SMARATUNGGA: JURNAL OF EDUCATION AND BUDDHIST STUDIES

Revival and Cultural Continuity of Buddhism in Contemporary West Bengal: Historical Trajectory and Sociocultural Dynamics

2026-07-15T11:28:33+00:00

The revival of Buddhism in contemporary West Bengal demonstrates that religion persists not only as a system of belief but also as a dynamic cultural identity. This study aims to analyze the historical trajectory of the Buddhist revival and explain the sociocultural dynamics that sustain its cultural continuity in West Bengal. The study employs a qualitative approach using the historical method through library research on historical documents, archival records, and scholarly literature, which are analyzed using historical and thematic approaches. The findings reveal three major insights. First, the revival of Buddhism in West Bengal represents a continuation of its historical legacy that has been continuously reconstructed in response to social change rather than a temporary phenomenon of religious resurgence. Second, the cultural continuity of Buddhism has been maintained through religious institutions, Buddhist education, religious festivals, and the preservation of the cultural identity of the Bengali Buddhist community. Third, the sustainability of the Buddhist community has been supported by the interaction among historical memory, social networks, and the community's capacity to adapt to social change within a pluralistic society. These findings indicate that the sustainability of Buddhism depends not only on religious factors but also on the continuity of historical legacy, cultural traditions, and social practices. This study makes an original contribution by integrating historical and sociocultural perspectives to explain the revival and cultural continuity of Buddhism as an analytical framework for understanding the development of minority religious communities in contemporary India.

Human Revolution and the Reconstruction of Nichiren Buddhism as a Living Philosophy in Daisaku Ikeda's Thought

2026-07-15T11:28:31+00:00

This study aims to analyze Daisaku Ikeda's thought on human revolution, his critique and assimilation of the Western intellectual tradition, and his construction of Nichiren Buddhism as a living philosophy within the Soka Gakkai movement in modern Japan. This study is significant because Ikeda not only inherited Nichiren's teachings but also reconstructed them into a humanistic living philosophy that responds to the spiritual, moral, and social crises of modern society. This study employed a qualitative research design with a library research approach. The data were collected through an extensive review of Daisaku Ikeda's works and scholarly literature on Soka Gakkai, Nichiren Buddhism, modern Buddhism, and the Western intellectual tradition. The findings reveal four major themes. First, human revolution constitutes the ideological core of Ikeda's thought by positioning individuals' moral and spiritual transformation as the foundation of social transformation. Second, Ikeda adopts a dual strategy by critiquing the Western intellectual tradition while simultaneously assimilating selected elements, including the figure of Jesus, Kantian ethics, existentialism, modern science, and Marx's critique of capitalism into the framework of Nichiren Buddhism. Third, this strategy expands the universal claim of Nichiren Buddhism through dialogue with diverse modern intellectual traditions. Fourth, Ikeda's overall philosophical project culminates in the construction of Nichiren Buddhism as a living philosophy that integrates religious, humanistic, and social dimensions. The originality of this study lies in its critical interpretation of Ikeda's thought as an ideological construct that brings together human revolution, dialogue with the Western intellectual tradition, and Buddhist humanism within a unified philosophical framework.

Becoming Oneself in the Age of Polycrisis and Digital Alienation: A Reinterpretation of Jacques Attali’s Devenir Soi through a Buddhist Perspective

2026-07-15T11:28:28+00:00

This study aims to analyze the relevance of Jacques Attali’s concept of devenir soi (becoming oneself) in responding to global social transformations during the 2015–2025 period. This inquiry is important because the last decade has been marked by interconnected crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts, climate change, and the rise of digital alienation that has influenced individual processes of self-formation. The study employs a qualitative approach using a critical philosophical inquiry design and a critical literature review method. The data consist of Jacques Attali’s works, literature on Buddhist philosophy, and contemporary studies on polycrisis and social media. The findings indicate that the challenge of becoming oneself in 2025 is significantly more complex than it was in 2015. These challenges emerge in two primary dimensions: external obstacles in the form of pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, and climate change that generate various forms of structural alienation, and internal obstacles in the form of digital identity performativity, technological addiction, attention fragmentation, and dependence on external validation. The study further finds that key Buddhist principles, particularly pratītyasamutpāda (interdependence), karuṇā (compassion), and anātman (non-self), provide relevant ethical and psychological frameworks for responding to these forms of alienation. The implications of this study suggest that self-realization in the age of polycrisis requires relational awareness, ethical responsibility, and reflective capacity rather than individual freedom alone. The originality of this study lies in its critical reinterpretation of devenir soi through a synthesis of Jacques Attali’s thought and Buddhist philosophy to explain self-realization in the context of contemporary polycrisis and digital alienation

The Representation of Divinity and Mechanisms of Ideological Adaptation in Buddhist Religious Education Textbooks in Indonesia

2026-07-15T11:28:30+00:00

This study aims to analyze the representation of the concept of divinity in Buddhist Religious Education textbooks at the senior high school level in Indonesia and to examine the mechanisms of its adaptation to the ideology of Pancasila. This study is important because an epistemological tension exists between the non-theistic nature of Buddhist teachings and the principle of Belief in One Supreme God as the ideological foundation of the state. This study employs a qualitative approach using interpretative and comparative content analysis. The researchers collected data through a document study of six official textbooks used in the 2013 Curriculum and the Merdeka Curriculum, and then analyzed the data through coding, categorization, and thematic comparison. The findings show that the representation of divinity in the textbooks is structurally ambivalent. The 2013 Curriculum employs a mechanism of double encoding, which combines normative affirmation of God with a conceptual rejection of God as a creator within a single text. In contrast, the Merdeka Curriculum employs a mechanism of discursive stratification, which separates normative and philosophical discourses into different contexts. These findings indicate that the representation of divinity constitutes a discursive construction shaped by the relationship between religious teachings and state ideology. The implications of this study emphasize the importance of developing a more integrative conceptual framework and pedagogical approach to reduce ambiguity and dissonance in learning. The originality of this study lies in the development of the concepts of double encoding and discursive stratification as mechanisms of ideological adaptation in religious education, which contribute new insights to the study of religious representation and textbook analysis.

Meditation Intensity and Work Productivity: The Role of Attentional Control in Contemporary Organisations

2026-07-15T11:28:27+00:00

This study aims to analyse the influence of meditation intensity on work focus and work productivity in modern organisational settings. The study is important because contemporary workplaces are increasingly characterised by high targets, accelerated work rhythms, and digital distractions, requiring stronger self-regulation and attentional control among employees. In this context, meditation is understood not only as a spiritual or therapeutic practice, but also as a mechanism that may support work performance and psychological well-being. This research employed a quantitative survey approach involving 72 respondents selected purposively from workers with clear work-target demands. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics, reliability testing, binomial testing, and linear regression analysis. The findings show that meditation intensity has a significant and strong influence on work focus and work productivity. Respondents who practised meditation more consistently tended to demonstrate better concentration, emotional stability, attentional control, and work efficiency. Regression analysis further revealed that meditation intensity explained more than half of the variation in work productivity, indicating its substantial contribution within organisational contexts. The study implies that mindfulness and meditation practices may be integrated into human resource development and workplace well-being strategies. The originality of this research lies in its integration of psychological dimensions and organisational performance within a human-centred management framework, positioning meditation not merely as a wellness practice, but also as a managerial strategy for improving work productivity.