinary Mind, confusion, Religion
Jan 30 2005

2005.01.30-serial.00037

Buddha Nature, Don't Know Mind, Ordinary Mind, confusion, Religion
Jan 30 2005

January 20th, 2005, Serial No. 00776

Precious Mirror, Ego, Oneness, Offering, confusion, Ordinary Mind, Religion, Doubt,...
Jan 20 2005

January 20th, 2005, Serial No. 00796

Precious Mirror, Oneness, Ego, confusion, Offering, Ordinary Mind, Religion,...
Jan 20 2005

History of Soto Zen: First Dharma Heritage Ceremony

Serial: BZ-01283C

Zuisse Ceremony and Dharma Transmission, Saturday Lecture

Zuisse, Soto Zen, Dharma Transmission, Dharma Transmission, Transmission, Religion,...
Oct 09 2004
Berkeley Zen Center

"Evo-revolution"

Serial: BZ-01242

Working with Our Problems, Saturday Lecture

Bodhisattva Vow, Koan, Manjushri, Bodhisattva Ceremony, Buddha Mind, Religion,...
Aug 28 2004
Berkeley Zen Center

July 10th, 2004, Serial No. 01274, Side B

Vows, Bodhisattva Vow, Bodhisattva Ceremony, American, Patience, Religion, Monastic...
Jul 10 2004

May 27th, 2004, Serial No. 01024, Side A

Teacher-and-Student, Greed, Bodhidharma, Chanting, Soto Zen, Instruction, Religion,...
May 27 2004

2004.05.09-serial.00303

Buddha's Birthday, Religion, War, Letting Go, Instruction
May 09 2004

April 10th, 2004, Serial No. 01259

Demons, Religion, Funeral, Offering
Apr 10 2004

Eihei Shingi: The Kanin

Serial: BZ-01375

Conclusion, Rohatsu Day 6

Eihei Shingi, Big Mind, Emotions, Buddha Ancestors, Monastic Practice, Daily Life,...
Dec 06 2003
Berkeley Zen Center

October 9th, 2003, Serial No. 00288

Four Noble Truths, Two Truths, Dependent Origination, Heart Sutra, Bodhisattva Way,...
Oct 09 2003

October 2nd, 2003, Serial No. 00289

Dependent Origination, Heart Sutra, Religion, Duality, Building, Nirvana, Emotions,...
Oct 02 2003

September 13th, 2003, Serial No. 01357, Side B

Heart Sutra, Mindfulness, Four Foundations, Emotions, Separation, Religion,...
Sep 13 2003

September 6th, 2003, Serial No. 01356

Silence, Berkeley Zen Center, Book of Serenity, Ordinary Mind, Don't Know Mind,...
Sep 06 2003

Religion: A Necessary Evil

Serial: BZ-01355

Sesshin Day 3

Religion, Evil, Religion, Fox, Doubt, Buddha Nature, Evil, Intuition, soto, Lotus...
Sep 01 2003
Berkeley Zen Center

August 2nd, 2003, Serial No. 01352, Side A

Peace, Right Effort, Don't Know Mind, War, Happiness, Describe, Daily Life,...
Aug 02 2003

Karma

Serial: BZ-01348

Revolution in Iran, Saturday Lecture

Karma, War, Karma, Karmic Consequences, zen meditation, War, Fox, Culture, training,...
Jun 28 2003
Berkeley Zen Center

June 20th, 2003, Serial No. 01345, Side B

Peace, Mindfulness, Subject-and-Object, Observe, Tassajara, Religion, Zoom, Bowing,...
Jun 20 2003

May 12th, 2003, Serial No. 00135, Side B

Heart Sutra, Religion, Politics, Tassajara, Practice Period, Conversation, training,...
May 12 2003

May 1st, 2003, Serial No. 00295

Lotus Sutra, Teacher-and-Student, Religion, Precepts, Bodhisattva Precepts, Chanting...
May 01 2003

April 26th, 2003, Serial No. 01527, Side A

Peace, Culture, War, Religion, Non-violence, Diversity, Echo, Patience, resistance,...
Apr 26 2003

April 1st, 2003, Serial No. 00542

Bell, Doubt, Daily Life, Attachment, Religion, Anger, Rinzai, Chanting, Mindfulness,...
Apr 01 2003

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