Download or read book An Introduction to Mah y na Buddhism written by William McGovern and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-10-18 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: William Montgomery McGovern’s Introduction to Mahayana Buddhism was one of the first books on Mahayana Buddhism written for a Western audience. It predates influential English language overviews of Buddhism by D. T. Suzuki, A. Watts, and W. Rahula. The author was born in New York City in 1897 and spent his latter teenage years (1914-1917) training at the Nishi Hongwanji Mahayana Buddhist monastery in Kyoto, Japan. He founded the Mahayana Association at age eighteen and edited and published the journal "Mahayanist" while completing his studies at the monastery. Introduction to Mahayana Buddhism was written as part of a thesis which secured him his Buddhist degree and an honorary ordination as a Buddhist priest. Intended as a simplified and introductory text for a lay audience, the book reflects the unique perspective of a Westerner trained in Japan at a time when Mahayana Buddhism was little known in the West. Referencing Buddhist literature, it gives a short history of Buddhism and the divergence of schools of Buddhist philosophy, introduces the four noble truths, the philosophy of Karma, the nature of Buddhahood, reincarnation and the road to nirvana, Buddhist cosmology, and psychological and philosophical elements of Buddhist teachings. Although the divisions of non Mahayana Buddhist sects and philosophy described may be considered dated, Introduction to Mahayana Buddhism remains significant for its historical value in presenting Eastern religious and philosophical thought to Westerners at a pivotal time in history.

Download or read book Mahayana Buddhism written by Paul Williams and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2008-07-11 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originating in India, Mahayana Buddhism spread across Asia, becoming the prevalent form of Buddhism in Tibet and East Asia. Over the last twenty-five years Western interest in Mahayana has increased considerably, reflected both in the quantity of scholarly material produced and in the attraction of Westerners towards Tibetan Buddhism and Zen. Paul Williams’ Mahayana Buddhism is widely regarded as the standard introduction to the field, used internationally for teaching and research and has been translated into several European and Asian languages. This new edition has been fully revised throughout in the light of the wealth of new studies and focuses on the religion’s diversity and richness. It includes much more material on China and Japan, with appropriate reference to Nepal, and for students who wish to carry their study further there is a much-expanded bibliography and extensive footnotes and cross-referencing. Everyone studying this important tradition will find Williams’ book the ideal companion to their studies.

Download or read book Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism written by John Powers and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2007-11-09 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the most comprehensive and authoritative introduction to Tibetan Buddhism available to date, covering a wide range of topics, including history, doctrines, meditation, practices, schools, religious festivals, and major figures. The revised edition contains expanded discussions of recent Tibetan history and tantra and incorporates important new publications in the field. Beginning with a summary of the Indian origins of Tibetan Buddhism and how it eventually was brought to Tibet, it explores Tibetan Mahayana philosophy and tantric methods for personal transformation. The four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as Bön, are explored in depth from a nonsectarian point of view. This new and expanded edition is a systematic and wonderfully clear presentation of Tibetan Buddhist views and practices.

Download or read book A Treasury of Mah Y Na S Tras written by Garma C. C. Chang and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 1984-09-15 with total page 518 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mah&_ratnak&_ta S&_tra is one of the five major sutra groups in the Mah&_y&_na canon. Of the two great schools of Buddhism, Mah&_y&_na has the greatest number of adherents worldwide&—it prevails among the Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Tibetans, and Vietnamese&—and contains within it a number of movements, notably Zen, which have been of growing interest in the West in recent decades. Yet despite this increased attention and enormous following, translations of Mah&_y&_na scriptures have been scarce and fragmentary; clearly, a comprehensive translation of a major work within the canon was called for. This volume addresses that need. It contains 22 of the 49 S&_tras of the Mah&_ratnak&_ta (or &"Treasury&") S&_tra, many translated for the first time in a Western language, selected and arranged to give the modern reader a progressive introduction to one of the world's major religious traditions. Subjects covered include M&_y&_ and miracles, the teachings on Consciousness, Emptiness, and monastic discipline, the Mystical Light of the Tath&_gata, and the devotional practice of Pure Land, making this a comprehensive source book of Mah&_y&_na Buddhism hitherto unavailable in English. The book also includes an introduction to provide historical and interpretive guidance, annotations that assist in the comprehension of difficult passages, and an extensive glossary that will be valuable to specialist and layman alike. A team of scholars, working in Taiwan, spent eight years translating the Treasury's million words from Chinese, using Tibetan texts for comparison and checking each S&_tra with an international board of scholars. In the course of translating from the original, special effort was made to retain both the devotional style appropriate for religious reading and the precision required by the scholar, while presenting the material with a clarity and flow that would make it accessible to the Western layman. The editors then selected, arranged, and annotated the 22 S&_tras presented here. Published in cooperation with The Institute for Advanced Studies of World Religions.

Download or read book Text as Father written by Alan Cole and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2005-08-29 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alan Cole sheds new light on the origin & nature of Mahāyāna Buddhism with close readings of four well-known texts: the Lotus Sūtra, Diamond Sūtra, Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra, & Vimalakīrtinirdeśa.

Download or read book The Gospel of Buddha written by Paul Carus and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2010-08-07 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Gospel of Buddha According to Old Records told by Paul Carus. Modeled on the New Testament and tells the story of Buddha through parables. It was an important tool in introducing Buddhism to the west and is used as a teaching tool by some Asian sects. Reproduction of 1894 Edition.

Download or read book The Concept of the Buddha written by Guang Xing and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Guang Xing gives an analysis of one of the fundamental Mahayana Buddhist teachings, namely the three bodies of the Buddha (the trikaya Theory), which is considered the foundation of Mahayana philosophy. He examines how and why the philosophical concept of three bodies was formed, particularly the Sambhogakaya, which is the Buddha to be worshipped by all Mayahanists. Written in an accessible way, this work is an outstanding research text for students and scholars of Mayahana Buddhism and anyone interested in Buddhist philosophy.

Download or read book The S tra of Perfect Enlightenment written by and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1999-02-25 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment, used in monastic education for more than a millennium, is a concise guide to the key paradigms of the practice systems of the East Asian meditational schools (Ch'an, Sǒn, and Zen). Contained in its twelve chapters are definitive explanations of the meaning of innate and actualized enlightenment, sudden and gradual enlightenment, the true nature of ignorance and suffering, along with numerous examples of methods of contemplation that accord with and reflect the basic Ch'an views on enlightenment and practice. Although the Sutra was popular throughout the East Asian region, it attained its highest canonical status within the Korean Chogye school, where it is still a key text in the core curriculum of modern-day monks and nuns. The Sutra is translated here in full, along with the eloquent and revelatory commentary of the Chǒson monk Kihwa (1376–1433).

Download or read book Mediating the Power of Buddhas written by Glenn Wallis and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mediating the Power of Buddhas offers a fascinating analysis of the seventh-century ritual manual, the Mañjusrimulakalpa. This medieval text is intended to reveal the path into a ritual universe where the power of a buddha abides. Author Glenn Wallis traces the strategies of the Mañjusrimulakalpa to enable its committed reader to perfect the promised ritual, uncovering what conditions must be met for ritual practice to succeed and what personal characteristics practitioners must possess in order to realize the ritual intentions of the Buddhist community. The manual itself was written at a key point in Buddhist history, one when Hindu forms of practice were still imitated and on the cusp of the shift from Mahāyāna to Vajrayāna (or Tantric) Buddhism. In addition, the Mañjusrimulakalpa presents a rich compendium of Buddhist life in an earlier era, containing information on a variety of its readers' concerns: astrology, astronomy, medicine and healing, ritual practice, iconography, devotion, and meditation.

Download or read book Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism written by Robert H. Sharf and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2005-11-30 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The issue of sinification—the manner and extent to which Buddhism and Chinese culture were transformed through their mutual encounter and dialogue—has dominated the study of Chinese Buddhism for much of the past century. Robert Sharf opens this important and far-reaching book by raising a host of historical and hermeneutical problems with the encounter paradigm and the master narrative on which it is based. Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism is, among other things, an extended reflection on the theoretical foundations and conceptual categories that undergird the study of medieval Chinese Buddhism. Sharf draws his argument in part from a meticulous historical, philological, and philosophical analysis of the Treasure Store Treatise (Pao-tsang lun), an eighth-century Buddho-Taoist work apocryphally attributed to the fifth-century master Seng-chao (374–414). In the process of coming to terms with this recondite text, Sharf ventures into all manner of subjects bearing on our understanding of medieval Chinese Buddhism, from the evolution of T’ang "gentry Taoism" to the pivotal role of image veneration and the problematic status of Chinese Tantra. The volume includes a complete annotated translation of the Treasure Store Treatise, accompanied by the detailed exegesis of dozens of key terms and concepts.

Download or read book Nietzsche and Zen written by Andre van der Braak and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2011-08-16 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Nietzsche and Zen: Self-Overcoming Without a Self, André van der Braak engages Nietzsche in a dialogue with four representatives of the Buddhist Zen tradition: Nagarjuna (c. 150-250), Linji (d. 860), Dogen (1200-1253), and Nishitani (1900-1990). In doing so, he reveals Nietzsche's thought as a philosophy of continuous self-overcoming, in which even the notion of "self" has been overcome. Van der Braak begins by analyzing Nietzsche's relationship to Buddhism and status as a transcultural thinker, recalling research on Nietzsche and Zen to date and setting out the basic argument of the study. He continues by examining the practices of self-overcoming in Nietzsche and Zen, comparing Nietzsche's radical skepticism with that of Nagarjuna and comparing Nietzsche's approach to truth to Linji's. Nietzsche's methods of self-overcoming are compared to Dogen's zazen, or sitting meditation practice, and Dogen's notion of forgetting the self. These comparisons and others build van der Braak's case for a criticism of Nietzsche informed by the ideas of Zen Buddhism and a criticism of Zen Buddhism seen through the Western lens of Nietzsche - coalescing into one world philosophy. This treatment, focusing on one of the most fruitful areas of research within contemporary comparative and intercultural philosophy, will be useful to Nietzsche scholars, continental philosophers, and comparative philosophers.

Download or read book Holy Teaching of Vimalak rti written by Robert A. F. Thurman and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010-11-01 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Cakrasamvara Tantra The Discourse of Sri Heruka written by David B. Gray and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-04-09 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first complete, critical English translation of the Cakrasamvara Tantra, also known as the Sriherukabhidhana and Laghusamvara. This is the first complete, critical English translation of the Cakrasamvara Tantra. Composed in India during the eighth century, it is a foundational scripture of one of the most important Indian Buddhist tantric traditions. The translator’s introductory essay provides an analysis of the historical and intellectual contexts in which the Cakrasamvara Tantra was composed. The heavily annotated translation was made on the basis of the surviving Sanskrit manuscripts of the tantra and its commentaries, parallel passages in related explanatory tantras (vyakhyatantra), two different Tibetan translations of the root text, and several Tibetan commentaries. Includes a trilingual glossary and index. The author has also translated the commentary on this tantra by the great Tibetan scholar Tsong Khapa (1357–1419), Illumination of the Hidden Meaning, now published in two companion volumes. Taken together, these three volumes provide the reader with the first full study in English of this pivotal tantra. Composed in India during the late eighth or early ninth century, the Cakrasamvara Tantra is a foundational scripture of one of the most important Indian Buddhist tantric traditions, as evidenced by the vast number of commentaries and ritual literature associated with it. Along with the Hevajra Tantra, it is one of the earliest and most influential of the yogini tantras, a genre of tantric Buddhist scripture that emphasizes female deities, particularly the often fiercely depicted yoginis and ?akinis.

Download or read book Similarities and Differences Between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism written by Ankur Barua and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-09-17 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Theravada School of Buddhism was formally established at the Third Buddhist Council during the time of Emperor Asoka in the 3rd Century B.C. In the later period, the Mahayanists took a firm stand and the terms of Mahayana and Hinayana were introduced after the 1st Century A.D. However, during the 2nd Century A.D. Mahayana became clearly defined. There is hardly any difference between Theravada and Mahayana schools of Buddhism with regard to the fundamental teachings of the Buddha. Though there are many similarities, but there are some important aspects in which both schools of Buddhist thoughts differ from each other. The major aspects of these are - the Bodhisattva concept, the deification of the Buddha, emphasis on meditational aspect and the concept of emptiness.

Download or read book Moral Theory in Santideva s Siksasamuccaya written by Barbra R. Clayton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-04-07 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This important text analyzes the moral theory of the seventh century Indian Mahayana master, Santideva, author of the well-known religious poem, the Bodhicaryavatara (Entering the Path of Enlightenment) as well as the significant, but relatively overlooked, Siksasamuccaya (Compendium of Teachings). With particular focus on the Siksasamuccaya, this book uses original translations and critical analysis in order to answer the question: How would Santideva’s ethics be understood in terms of Western moral theory? Santideva’s ethical presuppositions and moral reasoning are illuminated by analyzing his key moral terms and comparing them to other Buddhist principles. By focusing on a neglected Buddhist Sanskrit text by a major Mahayana figure, Barbra R. Clayton helps to redress a significant imbalance in the scholarship on Buddhist ethics, which has - up to now - focused primarily on the ethics of the Pali literature as interpreted in the Theravada tradition.

Download or read book Buddhism A Very Short Introduction written by Damien Keown and published by Oxford Paperbacks. This book was released on 1996-10-03 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Very Short Introduction introduces the reader to the teachings of the Buddha and to the integration of Buddhism into daily life. What are the distinctive features of Buddhism? Who was the Buddha, and what are his teachings? How has Buddhist thought developed over the centuries, and how can contemporary dilemmas be faced from a Buddhist perspective? Words such as 'karma' and 'nirvana' have entered our vocabulary, but what do they mean? Damien Keown's book provides a lively, informative response to these frequently asked questions about Buddhism.

Download or read book The Bodhisattva Ideal written by Karel Werner and published by Buddhist Publication Society. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book brings together six essays on the origin and history of the bodhisattva ideal and the emergence of the Mahāyana. The essays approach the subject from different perspectives—from scholarly examinations of the terms in the Nikayas and Agamas to the relationship of the bodhisattva ideal and the arahant ideal within the broader context of the social environment in which Mahayana formed and further developments that lead to the formulation of the fully fledged bodhisattva path. As such, the collection provides a good overview for a wider Buddhist readership of the history of changes that eventually led to the emergence of the Mahayana. “Arahants, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas”, by Bhikkhu Bodhi“The Bodhisattva Ideal in Theravāda Theory and Practice”, by Jeffrey Samuels“Bodhi and Arahattaphala From Early Buddhism to Early Mahāyāna”, by Karel Werner“Vaidalya, Mahāyāna, and Bodhisatva in India: An Essay Towards Historical Understanding”, by Peter Skilling“The Evolution of the Bodhisattva concept in Early Buddhist Canonical Literature”, by Bhikkhu Anālayo“Orality, writing and authority in South Asian Buddhism: Visionary Literature and the Struggle for Legitimacy in the Mahāyāna”, by David McMahan