Buddhism Books

Book SynopsisIn this volume Sangharakshita approaches communicating Buddhism in the West from two very different, but equally illuminating, angles. In the first part, in talks given in the early years of his teaching in England, he introduces the apparently exotic worlds of Tibetan Buddhism (1965) and its creative symbols (1972) and Zen Buddhism (1965), clarifying their mysteries while also somehow allowing them to work their magic. In the second part, by contrast, he examines the practice of Buddhism in the context of Western culture. In the polemical paper The FWBO and 'Protestant Buddhism' (first published in 1992) he looks at the characteristics of the Triratna community (the FWBO at the time of writing) as it was 25 years after its founding, in a response to an academic's assessment of the nascent Buddhist movement. And in From Genesis to the Diamond Sutra (first published in 2005) he reveals his own attitude to the literature and doctrines of Christianity, including the Christian view of homosexuality, in a multi-faceted exploration which includes autobiographical material not found anywhere else in his written work.

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Book SynopsisThis volume includes two memoirs. In the Sign of the Golden Wheel tells the story of the `middle period’ of the fourteen years Sangharakshita was based in the Indian hill station, Kalimpong. It is a crucial time for Buddhism as the whole Asian world is preparing to celebrate 2,500 years of Buddhism, and Sangharakshita’s abundant energies are brought into play in diverse ways. His commitment to spreading the Dharma as widely as he can and to serving the (few) existing Buddhists in India takes him far afield: from tea estates in Assam to a film studio in Bombay, from the Maha Bodhi Society in Calcutta – he becomes the inspired editor of the internationally read Maha Bodhi Journal – to Kasturchand Park in Nagpur where he speaks to hundreds of thousands of bereaved followers of the great Dr Ambedkar. Whether describing great events of international import or those of more local significance, such as the funeral of Miss Barclay’s cat, the flowing prose descriptions of people, places and events bring it all vividly to life. And through it all the enlightening, inspiring and moving reflections on life, the Dharma, poetry, friendship – and himself. Precious Teachers covers the last period of Sangharakshita’s time in Kalimpong. Here too are vivid encounters with people – a damsel in distress, a dakini, a transsexual and many others. At the forefront, though, are Sangharakshita’s Buddhist teachers: the Tibetans Jamyang Khyentse Rimpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rimpoche, Dudjom Rimpoche, Kachu Rimpoche, Chattrul Sangye Dorje and Dhardo Rimpoche, and Chinese Yogi Chen. He recalls their meetings, his abhiṣekas or initiations, and the friendship that developed with Dhardo Rimpoche. In the background are events of international significance: the Chinese in Tibet, and the oppression of Buddhists in Vietnam. The memoir concludes with a letter from the English Sangha Trust inviting Sangharakshita back to the West....

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Book SynopsisThis volume includes two memoirs. In the Sign of the Golden Wheel tells the story of the `middle period’ of the fourteen years Sangharakshita was based in the Indian hill station, Kalimpong. It is a crucial time for Buddhism as the whole Asian world is preparing to celebrate 2,500 years of Buddhism, and Sangharakshita’s abundant energies are brought into play in diverse ways. His commitment to spreading the Dharma as widely as he can and to serving the (few) existing Buddhists in India takes him far afield: from tea estates in Assam to a film studio in Bombay, from the Maha Bodhi Society in Calcutta – he becomes the inspired editor of the internationally read Maha Bodhi Journal – to Kasturchand Park in Nagpur where he speaks to hundreds of thousands of bereaved followers of the great Dr Ambedkar. Whether describing great events of international import or those of more local significance, such as the funeral of Miss Barclay’s cat, the flowing prose descriptions of people, places and events bring it all vividly to life. And through it all the enlightening, inspiring and moving reflections on life, the Dharma, poetry, friendship – and himself. Precious Teachers covers the last period of Sangharakshita’s time in Kalimpong. Here too are vivid encounters with people – a damsel in distress, a dakini, a transsexual and many others. At the forefront, though, are Sangharakshita’s Buddhist teachers: the Tibetans Jamyang Khyentse Rimpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rimpoche, Dudjom Rimpoche, Kachu Rimpoche, Chattrul Sangye Dorje and Dhardo Rimpoche, and Chinese Yogi Chen. He recalls their meetings, his abhiṣekas or initiations, and the friendship that developed with Dhardo Rimpoche. In the background are events of international significance: the Chinese in Tibet, and the oppression of Buddhists in Vietnam. The memoir concludes with a letter from the English Sangha Trust inviting Sangharakshita back to the West....

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Book Synopsis`It is its spiritual background which gives to Sangharakshita's poetry its depth and emotional appeal. It rests on the inner parallelism between the most fundamental human emotions and the highest experiences on the path of liberation and enlightenment, the relationship between love and wisdom, the individual and the universal, the moods of Nature and the moods of the human heart.' - Lama Anagarika Govinda In his preface to the Complete Poems published in 1994 Sangharakshita wrote that his poems 'constitute a sort of spiritual autobiography, sketchy indeed, but perhaps revealing, or at least suggesting, aspects of my life that would not otherwise be known'. He wrote many more poems after that, and more from his early years have come to light. This volume contains all of them, offering a truly complete collection, and also includes six short stories, written over many years and some of them previously unpublished, also shedding new light on the imagination and perceptions of their author. The volume is prefaced by a foreword and two essays introducing the poems in different ways, and also contains edited versions of two talks Sangharakshita gave about specific poems, and a sequence of conversations about his poetry that were recorded towards the end of his life.

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Book Synopsis`It is its spiritual background which gives to Sangharakshita's poetry its depth and emotional appeal. It rests on the inner parallelism between the most fundamental human emotions and the highest experiences on the path of liberation and enlightenment, the relationship between love and wisdom, the individual and the universal, the moods of Nature and the moods of the human heart.' - Lama Anagarika Govinda In his preface to the Complete Poems published in 1994 Sangharakshita wrote that his poems 'constitute a sort of spiritual autobiography, sketchy indeed, but perhaps revealing, or at least suggesting, aspects of my life that would not otherwise be known'. He wrote many more poems after that, and more from his early years have come to light. This volume contains all of them, offering a truly complete collection, and also includes six short stories, written over many years and some of them previously unpublished, also shedding new light on the imagination and perceptions of their author. The volume is prefaced by a foreword and two essays introducing the poems in different ways, and also contains edited versions of two talks Sangharakshita gave about specific poems, and a sequence of conversations about his poetry that were recorded towards the end of his life.

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Book SynopsisIn this volume of memoirs we find Sangharakshita after twenty years in the East arriving back in England at the invitation of the English Sangha Trust. He expects to stay no more than a few months, but the months become years and, as he comes to know the then small world of British Buddhism, he realizes that after all it is here that he may best be able to work for the good of Buddhism , as one of his teachers had once exhorted him. After a farewell tour of his friends and teachers in India, he goes on to found a new Buddhist movement and to ordain twelve men and women into a new Buddhist Order. The answer to the question Why did Sangharakshita found a new Buddhist movement and Order? is in these pages. 'Moving Against the Stream' has for its backdrop 1960s Britain, with figures as diverse as Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and David Cooper, the anti-psychiatry psychiatrist. In the world of British Buddhism there is Christmas Humphreys, founder of the London Buddhist Society, and Maurice Walshe, translator of the Digha Nikaya, and many others. Here also is the story of a friendship that was to be deeply significant for Sangharakshita. As he and Terry Delamare drive across Europe visiting the sites of ancient Greece and the churches, museums and great works of art of Renaissance Italy, Sangharakshita makes vivid the role that higher culture can play in spiritual life. This volume includes '1970 - A Retrospect' in which Sangharakshita tells of a year that begins with lectures in Paris, continues with three months at Yale University as a visiting lecturer, and concludes back in Britain as he resumes his work for the Buddhist movement. A new phase is beginning.

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Book SynopsisIn this volume of memoirs we find Sangharakshita after twenty years in the East arriving back in England at the invitation of the English Sangha Trust. He expects to stay no more than a few months, but the months become years and, as he comes to know the then small world of British Buddhism, he realizes that after all it is here that he may best be able to work for the good of Buddhism , as one of his teachers had once exhorted him. After a farewell tour of his friends and teachers in India, he goes on to found a new Buddhist movement and to ordain twelve men and women into a new Buddhist Order. The answer to the question Why did Sangharakshita found a new Buddhist movement and Order? is in these pages. 'Moving Against the Stream' has for its backdrop 1960s Britain, with figures as diverse as Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and David Cooper, the anti-psychiatry psychiatrist. In the world of British Buddhism there is Christmas Humphreys, founder of the London Buddhist Society, and Maurice Walshe, translator of the Digha Nikaya, and many others. Here also is the story of a friendship that was to be deeply significant for Sangharakshita. As he and Terry Delamare drive across Europe visiting the sites of ancient Greece and the churches, museums and great works of art of Renaissance Italy, Sangharakshita makes vivid the role that higher culture can play in spiritual life. This volume includes '1970 - A Retrospect' in which Sangharakshita tells of a year that begins with lectures in Paris, continues with three months at Yale University as a visiting lecturer, and concludes back in Britain as he resumes his work for the Buddhist movement. A new phase is beginning.

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Book SynopsisThis volume, which introduces the sequence of Complete Works volumes that include Sangharakshita's commentaries on a range of traditional Buddhist texts, begins with The Eternal Legacy, an introduction to the canonical literature of Buddhism, which succinctly and with great feeling gives the context for the commentaries to follow. Next comes Sangharakshita's talk 'The Glory of the Literary World', which considers how the Buddhist canon is to be approached, in a broad consideration of the literary traditions of both East and West. This is followed by an introduction to one of the earliest works of the Pali canon, the Udana, newly edited from a 1975 seminar for this Complete Works volume under the title Buddhism before Buddhism. Here we trace the Buddha's life from the period just after his Enlightenment to the time of his approaching death, and Sangharakshita (studying the text with members of what was in 1975 a very young Buddhist movement) draws out the newness and freshness of the Buddha's vision - so new, indeed, that words could scarcely be found to express it. And this volume concludes fittingly with Wisdom Beyond Words, Sangharakshita's much-loved commentary on several Perfection of Wisdom texts, another way of seeing how, in Asvaghosa's words, 'We use words to get free of words until we reach the pure wordless essence.'

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Book SynopsisThis volume, which introduces the sequence of Complete Works volumes that include Sangharakshita's commentaries on a range of traditional Buddhist texts, begins with The Eternal Legacy, an introduction to the canonical literature of Buddhism, which succinctly and with great feeling gives the context for the commentaries to follow. Next comes Sangharakshita's talk 'The Glory of the Literary World', which considers how the Buddhist canon is to be approached, in a broad consideration of the literary traditions of both East and West. This is followed by an introduction to one of the earliest works of the Pali canon, the Udana, newly edited from a 1975 seminar for this Complete Works volume under the title Buddhism before Buddhism. Here we trace the Buddha's life from the period just after his Enlightenment to the time of his approaching death, and Sangharakshita (studying the text with members of what was in 1975 a very young Buddhist movement) draws out the newness and freshness of the Buddha's vision - so new, indeed, that words could scarcely be found to express it. And this volume concludes fittingly with Wisdom Beyond Words, Sangharakshita's much-loved commentary on several Perfection of Wisdom texts, another way of seeing how, in Asvaghosa's words, 'We use words to get free of words until we reach the pure wordless essence.'

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Book SynopsisSangharakshita's arrival in India in 1944 marked the beginning of a period of prodigious literary and intellectual output. This was the base from which he would begin his life's work for the future of Buddhism. The essays gathered here, first published in journals such as Stepping Stones, The Maha Bodhi and The Middle Way, were written between 1944 and 1964. Ranging from The Unity of Buddhism, written in London at the age of only 18, to the panoramic A Bird's Eye View of Indian Buddhism, published on his return from India, all that distinguishes Sangharakshita's thought as teacher, synthesizer and translator is already evident here. We see the unity underlying all Buddhist schools, the inspiring ideal of the Bodhisattva, and the certainty that the Dharma is urgently needed in the modern world. This volume contains the previously published collections Crossing the Stream and Early Writings, plus other articles long since out of print. In the groundbreaking Ordination and Initiation in the Three Yanas (1959), Sangharakshita first comes close to recognizing Going for Refuge as the unifying factor in all of Buddhism. In Krishna's Flute (1944), the mind of the philosopher combines with the poet, and in A Visit to a Tibetan Monastery (1946), Sangharakshita the insightful traveller appears, seen later in his memoirs and travel letters. All the essays are fully annotated, and those previously published in Early Writings come with a detailed commentary and extensive introduction by Kalyanaprabha. A foreword by Nagabodhi introduces the collection. The insights and ideas expressed in these brief passages are as illuminating, as stimulating and as indispensable as anything Sangharakshita was ever to produce.

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Book SynopsisSangharakshita's arrival in India in 1944 marked the beginning of a period of prodigious literary and intellectual output. This was the base from which he would begin his life's work for the future of Buddhism. The essays gathered here, first published in journals such as Stepping Stones, The Maha Bodhi and The Middle Way, were written between 1944 and 1964. Ranging from The Unity of Buddhism, written in London at the age of only 18, to the panoramic A Bird's Eye View of Indian Buddhism, published on his return from India, all that distinguishes Sangharakshita's thought as teacher, synthesizer and translator is already evident here. We see the unity underlying all Buddhist schools, the inspiring ideal of the Bodhisattva, and the certainty that the Dharma is urgently needed in the modern world. This volume contains the previously published collections Crossing the Stream and Early Writings, plus other articles long since out of print. In the groundbreaking Ordination and Initiation in the Three Yanas (1959), Sangharakshita first comes close to recognizing Going for Refuge as the unifying factor in all of Buddhism. In Krishna's Flute (1944), the mind of the philosopher combines with the poet, and in A Visit to a Tibetan Monastery (1946), Sangharakshita the insightful traveller appears, seen later in his memoirs and travel letters. All the essays are fully annotated, and those previously published in Early Writings come with a detailed commentary and extensive introduction by Kalyanaprabha. A foreword by Nagabodhi introduces the collection. The insights and ideas expressed in these brief passages are as illuminating, as stimulating and as indispensable as anything Sangharakshita was ever to produce.

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Book SynopsisAlthough this classic text is more than one hundred years' old, its accurate scholarship, detailed research and lucid presentation make it no less relevant today than when it was first published. In 1916, Hermann Beckh was one of a handful of leading European authorities on Buddhist texts, reading Tibetan, Sanskrit and Pali fluently. At the same time, he was a member of the Anthroposophical Society and its Esoteric Section. In consequence, Beckh's seminal study on Buddhism has an entirely unique quality. It invites the reader to engage freely with the Buddhist Path, although in many ways re-expressed and renewed by Rudolf Steiner, whilst discovering its universal validity through the original texts. For the most part, Beckh allows these texts to speak for themselves, as eloquently now as ever. In the first section, Beckh presents Gautama Buddha's life from legend and history. The second part of the book details the `general viewpoints' of Buddhist teaching and the individual stages of the Buddhist Path, including meditation to ever higher levels. Both sections are expertly collated out of a wide knowledge of the primary sources. To this academic understanding, Beckh sheds new light on the subject from his own research, based on highly-trained meditation guided by Rudolf Steiner (with whom he carried out a long-lasting correspondence that has only recently been uncovered). Dr Katrin Binder has rendered the complete German text in a natural English idiom with great accuracy and professional insight, thereby making this timeless book available to English readers for the first time in a lucid translation. New notes and an updated bibliography are also featured. `The book before us here is not some kind of dusty text or just another undergraduate-level introduction to Buddhism. It is nothing less than the still, clear, luminous centre of a hurricane...' - Neil Franklin (from the Foreword)Table of ContentsForeword - Translator's Introduction - Regarding the pronunciation of Indian words (Sanskrit and Pali) - Abbreviations - Introduction - PART 1: THE BUDDHA - General considerations - A. The Buddha of the legend - a) The sources of the legend - b) The story of the Buddha's Becoming (according to the Lalitavistara) - c) The proclamation of the doctrine - d) The Buddha's Nirvana (according to the Mahaparinibbaanasutta) - B. The historical Buddha - a) The course of his life - b) The Buddha as a human being and spiritual teacher - PART 2: THE TEACHING - A. General Viewpoints - B. The individual stages of the Path - a) Faith (saddha) as prerequisite of the Path - b) First stage of the Path: Right Conduct (sla) - c) Second stage of the path: meditation (samaadhi) - d) Third stage of the path: realization (panna) - e) Fourth stage of the path: liberation (vimutti) - Notes - Bibliographical Review (Hermann Beckh 1916) - Additional Bibliographies (Heimo Rau 1958, Katrin Binder 2016) - Hermann Beckh: Later works on Buddhism - Glossary

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Book SynopsisThe first part of this volume consists of Sangharakshita's writings about Anagarika Dharmapala, a Sri Lankan Buddhist who made it his life's mission to restore the sacred site of Bodh Gaya, and whom Sangharakshita came to revere as one of the great Buddhists of the twentieth century. The second part is made up of articles Sangharakshita wrote for the Maha Bodhi journal, first as a regular contributor and then as the editor. They include poetic and philosophical reflections on the Dharma, as well as trenchant observations on the Buddhist world and calls to action on the issues of the day. The third part is a collection of book reviews published in the Maha Bodhi journal and other magazines over the course of nearly fifty years, from the days when the appearance of any new translation or commentary was a significant event, to more recent times, when readers could choose between hundreds of new titles.Table of ContentsForeword Part 1: Anagarika Dharmapala Part 2: Maha Bodhi Writings In the Light of the Dhamma Beating the Drum: Maha Bodhi Editorials Further Maha Bodhi Contributions Part 3: Book Reviews 1952 - 2002 Aryan Path Book Reviews Maha Bodhi Book Reviews Alternative Traditions Book Review from Golden Drum Book Reviews from A Moseley Miscellany Appendix 1: What was the Maha Bodhi journal? Appendix 2: Triyana Vardhana Vihara Kalimpong Report 1957-1962 Sources Notes and References Index A Guide to The Complete Works of Sangharakshita

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Book SynopsisPresenting vivid pictures of Gautama Buddha’s life, teaching, suffering, death and subsequent nirvāṇa, the Mahāparinibbānasutta is one of the principal Buddhist texts. In Hermann Beckh’s words, it describes ‘…one of the greatest human beings that ever lived, who stood at the threshold of the super-human – a teacher and leader of humanity.’ --- Prof. Beckh’s translation of this important sutta achieved a quality and faithfulness that was based on decades of extensive study and meditation. From his academic and spiritual knowledge, Beckh added insightful editorial material, including an introduction, commentary and notes. The English rendering here, by Indologist and long-standing Buddhist practitioner Dr Katrin Binder, is based on both the original Pālī and Beckh’s German translation. An afterword by Thomas Meyer, informed by Rudolf Steiner’s research, traces the development of Buddha’s individuality in the afterlife. --- Departure of the Perfected One brings to a conclusion the publication of Beckh’s great triad of works on the subject of Buddha, including Buddha’s Life and Teaching and From Buddha to Christ. Through a contemporary reading, these books open up vast new perspectives on the world of sacred Buddhist scriptures to anyone interested in spiritual development.Table of ContentsPreface by Neil Franklin – Translator’s Note by Katrin Binder – Introduction by Hermann Beckh – THE SACRED NARRATIVE OF THE GREAT NĪRVĀṆA – Afterword by Thomas Meyer – Postscript: Transference of Merit and Self Surrender – Editor’s Notes by Hermann Beckh

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Book SynopsisMindfulness and compassion as secular techniques and attitudes seem to open up spaces for answering needs that we all have: We long for deceleration, reconsideration, acceptance, benevolence and universal human values. However, very few are familiar with the basics of mindfulness and compassion, which have their origins in Buddhism. Systemic approaches, methods and attitudes show similarities with those of Buddhist figures of thought, so that an attempt at synergy suggests itself. How can we, as therapists, incorporate mindfulness and compassion for ourselves, but also in the work process with our clients? How can these aspects enrich our professional relationships and our creative freedom? This book is intended for everyone who wants to be inspired in their counseling and therapeutic work and in their self-reflection process.

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Book SynopsisAnalivia Cordeiro – a female perspective in media art. Considered a pioneer in both video art and computer-based video dance as well as an innovator in body art, the Brazilian artist, dancer, and choreographer Analívia Cordeiro (*1954) has been developing since the early 1970s a continuous and intense work exploring the relationships between body, movement, visual and audiovisual art as well as media art. “No matter what age, no matter how much dance experience, everyone can learn through movement." (A. Cordeiro) Since the early 1970s, Analívia Cordeiro has been one of the first female video artists to influence all of South America's media art. This publication presents the artist's body of work up to the present. In addition to an introductory text by the editor, it contains an interview with the artist, and a selection of texts by various authors and the artist herself. An extensive section of works with many illustrations, historical documents and photographs as well as a detailed biography and bibliography complete the book.

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Book SynopsisIm Mah y na-Buddhismus hat der Bodhisattva Avalokite vara, chin. Kuan(-shih)-yin, seit jeher eine besondere Bedeutung als Sinnbild der buddhistischen Barmherzigkeit. Ein haufig rezitierter Gebetstext ist das S tra der grossen, vollkommenen ungehinderten Dh ran des grossen Erbarmens- geistes des Bodhisattva Avalokite vara mit tausend Handen und tausend Augen (Ch'ien-shou ch'ien-yen Kuan-shih-yin p'u-sa kuang-ta yuan-man wu-ai t'o-lo-ni ching), das um 650 n.Chr. von dem Inder Bhagavaddharma ins Chinesische ubersetzt wurde. Die Rezitation dieser Dh ran ist eng mit Beerdigungs- und Totenriten sowie dem Bussritual und Ahnenkult verbunden. Die Autorin verfolgt zunachst die Entwicklung der Vorstellungen uber Avalokite vara anhand der wichtigsten Themen der Dh ran . Der zweite Teil behandelt die Einfuhrung des Textes nach China. Der dritte Teil enthalt die erste vollstandige deutsche Ubersetzung des Ch'ien-shou ching sowie das Vorwort des Yung-lo-Kaisers (reg. 1403-1425), den Amoghavajra (705-774) zugeschriebenen Kom- mentar und die scholastische Interpretation des T'ien-t'ai-Meisters Chih-li (960-1028). Der vierte Teil beleuchtet die kultische Praxis der Dh ran -Rezitation in China anhand von Monchsbiographien der T'ang-Zeit, Ch'ing-zeitlichen Sammlungen von Wundergeschichten und monastischen Vorschriften der Ch'an-Schule. Die Ubersetzung von Chih-lis Bussritual beschliesst diesen Teil. Die vorliegende Studie beinhaltet einen ausfuhrlichen Index mit chinesischen Zeichen sowie einen Anhang mit der Reproduktion relevanter Texte und Abbildungen.

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Book SynopsisSituating his study in the gaps between conventional categories such as Buddhism, Daoism and Chinese popular art, Stanley K. Abe examines the large body of sculpture, paintings and other religious imagery produced for China's common classes from the third to the sixth centuries CE.

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Book SynopsisDescribes the life of a Mongolian Buddhist monastery - the Mergen Monastery in Inner Mongolia - from inside its walls. From the Qing occupation of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through the Cultural Revolution, the authors tell a story of religious formation, suppression, and survival over a history that spans three centuries.Trade Review"A Monastery in Time is a tremendously original product of almost fifteen years of painstaking scholarship. Caroline Humphrey and Hurelbaatar Ujeed combine an ethnography of a particular site, the Mergen Monastery in Inner Mongolia, with a theoretically informed description of what a tradition - the Mongolian Buddhist tradition or any tradition - actually is. The results are impressive both for the theory and for the ethnography of an important but little-known religious community." (Christopher P. Atwood, Indiana University)"

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Book SynopsisIn 1941, philosopher and poet Gendun Chopel (1903-51) sent a large manuscript by ship, train, and yak across mountains and deserts to his homeland in the northeastern corner of Tibet. He would follow it five years later, returning to his native land after twelve years in India and Sri Lanka.Trade Review"Gendun Chopel's Grains of Gold is the magnum opus of arguably the single most brilliant Tibetan scholar of the twentieth century, and the team of Donald S. Lopez Jr. and renowned translator Thupten Jinpa is the ideal combination of talents to expertly render its eclectic contents into faithful but accessible English. This excellent translation will be enthusiastically (and gratefully) welcomed by both scholars and general readers." -Lauran Hartley, Columbia University"

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Book SynopsisThough contemporary European philosophy and critical theory have long had a robust engagement with Christianity, there has been no similar engagement with Buddhism-a surprising lack, given Buddhism's global reach and obvious affinities with much of Continental philosophy. This volume fills that gap, bringing together three scholars to offer individual, distinct, yet complementary philosophical takes on Buddhism. Focused on nothing-essential to Buddhism, of course, but also a key concept in critical theory from Hegel and Marx through deconstruction, queer theory, and contemporary speculative philosophy-the book explores different ways of rethinking Buddhism's nothing. Through an elaboration of sunyata, or emptiness, in both critical and Buddhist traditions; an examination of the problem of praxis in Buddhism, Marxism, and psychoanalysis; and an explication of a Buddaphobia that is rooted in modern anxieties about nothingness, Marcus Boon, Eric Cazdyn, and Timothy Morton open up new spa

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Book SynopsisWe have come to admire Buddhism for being profound but accessible, as much a lifestyle as a religion. The credit for creating Buddhism goes to the Buddha, a figure widely respected across the Western world for his philosophical insight, his teachings of nonviolence, and his practice of meditation. But who was this Buddha, and how did he become the Buddha we know and love today? Leading historian of Buddhism Donald S. Lopez Jr. tells the story of how various idols carved in stone variously named Beddou, Codam, Xaca, and Fo - became the man of flesh and blood that we know simply as the Buddha. He reveals that the positive view of the Buddha in Europe and America is rather recent, originating a little more than a hundred and fifty years ago. For centuries, the Buddha was condemned by Western writers as the most dangerous idol of the Orient. He was a demon, the murderer of his mother, a purveyor of idolatry. Lopez provides an engaging history of depictions of the Buddha from classical accounts and medieval stories to the testimonies of European travelers, diplomats, soldiers, and missionaries. He shows that centuries of hostility toward the Buddha changed dramatically in the nineteenth century, when the teachings of the Buddha, having disappeared from India by the fourteenth century, were read by European scholars newly proficient in Asian languages. At the same time, the traditional view of the Buddha persisted in Asia, where he was revered as much for his supernatural powers as for his philosophical insights. From Stone to Flesh follows the twists and turns of these Eastern and Western notions of the Buddha, leading finally to his triumph as the founder of a world religion.

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Book SynopsisWe tend to think that the Buddha has always been seen as the compassionate sage admired around the world today, but until the nineteenth century, Europeans often regarded him as a nefarious figure, an idol worshipped by the pagans of the Orient. Donald S. Lopez Jr. offers here a rich sourcebook of European fantasies about the Buddha drawn from the works of dozens of authors over fifteen hundred years, including Clement of Alexandria, Marco Polo, St. Francis Xavier, Voltaire, and Sir William Jones. Featuring writings by soldiers, adventurers, merchants, missionaries, theologians, and colonial officers, this volume contains a wide range of portraits of the Buddha. The descriptions are rarely flattering, as all manner of reports some accurate, some inaccurate, and some garbled came to circulate among European savants and eccentrics, many of whom were famous in their day but are long forgotten in ours. Taken together, these accounts present a fascinating picture, not only of the Buddha as

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Book SynopsisPrisoners of Shangri-La is a provocative analysis of how the West cultivated the "romance" of Tibet, and how that romance gradually came to imprison those who sought Tibetan independence from China.

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Book SynopsisThrough incisive discussions of topics ranging from practice, power, and pedagogy to ritual, history, sex, and death, the authors offer new directions for the understanding of Buddhism, taking constructive and sometimes polemical positions in an effort both to demonstrate the shortcomings of assumptions about the religion and the potential.

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Book SynopsisWe tend to think that the Buddha has always been seen as the compassionate sage admired around the world today, but until the nineteenth century, Europeans often regarded him as a nefarious figure, an idol worshipped by the pagans of the Orient. Donald S. Lopez Jr. offers here a rich sourcebook of European fantasies about the Buddha drawn from the works of dozens of authors over fifteen hundred years, including Clement of Alexandria, Marco Polo, St. Francis Xavier, Voltaire, and Sir William Jones. Featuring writings by soldiers, adventurers, merchants, missionaries, theologians, and colonial officers, this volume contains a wide range of portraits of the Buddha. The descriptions are rarely flattering, as all manner of reports some accurate, some inaccurate, and some garbled came to circulate among European savants and eccentrics, many of whom were famous in their day but are long forgotten in ours. Taken together, these accounts present a fascinating picture, not only of the Buddha as

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"David Gordon White’s new book, Dæmons are Forever: Contacts and Exchangesin the Eurasian Pandemonium, is one of the most significant monographs in the academic study of religion in recent years. With impressive geographical and temporal scopes—ranging from East and South Asia all the way to Northern and Western Europe, and from reconstructed prehistorical protomyths to contemporary ethnography—the book impressively attempts to narrate the long story of vital religious contacts and exchanges across Eurasia. . . . Dæmons are Forever charts a path for future insights into Eurasia’s interconnected histories." * Reading Religion *"This is an excellent resource for advanced or graduate students and researchers, and it could serve as a reference covering the myriad stories, creatures, and Indo-European features included. . . . Dæmons are Forever is both capstone and cornerstone, a summation of a professional scholarly career and the laying of a foundation for the continuing work of a professor emeritus." * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *“Not only does White address an immense geographic space with stupefying erudition, but he examines an equally vast historical time period, using texts from High Antiquity to contemporary ethnography. . . . This work reveals the immense erudition and intellectual virtuosity of the author, an admirable expert not only of the religions of the Indian sub-continent, but also of a wide array of Euro-asian religious traditions.” * Archives de sciences sociales des religions (Translated from French) *“White is unique in combining the characters of an old-fashioned, obsessively knowledgeable linguist, an Eliadean (or even Frazerian) comparatist, and a cutting-edge theorist with a particular penchant for the dark, the bent, and the anarchic in human religious life. This book makes full use of all his talents, presenting a broad view, constantly enlivened with astonishing details, of the too-long-misunderstood role of the demonic in the history of religions.” * Wendy Doniger, University of Chicago *“A revelatory book that brims with erudition and ambition, making connections that span thousands of miles and cross not only centuries but millennia. White has written a book that issues a series of challenges to how we should look at South Asia and worlds far beyond.” * Peter Frankopan, Worcester College *Table of ContentsList of Abbreviations Note on Translations 1 Dæmon-ology 2 Of Filth and Phylacteries 3 The Demons Are in the Details: Demonological Sciences and Technologies, East and West 4 Medieval and Modern Child Abductions 5 Odysseus in Taprobane 6 Perilous Fountains 7 Imagining a Connected History of Religions Acknowledgments Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisIn this study of sexuality, desire, the body and women, Liz Wilson investigates first-millennium Buddhist notions of spirituality. She argues that despite the marginal role women played in monastic life, they occupied a very conspicuous place in Buddhist hagiographic literature.

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Book SynopsisA translation of "The Lotus Sutra" which has been regarded as one of the illustrious scriptures in the Mahayana Buddhist canon.Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Expedient Means 3. Simile and Parable 4. Belief and Understanding 5. The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs 6. Bestowal of Prophecy 7. The Parable of the Phantom City 8. Prophecy of Enlightenment for Five Hundred Disciples 9. Prophecies Conferred on Learners and Adepts 10. The Teacher of the Law 11. The Emergence of the Treasure Tower 12. Devadatta 13. Encouraging Devotion 14. Peaceful Practices 15. Emerging from the Earth 16. The Life Span of the Thus Come One 17. Distinctions in Benefits 18. The Benefits of Responding with Joy 19. Benefits of the Teacher of the Law 20. The Bodhisattva Never Disparaging 21. Supernatural Powers of the Thus Come One 22. Entrustment 23. Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King 24. The Bodhisattva Wonderful Sound 25. The Universal Gateway of the Bodhisattva Perceiver of the World's Sounds 26. Dharani 27. Former Affairs of King Wonderful Adornment 28. Encouragements of the Bodhisattva Universal Worthy

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Book SynopsisThis is the study of a small group of Tibetan Buddhists called the Nyishangba who have maintained an egalitarian culture, where women own land and have equal rights, including in social and religious institutions, and where the usual subordination of women does not appear to occur.Trade ReviewDrawing threads of individual oral histories together with detailed ethnographic inquiry, Watkins weaves a colorful background to her analysis of gender relations among the Nyeshangte of the Nepal Himalaya... The author traces through the history of the Nyeshangte people, their traditional trading practices and the historical and modern factors which have transformed their way of life. Royal Society for Asian Affairs

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewProvocative, challenging, and engaging, Contemplative Science should be read by all serious students of the mind, scientists, contemplatives, and religious scholars alike. Alan Wallace has a breathtaking command of knowledge rooted in Buddhism but embracing the physical and cognitive sciences and most importantly informed by meditation practice. This book will help set the stage for a unique development in the twenty-first-century--a genuine collaboration between the contemplative traditions and Western science. -- Richard J. Davidson, William James and Vilas Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison Contemplative Science is a must read for anyone interested in consciousness. Alan Wallace challenges neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, and Buddhists, with lucid, provocative scholarship. -- Paul Ekman, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, University of California, San Francisco, and author of Emotions Revealed [From] one of the most prominent voices in the discussions... Contemplative Science is a useful primer. -- Benjamin Bogin Buddhadharma Wallace makes a strong case. -- George Scialabba Boston Globe A copy should go to every scientist - both physical and contemplative - in the land. -- David Fontana The Scientific and Medical NetworkTable of ContentsAcknowledgments 1 - Principles of Contemplative Science 2 - Where Science and Religion Collide 3 - The Study of Consciousness, East and West 4 - Spiritual Awakening and Objective Knowledge 5 - Buddhist Nontheism, Polytheism, and Monotheism 6 - Worlds of Intersubjectivity 7 - Samatha: The Contemplative Refinement of Attention 8 - Beyond Idolatry: The Renaissance of a Spirit of Empiricism Notes Bibliography

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewLawrence J. McCrea and Parimal G. Patil havce provided us with a fine translation of a rare and difficult Sanskrit text by Jnanasrimitra, a Buddhist philosopher who lived in the late tenth and early eleventh century... Excellent... This work will remain the standard English translation of Jnanasrimitra's Monograph on Exclusion for many years to come. International Journal of Hindu StudiesTable of ContentsPreface Introduction 1. Jnanasrimitra's Intellectual World and Its History Jnanasrimitra's Intellectual Contexts Philosophical Traditions and Text Traditions Sanskrit Intellectual Practices Sources of Knowledge 2. The Buddhist Epistemological Tradition: Dignaga and Dharmakirti Objects and Their Status The Elements of Inferential Reasoning 3. Dharmottara's Epistemological Revolution 4. Jnanasrimitra's Reworking of the Theory of Exclusion Relativization of Internal and External Conditionally Adopted Positions 5. Translation Practices Editorial Conventions Numbering System Jnanasrimitra's Monograph on Exclusion Outline Translation Sanskrit Text of the Monograph on Exclusion Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewLawrence J. McCrea and Parimal G. Patil havce provided us with a fine translation of a rare and difficult Sanskrit text by Jnanasrimitra, a Buddhist philosopher who lived in the late tenth and early eleventh century... Excellent... This work will remain the standard English translation of Jnanasrimitra's Monograph on Exclusion for many years to come. International Journal of Hindu StudiesTable of ContentsPreface Introduction 1. Jnanasrimitra's Intellectual World and Its History Jnanasrimitra's Intellectual Contexts Philosophical Traditions and Text Traditions Sanskrit Intellectual Practices Sources of Knowledge 2. The Buddhist Epistemological Tradition: Dignaga and Dharmakirti Objects and Their Status The Elements of Inferential Reasoning 3. Dharmottara's Epistemological Revolution 4. Jnanasrimitra's Reworking of the Theory of Exclusion Relativization of Internal and External Conditionally Adopted Positions 5. Translation Practices Editorial Conventions Numbering System Jnanasrimitra's Monograph on Exclusion Outline Translation Sanskrit Text of the Monograph on Exclusion Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWhat a refreshing experience to read an honest book like Reaching for the Moon. It is not a speculation or mindless display of technical knowledge about other religious traditions. The author--a man of sincere religious faith--writes about other persons' religious faiths with profound affection, respect and understanding. Morgan is aware of many stumbling blocks and hazards for genuine inter-religious understanding and cooperation. But he also exemplifies A- through his own life A- the rich reward for such a spiritual pilgrimage. This book will be an invaluable guide for those who wish to learn from followers of religious ways other than one's own. Like all his earlier volumes, this one will give many helpful pointers to a wide variety of readers. ReviewTable of Contents1. Reaching for the Moon 2. Realities In Our Natural Environment 3. Realities Seen As Sacred 4. Guidance Some Asian Religious Communities Offer 5. Some Asian Ways of Following a Religious Path 6. Reflective Meditation 7. Devotional Meditation 8. Some Problems Along the Way

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Book SynopsisThe Body Incantatory reveals the histories and logics of practice of deeply embodied forms of Buddhist ritual. Paul Copp vividly captures the diversity of Buddhist practice among medieval monks, ritual healers, and other individuals lost to history, offering a corrective to accounts that have overemphasized elite, canonical materials.Trade ReviewThe Body Incantatory rightly calls into question the commonplace assumption that high esoteric Buddhism 'erased' an older 'proto-esoteric' incantation culture or relegated it to obsolescence. In doubting this assumption and studying the discourses and uses of dharani 'incantations' in medieval Chinese Buddhist culture, this book significantly contributes to our understanding of Buddhism in China in several significant ways. -- Daniel B. Stevenson, University of Kansas This book engages a wide range of new materials, primarily unstudied texts and new archaeological evidence. It advances some key discussions that have recently been occupying the field of the study of Chinese religions and is filled with some real gems of scholarship that will excite the reader and inspire reflection. -- James Robson, Harvard University This exhilarating book profoundly revises our understanding of Buddhist spells in medieval China. Both provocative and persuasive, it provides the first in-depth analysis of such spells manifested across a wide range of written, verbal, and material forms and compels us to reevaluate their fundamental importance in Buddhist practices. -- Wu Hung, University of Chicago Buddhist dharani-verbal but often unintelligible incantations that took on an astonishing array of material forms-exist at the intersection of the domain of meanings and the domain of things, making them particularly 'good to think with.' And in The Body Incantatory Paul Copp does some wonderful thinking. His comprehensive and erudite study is a major contribution not only to the study of medieval Chinese Buddhism but also to our understanding of religious ritual and material culture writ large. -- Robert Sharf, University of California, Berkeley Groundbreaking... I believe this book will become a classic as well as pioneering work for the study of Buddhist spells. -- Youn-mi Kim Studies in Chinese Religions An important and thought-provoking contribution... Eschewing the method of broad philological [survey] in favor of close readings of selected texts and-more importantly-material objects, Copp successfully illuminates several oft-overlooked aspects of medieval Chinese dhara?i, and in the process brings to light new insights on the permutations of both Buddhist and Chinese religious cultures. -- Josh Capitanio Journal of Chinese Religions An important contribution to the scholarly understanding of religious ritual and material culture. -- Richard D. McBride II Journal of the American Oriental Society Copp has earned a reputation as the leading expert on Chinese Buddhist dharani (incantation), and this book is likely to remain the definitive study on this topic for some time to come. Religious Studies Review An important contribution to our understanding of medieval Chinese religious life... A valuable resource for scholars working in comparative religion. Review of Religion and Chinese Society Copp is to be commended for his bid to redirect and reshape the study of medieval Chinese Buddhism in The Body Incantatory. -- Dominic Steavu Journal of Asian StudiesTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface: The Body Incantatory Thanks Abbreviations Introduction: Dharanis and the Study of Buddhist Spells 1. Scripture, Relic, Talisman, Spell 2. Amulets of the Incantation of Wish Fulfillment 3. Dust, Shadow, and the Incantation of Glory 4. Mystic Store and Wizard's Basket Coda: Material Incantations and the Study of Medieval Chinese Buddhism Appendix 1. Suiqiu Amulets Discovered in China Appendix 2. Stein no. 4690: Four Spells Notes Glossary Sources Index

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