Download or read book The Zen in Modern Cosmology written by Harry C. S. Lam and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2008 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to Modern Cosmology, our Universe came from a primordial state 13.7 billion years ago, with no matter and very little energy. In other words, it was almost empty. Where do the stars and galaxies, and everything else in the present universe come from then?This captivating book provides an answer to this question, and explains the observations and evidence behind the assertion of an almost empty primordial universe. Aimed at a general audience, it assumes no prior knowledge of astronomy or physics.The emptiness of the primordial universe is reminiscent of the emptiness in Zen Buddhism. The similarities and differences of these two forms of emptiness are explored.
Download or read book The Zen in Modern Cosmology written by Harry C. S. Lam and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2008 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to Modern Cosmology, our Universe came from a primordial state 13.7 billion years ago, with no matter and very little energy. In other words, it was almost empty. Where do the stars and galaxies, and everything else in the present universe come from then?. This captivating book provides an answer to this question, and explains the observations and evidence behind the assertion of an almost empty primordial universe. Aimed at a general audience, it assumes no prior knowledge of astronomy or physics. The emptiness of the primordial universe is reminiscent of the emptiness in Zen Buddhism. The similarities and differences of these two forms of emptiness are explored. Sample Chapter(s). Chapter 1: Out of Emptiness (578 KB). Contents: Out of Emptiness; Sakyamuni Buddha; A Flower and a Smile; Hui Neng; The Platform Sutra; Prologue to Our Universe; Does the Universe Have a Beginning; Size and Shape of the Universe; Scale Factor and Redshift; The Constituents of the Universe; What is Matter; Different Kinds of Energy; Heat and Temperature; The Noisy Universe; A Short History of the Universe; Inflation; Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation; Emergence of Matter; Syntheses of Chemical Elements; Epilogue. Readership: General readers and practicing scientists.
Download or read book Cosmological Koans A Journey to the Heart of Physical Reality written by Anthony Aguirre and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2019-05-21 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cosmological Koans invites the reader into an intellectual adventure of the highest order. Through more than fifty Koans—pleasingly paradoxical vignettes following the ancient Zen tradition—leading physicist Anthony Aguirre takes the reader across the world from West to East, and through ideas spanning the age, breadth, and depth of the Universe. Using these beguiling Koans (Could there be a civilization on a mote of dust? How much of your fate have you made? Who cleans the universe?) and a flair for explaining complex science, Aguirre covers cosmic questions that scientific giants from Aristotle to Galileo to Heisenberg have grappled with, from the meaning of quantum theory and the nature of time to the origin of multiple universes. A playful and enlightening book, Cosmological Koans explores the strange hinterland between the deep structure of the physical world and our personal experience of it, giving readers what Einstein himself called “the most beautiful and deepest experience” anyone can have: a sense of the mysterious.
Download or read book Each Moment Is the Universe written by Dainin Katagiri and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2008-12-02 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Japanese master offers a Zen perspective on the nature of time and being, further exploring the concepts of impermanence, living in the present moment, and more It’s easy to regard time as a commodity—we even speak of “saving” or “spending” it. We often regard it as an enemy, when we feel it slipping away before we’re ready for time to be up. The Zen view of time is radically different than that: time is not something separate from our life; rather, our life is time. Understand this, says Dainin Katagiri Roshi, and you can live fully and freely right where you are in each moment. Katagiri bases his teaching on Being Time, a text by the most famous of all Zen masters, Eihei Dogen (1200–1253), to show that time is a creative, dynamic process that continuously produces the universe and everything in it—and that to understand this is to discover a gateway to freedom from the dissatisfactions of everyday life. He guides us in contemplating impermanence, the present moment, and the ungraspable nature of past and future. He discusses time as part of our inner being, made manifest through constant change in ourselves and our surroundings. And these ideas are by no means metaphysical abstractions: they can be directly perceived by any of us through meditation.
Download or read book Sufi Cosmology written by Christian Lange and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-12-28 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume discusses origin, structure and levels of existence of the created world and the place of human beings in it, according to the major Sufi thinkers of all times.
Download or read book The New Physics and Cosmology written by Dalai Lama XIV Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What happens when the Dalai Lama meets with leading physicists and a historian? This book is the carefully edited record of the fascinating discussions at a Mind and Life conference in which five leading physicists and a historian (David Finkelstein, George Greenstein, Piet Hut, Arthur Zajonc, Anton Zeilinger, and Tu Weiming) discussed with the Dalai Lama current thought in theoretical quantum physics, in the context of Buddhist philosophy. A contribution to the science-religion interface, and a useful explanation of our basic understanding of quantum reality, couched at a level that intelligent readers without a deep involvement in science can grasp. In the tradition of other popular books on resonances between modern quantum physics and Zen or Buddhist mystical traditions--notably The Dancing Wu Li Masters and The Tao of Physics, this book gives a clear and useful update of the genuine correspondences between these two rather disparate approaches to understanding the nature of reality.
Download or read book The Joyous Cosmology written by Alan W. Watts and published by New World Library. This book was released on 2013-04-30 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In describing the effects of mescaline, Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception opened a proverbial door for a generation of seekers. Watts walked through it with this classic account of the levels of insight that consciousness-changing drugs can facilitate “when accompanied with sustained philosophical reflection by a person who is in search, not of kicks, but of understanding.” Watts and peers including foreword authors Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (then Harvard professors) anticipated physicists’ recognizing the individual’s “inseparability from the rest of the world,” the work of New Age thinkers who combine scientific findings and spiritual experiences, and federally funded clinical trials utilizing psilocybin to treat a variety of conditions. More than an artifact, The Joyous Cosmology is both a riveting memoir of Watts’s personal experiments and a profound meditation on our perennial questions about the nature of existence and the existence of the sacred.
Download or read book Zen Cosmology written by Ted Biringer and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-08-19 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zen Cosmology brings the Zen vision of reality forward and westward to observe it within the accumulated achievements of humankind's 'grand discussion.'
Download or read book Buddhist Cosmology written by W. Randolph Kloetzli and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disagreements concerning the nature and extent of the universe constitute a focus of theological debate which permeates buddhism at every level. While there have been numerous attempts to catalogue the details of the Buddhist cosmologies, none has attempted a general interpretation of their underlying intention. This work attempts to begin the process of interpreting the major phases of Buddhist Cosmological speculation by seeing in them various dramas of salvation tailored to the philosophical and theological predilections of their respective traditions. To a large extent, this interpretation relies on an examination of continuities between the Buddhist cosmologies and those of the hellenistic world as a whole. In the course of this study, two major cosmological traditions emerge; those which rely on metaphors of time and those which rely on metaphors of time and those which rely on metaphors of space. The former are associated with the Hinayana and the latter with the Mahayana forms of Buddhism. Each draws on images of motion and light to articulate its vision of the drama of salvation.
Download or read book The Light That Shines through Infinity written by Dainin Katagiri and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2017-11-28 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Zen Buddhist perspective on the universal flow of cosmic energy and how to incorporate that energy into one's life and spiritual practice The universe is alive with a dynamic energy that creates and sustains our lives. It surrounds us, flows through us, and is available to us in every moment. Spiritual practice, according to revered American Zen teacher Dainin Katagiri Roshi, is about aligning ourselves with this ever-present life force—sometimes referred to as chi, qi, or ki. This collection, edited from Roshi’s talks, focuses on cosmic energy as it relates to all aspects of Zen practice. With references to classic texts and personal stories that bring the teachings to life, The Light That Shines through Infinity is also a powerful antidote to the notion that practice is in some way about transcending the world around us. It is in fact about nothing other than relating to it compassionately and whole-heartedly.
Download or read book The Zen Priestess and the Snake written by Roshi Ilia Shinko Perez and published by . This book was released on 2020-06-21 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Zen Priestess and the Snake is the powerful true story of a woman inspired by her visions of the Sacred Feminine. Shinko makes a case for bringing the wisdom of the Sacred Feminine back into Buddhism and leads us through practices from the Mother Goddess tradition, teaching us how to incorporate these practices into contemporary spiritual life.
Download or read book Zen Science written by InstituteofZenScience and published by Running Press Adult. This book was released on 2018-03-20 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An inspirational collection of musings on the wonders of nature and the universe, Zen Science pairs the fun of popular science trivia with the benefits of mindfulness. It takes 30,000 years to create a single ray of sunlight. A pinch of soil contains 1 billion living organisms. For virtually all of the earth's existence -- 99.9994% of time -- there were no human beings. These simple reflections are also deeply profound, revealing how vast and awe-inspiring the natural world truly is. With more than 100 of the most surprising, thought-provoking facts about our planet, Zen Science leads readers towards mindfulness, wonder, and spiritual contemplation. This gentle guide is illustrated throughout with charming line drawings and can be read straight through or consulted periodically for a bite-sized piece of inspiration and joy.
Download or read book Constructing a Relational Cosmology written by Paul O. Ingram and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2006-08-01 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of five essays is both a dialogical engagement with and critical assessment of Nancy R. Howell's book 'Constructing a Relational Cosmology'. The collection includes three essays written from a Whiteheadian process perspective (by Marit A. Trelstad, Kathlyn A. Breazeale, and Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki), one from the perspective of narrative theology (Lisa Stenmark), and one from the Soto Zen Buddhist perspective (Stephanie Kaza). Howell, responding as a Whiteheadian feminist philosopher of religion, takes the critiques and suggestions of her dialogical partners with the utmost seriousness as her foundation for suggesting new directions for ecofeminist thought -- an example of what Whiteheadians call Òthe process of creative transformation.
Download or read book Cosmology and Buddhist Thought written by Jerome Freedman and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2013-10-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cosmology and Buddhist Thought is the result of a conversation with astrophysicist and television celebrity, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, that took place in New York at the end of May, 2011. While cosmologists look at the outer space with massive instruments and difficult calculations using mathematics, Buddhists look at inner space with mindfulness and concentration. Both paths lead to insights about fundamental questions about why and how we got here, what we are doing here, what are our connections and interactions with the universe, and what is our destiny. Cosmologists study life on earth from an objective point of view and examine its causes. Buddhists study life on earth with regard to understanding its challenges and how to resolve them. Both Buddhism and cosmology recognize that we live in an emerging, evolving, and impermanent universe - everything is changing. Dr. Tyson's insights into the origins of life on earth, time scales, ecology, and religion are inspiring, to say the least, and extremely wise to read and contemplate. His responsiveness to Buddhist ideas of co-dependent arising, interbeing (interconnectedness), impermanence, the self, nirvana, and consciousness demonstrates much more than a "Reader's Digest knowledge of Buddhism." A close reading of the conversation reveals that Buddhist thought does not have much to contribute to cosmology. Cosmology, on the other hand, has a lot to contribute to Buddhism. Excerpts from Cosmology and Buddhist Thought recently appeared on the Lion's Roar Blog.
Download or read book Buddhist Revivalist Movements written by Alan Robert Lopez and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-14 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text provides a comparative investigation of the affinities and differences of two of the most dynamic currents in World Buddhism: Zen Buddhism and the Thai Forest Movement. Defying differences in denomination, culture, and historical epochs, these schools revived an unfettered quest for enlightenment and proceeded to independently forge like practices and doctrines. The author examines the teaching gambits and tactics, the methods of practice, the place and story line of teacher biography, and the nature and role of the awakening experience, revealing similar forms deriving from an uncompromising pursuit of awaking, the insistence on self-cultivation, and the preeminent role of the charismatic master. Offering a pertinent review of their encounters with modernism, the book provides a new coherence to these seemingly disparate movements, opening up new avenues for scholars and possibilities for practitioners.
Download or read book The Recurrent Green Universe of John Fowles written by Thomas M. Wilson and published by Rodopi. This book was released on 2006 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecocriticism is the emerging academic field which explores nature writing and ecological themes in all literature. Thomas M. Wilson's book is the first to consider the work of one of the most critically acclaimed and generally popular post-war English writers from an ecocritical perspective. Fowles is best known as a novelist and author of such works as The Magus, The French Lieutenant's Woman and Daniel Martin. Going beyond the fiction, this book also examines the many profound reflections on the natural world found in his essays, poems and his recently published Journals. John Fowles' writings have cast light on the ways we perceive the natural world, from curious scientific observer to Wordsworthian lover of natural places, as well as many other important and, at this time, crucial themes. This volume will be of interest to critics and readers of contemporary fiction, but most of all, to anyone curious about their place in the recurrent green universe that is our earth.
Download or read book Zen Brain Reflections written by James H. Austin and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2010-09-24 with total page 615 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sequel to the popular Zen and the Brain further explores pivotal points of intersection in Zen Buddhism, neuroscience, and consciousness, arriving at a new synthesis of information from both neuroscience research and Zen studies. This sequel to the widely read Zen and the Brain continues James Austin's explorations into the key interrelationships between Zen Buddhism and brain research. In Zen-Brain Reflections, Austin, a clinical neurologist, researcher, and Zen practitioner, examines the evolving psychological processes and brain changes associated with the path of long-range meditative training. Austin draws not only on the latest neuroscience research and new neuroimaging studies but also on Zen literature and his personal experience with alternate states of consciousness. Zen-Brain Reflections takes up where the earlier book left off. It addresses such questions as: how do placebos and acupuncture change the brain? Can neuroimaging studies localize the sites where our notions of self arise? How can the latest brain imaging methods monitor meditators more effectively? How do long years of meditative training plus brief enlightened states produce pivotal transformations in the physiology of the brain? In many chapters testable hypotheses suggest ways to correlate normal brain functions and meditative training with the phenomena of extraordinary states of consciousness. After briefly introducing the topic of Zen and describing recent research into meditation, Austin reviews the latest studies on the amygdala, frontotemporal interactions, and paralimbic extensions of the limbic system. He then explores different states of consciousness, both the early superficial absorptions and the later, major "peak experiences." This discussion begins with the states called kensho and satori and includes a fresh analysis of their several different expressions of "oneness." He points beyond the still more advanced states toward that rare ongoing stage of enlightenment that is manifest as "sage wisdom." Finally, with reference to a delayed "moonlight" phase of kensho, Austin envisions novel links between migraines and metaphors, moonlight and mysticism. The Zen perspective on the self and consciousness is an ancient one. Readers will discover how relevant Zen is to the neurosciences, and how each field can illuminate the other.
