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Theravada is one of the three main branches of Buddhism. In Asia it is practiced widely in Thailand, Laos, Burma,…
Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. This fascinating ethnography opens a window onto two communities of Theravada Buddhists in contemporary America: one outside Philadelphia that is composed largely of Thai immigrants and one outside Boston that consists mainly of white converts. Wendy Cadge first provides a historical overview of Theravada Buddhism and considers its specific origins here in the United States. She then brings her findings to bear on issues of personal identity, immigration, cultural assimilation, and the nature of religion in everyday life. Her work is the first systematic comparison of the ways in which immigrant and convert Buddhists understand, practice, and adapt the Buddhist tradition in America. The men and women whom Cadge meets and observes speak directly to us in this work, both in their personal testimonials and as they meditate, pray, and practice Buddhism. Creative and insightful, Heartwood will be of enormous value to sociologists of religion and anyone wishing to understand the rise of Buddhism in the Western world.Freedom through Correct Knowing: On Khedrup Jé's Interpretation of Dharmakirti
By Sera Jey English Translation Department. 2022
Discover a clear and accessible translation with commentary on key parts of Khedrup Jé&’s Clearing Mental Darkness. Composed at the…
request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this translation with commentary on key parts of Khedrup Jé&’s Clearing Mental Darkness: An Ornament of Dharmakirti&’s &“Seven Treatises on Valid Cognition&” is intended for all levels of understanding. You&’ll learn how a mind realizes its object, which types of consciousness realize their objects, and when a consciousness is considered to be valid in the sense of realizing its object. Having explained valid cognizers, or direct perceivers, which are essential to understanding the four noble truths, Khedrup Jé goes on to brilliantly elucidate this essential teaching of the Buddha and offers a lucid presentation of how to progress on the spiritual paths of liberation and enlightenment, including how to generate yogic perception directly realizing selflessness. With this, one develops an unmistaken realization of the fundamental reality of selflessness of persons and phenomena, which eliminates ignorance, the root cause of all mental afflictions and samsaric suffering.That Is Not Your Mind!: Zen Reflections on the Surangama Sutr
By Robert Rosenbaum. 2022
Viewed through the lens of psychology and neuroscience, a classic Zen sutra becomes a springboard for exploring sensory experiences and…
realizing freedom.What does it mean to be liberated through one&’s sensory life? In That Is Not Your Mind! Zen teacher Robert Rosenbaum explores this question by taking readers on a step-by-step journey through the Surangama Sutra. This Chinese Mahayana sutra is known for its emphasis on practicing with the senses (sight, sound, taste, smell, touch, and the Buddhist &“sixth sense&” of mind or cognition), as well as its teachings on the necessity of basic ethical commitments, like not killing or stealing, to support the development of one&’s meditation practice and insight. Rosenbaum interweaves passages from the sutra with contemporary insights from neuroscience and psychology, illustrating the usefulness of the text with anecdotes from his life and his forty years of teaching experience. In addition to learning about a sutra that played an important role in the creation of Chinese Chan and Japanese Zen Buddhism, readers are guided through meditations and other practices derived from the sutra&’s teachings, such as hearing meditations (awareness of sound, awareness of silence, turning hearing inwards) and centering meditations (basic centering as well as centering on compassion). "One of the most difficult aspects of Buddhist practice is wrapping our minds around how every moment is both a deceptive seeming and also a true gateway to awakening," writes Rosenbaum. "Nothing is hidden, but there is an infinite field we cannot see."The imperialist ambitions of China – which invaded Tibet in the late 1940s – have sparked the spectacular spread of…
Tibetan Buddhism worldwide, and especially in western countries. This work is a study on the malleability of a particular Buddhist tradition; on its adaptability in new contexts. The book analyses the nature of the Tibetan Buddhism in the Diaspora. It examines how the re-signification of Tibetan Buddhist practices and organizational structures in the present refers back to the dismantlement of the Tibetan state headed by the Dalai Lama and the fragmentation of Tibetan Buddhist religious organizations in general. It includes extensive multi-sited fieldwork conducted in the United States, Brazil, Europe, and Asia and a detailed analysis of contemporary documents relating to the global spread of Tibetan Buddhism. The author demonstrates that there is a "de-institutionalized" and "de-territorialized" project of political power and religious organization, which, among several other consequences, engenders the gradual "autonomization" of lamas and lineages inside the religious field of Tibetan Buddhism. Thus, a spectre of these previous institutions continues to exist outside their original contexts, and they are continually activated in ever-new settings. Using a combination of two different academic traditions – namely, the Brazilian anthropological tradition and the American Buddhist studies tradition – it investigates the "process of cultural re-signification" of Tibetan Buddhism in the context of its Diaspora. Thus, it will be a valuable resource to students and scholars of Asian Religion, Asian Studies and Buddhism.Based on newly discovered texts, this book explores the barely known but tremendously influential thought of the Tibetan Buddhist teacher,…
Mabja Jangchub Tsöndrü (d. 1185).This Tibetan Buddhist master exercised significant influence on the interpretation of Madhyamaka thinking in Tibet during the formative phase of Tibetan Buddhism and plays a key role in the religious thought of his day and beyond. The book studies the framework of Mabja’s philosophical project, holding it up against the works of both his own Madhyamaka teachers as well as those of central authors of the later "classical period". The emerging account of the evolution of Madhyamaka in Tibet reveals a striking pattern of transformative appropriations. This, in turn, affords us insights into the nature and function of tradition in Tibetan religious culture and Mahāyāna Buddhism at large. Innovation is demanded for both the advancement and consolidation of tradition. This ground-breaking book is an invaluable contribution to the study of Tibetan philosophy. It is of great interest to Buddhist practitioners, specialists in Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan Buddhism.The Heroic Heart: Awakening Unbound Compassion
By Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo. 2022
A guidebook to making life meaningful by cultivating compassion, embracing adversity, and training the mind—from one of the foremost living…
Buddhist nuns.Freeing ourselves from our habitual emotional patterns starts with taming the mind. Why is this so important? Because a wild mind tends to hurt rather than heal. Taming the mind helps us uncover our true nature and connect with those around us from a grounded place of self-awareness. Through caring for others you can walk the Buddhist path of bodhisattvas, becoming a spiritual hero of compassion. Based on the classic fourteenth-century mind training text of Tibetan Buddhism called the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva, this guidebook shares pithy advice on how to act as bodhisattvas in our everyday lives, enabling us to possess compassion in an authentic way. Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, an exemplary spiritual teacher who spent over a dozen years meditating in the Himalayas and one of the first Buddhist nuns to be ordained in the West, shares her reflections on this famous teaching and how to live a life of mindfulness and selflessness.Words for the Heart: A Treasury of Emotions from Classical India
By Maria Heim. 2022
A richly diverse collection of classical Indian terms for expressing the many moods and subtleties of emotional experienceWords for the…
Heart is a captivating treasury of emotion terms drawn from some of India’s earliest classical languages. Inspired by the traditional Indian genre of a “treasury”—a wordbook or anthology of short texts or poems—this collection features 177 jewel-like entries evoking the kinds of phenomena English speakers have variously referred to as emotions, passions, sentiments, moods, affects, and dispositions. These entries serve as beautiful literary and philosophical vignettes that convey the delightful texture of Indian thought and the sheer multiplicity of conversations about emotions in Indian texts. An indispensable reference, Words for the Heart reveals how Indian ways of interpreting human experience can challenge our assumptions about emotions and enrich our lives.Brings to light a rich lexicon of emotion from ancient IndiaUses the Indian genre of a “treasury,” or wordbook, to explore the contours of classical Indian thought in three of the subcontinent’s earliest languages—Sanskrit, Pali, and PrakritFeatures 177 alphabetical entries, from abhaya (“fearlessness”) to yoga (“the discipline of calm”)Draws on a wealth of literary, religious, and philosophical writings from classical IndiaIncludes synonyms, antonyms, related words, and suggestions for further readingInvites readers to engage in the cross-cultural study of emotionsReveals the many different ways of naming and interpreting human experienceThe Qing empire and the Dalai Lama-led Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism came into contact in the eighteenth century. Their…
interconnections would shape regional politics and the geopolitical history of Inner Asia for centuries to come. In Common Ground, Lan Wu analyzes how Tibetan Buddhists and the Qing imperial rulers interacted and negotiated as both sought strategies to expand their influence in eighteenth-century Inner Asia. In so doing, she recasts the Qing empire, seeing it not as a monolithic project of imperial administration but as a series of encounters among different communities.Wu examines a series of interconnected sites in the Qing empire where the influence of Tibetan Buddhism played a key role, tracing the movement of objects, flows of peoples, and circulation of ideas in the space between China and Tibet. She identifies a transregional Tibetan Buddhist knowledge network, which provided institutional, pragmatic, and intellectual common ground for both polities. Wu draws out the voices of lesser-known Tibetan Buddhists, whose writings and experiences evince an alternative Buddhist space beyond the state. She highlights interactions between Mongols and Tibetans within the Qing empire, exploring the creation of a Buddhist Inner Asia. Wu argues that Tibetan Buddhism occupied a central—but little understood—role in the Qing vision of empire. Revealing the interdependency of two expanding powers, Common Ground sheds new light on the entangled histories of political, social, and cultural ties between Tibet and China.Sky Dharma: The Foundations of the Namchö Treasure Teaching
By Karma Chagme, Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab. 2022
The inspiring life story of Tertön Migyur Dorje, who revealed a new cycle of Tibetan Buddhist teachings, together with a…
commentary on the preliminary practices written by his main student. Tertön Migyur Dorje revealed the Namchö treasure teachings while in a three-year retreat that began when he was only thirteen. The Great Compassionate One (Avalokiteshvara) and Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) appeared to him in pure visionary experience and gave him these teachings. Migyur Dorje then dictated them to his teacher Karma Chagme. The Namchö treasures later became the main teachings and practices of the Palyul lineage, and these teachings continue to be presented in Palyul monasteries and retreat centers throughout Asia, North America, and Europe. This book brings together two texts that have inspired countless practitioners in this lineage. The first text tells the life story of Migyur Dorje. It was composed by Karma Chagme, the master who first recognized the seven-year-old Migyur Dorje as an exceptional tulku and tertön and who was responsible for preparing him to be a major treasure revealer. The second text is a commentary on the Namchö preliminary practices. Written by Rigdzin Kunzang Sherab, Migyur Dorje&’s main student and the first throne holder of the Palyul lineage, it explains the foundational practices that should be completed before pursuing more advanced ones: the four contemplations that turn the mind to dharma and the fivefold practice of taking refuge, arousing bodhichitta, mandala offering, Vajrasattva purification, and Guru Yoga.The last century witnessed a gradual but profound transformation of the West's religious landscape. In today's context of diversity, people…
are often influenced by, and sometimes even claim to belong to, more than one religious tradition. Buddhism and Christianity is a particularly prevalent and fascinating combination. This book is the first detailed exploration of Buddhist Christian dual belonging, engaging - from both Buddhist and Christian perspectives - the questions that arise, and drawing on extensive interviews with well-known individuals in the vanguard of this important and growing phenomenon. The book looks at whether it is possible to be authentically Buddhist and authentically Christian given the differences in beliefs and practices. It asks whether Buddhist Christians are irrational, religiously schizophrenic or spiritually superficial; or whether the thought and practice of Buddhism and Christianity can be reconciled in a way that makes possible deep commitment to both. Finally, the book considers whether the influence of Buddhist Christians on each of these traditions is something to be regretted or celebrated.Theravada Buddhism has experienced a powerful and far-reaching revival in modern Nepal, especially among the Newar Buddhist laity, many of…
whom are reorganizing their lives according to its precepts, practices and ideals. This book documents these far-reaching social and personal transformations and links them to political, economic and cultural shifts associated with late modernity, and especially neoliberal globalization. Nepal has changed radically over the last century, particularly since the introduction of liberal democracy and an open-market economy in 1990. The rise of lay vipassana meditation has also dramatically impacted the Buddhist landscape. Drawing on recently revived understandings of ethics as embodied practices of self-formation, the author argues that the Theravada turn is best understood as an ethical movement that offers practitioners ways of engaging, and models for living in, a rapidly changing world. The book takes readers into the Buddhist reform from the perspectives of its diverse practitioners, detailing devotees' ritual and meditative practices, their often conflicted relations to Vajrayana Buddhism and Newar civil society, their struggles over identity in a formerly Hindu nation-state, and the political, cultural, institutional and moral reorientations that becoming a "pure Buddhist"—as Theravada devotees understand themselves—entails. Based on more than 20 years of anthropological fieldwork, this book is an important contribution to scholarly debates over modern Buddhism, ethical practices, and the anthropology of religion. It is of interest to students and scholars of Asian Religion, Anthropology, Buddhism and Philosophy.Buddhist Perspectives on Free Will: Agentless Agency?
By Rick Repetti. 2017
Throughout the history of Buddhism, little has been said prior to the Twentieth Century that explicitly raises the question whether…
we have free will, though the Buddha rejected fatalism and some Buddhists have addressed whether karma is fatalistic. Recently, however, Buddhist and Western philosophers have begun to explicitly discuss Buddhism and free will. This book incorporates Buddhist philosophy more explicitly into the Western analytic philosophical discussion of free will, both in order to render more perspicuous Buddhist ideas that might shed light on the Western philosophical debate, and in order to render more perspicuous the many possible positions on the free will debate that are available to Buddhist philosophy. The book covers: Buddhist and Western perspectives on the problem of free will The puzzle of whether free will is possible if, as Buddhists believe, there is no agent/self Theravāda views Mahāyāna views Evidential considerations from science, meditation, and skepticism The first book to bring together classical and contemporary perspectives on free will in Buddhist thought, it is of interest to academics working on Buddhist and Western ethics, comparative philosophy, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of action, agency, and personal identity.Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep, The: Practices for Awakening
By Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. 2022
Deepen your awareness through the practice of Tibetan dream and sleep yoga."If we cannot carry our practice into sleep, if we lose ourselves…
every night, what chance do we have to be aware when death comes? Look to your experience in dreams to know how you will fare in death. Look to your experience of sleep to discover whether or not you are truly awake."—Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche We spend a third of our life sleeping and it is common, in many spiritual traditions throughout the world, for the world of dream and sleep to be utilized on the path to awakening. Dream yoga in the Tibetan traditions of dream practice has been the primary support for the realization of many yogis and great Tibetan masters. Now, updated and presented with fresh insight born from years of teaching this practice to Westerners, Tenzin Wangyal clearly presents a powerful method for liberation. With clearly illustrated Tibetan syllables and the places they are to be visualized, this practical guide will be of use to both new and adept practitioners.This Thing Called You
By Ernest Holmes. 2022
The beloved classic that has awakened generations to the power within.One of Ernest Holmes’s cornerstone works, This Thing Called You…
is an intimate guide through which readers learn the important lesson of how they are an immutable part of the flow of life, and how they may fulfill the longing, within all of us, to live more fully.-Print ed.Orpheus: The Theosophy of the Greeks
By George Robert Stow Mead. 2022
WHO has not heard the romantic legend of Orpheus and Eurydice? The polished verse of Virgil, in his Georgics (iv.…
452-527), has immortalised the story, told by “Cærulean Proteus”. But few know the importance that mythical Orpheus plays in Grecian legends, nor the many arts and sciences attributed to him by fond posterity. Orpheus was the father of the Pan-Hellenic faith, the great theologer, the man who brought to Greece the sacred rites of secret worship and taught the mysteries of nature and of God. To him the Greeks confessed they owed religion, the arts, the sciences both sacred and profane; and, therefore, in dealing with the subject I have proposed to myself in this essay, it will be necessary to treat of a theology “which was first mystically and symbolically promulgated by Orpheus, afterwards disseminated enigmatically through images by Pythagoras, and in the last place scientifically unfolded by Plato and his genuine disciples” or to use the words of Proclus, the last great master of Neoplatonism, “all the theology of the Greeks comes from Orphic mystagogy,” that is to say, initiation into the mysteries. Not only did the learned of the Pagan world ascribe the sacred science to the same source, but also the instructed of the Christian fathers (ibid., p. 466). It must not, however, be supposed that Orpheus was regarded as the “inventor” of theology, but rather as the transmitter of the science of divine things to the Grecian world, or even as the reformer of an existing cult that, even in the early times before the legendary Trojan era, had already fallen into decay. The well-informed among the ancients recognised a common basis in the inner rites of the then existing religions, and even the least mystical of writers admit a ‘common bond of discipline,’ as, for instance, Lobeck, who demonstrates that the ideas of the Egyptians, Chaldæans, Orphics and Pythagoreans were derived from a common source.Spirits In Rebellion: The Rise and Development of New Thought
By Charles S. Braden. 2022
This 1963 book provides an invaluable glimpse into the mid-nineteenth century origins, beginning with Phineas P. Quimby, of the New…
Thought movement in the United States. It describes the careers of the most influential teachers and writers in the various schools and movements, with the exception of the well-known Christian Science church. Braden's text is a MUST for any serious student of metaphysics. The work delves deeply into the roots of New Thought and chronicles many key churches and movements throughout the United States and abroad. Braden writes with scholarly insight and spirit-led intuition.-Print ed.Charles Samuel Braden (19 September 1887 – 1970) was Professor and Chair of the Department of History and Literature of Religions at Northwestern University. He joined the faculty in 1926 and held the professorship from 1943; he was awarded emeritus status in 1954. Braden became known in particular for the study of new religious movements (NRM). His Spirits in Rebellion: The Rise and Development of New Thought (1963) remains the standard history of the New Thought family of NRMs.-WikiWalter Russell - The Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe
By Glenn Clark. 2022
Walter Russell (1871-1963) was an American polymath, known for his achievements in painting, sculpture, architecture, and for his unified theory…
in physics and cosmogony. He posited that the universe was founded on a unifying principle of rhythmic balanced interchange. This physical theory, laid out primarily in his books The Secret of Light (1947) and The Message of the Divine Iliad (1948-49), has not been accepted by mainstream scientists. Russell asserted that this was mainly due to differences between himself and scientists in their assumptions about the existence of mind or matter. Russell was also proficient in philosophy, music, ice skating, and was a professor at the institution he founded, the University of Science and Philosophy. He believed mediocrity is self-inflicted and genius is self-bestowed. In 1963, Walter Cronkite in the national television evening news, commenting on Dr. Walter Russell's death, referred to him as "... the Leonardo da Vinci of our time."-Print ed.Strange Altars: The Inside Story Of Voodoo As Practiced On The Island Of Haiti
By Marcus Bach. 2022
Marcus Bach, a researcher in primitive and exotic religions, and his photographer wife, Lorena, arrive in Haiti. Their purpose -…
to penetrate a religion which has been forbidden to outsiders. The ancient rites of Voodoo.Strangely, a white man is their guide. Stanley Reser, an enigmatic American doctor, is rumored to be a Voodoo priest; on his arm flicker a tattooed red dragon. The three watch the mambos chant their prayers to the snake god Damballa; dance their homage to the pulsation of jungle drums; draw their sacred symbols on the beaten earth. The faithful walk through flames, possessed by the spirits of the Ioas, the immortal Voodoo saints. Here where the supernatural prevails.Bach discovers a dynamic Christianity, the deep-felt religion of those who worship at Strange Altars.-print ed.Metaphysical Healing
By Joel S. Goldsmith. 2022
Rare early pamphlet by the creator of the "Infinite Way". This is a guidebook to instruct those seeking inner peace…
and joy. Goldsmith instructs on how the mind can transcend its apparent limitations and become what it is intended to be, an instrument for the free flowing of the Spirit. This is a work for persons who are seeking a way to live the contemplative life in the midst of the world. Parenthetically, Goldsmith was one of Elvis' favorite authors.-Print ed.One Blade of Grass: A Zen Memoir
By Henry Shukman. 2021
A memoir of author and poet Henry Shukman's lifelong journey through Zen Buddhism and the experiences in his life -…
both positive and painful - that fuelled his quest.**A TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR SELECTION**'Captivating'TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT'The book Shukman was born to write'NATALIE GOLDBERG, author of WRITING DOWN THE BONES'A wonderful and generous book'DAVID HINTON, author of THE WILDS OF POETRY'Heartfelt and beautifully written'STEPHEN BATCHELOR, author of AFTER BUDDHISM***One Blade of Grass is award-winning novelist and poet Henry Shukman's account of his journey through the world of Zen Buddhism. Raised in a rationalist household in Oxford during the spiritual heyday of the Sixties and Seventies, an unexpected spiritual awakening would prompt a lifelong quest to integrate the experience into his life, leading him eventually to Zen Buddhism. As Shukman gets to grips with meditative practice and struggles with anxiety, depression and the chronic eczema he had had since childhoods, he discovers in surprising ways the emotional, spiritual and even physical healing that he has been searching for all along.By turns humorous and moving, this beautifully written memoir demystifies Zen training, casting its profound insights in simple, lucid language, and takes the reader on a journey of their own, into the hidden treasures of life that contemplative practice can reveal to any of us.(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd