A Partial Enlightenment
In many ways, Buddhism has become the global religion of the modern world. For its contemporary followers, the ideal of enlightenment promises inner peace and worldly harmony. And whereas other philosophies feel abstract and disembodied, Buddhism offers meditation as a means to realize this ideal. If we could all be as enlightened as Buddhists, some imagine, we could live in a much better world. For some time now, however, this beatific image of Buddhism has been under attack. Scholars and practitioners have criticized it as a Western fantasy that has nothing to do with the actual experiences of Buddhists. Avram Alpert combines personal experience and readings of modern novels to offer another way to understand modern Buddhism. He argues that it represents a rich resource not for attaining perfection but rather for finding meaning and purpose in a chaotic world. Finding unexpected affinities across world literature--Rudyard Kipling in colonial India, Yukio Mishima in postwar Japan, Bessie Head escaping apartheid South Africa--as well as in his own experiences living with Tibetan exiles, Alpert shows how these stories illuminate a world in which suffering is inevitable and total enlightenment is impossible. Yet they also give us access to partial enlightenments: powerful insights that become available when we come to terms with imperfection and stop looking for wholeness. A Partial Enlightenment reveals the moments of personal and social transformation that the inventions of modern Buddhism help make possible.
Tibetan Sound Healing
"It is my sincere desire that this simple and elegant practice of the Five Warrior Syllables, which is based on the highest teachings of the Tibetan B繹n Buddhist tradition of which I am a lineage holder, will benefit many beings in the West. Please receive it with my blessing, and bring it into your life. Let it support you to become kind and strong and clear and awake."--Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche One of the world's oldest unbroken spiritual traditions is the B繹n Buddhist tradition of Tibet. This wisdom path has survived, thanks to the efforts of a handful of dedicated lamas such as B繹n lineage holder Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Now, with Tibetan Sound Healing, you can connect to the ancient sacred sounds of the B繹n practice--and through them, activate the healing potential of your natural mind. The B繹n healing tradition invokes the Five Warrior Syllables--"seed" sounds that bring us to the essential nature of mind and release the boundless creativity and positive qualities that are fundamental to it. Through the medicine of sound, you can clear obstacles in your body, your energy and emotions, and the subtle sacred dimensions of your being. In this integrated program, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche gives you the tools to access wisdom and compassion and use the vibration of sacred sound to cultivate the healing power within your body's subtle channels. The spiritual heritage of the B繹n is rich with methods to guide all beings on the path to liberation. With Tibetan Sound Healing, you are invited to learn from a master of this ancient lineage--and discover the power of sacred sound to purify your body, connect with your inherent perfection and completeness, and awaken spiritual virtue.
Das Universum millionenfach in mir
"Die innere Reise ist ein Experiment. Eine Reise, die den Mut braucht, seinen eigenen Weg zu achten und zu verfolgen. Die aber gleichzeitig angebotene Unterst羹tzung annimmt und einfordert. Eine Reise ohne Rezept und ohne die M繹glichkeit Erfahrungen zu wiederholen." Anna Berg l瓣dt Sie ein, sie auf ihrem Weg der Stille zu begleiten und Sie auf Ihrem Weg der Stille zu begleiten. ?ber zehn Jahre hinweg nimmt sie an unz瓣hligen Schweigeseminaren verschiedenster Art teil. Sie liegt mit Good Dharma in leeren Getreidespeichern, sitzt eisern bei Vipassana-Kursen, genie?t die Stille des neuseel瓣ndischen Busches, schweigt vier Monate am St羹ck und trifft auf unz瓣hlige Lehrmeister der Meditation. Tauche ein in die pers繹nlichen Lernerfahrungen einer inspirierenden Pers繹nlichkeit, die ehrlich von den H繹hen und Tiefen der Auseinandersetzung mit sich selbst und vielen anderen wundersamen Erlebnissen spricht.
Mahasatipatthana Sutta
This sutta is the primary discourse in which the Buddha describes the practice of meditation in detail. This translation of the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta has Roman-script Pāli with an English translation on facing pages as well as an introductory article and detailed footnotes explaining Pali terms and phrases. This highly significant text will be of interest to any serious student of meditation or of the Buddha's teaching.
Carpooling With Death
Has anyone in your inner circle died?Do you dread the day when a loved one will inevitably leave you behind?Are you afraid to bear the pain of losing a family member?Worried that you are not resilient enough to keep peace and joy in your life?Do you want to make the most of the time you still have together without any regrets? I've been there and it can feel overwhelming. There came a point in my life where I began to realize that the people I loved were going to start dying. My mother-in-law was in her nineties, my parents were approaching their eighties, and my husband had already outlived his father. I had already said goodbye to others. How could I handle losing the people who I loved the most? I started to think that death was stalking me. But as I learned to accept that the Grim Reaper was just doing his job, I began to accept him as part of my network. I found a way to make friends with death. As my loved ones started to die, I knew that death is nothing personal and I opened my heart to death. So can you. Carpooling with Death covers my journey to accept death as a part of life, the guidance I found through my Buddhist practice and the clarity I gained in understanding where to find support and how to recreate my new life. In this book you will: Learn to acknowledge death as a partner who makes life more poignant.Discover how to build happy memories in the face of death.Learn how to use the key teachings of the Buddha to manage your grief.Discover how other peoples attitudes about death impact their ability to support you in your time of need. This book is like having a best friend who knows the ropes, and is willing to share everything with you, so that you too will emerge from your time with death, stronger, wiser and fearless.
Core Texts of the S&on Approach
Jeffrey L. Broughton here offers a study and partial translation of Core Texts of the Sŏn Approach (Sŏnmun ch'waryo), an anthology of texts foundational to Korean Sŏn (Chan/Zen) Buddhism. Core Texts of the Sŏn Approach provides a convenient entr矇e to two fundamental themes of Korean Sŏn: Sŏn vis-?-vis the doctrinal teachings of Buddhism (in which Sŏn is shown to be superior) and the huatou (i.e., phrase; Korean hwadu) method of practice-work originally popularized by the Song dynasty Chinese Chan master Dahui Zonggao. This method consists of "raising to awareness" or "keeping an eye on" the phrase, usually No (Korean mu). No mental operation whatsoever is to be performed upon the phrase. One lifts the phrase to awareness constantly, when doing "quiet" cross-legged sitting as well as when immersed in the "noisiness" of everyday life. Core Texts of the Sŏn Approach, which was published in Korea during the first decade of the twentieth century (the identity of the compiler is not known for certain), contains eight Chan texts by Chinese authors (two translated here) and seven Sŏn texts by Korean authors (three translated here), showing the organic relationship between the parent Chinese tradition and its Korean inheritor. The set of translations in this volume will give readers access to some of the key texts of the Korean branch of this influential East Asian school of Buddhism.
Buddhism for Beginners
For those searching for mindful moments or for a more engaged way of navigating life in the twenty-first century, Buddhism for Beginners opens the door to understanding Buddhism's key concepts and practices. The authors tap into their years of training and study in meditation, martial arts and Eastern philosophy to bring readers a comprehensive introduction to the spiritual tenets and attainments that mark the pathway to enlightenment. In this new hardcover edition, the authors explain in clear and simple terms: The history of BuddhismThe key themes and belief systems (the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, Mahayana, nirvana and more)Ways of integrating Buddhist principles and philosophy into the everydayThe organizing notions and overarching thesis of Buddhism: to live fully aware in the moment, to see things as they truly are, and to recognize yourself as part of the wholeBuddhism's relevance todayBuddhism for Beginners then completes this introduction to meditation and mindful moments by offering simple exercises, practices and prompts reflective and supportive of the Buddhist teachings and tenets laid out in the volume, including filling- and clearing-the-mind meditations, performing acts of compassion and inner-peace and conflict-resolution exercises. An essential purchase for people looking to integrate Buddhist principles into their lives or for those seeking a more meaningful, mindful or meditative path.
Buddhism and the Coronavirus
This book examines the early teachings of Buddhism associated with the life of the Buddha, Siddhatta Gotama. In these teachings, the Buddha put forward his famous Four Noble Truths concerning the nature of suffering, its causes, the Truth that it can be overcome, and a pathway to end suffering. The suffering experienced in the contemporary coronavirus pandemic may seem to be very distant from the Buddhas message delivered over two thousand years ago, but the teaching of the Four Noble Truths is as relevant today as it was all that time ago. So this book melds the two, occasionally with discrete treatment of past and present but ever cognizant of the ways in which the teachings of the past inform the present crisis. To understand coronaviruses, the book examines the nature of viruses, their origins, causes and the ways in which they are both friends and enemies of humankind. Importantly and crucially, the book investigates how far humanity itself is the cause of its own suffering in the pandemics that arise no less in the coronaviruses that have emerged in the twenty-first century. Chapters include: The Buddha; Viruses: Friends and Enemies; The Noble Truth of Suffering; The Second Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering; The Third Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering; The Fourth Noble Truth: The Noble Eightfold Path; The Noble Eightfold Path: Mindfulness and Concentration; The Brahma-vihara: Love: Compassion: Sympathetic Joy: Equanimity.
The Renewal of Buddhism in China
First published in 1981, The Renewal of Buddhism in China broke new ground in the study of Chinese Buddhism. An interdisciplinary study of a Buddhist master and reformer in late Ming China, it challenged the conventional view that Buddhism had reached its height under the Tang dynasty (618-907) and steadily declined afterward. Ch羹n-fang Y羹 details how in sixteenth-century China, Buddhism entered a period of revitalization due in large part to a cohort of innovative monks who sought to transcend sectarian rivalries and doctrinal specialization. She examines the life, work, and teaching of one of the most important of these monks, Zhuhong (1535-1615), a charismatic teacher of lay Buddhists and a successful reformer of monastic Buddhism. Zhuhong's contributions demonstrate that the late Ming was one of the most creative periods in Chinese intellectual and religious history. Weaving together diverse sources--scriptures, dynastic history, Buddhist chronicles, monks' biographies, letters, ritual manuals, legal codes, and literature--Y羹 grounds Buddhism in the reality of Ming society, highlighting distinctive lay Buddhist practices to provide a vivid portrait of lived religion. Since the book was published four decades ago, many have written on the diversity of Buddhist beliefs and practices in the centuries before and after Zhuhong's time, yet The Renewal of Buddhism in China remains a crucial touchstone for all scholarship on post-Tang Buddhism. This fortieth anniversary edition features updated transliteration, a foreword by Daniel B. Stevenson, and an updated introduction by the author speaking to the ongoing relevance of this classic work.
The Renewal of Buddhism in China
First published in 1981, The Renewal of Buddhism in China broke new ground in the study of Chinese Buddhism. An interdisciplinary study of a Buddhist master and reformer in late Ming China, it challenged the conventional view that Buddhism had reached its height under the Tang dynasty (618-907) and steadily declined afterward. Ch羹n-fang Y羹 details how in sixteenth-century China, Buddhism entered a period of revitalization due in large part to a cohort of innovative monks who sought to transcend sectarian rivalries and doctrinal specialization. She examines the life, work, and teaching of one of the most important of these monks, Zhuhong (1535-1615), a charismatic teacher of lay Buddhists and a successful reformer of monastic Buddhism. Zhuhong's contributions demonstrate that the late Ming was one of the most creative periods in Chinese intellectual and religious history. Weaving together diverse sources--scriptures, dynastic history, Buddhist chronicles, monks' biographies, letters, ritual manuals, legal codes, and literature--Y羹 grounds Buddhism in the reality of Ming society, highlighting distinctive lay Buddhist practices to provide a vivid portrait of lived religion. Since the book was published four decades ago, many have written on the diversity of Buddhist beliefs and practices in the centuries before and after Zhuhong's time, yet The Renewal of Buddhism in China remains a crucial touchstone for all scholarship on post-Tang Buddhism. This fortieth anniversary edition features updated transliteration, a foreword by Daniel B. Stevenson, and an updated introduction by the author speaking to the ongoing relevance of this classic work.
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.
A Christian Exploration of Women’s Bodies and Rebirth in Shin Buddhism
This book explores challenging doctrines dealing with women's bodies and rebirth in Shin Buddhism, and relates those teachings to similar concerns around women's bodies in Christianity.
Der Buddhismus Und Die Menschen
Religionen haben ihre historischen Urspr羹nge, sie entstehen in bestimmten Epochen zum Wohle der Menschen und bewahren daher auch viel von dem Gepr瓣ge ihrer Entstehungszeit 羹ber die Zeit. Aber nur Religionen, welche den grundlegenden Bed羹rfnissen des Menschen hinreichend gerecht werden, und deshalb auch die geistige und sittliche Entwicklung der Menschheit f繹rdern, behaupten sich l瓣nger als andere provinzielle Religionen, denen diese Tugenden fehlen. Der Buddhismus gleicht einem Welt-Baum, dessen Wurzeln sich in Indien vor mehr als 2500 Jahren eingegraben haben und dessen ?ste und Fr羹chte heute in die ganze Welt hinausgewachsen sind. Schon dieser Missionserfolg spricht f羹r seine Wahrheit und seine Vereinbarkeit mit der Wissenschaft, denn diese enorme Verbreitung der Lehre w瓣re im Widerspruch mit der menschlichen Vernunft nicht m繹glich gewesen.Th穩ch Như Điển
Phật gi獺o Việt Nam tại ch璽u ?u
Trong những năm vừa qua, t繫i đ瓊 viết c獺c t獺c phẩm về nước Nhật, nước ?c, Hoa Kỳ v? nay t繫i viết về ?u Ch璽u. V穫 nơi đ籀 t繫i đ瓊 được dưỡng nu繫i h穫nh h?i v? t璽m thức n?y suốt trong thời gian hơn 42 năm qua (1977-2018) th穫 kh繫ng l羸 do g穫 m? t繫i kh繫ng ghi lại bằng chữ nghĩa qua những tấm đạo t穫nh của chư Tăng Ni cũng như Phật tử người Việt cũng như người Đức đ瓊 bảo bọc t繫i suốt chừng ấy thời gian. Quả l? điều kh繫ng thể khước từ được. Mặc dầu kh繫ng ai giao cho t繫i một tr獺ch nhiệm như thế, nhưng t繫i tự giao cho m穫nh v? từ đ籀 ph獺t nguyện dấn th璽n. C獺ch đ璽y mấy năm t繫i cũng đ瓊 viết quyển "Cảm tạ xứ Đức" bằng tiếng Việt v? sau đ籀 được dịch ra Đức ngữ, nhưng nội dung của s獺ch n?y cũng chỉ hướng về nước Đức, chưa n籀i rộng ra khắp ?u Ch璽u được v? nay ch穩nh l? l繳c đ繳ng thời để viết lại những g穫 đ瓊 xảy ra tại ?u Ch璽u n?y với Phật gi獺o Việt Nam qua gần nửa thế kỷ.Viết k羸 sự kh繫ng nhất thiết như viết lịch sử hay tiểu thuyết, m? t繫i chỉ ghi lại những sự kiện theo thời gian cũng như những việc quan trọng đối với người xuất gia v? tại gia trong bối cảnh Phật gi獺o Việt Nam phải hội nhập v?o xứ người, đồng thời ch繳ng ta cũng phải c籀 một nhiệm vụ kh獺c nữa, đ籀 l? bảo tồn cũng như ph獺t huy nền văn h籀a cổ truyền của D璽n tộc v? của Đạo Ph獺p tại đ璽y, n礙n nhiệm vụ ấy chẳng nhẹ nh?ng ch繳t n?o đối với những người tự nhận tr獺ch nhiệm phải ho?n thiện một c獺ch kh矇o l矇o v? th?nh c繫ng.
Las cinco etapas para alcanzar la iluminaci籀n y ver la naturaleza de Buda
En el budismo mahāyāna, la concentraci籀n es una facultad determinante que cualquiera que pretenda la iluminaci籀n debe desarrollar a plenitud. Basada en gran medida en la concentraci籀n, la pr獺ctica de recitar el nombre de Buda, a veces tambi矇n llamada nostalgia de Buda, es una de las formas m獺s recomendadas para avanzar m獺s r獺pidamente hacia la iluminaci籀n. Śūrangama-sūtra nos dice que fue propuesta por un gran bodhisattva, Mahāsthāmaprāpta, que la hab穩a imaginado para ayudarle a mantener sus pensamientos sobre el Buda. El gran maestro budista Xiao Ping-Shi nos ense簽a en este libro c籀mo practicar este m矇todo paso a paso. En un lenguaje claro y accesible, nos da elementos que nos permiten comprender mejor c籀mo practicar con 矇xito esta nostalgia de Buda y c籀mo practicar una concentraci籀n correcta y eficaz, de acuerdo con lo que el Buda Sakyamuni hab穩a pedido a sus disc穩pulos dos mil quinientos a簽os antes. La lectura de este texto es, pues, fuente de un inmenso n繳mero de beneficios para todos aquellos que no saben practicar el budismo tanto como para aquellos que, ya avanzados en el camino, desean progresar m獺s. El m矇todo de recitar el nombre de Buda se dirige, en efecto, a todos los practicantes, tanto si est獺n dando sus primeros pasos en el budismo como si ya son practicantes experimentados, y 矇sta es s籀lo una de las grandes riquezas de este libro.
A Whole-Life Path
Many lay Buddhists struggle to carry the benefits of their studies and meditation practice into their twenty-first-century lives. How might our daily experience of both life and the Buddha's teachings shift if there were no separation between them? In A Whole-Life Path, Gregory Kramer invites us to see the noise, complexity, and challenges of today's world as doorways to fully embodied Dhamma wisdom. Drawing on decades of meditation, study, and teaching, he explores the essence of each factor of the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path. He then looks at modern life with fresh eyes, calling out the myriad opportunities it offers to put all the Buddha's teachings into practice-individually, relationally, and socially. More than 50 experiential practices allow us to test his guidance-right here, right now. Anywhere the Buddha's teaching meets our unique life circumstances, our whole-life path is born anew. With A Whole-Life Path as a starting point and touchstone, our lives and our spiritual path can become one.
Seeing Like a Buddha
A clear and straightforward introduction to the Four Noble Truths, one of the core teachings of Buddhism. The tone of the book is gentle and good-natured so that readers are sure to feel as though they are reading a personal letter from a friend. Drawing upon material from a good many canonical Buddhist texts, Nagapriya illuminates it by drawing on quotations from modern poets, philosophers and psychologists whose insights were similar to the Buddha's but whose idiom is more familiar to a contemporary audience than the often stilted language of translations of texts written millennia ago.
The Eight Wondrous Minds -Japanese & Chinese Edition
The Eight Wondrous Minds -Bilingual Chinese and Japanese edition. How many minds do we have? We usually think of ourselves as having one single mind. Psychologists, neurologists and philosophers have classified the human mind into different domains or levels such as the conscious and subconscious. Buddhism suggests another understanding of mind. According to the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni, every one of us has eight distinct minds. In Buddhist scriptures, these eight minds are usually called the "eight consciousnesses," with the word "consciousness" defined as the function of awareness and discernment.
The Book of Rites, Rituals, and Ceremonies
Practice Buddhism immediately! This book is the official practice manual of The American Buddhist Order, Inc. The Order was created in 2019 by Master Tatankananda. The goal of this book and the Order is to make the practice of Buddhism simple, easy to understand and melded with Western traditions.
Flowers Blooming on a Withered Tree
This book provides a translation and critical bilingual edition on the Verse Comments on the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. The Verse Comments by Giun (1253-1333), the fifth abbot of Eiheiji temple, is an important early medieval Japanese commentary on the 60-chapter edition of the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye (Shobogenzo), one of the main versions of the masterwork written by Eihei Dogen (1200-1253), the founder of the Soto Zen sect in Japan who established Eiheiji in the mid-1240s. Giun's Verse Comments was one of only two commentaries of the Treasury written during the Kamakura era, with the other being a prose analysis of the 75-chapter edition, called Prose Comments on the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, often abbreviated to Distinguished Comments (Gosho). While Distinguished Comments fell into disuse rather quickly and was only revived nearly three hundred years later, the Verse Comments was circulated widely from the time of its composition and read by many Soto monks over the next couple of centuries. Offering poems and cryptic expressions that seek to capture the spiritual flavor and essential meaning of Dogen's thought as suggested in each chapter, the Verse Comments is crucial for understanding how Dogen's Treasury was received and appropriated in the religious and literary context of medieval Japan. In this book, Steven Heine's careful interpretations, historical investigations, and theoretical reflections demonstrate the significance of Giun's writings in light of the history of pre-modern and modern commentaries on Dogen's masterwork, the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye.
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.
China Root
A beautifully compelling and liberating guide to the original nature of Zen in ancient China by renowned author and translator David Hinton. Buddhism migrated from India to China in the first century C.E., and Ch'an (Japanese: Zen) is generally seen as China's most distinctive and enduring form of Buddhism. In China Root, however, David Hinton shows how Ch'an was in fact a Buddhist-influenced extension of Taoism, China's native system of spiritual philosophy. Unlike Indian Buddhism's abstract sensibility, Ch'an was grounded in an earthy and empirically-based vision. Exploring this vision, Hinton describes Ch'an as a kind of anti-Buddhism. A radical and wild practice aspiring to a deeply ecological liberation: the integration of individual consciousness with landscape and with a Cosmos seen as harmonious and alive. In China Root, Hinton describes this original form of Zen with his trademark clarity and elegance, each chapter exploring in enlightening ways a core Ch'an concept--such as meditation, mind, Buddha, awakening--as it was originally understood and practiced in ancient China. Finally, by examining a range of standard translations in the Appendix, Hinton reveals how this original understanding and practice of Ch'an/Zen is almost entirely missing in contemporary American Zen, because it was lost in Ch'an's migration from China through Japan and on to the West. Whether you practice Zen or not, taking this journey on the wings of Hinton's remarkable insight and powerful writing will transform how you understand yourself and the world.
Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction
With over 520 million followers, Buddhism is now the world's fourth largest religion. Over the last seventy years or so there has been a growing interest in Buddhism, and it continues to capture the imagination of many in the West, who see it as either an alternative or a supplement to their own religious beliefs. For complex cultural and historical reasons, ethics has not received as much attention in traditional Buddhist thought as it has in the West. In this Very Short Introduction, Damien Keown explores how Buddhism approaches a range of moral issues of our age, including our relationship with our environment, our treatment of animals, and our stance on abortion, on sexuality and gender, on violence and war. This new edition also includes a discussion of the ethical challenges posed by cutting-edge developments in science and biomedical technologies, including neuroscience, artificial intelligence, transhumanism, and gene editing. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Mind Beyond Brain
Among the most profound questions we confront are the nature of what and who we are as conscious beings, and how the human mind relates to the rest of what we consider reality. For millennia, philosophers, scientists, and religious thinkers have attempted answers, perhaps none more meaningful today than those offered by neuroscience and by Buddhism. The encounter between these two worldviews has spurred ongoing conversations about what science and Buddhism can teach each other about mind and reality. In Mind Beyond Brain, the neuroscientist David E. Presti, with the assistance of other distinguished researchers, explores how evidence for anomalous phenomena--such as near-death experiences, apparent memories of past lives, apparitions, experiences associated with death, and other so-called psi or paranormal phenomena, including telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition--can influence the Buddhism-science conversation. Presti describes the extensive but frequently unacknowledged history of scientific investigation into these phenomena, demonstrating its relevance to questions about consciousness and reality. The new perspectives opened up, if we are willing to take evidence of such often off-limits topics seriously, offer significant challenges to dominant explanatory paradigms and raise the prospect that we may be poised for truly revolutionary developments in the scientific investigation of mind. Mind Beyond Brain represents the next level in the science and Buddhism dialogue.
The Huayan University Network
In the early twentieth century, Chinese Buddhists sought to strengthen their tradition through publications, institution building, and initiatives aimed at raising the educational level of the monastic community. In The Huayan University Network, Erik J. Hammerstrom examines how Huayan Buddhism was imagined, taught, and practiced during this time of profound political and social change and, in so doing, recasts the history of twentieth-century Chinese Buddhism. Hammerstrom traces the influence of Huayan University, the first Buddhist monastic school founded after the fall of the imperial system in China. Although the university lasted only a few years, its graduates went on to establish a number of Huayan-centered educational programs throughout China. While they did not create a new sectarian Huayan movement, they did form a network unified by a common educational heritage that persists to the present day. Drawing on an extensive range of Buddhist texts and periodicals, Hammerstrom shows that Huayan had a significant impact on Chinese Buddhist thought and practice and that the history of Huayan complicates narratives of twentieth-century Buddhist modernization and revival. Offering a wide range of insights into the teaching and practice of Huayan in Republican China, this book sheds new light on an essential but often overlooked element of the East Asian Buddhist tradition.
Buddhists, Shamans, and Soviets
History in the Soviet Union was a political project. From the Soviet perspective, Buryats, an indigenous Siberian ethnic group, were a "backwards" nationality that was carried along on the inexorable march towards the Communist utopian future. When the Soviet Union ended, the Soviet version of history lost its power and Buryats, like other Siberian indigenous peoples, were able to revive religious and cultural traditions that had been suppressed by the Soviet state. In the process, they also recovered knowledge about the past that the Soviet Union had silenced. Borrowing the analytic lens of the chronotope from Bakhtin, Quijada argues that rituals have chronotopes which situate people within time and space. As they revived rituals, Post-Soviet Buryats encountered new historical information and traditional ways of being in time that enabled them to re-imagine the Buryat past, and what it means to be Buryat. Through the temporal perspective of a reincarnating Buddhist monk, Dashi-Dorzho Etigelov, Buddhists come to see the Soviet period as a test on the path of dharma. Shamanic practitioners, in contrast, renegotiate their relationship to the past by speaking to their ancestors through the bodies of shamans. By comparing the versions of history that are produced in Buddhist, shamanic and civic rituals, Buddhists, Shamans and Soviets offers a new lens for analyzing ritual, a new perspective on how an indigenous people grapples with a history of state repression, and an innovative approach to the ethnographic study of how people know about the past.
Magic and Mystery in Tibet
Much has been written concerning Tibet and its secret lore, but precious few authors have actually visited 'The Land of Snows' and a vanishingly small number were vouchsafed the privilege of studying with Tibetan masters during the culture's heyday, long before its present domination by China.Alexandra David-N矇el is one of this select group, and Magic and Mystery in Tibet is her account of the various mystical traditions she encountered while traveling in Tibet during the early 1900s. A woman of prodigious energy and courage, she spent 14 years in this Forbidden Land, at one time disguising herself as a beggar to secretly visit Lhasa, the first western woman to make the journey.A practising Buddhist (and latterly a Lama in her on right), David-N矇el was privy to many aspects of Tibetan culture that remained hidden from other travellers. Her description of the people, their beliefs, her conversations with sages and sorcerers, all paint a fascinating picture of Tibetan occult/ mystical theories and psychic training practices. Many of these skills she mastered herself, from meditation techniques, and elaborate magical rites, through necromancy, psychic abilities such as 'sending messages on the wind' and creating 'tulpas' (manifested thought-forms), to methods of breathing and mental concentration that control pain, extend physical endurance, and generate prodigious bodily heat, allowing an adept to go naked through the snow without discomfort. This is a fascinating, unique account of the spiritual core of a now-threatened culture. A must-read for anyone interested in Magic, the Occult, and the mystical traditions of Tibet.
American Buddhist Rebel
Discover the award-winning biography of the complex, brilliant, and enlightened American Buddhist teacher, Rama, Dr. Frederick Lenz. Combining ancient knowledge plus Zen and Tantric Buddhism, Lenz set challenges and led adventures for his students, ranging from one-on-one encounters to groups of 1,000 people. Born in 1950 and growing up in the effervescent 60s and early 70s, he brought a fresh and realistic view to teaching Buddhism for the West. He focused on his students learning from experience, whether in still, perfect meditation or ethical software sales--and sought Western ways to bring students to enlightenment. Enlightenment is real, an achievable state of mind, but it requires radical change and letting go of old patterns that stick to the self like glue. Rama was tireless and committed to helping his students. He was honest and funny. This biography details the years from his birth through his life-changing journey to Nepal as a teenager and all the fast-paced years that followed. As the teachings in this book illustrate, with his enlightened awareness he could sense your expectations, fears, and ego-blocks and always confound them. He was always teaching. Over 100 people contributed to the facts in this biography. It was first published in 2013 with the title, "Rama: Gaze in My Direction." "This is definitely a book that changes your perspective on life for the better" --Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Benjamin Franklin Award Review "This fascinating biography captures the wisdom of a genuine, compelling teacher who combined absolute miracles with humor, fun and adventure." --Lynn V. Andrews, author of The Medicine Woman Series"Frederick P. Lenz leaps off the pages of this book, showing that magic and enlightenment are available to everyone right here, right now. -Judith-Simmer Brown, Author and Professor of Religious Studies, Naropa University Rama - Dr. Frederick Lenz quietly and humblu filled large auditoriums with sparkling golden light. He made huge audiences shake with laughter as he filled them with the light of the superconscious. Omens of an "unusual, not special life" (Rama's words) began in 1953 when, as a toddler, he slipped into samadhi--a timeless state of immersion in infinite light--in his mother's garden. His journey continued after high school, when he flew from Connecticut to Kathmandu, Nepal with a homemade snowboard, seeking to snow-surf the highest mountains he could find. On his first downhill run, he plowed into an aged Buddhist monk who told the incredulous teen their meeting was destiny, that his past life enlightenment would return, and he would help millions of people. Upon his return to the U.S., he earned his Ph.D., began to teach on his own, and implemented new American ways of placing Westerners on the path to enlightenment, beginning with higher and happier states of mind. As his own realization grew, the energy he emanated was like a huge, powerful, benevolent force. This biography includes interviews and stories from over 100 students and colleagues, each with a different perspective. Rama did not just speak about enlightenment; he modeled it. Compassionate, funny, boundary-bashing, wise, prescient, reverent, irreverent, he was the ultimate Zen koan.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING? And Other Buddha’s Dharma Dances
The title "What Are You Doing" is designed to encourage readers to ask that question of themselves in the context of being compassionate (Buddhist) citizens in the modern world of global warming, human over-population, environmental disintegration, species extinction, perpetual war, the military-industrial complex, social and species inequality and other challenges to the well-being of the Sangha of life on Earth. The personal qualities of kindness and compassion developed by Buddhist practice are in themselves a beneficial influence in the larger world. When consciously applied by engaged Buddhism they become an intellectual, social, environmental, spiritual and even political force for change.Five of the essays, including the title one, are about my personal journey towards, and then along the path, including finding my first Buddha as an inebriated teenager, being introduced to and exploring the answers to the title question and then consciously integrating them into the experiences of my everyday life.Two of the essays are book reviews, both books involving the influence of Gary Snyder and his significant influence on the growth of Buddhism in America and its consequent impact on the larger culture.The other essays and one haiku are a wide variety of perceptions, experiences, questions and old and some new stories of master's lessons for the world of Buddhist practitioners and, one hopes, for non-Buddhists. The success of "What Are You Doing?" will be measured in number of people who are inspired to keep that question in mind after reading it, and, of course, their answers.
Dreams of Light
A world-renowned expert in lucid dreaming and Tibetan dream yoga guides us into the tradition's daytime practices, a complement to the nighttime practices taught in his previous book Dream Yoga. Most of us are absolutely certain that we're awake here and now--it's a given, right? Yet, according to Tibet's dream yoga tradition, ordinary waking life is no more real than the illusions of our nightly dreams. In his previous book Dream Yoga, Andrew Holecek guided us into Tibetan Buddhism's nocturnal path of lucid dreaming and other dimensions of sleeping consciousness. Now, with Dreams of Light, he offers us an in-depth, step-by-step guide to its daytime practices. Known as the "illusory form" practices, these teachings include insights, meditations, and actions to help us realize the dreamlike nature of our lives. Through an immersive exploration of the tradition, beginners and seasoned practitioners alike will learn everything they need to deeply transform both their sleeping and waking hours. "If you've struggled to awaken in your dreams," teaches Holecek, "these techniques will often spark spontaneous lucidity during sleep. And if you're already a successful lucid dreamer, they will open you to new depths of experience throughout your day." For those wishing to explore Tibetan Buddhism's profound path for awakening to the true nature of reality--day or night--Dreams of Light shows us the way.
Beginner’s Mind
THIS "HIGHLY RECOMMENDED" BOOK has the goal of being both the most comprehensive introduction to date to all forms of Zen Buddhism, yet also a concise summary suitable for both beginners and seasoned followers of the Zen path. It covers the history of Zen since its beginnings as Chan Buddhism in China, through its spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam, and then more recently to the West. Details are given of the practice of Zen in the West, what to expect when one attends a Zen center, what the options are for practicing Zen, and a brief summary of the principles of Zen. This book has many first-hand reports and stories of experiences at Zen centers, as well as a section on why one might wish to follow the Zen path and what the benefits of doing so can be."So many books on Zen today merely regurgitate dead words from the realm of intellectual thinking, and/or perpetuate misunderstandings of what the practice of Zen is all about. Tim Langdell presents a broad and lucid overview of the history and modern practice of Zen from his decades of practice and insight. He clears up, as best one can in words, the practical aspects of Zen, while conveying the mysterious yet simple truth of how to walk the path to being present in this moment. I highly recommend it!" -DR. RICHARD GEUNGSAN SEARS author of Mindfulness: Living through Challenges and Enriching Your Life in This Moment, and Guiding Teacher, Five Mountain Zen Order"This book would be an excellent choice for someone who is very new to Zen or has perhaps found Zen to be either too confusing or too challenging. It would also be a good choice for readers who may have a romanticized idea of Zen, since it gives a realistic view of what practicing Zen is actually like in contemporary Western sanghas (groups)." -SENSEI GYOKEI YOKOYAMA Abbot, Sozenji Buddhist Temple and Long Beach Buddhist ChurchA straight-forward and welcoming introduction to Zen practices, Tim Langdell's approach will appeal to anyone who is newly curious about this form of Buddhism. -SUSAN SUNTREE author of Wisdom of East: Stories of Compassion, Inspiration, and Love and Sacred Sites: The Secret History of Southern California
C籀 V? Kh繫ng
T獺c phẩm n?y đ瓊 được xuất bản lần đầu v?o năm 2000 tại Đức quốc. Đ璽y l? một đề t?i s璽u sắc về sự hiện hữu v? nhận thức của con người đối với vũ trụ, thường được nhắc đến kh繫ng chỉ trong gi獺o l羸 Phật-đ?, m? c簷n trong cả mọi nền tư tưởng v? triết học, văn học Đ繫ng, T璽y. Tựu trung ai trong ch繳ng ta cũng từng được nghe, đọc v? chi礙m nghiệm về đề t?i n?y hằng ng?y, nhưng c籀 mấy ai trực nhận được ch璽n tướng? Qua t獺c phẩm n?y, t獺c giả đ瓊 đề cập đến một số 羸 niệm về C籀 v? Kh繫ng qua những biểu hiện đơn giản ngay trong cuộc sống. Từ những chi礙m nghiệm 羸 nghĩa "c籀, kh繫ng" trong t穫nh y礙u lứa đ繫i, t穫nh y礙u đất nước, trong hạnh ph繳c v? khổ đau... cho đến quan niệm về "c籀, kh繫ng" trong tư tưởng B獺t-nh瓊, trong Trung Qu獺n Luận. Trong Lời v?o s獺ch, t獺c giả viết: "T繫i chọn đề t?i "C? v? KH?NG" để viết l礙n t獺c phẩm thứ 29 n?y cũng c籀 nhiều l羸 do, nhưng l羸 do ch穩nh vẫn l? để cho mọi người hiểu r繭 l羸 v繫 thường, sanh sanh diệt diệt của vạn hữu m? cố gắng tu h?nh, cũng như nhận ch璽n ra được đ璽u l? chơn đế v? đ璽u l? thế đế, đ璽u l? khổ đau v? đ璽u l? an vui tịch diệt v.v... Một t獺c phẩm m? muốn cho mọi người hiểu hết l羸 nh璽n duy礙n của cuộc đời v? vạn hữu th穫 thật l? kh籀, nhưng mỗi t獺c phẩm chỉ đ籀ng g籀p một v?i kh穩a cạnh để hội tụ đủ mọi nh璽n duy礙n th穫 t繫i cũng mong rằng đ璽y l? một t獺c phẩm nhỏ để g籀p phần v?o những c獺i si礙u việt của vũ trụ qua nh瓊n quan Phật gi獺o m? th繫i."
Der Weg Ohne Grenzen
Wenn wir uns richtig 羹berlegen, besteht das lange Leben des Menschen aus einzelnen Schritten - nicht mehr und nicht weniger. Anfangs waren es die ersten wackeligen Schritten einiger Zeit nach dem Verlassen des Mutterleibes. Das Leben endet schlie?lich nach den zitternden Schritten in so kurzer Zeit vor dem Abschied vom jetzigen Leben. Ganz wichtig ist allerdings, dass der Reisende ins Jenseits immer klar denkend und optimistisch bleiben sollte, um den "bevorstehenden Fr羹hling" zu erkennen. Jedenfalls m羹ssen wir - ob wir wollen oder nicht - weiter voranschreiten.Vor langer Zeit dachten die Menschen, dass die Erde eine flache Scheibe sei. Damals standen die Menschen vor dem gro?en Ozean und betrachteten den Horizont, der weder von B瓣umen noch von H瓣usern bedeckt wurde. Von daher dachten sie, dass die Erde sich dort endet, wo das Meer am fernen Horizont den Himmel ber羹hrt. Zu der Zeit glaubten die Menschen f瓣lschlicherweise, dass die Erde still steht, und dass alle herum liegenden Himmelsk繹rper einschlie?lich die Sonne sich um die Erde drehen.Aber Nein, es w瓣re ein gro?er Irrtum! Die Erde dreht sich st瓣ndig. Sie dreht sich um die Sonne herum und sich selbst um ihre eigene Achse. Das bedeutet also, dass die Erde geht weiter und kontinuierlich weiter ohne Unterbrechung. Wie mitleidsw羹rdig die gro?en Intellektuellen der Menschheit sind, wie in diesem Fall die Astronomen. Sie wurden gequ瓣lt, unter lebensl瓣nglichem Hausarrest gestellt und zutiefst gedem羹tigt ......, nur weil sie sich zutrauten, das bis dahin Undenkbare zu denken wie es sein sollte im Geist der Wissenschaft und das derzeit Unsagbare offen zu sagen. Man erinnert sich noch an den ber羹hmten Prozess der r繹mischen Inquisition im Jahr 1633 gegen Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Der Wissenschaftler wurde von der kirchlichen Inquisition mit allen Mitteln zur Schuldanerkenntnis aufgezwungen, dass er f瓣lschlicherweise die heliozentrische (Kopernikanische) Weltanschauung (dass alle Planeten und damit die Erde sich um die stillstehende Sonne drehen) unterst羹tzt hatte. Aus Angst davor, dass seine Familie in Mitleidenschaft gezogen bzw. sogar das Leben seiner eigenen Kinder dadurch beeintr瓣chtigt werden k繹nnte, verpflichtete sich der derzeit 69 j瓣hrige Wissenschaftler freiwillig, niedergekniet, mit gesenktem Kopf und in tiefster Erniedrigung 繹ffentlich vor der Kirche seine Geisteshaltung widerzulegen und die geozentrische (ptolem瓣ische) Ansicht der Kirche (wonach die Erde als Zentrum des Universums sich nicht bewegt, w瓣hrend alle Planeten und damit auch die Sonne sich um sie herum kreisen) zu best瓣tigen, indem er sagte: "Ich widerrufe meine irrt羹mliche Meinung, dass die Sonne Mittelpunkt des Universums ist". Doch beim Verlassen des r繹mischen Insquisitionsgerichts sollte Galileo gemurmelt haben: "Eppur si muove!" ("Und sie dreht sich doch!").
Building and Negotiating Religious Identities in a Zen Buddhist TempleA Perspective of Buddhist Rhetoric
This book explores the practices in a Zen Buddhist temple located in Northwest Ohio against the backdrop of globalization. Drawing on the previous studies on Buddhist modernization and westernization, it provides a better understanding of the westernization of Buddhism and its adapted practices and rituals in the host culture. Using rhetorical criticism methodology, the author approaches this temple as an embodiment of Buddhist rhetoric with both discursive and non-discursive expressions within the discourses of modernity. By analyzing the rhetorical practices at the temple through abbots' teaching videos, the temple website, members' dharma names, and the materiality of the temple space and artifacts, the author discovers how Buddhist rhetoric functions to constitute and negotiate the religious identities of the community members through its various rituals and activities. At the same time, the author examines how the temple's space and settings facilitate the collective the formation and preservation of the Buddhist identity. Through a nuanced discussion of Buddhist rhetoric, this book illuminates a new rhetorical methodology to understand religious identity construction. Furthermore, it offers deeper insights into the future development of modern Buddhism, which are also applicable to Buddhist practitioners and other major world religions.
Confucianism’s Prospects
In Confucianism's Prospects, Shaun O'Dwyer offers a rare critical engagement with English language scholarship on Confucianism. Against the background of historical and sociological research into the rapid modernization of East Asian societies, O'Dwyer reviews several key Confucian ethical ideas and proposals for East Asian alternatives to liberal democracy that have emerged from this scholarship. He also puts the following question to Confucian scholars: what prospects do those ideas and proposals have in East Asian societies in which liberal democracy and pluralism are well established, and individualization and declining fertility are impacting deeply upon family life? In making his case, O'Dwyer draws upon the neglected work of Japanese philosophers and intellectuals who were witnesses to Japan's pioneering East Asian modernization, and protagonists in the rise and disastrous wartime fall of its own modernized Confucianism. He contests a sometimes Sinocentric and ahistorical conception of East Asian societies as "Confucian societies," while also recognizing that Confucian traditions can contribute importantly to global philosophical dialogue, and to civic and religious life.
The Other Emptiness
This book brings together perspectives of leading international Tibetan studies scholars on the subject of zhentong or "other-emptiness." Defined as the emptiness of everything other than the continuous luminous awareness that is one's own enlightened nature, this distinctive philosophical and contemplative presentation of emptiness is quite different from rangtong--emptiness that lacks independent existence, which has had a strong influence on the dissemination of Buddhist philosophy in the West. Important topics are addressed, including the history, literature, and philosophy of emptiness that have contributed to zhentong thinking in Tibet from the thirteenth century until today. The contributors examine a wide range of views on zhentong from each of the major orders of Tibetan Buddhism, highlighting the key Tibetan thinkers in the zhentong philosophical tradition. Also discussed are the early formulations of buddhanature, interpretations of cosmic time, polemical debates about emptiness in Tibet, the zhentong view of contemplation, and creative innovations of thought in Tibetan Buddhism. Highly accessible and informative, this book can be used as a scholarly resource as well as a textbook for teaching graduate and undergraduate courses on Buddhist philosophy.
Theravada Buddhism in Colonial Contexts
Over the course of the nineteenth century, most of the Theravada world of Southeast Asia came under the colonial domination of European powers. While this has long been seen as a central event in the development of modern forms of Theravada Buddhism, most discussions have focused on specific Buddhist communities or nations, and particularly their resistance to colonialism. The chapters in this book examine the many different colonial contexts and regimes that Theravada Buddhists experienced, not just those of European powers such as the British, French, but also the internal colonialism of China and Thailand. They show that while many Buddhists resisted colonialism, other Buddhists shared agendas with colonial powers, such as for the reform of the monastic community. They also show that in some places, such as Singapore and Malaysia, colonialism enabled the creation of Theravada Buddhist communities. The book demonstrates the importance of thinking about colonialism both locally and regionally.Providing a new understanding of the breadth of experiences of Theravada and colonialism across Asia., this book will be of interest to scholars in the field of Buddhist Studies, Asian History, Comparative World History, Southeast Asian Studies and Religious Studies.
Travels of Fah-Hian and Sung-Yun
Travels of Fah-Hian and Sung-Yun - Buddhist Pilgrims from China to India - 400 A.D. and 518 A.D.; translated from the Chinese is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1869. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.
The Ethics of AI and Robotics
This book presents a Buddhism-inspired contribution to the ethics of AI and robotics, and the idea that a possible norm for technology must be guided by the standard of "machine enlightenment" informed by a combination of ethical and technical excellences.
Christian-Buddhist Conversations
Inter-religious dialogue is one of the most important and growing developments in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In a globalized and increasingly fractious world, mutual consideration and open dialogue is crucial in a multi-religious society. Christian-Buddhist Conversations explores this through an analysis of the doctrines, histories, beliefs, practices, and ethics within Christianity and Buddhism. It brings together a scholar from each religious tradition in order to detail points of connection and differences with the aim of better mutual understanding. The discussions are detailed but accessible to non‐specialists who desire to understand both their own traditions and the traditions of others. The chapters are aimed at pairing teachings and concepts and include: Christ and Buddha, religious authority, sacred texts, sin and karma, salvation and liberation, love and compassion, monasticism, the place of the human being in the world and cosmos, and public and political participation. Each topic is explored historically and in terms of the ideas central to each tradition. The book includes notes for further reference, a bibliography, and an index of subjects and names.
Awakening to Your True Self
In this wonderfully formulated text, Zen Master Zensho shows us a direct path to experiencing our true, intrinsic nature. He lifts us up above our habitual, limited perspectives so that we become able to experience the peace and joy of our indwelling, divine self. Thus from out of our identification with the unreal, we attain the absolute reality of our true self. Through this we experience a liberating transformation to a deeper and all-embracing cosmic consciousness. In this book we feel the direct presence and realisation of one of the great enlightened masters of our time. His profound sayings are exceptionally clear and universally valid.
True Life Through Zen
Spiritual self-realization in everyday life Contemporary and completely true-to-life, Zen Master Zensho teaches us a direct way to a fulfilled, aware life. In a readily understandable way, he shows us how we can realize spiritual clarity, contentedness and joy within ourselves in the midst of the world as the true place of practice. This is how we become able to experience the preciousness of each moment with our whole being and can live worldly activity and crystal-clear consciousness as a single reality. True-to-life and practical for the world of today.
The Bojjhaṅgās
This monograph bridges ancient understandings of Buddhist meditation and the Bojjhaṅgas, the "Factors of Enlightenment", with cutting-edge modern neuroscience. It also describes the age-old practice of associating different Buddha images with the day of the week on which a person is born. This practice may be familiar to readers who have visited a Buddhist temple and seen sets of seven images in front of which individuals, children and adults alike, make offerings, puja, to the image corresponding to their day of birth. The cultural understandings of this practice are described, together with the deeply symbolic meanings behind the postures and mudras of the images, and how each image is related to one of the Bojjhaṅgas. Each of the images are beautifully illustrated.The Bojjaṅgās are very ancient, direct teachings of the Buddha over 2500 years ago, recorded in Suttas composed during the approximately 200 years after his death up to the reign of the Indian Emperor Asoka. They are deeply embedded in Buddhist popular culture, chanted not only for recollection of the Path to Enlightenment, but also for healing, either for oneself or others. They are also closely related to the jhānas, esoteric Buddhist meditation practices that allow meditators to temporarily disengage from their everyday sensory consciousness into a new form of consciousness, jhāna consciousness, which facilitates insight and direct understanding.The author, Paul Dennison originally trained as a research physicist and radio-astronomer in Cambridge, UK, but is more recently known as a psychotherapist and Jungian analyst based in London. He is a founder trustee of the Samatha Trust, and has practiced and taught Buddhist meditation for more than 50 years. From 2012 he developed the first detailed neuroscience study of the ancient tradition of jhāna meditation, the remarkable results published in 2019 in the leading academic journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
The Bojjhaṅgās
This monograph bridges ancient understandings of Buddhist meditation and the Bojjhaṅgas, the "Factors of Enlightenment", with cutting-edge modern neuroscience. It also describes the age-old practice of associating different Buddha images with the day of the week on which a person is born. This practice may be familiar to readers who have visited a Buddhist temple and seen sets of seven images in front of which individuals, children and adults alike, make offerings, puja, to the image corresponding to their day of birth. The cultural understandings of this practice are described, together with the deeply symbolic meanings behind the postures and mudras of the images, and how each image is related to one of the Bojjhaṅgas. Each of the images are beautifully illustrated. The Bojjaṅgās are very ancient, direct teachings of the Buddha over 2500 years ago, recorded in Suttas composed during the approximately 200 years after his death up to the reign of the Indian Emperor Asoka. They are deeply embedded in Buddhist popular culture, chanted not only for recollection of the Path to Enlightenment, but also for healing, either for oneself or others. They are also closely related to the jhānas, esoteric Buddhist meditation practices that allow meditators to temporarily disengage from their everyday sensory consciousness into a new form of consciousness, jhāna consciousness, which facilitates insight and direct understanding. The author, Paul Dennison originally trained as a research physicist and radio-astronomer in Cambridge, UK, but is more recently known as a psychotherapist and Jungian analyst based in London. He is a founder trustee of the Samatha Trust, and has practiced and taught Buddhist meditation for more than 50 years. From 2012 he developed the first detailed neuroscience study of the ancient tradition of jhāna meditation, the remarkable results published in 2019 in the leading academic journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
The gods of northern BuddhismThegods of northern Buddhismtheir history, iconography and pr
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The Wheel of Supreme Bliss Practice Manual & Visualization Aids of the Chakrasamvara Body
Wisdom in Buddhism
What is wisdom? Who is wise? Can wisdom be developed? These are the questions Horner sets out to answer, from a Buddhist perspective. The author sets forth 12 pillars of wisdom that are easily accessed and applied, not only to Buddhism but life in general. Spoiler alert; with proper intent and focused attention, wisdom can be developed. Horner takes us on a deep divide into each of the 12 elements that make up the building blocks of wisdom; communication, perspective, values, humility, learning, life events, impermanence, compassion, bias, patience and concentration, Theory of Mind and emotional stability.
Vida desde la plenitud interior
Estos 50 aforismos de uno de los grandes maestros de sabidur穩a de nuestro tiempo abren la puerta a nuestro Verdadero S穩-Mismo, fuente interna de toda felicidad. Est獺n llenos de profunda sabidur穩a y nos permiten vivir el poder interno de nuestro Ser Verdadero en la vida diaria. S矇 brillantemente consciente del momento presente y experimentar獺s todo el ser como una revelaci籀n gloriosa de la realidad divina.
