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Answer the following questions.
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1) What teaching is Buddhism based on?
2) What are the two major branches of Buddhism?
3) Where they can be found?
4) What are three Jewels of Buddhism?
5) What are the most common Buddhist practices?
6) When was Buddhism incorporated in Russia? How?
7) What regions adopted Buddhism afterwards?
8) Why can a certain number of converts into Buddhism be found in Moscow and saint-Petersburg?
9) What countries recognize Buddhism as an official religion?
10) Where are Buddhist university-monasteries mainly concentrate in Russia?
Give definitions for the following.
Datsan, bodhisattva, conventional living, meditation, the Dharm, Theravada Mahayana, insights
What do these figures refer to in the text?
230 million, the late 15th century, 1993, 700,000, 0.5%, 500 million
The real teenage Witches
Before you read. Think over the following questions.
-What is paganism in your opinion? What kind of deities do you think
pagans worship?
- Why does an increasing number of young people become pagans?
It is not clear why Paganism is so popular among young people in the UK while the Christian Church struggles to raise the numbers of teenagers in the pews. But the youth-friendly image of Paganism may have something to do with it. There certainly aren't too many cool teenage Christians on TV.
It's cool to be a Witch
Since the 1960s young people have become interested in magic and the spiritual world through popular books, television series and films. “ Bewitched ” (1964-1972) showed one of the first representations of a Witch on television. Samantha was a quirky housewife with magical powers who was desperately trying to conform to the 1960s ideal and stop her 'witchiness' leaking out.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a huge rise in the popularity of magic and Witchcraft as it began to flood the mainstream media. Witchcraft became much more acceptable and the characters portrayed were much stronger and more open about their practices.
A US television drama, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, has probably been the most influential media representation of Witchcraft. One of the main characters, Willow, is an alternative to the sugary 'Barbie' - type role model. She is a Witch who dabbles in lesbianism, dresses in sexy clothes and casts spells.
Hollywood also picked up on the trend for the magical with films like “Witches of Eastwick” (1987), “The Craft” (1996) and “Practical Magic” (1998).
Learning more
Although the mass media shows Witchcraft as glamorous and exciting, teenagers who are serious about learning more use library books and the internet to research the subject.
Books like Kate West's “The Real Witch 's Handbook: A complete introduction to the Craft for both young and old alike” is a good starting point for real beginners who then go on to read the basic texts of Wicca and Paganism. This even includes a draft letter that a young person can send to his/her parents explaining why she has become Wiccan and what it is about.
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They learn that Wicca involves more that just the practice of magic. It is a religion that involves the worship of the Goddess and God and the veneration of the Divine in nature.
Why Paganism?
The attraction of Paganism is not only in the idea of casting love spells. The popularity of Paganism can also be attributed to the fact that it tackles issues that teenagers are interested in - in a way that other religions do not.
The supernatural is a good example of this. Massimo Introvigne (lecturer at Harvard University) suggests that programmes such as ”Buffy the Vampire Slayer” illustrate the problems that organised religions are suffering from. He says that Buffy is telling us that 'Supernatural beings may be out there, but traditional theology is not regarded as useful for dealing with them'.
Paganism also places issues such as the environment, morality and gender at the top of its list of priorities. These are issues that teenagers can relate to. The Pagan Federation of Great Britain states in its three main principles a 'love for and kinship with Nature', a 'positive morality' and a 'recognition of the Divine which transcends gender'.
Author, Silver Ravenwolf thinks that the inclusion of women is a particularly important factor for the masses of teenage girls who turn to Paganism. She says 'women in particular don't like the idea of being second-class citizens in spirituality. Wicca has the male and female on the same footing '.
The dangers
Parents of teenagers who practice Witchcraft are often worried about what their children might be involved in, and who might be influencing them. Most of these fears can be easily dispelled. Most covens will not admit members under the age of eighteen, so most young Pagans either practice on their own in groups of other teenagers. Once parents realise their children are practicing a nature religion rather than getting involved in evil and the occult their fears are often put aside.
Teenagers searching for a new kind of spirituality may have stumbled across Paganism through the media, but they have found its messages relevant.
Paganism has come out of the religious left-field and succeeded in attracting the group that institutionalised religions have found so elusive.
Exercises
1. Give equivalents of the following:
Наводнять, заполонять; язычество; оккультный; духовный; колдовство; иногда чем-то заниматься, баловаться чем-то; зло; на равных условиях; черная магия; божественный; группа ведьм; приписывать чему-либо, объяснять чем-то; сверхъестественный; поклонение; теология; ведьма; околдовать, наложить заклинание; родство; исповедовать; рассеивать, разгонять; церковная скамья.
2. Find as many synonyms as you can:
Witch; paganism; pew; spiritual; witchcraft; to flood; to dabble in; to cast a spell; Wicca (Wiccan); veneration; divine; to attribute to smth; supernatural; theology; kinship; on the same footing; to practice; to dispell; coven; evil; occult.
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3. Translate into English:
1. В современной Англии язычество становится все более популярным среди молодежи. 2. Будучи глубоко набожным человеком, Джина всегда опасалась всего оккультного и темного. 3. Насмотревшись популярных фильмов и сериалов, которые наводнили наше телевидение, многие девочки-школьницы воображают себя ведьмами и учатся насылать заклятия. 4. В своих духовных поисках многие современные подростки обращаются не к традиционным религиям, а к природе. 5. Все мы в детстве читали мифы о богах, богинях и героях Древней Греции и Рима. 6. Хотя в детстве каждое воскресение во время службы он сидел на церковной скамье, во взрослом возрасте он предпочел христианствуязычество. 7. Молодые женщины, которые практикуютпоклонение природе и языческим богам, называют себя колдуньями и собираются в группы, как правило, состоящие из 13 человек. 8. Черная магия привлекает многих тем, что в ней мужское и женское начала рассматриваются как равноценные. 9. В молодости многие балуются черной магией и языческими обрядами. 10. Его любовь ко всему сверхъестественному превратилась в серьезное увлечение теологией, что позволило ему успешно закончить Оксфордский университет. 11. Многие родители беспокоятся, узнав, что их дети увлекаются колдовством, но страхи легко развеять. 12. Популярность книг о Гарри Поттере относят на счет естественного интереса каждого ребенка ко всему волшебному и непонятному.
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