Download or read book The Grandeur of Gandhara written by Rafi U. Samad and published by Algora Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The northwestern regions of Pakistan and southeastern regions of Afghanistan were once the heart of a highly developed civilization whose cultural impact was felt from China to Persia. A major center of Buddhism, its cultural attainments were highlights of ancient civilization. The author's research, accompanied by some 60 illustrations, offers Americans an entirely new understanding of the desolate region shown on the nightly news. The Persian, Greek and Central Asian invasions of Gandhara, rather than causing wide scale destruction in the region, promoted the development of a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society. After a gestation period of about half a millennium, this region blossomed into a unique civilization in the opening years of the Common Era. Detailed archaeological excavations were started at sites in northern Pakistan and Afghanistan in the late-19th century. Through these excavations, eminent archaeologists such as Aurel Stein, Alexander Cunningham, John Marshall, J. Barthoux and Professor A.H. Dani recovered hundreds of thousands of beautiful stone sculptures belonging to the Gandhara Civilization. In the last century or so, much has been written about the artistic quality of these beautiful stone sculptures. But hardly anything has been written about the Civilization itself that gave birth to these extraordinary pieces of art. In this book an effort has been made to present Gandhara in its wider perspective, highlighting the different features of a unique civilization in which many different races contributed and many cultures merged to bring about a major sociological change and establish a distinct cultural identity in this region of the South Asian sub-continent. This book is based on the author's analysis of archaeologists' reports, information gathered through extended visits to numerous archaeological sites associated with the lost Gandhara Civilization including those in the Taxila, Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan and Swat regions in Pakistan, and study in museums. His research reveals a great deal of continuity in the field of socio-cultural development of the region, which is referred to in this book as Greater Gandhara, from the time it became a part of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BCE till the end of Kidara Kushan's rule in the 5th century CE. Further, it reveals that after the Achaemenids had established the physical and administrative infrastructure in Greater Gandhara, the continuity in socio-cultural development in the region was maintained mainly by the growing Buddhist population. This book illustrates the spirit of independence and features in the character of the ancient people of the Gandhara region which facilitated the sustained progress towards the emergence of the Gandhara Civilization. Following the invasion of Alexander the Great, his successors had no difficulty in colonizing Bactria (Northern Afghanistan) and Sogdia (Uzbekistan), but they could not do the same in Gandhara. Similarly the Scythians, Parthians and the Kushans ruled over the Central Asian region as colonizers, but not so in Gandhara. Here they ruled not over the people, but with the people. Their administration was highly de-centralized, with the locals playing a major role in the regional administration and having a major say in the social and cultural affairs of the entire population. Finally, the book highlights the interactive environment which prevailed in Gandhara throughout the transient and mature phases of the Gandhara Civilization: Alexander's companions hobnobbing with the naked fakirs of Taxila; Menander, the great Indus-Greek ruler, finding time to engage in prolonged question-and-answer sessions with Buddhist scholars at the monastery near Sagala (Sialkot); and the greatest of the Kushan conquerors, Kanishka, finding pleasure in the company of local intellectuals and artists such as Asvaghosha and Vasumitra, and presiding over the official launch of Mahayana Buddhism.

Download or read book A Buddhist History of the West written by David R. Loy and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buddhism teaches that to become happy, greed, ill-will, and delusion must be transformed into their positive counterparts: generosity, compassion, and wisdom. The history of the West, like all histories, has been plagued by the consequences of greed, ill-will, and delusion. A Buddhist History of the West investigates how individuals have tried to ground themselves to make themselves feel more real. To be self-conscious is to experience ungroundedness as a sense of lack, but what is lacking has been understood differently in different historical periods. Author David R. Loy examines how the understanding of lack changes at historical junctures and shows how those junctures were so crucial in the development of the West.

Download or read book Original or Early Buddhist Naturalistic Civilization written by Wimal Kalubowila and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2012-12-30 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before starting artificial civilizations in the world there had been naturalistic civilizations all over the world. The first naturalistic civilization started in the Sind- Ganges valley in Northern Indian sub continent. The first group of Aryans has come to this world from Abassara Brhamma world before 28 Buddhas periods. All Buddhas explained this very clearly with natural proof. After some period non-Aryans also came to the same valley from Abassara Brhamma world. Then they started corralling each others for collecting resources and selfish living due to their ignorance of facts. Due to population growth and resources scarcity they disperse to the East, South and west initially. Agriculture and hunter collecting were their main professions for living. They never produced anything for the market. So they were self sufficient totally. They trusted only the self-God or own-mind. So they had the full confidence on themselves always. They preferred to live in groups but no separate family life. The group used to live in peace and harmony always. It is the Buddhist way of living recommended for normal Humans. Normal or non-Aryan Humans are divided in to four groups as follows: 1. Self realizing and entering in to Aryan group immediately. 2. Aryan has to guide and they realize immediately to become Aryan. 3. Aryan has to guide and they realized latter in this life to become Aryan. 4. No need to guide and they never become Aryan in this life. In ancient naturalistic civilization found large majority who are belonging to first three groups. But in urban societies/civilizations found large majority who is belonging to the fourth group only. So they are more vulnerable to the nature. They are the most dangerous living beings in the nature. One can verify this situation clearly with modern civilizations. Modern Humans are trying to controlling the nature due to their ignorance of facts. They believing that they are superior to other beings in the nature. They try to protect Human rights always but humans have no special rights to protect at all. The universe is belongs to all 33 kinds of beings equally. Now you should realized the modern Humans are how mad and dangerous to the Nature. I have tried to guide you with natural proof for realizing the above facts and enter in to Aryan group as soon as possible. Otherwise you would become a big nuisance to the Nature completely. I hope this Book would help for you to realize our rich, peaceful, and prosper ancient history.

Download or read book Being Human in a Buddhist World written by Janet Gyatso and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2015-01-20 with total page 539 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critically exploring medical thought in a cultural milieu with no discernible influence from the European Enlightenment, Being Human in a Buddhist World reveals an otherwise unnoticed intersection of early modern sensibilities and religious values in traditional Tibetan medicine. It further studies the adaptation of Buddhist concepts and values to medical concerns and suggests important dimensions of Buddhism's role in the development of Asian and global civilization. Through its unique focus and sophisticated reading of source materials, Being Human adds a crucial chapter in the larger historiography of science and religion. The book opens with the bold achievements in Tibetan medical illustration, commentary, and institution building during the period of the Fifth Dalai Lama and his regent, Desi Sangye Gyatso, then looks back to the work of earlier thinkers, tracing a strategically astute dialectic between scriptural and empirical authority on questions of history and the nature of human anatomy. It follows key differences between medicine and Buddhism in attitudes toward gender and sex and the moral character of the physician, who had to serve both the patient's and the practitioner's well-being. Being Human in a Buddhist World ultimately finds that Tibetan medical scholars absorbed ethical and epistemological categories from Buddhism yet shied away from ideal systems and absolutes, instead embracing the imperfectability of the human condition.

Download or read book The Buddha Buddhist Civilization in India and Ceylon written by Trevor Ling and published by London : Temple Smith. This book was released on 1973 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Paths of Civilization written by J. Krejcí and published by Springer. This book was released on 2004-10-22 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work spans the development of civilizations from their remotest origins to the present day. It examines the term 'civilization' with reference to culture, socio-economic structure, ethnicity and statehood. Socio-economic scenarios help the reader to explore the ways in which individual civilizations - through world views, styles of life and responses to the environment that each bear their own signature - struggle, merge, submerge in the flow of the currents of history.

Download or read book The Buddha written by Trevor Oswald Ling and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Argues from a study of Buddhism that the religions, as they now exist, are the remains of what was once a complete civilization.

Download or read book Basic Buddhism written by Huaijin Nan and published by Weiser Books. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nan Huai Chin, a learned representative of the Chinese Buddhist tradition, explores the many different schools of Buddhism and the many stories surrounding the life of Buddha. He explains various philosophical trends in Buddhism and the aspects it hastaken on throughout Asia, Europe, and America. For a solid understanding of Buddhism, this book is clearly indispensable reading!

Download or read book The Buddha written by Trevor Ling and published by Pariyatti Publishing. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A warm and stimulating book, this text describes the India into which the Buddha was born, recounts what is known of his life and the development of his teachings, and then follows the course of Buddhism through succeeding centuries in India and Sri Lanka. Far from being a recluse concerned only with an inner mystical experience, the Buddha always involved himself closely in the social and political world of his time. If he preached detachment from many of the things by which ordinary men are tied, he did so as a means of enriching life rather than escaping it. These examinations and more make this a book to reveal the social-revolutionary potential of Buddhism.

Download or read book Library of Congress Subject Headings written by Library of Congress and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 1160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Civilizations of Asia and the Middle East written by Jaroslav Krejci and published by Springer. This book was released on 1990-06-18 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a comparative view of the world-views, values and institutions in Asia and the Middle East. The account takes the form of a historical narrative, focused on the most relevant events and features in the process of continual change.

Download or read book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order written by Samuel P. Huntington and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-05-31 with total page 553 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The classic study of post-Cold War international relations, more relevant than ever in the post-9/11 world, with a new foreword by Zbigniew Brzezinski. Since its initial publication, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order has become a classic work of international relations and one of the most influential books ever written about foreign affairs. An insightful and powerful analysis of the forces driving global politics, it is as indispensable to our understanding of American foreign policy today as the day it was published. As former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski says in his new foreword to the book, it “has earned a place on the shelf of only about a dozen or so truly enduring works that provide the quintessential insights necessary for a broad understanding of world affairs in our time.” Samuel Huntington explains how clashes between civilizations are the greatest threat to world peace but also how an international order based on civilizations is the best safeguard against war. Events since the publication of the book have proved the wisdom of that analysis. The 9/11 attacks and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated the threat of civilizations but have also shown how vital international cross-civilization cooperation is to restoring peace. As ideological distinctions among nations have been replaced by cultural differences, world politics has been reconfigured. Across the globe, new conflicts—and new cooperation—have replaced the old order of the Cold War era. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order explains how the population explosion in Muslim countries and the economic rise of East Asia are changing global politics. These developments challenge Western dominance, promote opposition to supposedly “universal” Western ideals, and intensify intercivilization conflict over such issues as nuclear proliferation, immigration, human rights, and democracy. The Muslim population surge has led to many small wars throughout Eurasia, and the rise of China could lead to a global war of civilizations. Huntington offers a strategy for the West to preserve its unique culture and emphasizes the need for people everywhere to learn to coexist in a complex, multipolar, muliticivilizational world.

Download or read book Library of Congress Subject Headings written by Library of Congress. Cataloging Policy and Support Office and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 1938 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The History of Buddhist Thought written by Edward J. Thomas and published by Asian Educational Services. This book was released on 2004 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seeks To Trace The Growth Of The Buddhist Community, To Indicate Its Relation To The World Of Hindu And Non-Hindu Society And To Follow The Rise And Development Of The Doctrines From Their Legendary Origin Into The System Which Has Sread Over A Great Part Of Asia. This Reprint Of The Work Originally Published In London In 1933, Contains 19 Chapters, 2 Appendices, 4 Plates, Bibliography And Index.

Download or read book Informing and Civilization written by Prof. Dr. Andrew Targowski and published by Informing Science. This book was released on 2016 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this book is to synthesize the role of information throughout the history of civilization’s development. This will be defined through the convergence of (a) the cumulative evolution and revolution of the intellect (cognition as data, information, concepts, knowledge, and wisdom), (b) labor, and (c) politics which seek to control the environment, society, and the world, applying culture and infrastructure as tools. Whereas researchers reveal the myriad of dimensions of the social order and its historiography, this book provides a synthesis of the relations, which is limited to information (and its informing systems) and civilization within the context of historiosophie (history with judgment). The method presented in this book—the architectural approach to the dynamics of civilizational development—is a new layer over the quantitative history based on statistical data. In an architectural synthesis of civilization, we seek a “big picture” of “civilization waves” in order to develop some criteria-oriented views of the world and its future predictability. To understand the crises and conflicts of civilization which are driven by technology in recent centuries, such a synthesis as well as optimism for human proactive adaptation, survival, and, development must be undertaken. This approach to civilizational development should allow humans to eventually “reinvent the future” in a continuous manner. We, in due course, should be able to predict the “rate of change” and provide “civilization bridging solutions” based on original thinking. It is important to remind ourselves that information is as old as our world (about 15 billion years) because plants and trees and, in general, non-human nature produces all sorts of information, for example, the changing colors of plants and trees, which is associated with the different seasons. When the first living organisms appeared on our planet, they had ability to inform as well by changing forms, colors, signals and, so one. The first signs of life on our planet came into being about 3.85 billion years ago. Therefore, organism-based life on the Earth actually came to be over a period of just 130 million years. Hominids diverged from apes some 10-6 million years ago (instinct-driven info-communication, i.e., behavior less controlled by cognition), and the first humans (bipeds with large brains who could use tools and sound-driven info-communication) took form around 6-2.5 million years ago in Southeast Africa. Homo symbolicus, who could skillfully use language, appeared about 60,000 years ago. The origin of civilization some 6,000 years ago marks the beginning of the first advanced info-communication systems applied by humans, who could even record information.

Download or read book Eurasia and India written by K. Warikoo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-27 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eurasia has assumed importance in the post-Soviet period and the peoples of Siberia have distinctive historico-cultural similarities with the Indian Himalayas due to common traditions and Buddhist culture. The Eurasianism of Russia brings it closer to India in historico-cultural, political and economic terms. Another important player in Eurasia is Kazakhstan, which has been highlighting the importance of Eurasianism. These relations provide an opportunity for India to engage in collaborative endeavours with the Eurasian countries. This book provides detailed analyses on the historico-cultural linkages between Eurasia (Buryatia, Khakassia ,Tuva and Altai Republics of Russian Federation) and India through history. It also examines the process of the revival of indigenous traditions in the region in the post-Soviet period, the importance of the Eurasian vector in Russian and Kazakhstan’s foreign policy and the development of the Eurasian Economic Union and the implications this will have for India. Eminent academics and area specialists from Buryatia, Altai, Khakassia, Moscow, Kazakhstan and India have contributed to this book which provides a first hand view of the linkages between India and the Siberian region of India. Eurasia and India also includes rare photographs of the traces of Indian culture in Siberia. Offering a new understanding of the significant and strategic Indian ties to Eurasian states, this book will be of interest to academics studying Eurasian and Central Asian society and geopolitics, International Relations and South and Central Asian Studies.

Download or read book The Dawn of Tibet written by John Vincent Bellezza and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-08-29 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique book reveals the existence of an advanced civilization where none was known before, presenting an entirely new perspective on the culture and history of Tibet. In his groundbreaking study of an epic period in Tibet few people even knew existed, John Vincent Bellezza details the discovery of an ancient people on the most desolate reaches of the Tibetan plateau, revolutionizing our ideas about who Tibetans really are. While many associate Tibet with Buddhism, it was also once a land of warriors and chariots, whose burials included megalithic arrays and golden masks. This first Tibetan civilization, known as Zhang Zhung, was a cosmopolitan one with links extending across Eurasia, bringing it in line with many of the major cultural innovations of the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Based on decades of research, The Dawn of Tibet draws on a rich trove of archaeological, textual, and ethnographic materials collected and analyzed by the author. Bellezza describes the vast network of castles, temples, megaliths, necropolises, and rock art established on the highest and now depopulated part of the Tibetan plateau. He relates literary tales of priests and priestesses, horned deities, and the celestial afterlife to the actual archaeological evidence, providing a fascinating perspective on the origins and development of civilization. The story builds to the present by following the colorful culture of the herders of Upper Tibet, an ancient people whose way of life is endangered by modern development. Tracing Bellezza’s epic journeys across lands where few Westerners have ventured, this book provides a compelling window into the most inaccessible reaches of Tibet and a civilization that flourished long before Buddhism took root.