Science And Philosophy In The Indian Buddhist Classics Vol 1

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Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 1

Author : Thupten Jinpa
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1614294925
Total Pages : 554 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (142 download)

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Book Synopsis Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 1 by : Thupten Jinpa

Download or read book Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 1 written by Thupten Jinpa and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-11-07 with total page 554 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explore the nature of our material world in a unique sourcebook, conceived by the Dalai Lama, collecting the scientific observations found in classical Buddhist treatises. Under the visionary supervision of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics brings together classical Buddhist explorations of the nature of our material world and the human mind and puts them into context for the modern reader. It is the Dalai Lama’s view that the explorations by the great masters of northern India in the first millennium CE still have much that is of interest today, whether we are Buddhist or not. Volume 1, The Physical World, explores the nature of our material world—from the macroscopic to the microscopic. It begins with an overview of the many frameworks, such as the so-called five aggregates, that Buddhist thinkers have used to examine the nature and scope of reality. Topics include sources of knowledge, the scope of reason, the nature and constituents of the material world, theories of the atom, the nature of time, the formation of the universe, and the evolution of life, including a detailed explanation of the early Buddhist theories on fetal development. The volume even contains a brief presentation on early theories about the structure and function of the brain and the role of microorganisms inside the human body. The book weaves together passages from the works of great Buddhist thinkers such as Asanga, Vasubandhu, Nagarjuna, Dignaga, and Dharmakirti. Each of the major topics is introduced by Thupten Jinpa, the Dalai Lama’s principal English-language translator and founder of the Institute of Tibetan Classics.

Essential Mind Training

Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0861717147
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (617 download)

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Book Synopsis Essential Mind Training by :

Download or read book Essential Mind Training written by and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-11-14 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essential Mind Training is the first volume in the Tibetan Classics series, which aims to make available accessible paperback editions of key Tibetan Buddhist works drawn from Wisdom Publications' Library of Tibetan Classics. The key to happiness is not the eradication of all problems but rather the development of a mind capable of transforming any problem into a cause of happiness. Essential Mind Training is full of guidance for cultivating new mental habits for mastering our thoughts and emotions. This volume contains eighteen individual works selected from Mind Training: The Great Collection, the earliest compilation of mind-training (lojong) literature. The first volume of the historic Tibetan Classics series, Essential Mind Training includes both lesser-known and renowned classics such as Eight Verses on Mind Training and The Seven-Point Mind Training. These texts offer methods for practicing the golden rule of learning to love your neighbor as yourself and are full of practical and down-to-earth advice. The techniques explained here, by enhancing our capacity for compassion, love, and perseverance, can give us the freedom to embrace the world.

Mind Training

Author : Thupten Jinpa
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0861717112
Total Pages : 625 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (617 download)

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Book Synopsis Mind Training by : Thupten Jinpa

Download or read book Mind Training written by Thupten Jinpa and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 625 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Compiled in the fifteenth century, Mind Training: The Great Collection is the earliest anthology of a special genre of Tibetan literature known as "mind training," or lojong in Tibetan. The principal focus of these texts is the systematic cultivation of such altruistic thoughts and emotions as compassion, love, forbearance, and perseverance. The mind-training teachings are highly revered by the Tibetan people for their pragmatism and down-to-earth advice on coping with the various challenges and hardships that unavoidably characterize everyday human existence. The volume contains forty-four individual texts, including the most important works of the mind training cycle, such as Serlingpa's well-known Leveling Out All Preconceptions, Atisha's Bodhisattva's Jewel Garland, Langri Thangpa's Eight Verses on Training the Mind, and Chekawa's Seven-Point Mind Training together with the earliest commentaries on these seminal texts. An accurate and lyrical translation of these texts, many of which are in metered verse, marks an important contribution to the world's literary heritage, enriching its spiritual resources.

Tibetan Logic

Author : Katherine Rogers
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 1559399139
Total Pages : 505 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (593 download)

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Book Synopsis Tibetan Logic by : Katherine Rogers

Download or read book Tibetan Logic written by Katherine Rogers and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2009-03-16 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Within Tibetan Buddhism has arisen a system of education and a curriculum designed to enable the student to develop a path of reasoning—a consciousness trained in reasoned analysis until capable of understanding first the meaning of religious texts and eventually the true nature of reality. An important aspect of Tibetan logic is that it is used to develop new and valid knowledge about oneself and the world. Included here is a translation of a text by Pur-bu-jok, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama's philosophy tutor on the topic of Signs and Reasonings—a manual introducing beginners to the principles, vocabulary, and concepts of the system of logic. The purpose of Pur-bu-jok's text is to lay a foundation for understanding how valid cognition is acquired. What is validity? How is valid knowledge acquired? What can be known? Further, what knowledge can be acquired through reasoning that will lead one to spiritual development and even to buddhahood? Katherine Rogers has enriched the translation with commentary by several eminent scholars of the Ge-luk-pa order, revealing a marvelous path that draws one into the heart of the Tibetan approach to knowledge and self-transformation. It is fundamental to Tibetan thought that true knowledge is practical, useful, and ultimately transforming and liberating. Such knowledge is far from obvious, but it can be attained through correct reasoning. Thus, logic is an important tool—a part of the spiritual path leading ultimately to complete self-transformation.

Wisdom of the Kadam Masters

Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1614290652
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (142 download)

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Book Synopsis Wisdom of the Kadam Masters by :

Download or read book Wisdom of the Kadam Masters written by and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-01-21 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wisdom of the Kadam Masters is the second volume in the Tibetan Classics series, which aims to make available accessible paperback editions of key Tibetan Buddhist works drawn from Wisdom Publications' Library of Tibetan Classics. The phrase "Kadam masters" evokes for many Tibetans a sense of a spiritual golden age--the image of a community of wise yet simple monks devoted to a life of mental cultivation. These eleventh- and twelfth-century masters were particularly famed for their pithy spiritual sayings that captured essential teachings in digestible bites. In these sayings one unmistakably detects a clear understanding of what comprises a truly happy life, one that is grounded in a deep concern for the welfare of others. Like the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Lao Tzu, or Rumi, the teachings contained in Wisdom of the Kadam Masters can be approached as a part of the wisdom heritage of mankind, representative of the long history of the long human quest to understand our existence and its meaning. This volume offers some of the most beloved teachings of the Tibetan tradition.

Buddhist Philosophy

Author : William Edelglass
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 488 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Buddhist Philosophy by : William Edelglass

Download or read book Buddhist Philosophy written by William Edelglass and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 488 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Buddhist philosophical tradition is vast, internally diverse, and comprises texts written in a variety of canonical languages. It is hence often difficult for those with training in Western philosophy who wish to approach this tradition for the first time to know where to start, and difficult for those who wish to introduce and teach courses in Buddhist philosophy to find suitable textbooks that adequately represent the diversity of the tradition, expose students to important primary texts in reliable translations, that contextualize those texts, and that foreground specifically philosophical issues. Buddhist Philosophy fills that lacuna. It collects important philosophical texts from each major Buddhist tradition. Each text is translated and introduced by a recognized authority in Buddhist studies. Each introduction sets the text in context and introduces the philosophical issues it addresses and arguments it presents, providing a useful and authoritative guide to reading and to teaching the text. The volume is organized into topical sections that reflect the way that Western philosophers think about the structure of the discipline, and each section is introduced by an essay explaining Buddhist approaches to that subject matter, and the place of the texts collected in that section in the enterprise. This volume is an ideal single text for an intermediate or advanced course in Buddhist philosophy, and makes this tradition immediately accessible to the philosopher or student versed in Western philosophy coming to Buddhism for the first time. It is also ideal for the scholar or student of Buddhist studies who is interested specifically in the philosophical dimensions of the Buddhist tradition.

Foundations of Dharmakirti's Philosophy

Author : John D. Dunne
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 086171184X
Total Pages : 490 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (617 download)

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Book Synopsis Foundations of Dharmakirti's Philosophy by : John D. Dunne

Download or read book Foundations of Dharmakirti's Philosophy written by John D. Dunne and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2004-06-15 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dharmakirti is a central figure in the history of Buddhist philosophy.

MindScience

Author : Dalai Lama
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 086171718X
Total Pages : 160 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (617 download)

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Book Synopsis MindScience by : Dalai Lama

Download or read book MindScience written by Dalai Lama and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-06-25 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the subtle relationship between mind and body? What can today's scientists learn about this relationship from masters of Buddhist thought? Is it possible that by combining Western and Eastern approaches, we can reach a new understanding of the nature of the mind, the human potential for growth, the possibilities for mental and physical health? MindScience explores these and other questions as it documents the beginning of a historic dialogue between modern science and Buddhism. The Harvard Mind Science Symposium brought together the Dalai Lama and authorities from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, and education. Here, they examine myriad questions concerning the nature of the mind and its relationship to the body.

Abhidharmakosa-Bhasya of Vasubandhu

Author : Gelong Lodro Sangpo
Publisher : Motilal Banarsidass
ISBN 13 : 8120836081
Total Pages : 941 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (28 download)

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Book Synopsis Abhidharmakosa-Bhasya of Vasubandhu by : Gelong Lodro Sangpo

Download or read book Abhidharmakosa-Bhasya of Vasubandhu written by Gelong Lodro Sangpo and published by Motilal Banarsidass. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 941 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakosa-Bhasya (ca. 380-390), besides its culminating achievement in streamlining the overall structure of the exposition of the preceding Abhidharma manuals, is unmatched by any of the preceding manuals in respect of its comprehensiveness-incorporating all important Vaibhasika doctrines since the time of the Abhidharma-mahavibhasa-of its excellent skill in definition and elucidation, and of its ability to clarify the difficult point involved in doctrinal disputations. Added to these qualities is its great value as a brilliant critique and insightful revaluation of all the fundamental Sar-vastivada doctrines developed up to its time. Since its appearance, it has been used as a standard textbook for the understanding of not only the Abhidharma doctrines but all the fundamental Buddhist doctrines in general. Translated into Chinese by Paramartha in 563 A.D. and by Hsuan-tsang in 651-654 A.D., Hsuan-tsang's disciple P'u-kuang tells us that in India the Abhidharmakosa-Bhasya was hailed as the 'Book of Intelligence'. In China, Japan and the Far-east, too, the Kosa has generally been highly treasured as a textbook of fundamental importance for Buddhist studies. Vasubandhu's brilliant critique of the doctrines of the Vaibhasika was answered by the equally brilliant Samghabhadra - a contemporary staunch defender and expounder of the doctrines of the Vaibhasikas - in his masterwork, the Abhidharmanyayanusara, now extant only in Hsuan-tsang's translation (653-654 A.D.). The Sanskrit text, considered for a long time to be irremediably lost, was discovered by Rahula Samkrtyayana in 1935 in the Tibetan monastery of Ngor and was published by P. Pradhan in 1967 (1st edition).

Buddhist Cosmology

Author : W. Randolph Kloetzli
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9788120804630
Total Pages : 218 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (46 download)

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Book Synopsis Buddhist Cosmology by : W. Randolph Kloetzli

Download or read book Buddhist Cosmology written by W. Randolph Kloetzli and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disagreements concerning the nature and extent of the universe constitute a focus of theological debate which permeates buddhism at every level. While there have been numerous attempts to catalogue the details of the Buddhist cosmologies, none has attempted a general interpretation of their underlying intention. This work attempts to begin the process of interpreting the major phases of Buddhist Cosmological speculation by seeing in them various dramas of salvation tailored to the philosophical and theological predilections of their respective traditions. To a large extent, this interpretation relies on an examination of continuities between the Buddhist cosmologies and those of the hellenistic world as a whole. In the course of this study, two major cosmological traditions emerge; those which rely on metaphors of time and those which rely on metaphors of time and those which rely on metaphors of space. The former are associated with the Hinayana and the latter with the Mahayana forms of Buddhism. Each draws on images of motion and light to articulate its vision of the drama of salvation.

Classical Indian Philosophy

Author : Peter Adamson
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0192592661
Total Pages : 422 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (925 download)

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Book Synopsis Classical Indian Philosophy by : Peter Adamson

Download or read book Classical Indian Philosophy written by Peter Adamson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-26 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peter Adamson and Jonardon Ganeri present a lively introduction to one of the world's richest intellectual traditions: the philosophy of classical India. They begin with the earliest extant literature, the Vedas, and the explanatory works that these inspired, known as Upaniṣads. They also discuss other famous texts of classical Vedic culture, especially the Mahābhārata and its most notable section, the Bhagavad-Gīta, alongside the rise of Buddhism and Jainism. In this opening section, Adamson and Ganeri emphasize the way that philosophy was practiced as a form of life in search of liberation from suffering. Next, the pair move on to the explosion of philosophical speculation devoted to foundational texts called 'sutras,' discussing such traditions as the logical and epistemological Nyāya school, the monism of Advaita Vedānta, and the spiritual discipline of Yoga. In the final section of the book, they chart further developments within Buddhism, highlighting Nagārjuna's radical critique of 'non-dependent' concepts and the no-self philosophy of mind found in authors like Dignāga, and within Jainism, focusing especially on its 'standpoint' epistemology. Unlike other introductions that cover the main schools and positions in classical Indian philosophy, Adamson and Ganeri's lively guide also pays attention to philosophical themes such as non-violence, political authority, and the status of women, while considering textual traditions typically left out of overviews of Indian thought, like the Cārvaka school, Tantra, and aesthetic theory as well. Adamson and Ganeri conclude by focusing on the much-debated question of whether Indian philosophy may have influenced ancient Greek philosophy and, from there, evaluate the impact that this area of philosophy had on later Western thought.

Distinguishing Phenomena from Their Intrinsic Nature

Author : Ju Mipham
Publisher : Shambhala Publications
ISBN 13 : 083482907X
Total Pages : 113 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (348 download)

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Book Synopsis Distinguishing Phenomena from Their Intrinsic Nature by : Ju Mipham

Download or read book Distinguishing Phenomena from Their Intrinsic Nature written by Ju Mipham and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2013-08-20 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Buddhist masterpiece Distinguishing Phenomena from Their Intrinsic Nature, often referred to by its Sanskrit title, Dharmadharmatāvibhaṅga, is part of a collection known as the Five Maitreya Teachings, a set of philosophical works that have become classics of the Indian Buddhist tradition. Maitreya, the Buddha’s regent, is held to have entrusted these profound and vast instructions to the master Asaṅga in the heavenly realm of Tuṣita. Outlining the difference between appearance and reality, this work shows that the path to awakening involves leaving behind the inaccurate and limiting beliefs we have about ourselves and the world around us and opening ourselves to the limitless potential of our true nature. By divesting the mind of confusion, the treatise explains, we see things as they actually are. This insight allows for the natural unfolding of compassion and wisdom. This volume includes commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham, whose discussions illuminate the subtleties of the root text and provide valuable insight into the nature of reality and the process of awakening.

The Ornament of the Middle Way

Author : James Blumenthal
Publisher : National Geographic Books
ISBN 13 : 1559394307
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (593 download)

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Book Synopsis The Ornament of the Middle Way by : James Blumenthal

Download or read book The Ornament of the Middle Way written by James Blumenthal and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2013-11-05 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shantarakshita's The Ornament of the Middle Way is among the most important Mahayana Buddhist philosophical treatises to emerge on the Indian subcontinent. In many respects, it represents the culmination of more than 1300 years of philosophical dialogue and inquiry since the time of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. Shantarakshita set forth the foundation of a syncretic approach to contemporary ideas by synthesizing the three major trends in Indian Buddhist thought at the time (the Madhyamaka thought of Nagarjuna, the Yogachara thought of Asanga, and the logical and epistemological thought of Dharmakirti) into one consistent and coherent system. Shantarakshitas's text is considered to be the quintessential exposition or root text of the school of Buddhist philosophical thought known in Tibet as Yogachara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka. In addition to examining his ideas in their Indian context, this study examines the way Shantarakshita's ideas have been understood by and have been an influence on Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Specifically, Blumenthal examines the way scholars from the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism have interpreted, represented, and incorporated Santaraksita's ideas into their own philosophical project. This is the first book-length study of the Madyamaka thought of Shantarakshita in any Western language. It includes a new translation of Shantarakshita's treatise, extensive extracts from his autocommentary, and the first complete translation of the primary Geluk commentary on Shantarakshita's treatise.

Principles of Buddhist Tantra

Author : Kirti Tsenshap
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 0861716884
Total Pages : 498 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (617 download)

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Book Synopsis Principles of Buddhist Tantra by : Kirti Tsenshap

Download or read book Principles of Buddhist Tantra written by Kirti Tsenshap and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-05-01 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche was a renowned teacher of Tibetan Buddhism with students worldwide. Revered as a teacher by even the Dalai Lama, he was known especially as a master of Buddhist tantra, the powerful esoteric methods for attaining enlightenment swiftly. The teachings in this book are a singular record of his deep learning in that field. Originally delivered in California to a group of Western students, the teachings comment on a classic introduction to tantra by the nineteenth-century Mongolian lama Choje Ngawang Palden. The work, Illumination of the Tantric Tradition, is a staple even today of the curriculum for training young monastics. Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche explains the distinctive features of the four classes of tantra--action tantra, performance tantra, yoga tantra, and highest yoga tantra--by describing the way to progress through their paths and levels. He illuminates key issues in tantric practice that are still a matter for debate within the tradition. Finally, he gives a special treatment of the unique methods of Kalacakra tantra, which is regularly taught around the globe by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

The Universe in a Single Atom

Author : Dalai Lama
Publisher : Harmony
ISBN 13 : 0767920813
Total Pages : 226 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (679 download)

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Book Synopsis The Universe in a Single Atom by : Dalai Lama

Download or read book The Universe in a Single Atom written by Dalai Lama and published by Harmony. This book was released on 2006-09-12 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, Niels Bohr, Einstein. Their insights shook our perception of who we are and where we stand in the world, and in their wake have left an uneasy coexistence: science vs. religion, faith vs. empirical inquiry. Which is the keeper of truth? Which is the true path to understanding reality? After forty years of study with some of the greatest scientific minds, as well as a lifetime of meditative, spiritual, and philosophic study, the Dalai Lama presents a brilliant analysis of why all avenues of inquiry—scientific as well as spiritual—must be pursued in order to arrive at a complete picture of the truth. Through an examination of Darwinism and karma, quantum mechanics and philosophical insight into the nature of reality, neurobiology and the study of consciousness, the Dalai Lama draws significant parallels between contemplative and scientific examinations of reality. This breathtakingly personal examination is a tribute to the Dalai Lama’s teachers—both of science and spirituality. The legacy of this book is a vision of the world in which our different approaches to understanding ourselves, our universe, and one another can be brought together in the service of humanity.

Interconnected

Author : O-rgyan-ʼphrin-las-rdo-rje (Karma-pa XVII)
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1614294127
Total Pages : 263 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (142 download)

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Book Synopsis Interconnected by : O-rgyan-ʼphrin-las-rdo-rje (Karma-pa XVII)

Download or read book Interconnected written by O-rgyan-ʼphrin-las-rdo-rje (Karma-pa XVII) and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-02-28 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plucked from a humble nomad family to become the leader of one of Tibet’s oldest Buddhist lineages, the young Seventeenth Karmapa draws on timeless values to create an urgent ethic for today’s global community. We have always been, and will always be, interconnected—through family, community, and shared humanity. As our planet changes and our world grows smaller, it is vital we not only recognize our connections to one another and to the earth but also begin actively working together as interdependent individuals to create a truly global society. The Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, is uniquely positioned to guide us in this process. Drawing on years of intensive Buddhist training and a passionate commitment to social issues, he teaches how we can move from a merely intellectual understanding to a fully lived experience of connection. By first seeing, then feeling, and finally living these connections, we can become more effective agents of social and ethical change. The Karmapa shows us how gaining emotional awareness of our connectedness can fundamentally reshape the human race. He then guides us to action, showing step by step how we can change the way we use the earth’s resources and can continue to better our society. In clear language, the Karmapa draws connections between such seemingly far-flung issues as consumer culture, loneliness, animal protection, and self-reliance. In the process, he helps us move beyond theory to practical and positive social and ethical change.

A Śabda Reader

Author : Johannes Bronkhorst
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231548311
Total Pages : 262 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis A Śabda Reader by : Johannes Bronkhorst

Download or read book A Śabda Reader written by Johannes Bronkhorst and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2019-03-19 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Language (śabda) occupied a central yet often unacknowledged place in classical Indian philosophical thought. Foundational thinkers considered topics such as the nature of language, its relationship to reality, the nature and existence of linguistic units and their capacity to convey meaning, and the role of language in the interpretation of sacred writings. The first reader on language in—and the language of—classical Indian philosophy, A Śabda Reader offers a comprehensive and pedagogically valuable treatment of this topic and its importance to Indian philosophical thought. A Śabda Reader brings together newly translated passages by authors from a variety of traditions—Brahmin, Buddhist, Jaina—representing a number of schools of thought. It illuminates issues such as how Brahmanical thinkers understood the Veda and conceived of Sanskrit; how Buddhist thinkers came to assign importance to language’s link to phenomenal reality; how Jains saw language as strictly material; the possibility of self-contradictory sentences; and how words affect thought. Throughout, the volume shows that linguistic presuppositions and implicit notions about language often play as significant a role as explicit ideas and formal theories. Including an introduction that places the texts and ideas in their historical and cultural context, A Śabda Reader sheds light on a crucial aspect of classical Indian thought and in so doing deepens our understanding of the philosophy of language.