Download or read book Buddha in the Crown written by John Clifford Holt and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1991-01-31 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historical, anthropological, and philosophical in approach, Buddha in the Crown is a case study in religious and cultural change. It examines the various ways in which Avalokitesvara, the most well known and proliferated bodhisattva of Mahayana Buddhism throughout south, southeast, and east Asia, was assimilated into the transforming religious culture of Sri Lanka, one of the most pluralistic in Asia. Exploring the expressions of the bodhisattva's cult in Sanskrit and Sinhala literature, in iconography, epigraphy, ritual, symbol, and myth, the author develops a provocative thesis regarding the dynamics of religious change. Interdisciplinary in scope, addressing a wide variety of issues relating to Buddhist thought and practice, and providing new and original information on the rich cultural history of Sri Lanka, this book will interest students of Buddhism and South Asia.

Download or read book Buddha in the Crown written by John Holt and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a case study in religious and cultural change. Sri Lanka is the home of one of Asia's most pluralistic religious cultures; four major religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity - have found a permanent home within its boundaries. This makes it an ideal laboratory for the study of how religious traditions mix. John Holt here examines the career of a single deity, who began as the Indian Mahayana Buddhist bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, was assimilated to the indigenous Sinhala god Natha, and ultimately became identified with the bodhisattva Maitreya - the next Buddha of the future, expected by virtually all Buddhist traditions of Asia.

Download or read book The Raven Crown written by Michael Aris and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1907 the small eastern Himalayan country of Bhutan formally established a hereditary monarchy under the Wangchuk dynasty, thus introducing one of the world's most recent experiments in kingship. The new order quickly replaced a divisive form of theocratic rule which had lasted since the state was first unified by a Tibetan lama in the seventeenth century. The first king of the new dynasty, Ugyen Wangchuk, was a charismatic figure who came to power against a turbulent background of incessant and complex fielding. He adopted as the main symbol of his authority a crown surmounted with the head of a raven, representing an aspect of Bhutan's protective deity Mahakala. The crown had first been devised for his father, Jigme Namgyal, the so-called Black Regent and arch-enemy of the British.

Download or read book Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra written by Sree Padma Holt and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2008-08-07 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the importance of Buddhism as it developed in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra (modern-day Andhra Pradesh) and its influence.

Download or read book The Buddha Image written by Yuvraj Krishan and published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. This book was released on 1996 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Illustrations: 247 b/w illustrations Description: This book deals with crucial though controversial questions in Buddhist art: the origin of the Buddha image and the iconography of the Buddha images. The earliest Buddhist art of Sanchi and Bharhut is aniconic : The Buddha is represented in symbols only. In the later Buddhist art of Gandhara and Mathura, the Buddha is represented in human form: he is the principal subject of sculptural art. The book seeks to explore the geographical area in which the image of the Buddha first emerged and whether the Buddhist doctrines-Hinayana or Mahayana-had anything to do with this transformation. The Buddha image, as developed eventually at Sarnath, became the model for the Buddha images in whole of Asia, south-east, central and eastern Asia. The iconographic features of the Buddha image are superficially an aberration, being in apparent conflict with the doctrine. The Buddha had cut off his hair at the time of his renunciation; the rules of the order enjoin that a monk must be tonsured and must discard and eschew all riches. However, in his images, the Buddha has hair on his head; later he is also endowed with a crown and jewels. After an exhaustive examination of the views of various scholars, the book answers these questions and resolves the controversies on the basis of literary, numismatic and epigraphic sources. More importantly it makes use of the valuable evidence from the contemporaneous Jaina art : Aniconism of early Jaina art and the iconographic features of Jaina images. The implications of this study are also important : Does India owe idolatry to Buddhism? Was this of foreign inspiration? Was the Buddha image fashioned after the Vedic Brahma and whether the Buddha's usnisa and Buddhist art motifs are rooted in the Vedic tradition? The book is profusely illustrated and provides rich and stimulating fare to students of Indian art in general and of Buddhist art in particular.

Download or read book The Story of Ga tama Buddha and His Creed written by Richard Phillips and published by . This book was released on 1871 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Ravanisation The Revitalisation of Ravana among Sinhalese Buddhists in Post War Sri Lanka written by Deborah de Koning and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses Ravanisation: the revitalisation of Ravana among Sinhalese Buddhists in post-war (after 2009) Sri Lanka. The Hindu Ramayana generally portrays Ravana as a cruel king. How and why, then, has Ravana gained the interest of Sinhalese Buddhists? This study takes an ethnographic perspective to answer these questions. The book discusses multiple Ravana representations that have emerged at an urban Buddhist site (the Sri Devram Maha Viharaya) and a rural site (Lakegala), and discloses how Ravanisation relates to Sinhalese Buddhist ethno-nationalism. In addition, the material, ritual, and spatial perspectives offer unique insights in the personal and local relevance of Ravana.

Download or read book Saddharma Pu ar ka written by and published by . This book was released on 1963 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka (The Lotus of the True Law), one of the Mahayana sutras, is perhaps the single most important Mahayana Buddhist work. Composed originally in India, some sections written as early as the beginning of the Christian era, the Lotus is held in enormous esteem by the Northern schools of Buddhism and by Chinese and Japanese Buddhists, particularly Tendai and later developments. Described as "the most eminent" of all the sutras, "the crown jewel" in which "all Buddha-laws are succinctly taught," the Lotus is a keystone in the education of every serious Buddhist. This sutra is essentially a collection of responses, explanations, ex cathedra lectures, and the like, bearing chiefly upon metaphysical issues: the nature of Buddhahood, the concept of nirvana, the Bodhisattva ideal, the rewards of the faithful, and other theoretical matters, that have become essential dogma in all Buddhist schools that have since arisen. A transfiguration of the traditional Buddha-situation is presented: the historical Buddha, the Tathagata or Sakyamuni, is seen in his eternal, supernatural aspect; he sits surrounded by an array of gods, arahats, demons, bodhisattvas, gandharvas, monks and nuns--all eager to hear the infinitely wise utterances of the Great Teacher. The revelations are made sometimes by Sakyamuni, addressing his historical sangha, including Ananda, Sariputra, Kasyapa, et al., and at other times by the Buddhas of the past and the future, Manjusri and Maitreya. This edition contains the complete translation of the Lotus, rendered from Sanskrit by Professor Kern. He has also written a critical introduction to the work and has clarified and supplemented the text by means of numerous footnotes." -- Publisher's description

Download or read book An Introduction to Buddhist Esoterism written by Benoytosh Bhattacharyya and published by Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. This book was released on 1980 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In spite of the prevalent view against Tantricism and Tantric literature, Hindus in general are in the grip of this very Tantra in their daily life, customs and usages with all the attendant good and evil. The present work investigates and places before the scholars a dispassionate account of the Tantras in general and Buddhist Tantras in particular. The author traces its origin to primitive magic and its development. Narrating the rise of Vajrayana and its place of origin, along with the Tantras and Mantras Buddhism has given to the world, he records the accounts of prominent authors. Aims and objects, the leading tenets, the procedure for worship are elaborated together with a description of the Buddhist deities and its Pantheon. The influence of Buddhist Tantraicism on Hinduism is logically evaluated. Contains Index and illustrations.

Download or read book The Bejewelled Buddha from India to Burma written by Claudine Bautze-Picron and published by Sanctum Books. This book was released on 2010-12-01 with total page 771 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book represents a comprehensive study of 'The Bejewelled Buddha' considering stylistic as well as iconographic issues. A crucial moment in the Buddha's life seems to have been referred to through this image, namely, the sojourn on Mount Meru, where the Buddha sat on Indra's seat and taught all the gods. By occupying the seat of the king of the gods he was able to endorse the royal function of this deity; this becomes particularly evident in the late fifth century, and probably reflects the dramatic situation that the Buddhist community was confronted with, i.e. the political power essentially fostering the Hindu religion and social structure. Hence, the Buddha is depicted as a perfect and powerful ruler sitting at the top of the universe and showing himself adorned as a king; more than any human ruler, the Buddha rules over the universe. There is also another dimension that should never be neglected - as in any other Indian cult, worship of his image entailed offerings of various kinds, such as flower garlands or jewels, being made to the Buddha. The image of the Bejewelled Buddha thus included various constituents while at the same time it was used as the locus where different religious or political concepts found a way of expression. The result was the creation of an image of multi-layered significance which found its way into all Asian cultures.

Download or read book Buddha s Crown written by Duncan Long and published by HarperPrism. This book was released on 1991-12 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The young Dalai Lama, the supreme political and spiritual leader of Tibet, disappears amid a bloody kidnapping by a crack force of Major Chen Ling's communist Chinese commandos. To gain strategic international ground, the President orders the Night Stalkers to undermine the Chinese hold on Tibet--and rescue the Dalai Lama.

Download or read book The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva written by Shi Zhiru and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2007-08-14 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In modern Chinese Buddhism, Dizang is especially popular as the sovereign of the underworld. Often represented as a monk wearing a royal crown, Dizang helps the deceased faithful navigate the complex underworld bureaucracy, avert the punitive terrors of hell, and arrive at the happy realm of rebirth. The author is concerned with the formative period of this important Buddhist deity, before his underworldly aspect eclipses his connections to other religious expressions and at a time when the art, mythology, practices, and texts of his cult were still replete with possibilities. She begins by problematizing the reigning model of Dizang, one that proposes an evolution of gradual sinicization and increasing vulgarization of a relatively unknown Indian bodhisattva, Ksitigarbha, into a Chinese deity of the underworld. Such a model, the author argues, obscures the many-faceted personality and iconography of Dizang. Rejecting it, she deploys a broad array of materials (art, epigraphy, ritual texts, scripture, and narrative literature) to recomplexify Dizang and restore (as much as possible from the fragmented historical sources) what this figure meant to Chinese Buddhists from the sixth to tenth centuries. Rather than privilege any one genre of evidence, the author treats both material artifacts and literary works, canonical and noncanonical sources. Adopting an archaeological approach, she excavates motifs from and finds resonances across disparate genres to paint a vibrant, detailed picture of the medieval Dizang cult. Through her analysis, the cult, far from being an isolated phenomenon, is revealed as integrally woven into the entire fabric of Chinese Buddhism, functioning as a kaleidoscopic lens encompassing a multivalent religio-cultural assimilation that resists the usual bifurcation of doctrine and practice or "elite" and "popular" religion. The Making of a Savior Bodhisattva presents a fascinating wealth of material on the personality, iconography, and lore associated with the medieval Dizang. It elucidates the complex cultural, religious, and social forces shaping the florescence of this savior cult in Tang China while simultaneously addressing several broader theoretical issues that have preoccupied the field. Zhiru not only questions the use of sinicization as a lens through which to view Chinese Buddhist history, she also brings both canonical and noncanonical literature into dialogue with a body of archaeological remains that has been ignored in the study of East Asian Buddhism.

Download or read book The Legends and Theories of the Buddhists written by Robert Spence Hardy and published by . This book was released on 1866 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Buddha s Not Smiling written by Erik D. Curren and published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishe. This book was released on 2008 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book shows a complete picture of the controversy on that aspect of religion, and challenges the reader to judge for themselves.Interest in Buddhism has exploded in the last couple of decades, and millions of people around the world view Tibetan Buddhism as the religion's most pure and authentic form. Yet, a political conflict among Tibetan lamas themselves is now poised to tear the Tibetan Buddhist world apart and threaten the ntegrity of its thousand-year old teachings. On August 2, 1993, Rumtek monastery was attacked. Its monks were expelled and the cloister was turned over to supporters of a boy-lamas appointed by the Chinese government. But Rumtek was not in China, and its attackers were not Communist troops. Rumtek was in India, the refuge for most exiled Tibetans. And it was Tibetan lamas and monks themselves who led the siege. Yet, evidence shows that Chinese agents directly supported Tibetan lamas and monks who attacked Rumtek monastery. While a complete picture of this controversy has been blurred by the media's focus on international Buddhist celebrities, Buddha's Not Smiling challengers Readers to Judge for themselves the health of Tibetan Buddhism today

Download or read book The Healing Power of Meditation written by Andy Fraser and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2013-07-09 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Regular meditation practice has a powerful impact on the mind and body, rewiring the brain and bringing us all kinds of benefits: contentment and well-being, resilience and focus, better mental and physical health, and greater empathy and compassion. This wide-ranging anthology brings together pioneering Tibetan Buddhist teachers, scientific researchers, and health professionals to offer fascinating perspectives on the mind and emotions, new studies, and firsthand accounts of how meditation is being applied to great effect in health and social care today. • Sogyal Rinpoche and Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche on how meditation unlocks the mind’s healing power • Jon Kabat-Zinn on the benefits of mindfulness in mainstream health care • Clifford Saron on the Shamatha Project, the most comprehensive study of the effects of meditation ever conducted • Sara Lazar on what happens to our brain when we meditate • Erika Rosenberg on how meditation helps us relate better to our emotions • Dr. Lucio Bizzini, MD, on how Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy is used to treat depression • Ursula Bates on how mindfulness supports terminally ill patients as they approach the end of their lives Plus chapters from other innovators who apply meditation in health care and social work: Dr. Edel Maex, MD; Dr. Cathy Blanc, MD; Rosamund Oliver; and Dr. Frédéric Rosenfeld, MD.

Download or read book Manual Of Zen Buddhism Annotated Edition written by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki and published by Jazzybee Verlag. This book was released on 2012 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, D.Litt., Professor of Buddhist Philosophy in the Otani University, Kyoto, was probably the greatest living authority on Buddhist philosophy, and certainly the greatest authority on Zen Buddhism. His major works in English on the subject of Buddhism number a dozen or more, and of his works in Japanese as yet unknown to the West there are at least eighteen. Contents: Editor's Foreword To Second Edition Editor's Note To Second Edition Preface To First Edition I. Gathas And Prayers I. On Opening The Sutra Ii. Confession Iii. The Threefold Refuge Iv. The Four Great Vows V. The Worshipping Of The Sarira Vi. The Teaching Of The Seven Buddhas Vii. The Gatha Of Impermanence Viii. The Yemmei Kwannon Ten-Clause Sutra Ix. Prayer On The Occasion Of Feeding The Hungry Ghosts X. General Prayer Xi. Prayer Of The Bell Ii. The Dharanis I. Dharani Of Removing Disasters Ii. Dharani Of The Great Compassionate One Iii. Dharani Of The Victorious Buddha-Crown Iii. The Sutras I. English Translation Of The Shingyo Ii. The Kwannon Sutra Iii. The Kongokyo Or Diamond Sutra Iv. The Lankavatara Sutra V. The Ryogonkyo, Or Surangama Sutra Iv. From The Chinese Zen Masters I. Bodhidharma On The Twofold Entrance To The Tao Ii. On Believing In Mind (Shinjin-No-Mei) Iii. From Hui-Neng's Tan-Ching Iv. Yoka Daishi's "Song Of Enlightenment" V. Baso (Ma-Tsu) And Sekito (Shih-T'ou), Two Great Masters Of The T'ang Dynasty Vi. Huang-Po's Sermon, From "Treatise On The Essentials Of The Transmission Of Mind" (Denshin Hoyo) Vii. Gensha On The: Three Invalids Viii. The Ten Oxherding Pictures V. From The Japanese Zen Masters I. Dai-O Kokushi "On Zen" 2. Dai-O Kokushi's Admonition 3. Daito Kokushi's Admonition Iv. Kwanzan Kokushi's Admonition V. Muso Kokushi's Admonition Vi. Hakuin's "Song Of Meditation" Vi. The Buddhist Statues And Pictures In A Zen Monastery I. The Buddha Ii. The Bodhisattvas Iii. The Arhats Iv. The Protecting Gods V. Some Of The Historical Figures

Download or read book Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Some Points in the History of Indian Buddhism written by Thomas William Rhys Davids and published by . This book was released on 1906 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: