Download or read book Hojoki A Buddhist Reflection on Solitude written by Kamo no Chomei and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2024-05-07 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Chomei's original text follows Stavros' translation to create a fully bilingual edition, and the book includes maps of the ancient capital so that the full scope of the tragedies Chomei records — pestilence, fire, earthquakes, raging winds — can be appreciated by readers, especially those who will draw parallels to their own experiences living amid a global pandemic." —The Japan Times, "Hojoki': The paradox of desire and detachment in recluse literature"

Download or read book Solitude and Loneliness written by Sarvananda and published by Windhorse Publications. This book was released on 2012-06-12 with total page 90 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Referencing cultural touchstones such as Into The Wild, the art of Edward Hopper, and the work of Charlie Chaplin, Sarvananda considers what we think about being alone. Buddhism suggests that solitude can bring about positive emotion and change. Exploring this idea through personal experience, psychology and myth the author shows how facing our essential aloneness can lead us to better understand our essential relatedness.

Download or read book Reflections on Solitude and Other Essays written by Sameer Grover and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2011-11-28 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: REFLECTIONS ON SOLITUDE and other ESSAYS explores a diverse range of topics from Eastern mysticism to mathematics, while blending in an element of fantastic realism. Sameer Grover is one of the eminent voices of our time.

Download or read book Writing and Renunciation in Medieval Japan written by Rajyashree Pandey and published by U of M Center For Japanese Studies. This book was released on 2021-01-19 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first monograph-length study in English of Kamo no Chomei, one of the most important literary figures of medieval Japan. Drawing upon a wide range of writings in a variety of genres from the Heian and Kamakura periods, Pandey focuses on the terms kyogen kigo (wild words and fancy phrases), shoji soku nehan (samsara is nirvana), hoben (expedient means), and suki (single-minded devotion to an art). She shows how these terms deployed by writers in an attempt to reconcile literary and artistic activities with a commitment to Buddhism. By locating Chomei within this broad context, the book offers an original reading of his texts, while at the same time casting a light upon intellectual preoccupations that were central to the times. Writing and Renunciation in Medieval Japan is an important contribution to a growing body of work that challenges the rigid distinction between the religious and literary—a distinction that would have made little sense to medieval writers, many of whom were poets as well as priests—and sheds light on the particular ways in which a religio-aesthetic tradition came to be articulated in medieval Japan. Through an examination of records left by Chomei's contemporaries, the book also traces the life of Chomei, particularly his activities as a court poet and the circumstances that led to his taking the tonsure.

Download or read book Blooming in the Desert written by Nandiya Matherʻ (ʼA rhaṅʻ.) and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 1996 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1978, at the age of 80, the Burmese forest monk Taungpulu Sayadaw left his native country for the first time and came to California, where he taught and established the West's first Burmese Buddhist temple and monastery. Revered as a saint in his lifetime and after his death in 1986, Taungpulu Sayadaw's calm, joyful presence, forged in a lifetime's dedication to the austere spiritual path of the Theravada forest tradition, was a beacon of hope to Burmese people in exile and a radiant example of living Buddhism for all who encountered him. This selection of the Sayadaw's favorite discourses, parables, chants, and meditations distills the essence of the fundamental Buddhist practices of mindfulness, non-attachment, and loving-kindness.

Download or read book A Record of the Buddhist Countries written by Faxian and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Everything Essential Buddhism Book written by Arnie Kozak and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-07-10 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contains material adapted from The Everything Buddhism Book, 2nd Edition.

Download or read book Buddhist Wisdom written by David Crosweller and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2017-03-21 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Awaken your heart and engage your mind with Buddhist Wisdom: Daily Reflections, a simple but powerful collection of Buddhist sayings and extracts that offer an easy way to incorporate the Buddha's greatest teachings into your everyday life. Use it daily or at random to find help facing a particular issue, problem or simple uncertainty. Illustrated with photographs of traditional Buddhist people, sacred places and monuments, the book provokes contemplation and deeper understanding for all individuals, regardless of religious persuasion. Buddhist Wisdom also offers a brief overview of the life of the Buddha, Buddhist teachings and the spread of Buddhism around the world; includes a Buddhist calendar of celebration days and festivals.

Download or read book Visions of Awakening Space and Time written by Taigen Dan Leighton and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2007-05-11 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a religion concerned with universal liberation, Zen grew out of a Buddhist worldview very different from the currently prevalent scientific materialism. Indeed, says Taigen Dan Leighton, Zen cannot be fully understood outside of a worldview that sees reality itself as a vital, dynamic agent of awareness and healing. In this book, Leighton explicates that worldview through the writings of the Zen master Eihei D?gen (1200-1253), considered the founder of the Japanese S?t? Zen tradition, which currently enjoys increasing popularity in the West. The Lotus Sutra, arguably the most important Buddhist scripture in East Asia, contains a famous story about bodhisattvas (enlightening beings) who emerge from under the earth to preserve and expound the Lotus teaching in the distant future. The story reveals that the Buddha only appears to pass away, but actually has been practicing, and will continue to do so, over an inconceivably long life span. Leighton traces commentaries on the Lotus Sutra from a range of key East Asian Buddhist thinkers, including Daosheng, Zhiyi, Zhanran, Saigyo, My?e, Nichiren, Hakuin, and Ry?kan. But his main focus is Eihei D?gen, the 13th century Japanese S?t? Zen founder who imported Zen from China, and whose profuse, provocative, and poetic writings are important to the modern expansion of Buddhism to the West. D?gen's use of this sutra expresses the critical role of Mahayana vision and imagination as the context of Zen teaching, and his interpretations of this story furthermore reveal his dynamic worldview of the earth, space, and time themselves as vital agents of spiritual awakening. Leighton argues that D?gen uses the images and metaphors in this story to express his own religious worldview, in which earth, space, and time are lively agents in the bodhisattva project. Broader awareness of D?gen's worldview and its implications, says Leighton, can illuminate the possibilities for contemporary approaches to primary Mahayana concepts and practices.

Download or read book The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha written by and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-11-13 with total page 1936 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like the River Ganges flowing down from the Himalayas, the entire Buddhist tradition flows down to us from the teachings and deeds of the historical Buddha, who lived and taught in India during the fifth century B.C.E. To ensure that his legacy would survive the ravages of time, his direct disciples compiled records of the Buddha's teachings soon after his passing. In the Theravada Buddhist tradition, which prevails in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, these records are regarded as the definitive "word of the Buddha." Preserved in Pali, an ancient Indian language closely related to the language that the Buddha spoke, this full compilation of texts is known as the Pali Canon. At the heart of the Buddha's teaching were the suttas (Sanskrit sutras), his discourses and dialogues. If we want to find out what the Buddha himself actually said, these are the most ancient sources available to us. The suttas were compiled into collections called "Nikayas," of which there are four, each organized according to a different principle. The Digha Nikaya consists of longer discourses; the Majjhima Nikaya of middle-length discourses; the Samyutta Nikaya of thematically connected discourses; and the Anguttara Nikaya of numerically patterned discourses. The present volume, which continues Wisdom's famous Teachings of the Buddha series, contains a full translation of the Anguttara Nikaya. The Anguttara arranges the Buddha's discourses in accordance with a numerical scheme intended to promote retention and easy comprehension. In an age when writing was still in its infancy, this proved to be the most effective way to ensure that the disciples could grasp and replicate the structure of a teaching.

Download or read book Kyoto written by Matthew Stavros and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2014-10-31 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kyoto was Japan’s political and cultural capital for more than a millennium before the dawn of the modern era. Until about the fifteenth century, it was also among the world’s largest cities and, as the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, it was a place where the political, artistic, and religious currents of Asia coalesced and flourished. Despite these and many other traits that make Kyoto a place of both Japanese and world historical significance, the physical appearance of the premodern city remains largely unknown. Through a synthesis of textual, pictorial, and archeological sources, this work attempts to shed light on Kyoto’s premodern urban landscape with the aim of opening up new ways of thinking about key aspects of premodern Japanese history. The book begins with an examination of Kyoto’s highly idealized urban plan (adapted from Chinese models in the eighth century) and the reasons behind its eventual failure. The formation of the suburbs of Kamigyō and Shimogyō is compared to the creation of large exurban temple-palace complexes by retired emperors from the late eleventh century. Each, it is argued, was a material manifestation of the advancement of privatized power that inspired a medieval discourse aimed at excluding “outsiders.” By examining this discourse, a case is made that medieval power holders, despite growing autonomy, continued to see the emperor and classical state system as the ultimate sources of political legitimacy. This sentiment was shared by the leaders of the Ashikaga shogunate, who established their headquarters in Kyoto in 1336. The narrative examines how these warrior leaders interacted with the capital’s urban landscape, revealing a surprising degree of deference to classical building protocols and urban codes. Remaining chapters look at the dramatic changes that took place during the Age of Warring States (1467–1580s) and Kyoto’s postwar revitalization under the leadership of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Nobunaga’s construction of Nijō Castle in 1569 transformed Kyoto’s fundamental character and, as Japan’s first castle town, it set an example soon replicated throughout the archipelago. In closing, the book explores how Hideyoshi—like so many before him, yet with much greater zeal—used monumentalism to co-opt and leverage the authority of Kyoto’s traditional institutions. Richly illustrated with original maps and diagrams, Kyoto is a panoramic examination of space and architecture spanning eight centuries. It narrates a history of Japan’s premodern capital relevant to the fields of institutional history, material culture, art and architectural history, religion, and urban planning. Students and scholars of Japan will be introduced to new ways of thinking about old historical problems while readers interested in the cities and architecture of East Asia and beyond will benefit from a novel approach that synthesizes a wide variety of sources. For more on Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan’s Premodern Capital, visit www.kyotohistory.com.

Download or read book Growing in Love and Wisdom written by Susan J. Stabile and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-10-02 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although raised Roman Catholic, Susan Stabile was ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun and devoted 20 years of her life to practicing Buddhism before returning to Catholicism in 2001. In Growing in Love and Wisdom, she draws on this unique dual perspective to explore the value of interreligious dialogue, the spiritual dynamics that operate across faith traditions, and how Buddhist meditation practices can deepen Christian prayer. She begins by examining the values and principles shared by the two faiths and shows that both traditions seek to effect a fundamental transformation in the lives of believers. Both stress the need for experiences with deep emotional resonance that goes beyond the level of concepts to touch the heart. The center of the book offers 15 Tibetan Buddhist contemplative practices, adapted for Christian use. Stabile provides clear instructions on how to do these meditations and helpful commentary on each, explaining its purpose and the relation between the Buddhist original and her Christian adaptation of it. Throughout, she highlights the many remarkably close parallels between the teachings of Jesus and the Buddha. The meditations offered in this unusual book will be extremely useful to thoughtful Christians, to those responsible for giving spiritual direction, and also to Buddhist sympathizers who will be intrigued and pleased to see familiar contemplations handled so skillfully by a former Buddhist practitioner who has gratefully learned so much from her former religion and now introduces the riches of that tradition to her fellow Christians.

Download or read book Situated Meaning written by Jane M. Bachnik and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-15 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Situated Meaning adds a new dimension, both literal and metaphoric, to our understanding of Japan. The essays in this volume leave the vertical axis of hierarchy and subordination—an organizing trope in much of the literature on Japan—and focus instead on the horizontal, interpreting a wide range of cultural practices and orientations in terms of such relational concepts as uchi ("inside") and soto ("outside"). Evolving from a shared theoretical focus, the essays show that in Japan the directional orientations inside and outside are specifically linked to another set of meanings, denoting "self" and "society." After Donald L. Brenneis's foreward, Jane M. Bachnick, Charles J. Quinn, Jr., Patricia J. Wetzel, Nancy R. Rosenberger, and Robert J. Sukle discuss "Indexing Self and Social Context." "Failure to Index: Boundary Disintegration and Social Breakdown" is the topic of Dorinne K. Kondo, Matthews M. Hamabata, Michael S. Molasky, and Jane Bachnik. Finally, Charles Quinn explores "Language as a Form of Life." Jane M. Bachnik is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is presently pursuing research in Japan under a Senior Fellowship Grant from the Japan Foundation. Charles J. Quinn, Jr., is Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures at the Ohio State University. Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Download or read book Lucid Exposition of the Middle Way written by Mervyn Sprung and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-05-13 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1979. The Prasannapada is the explanation of the versed aphorisms of Nagarjuna which are the first and basic statement of the Buddhist philosophy of the middle way. When first published, this volume was the first attempt, in any European language, to present all the essentials of this most radical of Buddhist philosophical works. Seventeen of its twenty-seven chapters have been chosen to give an integrated statement of every aspect of its arguments and conclusions.

Download or read book Curators of the Buddha written by Donald S. Lopez Jr. and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1995-08-15 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critical history of the study of Buddhism in the West, incorporating insights of colonial and post-colonial cultural studies. Social, political and cultural conditions that have shaped the course of Buddhist studies are discussed.

Download or read book Buddhism the Twelve Steps Daily Reflections written by Kevin Griffin and published by . This book was released on 2020-12-26 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A daily reader for people interested in using Buddhism as a guide to working the Twelve Steps. Includes meditation instructions, Buddhist teachings, Twelve Step, and recovery guidance.

Download or read book Christ in Japanese Culture written by Emi Mase-Hasegawa and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2008-04-30 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ground-breaking study on the Roman Catholic, Japanese novelist Endo Shusaku (1923-1996) uniquely combines western and Japanese religious, theological and philosophical thought. The author interprets Endo’s central works such as Silence (1966), The Samurai (1980), and Deep River (1996), from a theological point of view as documents of inculturation of Christianity in Japan. Analysing the social and religious context of Japan in a global perspective, the author identifies a central role for koshinto - a traditional Japanese ethos - in Endo's thought on inculturation. Endo’s change from a critical to a positive acceptance of the koshinto tradition partly accounts for his move from a pessimistic attitude of Christian inculturation in his early years to the growing theocentric and pneumatic concerns of his later years. Essential for Western readers.