Title of the article:

AXIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF HEALTH, ILLNESS AND DEATH IN THE SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS OF RUSSIA AND CHINA

Author(s):

Andrey V. Popovkin

Galina S. Popovkina

Information about the author/authors

Andrey V. Popovkin — PhD in Philosophy, The Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushkinskaya St., 89, 690001 Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: andrey.popovkin@gmail.com

Galina S. Popovkina — PhD in History, Senior Researcher, The Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East of the far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushkinskaya St., 89, 690001 Vladivostok, Russia. E-mail: galina.popovkina@gmail.com

Section

Theory and history of culture

Year

2019

Volume

Vol. 54

Pages

pp. 9–22

Received

April 05, 2019

Date of publication

December 28, 2019

Index UDK

008

Index BBK

71(2) + 71(5Кит)

Abstract

The paper looks at the question of the value of health, disease and death in Slavic and Chinese spiritual traditions. For analysis and comparison, the authors selected the pairs: Orthodoxy — witchcraft and High Taoism — syan-Taoism. The study of implications and meanings of the concepts “health”, “disease”, “death” of the chosen spiritual traditions is carried out on the basis of texts of medical spells, prayers, texts of oriental medicine, works of adherents of Сhi kung, works of representatives of high Taoism, lives and works of Saints and fathers of the Church. According to the authors, the boundary separating one type of tradition from another is the value setting, which can be described as “spiritual utilitarianism”, since the basis of all magical practices and traditions, including witchcraft and syan-Taoism, lies in a pragmatic desire to master natural and otherworldly forces. In Christianity and high Taoism the good life is seen as a person’s orientation towards assimilating the true hierarchy of values, thus illness or even death is not perceived catastrophically within this framework. Even on the contrary, they may come as spiritually helpful events. Conversely in witchcraft and syan-Taoism, health is understood as a great, if not the main, value, so that illness and death appear to be a failure to be avoided.

Keywords

values, Orthodoxy, sorcery, High Taoism, Syan-Taoism, Russia, China, spiritual traditions, health, illness, death.

References

1 Agapit Pecherskii [Agapit Pechersky]. Ofitsial'nyi sait sviatoi Uspenskoi Kievo-Pecherskoi Lavry [Official site of the Holy Dormition Kiev-Pechersk Lavra]. Available at: https://lavra.ua/svyatie/agapit-vrach-bezmezdnyj (accessed 05 April 2019). (In Russian)

2 Bukvar'. Nauka. Filosofiia. Religiia [Primer. Science. Philosophy. Religion]. Moscow, Pravoslavnoe Bratstvo Sviatykh kniazei Borisa i Gleba Publ., 2001. Book 1–2. 1932 p. (In Russian)

3 Dimitrii Rostovskii. Alfavit dukhovnyi. Part 2 [Dimitry of Rostov. Spiritual alphabet. Part 2]. Azbuka very. Pravoslavnaia biblioteka [The ABCs of faith. Orthodox library]. Available at: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Dmitrij_Rostovskij/alfavit/2 (accessed 14 November 2018). (In Russian)

4 Ioann Kassian Rimlianin, Prepodobnyi. Bor'ba s dukhom gneva [John Cassian the Roman Monk. Struggle with the spirit of anger]. Elektronnaia biblioteka Odintsovskogo blagochiniia [Electronic library of Odintsovo deanery]. Available at: http://www.odinblago.ru/dobrotolubie_2/ioann_kassian/s_duhom_gneva (accessed 19 September 2018). (In Russian)

5 Isaak Sirin, Prepodobnyi. Put' v zhizn' vechnuiu [Isaac the Syrian, Rev. The way to eternal life]. Azbuka very. Pravoslavnaia biblioteka [ABC of faith. Orthodox library]. Available at: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Isaak_Sirin/put-v-zhizn-vechnuyu/#0_1 (accessed 19 September 2018). (In Russian)

6 Levi-Stros K. Strukturnaia antropologiia [Structural anthropology]. Moscow, EKSMO-Press Publ., 2001. 512 p. (In Russian)

7 Maksim Ispovednik. Ambigvy k Ioannu gl. XXIII (V, 19) [Maximos The Confessor. Ambigua to John Chapter XXIII (V, 19) ]. Azbuka very. Pravoslavnaia biblioteka [The ABCs of faith. Orthodox library]. Available at: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Maksim_Ispovednik/ambigvy_k_Ioannu/ (accessed 16 December 2018). (In Russian)

8 Maliavin V. V. Dukhovnyi opyt Kitaia [Spiritual experience of China]. Moscow, Astrel', Ast Publ., 2006. 397 p. (In Russian)

9 Novootkrytye izrecheniia Prepodobnogo Antoniia Velikogo po Koptskomu sborniku skazanii o prepodobnom. Kazan', Tipo-litografiia Imperatorskogo universiteta, 1898, p. 165 [The newly discovered sayings of St. Anthony the Great according to the Coptic collection of legends about the monk. Kazan, Typo-lithography of the Imperial University, 1898, p. 165]. Elektronnaia biblioteka Odintsovskogo blagochiniia [Electronic library of Odintsovo deanery]. Available at: http://www.odinblago.ru/antony_velikiy (accessed 19 September 2018). (In Russian)

10 Paisii Sviatogorets. Slova [Paisios Of The Holy Mountain. Words]. Moscow, Izdatel'skii dom “Sviataia Gora” Publ., 2006. Vol. IV. Semeinaia zhizn' [T. IV. Family life]. 327 p. (In Russian)

11 Po trudam Sviatitelia Feofana Zatvornika. Bolezn' i smert' [According to the works of St. Theophan the Recluse. Illness and death]. Moscow, Sibirskaia blagozvonnitsa Publ., 2011. 95 p. (In Russian)

12 Popovkin A. V., Popovkina G. S. Sviatost' kak inoe povsednevnoi kul'tury (na primere rasskazov “Nesviatye sviatye” arkh. Tikhona (Shevkunova)) [Holiness as a symbol of everyday culture (on the example of the stories “Unholy saints” arch. Tikhon (Shevkunov)) ]. Izvestiia Vostochnogo institutа, 2018, no 1, pp. 72–84. (In Russian)

13 Popovkina G. S. Mir zdorov'ia i bolezni v moli agovorakh vostochnykh slavian v sravnitel'nom osveshchenii [The world of health and disease in the prayers and spells of the Eastern Slavs in comparative coverage]. Vestnik slavianskikh kul'tur, 2018, no 4, pp. 66–78. (In Russian)

14 Popovkina G. S., Popovkin A. V. Tipologiia misticheskikh praktik narodnoi meditsiny [Typology of mystical practices of folk medicine]. Rossiia i ATR, 2016, no 4, pp. 301–313. (In Russian)

15 Pravoslavnyi molitvoslov [Orthodox prayer book]. Kozel'sk, Vvedenskii stavropigial'nyi muzhskoi monastyr' Optina Pustyn' Publ., 2008. 496 p. (In Russian)

16 Prepodobne otche Serafime [Our venerable father Seraphim]. [Without place of Publ.], Izdatel'skaia gruppa Sviato-Troitse-Diveevskogo zhenskogo monastyria [Without a year of Publ.]. 312 p. (In Russian)

17 Prepodobnyi Pimen Mnogoboleznennyi, Pecherskii v blizhnikh peshcherakh pochivaiushchii [The monk Poemen Much-ailing of Pechersk, in the nearer caves resting]. Pravoslavie.ru. Available at: http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life6799.htm (accessed 19 September 2018).

18 Sobranie pisem Optinskogo startsa Amvrosiia. Pereizd [Collection of letters of the Optina elder Ambrose]. Moscow, Izdatel'stvo Vvedenskogo stavropigial'nogo muzhskogo monastyria Optina Pustyn' Publ., 2009. 768 p. (In Russian)

19 Tishkov V. A. Ob antropologii zhiznennykh smyslov [On the anthropology of life meanings]. Novye rossiiskie gumanitarnye issledovaniia [New Russian humanitarian studies]. Available at: http://www.nrgumis.ru/articles/2011/ (accessed 03 December 2018). (In Russian)

20 Torchinov E. A. Put' zolota i kinovari: daosskie praktiki v issledovaniiakh i perevodakh [The way of gold and cinnabar: Taoist practices in research and translation]. St. Petersburg, Pal'mira, Kniga po Trebovaniiu Publ., 2017. 472 p. (In Russian)

21 Chzhuan-Tszy. Le-Tszy [Le Tzu], translation from Chinese, introductory article and notes by V. V. Maliavina. Moscow, Mysl' Publ., 1995. 439 p. (In Russian)

22 Chia M. Tsi-neitszan. Tsi-massazh vnutrennikh organov [Chi nei Tsang. Chi-massage of internal organs]. Kiev, Sofiia Publ., 2001. Part I. 464 p. (In Russian)

PDF-file

Download

Illustrations