Download or read book This One Is Mine written by Maria Semple and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2008-12-04 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Violet Parry is living the quintessential life of luxury in the Hollywood Hills with David, her rock-and-roll manager husband, and her darling toddler, Dot. She has the perfect life -- except that she's deeply unhappy. David expects the world of Violet but gives little of himself in return. When she meets Teddy, a roguish small-time bass player, Violet comes alive, and soon she's risking everything for the chance to find herself again. Also in the picture are David's hilariously high-strung sister, Sally, on the prowl for a successful husband, and Jeremy, the ESPN sportscaster savant who falls into her trap. For all their recklessness, Violet and Sally will discover that David and Jeremy have a few surprises of their own. This One is Mine is a compassionate and wickedly funny satire about our need for more -- and the often disastrous choices we make in the name of happiness.

Download or read book Kimono written by John Paris and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2019-12-02 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Kimono" by John Paris. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Download or read book Transnational Faiths written by Hugo Córdova Quero and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-02-17 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan has witnessed the arrival of thousands of immigrants, since the 1990s, from Latin America, especially from Brazil and Peru. Along with immigrants from other parts of the world, they all express the new face of Japan - one of multiculturality and multi-ethnicity. Newcomers are having a strong impact in local faith communities and playing an unexpected role in the development of communities. This book focuses on the role that faith and religious institutions play in the migrants' process of settlement and integration. The authors also focus on the impact of immigrants' religiosity amidst religious groups formerly established in Japan. Religion is an integral aspect of the displacement and settlement process of immigrants in an increasing multi-ethnic, multicultural and pluri-religious contemporary Japan. Religious institutions and their social networks in Japan are becoming the first point of contact among immigrants. This book exposes and explores the often missed connection of the positive role of religion and faith-based communities in facilitating varied integrative ways of belonging for immigrants. The authors highlight the faith experiences of immigrants themselves by bringing their voices through case studies, interviews, and ethnographic research throughout the book to offer an important contribution to the exploration of multiculturalism in Japan.

Download or read book The Buddha Geoff and Me written by Edward Canfor-Dumas and published by Random House. This book was released on 2013-05-03 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ed is having a hard time - at work, in his love life and, well, generally. Then he meets an unlikely Buddhist - who drinks and smokes and talks his kind of language. Bit by bit, things begin to change... Ed doesn't always take Geoff's advice. Or, when he does he lapses at the crucial moment. His path to understanding is not a straight one, especially as life keeps throwing more and more 'stuff' at him. Often he fails - like most of us, in fact. But sometimes he manages to get it right. And when he does, surprising things begin to happen ... In The Buddha, Geoff and Me Edward Canfor-Dumas brings all his skills to bear in an absorbing story of everyday city life, where the characters stand out with all their human strengths and weaknesses, and the ending brings Ed - and perhaps all of us? - a hope we didn't necessarily expect. The Buddha, Geoff and Me - for anyone who's ever begun to wonder what the whole damn thing is all about ...

Download or read book The Lotus Quest written by Mark Griffiths and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2010-07-06 with total page 525 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A captivating history of one of the world's most iconic and mysterious flowers Bewitched by a lotus which flowered from three-thousandyear- old seeds in his English garden, Mark Griffiths set out to track the origins and significance of this sublime plant in this beautifully-illustrated book. The Lotus Quest takes Griffiths from the headquarters of the Linnaean Society in London to a mountain top in northern Japan. As he travels in search of this ancient flower, Griffiths looks at the lotus's significance in ancient Egypt and India, the plant's medicinal uses and the inspiration it has provided to Western artists. As he tracks the plant, its story unveils a stunning vision of Japan's feudal era with visits to shrines, ruins, gardens and wild landscapes as well as meetings with priests and archaeologists, philosophers and anthropologists, gardeners and botanists, poets and artists. He even dines on the lotus in a Tokyo cafe. By the end of Griffiths' journey, when he reaches the hauntingly beautiful Japanese temple of Chuson-ji, readers will finally understand why the lotus has obsessed people throughout the ages.

Download or read book On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime written by Daisaku Ikeda and published by Middleway Press. This book was released on 2013-07-01 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What constitutes a meaningful life? What is true happiness? Nichiren Buddhism, based on the Lotus Sutra, is a teaching of hope that provides answers to these and other important questions for modern life. Ranked among the most important works in Mahayana Buddhism, Nichiren's 13th-century writings were revolutionary. In On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime, Nichiren turned prevailing Buddhist thought on its head. Attaining Buddhahood, or enlightenment, he argues, does not require embarking on some inconceivably long journey toward becoming some resplendent godlike Buddha, but rather it means accomplishing a transformation in the depths of one's being and revealing one's ultimate potential within. And Nichiren dedicated his life—braving all manner of persecution—to giving people a practical means for doing so. Daisaku Ikeda's simple and straightforward commentary brings alive this important writing for the modern world. Thoughtful people of all faiths will resonate with his compassionate insights on the universal teaching of happiness that is Nichiren Buddhism.

Download or read book Love and Wisdom the Art of Appropriateness written by Douglas Melloy and published by Inner Child Press. This book was released on 2012-02-12 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everything in life-each experience is an opportunity to examine where we are, what we think, and how we feel in relation to our self and another person or reference point. It is equally an opportunity to share ourselves in unconditional love with humanity and applying these truths shared in appropriate ways.In Love and Wisdom, the Art of Appropriateness, Douglas H. Melloy has given us specific essentials of the evolutionary process to be pondered. In hopes that as we read, meditate, and do the work we will be creating and manifesting our experience and expression, so that love and wisdom will always be demonstrated.The means given for accomplishing this is: Bonding, Nurturance, Encouragement, Development, Discipline, Adept-ship, and Mastery, which you will find all masterfully explained in this work. The author's definition of Love and Wisdom are: Love is one's relationship to God shared and wisdom is the

Download or read book Herbie Hancock Possibilities written by Herbie Hancock and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2014-10-23 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The long-awaited memoir by one of the most influential and beloved musicians of our time In Herbie Hancock the legendary jazz musician and composer reflects on a life and a thriving career that has spanned seven decades. A true innovator, Hancock has had an enormous influence on both acoustic and electric jazz, R&B and hip-hop, with his ongoing exploration of different musical genres, winning fourteen Grammy awards along the way. From his beginnings as a child prodigy to his work in Miles Davis’s second great quintet; from his innovations as the leader of his own groundbreaking sextet to his collaborations with everyone from Wayne Shorter to Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder; Herbie Hancock reveals the method behind Hancock’s undeniable musical genius. Hancock shares his musical influences, colorful behind-the-scenes stories, his long and happy marriage, and how Buddhism inspires him creatively and personally. Honest, enlightening, and as electrifyingly vital as the man who wrote it, Herbie Hancock promises to be an invaluable contribution to jazz literature and a must-read for fans and music lovers.

Download or read book Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism written by Richard Causton and published by HarperCollins Publishers. This book was released on 1989 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The World s Religions written by Peter B. Clarke and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-05-07 with total page 1343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive volume focuses on the world's religions and the changes they have undergone as they become more global and diverse in form. It explores the religions of the world not only in the regions with which they have been historically associated, but also looks at the new cultural and religious contexts in which they are developing. It considers the role of migration in the spread of religions by examining the issues raised for modern societies by the increasing interaction of different religions. The volume also addresses such central questions as the dynamics of religious innovation which is evidenced in the rise and impact of new religious and new spirituality movements in every continent.

Download or read book Buddhism of the Heart written by Jeff Wilson and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010-10-08 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes a foreword by Mark Unno and Taitetsu Unno. Jeff Wilson started his walk on the Buddha's Path as a Zen practitioner-taking up a tradition of vigorous self-effort, intensive meditation, and meticulous attention to rectitude in every action. But in Jeff's case, rather than freeing him from his suffering, he found those Zen practices made him nothing short of insufferable. And so he turned to Shin Buddhism-a path that is easily the most popular in Zen's native land of Japan but is largely unknown in the West. Shin emphasizes an ''entrusting heart,'' a heart that is able to receive with gratitude every moment of our mistake-filled and busy lives. Moreover, through walking the Shin path, Jeff comes see that each of us (himself especially included) are truly ''foolish beings,'' people so filled with endlessly arising ''blind passions'' and ingrained habits that we so easily cause harm even with our best intentions. And even so, Shin holds out the tantalizing possibility that, by truly entrusting our foolish selves to the compassionate universe, we can learn to see how this foolish life, just as it is, is nonetheless also a life of grace. Buddhism of the Heart is a wide-ranging book of essays and open-hearted stories, reflections that run the gamut from intensely personal to broadly philosophical, introducing the reader to a remarkable religious tradition of compassionate acceptance.

Download or read book Dancing in My Dreams written by Ralph H. Craig and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2023-11-07 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you don’t know Tina Turner’s spirituality, you don’t know Tina. When Tina Turner reclaimed her throne as the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll in the 1980s, she attributed her comeback to one thing: the wisdom and power she found in Buddhism. Her spiritual transformation is often overshadowed by the rags-to-riches arc of her life story. But in this groundbreaking biography, Ralph H. Craig III traces Tina’s journey from the Black Baptist church to Buddhism and situates her at the vanguard of large-scale movements in religion and pop culture. Paying special attention to the diverse metaphysical beliefs that shaped her spiritual life, Craig untangles Tina’s Soka Gakkai Buddhist foundation; her incorporation of New Age ideas popularized in ’60s counterculture; and her upbringing in a Black Baptist congregation, alongside the influences of her grandmothers’ disciplinary and mystical sensibilities. Through critical engagement with Tina’s personal life and public brand, Craig sheds light on how popular culture has been used as a vehicle for authentic religious teaching. Scholars and fans alike will find Dancing in My Dreams as enlightening as the iconic singer herself.

Download or read book Depression Metaphysics written by Mitch Horowitz and published by Gildan Media LLC aka G&D Media. This book was released on 2021-01-06 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of us embark on the spiritual search seeking relief from depression and anxiety. In this revealing and deeply meaningful book, Mitch makes a frank and responsible survey of how the spiritual path can aid or impede you in this journey. As Mitch reveals from his many years as a writer, publisher, and seeker, the spiritual culture does not always respond wisely to the needs of people seeking emotional health. Nor can spiritual progress and emotional health necessarily be equated. Mitch lays out a new paradigm for how you can combine traditional, alternative, and self-designed approaches to find the right path forward in your search for the higher and need for emotional wellbeing.

Download or read book Seikyo Times written by and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 728 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The World of Nichiren s Writings vol 1 written by Daisaku Ikeda and published by Middleway Press. This book was released on 2023-01-01 with total page 437 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In these insightful discussions, Daisaku Ikeda explores from a variety of angles the life, times, and teachings of Nichiren Daishonin as described in his writings. We learn how Nichiren' s actions— from his vows at an early age to bring happiness to the people through his fearlessness in face of life-threatening persecutions— can become a model for us today. And the humanistic interpretations of key Buddhist concepts bring new clarity to ideas such as “ attaining Buddhahood in this lifetime” and “ establishing the correct teaching for the peace of the land.” More than just history and theory, the inspiration offered here aims to provide a deeper understanding of how to put into daily practice Nichiren's philosophy of hope and victory.

Download or read book Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism written by Jacqueline I. Stone and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2003-05-31 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Original enlightenment thought (hongaku shiso) dominated Buddhist intellectual circles throughout Japan’s medieval period. Enlightenment, this discourse claims, is neither a goal to be achieved nor a potential to be realized but the true status of all things. Every animate and inanimate object manifests the primordially enlightened Buddha just as it is. Seen in its true aspect, every activity of daily life—eating, sleeping, even one’s deluded thinking—is the Buddha’s conduct. Emerging from within the powerful Tendai School, ideas of original enlightenment were appropriated by a number of Buddhist traditions and influenced nascent theories about the kami (local deities) as well as medieval aesthetics and the literary and performing arts. Scholars and commentators have long recognized the historical importance of original enlightenment thought but differ heatedly over how it is to be understood. Some tout it as the pinnacle of the Buddhist philosophy of absolute non-dualism. Others claim to find in it the paradigmatic expression of a timeless Japanese spirituality. According other readings, it represents a dangerous anti-nomianism that undermined observance of moral precepts, precipitated a decline in Buddhist scholarship, and denied the need for religious discipline. Still others denounce it as an authoritarian ideology that, by sacralizing the given order, has in effect legitimized hierarchy and discriminative social practices. Often the acceptance or rejection of original enlightenment thought is seen as the fault line along which traditional Buddhist institutions are to be differentiated from the new Buddhist movements (Zen, Pure Land, and Nichiren) that arose during Japan’s medieval period. Jacqueline Stone’s groundbreaking study moves beyond the treatment of the original enlightenment doctrine as abstract philosophy to explore its historical dimension. Drawing on a wealth of medieval primary sources and modern Japanese scholarship, it places this discourse in its ritual, institutional, and social contexts, illuminating its importance to the maintenance of traditions of lineage and the secret transmission of knowledge that characterized several medieval Japanese elite culture. It sheds new light on interpretive strategies employed in pre-modern Japanese Buddhist texts, an area that hitherto has received a little attention. Through these and other lines of investigation, Stone problematizes entrenched notions of “corruption” in the medieval Buddhist establishment. Using the examples of Tendai and Nichiren Buddhism and their interactions throughout the medieval period, she calls into question both overly facile distinctions between “old” and “new” Buddhism and the long-standing scholarly assumptions that have perpetuated them. This study marks a significant contribution to ongoing debates over definitions of Buddhism in the Kamakura era (1185–1333), long regarded as a formative period in Japanese religion and culture. Stone argues that “original enlightenment thought” represents a substantial rethinking of Buddhist enlightenment that cuts across the distinction between “old” and “new” institutions and was particularly characteristic of the medieval period.

Download or read book Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Religions written by Inken Prohl and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2012-09-03 with total page 675 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Representing work by some of the leading scholars in the field, the chapters in this handbook survey the transformation and innovation of religious traditions and practices in contemporary Japan.