Lazy Lama looks at The Six Paramitas
"I think everything that we need to improve our world, our society and our humanity is in the Six Paramitas. These practices can make our lives good temporarily, as well as bringing lasting peace and happiness. This is an approach based on compassion, on wishing to help not only myself, but all of us together. The attitude is not "I and you," but "me and we." Someone who has the courage or heart for this approach is called a Bodhisattva; and this awakening is not only of yourself, but of everybody." The Six Paramitas, or "transcendent perfections," contain all the skills needed for taming the mind and opening the heart. Paramita is a Sanskrit word. Para means "beyond" and "the further shore" and mita, means "that which has arrived." So, broadly speaking, Pāramitā, means "that which has gone to the further shore." For beginners, "the further shore" seems very far away. We can feel overwhelmed before we even set out. But in this, the eighth book of the Lazy Lama series, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche helps us to understand how the path of the bodhisattva is possible for all of us. In providing this wonderful bridge on the journey from here to the further shore, Rinpoche reveals the Six Paramitas as bodhicitta in action, rather than an unattainable state of perfection. Through his wisdom and great compassion, warm humour and unfailing patience, Rinpoche shows us how these profound teachings are essential to our lives, especially in these times of stress and great uncertainty.
Wisdom of the East - The Buddha’s Way of Virtue - A Translation of the Dhammapada from the Pali Text
Wisdom of the East - The Buddha's Way of Virtue - A Translation of the Dhammapada from the Pali Text by W. D. C. Wagiswara is a profound translation of the Dhammapada, offering readers a timeless and accessible guide to the ethical and spiritual teachings of the Buddha. Wisdom of the East - The Buddha's Way of Virtue - A Translation of the Dhammapada from the Pali Text by W. D. C. Wagiswara is a literary gem that brings the wisdom of the Buddha to a global audience. This book presents a faithful translation of the Dhammapada, one of the most revered texts in Buddhism, offering profound insights into virtuous living and the path to enlightenment. The book begins by introducing readers to the historical and philosophical context of the Dhammapada, providing essential background information for understanding its significance. W. D. C. Wagiswara's insightful translation preserves the poetic beauty and spiritual depth of the original Pali text. Central to the book are the verses of the Dhammapada themselves. Each verse offers a concise and powerful teaching on ethical conduct, wisdom, mindfulness, and the cultivation of inner virtues. The teachings are accompanied by Wagiswara's commentary, providing readers with valuable insights and practical guidance. Furthermore, the book delves into the timeless wisdom imparted by the Buddha. Readers will find teachings on topics such as the nature of suffering, the importance of compassion, and the path to liberation from suffering. Wisdom of the East - The Buddha's Way of Virtue is not only a translation but also an invitation to explore the ethical and spiritual teachings of the Buddha. It encourages readers to reflect on the principles of virtuous living and to apply them in their daily lives. This book is an invaluable resource for spiritual seekers, scholars, and anyone interested in the ethical and philosophical dimensions of Buddhism. W. D. C. Wagiswara's translation and commentary make this work a source of inspiration and guidance for those seeking wisdom and inner transformation through the teachings of the Buddha.
Wisdom of the East - Buddhist Psalms - Translated from the Japanese of Shinran Shonin
"Wisdom of the East" contains an English translation of the Jodo-Wasan, three volumes of Japanese verses originally written by Shinran Shonin (1173 - 1263). The verses are called Jōdo Wasan, Koso Wasan, and Shozomatsu Wasan, all of which constitute a celebration of the essence of Jōdo Shinshū (also known as 'Shin Buddhism' or 'Pure Land Buddhism'). Contents include: "Lauding the Infinite One", "Of Paradise", "Concerning the Great Sutra", "Concerning the Lesser Sutra", "Of the Many Sutras Concerning the Infinite One", "Concerning the Welfare of the Present World", "Of Thanksgiving for Nagarjuna, the Great Teacher of India", "Wherein with Lamentation I Make my Confession", etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with the original text and artwork.
Shin Buddhism
Interest in Buddhism continues to grow throughout North America, and more and more readers are moving beyond the familiar Zen and Tibetan traditions to examine other types of Buddhism. In Shin Buddhism, Taitetsu Unno explains the philosophy anc practices of "Pure Land" Buddhism, which dates back to the sixth century C.E., when Buddhism was first introduced in Japan. While Zen Buddhism flourished in remote monasteries, the Pure Land tradition was adopted by the common people. With a combination of spiritual insight and unparalled scholoarship, the author describes the literature, history, and principles of this form of Buddhism and illuminates the ways in which it embodies this religion's most basic tenet: "No human life should be wasted, abandoned, or forgotten but should be transformed into a source of vibrant life, deep wisdom, and compassionate living." As a practice that evolved to harmonize with the realities of everyday life, Shin Buddhism will be particularly attractive to contemporary Western readers.
The Constitution of Shambhala (Vol. 7B of a Treatise on Mind)
The theme of the first of the two parts of this volume concerns the feminine deva hierarchy, their relation to Hierarchy and Shambhala. Many concepts are introduced that most seekers have little cognisance (e.g., the nature of the deva Lord Varuna). The Mother of the World's role is revealed, and the feminine function in cosmos, (e.g., the Pleiades). Advanced teaching concerning the Lord of the World (Sanat Kumāra), and the higher Initiations are provided. The second part is a long esoteric poem detailing many inner plane revelations concerning the type of vision obtained when accessing Shambhala, plus Initiation teachings for disciples.
Writings of Nichiren Shonin Doctrine 2
This volume, the 9th project of the English Translation Committee of the Nichiren Shu Overseas Propagation Promotion Association (NOPPA), constitutes all 23 writings of Buddhist reformer Nichiren Shōnin (1222-1282) included in the Nichiren Shōnin Zenshu, Complete Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 2: Theology 2, published in Tokyo in 1996.The Nichiren Shonin Zenshu is a modern Japanese version of Nichiren's original writings, translated and edited with annotations by modern scholars of Nichiren Buddhism. Despite its all-inclusive title, the Zenshu is highly selective in that it takes into account only writings considered bibliographically authentic: attested to by original manuscripts. Among such texts, those included in the Showa Teihon Nichiren Shonin Ibun, Writings of Nichiren Shonin Standardized in the Showa Period, complied by the Rissho Daigaku Nichiren Kyogaku Kenkyu-jo, Center for the Study of Nichiren Buddhism, published by Minobusan Kuonji Temple between 1951 and 1959, are considered the most authoritative, and they provide the basic texts for this volume.This volume includes two of Nichiren's five major writings, Kaimoku-sho and Kanzin Honzon-sho, both of which were written during his harsh exile to Sado Island. Many others who were seen as a threat to Japan's rulers had been sent there with no provisions for their warmth, nourishment or even safety. In these circumstances Nichiren was determined to provide his followers with a durable preservation of his wisdom, since he was not sure how much longer he would be alive.Nichiren began writing the Kaimoku-sho, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, almost immediately on arriving at Sado Island. He starts by covering Buddhism in the context of other teachings which have formed the basis of civilization, including Confucianism and other non-Buddhist teachings. He then argues for the supremacy of the Lotus Sutra among all Buddhist teachings. After surviving the execution at Tatsunokuchi Beach, Nichiren saw himself as the teacher predicted in the Lotus Sutra as the guide sent by the Buddha to lead this world to the True Dharma. His persecutions showed the truth of the predictions of the Lotus Sutra, that those who practiced it would face more troubles than even those the Buddha endured in his lifetime.Most of Nichiren's followers had abandoned him after this second exile, some of them not wanting the same treatment Nichiren endured. He encouraged them to hold strong, that the Buddhas and protective deities would continue to see all of them through these persecutions and that in the end all beings would chant the sacred title, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, when this world would be transformed into the Pure Land of the Buddha.Soon after finishing the Kaimoku-sho, Nichiren wrote the Kanzin Honzon-sho, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Venerable One. This writing is the source of the focus of devotion for all Nichiren Buddhists: the Omandala Gohonzon. Nichiren starts with an explanation of T'ien T'ai's 3000 Existences in One Thought doctrine, the mutual dependence of all worlds, from Hells at the bottom to Buddha realms. He then prescribes the Omandala Gohonzon as a depiction of the ongoing Teaching of the Lotus Sutra, representing not just the sacred title, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, at the center of the practice, but also the interdependence of all realms as described by T'ien T'ai.
Knowing Illusion: Bringing a Tibetan Debate Into Contemporary Discourse
Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) is by any measure the single most influential philosopher in Tibetan history. His articulation of Prasangika Madhyamaka, and his interpretation of the 7th Century Indian philosopher Candrakirti's interpretation of Madhyamaka is the foundation for the understanding of that philosophical system in the Geluk school in Tibet. Tsongkhapa argues that Candrakirti shows that we can integrate the Madhyamaka doctrine of the two truths, and of the ultimate emptiness of all phenomena with a robust epistemology that explains how we can know both conventional and ultimate truth and distinguish truth from falsity within the conventional world. The Sakya scholar Taktsang Lotsawa (born 1405) published the first systematic critique of Tsongkhapa's system. In the fifth chapter of his Freedom from Extremes Accomplished through Comprehensive Knowledge of Philosophy, Taktsang attacks Tsongkhapa's understanding of Candrakirti and the cogency of integrating Prasangika Madhyamaka with any epistemology. This attack launches a debate between Geluk scholars on the one hand and Sakya and Kagyu scholars on the other regarding the proper understanding of this philosophical school and the place of epistemology in the Madhyamaka program. This debate raged with great ferocity from the 15th through the 18th centuries, and continues still today. The two volumes of Knowing Illusion study that debate and present translations of the most important texts produced in that context. Volume I: A Philosophical History of the Debate provides historical and philosophical background for this dispute and elucidates the philosophical issues at stake in the debate, exploring the principal arguments advanced by the principals on both sides, and setting them in historical context. This volume examines the ways in which the debate raises issues that are relevant to contemporary debates in epistemology, and concludes with two contributions by contemporary Tibetan scholars, one on each side of the debate.
Knowing Illusion: Bringing a Tibetan Debate Into Contemporary Discourse
Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) is by any measure the single most influential philosopher in Tibetan history. His articulation of Prasangika Madhyamaka, and his interpretation of the 7th Century Indian philosopher Candrakirti's interpretation of Madhyamaka is the foundation for the understanding of that philosophical system in the Geluk school in Tibet. Tsongkhapa argues that Candrakirti shows that we can integrate the Madhyamaka doctrine of the two truths, and of the ultimate emptiness of all phenomena with a robust epistemology that explains how we can know both conventional and ultimate truth and distinguish truth from falsity within the conventional world. The Sakya scholar Taktsang Lotsawa (born 1405) published the first systematic critique of Tsongkhapa's system. In the fifth chapter of his Freedom from Extremes Accomplished through Comprehensive Knowledge of Philosophy, Taktsang attacks Tsongkhapa's understanding of Candrakirti and the cogency of integrating Prasangika Madhyamaka with any epistemology. This attack launches a debate between Geluk scholars on the one hand and Sakya and Kagyu scholars on the other regarding the proper understanding of this philosophical school and the place of epistemology in the Madhyamaka program. This debate raged with great ferocity from the 15th through the 18th centuries, and continues still today. These two volumes study that debate and present translations of the most important texts produced in that context. Volume I provides historical and philosophical background for this dispute and elucidates the philosophical issues at stake in the debate, exploring the principal arguments advanced by the principals on both sides, and setting them in historical context. This volume presents English translations of each of the most important texts in this debate.
The Yeshe Lama
Here is the great Yeshe Lama, the most renowned, comprehensive and the most efficacious of the Dzogchen manuals. It is a sourcebook for Dzogchen Breakthrough/Leapover precepts. Certainly, the Yeshe Lama lives up to its reputation. It is still the crown jewel of the latter-day Dzogchen lineages. It is at the apex of the Longchen Nyingtik corpus of literature, presenting the essential Dzogchen yogas in pith instruction. The Longchen Nyingtik is based firmly in Longchen Rabjampa's vision, a massive, vast and profound Dzogchen vision written down as the Seven Treasuries, which in turn were based intimately upon the tantras of the Nyingma Gyubum, the treasure house of Dzogchen. The translation was made for the benefit of students who have received transmission and oral instructions from a teacher and need clarification and elucidation from an authoritative literary source. It is meant for yogins and yoginis, adepts and practitioners. It may not be finally authoritative, but grounded in the wisdom of the old Dzogchen lamas who were wise before they came out of Tibet, as the fruit of a lifetime's listening, studying and contemplation it may be of some use to people who are committed to the Dzogchen yogi ethos. The urban yogis who have no connection with the traditional teaching may also appreciate access to its precepts. Most significantly, in my mind, this translation stresses the nondual aspect of Dzogchen, the radical aspect that is overlooked by conventional Buddhist Vajrayanists.The translation attempts, wherever possible, to clarify instruction, resolve ambiguities, and turn abstruse Tibetan nuance and allusion into comprehensible English prose. Sometimes that is not possible because of an absence of English equivalents of Tibetan terms or metaphors, sometimes because of the density or obscurity of the Tibetan meaning, sometimes because an arbitrary meaning has been lost in the recent attenuation of the tradition. Certainly, this translation does not purport to reproduce the high literary quality and form of Jigme Lingpa's Tibetan prose - which is inimitable. Nor is it a literal translation where every word is accounted for and every instance of a particular word translated by the same English equivalent. Rigzin Jigme Lingpa, the eighteenth century mystic-scholar who composed the Longchen Nyingthig was an incarnation of Longchenpa in the most significant sense of the expression and his Longchen Nyingtik became the seed, root and branch of a Dzogchen revival that reverberates around the entire world at the beginning of the twenty-first century.ContentsIntroduction i-lvThe Yeshe Lama Prologue 1Part OneChapter One: Basic Training 9Chapter Two: Fruition in Breakthrough Nonmeditation 27Chapter Three: Fruition in Leapover Methods 41Part TwoChapter Four: The Four Bardos 101Part ThreeChapter Five: The Fields of Natural Emanation 147Appendixes1. Structure of the Tibetan Text 1532. Texts Cited 1573. The Twelve Vajra Laughs 1624. The Vase-Body 1645. The Ground, Path and Fruit 1676. List of Similes 169Glossary 177English - Tibetan Concordance 188Sanskrit-English Concordance 191Bibliography 194Index 197
If Only I Had Listened with Different Ears
These three tales belong to the same genre as Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. The first two tales revolve around the Buddha, while the third tale takes place a thousand years later, when the Bodhisattva Maitreya appears, but only to Asanga's eyes. If Only I Had Listened with Different EarsThree Buddhist Tales: King Bimbisara's ChroniclerA novel about a young man sent by King Bimbisara to memorize the teachings of the Buddha, told thirty years later during the turbulent reign of King Ajatasattu. After the ParinibbanaA short story about an old monk who is the last living person to have heard the Buddha teach and was present at the Buddha's parinibbana. Myth of MaitreyaA novella about the Bodhisattva Maitreya visiting Asanga during his twelve years alone in the forest and the subsequent creation of a new Buddhist philosophy with the help of Asanga's brother, Vasubandhu.
A Global History of Buddhism and Medicine
Medicine, health, and healing have been central to Buddhism since its origins. Long before the global popularity of mindfulness and meditation, Buddhism provided cultures around the world with conceptual tools to understand illness as well as a range of therapies and interventions for care of the sick. Today, Buddhist traditions, healers, and institutions continue to exert a tangible influence on medical care in societies both inside and outside Asia, including in the areas of mental health, biomedicine, and even in responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the global history of the relationship between Buddhism and medicine remains largely untold. This book is a wide-ranging and accessible account of the interplay between Buddhism and medicine over the past two and a half millennia. C. Pierce Salguero traces the intertwining threads linking ideas, practices, and texts from many different times and places. He shows that Buddhism has played a crucial role in cross-cultural medical exchange globally and that Buddhist knowledge formed the nucleus for many types of traditional practices that still thrive today throughout Asia. Although Buddhist medicine has always been embedded in local contexts and differs markedly across cultures, Salguero identifies key patterns that have persisted throughout this long history. This book will be informative and invaluable for scholars, students, and practitioners of both Buddhism and complementary and alternative medicine.
The Way is a River of Stars
In a memoir of saints, sages, and swollen ankles, Helen walks across the Catholic heartland of Northern Spain. Her chosen route is the picturesque Camino Way, a Christian pilgrimage revered since medieval times. Ancient towns and villages, each with a distinct culture and cuisine, mark the way.Memories and miles intertwine, spanning not only the countryside but also her Christian upbringing and later life as a Buddhist. What is it that compels her into the cathedrals and rustic churches she finds during her month-long journey?'Just as I walked from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela - a different woman now to the one who began - I also travelled from one religion to another. Perhaps I put on pilgrim boots to better understand the message of each - the verbs of their prayers - what it means to engage with life, the joys of aloneness and the delights of company.'Through recollections of meditation retreats, monasteries in Burma and encounters with the gilded Saints and Madonnas of Spanish cathedrals, Helen contemplates the heart of two religions, in her quest for deeper meanings that can unite us all.
Your Buddha Within
Buddhism isn't a faith. It's a philosophy. The five major world faiths, in the chronological order of their creation, are Hinduism, Judaism, Taoism, Christianity and Islam. They all teach putting your faith in God, the generic term for our Creator. Buddhism teaches putting your faith in yourself. It would seem obvious that you can't love someone else if you can't love yourself. And by the same token, you can't put your faith in anyone else, or God, if you can't put your faith in yourself. Knowing yourself, loving yourself and putting your faith in yourself first is a philosophy that ought to be taught in conjunction with every one of the world faiths. Therefore, every true believer ought to be a Buddhist as well. Within every Buddhist lies an anti-Authoritarian who yearns for peace of mind. To know God, to love Him and to put your faith in Him, you should first put your faith in yourself and then in others. God should come last. He Doesn't Need your self-knowledge, love or faith. What you share with Him should be all that your cup runneth over. If you're not willing to learn about life in this order of priorities, you run the risk of becoming obsessive, selfish and dogmatic.
Buddhist Statecraft in East Asia
Buddhist Statecraft in East Asia explores the long relationship between Buddhism and the state in premodern times and seeks to counter the modern, secularist notion that Buddhism, as a religion, is inherently apolitical. By revealing the methods by which members of Buddhist communities across premodern East Asia related to imperial rule, this volume offers case studies of how Buddhists, their texts, material culture, ideas, and institutions legitimated rulers and defended regimes across the region. The volume also reveals a history of Buddhist writing, protest, and rebellion against the state. Contributors are Stephanie Balkwill, James A. Benn, Megan Bryson, Gregory N. Evon, Geoffrey C. Goble, Richard D. McBride II, and Jacqueline I. Stone.
Buddhist Violence and Religious Authority
Buddhist Violence and Religious Authority is a tribute to the work of Michael Jerryson, one of the initiators of the academic discourse on Buddhism and violence, whose intellectual pursuits have resulted in a trailblazing shift in the academic study of Buddhism. Preconceived in the modern west as a pacific, chiefly meditative practice aiming for personal salvation and world peace, Buddhism has been exposed in the last few decades for its manifold legacy of violence. This is apparent not only in Buddhist groups' history of support for actual military aims, but in Buddhism's association with religious nationalism and in its more subtle expressions of discursive and structural violence. This exposure is due in significant part to Michael Jerryson who, in addition to exploring this perhaps surprising Buddhist history, has investigated the dynamism of Buddhist authority. Most recently in his critique of U Wirathu, the Burmese Buddhist monk whose advocacy of Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar has stirred a boiling pot of anti-Muslim resentments, Michael Jerryson has shown that reverence for Burmese religious authorities transcends respect for traditional Buddhist doctrine and monastic accomplishments. It emanates instead from the phenomenon of religious authority itself and from the cultural institutions which support it. His examinations have resulted in heightened sensitivity to the sociology of religious authority and violence. The scholarly contributions in this volume include discussions of Buddhism and violence, religious authority and nationalism, whether Buddhist, Christian, white, or other.
The Cult of Tara, 2
"The real history of man is the history of religion." The truth of the famous dictum of Max Muller, the father of the History of Religions, is nowhere so obvious as in Tibet. Western students have observed that religion and magic pervade not only the forms of Tibetan art, politics, and society, but also every detail of ordinary human existence. And what is the all-pervading religion of Tibet? The Buddhism of that country has been described to us, of course, but that does not mean the question has been answered. The unique importance of Stephan Beyer穩s work is that it presents the vital material ignored or slighted by others: the living ritual of Tibetan Buddhists. The reader is made a witness to cultic proceedings through which the author guides him carefully. He does not force one to accept easy explanations nor does he direct one's attention only to aspects that can be counted on to please. He leads one step by step, without omitting anything, through entire rituals, and interprets whenever necessary without being unduly obtrusive. Oftentimes, as in the case of the many hymns to the goddess Tara, the superb translations speak directly to the reader, and it is indeed as if the reader himself were present at the ritual.
Longing for Limitless Light
Longing for Limitless Light offers a sequential series of key texts in the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. These prayers and aspirations form part of the daily practice for many in the various Tibetan Buddhist traditions. They include prayers, aspirations, rituals and descriptions of a path to enlightenment. The loving heart of Buddha Amitabha Limitless Light invites all beings into his pure realm of Happiness known as Dewachen or Sukhavati where, say the texts, awakening is easy. Relying on the warm presence of the Enlightened Ones, our lonely struggles can be left behind as we relax into the ever-inclusive ground of our being. These practices are an effective antidote to the sense of alienation and isolation which is so pervasive at this time. The practice texts in this book offer tried and trusted ways to connect with the Buddhas whose welcome already awaits us. They include the prayers and full ritual for Taking Refuge and for Taking the Bodhisattva Vow and prayers and practices such as the Dechen Monlam for Taking Birth in Dewachen. They provide a coherent support for developing faith and confidence in this Mahayana method that unites wisdom and compassion. The individual texts describe the many ways in which the Buddhist teachings invite us to a profound encounter with our own potential. Through developing our own qualities of generosity, loving kindness and genuine availability we connect with the ever-present welcome offered by all the Buddhas. To connect with the Buddhas is to connect with our own heart and through this to connect with all sentient beings. Each text was translated from Tibetan by C R Lama and James Low together many years ago in India. James Low has recently revised them and written an introduction.
Visions of the Buddha
Visions of the Buddha offers a ground-breaking approach to the nature of the early discourses of the Buddha, the most foundational scriptures of Buddhist religion. Although the early discourses are commonly considered to be attempts to preserve the Buddha's teachings, Shulman demonstrates that these texts are full of creativity, and that their main aim is to beautify the image of the wonderous Buddha. While the texts surely care for the early teachings and for the Buddha's philosophy or his guidelines for meditation, and while at times they may relate real historical events, they are no less interested in telling good stories, in re-working folkloric materials, and in the visionary contemplation of the Buddha in order to sense his unique presence. The texts can thus be, at times, a type of meditation. Eviatar Shulman frames the early discourses as literary masterpieces that helped Buddhism achieve the wonderful success it has obtained. Much of the discourses' masterful storytelling was achieved through a technique of composition defined here as the play of formulas. In the oral literature of early Buddhism, texts were composed of formulas, which are repeated within and between texts. Shulman argues that the formulas are the real texts of Buddhism, and are primary to full discourses. Shaping texts through the play of formulas balances conservative and innovative tendencies within the tradition, making room for creativity within accepted forms and patterns. The texts we find today are thus versions--remnants--chosen by history of a much more vibrant and dynamic creative process.
Elaborations on Emptiness
The Heart Sutra is perhaps the most famous Buddhist text, traditionally regarded as a potent expression of emptiness and of the Buddha's perfect wisdom. This brief, seemingly simple work was the subject of more commentaries in Asia than any other sutra. In Elaborations on Emptiness, Donald Lopez explores for the first time the elaborate philosophical and ritual uses of the Heart Sutra in India, Tibet, and the West. Included here are full translations of the eight extant Indian commentaries. Interspersed with the translations are six essays that examine the unusual roles the Heart Sutra has played: it has been used as a mantra, an exorcism text, a tantric meditation guide, and as the material for comparative philosophy. Taken together, the translations and essays that form Elaborations on Emptiness demonstrate why commentary is as central to modern scholarship on Buddhism as it was for ancient Buddhists. Lopez reveals unexpected points of instability and contradiction in the Heart Sutra, which, in the end, turns out to be the most malleable of texts, where the logic of commentary serves as a tool of both tradition and transgression.
Chan Insights and Oversights
For many people attracted to Eastern religions (particularly Zen Buddhism), Asia seems the source of all wisdom. As Bernard Faure examines the study of Chan/Zen from the standpoint of postmodern human sciences and literary criticism, he challenges this inversion of traditional "Orientalist" discourse: whether the Other is caricatured or idealized, ethnocentric premises marginalize important parts of Chan thought. Questioning the assumptions of "Easterners" as well, including those of the charismatic D. T. Suzuki, Faure demonstrates how both West and East have come to overlook significant components of a complex and elusive tradition. Throughout the book Faure reveals surprising hidden agendas in the modern enterprise of Chan studies and in Chan itself. After describing how Jesuit missionaries brought Chan to the West, he shows how the prejudices they engendered were influenced by the sectarian constraints of Sino-Japanese discourse. He then assesses structural, hermeneutical, and performative ways of looking at Chan, analyzes the relationship of Chan and local religion, and discusses Chan concepts of temporality, language, writing, and the self. Read alone or with its companion volume, The Rhetoric of Immediacy, this work offers a critical introduction not only to Chinese and Japanese Buddhism but also to "theory" in the human sciences.
The Rhetoric of Immediacy
Through a highly sensitive exploration of key concepts and metaphors, Bernard Faure guides Western readers in appreciating some of the more elusive aspects of the Chinese tradition of Chan Buddhism and its outgrowth, Japanese Zen. He focuses on Chan's insistence on "immediacy"--its denial of all traditional mediations, including scripture, ritual, good works--and yet shows how these mediations have always been present in Chan. Given this apparent duplicity in its discourse, Faure reveals how Chan structures its practice and doctrine on such mental paradigms as mediacy/immediacy, sudden/gradual, and center/margins.
The Embossed Tea Kettle
Zen Master Hakuin was a man of extraordinary gifts, mystic and practical, strong and gentle, imbued with true compassion and with an open eye for the miseries of the human situation on all levels. Moreover, he was a great painter - unique among the artists of his time - as well as a prolific writer with an acute power of observation.Hakuin Zenji (1685-1769) averted the decline of the Rinzai movement and became the founder of modern Zen.Though the earth is hard, tread on it softly! Great things are destroyed by little things. If you are careless about little things, you will accomplish nothing. Everybody - Wake up!
The Magic of Noticing
Many people come to Buddhism with one key question arising. Is Buddhism a religion, a philosophy, an approach to life? What is it? This book will allow you to draw your own conclusion to this. The author's personal view is that Buddhism can and does include all of these areas and excludes none. It is very much a personal choice. You make Buddhist practice yours! This book contains inspirational thinking and approaches to take the transformational practice of Buddhist meditation into your own life.
The Buddhist Path to Simplicity
Moments of peace and stillness give us a glimpse of how extraordinary our lives could be. Yet this sense of meaning and wonder is so easy to lose sight of in the hectic pace of modern living. In The Buddhist Path to Simplicity, Christina Feldman, an internationally renowned Buddhist teacher, shows you how to find harmony and balance by applying ancient Buddhist Wisdom to the here and now. The path of conscious simplicity she suggests allows us to fully recover ourselves, by rediscovering our sense of meaning and wonder.As a mother, a layperson and an internationally renowned teacher, Feldman knows the stresses and strains of modern life. In this book she shows how to harmonize and achieve balance and how to apply Buddhist wisdom to the here and now. She addresses subjects of compassion, speech, effort, intention, mindfulness and awakening. The path to peace, she suggests, is not necessarily complex or arduous. If we simply turn our attention to this moment, it will speak to us of wonder, mystery, harmony and peace. She demonstrates that there is no better moment in which to awaken and discover everything our heart longs for than this very moment.
The Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Fenyang Wude
The eminent Song Dynasty Chan Master Fenyang Shanzhao (947-1024 CE) had the distinction of an entry in the canonical Jingde Chuandeng Lu, (Records of the Transmission of the Lamp) whilst still alive. Here the master's sayings, encounters with monks and poetry speak extensively for themselves, as recorded by his Dharma-heir, Shishuang Chuyuan (986-1039 CE). Contained in these first two of three fascicles are some of the earliest gong'an (koans) from the Chan School, as well as the first mention of the famous Five Ranks teachings from the Caodong lineage.
Translating Buddhism
Although many Buddhist studies scholars spend a great deal of their time involved in acts of translation, to date not much has been published that examines the key questions, problems, and difficulties faced by translators of South Asian Buddhist texts and epigraphs. Translating Buddhism seeks to address this omission. The essays collected here represent a burgeoning attempt to begin to shape the subfield of translation studies within Buddhist studies, whereby scholars actively challenge primary routine decisions and basic assumptions. Exploring questions including how interpretive translators can be and how cultural and social norms affect translations, the book draws on the broad experiences of its contributors--all of whom are translators themselves--who bring different themes to the table. Each chapter can be used either independently or as part of the whole to engender reflections on the process of translation.
Buddhism
The ultimate goal of a buddhist is to achieve a state known as nirvana. This is a state of complete inner peace and an elimination of all suffering. The major sources of suffering according to the buddha's teachings are ignorance and de-sire. Through various techniques like meditation and yoga, buddhists attempt to achieve this state. In this essential guide, you'll discover: - The story of buddha and how buddhism applies to our modern-day life- The three ways of buddhist wisdom (listening, contemplation and meditation)- Mindfulness and the elements of buddhist meditative practice- The explanation of dharma, the four noble thruths and the noble eightfold path- The explanation of the powerful mani mantra- And more!You will learn everything you need to know to get started with buddhism which will develop in to a more in-depth and personal discussion. You will be introduced in to the ways of the buddhist and how developing mindfulness can truly enhance your mind. With several written illustrations of the most popular and different meditation styles, you will be able to achieve balance in your life.
Buddhism
The book comprises two lectures on esthetic theory and theory of literature attributed to original buddhism. In the first lecture, the author has analyzed the concept of dukkha and used it as the most important esthetic value according to buddhism. In the second lecture, the author has analyzed the unique power of literature and linked it to the moral truth. The author argues that according to buddhism, literature has the potential to lead people to moral beauty which is the same as liberation of the mind in the view of the buddha. This book provides you with a clear insight into the tradition of buddhism that has been in existence for centuries. In it you shall: - Get a very clear understanding of buddhism- Know its history and origin- Find out and get insight on the many teachings, traditions and practices observed by the buddhists- Best of all, you will get to find out exactly how you can adopt these buddhist practices in your life and the benefits that you will reap from each of them.Attaining enlightenment is a mind that has attained peace, calm, serenity, and contentedness with joy that is permanent. The mind can be trained to completely eliminate such discontent feelings as sadness, anger, frustration, irritation, annoyance, guilt, shame, fears, loneliness, boredom, shyness, jealousy, and all other negative feelings that cause the mind to be discontent and experience suffering.
Ways of Confucianism
Confucianism is one of the most influential philosophical traditions in the world, with profound and challenging insights on human nature, virtue, ethical cultivation, and the foundations of morality and civilization. In this collection of essays, most never before published, Nivison presents nuanced and subtle interpretations of key thinkers from over two thousand years in the Confucian movement.
Buddhism for Beginners
Gotama buddha's teachings are not based in belief. His teachings need to be learned and practiced with guidance so that you can independently observe the truth in his teachings to acquire wisdom. It is this new found wisdom that the mind starts to gradually function in the world differently to attain a peaceful, calm, serene, and content mind with joy....the enlightened mind. Learn about the deceptively simple truths of this enigmatic religion, including: - The life of buddha and his continuing influence throughout the world- Buddha's teachings and the four noble truths of buddhism- The noble eightfold path and how it should guide you- What the sutras say about education, marriage, sex, and death- The proven physiological effects of meditation- The growing impact of buddhism on modern american cultureThis book is short, simple and precise. You can therefore, grasp a lot from it, even if you are not very advanced in studies. This book is suited to the needs of these modern times, so do not worry, even if you are as busy as a bee. In fact, there a lot of guidance for someone just like you, trying to balance out the different facets of their lives.
The Essence of Buddhism
I am glad to be permitted thus to say, in a few words of introduction to this well-meditated little volume, how pleasant and how profitable an idea it must be considered to have designed and compiled a Buddhist anthology. Selecting his cut and uncut jewels from very various Buddhistic sources, Mr. Bowden has here supplied those who buy and use the book with rubies and sapphires and emeralds of wisdom, compassion, and human brotherhood, any one of which, worn on the heart, would be sufficient to make the wearer rich beyond estimation for a day.
The Buddha and His Dhamma
Indications of a growth in the volume of interest in Buddhism are noticeable in some sections of the Indian people. Along with it there is naturally a growing demand for a clear and consistent statement of the life and teachings of the Buddha. Anyone who is not a Buddhist finds it extremely difficult to present the life and teachings of the Buddha in a manner which would make it a consistent whole. Depending on the Nikayas, not only the presentation of a consistent story of the life of the Buddha becomes a difficult thing and the presentation of some parts of his teachings becomes much more so. Indeed it would not be an exaggeration to say that of all the founders of religions in the world the presentation of the life and teachings of the founder of Buddhism presents a problem which is quite puzzling if not baffling. Is it not necessary that these problems should be solved and the path for the understanding of Buddhism be made clear? Is it not time that those who are Buddhists should take up these problems at least for general discussion and throw what light they can on these problems ? With a view to raise a discussion on these problems I propose to set them out here. The first problem relates to the main event in the life of the Buddha, namely, Parivraja. Why did the Buddha take Parivraja? The traditional answer is that he took Parivraja because he saw a dead person, a sick person and an old person. This answer is absurd on the face of it. The Buddha took Parivraja at the age of 29. If he took Parivraja as a result of these three sights, how is it he did not see these three sights earlier? These are common events occurring by hundreds and the Buddha could not have failed to come across them earlier. It is impossible to accept the traditional explanation that this was the first time he saw them. The explanation is not plausible and does not appeal to reason. But if this is not the answer to the question, what is the real answer? 1. Siddharth Gautama - How a Bodhisatta became the Buddha, 2. Compaign of Conversion, 3. What the Buddha Taught, 4. Religion and Dhamma, 5. The Sangh, 6. He and His Contemporaries, 7. The Wanderer's Last Journey, 8. The Man who was Siddharatha Gautama, 9. Epilogue.
The History of Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya
This book offers an overview of the emergence of Bodh Gayā as a sacred site within Gayā Dharmakṣetra. It contextualizes the different encounters, incidents, and legends connected to the Buddha's experiences shortly before and after he attained Bodhi - when, spiritually speaking, he was extremely lonely and was trying to carve a place for himself in the highly competitive Gayā Dharmakṣetra. Further, the book examines the role of various personalities and institutions contributed towards the emergence of Mahābodhi Temple. It incorporates a wealth of research on the role of the Victorian Indologists as well as the colonial administrators, the Giri mahants, and Anagārika Dharmapāla, to understand the material milieu pertaining not only to its identity but also access to spiritual resources as its conservation and development. This book is an indispensable read for students and scholars of history, cultural studies, and art and architecture as well as practitioners of Buddhism andHinduism.
L’?vangile du Bouddha
Pr矇sentation de l'ouvrage: L'?vangile du Bouddha relate l'histoire du Bouddha par le biais de paraboles. Bien qu'il ne s'agisse pas ici d'une traduction litt矇rale des So羶tras bouddhiques, l'auteur a choisi 癟? et l? dans leur masse 矇norme et group矇 pour en faire un tout homog癡ne, les passages les plus caract矇ristiques, les plus propres ? mettre en pleine lumi癡re les doctrines morales et philosophiques du Bouddhisme.Paul Carus a toujours respect矇 scrupuleusement l'esprit des So羶tras bouddhiques, et que m礙me par le groupement syst矇matique de ces textes divers, L'?vangile du Bouddha donne des conceptions bouddhiques une impression plus frappante et peut-礙tre tout aussi juste que pourrait le faire une stricte traduction de ces 矇critures.? part les trois premiers chapitres peut-礙tre, l'imagination de l'auteur n'y est pour rien. Ce livre est plus facile et plus agr矇able ? lire que les So羶tras originaux, avec leurs longueurs et leurs redites interminables, et auxquels, d'ailleurs, de nombreuses r矇f矇rences permettent de se reporter facilement.Note de l'矇diteur pour la version imprim矇e: Afin d'礙tre plus agr矇able lors de la lecture, cet ouvrage est en format Beau Livre. Dans la m礙me optique, le papier est de couleur cr癡me, ce qui fatigue moins les yeux que le papier blanc. Toutes nos publications font l'objet d'un travail soign矇 tant au niveau typographique qu'au niveau du design.Note de l'矇diteur pour la version Kindle: Nos publications Kindle sont soigneusement con癟ues, avec une table des mati癡res, un index, des notes de bas de page et r矇f矇rences, l? o羅 cela est applicable. Un accent a 矇t矇 mis sur la typographie ainsi que le design.Vos commentaires sont les bienvenus sur discoverypublisher.com/fr/ - Merci d'avoir choisi Les ?ditions Discovery.
The Concept of Niyāma in Buddhism
The concept of Niyāma in Buddhism as it appears in the Pāli texts. Translations of relevant texts and some exposition of the concept as it occurs there. Ideally this book will informa discussions of the use of niyāma in modern Buddhism.
An Introduction to Engaged Buddhism
This textbook introduces and explores the ideas, practices and philosophy of engaged Buddhism. The movement holds that suffering is not just caused by the cravings of the mind, but also by political and social factors; therefore, engaged Buddhists 'engage' with social issues to achieve liberation. Paul Fuller outlines the movement's origins and principles. He then offers a comprehensive analysis of the central themes and issues of engaged Buddhism, offering new insights into the formation of modern Buddhism. The range of issues covered includes politics, gender, environmentalism, identity, blasphemy and violence. These are illustrated by case studies and examples from a range of locations where Buddhism is practised. Discussion points and suggested further reading are provided at the end of each chapter, which will further enrich undergraduates' grasp of the topic.
Monks in Motion
Chinese Buddhists have never remained stationary. They have always been on the move. In Monks in Motion, Jack Meng-Tat Chia explores why Buddhist monks migrated from China to Southeast Asia, and how they participated in transregional Buddhist networks across the South China Sea. This book tells the story of three prominent monks Chuk Mor (1913-2002), Yen Pei (1917-1996), and Ashin Jinarakkhita (1923-2002) and examines the connected history of Buddhist communities in China and maritime Southeast Asia in the twentieth century. Monks in Motion is the first book to offer a history of what Chia terms "South China Sea Buddhism," referring to a Buddhism that emerged from a swirl of correspondence networks, forced exiles, voluntary visits, evangelizing missions, institution-building campaigns, and the organizational efforts of countless Chinese and Chinese diasporic Buddhist monks. Drawing on multilingual research conducted in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, Chia challenges the conventional categories of "Chinese Buddhism" and "Southeast Asian Buddhism" by focusing on the lesser-known--yet no less significant--Chinese Buddhist communities of maritime Southeast Asia. By crossing the artificial spatial frontier between China and Southeast Asia, Monks in Motion breaks new ground, bringing Southeast Asia into the study of Chinese Buddhism and Chinese Buddhism into the study of Southeast Asia.
This Fragile Planet
An ethical approach to dealing with the urgent issues of climate change and taking care of our delicate ecosystems.Winner of the Silver Independent Publisher Book Award in 2022 for Nature books.This Fragile Planet features 80 inspiring quotations from His Holiness the Dalai Lama on environment, matched with 120 eye-catching photos and visuals from a dozen professional photographers - all carefully curated and edited by Tibet expert Michael Buckley.The book lays out the vision of His Holiness concerning secular ethics and environmental protection, great respect for all living beings, the importance of interdependence, and the concept of universal responsibility for protecting Mother Earth. Material in the book is as current as Earth Day 2021.The Dalai Lama's 1989 Nobel Peace Prize was the first ever awarded on the basis of environmental protection. Over the decades since, His Holiness has worked tirelessly as an environmental activist, making this one of his key commitments in life. He is a staunch advocate of the value of education of the heart - the need for compassion and ethics, inspiring the coming generations - and has worked closely with educators to realise this vision.
The Collected Works of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche Volume I
In simple and direct language, the Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen contains teachings on a complete path to enlightenment, based on eight songs by the 17th century yogi and poet, Karma Chagmey. The Bardo Guidebook is straightforward, direct instructions on how to deal with the four bardos. The highest and most profound level of Buddhist practice, the Vajrayana, categorizes existence as an endless cycle of experience called the four bardos. These four periods include our present life, the process of dying, the after-death experience, and the quest for a new rebirth.
The Citadel of Awareness
Dzogchen is a particular practice that has its own history and tradition while it illuminates a timeless, universal truth. It can be regarded as the nondual aspect of Buddhism that transcends most doctrines. The aspiration prayer by eighteenth-century Dzogchen master, Jigme Lingpa, thoroughly covers the entire system of Dzogchen. It allows people to have a full comprehension of Dzogchen, including its philosophy. This book is a commentary on Jigme Lingpa's Dzogchen Aspiration Prayer, one of the most revered texts in the Nyingma Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It is written by Anam Thubten, a contemporary Tibetan Buddhist teacher known for his scholarship and ability to make ancient teachings accessible.
Deepening Insight
The ensuing pages present a selection of passages from the early Buddhist discourses that provide perspectives on the cultivation of liberating insight into vedanā, "sensation," "feeling," or "feeling tone." For meditators, such passages can be of considerable help as a reference point for deepening insight.A metaphor that can offer considerable help when facing vedanās describes bubbles arising on the surface of a pond during rain...they arise and soon enough burst and disappear. Contemplation of the changing nature of vedanā provides a firm foundation for the growth of insight into not self. Such insight proceeds through successive layers of the mind's ingrained habit of self-referentiality. Based on relinquishing the explicit view of affirming the existence of a permanent self, increasingly subtler traces of conceit and possessiveness need to be successively overcome until with full awakening all selfing in any form will be removed for good.Deepening Insight is based on textual sources that reflect "early Buddhism," which stands for the development of thought and practices during roughly the first two centuries in the history of Buddhism, from about the fifth to the third century BCE. These sources are the Pāli discourses and their parallels, mostly extant in Chinese translation, which go back to instructions and teachings given orally by the Buddha and his disciples. In those times in India, writing was not employed for such purposes, and for centuries these teachings were transmitted orally. The final results of such oral transmission are available to us nowadays in the form of written texts. Bhikkhu Anālayo's presentation is meant to provide direct access, through the medium of translation, to the Chinese Āgama parallels to relevant Pāli discourses. In commenting on such passages, his chief concern throughout is to bring out practical aspects that are relevant to actual insight meditation.
Human Nature and Zen
Buddha, in the first of his Four Noble Truths, states that "All is suffering." What does he mean by that? Is this starting point of Buddhism in any way connected with human nature? Is there such a nature at all? What sets us humans apart from other animals? And how is this difference related to religion?In this book, the fruit of a life-long quest, Richard DeMartino explains what makes us members of the species homo sapiens sapiens unique: we are conscious of being conscious. This reflective consciousness or self-consciousness forms the basis of our personhood, of our identity as an "I." Irrespective of sex, nationality, race, age, etc., being a self-aware "I" or "self" is what makes us human. But how is this related to the first Noble Truth? To be a self-aware subject-"I" implies facing objects-including myself-to which I am inextricably bound and yet from which I am alienated. Along with other religions and philosophies of Oriental origin (such as Advaita Vedanta), Zen Buddhism calls the human being's constitutive subject-object matrix "duality," and identifies this duality as man's root problem. This book focuses on the initial nature and the basic problem of the human person. The resolution to this problem-Non-duality or Awakening to the self-less Self-is a major theme of the companion volume Zen Encounters (ISBN 978-3-906000-22-0) containing Dr. DeMartino's seminal essays and conversations. Richard DeMartino (1922-2013), Zen practitioner and thinker, long-time student of D.T. Suzuki, Shin'ichi Hisamatsu, Paul Tillich, and Reinhold Niebuhr, and co-author (along with D.T. Suzuki and Erich Fromm) of the classic Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis, was senior associate professor of religion at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.
Excavated Texts and a New Portrait of the Early Confucians
The main theme of this book is how newly excavated texts have provided new energy and perspectives to allow us to renew our understanding of ancient Chinese thought, especially that of Confucianism. Through an analysis of texts from the Guodian, Shanghai Museum, and other collections of excavated manuscripts, this book undertakes a wide-ranging analysis of Confucian thought in itself and also its influence on other trends of thought in ancient China. It focuses on such topics as morality, virtue, and self-cultivation, political philosophy, circumstance, and the relationship between human beings, others, and the natural world. It rethinks core Confucian concepts such as ren or "benevolence" and shendu or "maintaining one's moral nature" as well as great Confucian notions on circumstance and political philosophy. This book also illustrates the influence that Confucian philosophy had during the Warring States period showing that elements of its moral philosophy informed the consciousness and behavior of state officials in such places as the state of Qin. Excavated texts are an inescapable part of Chinese philosophy, as such this book is invaluable to anyone wishing to understand ancient Chinese philosophy, Confucianism, and anyone interested in the interplay between material and intellectual culture.
Love and illusions
The texts in the book are dedicated to all seekers. The seekers know that the identifying search should be broken off. The compulsion to search for the ego keeps coming back endlessly. The ideas of one's own person and the identification in liberating teachings usually arise endlessly and over and over again. We get caught up in new thoughts all the time. Meditation and contemplation help: to free yourself again and again, to dissolve the mental hardening and aberrations again and again. Exploring the mind openly and freely with these short narratives and aphorisms can perhaps be a little help on the path of life.
Holy Women of Great Perfection
The root text of Holy Women of Great Perfection is the White Space Liberating Extremes of the Mind. This discussion focuses on the section of the Pure Dzogchen Dakini Lineage, with teachings from the unsurpassed Dakini, the great mother of Prajnaparamita, the Perfection of Wisdom, Satrig Ersang. In this lineage, the emanations of the human dakinis from ancient Tibet, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Iran, China, each present a unique physical mudra in order to reveal ultimate meaning.The meaning of the mudras in this book, which the drawings display, point to the essence of the teaching and can evoke fruition. This is a blessed lineage, a post visionary lineage. As you practice, you will be able to comprehend essential nature more and more, like the sun rising and gradually illuminating the world. Realization is dependent upon conviction, faith, and the degree to which you aspire.
Man in the Universe
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1966.
Man in the Universe
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1966.
