Download or read book Buddhism and Healing in the Modern World written by C. Pierce Salguero and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2024-09-30 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This rich collection focuses on the nexus between Buddhism and healing in the modern and contemporary world, highlighting the many ways Buddhists have adapted in response to and in dialogue with modern science, biomedicine, and other facets of modernity from the nineteenth century to today. Buddhist healing activities are much more diverse than the narrow range of mindfulness techniques that have dominated scholarly and popular focus. From the community-based healing practices of Asian American Buddhists and transnational Tantric sex therapy retreats to concerns about balancing being contemporary with being authentically Buddhist, contributors explore how Buddhists have rethought the mind-body relationship against the backdrop of the modernization and globalization of Buddhism. They examine Buddhists navigating the differences and commonalities that exist in their practice and modern systems of mental and physical healthcare, paying attention to how they have negotiated shifting configurations of legitimacy, authority, and authenticity. Through historical and ethnographic case studies, the work details these ruptures and reconciliations in Japan, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Korea, and the United States, in addition to mapping the transnational pathways of exchange as knowledge about Buddhism and medicine has traveled between Asia and the West. Buddhism and Healing in the Modern World encompasses a wide range of Buddhist ideas about health and health-seeking practices that remain a vital part of the everyday practice of modern Buddhism across the globe.
Download or read book Buddhism and Medicine written by C. Pierce Salguero and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2019-11-26 with total page 666 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the centuries, Buddhist ideas have influenced medical thought and practice in complex and varied ways in diverse regions and cultures. A companion to Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Premodern Sources, this work presents a collection of modern and contemporary texts and conversations from across the Buddhist world dealing with the multifaceted relationship between Buddhism and medicine. Covering the early modern period to the present, this anthology focuses on the many ways Buddhism and medicine were shaped by the forces of colonialism, science, and globalization, as well as ruptures and reconciliations between tradition and modernity. Editor C. Pierce Salguero and an international collection of scholars highlight diversity and innovation in the encounters between Buddhist and medical thought. The chapters contain a wide range of sources presenting different perspectives rooted in distinct times and places, including translations of published and unpublished documents and transcripts of ethnographic interviews as well as accounts by missionaries and colonial authorities and materials from the contemporary United States and United Kingdom. Together, these varied sources illustrate the many intersections of Buddhism and medicine in the past and how this nexus continues to be crucial in today’s global context.
Download or read book Buddhism and Medicine written by C. Pierce Salguero and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-26 with total page 541 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From its earliest days, Buddhism has been closely intertwined with medicine. Buddhism and Medicine is a singular collection showcasing the generative relationship and mutual influence between these fields across premodern Asia. The anthology combines dozens of English-language translations of premodern Buddhist texts with contextualizing introductions by leading international scholars in Buddhist studies, the history of medicine, and a range of other fields. These sources explore in detail medical topics ranging from the development of fetal anatomy in the womb to nursing, hospice, dietary regimen, magical powers, visualization, and other healing knowledge. Works translated here include meditation guides, popular narratives, ritual manuals, spells texts, monastic disciplinary codes, recipe inscriptions, philosophical treatises, poetry, works by physicians, and other genres. All together, these selections and their introductions provide a comprehensive overview of Buddhist healing throughout Asia. They also demonstrate the central place of healing in Buddhist practice and in the daily life of the premodern world. This anthology is a companion volume to Buddhism and Medicine: An Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Sources (Columbia, 2019).
Download or read book Buddhist Magic written by Sam van Schaik and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2020-07-28 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating exploration of the role that magic has played in the history of Buddhism As far back as we can see in the historical record, Buddhist monks and nuns have offered services including healing, divination, rain making, aggressive magic, and love magic to local clients. Studying this history, scholar Sam van Schaik concludes that magic and healing have played a key role in Buddhism's flourishing, yet they have rarely been studied in academic circles or by Western practitioners. The exclusion of magical practices and powers from most discussions of Buddhism in the modern era can be seen as part of the appropriation of Buddhism by Westerners, as well as an effect of modernization movements within Asian Buddhism. However, if we are to understand the way Buddhism has worked in the past, the way it still works now in many societies, and the way it can work in the future, we need to examine these overlooked aspects of Buddhist practice. In Buddhist Magic, van Schaik takes a book of spells and rituals--one of the earliest that has survived--from the Silk Road site of Dunhuang as the key reference point for discussing Buddhist magic in Tibet and beyond. After situating Buddhist magic within a cross-cultural history of world magic, he discusses sources of magic in Buddhist scripture, early Buddhist rituals of protection, medicine and the spread of Buddhism, and magic users. Including material from across the vast array of Buddhist traditions, van Schaik offers readers a fascinating, nuanced view of a topic that has too long been ignored.
Download or read book The Buddha s Wizards written by Thomas Nathan Patton and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2018-10-16 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wizards with magical powers to heal the sick, possess the bodies of their followers, and defend their tradition against outside threats are far from the typical picture of Buddhism. Yet belief in wizard-saints who protect their devotees and intervene in the world is widespread among Burmese Buddhists. The Buddha’s Wizards is a historically informed ethnographic study that explores the supernatural landscape of Buddhism in Myanmar to explain the persistence of wizardry as a form of lived religion in the modern era. Thomas Nathan Patton explains the world of wizards, spells, and supernatural powers in terms of both the broader social, political, and religious context and the intimate roles that wizards play in people’s everyday lives. He draws on affect theory, material and visual culture, long-term participant observation, and the testimonies of the devout to show how devotees perceive the protective power of wizard-saints. Patton considers beliefs and practices associated with wizards to be forms of defending Buddhist traditions from colonial and state power and culturally sanctioned responses to restrictive gender roles. The book also offers a new lens on the political struggles and social transformations that have taken place in Myanmar in recent years. Featuring close attention to the voices of individual wizard devotees and the wizards themselves, The Buddha’s Wizards provides a striking new look at a little-known aspect of Buddhist belief that helps expand our ways of thinking about the daily experience of lived religious practices.
Download or read book A Global History of Buddhism and Medicine written by C. Pierce Salguero and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2022-02-01 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Medicine, health, and healing have been central to Buddhism since its origins. Long before the global popularity of mindfulness and meditation, Buddhism provided cultures around the world with conceptual tools to understand illness as well as a range of therapies and interventions for care of the sick. Today, Buddhist traditions, healers, and institutions continue to exert a tangible influence on medical care in societies both inside and outside Asia, including in the areas of mental health, biomedicine, and even in responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the global history of the relationship between Buddhism and medicine remains largely untold. This book is a wide-ranging and accessible account of the interplay between Buddhism and medicine over the past two and a half millennia. C. Pierce Salguero traces the intertwining threads linking ideas, practices, and texts from many different times and places. He shows that Buddhism has played a crucial role in cross-cultural medical exchange globally and that Buddhist knowledge formed the nucleus for many types of traditional practices that still thrive today throughout Asia. Although Buddhist medicine has always been embedded in local contexts and differs markedly across cultures, Salguero identifies key patterns that have persisted throughout this long history. This book will be informative and invaluable for scholars, students, and practitioners of both Buddhism and complementary and alternative medicine.
Download or read book A Critique of Western Buddhism written by Glenn Wallis and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-09-06 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is open access and available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Knowledge Unlatched. What are we to make of Western Buddhism? Glenn Wallis argues that in aligning their tradition with the contemporary wellness industry, Western Buddhists evade the consequences of Buddhist thought. This book shows that with concepts such as vanishing, nihility, extinction, contingency, and no-self, Buddhism, like all potent systems of thought, articulates a notion of the “real.” Raw, unflinching acceptance of this real is held by Buddhism to be at the very core of human “awakening.” Yet these preeminent human truths are universally shored up against in contemporary Buddhist practice, contravening the very heart of Buddhism. The author's critique of Western Buddhism is threefold. It is immanent, in emerging out of Buddhist thought but taking it beyond what it itself publicly concedes; negative, in employing the “democratizing” deconstructive methods of François Laruelle's non-philosophy; and re-descriptive, in applying Laruelle's concept of philofiction. Through applying resources of Continental philosophy to Western Buddhism, A Critique of Western Buddhism suggests a possible practice for our time, an "anthropotechnic", or religion transposed from its seductive, but misguiding, idealist haven.
Download or read book Approaching the Buddhist Path written by Dalai Lama XIV Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Buddha wanted his students to investigate, to see for themselves whether what he said were true. As a student of the Buddha, the Dalai Lama promotes the same spirit of investigation, and recognizes that new approaches are needed to allow seekers in the West to experience the relevance of the liberating message in their own lives. This volume stands as an introduction to Buddhism, and provides a foundation for the volumes to come.
Download or read book Everyday Dharma written by Lama Willa Miller and published by Quest Books. This book was released on 2012-12-13 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Everyday Dharma, Willa Miller, an authorized lama in the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, reworks ancient Buddhist techniques and adapts them for western readers seeking personal transformation. Becoming a Buddha, Lama Miller explains, means observing the mind and actions and then doing the physical, psychological, and spiritual work to move closer to one’s wisdom nature. Dharma is spiritual practice; it’s what one does every day to make one’s mind and world a better place to live. Each chapter includes a passage to read, an exercise of the day that relates to each week’s topic, a quote from a sage, and tips on how to make daily practice a little easier. The book shows that it’s not necessary to subscribe to a particular — or any — belief system to benefit from this program. "It’s only necessary," says Lama Miller, "to believe one deserves to live a more fulfilling and meaningful life."
Download or read book The Buddha s Art of Healing written by John F. Avedon and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This lavishly illustrated book provides the general reader with the first authentic introduction to the world of Tibetan medicine, offering unparalleled access to its wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and lore. 140 illustrations, 120 in full color.
Download or read book Momma Zen written by Karen Maezen Miller and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2007-11-13 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining humor, honesty, and plainspoken advice, Momma Zen distills the doubts and frustrations of motherhood into vignettes of Zen wisdom Drawing on her experience as a first-time mother and her years of Zen meditation and study, Karen Miller explores how the daily challenges of parenthood can become the most profound spiritual journey of our lives. Her compelling and wise memoir follows the timeline of early motherhood from pregnancy through toddlerhood. Momma Zen takes readers on a transformative journey, charting a mother’s growth beyond naive expectations and disorientation to finding fulfillment in ordinary tasks, developing greater self-awareness and acceptance—to the gradual discovery of "maternal bliss," a state of abiding happiness and ease that is available to us all. In her gentle and reassuring voice, Karen Miller convinces us that ancient and authentic spiritual lessons can be as familiar as a lullaby, as ordinary as pureed peas, and as frequent as a sleepless night. She offers encouragement for the hard days, consolation for the long haul, and the lightheartedness every new mom needs to face the crooked path of motherhood straight on.
Download or read book A Monk s Guide to Happiness written by Gelong Thubten and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Thubten is able to explain meditation using clear language and an approach which really speaks to our modern tech-infused lives.” —Rami Jawhar, Program Manager at Google Arts & Culture In our never-ending search for happiness we often find ourselves looking to external things for fulfillment, thinking that happiness can be unlocked by buying a bigger house, getting the next promotion, or building a perfect family. In this profound and inspiring book, Gelong Thubten shares a practical and sustainable approach to happiness. Thubten, a Buddhist monk and meditation expert who has worked with everyone from school kids to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and Benedict Cumberbatch, explains how meditation and mindfulness can create a direct path to happiness. A Monk’s Guide to Happiness explores the nature of happiness and helps bust the myth that our lives and minds are too busy for meditation. The book can show you how to: Learn practical methods to help you choose happiness Develop greater compassion for yourself and others Learn to meditate in micro-moments during a busy day Discover that you are naturally ‘hard-wired’ for happiness Reading A Monk’s Guide to Happiness could revolutionize your relationship with your thoughts and emotions, and help you create a life of true happiness and contentment. “His writing is full of inspiration but also the pragmatism needed to form a sustainable practice. His book clearly illustrates why we all need meditation and mindfulness in our lives.” —Benedict Cumberbatch “[A] powerful debut . . . a highly accessible and jargon-free introduction to meditation.” —Publishers Weekly
Download or read book Walk Like a Buddha written by Lodro Rinzler and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2013-10-15 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can I be the person I want to be when I’m stuck in a job I hate? How is it possible to stay present in an era of nearly constant distractions? Can I pick someone up at a bar or club and still call myself spiritual? This nitty-gritty guide to life for the spiritual-but-not-necessarily-religious uses Buddhist teachings to answer those burning questions and a host of others related to going out, relationships, work, and social action. Based on Lodro Rinzler’s popular advice columns, Walk Like a Buddha offers wisdom that can be applied to just the sort of dilemmas that tend to arise for anyone making even a modest attempt to walk like a Buddha—that is, to live with honesty, wisdom, and compassion in the face of whatever life surprises you with.
Download or read book Radical Acceptance written by Tara Brach and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2004-11-23 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In our current times of global crises and spiking collective anxiety, Tara Brach’s transformative practice of Radical Acceptance offers a pathway to inner freedom and a more compassionate world. This classic work now features an insightful new introduction, an exclusive bonus chapter, and additional guided meditations. “Radical Acceptance offers us an invitation to embrace ourselves with all our pain, fear, and anxieties, and to step lightly yet firmly on the path of understanding and compassion.”—Thich Nhat Hanh “Believing that something is wrong with us is a deep and tenacious suffering,” says Tara Brach at the start of this illuminating book. This suffering emerges in crippling self-judgments and conflicts in our relationships, in addictions and perfectionism, in loneliness and overwork—all the forces that keep our lives constricted and unfulfilled. Radical Acceptance offers a path to freedom, including the day-to-day practical guidance developed over Dr. Brach’s forty years of work with therapy clients and Buddhist students. Writing with great warmth and clarity, Tara Brach brings her teachings alive through personal stories and case histories, fresh interpretations of Buddhist tales, and guided meditations. Step by step, she shows us how we can stop being at war with ourselves and begin to live fully every precious moment of our lives.
Download or read book Fire Monks written by Colleen Morton Busch and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-07-07 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The "vivid" and "electrifying" true story of how five monks saved the oldest Zen Buddhist monastery in the United States from wildfire (San Francisco Chronicle). When a massive wildfire surrounded Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, five monks risked their lives to save it. A gripping narrative as well as a portrait of the Zen path and the ways of wildfire, Fire Monks reveals what it means to meet a crisis with full presence of mind. Zen master and author of the classic Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi established a monastery at Tassajara Hot Springs in 1967, drawn to the location's beauty, peace, and seclusion. Deep in the wilderness east of Big Sur, the center is connected to the outside world by a single unpaved road. The remoteness that makes it an oasis also makes it particularly vulnerable when disaster strikes. If fire entered the canyon, there would be no escape. More than two thousand wildfires, all started by a single lightning storm, blazed across the state of California in June 2008. With resources stretched thin, firefighters advised residents at Tassajara to evacuate early. Most did. A small crew stayed behind, preparing to protect the monastery when the fire arrived. But nothing could have prepared them for what came next. A treacherous shift in weather conditions prompted a final order to evacuate everyone, including all firefighters. As they caravanned up the road, five senior monks made the risky decision to turn back. Relying on their Zen training, they were able to remain in the moment and do the seemingly impossible-to greet the fire not as an enemy to defeat, but as a friend to guide. Fire Monks pivots on the kind of moment some seek and some run from, when life and death hang in simultaneous view. Novices in fire but experts in readiness, the Tassajara monks summoned both intuition and wisdom to face crisis with startling clarity. The result is a profound lesson in the art of living.
Download or read book Awakening Through Love written by John Makransky and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-08-10 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mother Theresa. The Dalai Lama. Nelson Mandela. Gandhi. Some admire such figures from afar and think, "How special they are; I could never be like that." But, as John Makransky has learned, the power of real and enduring love lies within every one of us. Awakening Through Love is his guide to finding it. In Awakening Through Love, he pioneers new ways of making Tibetan meditations of compassion and wisdom accessible to people of all backgrounds and faiths. Drawing from Tibetan teachings of compassion and the Dzogchen teachings of innate wisdom, and using plain, practical instruction, he helps readers uncover the unity of wisdom and love in the very nature of their minds. Then Lama John describes how to actualize those qualities in every aspect of family life, work, service and social action.
Download or read book The Buddha s Way of Happiness written by Thomas Bien and published by New Harbinger Publications. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the Secrets to Happiness and Well-Being The excitement you feel after hearing good news or achieving a goal is fleeting, but true happiness-that is, the warm feeling of deep contentment and joy-is lasting, and it can be yours in every moment. The Buddha's Way of Happiness is a guide to putting aside your anxieties about the future, regrets about the past, and constant longing to change your life for the better, and awakening to the joy of living. With this book as your guide, you'll identify the barriers to happiness you create in your own life and use the eightfold path of Buddhist psychology to improve your ability to appreciate the small, joyful moments that happen every day. These exercises, meditations, and concrete approaches to practicing happiness and well-being are drawn from mindfulness, "no self," and other ancient Buddhist insights, many of which have been proven effective by today's psychologists and researchers. With the knowledge that happiness is a habit you can adopt like any other, take the first step down this deeply fulfilling path on your life's journey.
