Chant Cowen

Philosophical Daoism and modern day Anarcho-thought are thought to be similar enough for some scholars to proclaim that philosophical Daoist texts, the Daodejing, the Zhuangzi, and sometimes the Liezi, are thought to hold a proto-form of Anarchism.  Scholars proclaim that the Daodejing and Zhuangzi are the first Anarchist writings and commonly cite sections from the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi, as evidence in the thesis of philosophical Daoist thought being the first form of Anarchism. Religious Daoism will not be examined in this paper, as Religious Daoism does not deal with how one should deal with government, as philosophical Daoism does. The textual material that will be used for comparison with the notion of philosophical Daoism being Anarchist will be the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi, as these texts are commonly known and cited as proto-Anarchist texts. Sections selected from the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi that have been noted by some scholars as Anarchist. The findings from examining the supposed Anarchist sections of the Daodejing, and Zhuangzi, have found that the sections are not calling for complete no ruler/sage-king, but a lesser control of governmental powers and coercion from the ruler.

The Dhammapada is one of the most widely known and studied Buddhist texts spanning from the Theravada tradition in South East Asia to the East Asian Buddhist tradition. The popularity of the Dhammapada, is not just felt in the Asian Buddhist traditions, but is also one of the first Buddhist texts to be translated fully into English and typically thought to be one of the first Buddhist texts Westerners come in contact with. The Dhammapada is still one of the most translated Buddhist texts in the West and is typically easily accessible for the interested novice of the Buddha’s teachings. With all of this in consideration, it begs the question, is the Dhammapada a representational text for the Theravada Buddhist tradition? Scholars of early Buddhist thought and in the Theravada Buddhist tradition are in general consensus that the Dhammapada is a representational text of Theravada Buddhism. Evidence for this thesis is the Dhammapada’s short and concise treatment of the Buddha’s wisdom in the Dhammapada, the various commentaries found in Southeast Asia and East Asia, with well known and respected Buddhist monk, Buddhaghosa, composing the most notable commentary of the Dhammapada. In addition, the various translations of the Dhammapada and interpretations of the text make it accessible for various peoples to study. The Dhammapada can be seen as a Buddhist-like Bible, as it encompasses the wisdom of Theravada Buddhism in one text in contrast to the hundreds of texts in the Pali Canon.

A look at the genre of music that is considered "Japanoise". The paper in question is a person reflection of what is "Japanoise" and how it influenced my work as a composer. The meat of the paper is reflections on Japanoise on a Canadian composer in the 21st century.