Mapping the Buddhist Path to Liberation
Due to the diversity in Buddhism, its essence remains a puzzle. This book investigates the Buddhist path to liberation from a practical and critical perspective by searching for patterns found in the Pāli Nikāyas and the Chinese Āgamas. The early discourses depict the Buddhist path as a network of routes leading to the same goal: liberation from suffering. This book summarizes various teachings in three aspects, provides a template theory for systematically presenting the formulas of the sequential training of the path, and analyses the differences and similarities among diverse descriptions of the path in the early Buddhist texts. By offering a comprehensive map of the Buddhist path, this book will appeal to scholars and students of Buddhist studies as well as those practitioners with a serious interest in the Buddhist path.
The Aura of Confucius
The Aura of Confucius is a ground-breaking study that reconstructs the remarkable history of Kongzhai, a shrine founded on the belief that Confucius' descendants buried the sage's robe and cap a millennium after his death and far from his home in Qufu, Shandong. Improbably located on the outskirts of modern Shanghai, Kongzhai featured architecture, visual images, and physical artifacts that created a 'Little Queli, ' a surrogate for the temple, cemetery, and Kong descendants' mansion in Qufu. Centered on the Tomb of the Robe and Cap, with a Sage Hall noteworthy for displaying sculptural icons and not just inscribed tablets, Kongzhai attracted scholarly pilgrims who came to experience Confucius's beneficent aura. Although Kongzhai gained recognition from the Kangxi emperor, its fortunes declined with modernization, and it was finally destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Unlike other sites, Kongzhai has not been rebuilt and its history is officially forgotten, despite the Confucian revival in contemporary China.
Renunciation and Longing
Through the eventful life of a Himalayan Buddhist teacher, Khunu Lama, this study reimagines cultural continuity beyond the binary of traditional and modern. In the early twentieth century, Khunu Lama journeyed across Tibet and India, meeting Buddhist masters while sometimes living, so his students say, on cold porridge and water. Yet this elusive wandering renunciant became a revered teacher of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. At Khunu Lama's death in 1977, he was mourned by Himalayan nuns, Tibetan lamas, and American meditators alike. The many surviving stories about him reveal significant dimensions of Tibetan Buddhism, shedding new light on questions of religious affect and memory that reimagines cultural continuity beyond the binary of traditional and modern. In Renunciation and Longing, Annabella Pitkin explores devotion, renunciation, and the teacher-student lineage relationship as resources for understanding Tibetan Buddhist approaches to modernity. By examining narrative accounts of the life of a remarkable twentieth-century Himalayan Buddhist and focusing on his remembered identity as a renunciant bodhisattva, Pitkin illuminates Tibetan and Himalayan practices of memory, affective connection, and mourning. Refuting long-standing caricatures of Tibetan Buddhist communities as unable to be modern because of their religious commitments, Pitkin shows instead how twentieth- and twenty-first-century Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhist narrators have used themes of renunciation, devotion, and lineage as touchstones for negotiating loss and vitalizing continuity.
Renunciation and Longing
Through the eventful life of a Himalayan Buddhist teacher, Khunu Lama, this study reimagines cultural continuity beyond the binary of traditional and modern. In the early twentieth century, Khunu Lama journeyed across Tibet and India, meeting Buddhist masters while sometimes living, so his students say, on cold porridge and water. Yet this elusive wandering renunciant became a revered teacher of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. At Khunu Lama's death in 1977, he was mourned by Himalayan nuns, Tibetan lamas, and American meditators alike. The many surviving stories about him reveal significant dimensions of Tibetan Buddhism, shedding new light on questions of religious affect and memory that reimagines cultural continuity beyond the binary of traditional and modern. In Renunciation and Longing, Annabella Pitkin explores devotion, renunciation, and the teacher-student lineage relationship as resources for understanding Tibetan Buddhist approaches to modernity. By examining narrative accounts of the life of a remarkable twentieth-century Himalayan Buddhist and focusing on his remembered identity as a renunciant bodhisattva, Pitkin illuminates Tibetan and Himalayan practices of memory, affective connection, and mourning. Refuting long-standing caricatures of Tibetan Buddhist communities as unable to be modern because of their religious commitments, Pitkin shows instead how twentieth- and twenty-first-century Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhist narrators have used themes of renunciation, devotion, and lineage as touchstones for negotiating loss and vitalizing continuity.
Becoming Guanyin
Winner, 2024 Geiss-Hsu Book Prize for Best First Book, Society for Ming Studies The goddess Guanyin began in India as the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, originally a male deity. He gradually became indigenized as a female deity in China over the span of nearly a millennium. By the Ming (1358-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) periods, Guanyin had become the most popular female deity in China. In Becoming Guanyin, Yuhang Li examines how lay Buddhist women in late imperial China forged a connection with the subject of their devotion, arguing that women used their own bodies to echo that of Guanyin. Li focuses on the power of material things to enable women to access religious experience and transcendence. In particular, she examines how secular Buddhist women expressed mimetic devotion and pursued religious salvation through creative depictions of Guanyin in different media such as painting and embroidery and through bodily portrayals of the deity using jewelry and dance. These material displays expressed a worldview that differed from yet fit within the Confucian patriarchal system. Attending to the fabrication and use of "women's things" by secular women, Li offers new insight into the relationships between worshipped and worshipper in Buddhist practice. Combining empirical research with theoretical insights from both art history and Buddhist studies, Becoming Guanyin is a field-changing analysis that reveals the interplay between material culture, religion, and their gendered transformations.
How to Suffer Well
Your capacity to handle suffering determines where you get in life. How do you want to live?Life is tough, so you better get a helmet. Life is not a walk in the park. You'll run into pain, anguish, and obstacles. But who says that they need to affect you?Build immunity to emotional, mental, and physical discomfort and suffering. It can be trained.How to Suffer Well is a literal guidebook to defeating the voices in your head that tell you to give up. Instead, they'll be replaced with voices that tell you it'll be okay, this will pass, and life goes happily on.It might sound difficult, but this is all teachable. You'll learn how to become the most zen person you know. Wouldn't it be nice to only experience the positive side of emotions?How to tolerate the rigors of life without collapsing. Increase your mental pain tolerance to that of superhuman levels.Peter Hollins has studied psychology and peak human performance for over a dozen years and is a bestselling author. He has worked with a multitude of individuals to unlock their potential and path towards success. His writing draws on his academic, coaching, and research experience.Greatly expand your comfort zone and build layers of mental armor to ensure your happiness.Guest chapter by acclaimed blogger Jason Merchey on the balm of humor to quell suffering.Why suffering is life, but attachment is sufferingTried and true paths to overcoming sufferingDefenses against negativity, expectations, and things outside of our controlHow to live in the present, unhindered by the past or the futureHow compassion and purpose assist in suffering better
How to Suffer Well
Your capacity to handle suffering determines where you get in life. How do you want to live?Life is tough, so you better get a helmet. Life is not a walk in the park. You'll run into pain, anguish, and obstacles. But who says that they need to affect you?Build immunity to emotional, mental, and physical discomfort and suffering. It can be trained.How to Suffer Well is a literal guidebook to defeating the voices in your head that tell you to give up. Instead, they'll be replaced with voices that tell you it'll be okay, this will pass, and life goes happily on.It might sound difficult, but this is all teachable. You'll learn how to become the most zen person you know. Wouldn't it be nice to only experience the positive side of emotions?How to tolerate the rigors of life without collapsing. Increase your mental pain tolerance to that of superhuman levels.Peter Hollins has studied psychology and peak human performance for over a dozen years and is a bestselling author. He has worked with a multitude of individuals to unlock their potential and path towards success. His writing draws on his academic, coaching, and research experience.Greatly expand your comfort zone and build layers of mental armor to ensure your happiness.Guest chapter by acclaimed blogger Jason Merchey on the balm of humor to quell suffering.Why suffering is life, but attachment is sufferingTried and true paths to overcoming sufferingDefenses against negativity, expectations, and things outside of our controlHow to live in the present, unhindered by the past or the futureHow compassion and purpose assist in suffering better
Sutra and Bible
A visual history of the role that religious teachings, practices and communities played in the WWII Japanese American experience, with essays by leading scholarsAccompanying the Japanese American National Museum's 2022 eponymous exhibition, Sutra and Bible: Faith and the Japanese American World War II Incarceration explores the role that religious teachings, practices and communities played while Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II. From the confines of concentration camps and locales under martial law to the battlegrounds of Europe, Japanese Americans drew on their faith to survive forced removal, indefinite incarceration, unjust deportation, family separation, military service and resettlement at a time when their race and religion were seen as threats to national security. Coedited by Emily Anderson and Duncan Ryuken Williams, Sutra and Bible weaves visual storytelling with auxiliary essays from 32 prominent voices across academic, arts and social justice communities.Contributors include: Michihiro Ama, Brooks Andrews, Anne M. Blankenship, Joanne Doi MM, Laura (Kitaji) Dominguez-Yon, Timothy Wagner, Kristen Hayashi, Jay Hirabayashi, Naomi Hirahara, Mitch Honma, Satsuki Ina, Jane Naomi Iwamura, Mas Kodani, Mark Nakagawa, Wendy Egyoku Nakao, Elizabeth Nishiura, Togo Nishiura, Nancy Kyoko Oda, Gene Oishi, Gail Okawa, Dakota Russell, Bacon Sakatani, Candice Shibata, Brandon Shimoda, George Tanabe, Todd Tsuchiya, Nancy Ukai, Jonathan van Harmelen, Karen Tei Yamashita and Mikoto Yoshida.
The Instant Enlightenment of Ordinary People
The author has consistently developed an attempt to dismantle Soka Gakkai study from traditional Nichiren Shoshu doctrine. This book deals with the doctrine controversy with three different backgrounds, so it consists of three parts. - The first part refers to the criticism of Nichiren Shoshu doctrine that the author published in the period short after the excommunication of SG in November 1991. - In the second part, since the Soka Gakkai officially abandoned the faith on the Dai-gohonzon in November 2014, there are some discussion on the direction of SG study in the present time. - In the third part, the author develops systematically his thesis on the "Instant Enlightenment of Ordinary People" in succeeding to the humanist approach of SGI president Daisaku Ikeda.Thus, this book presents an innovative Nichiren Buddhism 2.0 for laypeople practicing in the global contemporary society of the 21st Century.
Indian Buddhist Studies on Non-Buddhist Theories of a Self
This book addresses prominent views on the nature of the self in Indian philosophical traditions and presents Buddhist critiques of those conceptions through Śāntarakṣita's chapter in the Tattvasaṃgraha and Kamala-śīla's commentary in Tattvasaṃgrahapa簽jikā. This will be of interest in Philosophy, Religious Studies and Buddhist Studies.
Heart Drops of Kuntuzangpo
This precious set of teachings was translated by Geshe Sonam Gurung & Daniel P. Brown, Ph.D. under the Guidance of H.H. the 33rd Menri Trizin for the Pointing Out the Great Way Foundation.This book is the shortest of Shar rdza Rinpoche's trilogy on Bon Great Completion by-passing meditation. It contains: (1) a detailed set of by-passing preliminary practices, including very detailed emptiness meditations;(2) thoroughly cutting through pith instructions on view, meditation, conduct, and fruition to establish stable awakening. Emphasis is given the "the great non-action" as the essential point for crossing over from ordinary mind to awakened mind-itself;(3) by-passing pith instructions to purify ordinary perception so as to directly experience each of the levels of by-passing visions. Emphasis is given to the specialness of by-passing pith instructions as compared to thoroughly cutting through pith instructions, drawing from the teachings in Awakened Awareness of the Cuckoo and(4) pith instructions for recognizing the very similar visions in the dying process and after-death bardos, so as to transfer-consciousness at that time.This text was originally translated into English by Lopon Tenzin Namdak entitled Heart Drops of Dharmakāya, Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1993. That translation was based on lectures he gave on the text to Western students in Nepal in 1991. However, that translation, based on live lectures, is not a line-by-line translation of the original Tibetan text, and many quoted passages from other texts were omitted.
Reconstructing Early Buddhism
Buddhist origins and discussion of the Buddha's teachings are amongst the most controversial and contested areas in the field. This bold and authoritative book tackles head-on some of the key questions regarding early Buddhism and its primary canon of precepts. Noting that the earliest texts in Pali, Sanskrit and Chinese belong to different Buddhist schools, Roderick S. Bucknell addresses the development of these writings during the period of oral transmission between the Buddha's death and their initial redaction in the first century BCE. A meticulous comparative analysis reveals the likely original path of meditative practice applied and taught by Gautama. Fresh perspectives now emerge on both the Buddha himself and his Enlightenment. Drawing on his own years of meditative experience as a Buddhist monk, the author offers here remarkable new interpretations of advanced practices of meditation, as well as of Buddhism itself. It is a landmark work in Buddhist Studies.
Adventure in Zanskar
"This thrilling book takes us into the heart of one of the most powerful spiritual places on Earth - Zanskar. It is a must read for all those who love and recognize the healing power of place and the adventure that spiritual travel can open up." - Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope and Journey In LadakhIn 1983, twenty-one year old Amy Edelstein set out on a solitary 500-kilometer journey in the highest valley in the world. Zanskar, the westernmost corner of the Tibetan plateau had only recently opened to travelers. She would spend several months walking by foot, crossing passes above 16,000 feet, sleeping in caves, meeting high lamas and monastics, and exploring a culture that had remained virtually the same for thousands of years. It was a culture that would change dramatically and irrevocably in the few short decades since. What drew her was the eternal seeker's quest for wisdom and insight, what shaped the rest of her life is what she found. This is her story. Readers in our stressed and troubled times can now share in the fruits of her adventure and learn from what she discovered about courage, perseverance, kindness, meditation, awakening, and the difference between Eastern and Western worldviews. You may grow happier, wiser, and lighter in the process.
Buddhist Historiography in China
Winner, 2023 Toshihide Numata Book Award, Numata Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Berkeley Since the early days of Buddhism in China, monastics and laity alike have expressed a profound concern with the past. In voluminous historical works, they attempted to determine as precisely as possible the dates of events in the Buddha's life, seeking to iron out discrepancies in varying accounts and pinpoint when he delivered which sermons. Buddhist writers chronicled the history of the Dharma in China as well, compiling biographies of eminent monks and nuns and detailing the rise and decline in the religion's fortunes under various rulers. They searched for evidence of karma in the historical record and drew on prophecy to explain the past. John Kieschnick provides an innovative, expansive account of how Chinese Buddhists have sought to understand their history through a Buddhist lens. Exploring a series of themes in mainstream Buddhist historiographical works from the fifth to the twentieth century, he looks not so much for what they reveal about the people and events they describe as for what they tell us about their compilers' understanding of history. Kieschnick examines how Buddhist doctrines influenced the search for the underlying principles driving history, the significance of genealogy in Buddhist writing, and the transformation of Buddhist historiography in the twentieth century. This book casts new light on the intellectual history of Chinese Buddhism and on Buddhists' understanding of the past.
The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu
Joshu Jushin, also known as Chao-chou Ts'ung-shen (778-897), was one of the great Ch'an (Zen) masters of ancient China. It is said of Joshu that his "lips emitted light" because his manner of teaching was to speak words that so profoundly expressed Zen realization that students often had immediate insight. It was this ability to express the true nature of the enlightened mind in a way that was pithy and succinct that made his teaching so influential. His sayings and dialogues have been preserved in the Zen literature as timeless and potent manifestations of the enlightened experience. Included here are Joshu's sayings, dialogues, poems, records of his pilgrimages, as well as a short biography.
Five Lectures on Reincarnation
Five Lectures on Reincarnation "", has been considered a very important part of the human history, but is currently not available in printed formats. Hence so that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format so that it is never forgotten and always remembered by the present and future generations. These books are not made of scanned copies of their original work and hence the text is clear and readable. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed.
Look, Look, Look, Look, Look Again
"His writing is fresh and accessible, and so tender. As soon as I started reading it, I immediately started thinking of friends I'd like to give it to." -Judith L. Lief, editor of The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of DharmaA mad riot of interconnections: art, Buddhism, mandala principle, spiritual pursuits, growing up goth in the 90s, the theories of Marshall McLuhan, and a mongoose-to name but a few. Meditation teacher, filmmaker, writer, and art savant Kevin Townley turns his unique gaze upon 26 artists and magnifies the power and meaning of the five Buddhist wisdom energies through explorations of their work. Rather than trying to "explain" these energies, he reveals them to you in familiar visual language while, of course, pushing the boundaries of what you might have thought you saw at first glance. Townley leads you to, invites you in, and sometimes springs upon you, the perennial wisdom in the worlds of artists from Artemisia to Hilma af Klint to Marilyn Minter. Beautifully written and hilariously disarming, Look, Look, Look, Look, Look Again vibrates with lucid insight into society, history, and establishment, while teaching you a lot about meditation and Buddhism along the way. In exploring the practice, life, and work of these 26 artists (all of whom are women) through the lens of the five wisdom energies, you come away with a deeper understanding of yourself, the world, and the true dharma that transcends culture and religion-and a profound gratitude for anyone really willing to look. "Without a doubt, Townley is the Fran Lebowitz of Buddhist writing." -John Hodgman, host of the Judge John Hodgman Podcast"Kevin Townley demystifies that daunting link between art and spirituality while leaving room for the divine. By weaving artists' histories with his own, he makes the reader feel comfortable drawing connections between heady concepts and personal experience. Through a unique blend of compassion and curiosity, Kevin Townley has given readers a more intimate, spiritually-minded Ways of Seeing." -Tavi Gevinson, actor, writer, and founder of Rookie
Probing the Sutras
A compact summary like Probing the Sutras has been sorely needed for some time, as more and more Westerners have dipped into meditation without any understanding of its predominantly Buddhist scriptural underpinning. This concise, well-informed introduction to the history and contents of eleven seminal Buddhist sutras also provides suggestions for reflection, meditation, and practical applications related to the key teachings of each scripture. Readers of Probing the Sutras will be able to develop a framework for understanding Buddhist doctrines--and see the unique pearls of wisdom contained within each sutra.
Discovering Buddhism
Discovering Buddhism introduces Buddhism as a culture and civilization, a system of thought and a religion. This fascinating book presents the views and practices of all the main Buddhist traditions without bias and addresses the history of Buddhism, the key topics taught by the Buddha, and a selection of contemporary issues. It also includes critical assessments of the material, connecting traditional accounts with contemporary scholarship.The author makes each subject relevant and interesting so readers can engage in personal reflection and inquiry. This encounter with Buddhist ideas invites readers to question their outlook on life and can help make their views more aligned with reality.The book is written in a clear and accessible way for the non-specialist and provides up-to-date information for the teaching of Buddhism in schools complemented by the educational resources available on the Windows into Buddhism website. Authoritative and comprehensive, Discovering Buddhism is the go-to resource for anyone who is curious to know who the Buddha was, what he said, and why so many Westerners today find meaning in his teachings.
Untangled
This accessible guide for walking Buddhism's eightfold path is the perfect way to combat loneliness, disconnection, and depression-true happiness is not as unattainable as it may seem. Loneliness is on the rise, with detrimental effects on our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. How do we look past the surface, to discover a life filled with meaningful connection and genuine relationships? Untangled is a welcoming guidebook to finding expansive ease and true joy through the eightfold path-one of Buddhism's foundational teachings. Psychotherapist and Zen teacher Koshin Paley Ellison compassionately walks readers down these eight roads, leading them to discover true joy. Combining teachings from both Eastern and Western traditions, Paley Ellison equips readers with the tools needed to make profound change, inside and out. Infused with Paley Ellison's own anecdotes of his own life, this guide will help you transform your relationships and offers a path for social healing.
Teachings of the Mountain Hermit of Mandong on Refuge and Bodhichitta
This book contains two teachings, one on taking refuge in the Three Jewels and one on the development of bodhichitta or enlightenment mind. The teachings are translations of two texts from the Collected Works of the Hermit of Mandong. The hermit was a Kagyu master who lived in caves in the Mandong area of Tibet during the latter half of the 20th century, after the Communist Chinese invasion. He is not known to most Westerners but is quite famous amongst Tibetans these days. Why? Well, he was very learned and highly accomplished, but, over and above that, he was famous for his love and compassion for the very impoverished people of his area. In the darkness following the Chinese destruction of Tibet, he went out of his way to ensure that the poor and downtrodden people of his area not only received Buddhist teachings but received teachings from the heart that they really could understand and practice. The two teachings in this book are texts written specifically to assist those people and are very potent because of it. The compassion of the Hermit of Mandong comes through very clearly.The Hermit was a follower of the Kagyu lineage, a lineage that gained the complete Kadampa teachings on refuge and bodhicitta as taught by Atisha through the early Kagyu master Gampopa. The two teachings here come from that tradition. Because of the Hermit's ways explained above, the teachings are not dry expositions at all, but are very heartfelt and wonderful to read. Moreover, they contain many stories and quotes from the early Kadampa masters and from Kagyu masters such as Milarepa, Karmapa, and so on. What is really fascinating about both teachings is that they were given for a thoroughly traditional audience, so they talk about hell realms and so on in a traditional way. However, the teachings are intensely personal and practical, so they go from what could be teachings that many Westerners would not find relevant to being thought-provoking teachings on love and compassion. This feature on top of all the other features of the teachings makes this a very interesting book.Books like this tend to be overlooked these days because these days people are forgetting about refuge and bodhicitta and seeking only the hot topic of Dzogchen. Refuge and bodhicitta are indispensable for all according to the Buddha, and this little book brings those two teachings right to the fore in a very compelling way.The book contains translations of the following texts:1) From the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment: A small instruction on Taking Refuge called "The Great Entrance to the Excellent House of the Conqueror's Precious Teaching"2) From the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment: For Beginners in the Great Vehicle, The Method of Meditating on Compassion that References Sentient Beings called "An Ornament for the Minds of Young Conquerors' Sons"
The Chinese Liberal Spirit
Xu Fuguan (1903-1982) was one of the most important Confucian scholars of the twentieth century. A key figure in the Nationalist Party, Xu was involved in the Chinese civil war after World War II and in the early years of the Nationalist government in Taiwan. He never ceased to believe that democracy was the way forward for the Chinese nation. Making his ethical and political thought accessible to English-speaking readers for the first time, these essays analyze the source of morality and how morality must be realized in democratic government; they also provide a sharp contrast to the claim that democracy is not suitable for China--or that Confucian government should be meritocracy, not democracy. They also share the reflections of a man who lived through the Chinese revolution and remained strongly critical of the governments in both the People's Republic of China and Taiwan.
Buddhish
An engaging, accessible introduction to Buddhism for those who are looking to explore a new spiritual tradition or understand the roots of their mindfulness practice. Are you curious about Buddhism but find yourself met with scholarly texts or high-minded moralizing every time you try to pick up a book about it? Well, if so, relax. This is no ordinary introduction to Buddhism; there are none of the saccharine platitudes and dense pontification that you may have come to expect. Buddhish is a readable introduction for complete newcomers that provides an objective, streamlined overview of the tradition--from unpacking the Four Noble Truths to understanding what "nirvana" actually means. For those who have already dipped their toes into the tradition through the practice of mindfulness or meditation, this guide will help you create a more well-rounded and informed experience by delving into the history of the Buddhist traditions that shape a mindful practice. Buddhist scholar Dr. Pierce Salguero analyzes the ideas and philosophy of the complex tradition through the eyes of both a critic and an admirer. He shares anecdotes from his time at a Thai monastery, stories from the years he spent living throughout Asia, and other personal experiences that have shaped his study of Buddhism. Through this guide, readers will have the opportunity to develop an approach to practice that is not quite Buddhist but Buddhish. Through engaging and lighthearted stories, Dr. Salguero breaks down 20 central principles of the tradition, including: - Awakening - Suffering - Doubt - Karma - Buddha Nature
Probing the Sutras
A compact summary like Probing the Sutras has been sorely needed for some time, as more and more Westerners have dipped into meditation without any understanding of its predominantly Buddhist scriptural underpinning. This concise, well-informed introduction to the history and contents of eleven seminal Buddhist sutras also provides suggestions for reflection, meditation, and practical applications related to the key teachings of each scripture. Readers of Probing the Sutras will be able to develop a framework for understanding Buddhist doctrines--and see the unique pearls of wisdom contained within each sutra.
The Six Lamps
This precious set of teachings was translated by Geshe Sonam Gurung & Daniel P. Brown, Ph.D. under the Guidance of H.H. the 33rd Menri Trizin for the Pointing Out the Great Way Foundation. The Six Lamps is one of the main Bon by-passing Great Completion practice manuals from the Oral Transmission lineage. The root text contains pith instructions for pointing out the step-by-step then combined practice of the four primary lamps: (1) the lamp of the universal ground; (2) the lamp of the fleshy heart to enhance direct recognition of awakened awareness; (3) the lamp of the soft white channel, to connect the flow of primordial wisdom from the heart to the eyes; and (4) the lamp of the extensive lasso of the fluid eyes, to set up the direct manifestation of the levels of by-passing visions initially on the surface of the fluid eye lamps at the boundary of the eyebrow fence. The fifth lamp unpacks the levels of visions in greater detail. The sixth lamp addresses comparable vision to be recognized in the dying process and after-death states. The root text also contains more advanced set of "close-to-heart" pith instructions using a series of metaphors to illustrate the meditative experiences and realizations at a more refined level. The two explanatory commentaries explain the main essential points of the root text. The two practice commentaries give different perspective on the actual practice.
Singing and Dancing Are the Voice of the Law
"This is one of the best books on Zen and Zen practice that I have read in years. Busshō uses a well-known Zen song/poem to elucidate the key features of Zen meditation, practice and life....It brings the famous Zen master's teaching alive while also showing how it is relevant to Zen practice in the 21st century." -Tim Burkett, author of Nothing Holy About It and Zen in the Age of AnxietyForeword Book of the Year Finalist (Nonfiction: Religion)Singing and Dancing Are the Voice of the Law introduces us to one of the great works of Zen literature, "The Song of Zazen." Zen teacher Busshō Lahn illuminates Hakuin's enigmatic poem in plain language, unpacking it and applying it to contemporary life. His book offers a wealth of information on the context and content of this eighteenth-century work, clearly evoking its themes of abiding wisdom, meditation, compassionate self-regard, and our own everyday life's potential to express deep spiritual truth.Short stanza by short stanza, this exceptionally readable and deeply engaging book shows how the poem's teachings and invitations are as applicable now as they were when they were first written nearly three centuries ago. Lahn offers readers an intuitive and progressive path of exploration of their spiritual lives, regardless of their faith tradition.
Me first!
According to Buddhism it is helpful to follow a path because of the universal tendency to get lost. However when a teacher explains the path to us we need to make sure that we understand properly what we are being taught and how to put it into practice. This illustrated book tells the story of a student's misunderstanding that fed into his overweening ambition and many disasters that ensued on an epic and cosmic scale. Me First! is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist account of how a teacher's liberating instructions on the path to freedom were misunderstood by one of his disciples. The proud young student called Masterful goes to a Buddhist teacher called Resolute who points out to him that since his mind is always and already intrinsically free, there is therefore no need for him to involve himself in meditations and other practices to improve what is already perfect. Masterful, however, hears this as a permission to be uncontrolled and do whatever he likes. Instead of awakening to the simple purity of his own awareness he feeds his egotistical ambition and sets out to take whatever he wants without limit, exploiting others without any concern for their capacity and welfare. This leads to universal devastation until finally the accumulated negative karma leads to Masterful manifesting as a demon, and known as Rudra. In this form he creates havoc until after many outrages the peaceful Buddhas gather together and decide that they need to adopt a new tactic. Manifesting their powerful controlling energy, all the Buddhas transform the teacher Resolute into an all-conquering force of virtue. After many intense adventures the demonic force of Masterful is bound into the service of the true path of freedom, cleansed of his bad karma and bound into the service of the dharma, with the new name, Mahakala, Great Black One. The people return in peace to the land. This story points to the dangers of unconstrained power and the associated temptation to follow the path of dictatorship. It highlights how important is the creative collaboration among the forces of good in order to constrain the power of delinquent self-assertion.The illustrations bring the key points of this story to dramatic life and invite the reader to share in the excitements of this heroic engagement.The text is based on the Padma bKa'-Thang by Padmasambhava which was revealed by the terton, Urgyen gLing-Pa.For James Low's full translation of the original Tibetan text see Facet 4 (Getting Lost Invites Trouble), in This is it: revealing the great completion. James Low. (Simply Being, UK, 2020) ISBN: 978-0956923974.
The Twenty-One Nails
The Twenty One Nails is the companion teaching to the Six Lamps. It is designed to "nail" the realizations of twenty one perspectives on the natural state, such as cutting through delusion and purifying mistakes of practice; establishing the path of dharmadhatu exhaustion; recognizing awakened awareness, the universal ground, the three-fold embodiment of enlightenment, the pure realms of the sacred mandala as right here, and the five primordial wisdoms; and developing the full measure of stable enlightenment. The translation includes the root text teachings transmitted from Tapihritsa to Gyerpung Nangzher Lodpo, as well as a detailed explanatory auto-commentary by Gyerpung Nangzher Lodpo.
Quantum Path to Enlightenment
Researches inspired by the quantum Buddhist psycho-metaphysics of Michael Mensky.
Human Nature and Human Development
The Title 'Human Nature and Human Development: A Philosophical Quest written by Maithreyi Krishnaraj' was published in the year 2017. The ISBN number 9789351282228 is assigned to the Hardcover version of this title. This book has total of pp. 180 (Pages). The publisher of this title is Kalpaz Publications. This Book is in English. The subject of this book is Buddhism / Psychology / Human Development, ABOUT THE BOOK: - The book looks at different perspectives by different disciplines like Biology
Sweet simplicity
The brief and beautiful Buddhist texts in this book point towards the inexpressible sweet simplicity of our own minds. This simplicity is usually obscured by the complexity of our reified experience and the conceptual elaboration we employ to try to work out who we are and what our life is for.The doha songs offered here are not fuel for intellectual analysis. Rather they offer us gentle encouragement to turn towards our own minds as the ungraspable simplicity of the ever-present ground.The dohas here arose from the minds of enlightened yogis in Eastern India during the 8th -10th centuries. The collection is referred to as the Asta Doha Kosa in Sanskrit, Do-Ha mDzod brGyad in Tibetan. The collection is supplemented by the famous Mahamudra Aspiration prayer, also known as the Chagchen Monlam (Phyag-Chen sMon-Lam in Tibetan), written by the third Karmapa. The introduction and translation from Tibetan is by James Low
In the Forest of the Blind
The Record of Buddhist Kingdoms is a classic travelogue that records the Chinese monk Faxian's journey in the early fifth century CE to Buddhist sites in Central and South Asia in search of sacred texts. In the nineteenth century, it traveled west to France, becoming in translation the first scholarly book about "Buddhist Asia," a recent invention of Europe. This text fascinated European academic Orientalists and was avidly studied by Hegel, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche. The book went on to make a return journey east: it was reintroduced to Inner Asia in an 1850s translation into Mongolian, after which it was rendered into Tibetan in 1917. Amid decades of upheaval, the text was read and reinterpreted by Siberian, Mongolian, and Tibetan scholars and Buddhist monks. Matthew W. King offers a groundbreaking account of the transnational literary, social, and political history of the circulation, translation, and interpretation of Faxian's Record. He reads its many journeys at multiple levels, contrasting the textual and interpretative traditions of the European academy and the Inner Asian monastery. King shows how the text provided Inner Asian readers with new historical resources to make sense of their histories as well as their own times, in the process developing an Asian historiography independently of Western influence. Reconstructing this circulatory history and featuring annotated translations, In the Forest of the Blind models decolonizing methods and approaches for Buddhist studies and Asian humanities.
Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition
Finalist, Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion, Constructive-Reflective Studies, given by the American Academy of ReligionExplores how Black Buddhist Teachers and Practitioners interpret Western Buddhism in unique spiritual and communal ways In Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition, Rima Vesely-Flad examines the distinctive features of Black-identifying Buddhist practitioners, arguing that Black Buddhists interpret Buddhist teachings in ways that are congruent with Black radical thought. Indeed, the volume makes the case that given their experiences with racism--both in the larger society and also within largely white-oriented Buddhist organizations--Black cultural frameworks are necessary for illuminating the Buddha's wisdom. Drawing on interviews with forty Black Buddhist teachers and practitioners, Vesely-Flad argues that Buddhist teachings, through their focus on healing intergenerational trauma, provide a vitally important foundation for achieving Black liberation. She shows that Buddhist teachings as practiced by Black Americans emphasize different aspects of the religion than do those in white convert Buddhist communities, focusing more on devotional practices to ancestors and community uplift. The book includes discussions of the Black Power movement, the Black feminist movement, and the Black prophetic tradition. It also offers a nuanced discussion of how the Black body, which has historically been reviled, is claimed as a vehicle for liberation. In so doing, the book explores how the experiences of non-binary, gender non-conforming, and transgender practitioners of African descent are validated within the tradition. The book also uplifts the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer Black Buddhists. This unique volume shows the importance of Black Buddhist teachers' insights into Buddhist wisdom, and how they align Buddhism with Black radical teachings, helping to pull Buddhism away from dominant white cultural norms.
Zen Encounters
With regard to publishing and many other things, Dr. Richard DeMartino (1922-2013)-a protagonist of the introduction of Zen Buddhism to the West-adhered to the old Roman motto: "Non multa sed multum" what counts is not quantity but quality. Instead of churning out reams of papers and books, he kept revising and fine-tuning seminal essays such as "The Human Situation and Zen Buddhism," first published in Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis of 1960 (co-authored with D.T. Suzuki and Erich Fromm). The present volume contains DeMartino's ultimate version of that essay, chiseled for decades, along with an essay on "Zen Communication" whose final typescript was equally teeming with handwritten corrections and thoughtful emendations. Included are also essays about and conversations with some of the 20th century's greatest Zen teachers and thinkers: a hitherto unpublished exchange with Daisetz T. Suzuki ("D.T. Suzuki, Oriental Thought, and the West"); accounts of DeMartino's first meetings with D.T. Suzuki and with Shin'ichi Hisamatsu; and essays on the "Thought of Nishitani Keiji" and "The Zen Roots of Masao Abe's Thought". His discussion with Prof. Ken Kramer (San Jos矇 State University) about "self-emptying" is a unique contribution to Buddhist thought and to Christian-Buddhist dialogue.This is a companion volume to Dr. DeMartino's Human Nature and Zen (ISBN 978-3-906000-17-6). Richard DeMartino (1922-2013), Zen practitioner and thinker, was a long-time student of D.T. Suzuki, Shin'ichi Hisamatsu, Paul Tillich, and Reinhold Niebuhr. As senior associate professor of religion at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA.), he instructed and inspired hundreds of students as well as auditors from all walks of life.
The Missing Buddhas
In the early 1900s, as chaos reigned in China, a group of life-size glazed terracotta Buddhist monks started appearing on the antiques market and caused a sensation in the West, being both exquisite and completely unlike anything else ever seen in Chinese art. Museums and collectors around the world competed for them, but who made them and when? And where had they been hidden before they suddenly emerged into the light? The Missing "Buddhas" tells the story of these statues and unravels the question of their origins. For the past century, scholars, curators and connoisseurs have seemed mesmerized by the myth created by a German dealer that the monks were hidden in inaccessible caves southwest of Beijing to save them from barbarian invaders. But Tony Miller takes a scalpel to this tall tale and both debunks the myth and discovers their true history. In doing so, he opens a window on a fascinating period in Chinese history and introduces an extraordinary cast of characters as he leads the reader clue by clue to the real origins of these beautiful enigmas.
The Dhammapada
The wisdom of the Enlightened One is herein collected as a personal guide for the spiritual seeker. These wise aphorisms will guide the wandering spirit along the primrose path between the illusion of material existence, and the liberated spiritual state of Nirvana. A timeless classic is presented here in a small, affordable, and easily portable volume. Published by Zem Books.
Building Bridges Between Chan Buddhism and Confucianism
In Building Bridges between Chan Buddhism and Confucianism, Diana Arghirescu explores the close connections between Buddhism and Confucianism during China's Song period (960-1279). Drawing on In Essays on Assisting the Teaching written by Chan monk-scholar Qisong (1007-1072), Arghirescu examines the influences between the two traditions. In his writings, Qisong made the first substantial efforts to compare the major dimensions of Confucian and Chan Buddhist thought from a philosophical view, seeking to establish a meaningful and influential intellectual and ethical bridge between them.Arghirescu meticulously reveals a "Confucianized" dimension of Qisong's thought, showing how he revisited and reinterpreted Confucian terminology in his special form of Chan aimed at his contemporary Confucian readers and auditors "who do not know Buddhism." Qisong's form of eleventh-century Chan, she argues, is unique in its cohesive or nondual perspective on Chinese Buddhist, Confucian, and other philosophical traditions, which considers all of them to be interdependent and to share a common root.Building Bridges between Chan Buddhism and Confucianism is the first book to identify, examine, and expand on a series of Confucian concepts and virtues that were specifically identified and discussed from a Buddhist perspective by a historical Buddhist writer. It represents a major contribution in the comparative understanding of both traditions.
Building Bridges Between Chan Buddhism and Confucianism
In Building Bridges between Chan Buddhism and Confucianism, Diana Arghirescu explores the close connections between Buddhism and Confucianism during China's Song period (960-1279). Drawing on In Essays on Assisting the Teaching written by Chan monk-scholar Qisong (1007-1072), Arghirescu examines the influences between the two traditions. In his writings, Qisong made the first substantial efforts to compare the major dimensions of Confucian and Chan Buddhist thought from a philosophical view, seeking to establish a meaningful and influential intellectual and ethical bridge between them.Arghirescu meticulously reveals a "Confucianized" dimension of Qisong's thought, showing how he revisited and reinterpreted Confucian terminology in his special form of Chan aimed at his contemporary Confucian readers and auditors "who do not know Buddhism." Qisong's form of eleventh-century Chan, she argues, is unique in its cohesive or nondual perspective on Chinese Buddhist, Confucian, and other philosophical traditions, which considers all of them to be interdependent and to share a common root.Building Bridges between Chan Buddhism and Confucianism is the first book to identify, examine, and expand on a series of Confucian concepts and virtues that were specifically identified and discussed from a Buddhist perspective by a historical Buddhist writer. It represents a major contribution in the comparative understanding of both traditions.
The Routledge Handbook of Indian Buddhist Philosophy
An outstanding reference source to the principal philosophers in the Buddhist traditions. Essential reading for students and researchers in Eastern and comparative philosophy, and also of interest to those studying Buddhism in religious studies and related subjects.
Zen Roots
9 translations of Zen Buddhist sutras and sacred texts from the first 1,000 years of Zen--presented in a travel-friendly package for on-the-go reading or contemplation! Dating from the middle of the second century B.C. to the middle of the ninth century A.D., Zen Roots includes: - The Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, and Platform Sutra- Selections from the Vimalakirti and Lankavatara sutras- Bodhidharma's Principles & Practice- Sengcan's Trusting the Mind- Yongjia's Song of Enlightenment- Huangbo's Transmission of the Mind These translations are accompanied by introductions and enough notes to explain what needs explaining but not so many as to get in the way. Zen Roots is the perfect companion for travel, to accompany one to the higher elevations, or just to read in the backyard.
Buddha life and few important stories
This book contains life changing events in buddha's life, deep and meaningful stories that lead to evolution in field of meditation . This books answers all the important aspects of buddha's life his meditation discoveries and his life as a student, teacher, son and husband . This book is made short on length on purpose so that all his work remains to the point . i have described buddha as a spiritual leader then just a character.
Counsels from My Heart
In this collection of discourses given by the revered Buddhist master Dudjom Rinpoche, readers are invited to explore the rich tapestry of the Nyingma teachings. The book outlines the origins and significance of these ancient teachings, tracing their lineage from the great Indian scholars who brought the Dharma to Tibet. It highlights the resilience of the Nyingma tradition, which survived persecution and thrived through the dedication of lay practitioners and tert繹ns. Through Dudjom Rinpoche's personal reflections and teachings, the text offers a window into the profound wisdom of the Vajrayana path. Readers will gain invaluable insight on the core principles of Buddhism, such as the cultivation of bodhichitta, the importance of maintaining pure samaya, and the transformative power of recognizing one's Buddha-nature. The book emphasizes the preciousness of human existence and the urgency of diligent Dharma practice, providing guidance on navigating the six bardos and the path to enlightenment. It serves as a reminder of the potential for spiritual awakening within each of us. Counsels from My Heart is a rare opportunity to engage with the authentic Buddhadharma through the eyes of a master dedicated to preserving and propagating these precious teachings. Whether you are a seasoned practitioner or new to the path, this narrative offers a blend of historical context, personal anecdotes, and spiritual guidance that will enrich your understanding and inspire your practice.
Roaming Free Like a Deer
By exploring lived ecological experiences across seven Buddhist worlds from ancient India to the contemporary West, Roaming Free Like a Deer provides a comprehensive, critical, and innovative examination of the theories, practices, and real-world results of Buddhist environmental ethics. Daniel Capper clarifies crucial contours of Buddhist vegetarianism or meat eating, nature mysticism, and cultural speculations about spirituality in nonhuman animals. Buddhist environmental ethics often are touted as useful weapons in the fight against climate change. However, two formidable but often overlooked problems with this perspective exist. First, much of the literature on Buddhist environmental ethics uncritically embraces Buddhist ideals without examining the real-world impacts of those ideals, thereby sometimes ignoring difficulties in terms of practical applications. Moreover, for some understandable but still troublesome reasons, Buddhists from different schools follow their own environmental ideals without conversing with other Buddhists, thereby minimizing the abilities of Buddhists to act in concert on issues such as climate change that demand coordinated large-scale human responses. With its accessible style and personhood ethics orientation, Roaming Free Like a Deer should appeal to anyone who is concerned with how human beings interact with the nonhuman environment.
Buddhism and Its Religious Others
Throughout its history, Buddhism has developed alongside other traditions of religious belief and practice. Forms of Buddhism have in every era, region, and culture been confronted by rival systems that challenged its teachings about the world, how to behave in it, and liberation from it. This volume collects studies of Buddhist literature and art that represent the religious other to their audiences. Contributing authors examine how Buddhists in India, China, and elsewhere across Asia have understood their place in shared religious landscapes, and how they have responded to the presence and influence in the world of traditions other to their own. The studies in this volume consider a variety of 'others' that Buddhists of different times and situations have encountered, and the variety of mechanisms that Buddhists have employed to make sense of them. Chapters of this volume explore the range of attitudes that Buddhists have expressed with respect to other religions, how they have either accommodated the other within their worldview, or pronounced the redundancy of their ideas and activities. These chapters illuminate how over the centuries Buddhists have used and reused stories, symbols, and other strategies to explain religious others and their value, in which every representation of the other is always also a comment on the character and status of Buddhism itself.
Roaming Free Like a Deer
By exploring lived ecological experiences across seven Buddhist worlds from ancient India to the contemporary West, Roaming Free Like a Deer provides a comprehensive, critical, and innovative examination of the theories, practices, and real-world results of Buddhist environmental ethics. Daniel Capper clarifies crucial contours of Buddhist vegetarianism or meat eating, nature mysticism, and cultural speculations about spirituality in nonhuman animals. Buddhist environmental ethics often are touted as useful weapons in the fight against climate change. However, two formidable but often overlooked problems with this perspective exist. First, much of the literature on Buddhist environmental ethics uncritically embraces Buddhist ideals without examining the real-world impacts of those ideals, thereby sometimes ignoring difficulties in terms of practical applications. Moreover, for some understandable but still troublesome reasons, Buddhists from different schools follow their own environmental ideals without conversing with other Buddhists, thereby minimizing the abilities of Buddhists to act in concert on issues such as climate change that demand coordinated large-scale human responses. With its accessible style and personhood ethics orientation, Roaming Free Like a Deer should appeal to anyone who is concerned with how human beings interact with the nonhuman environment.
The Power of Mantra
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the respected and beloved cofounder of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, offers us a significant book that is both a beautiful tool for experienced practitioners and a how-to for beginners. Revitalize your practice with the potent energy of mantra. In this book, beloved teacher Lama Zopa Rinpoche guides us through the most popular mantras in Tibetan Buddhism: Shakyamuni Buddha, Chenrezig, Manjushri, Tara, Medicine Buddha, Vajrasattva, and more. A mantra--literally "that which protects the mind"--is a series of Sanskrit syllables that evoke the energy of a particular buddha or bodhisattva. It works as a sacred sound that brings blessings to ourself and others, and as a tool to transform our mind into one that is more compassionate and wise. In clear and succinct teachings, Lama Zopa shows us why we need different mantras and how each mantra works. He also explains their importance and power, giving specific instructions for practicing them. The exquisite, full-color illustrations of the deities that accompany the text make this book a beautiful guide, one suitable for both beginners and experienced practitioners.
The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom
Some 2000 years ago Buddhism experienced a major reformation through a movement called the Mahayana, or "Great Vehicle," which dominated religious through in much of Asia for many centuries and still exerts considerable influence. The basic Mahayana texts, sermons ascribed to the Buddha and called "sutras" in Sanskrit, discussed the "perfect wisdom." The "Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom" took shape between 50 and 2000 A.D. in southern India during one of the most momentous outbursts of religious creativity in human history.
