Download or read book Imagining Karma written by Gananath Obeyesekere and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2002-11-11 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With 'Imagining Karma', Gananath Obeyesekere embarks on the comparison of rebirth concepts across a wide range of cultures. The book makes a case for disciplined comparison, a humane view of human nature, and a theoretical understanding of 'family resemblances' and differences across great cultural divides.
Download or read book Imagining the Fetus written by Vanessa R Sasson and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2009-03-26 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In contemporary Western culture, the word "fetus" introduces either a political subject or a literal, medicalized entity. Neither of these frameworks does justice to the vast array of religious literature and oral traditions from cultures around the world in which the fetus emerges as a powerful symbol or metaphor. This volume presents essays that explore the depiction of the fetus in the world's major religious traditions, finding some striking commonalities as well as intriguing differences. Among the themes that emerge is the tendency to conceive of the fetus as somehow independent of the mother's body — as in the case of the Buddha, who is described as inhabiting a palace while gestating in the womb. On the other hand, the fetus can also symbolically represent profound human needs and emotions, such as the universal experience of vulnerability. The authors note how the advent of the fetal sonogram has transformed how people everywhere imagine the unborn today, giving rise to a narrow range of decidedly literal questions about personhood, gender, and disability.
Download or read book This Worldly Nibb na written by Hsiao-Lan Hu and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2011-12-01 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offering a feminist analysis of foundational Buddhist texts, along with a Buddhist approach to social issues in a globalized world, Hsiao-Lan Hu revitalizes Buddhist social ethics for contemporary times. Hu's feminist exegesis references the Nikāya-s from the "Discourse Basket" of the Pāli Canon. These texts, among the earliest in the Buddhist canon, are considered to contain the sayings of the Buddha and his disciples and are recognized by all Buddhist schools. At the heart of the ethics that emerges is the Buddhist notion of interdependent co-arising, which addresses the sexism, classism, and frequent overemphasis on individual liberation, as opposed to communal well-being, for which Buddhism has been criticized. Hu notes the Buddha's challenge to social hierarchies during his life and compares the notion of "non-Self" to the poststructuralist feminist rejection of the autonomous subject, maintaining that neither dissolves moral responsibility or agency. Notions of kamma, nibbāna, and dukkha (suffering) are discussed within the communal context offered by insights from interdependent co-arising and the Noble Eightfold Path. This work uniquely bridges the worlds of Buddhism, feminism, social ethics, and activism and will be of interest to scholars, students, and readers in all of these areas.
Download or read book Imagining Heaven written by Ellen W. Williams and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2024-01-01 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the centuries, humans have conjured images--the stuff of dreams, convictions, and ardent desire--to describe our afterlife. The vision of heaven can appear as simple as a place among the stars or as complex as a universe filled with a multitude of busy souls. Positioned at the intersection of art, religion, and culture, this book sheds new light on human creativity in its portrayal of the afterlife. Beginning with prehistoric burial objects that help with one's heavenly needs, it travels through history to probe ancient texts, examines enigmatic carvings, dissects the meaning of paintings, and discusses contemporary perspectives in film and media. The author demonstrates that humans around the world have always had the capacity to confront the "final frontier" in spirited, hopeful, and beautiful ways.
Download or read book The Quest for Wisdom Thoughts on the Bhagawadgita written by Śrīraṅga and published by Popular Prakashan. This book was released on 1993 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the philosophy of Bhagavadgita, Hindu classic; English translation of Gitagambhirya and Gitadarpana, two Kannada works.
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 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness for the Modern Day 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.
Download or read book Imagining Otherness written by Audrius Beinorius and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Also a History of Philosophy Volume 1 written by Jürgen Habermas and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2023-08-23 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first volume of a ground-breaking new work by Jürgen Habermas on the history of philosophy. In this major new work, Habermas sets out the ideas that inform his systematic account of the history of Western philosophy as a genealogy of postmetaphysical thinking. His account goes far beyond a vindication of the enduring relevance of philosophical reflection founded on communicative reason as a source of orientation in the modern world. He contrasts this conception with prominent diagnoses of the supposed crisis of Enlightenment reason and culture that seeks redemption in the affirmation of traditional religious authority (Schmitt), the timeless validity of Greek metaphysics (Strauss), a numinous conception of nature (Löwith), and an occurrence of being that speaks to us from beyond the mists of pre-Socratic thought (Heidegger). Habermas situates Western philosophy in relation to traditions of thought founded in the major worldviews (Judaism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism) that continue to shape contemporary culture and civilization. At the same time, he lays the groundwork for his analysis in the later volumes of the constitutive role played by the discourse on faith and knowledge in the development of Western philosophy, which is the result of the unique symbiosis that Christianity entered into with Greek thought with the Christianization of the Roman Empire. Far from raising claims to exclusivity, completeness or closure, Habermas’s history of philosophy, published in English in three volumes, opens up new lines of research and reflection that will influence the humanities and social sciences for decades to come.
Download or read book Imagining Tibet written by Thierry Dodin and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2001 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the past century, the Western view of Tibet has evolved from an exotic Shangri-la filled with golden idols and the promise of immortality, to a peaceful land with an enlightened society now ravaged by outside aggression. How and why did our perception change? How accurate are our modern conceptions of Tibet? Imagining Tibet is a collection of essays that reveal these Western conceptions. Providing an historical background to the West's ever-changing relationship with Tibet, Donald Lopez, Jeffrey Hopkins, Jamyang Norbu, and other noted scholars explore a variety of topics - from Western perceptions of Tibetan approaches to violence, monastic life, and life as a nation in exile, to representations of Tibet in Western literature, art, environmentalism, and the New Age movement.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy written by Jay L. Garfield and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-05-23 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy provides the advanced student or scholar a set of introductions to each of the world's major non-European philosophical traditions. It offers the non-specialist a way in to unfamiliar philosophical texts and methods and the opportunity to explore non-European philosophical terrain and to connect her work in one tradition to philosophical ideas or texts from another. Sections on Chinese Philosophy, Indian Philosophy, Buddhist Philosophy, East Asian Philosophy, African Philosophy, and Recent Trends in Global Philosophy are each edited by an expert in the field. Each section includes a general introduction and a set of authoritative articles written by leading scholars, designed to provide the non-specialist a broad overview of a major topic or figure. This volume is an invaluable aid to those who would like to pursue philosophy in a global context, and to those who are committed to moving beyond Eurocentrism in academic philosophy.
Download or read book Karma and Punishment written by Adam J. Lyons and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-03-07 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite being one of the most avowedly secular nations in the world, Japan may have more prison chaplains per inmate than any other country, the majority of whom are Buddhist priests. In this groundbreaking study of prison religion in East Asia, Adam Lyons introduces a form of chaplaincy rooted in the Buddhist concept of doctrinal admonition rather than Euro-American notions of spiritual care. Based on archival research, fieldwork inside prisons, and interviews with chaplains, Karma and Punishment reveals another dimension of Buddhist modernism that developed as Japan’s religious organizations carved out a niche as defenders of society by fighting crime. Between 1868 and 2020, generations of clergy have been appointed to bring religious instruction to bear on a range of offenders, from illegal Christian heretics to Marxist political dissidents, war criminals, and death row inmates. The case of the prison chaplaincy shows that despite constitutional commitments to freedom of religion and separation of religion from state, statism remains an enduring feature of mainstream Japanese religious life in the contemporary era.
Download or read book The Hindus written by Wendy Doniger and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 801 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An engrossing and definitive narrative account of history and myth that offers a new way of understanding one of the world's oldest major religions, The Hindus elucidates the relationship between recorded history and imaginary worlds. Hinduism does not lend itself easily to a strictly chronological account: many of its central texts cannot be reliably dated even within a century; its central tenets karma, dharma, to name just two arise at particular moments in Indian history and differ in each era, between genders, and caste to caste; and what is shared among Hindus is overwhelmingly outnumbered by the things that are unique to one group or another. Yet the greatness of Hinduism - its vitality, its earthiness, its vividness - lies precisely in many of those idiosyncratic qualities that continue to inspire debate today. Wendy Doniger is one of the foremost scholars of Hinduism in the world. With her inimitable insight and expertise Doniger illuminates those moments within the tradition that resist forces that would standardize or establish a canon. Without reversing or misrepresenting the historical hierarchies, she reveals how Sanskrit and vernacular sources are rich in knowledge of and compassion toward women and lower castes; how they debate tensions surrounding religion, violence, and tolerance; and how animals are the key to important shifts in attitudes toward different social classes. The Hindus brings a fascinating multiplicity of actors and stories to the stage to show how brilliant and creative thinkers - many of them far removed from Brahmin authors of Sanskrit texts - have kept Hinduism alive in ways that other scholars have not fully explored. In this unique and authoritative account, debates about Hindu traditions become platforms from which to consider the ironies, and overlooked epiphanies, of history.
Download or read book Karma and Reincarnation written by Barbara Y. Martin and published by SCB Distributors. This book was released on 2021-09-30 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “We have lived an extraordinary series of lives that has led us to our present experience. And the life we are living now will prepare us for lives yet to be lived.” There is life after death, and Barbara Martin has seen it. Now for the first time comes her inspired, firsthand account of the intricate world of spiritual rebirth. The award-winning authors of Change Your Aura, Change Your Life reveal the afterlife in a work based directly on Martin's personal explorations of the world to come and awe-inspiring clairvoyant experience with the spiritual worlds. Both a fully practical handbook to the ins and outs of the karmic cycle and a field guide to the spiritual plane and how reincarnation works. Dive deeper into the mystery of your soul's potential and how to understand your past, present, and future lives from a higher perspective. Uncover your own destiny and what you can do to unravel the mystery of your soul's journey. •Brings together the design of the world beyond and the mechanics of karma •Gives practical guidelines and tools to deal effectively with karmic situations and avoid generating adverse karma •Helps align readers with their spiritual purpose •Shows readers how to face and resolve their karmic troubles •Provides essential keys to spiritual development A true spiritual wonder in a single, fully accessible volume, Karma and Reincarnation is perfect for both those taking their first steps down a spiritual path and longtime spiritual students.
Download or read book Karma Cola written by Gita Mehta and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2012-05-02 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning in the late '60s, hundreds of thousands of Westerners descended upon India, disciples of a cultural revolution that proclaimed that the magic and mystery missing from their lives was to be found in the East. An Indian writer who has also lived in England and the United States, Gita Mehta was ideally placed to observe the spectacle of European and American "pilgrims" interacting with their hosts. When she finally recorded her razor sharp observations in Karma Cola, the book became an instant classic for describing, in merciless detail, what happens when the traditions of an ancient and longlived society are turned into commodities and sold to those who don't understand them. In the dazzling prose that has become her trademark, Mehta skewers the entire Spectrum of seekers: The Beatles, homeless students, Hollywood rich kids in detox, British guilt-trippers, and more. In doing so, she also reveals the devastating byproducts that the Westerners brought to the villages of rural lndia -- high anxiety and drug addiction among them. Brilliantly irreverent, Karma Cola displays Gita Mehta's gift for weaving old and new, common and bizarre, history and current events into a seamless and colorful narrative that is at once witty, shocking, and poignant.
Download or read book Imagining a Place for Buddhism written by Anne E. Monius and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2001-12-06 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While Tamil-speaking South India is celebrated for its preservation of Hindu tradition, other religious communities have played a significant role in shaping the region's religious history. Among these non-Hindu communities is that of the Buddhists, who are little-understood because of the scarcity of remnants of Tamil-speaking Buddhist culture. Here, focusing on the two Buddhist texts in Tamil that are complete (a sixth-century poetic narrative and an eleventh-century treatise on grammar and poetics), Monius sheds light on the role of literature and literary culture in the formation, articulation, and evolution of religious identity and community.
Download or read book Discovering the Vedas written by Frits Staal and published by Penguin Books India. This book was released on 2008 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this unprecedented guide to the Vedas, Frits Staal, the celebrated author of Agni- The Vedic Ritual of the Fire Altarand Universals- Studies in Indian Logic and Linguisticsexamines almost every aspect of these ancient sources of Indic civilisation. Staal extracts concrete information from the Oral Tradition and Archaeology about Vedic people and their language, what they thought and did, and where they went and when. He provides essential information about the Vedas and includes selections and translations. Staal sheds light on mantras and rituals, that contributed to what came to be known as Hinduism. Significant is a modern analysis of what we can learn from the Vedas today- the original forms of the Vedic sciences, as well as the perceptive wisdom of the composers of the Vedas. The author puts Vedic civilisation in a global perspective through a wide-ranging comparison with other Indic philosophies and religions, primarily Buddhism. For Staal, originally a logician, the voyage of discovering the Vedas is like unpeeling an onion but without the certainty of reaching an end. Even so, his book shows that the Vedas have a logic all their own. Accessible, finely-argued, and with a wealth of information and insight, Discovering the Vedas is for both the scholar and the interested lay reader.
Download or read book Hinduism Challenges Interaction with Buddhism Jainism and The Greeks written by Ashok Mishra and published by StoryMirror Infotech Pvt Ltd. This book was released on with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: . Embark on a journey tracing Hinduism's evolution from Vedic rituals to modern practices, revealing a seamless continuity despite apparent change. . Witness ancient mantras echoing in contemporary ceremonies, bridging the gap between millennia. . Explore the etymology of "Hindu" and its alignment with "Sanatana Dharma," encapsulating timeless principles of righteous living. . Discover Hinduism's encounters with Jainism, Buddhism, and the influence of Alexander the Great, shaping its diverse identity. Marvel at Hinduism's adaptability, absorbing and assimilating diverse ideologies over centuries. . Beyond a religion, Hinduism embodies Dharma—the righteous path to spiritual liberation. In this dynamic interplay of cultures and beliefs, Hinduism emerges as a beacon of inclusivity and adaptation.
