2024-03-29T09:27:51Z
https://nagoya.repo.nii.ac.jp/oai
oai:nagoya.repo.nii.ac.jp:00020762
2023-01-16T04:09:27Z
326:521:1313:1778
Something in the Air: A Study of Religio-Cultural Narratives of Optical Orbs in Thailand
Nakai, Senjo
open access
orbs
Theravada Buddhism
digital media
This study examines print media narratives on orb photographs in order to understand how this optical phenomenon represents celestial beings descending to celebrate human affairs in the mind of Thai Theravada Buddhists. The findings indicate that the seemingly least religious phenomenon is incorporated into the religio-cultural landscape of Thai society with the aid of modern digital technology. Drawing on time-honoured references to the Buddhist cosmology, such as the Great Assembly, the karmic law and a variety of deities, Thai Theravada Buddhists have come to see orbs as a religious symbol. Such a narrative of orbs, which is disseminated by the mass media, envisions the metaphysical world of the Buddhist cosmology despite public concerns about the diminishing influence of the religion in Thai society.
名古屋大学大学院国際言語文化研究科
2015-03-31
eng
departmental bulletin paper
VoR
https://doi.org/10.18999/stums.7.21
http://hdl.handle.net/2237/22892
https://nagoya.repo.nii.ac.jp/records/20762
10.18999/stums.7.21
1880-0831
メディアと社会
Studies in Media and Society
7
21
41
https://nagoya.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/20762/files/stums_7_21.pdf
application/pdf
2.8 MB
2018-02-21