Crisis in Early Religion PDF
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Universal- und kulturhistorische Studien – Studies in Universal and Cultural History Mait Kõiv · Märt Läänemets Kerstin Droß- Krüpe Sebastian Fink Editors Crisis in Early Religion Universal- und kulturhistorische Studien. Studies in Universal and Cultural History SeriesEditors AlbertoBernabéPajares,Madrid,Spain SebastianFink,Innsbruck,Austria AnnC.Gunter,Evanston,USA DanT.Potts,NewYork,USA RobertRollinger,Innsbruck,Austria KaiRuffing,Kassel,Germany Mit der Krise des Nationalstaates am Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts und der Erfahrung einer zusehends vernetzten und globalisierten Welt gewinnt auch eine neue Perspektive in den GeschichtswissenschaftenanBedeutung.DieserneueBlickaufdieVergangenheitmacht denWegfreifüreineinnovativeundinterdisziplinäreAnnäherungandasPhänomeneiner vernetzten Weltgeschichte, inder Europa nicht mehr dasZentrum derWelt darstellt, von demaus„Historie“vermessenwird.DieseruniversaleBlickaufdieGeschichtesolldurch dieneueReihe befördert werden. Die Reihe umfasst alle Weltregionenund alle Epochen der Menschheitsgeschichte. Sie will vergleichende und auf dem neuesten Stand der Forschung gewonnene Einblicke in das Laboratorium der Weltgeschichte gewähren und befördern. Die Reihe versteht sich als eine peer-reviewed series, die sowohl für MonographienwiefürSammelbändeoffenist. * * * With the crisis of national states at the end of the 20th century and the experience of a highly interconnected, globalized world, a new perspective in historical studies has emerged, which critically analyzes those concepts and methodologies formed under the influence of national consciousness. This intellectual framework fosters an innovative, stronglyinterdisciplinaryapproachtoworldhistory,seekingtotranscendaregionalfocus inthewritingofhistory.Thisseriesfigureswithinthesedevelopments,whichitendeavors to promote through the publication of new research. The new series aims to encourage a universalviewofhistoricalphenomena,broadlydefinedbothgeographicallyandchrono- logically.Itsscopeembracesallworldregionsandallperiodsofhumanhistory.Thepeer- reviewedserieswillpublishbothmonographsandeditedvolumes. (cid:129) (cid:129) Mait Kõiv Märt Läänemets ß (cid:129) Kerstin Dro -Krüpe Sebastian Fink Editors Crisis in Early Religion Editors MaitKõiv MärtLäänemets UniversityofTartu EstonianOrientalSociety Tartu,Estonia Ülenurme,Estonia KerstinDroß-Krüpe SebastianFink Ruhr-UniversityBochum UniversityofInnsbruck Bochum,Germany Innsbruck,Austria ISSN2524-3780 ISSN2524-3799 (electronic) Universal-undkulturhistorischeStudien.StudiesinUniversalandCulturalHistory ISBN978-3-658-36988-0 ISBN978-3-658-36989-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-36989-7 #TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicensetoSpringerFachmedienWiesbaden GmbH,partofSpringerNature2022 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsaresolelyandexclusivelylicensedbythePublisher,whetherthe wholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseofillustrations, recitation,broadcasting,reproductiononmicrofilmsorinanyotherphysicalway,andtransmissionorinformation storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now knownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublicationdoesnot imply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevantprotectivelaws andregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthors,andtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthisbookare believedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsortheeditorsgivea warranty,expressedorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthat mayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsand institutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerVSimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerFachmedienWiesbadenGmbH,partof SpringerNature. Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Abraham-Lincoln-Str.46,65189Wiesbaden,Germany Contents CrisisinEarlyReligion:AnIntroduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 MaitKõivandSebastianFink TheCrisisofAuthenticBuddhavacanainTipiṭaka:IsEarlyBuddhist Sangha’sPoliticsResponsible?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 SiddharthSingh PrajñāpāramitāasaCrisis-MarkerinBuddhism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 SergeyYuLepekhov TheInvolvementofBuddhistMonksintheCourtIntriguesinChina andJapanDuringtheFourthtotheEighthCenturies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 ElenaLepekhova TheUgariticCombatMythandEgypto-HittiteRelationsintheLate BronzeAge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 JoannaTöyräänvuori CrisesintheHittiteReligion:ExamplesofthePrayerofKantuzili andPlaguePrayersofMuršiliII. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 VladimirSazonovandJaanLahe DivineJusticeandHumanCompetition:SignsofCrisesinArchaic Greece. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 MaitKõiv WhenOraclesDon’tComeTrue:OedipusTyrannusandOracular Crisis. . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. 119 TimWhitmarsh ‘TheAthenian‘Plague’:Religion,‘Rationality’,andEthics’. . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 ElizabethIrwin v vi Contents ACrisisof‘Atheism’inAncientRome?OnthePerceptionofNonreligion asaThreatintheRomanEmpire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 AlexandraEppinger CrisisandTransformationofGnosticChristianityinLateRoman andEarlyByzantineEgypt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 PrzemysławPiwowarczyk Crisis in Early Religion: An Introduction Mait Kõiv and Sebastian Fink The introduction to this volume was written in a time when people were already sick of hearingtheterm“Corona-crisis”thatoccupiedthenewsandmindsetsofthewholeworld. Evenifitwillstilltakesometimetogetthisbookprinted,everyonewillsurelyremember this exceptional time as an example of a collective, global crisis. At the time of our conference,andevenayearago,theideathatthewholeworldwillbeafflictedbyaplague wouldhaveseemedaridiculousideatomostofus,maybesimplybecausewegrewupina time where such a thing never occurred. Eventually we learned to adapt to the new ‘normal’, the new reality of checking statistics, the latest daily numbers of cases, hospitalizationsanddeathslocally,nationallyandglobally,andevertighteningrestrictions on all kinds of activities. All across the world we are on familiar terms with it, calling it CoronaorCOVID,dependingonthelanguageweuse. As far as‘plagues’ go,this onehasnotseemed,atleast untilnow, asevere one.With highlydevelopedmedicine,identificationofthevirusandscientificexplanationofhowthe plague affects the body has allowed us to understand how to avoid contagion, treat the infected, and even create vaccines against it. In earlier days, however, diseases occurred that killed a substantial part of the population. Unaware of the causes, people attributed themtotheevilmachinationsofwitches,sorcerersordemons,thepoisoningofwellsorto the anger of the gods. If there is one basic rule for every crisis, then it would seem to be M.Kõiv(*) UniversityofTartu,Tartu,Estonia e-mail:[email protected] S.Fink UniversityofInnsbruck,Innsbruck,Austria e-mail:Sebastian.fi[email protected] #TheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicensetoSpringerFachmedienWiesbadenGmbH, 1 partofSpringerNature2022 M.Kõivetal.(eds.),CrisisinEarlyReligion,Universal-undkulturhistorischeStudien. StudiesinUniversalandCulturalHistory, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-36989-7_1 2 M.KõivandS.Fink this one: crises demand explanations and explanations should come with some means of resolution. Whether it is chasing witches and sorcerers away, exorcising demons, or praying for forgiveness and trying to placate the wrath of the gods, these means can all beseenasapartofcollectivestress-managementintimesofcrisis. Nomatterhowirrationalsuchbeliefsmightseemtous,theyfulfilledafunctionintimes ofcrisis,whetherthecrisisiscollectiveoronlypersonal.Theyaccountforthebadsituation andreturnsomesenseofagencytothesufferingsocietyorindividual.Onemightelaborate on this. As human beings we like the world to be an orderly and well-structured place, a stablesystemwithafuturethatis(atleasttoacertainextent)predictable.Therearemany regularities in the world that human beings can predict quite accurately today, and could predictquiteaccuratelysomethousandyearsago.Theseareforexamplethealternationof dayandnight,thepathofcertaincelestialbodies,thechangeofseasons,seasonalrainfalls, andmanymore.Thisknowledgeaboutregularitiesintheworldisofutmostimportanceto ourexistenceasinthecaseofagriculture:humansurvivalliterallydependsonthem. Ifsomethingiswrongwithwhathasusuallybeenreliablypredictable,actionneedstobe taken on a practical level, but mostly, and this holds true for all times, we will also find somekindofattempttorestoretheoldorderbysomekindofreligiousexplanation,which isusuallyfollowedbyreligiouspractice.Thereasonbehindthisissomethingthatbecomes clearly visible in Platonic philosophy but goes back to much older ideas and intellectual traditions. Behind this world full of change, there exists an unchangeable, eternal world. ThisworldistherealmofthePlatonicideas,theSumeriandivineconceptsorthehighgods ingeneral.Stabilityisnotsomethingthatisinherentinthisworld;itcomesintoexistence due to the ordering activities of the gods.1 If something went wrong in this world, this reflects some problem in the relationship between this world and the other world, or in more personalterms:between thehumans andtheirgods. Therefore, action needed tobe takenonthesidesofthehumans.Theyprayed,lamented,andtriedtocalmdownthegods withsongsandritualsinordertorestoretheearlierbalance,orthegoodwillofthegods.In order to prevent such problems different ways of establishing the will of the gods by prophecy and various kinds of divination were established, which aimed at preventing disastersbytaking(ritual)actionbeforetheytookplace. OneofthemostinfluentialideasinthehistoryofreligioniswhatErstTopitschcalled “theintentionalviewoftheworld.”2NearlyallofthemythsTopitschanalyzedinhismajor study on the rise and decline of metaphysics demonstrate the world to be what he called ‘sociomorphic’.Heusedthistermtodescribethebeliefthatthewholeworldisgoverned byastructuresimilartosociety.Thatis,someoneisouttherepresidingovereverythingthat 1Wemightmentionatthispointthattheideathatthegodshavetointervenefromtimetotimetokeep the worldstable isnot restricted toantiquity, as itwas still defendedbyIsaacNewton, oneof the heroesofmodernphysics.Hewasconvincedthatgodhastointervenefromtimetotimeinorderto keepthecoursesofthecelestialbodiesstable(Leibniz-Clarkeletterexchange). 2Topitsch (1958), see especially the chapter “The Involvement of Buddhist Monks in the Court IntriguesinChinaandJapanDuringtheFourthtotheEighthCenturies”. CrisisinEarlyReligion:AnIntroduction 3 happens in this world. Usually this governing entity is imagined as having a mindset somewhatsimilartohumanbeingsand,commonly,thisbeingiscalledaking,ashepherd or a father, what makes the comparison to human societies obvious. While others had observedthisfactlongbefore,Topitschmasterfullydemonstratedthatthesameintentional worldview found in creation myths can still be found at work in most of the great metaphysicalsystemsfromClassicalAntiquityuptonineteenthcentury. Notwithstanding the success the intentional worldview had in imposing order on the world, it also created its share of problems. Foremost was the problem of theodicy, otherwise known as the problem of the righteous sufferer. If a benevolent father governs theworld,howthendidpainandsufferingcomeintothisworld?Theforemostintellectuals of all times have racked their brain with this problem—or sought to quell believers’ doubts—inordertoupholdthebeliefinawell-orderedworld.Oneoftheearliestanswers might have been that suffering is a punishment for bad behavior, something easily analogoustowhatisknownfromthedomainofthefamilyandinsociety.Thisexplanation seemstohavebeenquiteconvincing,butalreadyinancientMesopotamiawecanhearthe voiceofcriticalintellectualsthatquestionthejusticeofthisnotionofretribution.Thereare peoplewhosufferalthoughtheydonotappearwhetherintheirowneyesorthoseofothers tohavecommittedanyoffenceagainstgodorman.Others,however,whohaveobviously sinned,enjoywithimpunitythefruitsoftheirbaddeeds.Theseproblemsarediscussedin theBabylonianTheodicy,adialoguebetweenapiousmanandhissufferingfrienddatingto thelatesecondorearlyfirstmillennium: Those who do not seek (the) god (i.e., do not honour gods) go the way of success, (while) someonewhothinksof(the)goddesscouldbecomepoorandimpoverished.Inmyyouth,I searchedforthereasoningof(the)god,withthemarkofrespectandbenedictions,Isought (the)goddess.Ibearayokeasacorvéewhich(brought)nogain(v.:wisdom),(but)(the)god has imposed (on me) poverty instead riches. A cripple went up above me; a fool moved forward away from me: (while) rascals have moved up (in society), I have fallen (so) low (insociety).(Sufferer,70–77)3 Theodicy can radically question the intentional worldview. If the system is not working alongthelinesthatweexpectittowork,itseemspossiblethatthereisnosystematalland thathumansshouldnotcareaboutthegods.Evenifthegod’sexistenceisnotquestionedin many texts, the possibility is discussed that the gods are simply not interested in human affairs.Ifsomeoneorawholesocietyarrivesataskingthesequestionsthisisarealcrisisin religion as the whole worldview teeters on the verge of collapse, its replacement a non-intentionalworldview,aworldlesspredictableandlesssafe.Realizingheisnolonger apartofaholisticsysteminwhicheveryonehashisassignedposition,thatthereisnosuch metaphysical system, the individuals may suddenly release themselves of the burden of religiousandsocialconventions.Againwefindanimpressivedocumentofsuchanattitude 3Oshima(2013,20).
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