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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. It is an essentially contested concept. 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 vast majority of remaining 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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Majjhima Nikaya ClassSerial: SF-03195 Middle-length Discourses Attachment, Addiction, Mindfulness, confusion, Four Noble Truths, Emptiness, Zazen,... |
Oct 14 1997 Green Gulch |
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Majjhima Nikaya ClassSerial: SF-03192 Middle-length Discourses Evil, Letting Go, Birth-and-Death, Karma, Faith, Precepts, Liberation, Karmic... |
Sep 23 1997 Green Gulch |
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Save The Redwoods - Mother Theresa and Lady DianaSerial: SF-00088 Saturday lecture. Vow, Precepts, Interdependence, Gratitude, Enemies, Religion |
Sep 06 1997 City Center |
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Wednesday Lecture Karmic Consciousness, Separation, Fasting, Precepts, Karma, Religion, Balance,... |
Jul 30 1997 Green Gulch |
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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 |
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Recollections of Early Zen Priest, Demons, Vinaya, Funeral, Religion, Ceremony, Lay Practice, Six Realms,... |
Feb 08 1997 2 of 3 Green Gulch Farm |
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Dogen's Life Suzuki Roshi, Buddha Nature, Family Practice, training, Monastic Practice, Rinzai,... |
Jan 25 1997 Unknown |
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Sandokai Class Evil, Religion, Funeral, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, Discrimination, Suzuki Roshi... |
Nov 25 1996 Green Gulch |
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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 Zen Mountain... |
Nov 19 1996 Green Gulch |
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Sandokai Class Discrimination, Oneness, Darkness and Light, Letting Go, Branching Streams,... |
Nov 05 1996 Green Gulch |
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Practicing With Afflictive EmotionsSerial: SF-02722 Antidotes - Shantidvea/Dalai Lama/Hui Hai Forgiveness, Anger, Emotions, Suzuki Roshi, Non-duality, Tassajara Zen Mountain... |
Oct 09 1996 Unknown |
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Saturday Lecture Time, Religion, Suzuki Roshi |
Aug 17 1996 City Center |
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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 |
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Sunday LectureSerial: SF-03572 Includes Q&A Blue Cliff Record, Evil, Absolute-and-Relative, Religion, Don't Know Mind,... |
Mar 17 1996 Green Gulch |
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Renewal and Rebirth in Reflection New Year, Six Realms, Karma, Religion, Renewal, Fasting, Beginners, Samsara, Chanting... |
Dec 30 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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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 Emptiness, Balance, Liberation, Nirvana, Lay, Heart Sutra, Religion, Mahayana, Birth-... |
Nov 06 1995 Unknown |
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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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Embracing Oneness Through Zen Presence Hsin Hsin Ming, Composure, Emotions, Suzuki Roshi, Faith, Daily Life, Hate, Zazen,... |
Oct 25 1995 Unknown |
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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 |