Download or read book Jainism A Guide for the Perplexed written by Sherry Fohr and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-01-29 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jainism is arguably the most non-violent and austere religion in the world. While lay Jains attempt to never harm humans or animals, the strict non-violence followed by the highly revered monks and nuns also proscribes harm to any living being, even a microscopic organism. And while laywomen (and a few laymen) undergo long and difficult fasts, the longest being for one month, renouncers' austerities also include pulling their hair out by the roots two to five times a year, walking bare-foot throughout India most of the year, and, in the case of some monks, not wearing any clothing at all. Jainism: A Guide for the Perplexed is a clear and thorough account of this fascinating tradition, explaining many basic Jain values, beliefs and practices in the same way they are taught to Jains themselves, through the medium of sacred narratives. Drawing from Jainism's copious and influential narrative tradition, the author explores the inner-logic of how renouncers' and laypeople's values and practices depend on an intricate Jain worldview.
Download or read book Jainism A Guide for the Perplexed written by Sherry Fohr and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-03-26 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A clear and thorough account of Jainism, providing a guide to its important beliefs and practices.
Download or read book Kabbalah A Guide for the Perplexed written by Pinchas Giller and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-10-27 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kabbalah: A Guide for the Perplexed is a concise and accessible introduction to the major elements of the prevalent metaphysical system of Judaism, Kabbalah. The book covers the historical and theoretical essence of Kabbalah, offering a clear definition of the term and the limitations of what Kabbalah is and is not. Pinchas Giller provides an overview of the history of the movement, reflecting the sweep of Jewish history as a whole, and examines its metaphysical system, the advanced mythos of early and later Luria, doctrines of the soul, and the mysteries of Jewish religious practice and law. The book concludes with a summary of the contemporary kabbalistic phenomena, particularly in light of the notoriety of some modern purveyors of Kabbalah. As cogent and objective as possible, this is the ideal companion for those wishing to gain a sound understanding of this often perplexing mystical aspect of Judaism.
Download or read book Sikhism A Guide for the Perplexed written by Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-06-06 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sikhism's short but relatively eventful history provides a fascinating insight into the working of misunderstood and seemingly contradictory themes such as politics and religion, violence and mysticism, culture and spirituality, orality and textuality, public sphere versus private sphere, tradition and modernity. This book presents students with a careful analysis of these complex themes as they have manifested themselves in the historical evolution of the Sikh traditions and the encounter of Sikhs with modernity and the West, in the philosophical teachings of its founders and their interpretation by Sikh exegetes, and in Sikh ethical and intellectual responses to contemporary issues in an increasingly secular and pluralistic world. Sikhism: A Guide for the Perplexed serves as an ideal guide to Sikhism, and also for students of Asian studies, Sociology of Religion and World Religions.
Download or read book Vegetarianism A Guide for the Perplexed written by Kerry Walters and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2012-06-07 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critically examines philosophical, ethical and religious arguments for and against vegetarianism.
Download or read book Jainism written by Jeffery D. Long and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-03-22 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jainism evokes images of monks wearing face-masks to protect insects and mico-organisms from being inhaled. Or of Jains sweeping the ground in front of them to ensure that living creatures are not inadvertently crushed: a practice of non-violence so radical as to defy easy comprehension. Yet for all its apparent exoticism, Jainism is still little understood in the West. What is this mysterious philosophy which originated in the 6th century BCE, whose absolute requirement is vegetarianism, and which now commands a following of four million adherents both in its native India and diaspora communities across the globe?In his welcome new treatment of the Jain religion, Long makes an ancient tradition fully intelligible to the modern reader. Plunging back more than two and a half millennia, to the plains of northern India and the life of a prince who - much like the Buddha - gave up a life of luxury to pursue enlightenment, Long traces the history of the Jain community from founding sage Mahavira to the present day. He explores asceticism, worship, the life of the Jain layperson, relations between Jainism and other Indic traditions, the Jain philosophy of relativity, and the implications of Jain ideals for the contemporary world. The book presents Jainism in a way that is authentic and engaging to specialists and non-specialists alike.
Download or read book Jain Approaches to Plurality written by Melanie Barbato and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-09-18 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Jain Approaches to Plurality Melanie Barbato offers a new perspective on the Jain teaching of plurality (anekāntavāda) and how it allowed Jains to engage with other discourses from Indian inter-school philosophy to global interreligious dialogue. Jainism, one of the world’s oldest religions, has managed to both adapt and preserve its identity across time through its inherently dialogical outlook. Drawing on a wide range of textual sources and original research in India, Barbato analyses the encounters between Jains and non-Jains in the classical, colonial and global context. Jain Approaches to Plurality offers a comprehensive introduction to anekāntavāda as a non-Western resource for understanding plurality and engaging in dialogue. “Building upon earlier work in this field without simply reduplicating it, Melanie Barbato’s work delves deeply into the question of the relevance of Jain approaches to religious and philosophical diversity to contemporary issues of inter-religious dialogue, and dialogues across worldviews more generally. (...) This work is a most welcome contribution to the conversation.” — Jeffery D. Long, Professor of Religion and Asian Studies, Elizabethtown College. April 2017. Author of Jainism: An Introduction.
Download or read book Jainism written by Kurt Titze and published by Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. This book was released on 1998 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kurt Titze invites the reader, after acquainting him or her with the main tenets of the world`s classical religion of non-violence, to join him on a fascinating pilgrimage. The past glories of India have been and still are a favourite subject in books and films. In this book with its 350 illustrations spread over 280 pages, Kurt titze enfolds a sequence of glories which have been kept alive to the present-day. The aim of this book is to entice the reader to ask his way to spots and sites that are not mentioned in tourist guide books. To the Digambara Meru temple in Old Delhi, for example, or to the Veerayatan Ashram on the outskirts of Rajgir run by Jaina nuns, or to the rock-cut twenty-four Tirthankaras near Gingee in Tamilnadu. That an increasing number of people who pick up this book may do so instead of climbing the ramparts of yet another fort or of gazing at yet another collection of horrifying weapons.
Download or read book Jain R m ya a Narratives written by Gregory M. Clines and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-04-28 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jain Rāmāyaṇa Narratives: Moral Vision and Literary Innovation traces how and why Jain authors at different points in history rewrote the story of Rāma and situates these texts within larger frameworks of South Asian religious history and literature. The book argues that the plot, characters, and the very history of Jain Rāma composition itself served as a continual font of inspiration for authors to create and express novel visions of moral personhood. In making this argument, the book examines three versions of the Rāma story composed by two authors, separated in time and space by over 800 years and thousands of miles. The first is Raviṣeṇa, who composed the Sanskrit Padmapurāṇa (“The Deeds of Padma”), and the second is Brahma Jinadāsa, author of both a Sanskrit Padmapurāṇa and a vernacular (bhāṣā) version of the story titled Rām Rās (“The Story of Rām”). While the three compositions narrate the same basic story and work to shape ethical subjects, they do so in different ways and with different visions of what a moral person actually is. A close comparative reading focused on the differences between these three texts reveals the diverse visions of moral personhood held by Jains in premodernity and demonstrates the innovative narrative strategies authors utilized in order to actualize those visions. The book is thus a valuable contribution to the fields of Jain studies and religion and literature in premodern South Asia.
Download or read book Parables in Changing Contexts written by Marcel Poorthuis and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2019-12-30 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Parables in Changing Contexts, new venues in the comparative study of parables are addressed by scholars of Judaism, New Testament, Buddhism and Islam. Essays cover parables in the synoptic Gospels, Rabbinic midrash, and parabolic tales and fables in the Babylonian Talmud.
Download or read book SWASTIKA written by Prof.Dr.PEDARAPU CHENNA REDDY and published by Blue Rose Publishers. This book was released on 2022-02-16 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SWASTIKA: Epigraphy, Numismatics, Religion and Philosophical Studies is a Festschrift presented to Prof. Hampa Nagarajaiah a renowned Jaina Scholar in India, on his 85th birth anniversary (7th October 1936) . Prof. Hampana one of the major litterateurs of Karnataka, has authored more than 80 books in English and Kannada. His writings, spread over more than five decades, cover a wide range of topics embracing different disciplines and fields of research. Some of his books have been translated into English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tulu, Tamil and Telugu. He has taught undergraduate and post- graduates students, for over 37 years. He has served Kannada sahitya parishad , as secretary for 8 years, as well president for 8 years , With ‘hampana’ as his nam de plume , he is a recipient of a number of state and national Awards. Contemporary literati honoured him with 8 festschrifts.. His contribution to the study of Jainology, in particular, insignificant and seminal. These articles in other way serve as garland of flowers to decor Prof. Hampa Nagarajaiah; A great scholar in Jainism, Literature, Epigraphy, Numismatics, Religion and Philosophy , History and Cultural Studies. There are more than 31 articles shedding light on Recent Trends in Jainism Studies. This prestigious volume contains a wide spectrum of research articles covering Jainism in Archaeology, Art, and Architecture. The volume containing a good collection of research papers contributed by renowned authors from India and abroad will serve as an important source of information and reference book for research students and teachers as well. Incidentally, this volume also highlights the love and affection of Prof. Hampa Nagarajaiah enjoys in the intellectual world.
Download or read book Ecumenism A Guide for the Perplexed written by R. David Nelson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-07-27 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecumenism: A Guide for the Perplexed is a comprehensive introduction to the methods, achievements, and future prospects of the modern ecumenical movement. The authors begin the volume by charting out a serviceable definition of ecumenism, a term that has long been a source of confusion for students of theology and church history. They review the chronology of the modern ecumenical movement and highlight the major events, figures, accomplishments, and impasses. This historical survey is followed by critical examinations of three significant challenges for contemporary ecumenical theology and practice. Along the way, the authors provide commentary upon the difficulties and prospects that the ecumenical movement might anticipate as it enters this new millennium.
Download or read book Ahimsa written by Andrea Diem-Lane and published by . This book was released on 2016-08-16 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jainism arose as a systematic response to human and animal violence by positing a radical alternative-the path of ahimsa or non-violence. Their argument is a simple but profound one. If we can lessen the pain and suffering of those around us why not choose that option instead of needlessly perpetuating the never-ending cycle of violent retribution. Jainism raises a most pregnant question for all of us: how big is our circle of compassion? Can we extend its circumference beyond our selves and ken to include other human beings not of our tribe and even further to include animals and other living beings? In those brief moments where we almost instinctively lash out others, can we instead pause and change our responses? The Jains believe that we can and have of demonstrated over hundreds of years of how it can be ecologically and ethically successful. This book is a brief introduction to the Jain religion, including a close look at its inception and how it evolved over time to its present day status. Special attention will be given to how Jain ideals such as ahimsa and anekantavada (the doctrine of non one-sidedness) can serve as a much needed and welcome panacea to the world's strife and misery. Although Jainism is perhaps the smallest of the world's religions, what it has to offer humankind is of inestimable value.
Download or read book The History of the Rise and Fall of the World s Religions and their Evolution written by Younus Samadzada and published by Fulton Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2022-01-14 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book chronologically documents the rise and fall of the major religions of the world and explores the role that various cultural factors such as dance, trance, music, song, and language have played in this evolution. The role that leaders play in the evolution of religion is also discussed. Starting from the primitive religions of hunter-gatherer societies in which religion was not part of any institution, the next stages of human life from the agricultural revolution to the modern religions of today are discussed. Among the modern religions discussed are Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Scientology, and numerous others. The reader is further provided with a unique perspective on the potential good and evil aspects of religion and the very reality of the existence of a God or gods, and the possible downfalls of the religious belief system.
Download or read book Comparative Metaethics written by Colin Marshall and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-10-10 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of original essays explores metaethical views from outside the mainstream European tradition. The guiding motivation is that important discussions about the ultimate nature of morality can be found far beyond ancient Greece and modern Europe. The volume’s aim is to show how rich the possibilities are for comparative metaethics, and how much these comparisons offer challenges and new perspectives to contemporary analytic metaethics. Representing five continents, the thinkers discussed range from ancient Egyptian, ancient Chinese, and the Mexican (Aztec) cultures to more recent thinkers like Augusto Salazar Bondy, Bimal Krishna Matilal, Nishida Kitarō, and Susan Sontag. The philosophical topics discussed include religious language, moral discovery, moral disagreement, essences’ relation to evaluative facts, metaphysical harmony and moral knowledge, naturalism, moral perception, and quasi-realism. This volume will be of interest to anyone interested in metaethics or comparative philosophy.
Download or read book Experience Culture and Religion in Systematic Theology written by Edmond Zi-Kang Chua and published by James Clarke & Company. This book was released on 2023-09-28 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most systematicians take as their starting point the nature of God, and scripture as the means by which God's nature is revealed, but what would a systematic theology look like that began with an experiential knowledge of God? Here, Edmond Chua offers a method for just such an approach. Beginning with realms of human experience including psychology, cultural diversity and religious plurality, he builds the framework of a systematic theology that is inclusive and pluriform, while retaining the core tenets of a Christian doctrine of God. Notwithstanding his novel methodology, Chua's argument remains biblically rooted and appreciative of the Christian tradition. In the latter half of the book he returns to the classical doctrines of the Trinity, Christology, evil, sin and salvation, allowing his inclusive view of the human religious experience to shed new light on the wisdom bequeathed by Paul, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Barth, and others. The result is a bold Christian vision that is culturally engaged and globally applicable, of interest to systematic theologians while contributing to interreligious dialogue.
