John Matthew A.

Cabural KAS 2 THW-1

jacabural@up.edu.ph Sir Micah Perez

THINK PIECE

CHOSEN READING

(3a) Murphey, Rhoads, and Kristin Stapleton. “A History of Asia.” Taylor & Francis, May 30, 2019.
www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781351231916/history-asia-rhoads-murphey-
kristin-stapleton.

CONTEXT

Source: A History of Asia

Author: Rhoads Murphey, Kristin Stapleton

The chapters explore the rich tapestry of Asian societies weaved by the threads of religion,
culture, and everything in between. Although varying in religious conventions and means of
making sense of the cosmos, the interconnected principles in which they operate ultimately mold
the cultural (art, literature, music), social (caste system, family structures, etiquette), and political
(authority, power, service) landscapes of the countries where they flourished. It also illustrates
the story of religion’s influence on the trajectory and continuity of contemporary Asia as we know
it today. Understanding the nuances of Asia’s origins and how they are constantly shaped and
reshaped by its actors can give a glimpse of how it has managed to adapt, survive, and thrive
despite the changing times. In a society where Asia has taken the fore, it is all the more imperative
to understand how it will shape not only itself but the whole world.

QUOTATION

Page 17

Most East Asians have always been eclectic in religion, weaving into their beliefs and practices
elements from different religious traditions.

COMMENT

With the contemporary practice of subsuming religion to one’s own identity, this specific
quote deconstructed my preconceived notions on how we view religion as a one-size-fits-all
repository of our beliefs. Ultimately, I concluded that religion is just a fragment of our imagination
– a construction of a conception. Similar to the concept of Asia bearing different meanings for
different groups in Chapter 1 of A History of Asia, religion is a mere invention of the mind. Whether
it was through divine intervention or not, our minds, ever so powerful, constructed religion as a
means to bridge our knowledge from the temporal world to the spiritual world. Human beings,
throughout the annals of time, wrote sacred texts to make sense of the world around us through
our limited capacity to comprehend the supranatural and to grasp the essence of our existence.

In the same virtue, as the wielder of the power to will religions into existence, we also hold
the power to alter it. As long as human beings walk the Earth, new arbitrary configurations and
conceptions will inevitably arise. Examples that epitomize this specific pattern are alternate
interpretations and ascribed meanings which individuals perceive as functional to their own
circumstances. Back then, it was said that Buddha’s original teachings were “life-denying”, so
Mahayana Buddhism was formed which was grounded more to everyday life and this-worldly
concerns, which interestingly garnered more believers. Similarly, Daoists deviated from their
basic axiom of passivity and started questioning nature and probing its secrets. Additionally,
Chinese Muslims who modified many of the Islamic structures to fit to whatever was convenient
for their practice. This can be further exemplified in the concept of workday Confucians and
weekend Daoists of China where their beliefs were mostly anchored on their specific situations.
My point being is that our beliefs are not influenced by our religion, but rather the inverse, our
beliefs influence it.

QUESTIONS

1.) With the inevitable rise of religious nationalism, such as Hindu nationalism in India or Buddhist
nationalism in Myanmar, to what extent does it pose challenges to religious tolerance and
pluralism in Asian countries where religions usually intersect and overlap?

2.) Is the commercialization of Asian spiritual practices, such as yoga and meditation, a form of
commodification that dilutes their authenticity, or does it make these practices more accessible
to a global audience?