Wisdom, Compassion, and the Search for Understanding

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Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 9780824820862
Total Pages : 502 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (28 download)

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Book Synopsis Wisdom, Compassion, and the Search for Understanding by : Gajin Nagao

Download or read book Wisdom, Compassion, and the Search for Understanding written by Gajin Nagao and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2000-01-01 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The field of Buddhist studies is an international and interdisciplinary one. By its nature, the study of Buddhism must take into account phenomena that cross national and cultural boundaries, as well as the more artificial boundaries of modern academic fields. This volume presents 18 studies, the subjects of which range over India, China, Tibet and Japan, and deal with an ever broader range of subjects. It includes many essays on Buddhist philosophy, a number of which deal with the Madhyamaka tradition of Nagarjuna and his successors, while others examine the Yogacara tradition of Asanga, Vasubandhu, and their successors. These essays investigate areas of doctrinal interest such as the so-called Two-Truth theory, and the doctrine of the equivalence of nirvana and samsara, as well as such topics as the nature and practice of compassion, and Indian Buddhist cosmology. Still other studies examine topics such as the meditation practices of the Japanese Pure Land founder Honen, some of the earliest Chinese Buddhist art objects yet known and their importance for the transmission of Buddhism to China, later Indian logic, epistemology and the theory of meaning, what we know about the ear

Buddhist Studies: The Legacy Of Gadjin M. Nagao Wisdom, Compassion And The Search For Understanding

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9788120832855
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (328 download)

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Book Synopsis Buddhist Studies: The Legacy Of Gadjin M. Nagao Wisdom, Compassion And The Search For Understanding by : Jonathan A. Silk

Download or read book Buddhist Studies: The Legacy Of Gadjin M. Nagao Wisdom, Compassion And The Search For Understanding written by Jonathan A. Silk and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The field of Buddhist studies is a truly international and interdisciplinary one. By its nature, the study of Buddhism must take into account phenomena that cross national and cultural boundaries, as well as the more artificial boundaries of modern academic fields. This volume presents eighteen studies, the subjects of which range over India,Tibet, China, and Japan, and deal with an even broader range of subjects. It includes many essays on Buddhist philosophy, a number of which deal with the Madhyamaka tradition of Nagarjuna and his successors, while others examine the Yogacara tradition of Asanga, Vasubandhu, and their successors. These essays investigate area of doctrinal interest such as the so-called Two Truth theory and the doctrine of the equivalence of nirvana and samsara, as well as such topics as the nature and practice of compassion and Indian Buddhist cosmology. Still other studies examine topics such as the meditation practices of the Japanese Pure Land founder Honen, some of the earliest Chinese Buddhist art objects yet known and their importance for the transmission of Buddhism to China, later Indian logic, epistemology and the theory of meaning, what we know about the earliest teachings of the Buddha, Tibetan manuscript traditions from one of the oldest surviving monastic libraries in the far western reaches of Tibet, several studies of the scriptural traditions of Mahayana Buddhism, and more.

The Buddhist World

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317420179
Total Pages : 701 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (174 download)

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Book Synopsis The Buddhist World by : John Powers

Download or read book The Buddhist World written by John Powers and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-10-05 with total page 701 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Buddhist World joins a series of books on the world’s great religions and cultures, offering a lively and up-to-date survey of Buddhist studies for students and scholars alike. It explores regional varieties of Buddhism and core topics including buddha-nature, ritual, and pilgrimage. In addition to historical and geo-political views of Buddhism, the volume features thematic chapters on philosophical concepts such as ethics, as well as social constructs and categories such as community and family. The book also addresses lived Buddhism in its many forms, examining the ways in which modernity is reshaping traditional structures, ancient doctrines, and cosmological beliefs.

Understanding Prajñā

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Publisher : Peter Lang
ISBN 13 : 9780820488264
Total Pages : 346 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (882 download)

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Book Synopsis Understanding Prajñā by : John M. Thompson

Download or read book Understanding Prajñā written by John M. Thompson and published by Peter Lang. This book was released on 2008 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can enlightenment be attained through words? Understanding Prajñā addresses this perennial issue in the study of mysticism through the work of Sengzhao (374-414), a Buddhist scholar-monk whose essay on prajñā («wisdom») created a sensation in early medieval China. Drawing on contemporary hermeneutic theory, this book presents a close reading of Sengzhao's work, placing it in proper context while highlighting his masterful techniques for conveying «wisdom» beyond ordinary language. Understanding Prajñā includes translations of Sengzhao's essay and his correspondence with Liu Yimin, a «hermit-scholar» who yearned to grasp the Buddha's sage wisdom.

A Yog=ac=ara Buddhist Theory of Metaphor

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019066441X
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (96 download)

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Book Synopsis A Yog=ac=ara Buddhist Theory of Metaphor by : Roy Tzohar

Download or read book A Yog=ac=ara Buddhist Theory of Metaphor written by Roy Tzohar and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-04-09 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buddhist philosophy is fundamentally ambivalent toward language. Language is paradoxically seen as both obstructive and necessary for liberation. In this book, Roy Tzohar delves into the ingenious response to this tension from the Yogacara school of Indian Buddhism: that all language-use is metaphorical. Exploring the profound implications of this claim, Tzohar makes the case for viewing the Yogacara account as a full-fledged theory of meaning, one that is not merely linguistic, but also applicable both in the world as well as in texts. Despite the overwhelming visibility of figurative language in Buddhist philosophical texts, this is the first sustained and systematic attempt to present an indigenous Buddhist theory of metaphor. By grounding the Yogacara pan-metaphorical claim in a broader intellectual context, of both Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools, the book uncovers an intense philosophical conversation about metaphor and language that reaches across sectarian lines. Tzohar's analysis radically reframes the Yogacara controversy with the Madhyamaka school of philosophy, sheds light on the Yogacara application of particular metaphors, and explicates the school's unique understanding of experience.

A History of Buddhism in India and Tibet

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Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1614297428
Total Pages : 840 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (142 download)

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Book Synopsis A History of Buddhism in India and Tibet by : Dan Martin

Download or read book A History of Buddhism in India and Tibet written by Dan Martin and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-07-19 with total page 840 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first complete English translation of an important thirteenth-century history that sheds light on Tibet’s imperial past and on the transmission of the Buddhadharma into Central Asia. Translated here into English for the first time in its entirety by perhaps the foremost living expert on Tibetan histories, this engaging translation, along with its ample annotation, is a must-have for serious readers and scholars of Buddhist studies. In this history, discover the first extensive biography of the Buddha composed in the Tibetan language, along with an account of subsequent Indian Buddhist history, particularly the writing of Buddhist treatises. The story then moves to Tibet, with an emphasis on the rulers of the Tibetan empire, the translators of Buddhist texts, and the lineages that transmitted doctrine and meditative practice. It concludes with an account of the demise of the monastic order followed by a look forward to the advent of the future Buddha Maitreya. The composer of this remarkably ecumenical Buddhist history compiled some of the most important early sources on the Tibetan imperial period preserved in his time, and his work may be the best record we have of those sources today. Dan Martin has rendered the richness of this history an accessible part of the world’s literary heritage.

Jewels of the Middle Way

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Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1614295018
Total Pages : 474 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (142 download)

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Book Synopsis Jewels of the Middle Way by : James B. Apple

Download or read book Jewels of the Middle Way written by James B. Apple and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-02-19 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jewels of the Middle Way documents an important tradition of Madhyamaka and provides insight into both the late Indian Buddhist blend of Madhyamaka and tantra and the Kadampa school founded by the Indian Buddhist master Atisa. This book presents a detailed contextualization of the Madhyamaka (Middle Way) school in India and Tibet, along with translations of several texts in the Bka’ gdams gsung ’bum (Collected Works of the Kadampas), recently recovered Tibetan manuscripts that are attributed to Atisa and Kadampa commentators. These translations cohere around Atisa’s Madhyamaka view of the two realities and his understanding of the practice and the nature of the awakening mind. The book is organized in three parts based on the chronology of Atisa’s teaching of Madhyamaka in India and Tibet: (1) Lineage Masters, the Mind of Awakening, and the Middle Way; (2) Articulating the Two Realities; and (3) How Madhyamikas Meditate. Each part focuses on a specific text, or set of texts, specifically related to Atisa’s Middle Way. The authorship and date of composition for each work is discussed along with an outline of the work’s textual sources followed by an analysis of the content.

Buddhism Between Religion and Philosophy

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0197771300
Total Pages : 417 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (977 download)

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Book Synopsis Buddhism Between Religion and Philosophy by : Rafal K. Stepien

Download or read book Buddhism Between Religion and Philosophy written by Rafal K. Stepien and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2024 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nāgārjuna is the most influential of all Buddhist thinkers following the Buddha himself. Throughout his works, Nāgārjuna calls on us to completely abandon all our views. But how could anyone possibly do that? This book shows not only how Nāgārjuna's truly radical teaching of "abelief" makes perfect sense within his Buddhist philosophy, but how it stands at the summit of his religious mission to care for all living beings. Rather than treating any one aspect of Nāgārjuna's ideas in isolation, here he emerges as forging a single system of thought and practice, one that challenges the very ways in which we think about religion and philosophy.

Rethinking the Buddha

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Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1139917269
Total Pages : 396 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (399 download)

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Book Synopsis Rethinking the Buddha by : Eviatar Shulman

Download or read book Rethinking the Buddha written by Eviatar Shulman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-02-23 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A cornerstone of Buddhist philosophy, the doctrine of the four noble truths maintains that life is replete with suffering, desire is the cause of suffering, nirvana is the end of suffering, and the way to nirvana is the eightfold noble path. Although the attribution of this seminal doctrine to the historical Buddha is ubiquitous, Rethinking the Buddha demonstrates through a careful examination of early Buddhist texts that he did not envision them in this way. Shulman traces the development of what we now call the four noble truths, which in fact originated as observations to be cultivated during deep meditation. The early texts reveal that other central Buddhist doctrines, such as dependent-origination and selflessness, similarly derived from meditative observations. This book challenges the conventional view that the Buddha's teachings represent universal themes of human existence, allowing for a fresh, compelling explanation of the Buddhist theory of liberation.

Rethinking 'Classical Yoga' and Buddhism

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Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1350230014
Total Pages : 277 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (52 download)

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Book Synopsis Rethinking 'Classical Yoga' and Buddhism by : Karen O'Brien-Kop

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.

The Future of the Philosophy of Religion

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Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030446069
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (34 download)

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Book Synopsis The Future of the Philosophy of Religion by : M. David Eckel

Download or read book The Future of the Philosophy of Religion written by M. David Eckel and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-10-12 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays on the philosophy of religion and its future brings together accomplished thinkers across several related fields, from comparative philosophy to analytic and continental philosophy of religion and beyond. Contributing authors address pressing questions including: Where does philosophy stand in relation to religion and the study of religion in the 21st century? How ought the philosophy of religion to interact with religious studies and theology to make for fruitful interdisciplinary engagement? And what does philosophy uniquely have to offer to the broad discourse on religion in the modern world? Through exploring these questions and more, the authors’ goal is not that of meeting the philosophical future, but of forging it. Readers will enter a vivid conversation through engaging essays which demonstrate the importance of disciplinary openness and show that we do not need to sacrifice depth in order to achieve breadth. Modernity and postmodernity come together in a constantly evolving discussion that moves the philosophy of religion forward, while keeping an eye toward the experience accumulated in past centuries. This book will interest students of philosophy, theology, religious studies, and other fields that wonder about the place of philosophy and religion in today’s world. It also has much to offer advanced scholars in these fields, through its breadth and forward thinking.

Buddhist Philosophy of Language in India

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Author :
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 023152191X
Total Pages : 217 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis Buddhist Philosophy of Language in India by : Lawrence J. McCrea

Download or read book Buddhist Philosophy of Language in India written by Lawrence J. McCrea and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2010-10-14 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jnanasrimitra (975-1025) was regarded by both Buddhists and non-Buddhists as the most important Indian philosopher of his generation. His theory of exclusion combined a philosophy of language with a theory of conceptual content to explore the nature of words and thought. Jnanasrimitra's theory informed much of the work accomplished at Vikramasila, a monastic and educational complex instrumental to the growth of Buddhism. His ideas were also passionately debated among successive Hindu and Jain philosophers. This volume marks the first English translation of Jnanasrimitra's Monograph on Exclusion, a careful, critical investigation into language, perception, and conceptual awareness. Featuring the rival arguments of Buddhist and Hindu intellectuals, among other thinkers, the Monograph reflects more than half a millennium of competing claims while providing an invaluable introduction to a crucial philosopher. Lawrence J. McCrea and Parimal G. Patil familiarize the reader with the author, themes, and topics of the text and situate Jnanasrimitra's findings within his larger intellectual milieu. Their clear, accessible, and accurate translation proves the influence of Jnanasrimitra on the foundations of Buddhist and Indian philosophy.

Literary and Cultural Readings of Goddess Spirituality

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Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1443855537
Total Pages : 195 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (438 download)

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Book Synopsis Literary and Cultural Readings of Goddess Spirituality by : Anway Mukhopadhyay

Download or read book Literary and Cultural Readings of Goddess Spirituality written by Anway Mukhopadhyay and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2016-12-14 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the potentials of Goddess spirituality in the field of cultural critique, and strings together innovative readings of already existing literary texts and cultural phenomena from the critical perspective of Goddess spirituality. The chapters explore a colourful array of texts and authors, and focus on issues as diverse as the persistence of the figure of the Magna Mater in the life, writing and thought of Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo, the inability of Advaita Vedanta to come out of the shadow of the Great Mother, the possibility of pluralizing the Eurocentric notion of the Muse by invoking the figure of Goddess Sarasvati in the field of English Studies, and a reappraisal of Kipling’s Kim from the perspective of the philosophical and spiritual discourses of Prajnaparamita, the Buddhist Goddess of Perfect Wisdom. The book also offers a comparative study of Minoan Goddess Spirituality and tantric philosophy with reference to Aphrodite, Diotima and the Indian Mother Goddesses, the possibility of simultaneously tantricizing notions of modernity and modernizing tantra itself with reference to the works of Lata Mani and William Schindler, and an investigation of the Mother-centric spiritual sensibilities in various religious discourses and devotional literatures, among other discussions. In short, this book investigates the possibilities of inserting the figure of the Great Mother into the critical domain of cultural pluralism, thereby celebrating a multiculturalism that is not based on violence and conflict (antagonism) but grounded in harmony. The Mother is seen by the discourse articulated here mainly as a middle ground between flesh and spirit, knowledge and passion, justice and compassion – and, in the red shadow of the Mother, social epistemologies and academic discourses are radically renegotiated.

Early Buddhist Oral Tradition

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Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1614298513
Total Pages : 323 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (142 download)

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Book Synopsis Early Buddhist Oral Tradition by : Analayo Bhikkhu

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.

The Secrets of Buddhist Meditation

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Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824886860
Total Pages : 385 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

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Book Synopsis The Secrets of Buddhist Meditation by : Eric M. Greene

Download or read book The Secrets of Buddhist Meditation written by Eric M. Greene and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2021-01-31 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early 400s, numerous Indian and Central Asian Buddhist “meditation masters” (chanshi) traveled to China, where they established the first enduring traditions of Buddhist meditation practice in East Asia. The forms of contemplative practice that these missionaries brought with them, and which their Chinese students further developed, remained for several centuries the basic understanding of “meditation” (chan) in China. Although modern scholars and readers have long been familiar with the approaches to meditation of the Chan (Zen) School that later became so popular throughout East Asia, these earlier and in some ways more pervasive forms of practice have long been overlooked or ignored. This volume presents a comprehensive study of the content and historical formation, as well as complete English translations, of two of the most influential manuals in which these approaches to Buddhist meditation are discussed: the Scripture on the Secret Essential Methods of Chan (Chan Essentials) and the Secret Methods for Curing Chan Sickness (Methods for Curing). Translated here into English for the first time, these documents reveal a distinctly visionary form of Buddhist meditation whose goal is the acquisition of concrete, symbolic visions attesting to the practitioner’s purity and progress toward liberation. Both texts are “apocryphal” scriptures: Taking the form of Indian Buddhist sutras translated into Chinese, they were in fact new compositions, written or at least assembled in China in the first half of the fifth century. Though written in China, their historical significance extends beyond the East Asian context as they are among the earliest written sources anywhere to record certain kinds of information about Buddhist meditation that hitherto had been the preserve of oral tradition and personal initiation. To this extent they indeed divulge, as their titles claim, the “secrets” of Buddhist meditation. Through them, we witness a culture of Buddhist meditation that has remained largely unknown but which for many centuries was widely shared across North India, Central Asia, and China.

Buddhism Across Asia

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Author :
Publisher : Flipside Digital Content Company Inc.
ISBN 13 : 9814519960
Total Pages : 586 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (145 download)

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Book Synopsis Buddhism Across Asia by : Tansen Sen

Download or read book Buddhism Across Asia written by Tansen Sen and published by Flipside Digital Content Company Inc.. This book was released on 2014-11-11 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "e;Buddhism across Asia is a must-read for anyone interested in the history and spread of Buddhism in Asia. It comprises a rich collection of articles written by leading experts in their fields. Together, the contributions provide an in-depth analysis of Buddhist history and transmission in Asia over a period of more than 2000 years. Aspects examined include material culture, politics, economy, languages and texts, religious institutions, practices and rituals, conceptualisations, and philosophy, while the geographic scope of the studies extends from India to Southeast Asia and East Asia. Readers' knowledge of Buddhism is constantly challenged by the studies presented, incorporating new materials and interpretations. Rejecting the concept of a reified monolithic and timeless 'Buddhism', this publication reflects the entangled 'dynamic and multi-dimensional' history of Buddhism in Asia over extended periods of 'integration', 'development of multiple centres', and 'European expansion', which shaped the religion's regional and trans-regional identities."e; - Max Deeg, Cardiff University

Speaking for Buddhas

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Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231152302
Total Pages : 310 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (311 download)

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Book Synopsis Speaking for Buddhas by : Richard F. Nance

Download or read book Speaking for Buddhas written by Richard F. Nance and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buddhist intellectual discourse owes its development to a dynamic interplay between primary source materials and subsequent interpretation, yet scholarship on Indian Buddhism has long neglected to privilege one crucial series of texts. Commentaries on Buddhist scriptures, particularly the sutras, offer rich insights into the complex relationship between Buddhist intellectual practices and the norms that inform--and are informed by--them. Evaluating these commentaries in detail for the first time, Richard F. Nance revisits--and rewrites&mdashthe critical history of Buddhist thought, including its unique conception of doctrinal transmission. Attributed to such luminaries as Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Dignaga, and Santideva, scriptural commentaries have long played an important role in the monastic and philosophical life of Indian Buddhism. Nance reads these texts against the social and cultural conditions of their making, establishing a solid historical basis for the interpretation of key beliefs and doctrines. He also underscores areas of contention, in which scholars debate what it means to speak for, and as, a Buddha. Throughout these texts, Buddhist commentators struggle to deduce and characterize the speech of Buddhas and teach others how to convey and interpret its meaning. At the same time, they demonstrate the fundamental dilemma of trying to speak on behalf of Buddhas. Nance also investigates the notion of "right speech" as articulated by Buddhist texts and follows ideas about teaching as imagined through the common figure of a Buddhist preacher. He notes the use of epistemological concepts in scriptural interpretation and the protocols guiding the composition of scriptural commentary, and provides translations of three commentarial guides to better clarify the normative assumptions organizing these works.