Download or read book The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices written by Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle and published by Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. This book was released on 1994 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Universe and Inner Self in Early Indian and Early Greek Thought written by Seaford Richard Seaford and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2016-07-11 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the sixth century BCE onwards there occurred a revolution in thought, with novel ideas such as such as that understanding the inner self is both vital for human well-being and central to understanding the universe. This intellectual transformation is sometimes called the beginning of philosophy. And it occurred - independently it seems - in both India and Greece, but not in the vast Persian Empire that divided them. How was this possible? This is a puzzle that has never been solved. This volume brings together Hellenists and Indologists representing a variety of perspectives on the similarities and differences between the two cultures, and on how to explain them. It offers a collaborative contribution to the burgeoning interest in the Axial Age and will be of interest to anyone intrigued by the big questions inspired by the ancient world.
Download or read book The Origins of Yoga and Tantra written by Geoffrey Samuel and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-03-27 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yoga, tantra and other forms of Asian meditation are practised in modernized forms throughout the world today, but most introductions to Hinduism or Buddhism tell only part of the story of how they developed. This book is an interpretation of the history of Indic religions up to around 1200 CE, with particular focus on the development of yogic and tantric traditions. It assesses how much we really know about this period, and asks what sense we can make of the evolution of yogic and tantric practices, which were to become such central and important features of the Indic religious scene. Its originality lies in seeking to understand these traditions in terms of the total social and religious context of South Asian society during this period, including the religious practices of the general population with their close engagement with family, gender, economic life and other pragmatic concerns.
Download or read book New Approaches to the Study of Religion Regional critical and historical approaches written by Peter Antes and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2004 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Internationally recognized scholars from many parts of the world provide a critical survey of recent developments and achievements in the global field of religious studies. The work follows in the footsteps of two former publications: Classical Approaches to the Study of Religion, edited by Jacques Waardenburg (1973), and Contemporary Approaches to the Study of Religion, edited by Frank Whaling (1984/85). New Approaches to the Study of Religion completes the survey of the comparative study of religion in the twentieth century by focussing on the past two decades. Many of the chapters, however, are also pathbreaking and point the way to future approaches.
Download or read book Early Buddhist Meditation written by Keren Arbel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-03-16 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a new interpretation of the relationship between 'insight practice' (satipatthana) and the attainment of the four jhànas (i.e., right samàdhi), a key problem in the study of Buddhist meditation. The author challenges the traditional Buddhist understanding of the four jhànas as states of absorption, and shows how these states are the actualization and embodiment of insight (vipassanà). It proposes that the four jhànas and what we call 'vipassanà' are integral dimensions of a single process that leads to awakening. Current literature on the phenomenology of the four jhànas and their relationship with the 'practice of insight' has mostly repeated traditional Theravàda interpretations. No one to date has offered a comprehensive analysis of the fourfold jhàna model independently from traditional interpretations. This book offers such an analysis. It presents a model which speaks in the Nikàyas' distinct voice. It demonstrates that the distinction between the 'practice of serenity' (samatha-bhàvanà) and the 'practice of insight' (vipassanà-bhàvanà) – a fundamental distinction in Buddhist meditation theory – is not applicable to early Buddhist understanding of the meditative path. It seeks to show that the common interpretation of the jhànas as 'altered states of consciousness', absorptions that do not reveal anything about the nature of phenomena, is incompatible with the teachings of the Pàli Nikàyas. By carefully analyzing the descriptions of the four jhànas in the early Buddhist texts in Pàli, their contexts, associations and meanings within the conceptual framework of early Buddhism, the relationship between this central element in the Buddhist path and 'insight meditation' becomes revealed in all its power. Early Buddhist Meditation will be of interest to scholars of Buddhist studies, Asian philosophies and religions, as well as Buddhist practitioners with a serious interest in the process of insight meditation.
Download or read book The Hermit s Hut written by Kazi K. Ashraf and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2013-10-31 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Hermit’s Hut offers an original insight into the profound relationship between architecture and asceticism. Although architecture continually responds to ascetic compulsions, as in its frequent encounter with the question of excess and less, it is typically considered separate from asceticism. In contrast, this innovative book explores the rich and mutual ways in which asceticism and architecture are played out in each other’s practices. The question of asceticism is also considered—as neither a religious discourse nor a specific cultural tradition but as a perennial issue in the practice of culture. The work convincingly traces the influences from early Indian asceticism to Zen Buddhism to the Japanese teahouse—the latter opening the door to modern minimalism. As the book’s title suggests, the protagonist of the narrative is the nondescript hermit’s hut. Relying primarily on Buddhist materials, the author provides a complex narrative that stems from this simple structure, showing how the significance of the hut resonates widely and how the question of dwelling is central to ascetic imagination. In exploring the conjunctions of architecture and asceticism, he breaks new ground by presenting ascetic practice as fundamentally an architectural project, namely the fabrication of a “last” hut. Through the conception of the last hut, he looks at the ascetic challenge of arriving at the edge of civilization and its echoes in the architectural quest for minimalism. The most vivid example comes from a well-known Buddhist text where the Buddha describes the ultimate ascetic moment, or nirvana, in cataclysmic terms using architectural metaphors: “The roof-rafters will be shattered,” the Buddha declares, and the architect will “no longer build the house again.” As the book compellingly shows, the physiological and spiritual transformation of the body is deeply intertwined with the art of building. The Hermit’s Hut weaves together the fields of architecture, anthropology, religion, and philosophy to offer multidisciplinary and historical insights. Written in an engaging and accessible manner, it will appeal to readers with diverse interests and in a variety of disciplines—whether one is interested in the history of ascetic architecture in India, the concept of “home” in ancient India, or the theme of the body as building.
Download or read book Weird Sports and Wacky Games around the World written by Victoria R. Williams and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-04-28 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With hundreds of books dedicated to conventional sports and activities, this encyclopedia on the weirdest and wackiest games offers a fresh and entertaining read for any audience. Weird Sports and Wacky Games around the World: From Buzkashi to Zorbing focuses on what many would consider abnormal activities from across the globe. Spanning subjects that include individual games, team sports, games for men and women, and contests involving animal competitors, there is something for every reader. Whether researching a particular country or region's traditions or wanting an interesting read for pleasure, this book offers an array of uses and benefits. Though the book focuses on games and sporting activities, the examination of these topics gives readers insight into unfamiliar places and peoples through their recreation—an essential part of the human experience that occurs in all cultures. Such activities are not only embedded in everyday life but also indelibly interconnected with social customs, war, politics, commerce, education, and national identity, making the whimsical topic of the book an appealing gateway to insightful, highly relevant information.
Download or read book Worlds of Difference written by Said Arjomand and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2013-08-22 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can differences be understood in social theory through comparisons, and how should social theory relate to regional studies to do so? This question has been prevalent within the sociological field for over a century, but is becoming increasingly important in a globalised age in which cultural borders are constantly challenged and rapidly changing. In this collection, Arjomand and Reis illuminate the importance of exploring spatial, cultural and intellectual differences beyond generalizations, attempting to understand diversity in itself as it takes shape across the world. With contributions from internationally renowned scholars, and a focussed emphasis upon sociological key themes such as modernization, citizenship, human rights, inequality and domination, this title provides a rich and convincing discussion that will add significant value to the ongoing debate about alternative modernities, diversity and change within the social sciences. Worlds of Difference constitutes an important and timely collection that will be of great inspiration for students and scholars alike.
Download or read book Rethinking Classical Yoga and Buddhism written by Karen O'Brien-Kop and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-09-09 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book revisits the early systemic formation of meditation practices called 'yoga' in South Asia by employing metaphor theory. Karen O'Brien-Kop also develops an alternative way of analysing the reception history of yoga that aims to decentre the Eurocentric and imperialist enterprises of the nineteenth-century to reframe the cultural period of the 1st – 5th centuries CE using categorical markers from South Asian intellectual history. Buddhist traditions were just as concerned as Hindu traditions with meditative disciplines of yoga. By exploring the intertextuality of the Patanjalayogasastra with texts such as Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakosabhasya and Asanga's Yogacarabhumisastra, this book highlights and clarifies many ideologically Buddhist concepts and practices in Patanjala yoga. Karen O'Brien-Kop demonstrates that 'classical yoga' was co-constructed systemically by both Hindu and Buddhist thinkers who were drawing on the same conceptual metaphors of the period. This analysis demystifies early yoga-meditation as a timeless 'classical' practice and locates it in a specific material context of agrarian and urban economies.
Download or read book Buddhist Teaching in India written by Johannes Bronkhorst and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-02-08 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The earliest records we have today of what the Buddha said were written down several centuries after his death, and the body of teachings attributed to him continued to evolve in India for centuries afterward across a shifting cultural and political landscape. As one tradition within a diverse religious milieu that included even the Greek kingdoms of northwestern India, Buddhism had many opportunities to both influence and be influenced by competing schools of thought. Even within Buddhism, a proliferation of interpretive traditions produced a dynamic intellectual climate. Johannes Bronkhorst here tracks the development of Buddhist teachings both within the larger Indian context and among Buddhism's many schools, shedding light on the sources and trajectory of such ideas as dharma theory, emptiness, the bodhisattva ideal, buddha nature, formal logic, and idealism. In these pages, we discover the roots of the doctrinal debates that have animated the Buddhist tradition up until the present day.
Download or read book Decolonizing Yoga from Critical to Cosmic Consciousness written by Punam Mehta Ph.D. and published by Archway Publishing. This book was released on 2022-04-21 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book was written for diasporic South Asian women who have experienced microaggression or discrimination in modern yoga spaces in Canada or abroad. Punam Mehta, Ph.D. reveals how the yoga movement in Canada has been harmful to yoga’s grounding in Jain history, to South Asian social and cultural development, and to Jain diasporic women born and raised in Canada. She argues that marginalized women could recenter themselves by practicing yoga to overcome discrimination based on their race, gender, sexuality, class, and/or abilities within the context of today’s culture. The author seeks to answer questions such as: • What is the theoretical foundation of feminist-informed yoga in contemporary culture? • How can a feminist-informed yoga be applied as a healing approach to marginalized women? • How can contemporary yoga offer simple ways for marginalized women to feel good about themselves? The author highlights the removal of Canadian-born Jain mothers and more generally, South Asian mothers who face systemic racism in yoga studios. She also reveals how yoga, practiced in the Jain way of life, offers a holistic approach to well-being and spiritual health.
Download or read book Early Buddhist Oral Tradition written by Analayo Bhikkhu and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-07-05 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating investigation into the formation and transmission of the early Buddhist oral tradition. For hundreds of years after his death, the Buddha’s teachings were transmitted orally, from person to person. In this volume, acclaimed scholar-monk Bhikkhu Analayo examines the impact of such oral transmission on early Buddhist texts, be these monastic rules, verses, or prose portions of the early discourses. He scrutinizes various oral aspects of these texts, surveying evidence for memory errors, the impact of attempts at systematization, and instances of additions and innovations. Finally, he explores the implications of the nature of these texts as the final product of centuries of oral transmission and evaluates the type of conclusions that can—and cannot—be drawn based on them.
Download or read book Regional Critical and Historical Approaches written by Peter Antes and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2008-12-19 with total page 569 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Internationally recognized scholars from many parts of the world provide a critical survey of recent developments and achievements in the global field of religious studies. The work follows in the footsteps of two former publications: Classical Approaches to the Study of Religion, edited by Jacques Waardenburg (1973), and Contemporary Approaches to the Study of Religion, edited by Frank Whaling (1984/85). New Approaches to the Study of Religion completes the survey of the comparative study of religion in the twentieth century by focussing on the past two decades. Many of the chapters, however, are also pathbreaking and point the way to future approaches.
Download or read book Tracing the Path of Yoga written by Stuart Ray Sarbacker and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2021-01-01 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clear, accessible, and meticulously annotated, Tracing the Path of Yoga offers a comprehensive survey of the history and philosophy of yoga that will be invaluable to both specialists and to nonspecialists seeking a deeper understanding of this fascinating subject. Stuart Ray Sarbacker argues that yoga can be understood first and foremost as a discipline of mind and body that is represented in its narrative and philosophical literature as resulting in both numinous and cessative accomplishments that correspond, respectively, to the attainment of this-worldly power and otherworldly liberation. Sarbacker demonstrates how the yogic quest for perfection as such is situated within the concrete realities of human life, intersecting with issues of politics, economics, class, gender, and sexuality, as well as reflecting larger Indic religious and philosophical ideals.
Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of the Imagination written by Anna Abraham and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-18 with total page 865 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The human imagination manifests in countless different forms. We imagine the possible and the impossible. How do we do this so effortlessly? Why did the capacity for imagination evolve and manifest with undeniably manifold complexity uniquely in human beings? This handbook reflects on such questions by collecting perspectives on imagination from leading experts. It showcases a rich and detailed analysis on how the imagination is understood across several disciplines of study, including anthropology, archaeology, medicine, neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and the arts. An integrated theoretical-empirical-applied picture of the field is presented, which stands to inform researchers, students, and practitioners about the issues of relevance across the board when considering the imagination. With each chapter, the nature of human imagination is examined - what it entails, how it evolved, and why it singularly defines us as a species.
Download or read book Yoga written by Daren Callahan and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-01-28 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions of people practice some form of yoga, but they often do so without a clear understanding of its history, traditions, and purposes. This comprehensive bibliography, designed to assist researchers, practitioners, and general readers in navigating the extensive yoga literature, lists and comments upon English-language yoga texts published since 1981. It includes entries for more than 2,400 scholarly as well as popular works, manuals, original Sanskrit source text translations, conference proceedings, doctoral dissertations, and master's theses. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author for easy access, while thorough author, title, and subject indexes will help readers find books of interest.
Download or read book The Theory of the Four Stages of Liberation in P li Literature written by Amrita Nanda and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
