Search results for ""author huston""

In honor of its 50th anniversary comes a special edition of Huston Smith's masterpiece "The World's Religions", the classic exploration of the essential elements and teachings of the world's predominant faiths. Emphasizing the inner - rather than the institutional - dimensions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Smith devotes special attention to Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, Sufism, indigenous religions and the teachings of Jesus. He convincingly conveys the unique appeal and gifts of each of the traditions and reveals their hold on the human heart and imagination. This special 'plus' edition will include an essay by Smith which provides an overview of his life spent 'Exploring the World's Religious Frontiers'.

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The acclaimed New Encyclopedia of Islam comprehensively encompasses the beliefs, practices, history, and culture of the Islamic world in a single, accessible volume. Now extensively revised and updated with over 300 new entries, The New Encyclopedia of Islam describes all aspects of the religion, from its rituals, sects, and prayers to its political movements, social institutions, and spiritual and political leaders; from the art and architecture of Islam, to its history and ethnography; from its nations and states to its languages, science, and major centers of learning. This unique single-volume work, now consisting of over 1400 entries, has been fully revised and contains a wide range of new entries covering the contemporary Islamic scene, including a substantial entry on the Taliban, plus information on many other organizations and movements that are critical to understanding Islam's role in today's religious and political conflicts. Previous editions have won worldwide acclaim for their research, clarity and graceful style. This new edition also contains an extensively revised chronology spanning the entire history of Islam, from its origins through developments in the Muslim world today.

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A concise and up-to-date guide to the history, teachings, and practice of Buddhism by two luminaries in the field of world religions.

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In this collection of illuminating conversations, renowned historian of world religions Huston Smith invites ten influential American Indian spiritual and political leaders to talk about their five-hundred-year struggle for religious freedom. Their intimate, impassioned dialogues yield profound insights into one of the most striking cases of tragic irony in history: the country that prides itself on religious freedom has resolutely denied those same rights to its own indigenous people. With remarkable erudition and curiosity - and respectfully framing his questions in light of the revelation that his discovery of Native American religion helped him round out his views of the world's religions--Smith skillfully helps reveal the depth of the speakers' knowledge and experience. American Indian leaders Vine Deloria, Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux), Winona LaDuke (Anishshinaabeg), Walter Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), Frank Dayish, Jr. (Navajo), Charlotte Black Elk (Oglala Lakota), Douglas George-Kanentiio (Mohawk-Iroquois), Lenny Foster (Dine/Navajo), Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga), Anthony Guy Lopez (Lakota-Sioux), and Oren Lyons (Onondaga) provide an impressive overview of the critical issues facing the Native American community today. Their ideas about spirituality, politics, relations with the U.S. government, their place in American society, and the continuing vitality of their communities give voice to a population that is all too often ignored in contemporary discourse. The culture they describe is not a relic of the past, nor a historical curiosity, but a living tradition that continues to shape Native American lives.

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Buddhism and psychedelic exploration share a common concern: the liberation of the mind. This new edition of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics has substantially evolved from the landmark anthology that launched the first serious inquiry into the moral, ethical, doctrinal, and transcendental considerations of the intersection of Buddhism and psychedelics. A provocative and thoughtful exploration of inner states and personal transformation, Zig Zag Zen now includes an expanded display of stunning artwork from Android Jones, Sukhi Barber, Randal Roberts, Luke Brown and Ang Tsherin Sherpa, and more work by the pioneering visionary artist Alex Grey. Complementing these new images are original essays by such luminaries as Ralph Metzner and Brad Warner; exciting interviews with James Fadiman, Kokyo Henkel, and Rick Doblin; and a discussion of ayahuasca's unique influence on Zen Buddhism by David Coyote (six new text contributions in total); all of which have been carefully curated to extend the original inquiry of authors Joan Halifax Roshi, Peter Matthiesen, Jack Kornfield, Terence McKenna, Rick Fields and many others. Contemporary seekers of spiritual truth know that both Buddhism and psychedelics are inevitably subjects encountered along the journey. By examining them together, the reader can discover truth about the essence of each.

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The medieval cycle plays from such cities as York and Chester culminated in a drama about the end of time, the Last Judgment. David Bevington and the other contributors to this book look at this final event of history as depicted in pre-modern times, and the result is a work of scholarly precision that, according to Bevington's introduction, attempts to see medieval drama in the context of other medieval art forms.

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