Buddhism: sacred texts and revered writings Books

Book SynopsisA Beloved Classic of Buddhist Writing One of the best known and most beloved of the Buddhist scriptures, The Dhammapada is a collection of the sayings of the Buddha. According to tradition, each of the verses contained within the text were spoken by the Buddha, surviving through the centuries to find their way into the hands of modern readers. Translated by Max Muller, the verses cover a range of topics from Thought and Pleasure to Old Age, Happiness, and The Way. They are both simple and profound, guideposts to living an enlightened life and incisive shards of wisdom that cut through our passivity to the reality of spiritual enlightenment. This edition of The Dhammapada is part of the Essential Wisdom Library, a series that seeks to bring spiritual wisdom, both old and new, to modern readers.

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Book SynopsisExamines various Tibetan interpretations of the Uttaratantra, the most authoritative Indic commentary on buddha-nature.With its emphasis on the concept of buddha-nature, or the ultimate nature of mind, the Uttaratantra is a classical Buddhist treatise that lays out an early map of the Mahayana path to enlightenment. Tsering Wangchuk unravels the history of this important Indic text in Tibet by examining numerous Tibetan commentaries and other exegetical texts on the treatise that emerged between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. These commentaries explored such questions as: Is the buddha-nature teaching found in the Uttaratantra literally true, or does it have to be interpreted differently to understand its ultimate meaning? Does it explicate ultimate truth that is inherently enlightened or ultimate truth that is empty only of independent existence? Does the treatise teach ultimate nature of mind according to the Cittamatra or the Madhyamaka School of Mahayana? By focusing on the diverse interpretations that different textual communities employed to make sense of the Uttaratantra, Wangchuk provides a necessary historical context for the development of the text in Tibet.

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Book SynopsisA guide to Buddhism''s rich variety of traditions and cultural expressions for educators who would like to include Buddhism in their undergraduate courses.Over its long history, Buddhism has never been a simple monolithic phenomenon, but rather a complex living tradition-or better, a family of traditions-continually shaped by and shaping a vast array of social, economic, political, literary, and aesthetic contexts across East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Written by undergraduate educators, Buddhisms in Asia offers a guide to Buddhism''s rich variety of traditions and cultural expressions for educators who would like to include Buddhism in their undergraduate courses. It introduces fundamental yet often underrepresented Buddhist texts, concepts, and material in their historical contexts; presents the major "ecologies" of Buddhist belief, practice, and cultural expression; and provides methodological insights regarding how best to infuse Buddhist content into undergraduate courses in the humanities and social sciences. The text aims to represent "Buddhisms" by approaching the subject from a broad range of disciplinary perspectives, including art history, anthropology, history, literature, philosophy, religious studies, and pedagogy.

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Book SynopsisFour Testaments brings together four foundational texts from world religionsthe Tao Te Ching, Dhammapada, Analects of Confucius, and Bhagavad Gitainviting readers to experience them in full, to explore possible points of connection and divergence, and to better understand people who practice these traditions. Following Brian Arthur Brown's award-winning Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel, Quran, this volume of Four Testaments features essays by esteemed scholars to introduce readers to each tradition and text, as well as commentary on unexpected ways the ancient Zoroastrian tradition might connect Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Hinduism, as well as the Abrahamic faiths. Four Testaments aims to foster deeper religious understanding in our interconnected and contentious world.Trade ReviewBrown (Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel, Quran) makes a fascinating case for Zoroastrianism as the connecting point between the Vedic religions of the east (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism) and the Hebraic religions of the West (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Asserting that Zoroastrianism spread in two directions along the Silk Road, that Zoroaster lived the generation before Cyrus the Great (a contested theory), and that the Axial Age lasted only about a century in roughly the sixth century BCE, Brown locates developments in major religions that he attributes to Zoroaster’s influence. Some of Brown’s case is speculative but not unreasonable, relying on the anticipated discovery of 'Dead Zee scrolls' of lost Arvestas comparable to the Dead Sea Scrolls (or the yet uncovered 'Q' document believed to have been a template for the New Testament) in Silk Road caves. Along with tracing the contours of a tantalizing mystery, Brown includes translations of the Tao Te Ching, Dhammapada, Analects of Confucius, and Gandhi’s translation of Bhagavad Gita, creating a rich compendium. Especially when compared with the numerous books repeating shopworn notions, the wealth of new information in this volume is immense. Readers outside of academia will hope Brown produces a shorter version for a popular audience. * Publishers Weekly *Four Testaments is an excellent compendium of scriptures of the Eastern religious traditions. Complementing Brown's Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel, and Quran (2012), the present volume introduces Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism through religious texts. The collection boasts translations of these texts by a variety of hands, including for example the Bhagavad Gita in the words of Mahatma Gandhi. Readers are guided through these rich and diverse texts in brief introductions by experts. The Gita, for example, is framed by an explanation from Arvind Sharma. This rich array of texts, interpreted by a wide range of scholars and theologians, is one of the book's strengths. Brown's focus is the meeting of East and West, and this is what gives the manuscript its uniqueness as it strives to make previously unarticulated connections between scriptures. This accessible volume should have a wide readership. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. * CHOICE *In a companion volume to ThreeTestaments: Torah, Gospel, and Quran, Canadian pastor Brian Arthur Brown presents the sacred scriptures of four Eastern faith traditions alongside critical essays about the texts. Accessible to nonscholars, Brown’s underlying narrative posits an ancient meeting between the textual traditions of East and West in the Zoroastrian faith. The primary value of this book for many readers, however, will be in the words of the scriptures themselves. Locating scriptures of diverse traditions on adjacent pages is not without risk—but it is valuable for those who seek to be illuminated by the texts and moved to fruitful dialogue. * The Christian Century *Four Testaments is an excellent overview of the Eastern religious traditions and an ideal complement to Three Testaments on the Abrahamic religions. If Three Testaments is your text for an Introduction to the Scriptures of the Western Monotheisms in the autumn semester, Four Testaments should be your text for the Scriptures of the Eastern Monisms in the spring. -- Jonathan Kearney, Saint Patrick’s College, Dublin UniversityFour Testaments is certainly invaluable both worldwide and in the Global South. People may be more open to inter-faith and inter-religious dialogue—a lived reality—than is sometimes realized. Four Testaments showcases this dialogue at its best. -- Rev. Joy Abdul-Mohan, St. Andrew’s Theological College, Trinidad & TobagoBrian Brown has done it again with his usual mix of good scholarship and good humour. Four Testaments is the companion volume to Three Testaments, and covers the major Eastern religions. It provides important primary texts, as well as material to help non-specialists understand those texts. More importantly, it shows us the connections between our religious traditions. -- Amir Hussain, Loyola Marymount UniversityThe religions of India and China, which were once seen by Westerners as exotic but not very important personally, have now become, due to modern communications, religious influences on people all over the globe. This second volume of an important set thus serves as an essential introduction to how traditionally Eastern religions think about individuals, society, the environment, and the transcendent so that we can come to know each other and work together for the benefit of all of us. -- Elliot Dorff, American Jewish UniversityThis is an insightful inquiry into the connections between the primary scriptures of the East, in the context of their cultures, and the primary scriptures of the West. The volume expertly affirms the interconnections between various textual traditions. It is a welcome addition to the ever-growing field of intertextual studies. -- Sharada and Rasiah Sugirtharajah, University of BirminghamFrom the Foreword Four Testaments is an important work, suited to the times in which we live. Of course, the reading is not so simple or arbitrary as to end with just one volume. One needs to keep the Four Testaments on one’s desk or nightstand alongside the Three Testaments, moving back and forth between the two volumes and their several great texts. -- Francis X. Clooney, SJ, director of the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard UniversityTable of ContentsContents Foreword by Francis X. Clooney, SJ, Director of the Harvard Center for Study of World Religions Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue: Four Fingers and a Thumb - Tao Te Ching, Analects, Dhammapada, Gita, and Avesta Book One From the Foundations of the Earth to Our Common Spiritual Ancestors Introduction: East and West Meeting at the Altar of Religion by Cyril Glassé Exordium: What We Once Knew, by Karl Friedrich Geldner Preface: Why the Z Factor Matters 1.Through the Mists of Time: Vedic and Semitic Prehistories Connecting East and West 2.A Priest Becomes a Prophet: Commissioned at the River 3.A Chance Meeting at the Crossroads of History: A Prelude to the Babylonian Interface between Proto Vedic and Proto Semitic Religions 4.The Silk Route: The Axis of the Axial Age 5.The Extant Avesta: A Few Pieces of the Jigsaw Puzzle 6.The Fraternal Twins of World Religion: Monism for Monotheists Book Two The Taoist Testament Introduction: Magi in China and Intellectual Ferment in Eurasia at the Middle of the First Millennium BCE by Professor Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese, Philadelphia University Preface: Magic and iMagination 7. Tao Te Ching: translated by Victor H. Mair Book Three The Confucian Testament Introduction: Innovation vs. Tradition by Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, Senior Rabbi, Temple Sinai, Oakland Preface: Fireworks East and West 8.The Analects: translated by James Legge Book Four The Buddhist Testament Introduction: The Indian Origins of Buddhism by Professor Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Oxford Preface: King Akbar’s Perfect Religion 9.Dhammapada: translated by S. Radhakrishnan Book Five The Hindu Testament Introduction: Reciprocal Illumination by Professor Arvind Sharma, Birks Professor in Comparative Religion, McGill University Preface: With Notes from Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi 10.Bhagavad Gita: translated by Gandhi Book Six The Z Factor Introduction: Eastern Influence in Western Texts by Dr. David Bruce Preface: New Frontiers in Scriptural Studies 11.Israel in Exile: God as Israel’s Only Redeemer 12.Up from the River Again, With a Promise of Paradise: Jesus as a Zoroastrian Saoshyant, the Redeemer of the World 13.Chinvat Bridge – The Final Judgement: Zoroastrian Scriptures and “Previous Revelations” Corrected in the Quran Book Seven The Dead Zee Scrolls Introduction: Digging Through Time by Professor Richard Freund Preface: A Model for the Twenty First Century 14.Among the Ruins: Tablets and Cylinders 15.From Aurel Stein to Mary Boyce and Beyond: Controversies in the Twentieth Century Epilogue: The Resurrection of Zoroaster: A Prophet for the Twenty First Century Dancing on the Edge of Tombs: More Treasure Than Anyone Imagined Appendix: Images of the Original Eastern Testaments Preface to Images: The Edict of Cyrus and the Chinese Cuneiform Bones by E. K. Eduljee Bibliography Index About the Editor About the Contributors

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Book SynopsisExploring the Heart Sutra offers readers an interdisciplinary philosophical approach to this much-loved Buddhist classic, with a new translation and commentary. Situating the Heart Sutra within a Chinese context, Sarah A. Mattice brings together voices past and present, Asian and Western, on topics from Buddhology, translation theory, feminism, religious studies, ethnography, Chinese philosophy, and more, in order to inspire readers to understand the sutra in a new light. Mattice's argument for the importance of appreciating the Heart Sutra from a Chinese philosophical context includes a new hermeneutic paradigm for approaching composite texts; an argument for translating the text from the Chinese, rather than the Sanskrit; an extended discussion of the figure of Guanyin, bodhisattva of compassion and main speaker of the Heart Sutra, as a distinctively Chinese figure; an inquiry in to the history of women's practice, with a special focus on China; and a commentary on the text that dTrade Review"Exploring the Heart Sutra is an object lesson on the world of correlative thinking it purports to engage. The north star is Sarah Mattice's philosophical translation of the Heart Sutra together with the expansive line commentary she provides in explanation. And the pedagogical constellation that pays the Heart Sutra homage are her chapters on authorship, historical context, translation issues, the iconic Guanyin, women practitioners, and the interpretive context necessary to take this text on its own terms. Mattice dishes out the cosmos in a spoon." -- Roger T. Ames, Peking University"In her Exploring the Heart Sūtra, Sarah Mattice reveals to us all the benefits of a multi-disciplinary approach to translating and re-engaging with classical texts of such profound importance for Buddhist practicers. Music sampling, ancient and modern translation theories, historical and philosophical analysis, and ethnographic field interviews all inform Mattice's new and compelling presentation of the Heart Sūtra. Her work discloses just how fundamental the text was for Buddhist thought and practice, in the ancient and modern worlds, and for women in both periods." -- Douglas L. Berger, Leiden University"A fascinating study and new translation of the Heart Sutra, Exploring the Heart Sutra sheds new light on this classic Mahayana text. Mattice’s nuanced interdisciplinary philosophical analysis brings together history, translation theory, feminist gender analysis, ethnographic interviews, and Chinese philosophy. Through the lens of her interdisciplinary analytic philosophical approach, Mattice offers us not only new ways of understanding, interpreting, and analyzing the Heart Sutra and its rich history, but also much needed new ways of understanding and appreciating the Heart Sutra’s place in women’s practice and contemporary lived experience and what it has to offer us today." -- Erin McCarthy, St. Lawrence University"Sarah Mattice's outstanding new translation and commentary gives readers a living and breathing Heart Sutra. With attention to philosophical context, while taking seriously the text's Chinese heritage, and while centering women's voices and experiences, Mattice allows the text to speak to us as it speaks to the millions of practitioners who chant it daily worldwide." -- Leah Kalmanson, University of North TexasTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionThe Heart SutraChapter One: Sampling AuthenticityChapter Two: Perspectives on TranslationChapter Three: GuanyinChapter Four: Voices of WomenChapter Five: A Chinese Interpretive ContextChapter Six: Translation and Line Commentary Bibliography

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Book SynopsisFour Testaments brings together four foundational texts from world religions—the Tao Te Ching, Dhammapada, Analects of Confucius, and Bhagavad Gita—inviting readers to experience them in full, to explore possible points of connection and divergence, and to better understand people who practice these traditions. Following Brian Arthur Brown’s award-winning Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel, Quran, this volume of Four Testaments features essays by esteemed scholars to introduce readers to each tradition and text, as well as commentary on unexpected ways the ancient Zoroastrian tradition might connect Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Hinduism, along with the Abrahamic faiths. Four Testaments aims to foster deeper religious understanding in our interconnected and contentious world.Trade ReviewBrown (Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel, Quran) makes a fascinating case for Zoroastrianism as the connecting point between the Vedic religions of the east (Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism) and the Hebraic religions of the West (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Asserting that Zoroastrianism spread in two directions along the Silk Road, that Zoroaster lived the generation before Cyrus the Great (a contested theory), and that the Axial Age lasted only about a century in roughly the sixth century BCE, Brown locates developments in major religions that he attributes to Zoroaster’s influence. Some of Brown’s case is speculative but not unreasonable, relying on the anticipated discovery of 'Dead Zee scrolls' of lost Arvestas comparable to the Dead Sea Scrolls (or the yet uncovered 'Q' document believed to have been a template for the New Testament) in Silk Road caves. Along with tracing the contours of a tantalizing mystery, Brown includes translations of the Tao Te Ching, Dhammapada, Analects of Confucius, and Gandhi’s translation of Bhagavad Gita, creating a rich compendium. Especially when compared with the numerous books repeating shopworn notions, the wealth of new information in this volume is immense. Readers outside of academia will hope Brown produces a shorter version for a popular audience. * Publishers Weekly *Four Testaments is an excellent compendium of scriptures of the Eastern religious traditions. Complementing Brown's Three Testaments: Torah, Gospel, and Quran (2012), the present volume introduces Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Hinduism through religious texts. The collection boasts translations of these texts by a variety of hands, including for example the Bhagavad Gita in the words of Mahatma Gandhi. Readers are guided through these rich and diverse texts in brief introductions by experts. The Gita, for example, is framed by an explanation from Arvind Sharma. This rich array of texts, interpreted by a wide range of scholars and theologians, is one of the book's strengths. Brown's focus is the meeting of East and West, and this is what gives the manuscript its uniqueness as it strives to make previously unarticulated connections between scriptures. This accessible volume should have a wide readership. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. * CHOICE *In a companion volume to ThreeTestaments: Torah, Gospel, and Quran, Canadian pastor Brian Arthur Brown presents the sacred scriptures of four Eastern faith traditions alongside critical essays about the texts. Accessible to nonscholars, Brown’s underlying narrative posits an ancient meeting between the textual traditions of East and West in the Zoroastrian faith. The primary value of this book for many readers, however, will be in the words of the scriptures themselves. Locating scriptures of diverse traditions on adjacent pages is not without risk—but it is valuable for those who seek to be illuminated by the texts and moved to fruitful dialogue. * The Christian Century *Four Testaments is an excellent overview of the Eastern religious traditions and an ideal complement to Three Testaments on the Abrahamic religions. If Three Testaments is your text for an Introduction to the Scriptures of the Western Monotheisms in the autumn semester, Four Testaments should be your text for the Scriptures of the Eastern Monisms in the spring. -- Jonathan Kearney, Saint Patrick’s College, Dublin UniversityFour Testaments is certainly invaluable both worldwide and in the Global South. People may be more open to inter-faith and inter-religious dialogue—a lived reality—than is sometimes realized. Four Testaments showcases this dialogue at its best. -- Rev. Joy Abdul-Mohan, St. Andrew’s Theological College, Trinidad & TobagoBrian Brown has done it again with his usual mix of good scholarship and good humour. Four Testaments is the companion volume to Three Testaments, and covers the major Eastern religions. It provides important primary texts, as well as material to help non-specialists understand those texts. More importantly, it shows us the connections between our religious traditions. -- Amir Hussain, Loyola Marymount UniversityThe religions of India and China, which were once seen by Westerners as exotic but not very important personally, have now become, due to modern communications, religious influences on people all over the globe. This second volume of an important set thus serves as an essential introduction to how traditionally Eastern religions think about individuals, society, the environment, and the transcendent so that we can come to know each other and work together for the benefit of all of us. -- Elliot Dorff, American Jewish UniversityThis is an insightful inquiry into the connections between the primary scriptures of the East, in the context of their cultures, and the primary scriptures of the West. The volume expertly affirms the interconnections between various textual traditions. It is a welcome addition to the ever-growing field of intertextual studies. -- Sharada and Rasiah Sugirtharajah, University of BirminghamFrom the Foreword Four Testaments is an important work, suited to the times in which we live. Of course, the reading is not so simple or arbitrary as to end with just one volume. One needs to keep the Four Testaments on one’s desk or nightstand alongside the Three Testaments, moving back and forth between the two volumes and their several great texts. -- Francis X. Clooney, SJ, director of the Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard UniversityTable of ContentsContents Foreword by Francis X. Clooney, SJ, Director of the Harvard Center for Study of World Religions Illustrations Acknowledgments Prologue: Four Fingers and a Thumb - Tao Te Ching, Analects, Dhammapada, Gita, and Avesta Book One From the Foundations of the Earth to Our Common Spiritual Ancestors Introduction: East and West Meeting at the Altar of Religion by Cyril Glassé Exordium: What We Once Knew, by Karl Friedrich Geldner Preface: Why the Z Factor Matters 1.Through the Mists of Time: Vedic and Semitic Prehistories Connecting East and West 2.A Priest Becomes a Prophet: Commissioned at the River 3.A Chance Meeting at the Crossroads of History: A Prelude to the Babylonian Interface between Proto Vedic and Proto Semitic Religions 4.The Silk Route: The Axis of the Axial Age 5.The Extant Avesta: A Few Pieces of the Jigsaw Puzzle 6.The Fraternal Twins of World Religion: Monism for Monotheists Book Two The Taoist Testament Introduction: Magi in China and Intellectual Ferment in Eurasia at the Middle of the First Millennium BCE by Professor Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese, Philadelphia University Preface: Magic and iMagination 7. Tao Te Ching: translated by Victor H. Mair Book Three The Confucian Testament Introduction: Innovation vs. Tradition by Jacqueline Mates-Muchin, Senior Rabbi, Temple Sinai, Oakland Preface: Fireworks East and West 8.The Analects: translated by James Legge Book Four The Buddhist Testament Introduction: The Indian Origins of Buddhism by Professor Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Oxford Preface: King Akbar’s Perfect Religion 9.Dhammapada: translated by S. Radhakrishnan Book Five The Hindu Testament Introduction: Reciprocal Illumination by Professor Arvind Sharma, Birks Professor in Comparative Religion, McGill University Preface: With Notes from Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi 10.Bhagavad Gita: translated by Gandhi Book Six The Z Factor Introduction: Eastern Influence in Western Texts by Dr. David Bruce Preface: New Frontiers in Scriptural Studies 11.Israel in Exile: God as Israel’s Only Redeemer 12.Up from the River Again, With a Promise of Paradise: Jesus as a Zoroastrian Saoshyant, the Redeemer of the World 13.Chinvat Bridge – The Final Judgement: Zoroastrian Scriptures and “Previous Revelations” Corrected in the Quran Book Seven The Dead Zee Scrolls Introduction: Digging Through Time by Professor Richard Freund Preface: A Model for the Twenty First Century 14.Among the Ruins: Tablets and Cylinders 15.From Aurel Stein to Mary Boyce and Beyond: Controversies in the Twentieth Century Epilogue: The Resurrection of Zoroaster: A Prophet for the Twenty First Century Dancing on the Edge of Tombs: More Treasure Than Anyone Imagined Appendix: Images of the Original Eastern Testaments Preface to Images: The Edict of Cyrus and the Chinese Cuneiform Bones by E. K. Eduljee Bibliography Index About the Editor About the Contributors

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Book SynopsisHis Holiness the Dalai Lama illuminates the highly practical and compassionate use of Tantra for spiritual development in this important classic work.Deity Yoga is the second volume in The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra series in which the Dalai Lama offers illuminating commentary on Tsongkhapa’s seminal text on Buddhist tantra. It is preceded by Volume 1: Tantra in Tibet and followed by Volume 3: Yoga Tantra.This revised work describes the profound process of meditation in Action (kriyā) and Performance (caryā) Tantras. Invaluable for anyone who is practicing or is interested in Buddhist tantra, this volume includes a lucid exposition of the meditative techniques of deity yoga from H.H. the Dalai Lama; the second and third chapters of the classic Great Exposition of Secret Mantra text; and a supplement by Jeffrey Hopkins outlining the structure of Action Tantra practices as well as the need for the development of special yogic powers.

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