Light Of Samantabhadra

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Light of Samantabhadra

Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1614297665
Total Pages : 392 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (142 download)

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Book Synopsis Light of Samantabhadra by :

Download or read book Light of Samantabhadra written by and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2023-07-18 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illuminating gateway to Indian philosophy and its explication in Tibet. Among the many works produced in the rich philosophical tradition of India’s classical age, few have had more impact than Dharmakirti’s Commentary on Valid Cognition (Pramanavarttika). Composed in India in the seventh century, it became the cornerstone for the study of logic and epistemology in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. An important addition to any collection for the Sakya practitioner, Light of Samantabhadra translates the work of one of the premier scholars of the Sakya school, Gorampa Sonam Sengé (1429–89). Gorampa here illuminates the first two chapters of Dharmakirti’s treatise, those on using inference to enlighten oneself (svarthanumana) and on establishing valid cognition (pramanasiddhi), both to determine the authority of the Buddha as a valid teacher and to eliminate the cognitive obstacles to awakening. The root text is composed in compact verses, and these are translated here along with Gorampa’s word-by-word commentary that reveals their often-veiled meanings. These chapters explore key issues in the philosophy of language and the nature of conventional designation, the way to employ sound reasoning, the proof of past and future lives, and the way to eliminate the view of self. In the skilled hands of translator Gavin Kilty, these insights are made accessible to contemporary readers.

A Lullaby to Awaken the Heart

Author : Karl Brunnhölzl
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1614295174
Total Pages : 504 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (142 download)

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Book Synopsis A Lullaby to Awaken the Heart by : Karl Brunnhölzl

Download or read book A Lullaby to Awaken the Heart written by Karl Brunnhölzl and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-11-27 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A key Dzogchen text—available together with its Tibetan commentaries, including from the fifteenth Karmapa—from a preeminent translator. The Aspiration Prayer of Samantabhadra, one of the most famous and often-recited Dzogchen texts, is at once an entreaty by the primordial buddha, Samantabhadra, that all sentient beings recognize the nature of their minds and thus become buddhas, and also a wake-up call by our own buddha nature itself. This monumental text outlines the profound view of Dzogchen in a nutshell and, at the same time, provides clear instructions on how to discover the wisdom of a buddha in the very midst of afflictions. In this volume, Karl Brunnhölzl offers translations of three versions of the Aspiration Prayer and accompanies them with translations of the commentaries by Jigmé Lingpa, the Fifteenth Karmapa, and Tsültrim Sangpo. He offers further contextualization with his rich annotation and appendices, which include additional translation from Jigmé Lingpa, Longchenpa, and Patrul Rinpoche. This comprehensive, comprehensible book illuminates this profound text and greatly furthers our understanding of Dzogchen—and of our own nature.

Pure Land

Author : Charles B. Jones
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 0834843447
Total Pages : 265 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (348 download)

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Book Synopsis Pure Land by : Charles B. Jones

Download or read book Pure Land written by Charles B. Jones and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2021-05-18 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introductory guide to the beliefs and key concepts of Pure Land Buddhism, the most widely practiced form of Buddhism in East Asia. Pure Land is a brief introduction to the history and practices of Pure Land Buddhism, a popular and growing global tradition. Pure Land practices center on Amitābha Buddha, rebirth in his pure buddha-land, and the guaranteed attainment of buddhahood. It constitutes the dominant tradition of most Buddhists in East Asia and is the most common form of practice within immigrant Buddhist communities in America, yet it remains elusive to many general readers of Buddhism. This brief introduction summarizes the core teachings of this tradition and charts its growth throughout the world. Part of the Buddhist Foundations series, Pure Land covers the spiritual tenets behind the tradition before describing how prayer and devotion to Amitābha allow for rebirth in a realm free from suffering and ideal for progress on the path to enlightenment. It then outlines specific Pure Land practices, all the while providing historical context to account for its widespread popularity throughout East Asia. The author also covers contemporary Pure Land traditions, providing a useful touch point for modern readers. Pure Land practitioners and readers interested in Asian-American Buddhist communities now have a concise guide to the ideas, practices, and origins of this widely popular spiritual tradition.

The Woman Who Raised the Buddha

Author : Wendy Garling
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 0834843536
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (348 download)

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Book Synopsis The Woman Who Raised the Buddha by : Wendy Garling

Download or read book The Woman Who Raised the Buddha written by Wendy Garling and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2021-03-23 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nautilus Book Award Winner The first full biography of Mahaprajapati Gautami, the woman who raised the Buddha--examining her life through stories and canonical records. Mahaprajapati was the only mother the Buddha ever knew. His birth mother, Maya, died shortly after childbirth, and her sister Mahaprajapati took the infant to her breast, nurturing and raising him into adulthood. While there is a lot of ambiguity overall in the Buddha's biography, this detail remains consistent across all Buddhist traditions and literature. In this first full biography of Mahaprajapati, The Woman Who Raised the Buddha presents her life story, with attention to her early years as sister, queen, matriarch, and mother, as well as her later years as a nun. Drawing from story fragments and canonical records, Wendy Garling reveals just how exceptional Mahaprajapati's role was as leader of the first generation of Buddhist women, helping the Buddha establish an equal community of lay and monastic women and men. Mother to the Buddha, mother to early Buddhist women, mother to the Buddhist faith, Mahaprajapati's journey is finally presented as one interwoven with the founding of Buddhism.

The Buddhist Psychology of Awakening

Author : Steven D. Goodman
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 1559394226
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (593 download)

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Book Synopsis The Buddhist Psychology of Awakening by : Steven D. Goodman

Download or read book The Buddhist Psychology of Awakening written by Steven D. Goodman and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2020-07-21 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A modern introduction to traditional Buddhist psychology This practical overview of Buddhist psychology outlines step-by-step methods for examining the source of our habitual tendencies and hangups. In order to truly free ourselves from perpetuating patterns of suffering, the Buddha offered a clear system for understanding our psychological dispositions, processes, fixations, and challenges--a system known as the Abhidharma. This tradition has been studied by Buddhists for over two millennia. Professor Steven Goodman has taught on the Abhidharma in both universities and Buddhist retreats for over twenty years, making these traditional teachings accessible for a modern readership for the first time. Goodman explains how becoming aware of our mental patterns can liberate us from cycles of emotional pain and shows how the Abhidharma can be applied to meditation practice through exercises of observation and reflection. This is the go-to manual for anyone interested in the world of Buddhist psychology.

A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva

Author : Ngawang Tenzin Norbu
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 0834842866
Total Pages : 314 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (348 download)

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Book Synopsis A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva by : Ngawang Tenzin Norbu

Download or read book A Guide to the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva written by Ngawang Tenzin Norbu and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fresh translation and commentary to Tibet's most famous text on living like a bodhisattva Who are bodhisattvas and what do they practice? In the fourteenth century, the Tibetan Buddhist master Gyalse Tokmé Zangpo answered these questions in a now classic teaching called the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva. This text, consisting of inspiring verses distilling the entire Mahayana path of compassion, continues to inspire modern-day Buddhist masters, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. One of the most important commentaries on the Thirty-Seven Practices is by the twentieth-century master Dzatrul Ngawang Tenzin Norbu, known as the Buddha of Dza Rongphu, and is translated here along with associated meditation instructions for the first time. Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, who requested this translation by Christopher Stagg, provides an informative overview to the history of the text and commentary, introducing the reader to the world of one of Tibet's most widely studied texts.

Ornament of Stainless Light

Author : Khedrup Norsang Gyatso
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0861717422
Total Pages : 763 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (617 download)

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Book Synopsis Ornament of Stainless Light by : Khedrup Norsang Gyatso

Download or read book Ornament of Stainless Light written by Khedrup Norsang Gyatso and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-03-08 with total page 763 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The premiere volume of Thupten Jinpa's thirty-two-volume Library of Tibetan Classics series, inaugurated to coincide with the Dalai Lama's conferral of the initiation rite of Kalacakra in Toronto in April 2004. The Kalacakra, or "wheel of time," tantra likely entered Indian Mahayana Buddhism around the tenth century. In expounding the root tantra, the Indian master Pundarika, one of the legendary Kalki kings of the land of Shambhala, wrote his influential Stainless Light.Ornament of Stainless Light is an authoritative Tibetan exposition of this important text, composed in the fifteenth century by Khedrup Norsang Gyatso, tutor to the Second Dalai Lama. One of the central projects of Kalacakra literature is a detailed correlation between the human body and the external universe. In working out this complex correspondence, the Kalacakra texts present an amazingly detailed theory of cosmology and astronomy, especially about the movements of the various celestial bodies. The Kalacakra tantra is also a highly complex system of Buddhist theory and practice that employs vital bodily energies, deep meditative mental states, and a penetrative focus on subtle points within the body's key energy conduits known as channels. Ornament of Stainless Light addresses all these topics, elaborating on the external universe, the inner world of the individual, the Kalacakra initiation rites, and the tantric stages of generation and completion, all in a highly readable English translation.

Right Thoughts at the Last Moment

Author : Jacqueline I. Stone
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824867653
Total Pages : 633 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

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Book Synopsis Right Thoughts at the Last Moment by : Jacqueline I. Stone

Download or read book Right Thoughts at the Last Moment written by Jacqueline I. Stone and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2016-11-30 with total page 633 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buddhists across Asia have often aspired to die with a clear and focused mind, as the historical Buddha himself is said to have done. This book explores how the ideal of dying with right mindfulness was appropriated, disseminated, and transformed in premodern Japan, focusing on the late tenth through early fourteenth centuries. By concentrating one’s thoughts on the Buddha in one’s last moments, it was said even an ignorant and sinful person could escape the cycle of deluded rebirth and achieve birth in a buddha’s pure land, where liberation would be assured. Conversely, the slightest mental distraction at that final juncture could send even a devout practitioner tumbling down into the hells or other miserable rebirth realms. The ideal of mindful death thus generated both hope and anxiety and created a demand for ritual specialists who could act as religious guides at the deathbed. Buddhist death management in Japan has been studied chiefly from the standpoint of funerals and mortuary rites. Right Thoughts at the Last Moment investigates a largely untold side of that story: how early medieval Japanese prepared for death, and how desire for ritual assistance in one’s last hours contributed to Buddhist preeminence in death-related matters. It represents the first book-length study in a Western language to examine how the Buddhist ideal of mindful death was appropriated in a specific historical context. Practice for one’s last hours occupied the intersections of multiple, often disparate approaches that Buddhism offered for coping with death. Because they crossed sectarian lines and eventually permeated all social levels, deathbed practices afford insights into broader issues in medieval Japanese religion, including intellectual developments, devotional practices, pollution concerns, ritual performance, and divisions of labor among religious professionals. They also allow us to see beyond the categories of “old” versus “new” Buddhism, or establishment Buddhism versus marginal heterodoxies, which have characterized much scholarship to date. Enlivened by cogent examples, this study draws on a wealth of sources including ritual instructions, hagiographies, doctrinal writings, didactic tales, courtier diaries, historical records, letters, and relevant art historical material to explore the interplay of doctrinal ideals and on-the-ground practice.

Ācārya Samantabhadra’s Āptamīmāmsā (Devāgamastotra) आचार्य समन्तभद्र विरचित "आप्तमीमांसा"

Download Ācārya Samantabhadra’s Āptamīmāmsā (Devāgamastotra) आचार्य समन्तभद्र विरचित

Author : Vijay K. Jain
Publisher : Vikalp Printers
ISBN 13 : 8190363980
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (93 download)

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Book Synopsis Ācārya Samantabhadra’s Āptamīmāmsā (Devāgamastotra) आचार्य समन्तभद्र विरचित "आप्तमीमांसा" by : Vijay K. Jain

Download or read book Ācārya Samantabhadra’s Āptamīmāmsā (Devāgamastotra) आचार्य समन्तभद्र विरचित "आप्तमीमांसा" written by Vijay K. Jain and published by Vikalp Printers. This book was released on 2016-01-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Āptamimāmsā by Ācārya Samantabhadra (circa 2nd century CE) starts with a discussion, in a philosophical-cum-logical manner, on the Jaina concept of omniscience and the attributes of the Omniscient. The Ācārya questions the validity of the attributes that are traditionally associated with a praiseworthy deity and goes on to establish the logic of accepting the Omniscient as the most trustworthy and praiseworthy Supreme Being. Employing the doctrine of conditional predications (syādvāda) – the logical expression of reality in light of the foundational principle of non-absolutism (anekāntavāda) – he faults certain conceptions based on absolutism. He finally elucidates correct perspectives on issues including fate, human effort, and bondage of karmas that lead to merit (punya) and demerit (pāpa).

Treasures of the Sakya Lineage

Author : Migmar Tseten
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 9780834823099
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (23 download)

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Book Synopsis Treasures of the Sakya Lineage by : Migmar Tseten

Download or read book Treasures of the Sakya Lineage written by Migmar Tseten and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2008-04-22 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Treasures of the Sakya Lineage is a rich collection of teachings by both contemporary and ancient Sakya masters, showing a thousand years of lineage continuity. It provides an overview of the history, view, key lineage figures, and crucial teachings of the oldest continuously operating institution among the four lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. The Sakya School has long been known for its balanced approach to study and practice. The writings of Sakya scholars have been deeply influential in every school of Tibetan Buddhism and they continue to be now. A great resource for students and practitioners of all schools of Tibetan Buddhism, this volume contains teachings from great Sakya scholars and meditation masters, including: H. H. Sakya Trizin, Khenpo Appey, Sakya Pandita, Jetsun Dragpa Gyaltsen, Chogye Trinchen, Choegyal Phagpa, Migmar Tseten

Superiority Conceit in Buddhist Traditions

Author : Bhikkhu Analayo
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1614297339
Total Pages : 184 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (142 download)

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Book Synopsis Superiority Conceit in Buddhist Traditions by : Bhikkhu Analayo

Download or read book Superiority Conceit in Buddhist Traditions written by Bhikkhu Analayo and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-02-09 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Renowned scholar-monk writes accessibly on some of the most contentious topics in Buddhism—guaranteed to ruffle some feathers. Armed with his rigorous examination of the canonical records, respected scholar-monk Bhikkhu Analayo explores—and sharply criticizes—four examples of what he terms “superiority conceit” in Buddhism: the androcentric tendency to prevent women from occupying leadership roles, be these as fully ordained monastics or as advanced bodhisattvas the Mahayana notion that those who don’t aspire to become bodhisattvas are inferior practitioners the Theravada belief that theirs is the most original expression of the Buddha’s teaching the Secular Buddhist claim to understand the teachings of the Buddha more accurately than traditionally practicing Buddhists Ven. Analayo challenges the scriptural basis for these conceits and points out that adhering to such notions of superiority is not, after all, conducive to practice. “It is by diminishing ego, letting go of arrogance, and abandoning conceit that one becomes a better Buddhist,” he reminds us, “no matter what tradition one may follow.” Thoroughly researched, Superiority Conceit in Buddhist Traditions provides an accessible approach to these conceits as academic subjects. Readers will find it not only challenges their own intellectual understandings but also improves their personal practice.

The Mirror of Beryl

Author : Sangye Desi Gyatso
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1614291160
Total Pages : 696 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (142 download)

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Book Synopsis The Mirror of Beryl by : Sangye Desi Gyatso

Download or read book The Mirror of Beryl written by Sangye Desi Gyatso and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-05-17 with total page 696 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Composed while its author was the ruler of Tibet, Mirror of Beryl is a detailed account of the origins and history of medicine in Tibet through the end of the seventeenth century. Its author, Desi Sangye Gyatso (1653 - 1705), was the heart disciple and political successor of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama and the author of several highly regarded works on Tibetan medicine, including his Blue Beryl, a commentary on the foundational text of Tibetan medicine, The Four Tantras. In the present historical introduction, Sangye Gyatso traces the sources of influence on Tibetan medicine to classical India, China, Central Asia, and beyond, providing life stories, extensive references to earlier Tibetan works on medicine, and fascinating details about the Tibetan approach to healing. He also provides a commentary on the pratimoksha, bodhisattva, and tantric Buddhist vows. Desi Sangye Gyatso's Mirror of Beryl remains today an essential resource for students of medical science in Tibet.

Buddhist Tourism in Asia

Author : Courtney Bruntz
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824882822
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

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Book Synopsis Buddhist Tourism in Asia by : Courtney Bruntz

Download or read book Buddhist Tourism in Asia written by Courtney Bruntz and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This innovative collaborative work—the first to focus on Buddhist tourism—explores how Buddhists, government organizations, business corporations, and individuals in Asia participate in re-imaginings of Buddhism through tourism. Contributors from religious studies, anthropology, and art history examine sacred places and religious monuments as they have been shaped and reshaped by socioeconomic and cultural trends in the region. Following an introduction that offers the first theoretical understanding of tourism from a Buddhist studies’ perspective, early chapters discuss the ways Buddhists and non-Buddhists imagine concepts and places related to the religion. Case studies highlight Buddhist peace in India, Buddhist heavens and hells in Singapore, Thai temple space, and the future Buddha Maitreya in China. Buddhist tourism’s connections to the state, market, and new technologies are explored in chapters on Indian package tours for pilgrims, thematic Buddhist tourism in Cambodia, the technological innovations of Buddhist temples in China, and the promotion of pilgrimage sites in Japan. Contributors then situate the financial concerns of Chinese temples, speed dating in temples in Japan, and the diffuse and pervasive nature of Buddhism for tourism promotion in Ladakh, India. How have tourist routes, groups, sites, and practices associated with Buddhism come to be possible and what are the effects? In what ways do travelers derive meaning from Buddhist places? How do Buddhist sites fortify national, cultural, or religious identities? The comparative research in South, Southeast, and East Asia presented here draws attention to the intertwining of the sacred and the financial and how local and national sites are situated within global networks. Together these findings generate a compelling comparative investigation of Buddhist spaces, identities, and practices.

Stairway to Heaven

Author : James M. Hargett
Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 0791482189
Total Pages : 314 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (914 download)

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Book Synopsis Stairway to Heaven by : James M. Hargett

Download or read book Stairway to Heaven written by James M. Hargett and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-16 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Located in a remote area of modern Sichuan province, Mount Emei is one of China's most famous mountains and has long been important to Buddhists. Stairway to Heaven looks at Emei's significance in Chinese history and literature while also addressing the issue of "sense of place" in Chinese culture. Mount Emei's exquisite scenery and unique geographical features have inspired countless poets, writers, and artists. Since the early years of the Song dynasty (960–1279), Emei has been best known as a site of Buddhist pilgrimage and worship. Today, several Buddhist temples still function on Emei, but the mountain also has become a scenic tourist destination, attracting more than a million visitors annually. Author James M. Hargett takes readers on a journey to the mountain through the travel writings of the twelfth-century writer and official Fan Chengda (1126–1193). Fan's diary and verse accounts of his climb to the summit of Mount Emei in 1177 are still among the most informative accounts of the mountain ever written. Through Fan's eyes, words, and footsteps—and with background information and commentary from Hargett—the reader will experience some of the ways Emei has been "constructed" by diverse human experience over the centuries.

The Flower Ornament Scripture

Author : Thomas Cleary
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 0834824094
Total Pages : 1656 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (348 download)

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Book Synopsis The Flower Ornament Scripture by : Thomas Cleary

Download or read book The Flower Ornament Scripture written by Thomas Cleary and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 1993-10-12 with total page 1656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Known in Chinese as Hua-yen and in Japanese as Kegon-kyo, the Avatamsaka Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture, is held in the highest regard and studied by Buddhists of all traditions. Through its structure and symbolism, as well as through its concisely stated principles, it conveys a vast range of Buddhist teachings. This one-volume edition contains Thomas Cleary's definitive translation of all thirty-nine books of the sutra, along with an introduction, a glossary, and Cleary's translation of Li Tongxuan's seventh-century guide to the final book, the Gandavyuha, "Entry into the Realm of Reality."

Soka Gakkai’s Human Revolution

Author : Levi McLaughlin
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
ISBN 13 : 0824877896
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (248 download)

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Book Synopsis Soka Gakkai’s Human Revolution by : Levi McLaughlin

Download or read book Soka Gakkai’s Human Revolution written by Levi McLaughlin and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2018-12-31 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soka Gakkai is Japan’s largest and most influential new religious organization: It claims more than 8 million Japanese households and close to 2 million members in 192 countries and territories. The religion is best known for its affiliated political party, Komeito (the Clean Government Party), which comprises part of the ruling coalition in Japan’s National Diet, and it exerts considerable influence in education, media, finance, and other key areas. Levi McLaughlin’s comprehensive account of Soka Gakkai draws on nearly two decades of archival research and non-member fieldwork to account for its institutional development beyond Buddhism and suggest how we should understand the activities and dispositions of its adherents. McLaughlin explores the group’s Nichiren Buddhist origins and turns to insights from religion, political science, anthropology, and cultural studies to characterize Soka Gakkai as mimetic of the nation-state. Ethnographic vignettes combine with historical evidence to demonstrate ways Soka Gakkai’s twin Buddhist and modern humanist legacies inform the organization’s mimesis of the modern Japan in which the group took shape. To make this argument, McLaughlin analyzes Gakkai sources heretofore untreated in English-language scholarship; provides a close reading of the serial novel The Human Revolution, which serves the Gakkai as both history and de facto scripture; identifies ways episodes from members’ lives form new chapters in its growing canon; and contributes to discussions of religion and gender as he chronicles the lives of members who simultaneously reaffirm generational transmission of Gakkai devotion as they pose challenges for the organization’s future. Readers looking for analyses of the nation-state and strategies for understanding New Religions and modern Buddhism will find Soka Gakkai’s Human Revolution to be an especially thought-provoking study that offers widely applicable theoretical models.

The Buddha before Buddhism

Author : Gil Fronsdal
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 1611803241
Total Pages : 193 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (118 download)

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Book Synopsis The Buddha before Buddhism by : Gil Fronsdal

Download or read book The Buddha before Buddhism written by Gil Fronsdal and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2016-11-29 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This easy-to-understand translation of one of the earliest surviving Buddhist texts offers a pathway to awakening that is simple, straightforward, and free of religious doctrine One of the earliest of all Buddhist texts, the Atthakavagga, or “Book of Eights,” is a remarkable document, not only because it comes from the earliest strain of the literature—before the Buddha, as the title suggests, came to be thought of as a “Buddhist”—but also because its approach to awakening is so simple and free of adherence to any kind of ideology. Instead the Atthakavagga points to a direct and simple approach for attaining peace without requiring the adherence to doctrine. The value of the teachings it contains is not in the profundity of their philosophy or in their authority as scripture; rather, the value is found in the results they bring to those who live by them. Instead of doctrines to be believed, the “Book of Eights” describes means or practices for realizing peace. Gil Fronsdal’s rigorous translation with commentary reveals the text to be of interest not only to Buddhists, but also to the ever-growing demographic of spiritual-but-not-religious, who seek a spiritual life outside the structures of religion.