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Religion
This volume, the first in the highly praised Classics of Western Spirituality series to venture into the 20th century, introduces the writings of Elisabeth Leseur (1800-1914), a French laywoman who left a precious record of a remarkable inner spiritual journey that was all but hidden from those who knew her. Leseur confronted the twin challenges of serious illness and her husband's agnosticism, which pained her, but didn't prevent her from being happily married. Inspired by a spirituality of the communion of saints, Leseur approached these issues by becoming a loving presence in her familial and social circles. She participated in all of the major theological developments that led to Vatican II as well, but she has been a missing figure in the history of spirituality until now. This first and only edition of Elisabeth Leseur's works brings together insights from the entire corpus of a key lay figure in the history of Christian spirituality. The works included are: Journal and Daily Thoughts, Writings on Christian Vocation, Letters to Unbelievers (Selected), Letters on Suffering (Selected). +
Liberation theology is a school of Roman Catholic thought which teaches that a primary duty of the church must be to promote social and economic justice. In this book, Christian Smith explains how and why the liberation theology movement emerged and succeeded when and where it did.
This volume collects Jay Garfield's essays on Madhyamaka, Yog-ac-ara, Buddhist ethics and cross-cultural hermeneutics. The first part addresses Madhyamaka, supplementing Garfield's translation of Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (OUP, 1995), a foundational philosophical text by the Buddhist saint Nagarjuna. Garfield then considers the work of philosophical rivals, and sheds important light on the relation of Nagarjuna's views to other Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophical positions.
Winner of the 1995 Louisville Grawemeyer Award in ReligionDiana L. Eck, professor of comparative religion and Indian studies at Harvard University, eloquently reveals how her study of Asian religions has widened her own Christian faith, and shows why dialogue between people of all religions is cruci
Coburn provides a fresh and careful translation from the Sanskrit of this fifteen-hundred-year-old text. Drawing on field work and literary evidence, he illuminates the process by which the Devī-Māhātmya has attracted a vast number of commentaries and has become the best known Goddess-text in modern India, deeply embedded in the ritual of Goddess worship (especially in Tantra). Coburn answers the following questions among others: Is this document "scripture?" How is it that this text mediates the presence of the Goddess? What can we make of contemporary emphasis on oral recitation of the text rather than study of its written form?
One comes away from Coburn's work with a sense of the historical integrity or wholeness of an extremely important religious development centered on a "text." The interaction between the text and later philosophical and religious developments such as those found in Advaita Vedanta and Tantra is quite illuminating.
Relevant here are the issues of the writtenness and orality/aurality of 'scripture, ' and the various ways by which a deposit of holy words such as the Devī-Māhātmya becomes effective, powerful, and inspirational in the lives of those who hold it sacred.
One comes away from Coburn's work with a sense of the historical integrity or wholeness of an extremely important religious development centered on a "text." The interaction between the text and later philosophical and religious developments such as those found in Advaita Vedanta and Tantra is quite illuminating.
Relevant here are the issues of the writtenness and orality/aurality of 'scripture, ' and the various ways by which a deposit of holy words such as the Devī-Māhātmya becomes effective, powerful, and inspirational in the lives of those who hold it sacred.
With more than four thousand entries and over one hundred illustrations, this encyclopedia offers a complete survey of the four major religious traditions of Asia. It is designed not only for students and scholars but also to help general readers find their way through the thicket of unfamiliar words and concepts that are often encountered today in various fields such as the health professions, psychotherapy, the sciences, and the media. Among the subjects covered are: - Important terms such as chakra, karma, koan, nirvana, tantra, Tao, and yin-yang
- The lives and teachings of mystics, philosophers, and masters of meditation
- Basic texts and scriptures
- Sects and schools of thought
- Mythological figures and events In addition, pronunciation tables, a comprehensive bibliography, and a Ch'an/Zen Lineage Chart are provided.
- The lives and teachings of mystics, philosophers, and masters of meditation
- Basic texts and scriptures
- Sects and schools of thought
- Mythological figures and events In addition, pronunciation tables, a comprehensive bibliography, and a Ch'an/Zen Lineage Chart are provided.
Brian E. McKnight is Professor of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona. He is the author of Law and Order in Sung China. James T. C. Liu was Professor Emeritus of East Asian Studies at Princeton University. He was the author of China Turning Inward; Qu-yang Hsiu: An Eleventh Century Neo-Confucianist; and Reform in Sung China.
How did the Bible survive the Enlightenment? In this book, Jonathan Sheehan shows how Protestant translators and scholars in the eighteenth century transformed the Bible from a book justified by theology to one justified by culture. In doing so, the Bible was made into the cornerstone of Western heritage and invested with meaning, authority, and significance even for a secular age.
The Enlightenment Bible offers a new history of the Bible in the century of its greatest crisis and, in turn, a new vision of this century and its effects on religion. Although the Enlightenment has long symbolized the corrosive effects of modernity on religion, Sheehan shows how the Bible survived, and even thrived in this cradle of ostensible secularization. Indeed, in eighteenth-century Protestant Europe, biblical scholarship and translation became more vigorous and culturally significant than at any time since the Reformation. From across the theological spectrum, European scholars--especially German and English--exerted tremendous energies to rejuvenate the Bible, reinterpret its meaning, and reinvest it with new authority. Poets, pedagogues, philosophers, literary critics, philologists, and historians together built a post-theological Bible, a monument for a new religious era. These literati forged the Bible into a cultural text, transforming the theological core of the Judeo-Christian tradition. In the end, the Enlightenment gave the Bible the power to endure the corrosive effects of modernity, not as a theological text but as the foundation of Western culture.
Andrew George's "masterly new translation" (The Times) of the world's first truly great work of literature A Penguin Classic
Miraculously preserved on clay tablets dating back as much as four thousand years, the poem of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, is the world's oldest epic, predating Homer by many centuries. The story tells of Gilgamesh's adventures with the wild man Enkidu, and of his arduous journey to the ends of the earth in quest of the Babylonian Noah and the secret of immortality. Alongside its themes of family, friendship and the duties of kings, the Epic of Gilgamesh is, above all, about mankind's eternal struggle with the fear of death. The Babylonian version has been known for over a century, but linguists are still deciphering new fragments in Akkadian and Sumerian. Andrew George's gripping translation brilliantly combines these into a fluent narrative and will long rank as the definitive English Gilgamesh. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Miraculously preserved on clay tablets dating back as much as four thousand years, the poem of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, is the world's oldest epic, predating Homer by many centuries. The story tells of Gilgamesh's adventures with the wild man Enkidu, and of his arduous journey to the ends of the earth in quest of the Babylonian Noah and the secret of immortality. Alongside its themes of family, friendship and the duties of kings, the Epic of Gilgamesh is, above all, about mankind's eternal struggle with the fear of death. The Babylonian version has been known for over a century, but linguists are still deciphering new fragments in Akkadian and Sumerian. Andrew George's gripping translation brilliantly combines these into a fluent narrative and will long rank as the definitive English Gilgamesh. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
A translation of the modern Nepalese classic Winner of the Toshihide Numata Book Award in Buddhism and the Khyentse Foundation Prize for Outstanding Translation This award-winning book contains the English translation of Sugata Saurabha ("The Sweet Fragrance of the Buddha"), an epic poem on the life and teachings of the Buddha. Chittadhar Hṛdaya, a master poet from Nepal, wrote this tour de force while imprisoned for subversion in the 1940s and smuggled it out over time on scraps of paper. His consummate skill and poetic artistry are evident throughout as he tells the Buddha's story in dramatic terms, drawing on images from the natural world to heighten the description of emotionally charged events. It is peopled with very human characters who experience a wide range of emotions, from erotic love to anger, jealousy, heroism, compassion, and goodwill. By showing how the central events of the Buddha's life are experienced by Siddhartha, as well as by his family members and various disciples, the poem communicates a fuller sense of the humanity of everyone involved and the depth and power of the Buddha's loving-kindness. For this new edition of the English translation, the translators improved the beauty and flow of most every line. The translation is also supplemented with a series of short essays by Todd Lewis, one of the translators, that articulates how Hṛdaya incorporated his own Newar cultural traditions in order to connect his readership with the immediacy and relevancy of the Buddha's life and at the same time express his views on political issues, ethical principles, literary life, gender discrimination, economic policy, and social reform.
Known as "one of the most complex and unusual texts in Arabic literature" (Banipal Magazine), The Epistle of Forgiveness is the lengthy reply by the prolific Syrian poet and prose writer, Abu l-'Ala' al-Ma'arri (d. 449/1057), to a letter by an obscure grammarian, Ibn al-Qari. With biting irony, The Epistle of Forgiveness mocks Ibn al-Qari's hypocrisy and sycophancy by imagining he has died and arrived with some difficulty in Heaven, where he meets famous poets and philologists from the past. In al-Ma'arri's imaginative telling, Ibn al-Qari also glimpses Hell and converses with the Devil and various heretics.
Al-Ma'arri--a maverick, a vegan, and often branded a heretic himself--seems to mock popular ideas about the Hereafter. Among other things, he introduces us to hypocrites, poets, princes, rebels, mystics, and apostates, with asides on piety, superstition, wine-drinking, old age, and other topics. This remarkable book is the first complete translation of this masterpiece into any language, all the more impressive because of Al-Ma'arri's highly ornate and difficult style, his use of rhymed prose, and his numerous obscure words and expressions. Replete with erudite commentary, amusing anecdotes, and sardonic wit, The Epistle of Forgiveness is an imaginative tour-de-force by one of the most pre-eminent figures in classical Arabic literature. An English-only edition.
Early Christianity held secrets equal to those of other great religions, says Annie Besant. Its first followers guarded them as priceless treasures. After an increasingly rigid hierarchy began to bury these truths in the early centuries A.D., they were known only to a few initiates, who communicated them privately, often in obscure language. In Esoteric Christianity, Besant's aim is to restore the secret truths underlying Christian doctrine. As public interest grows in the Gnostic Gospels and the mystical side of Christianity, Besant's remarkable book, first published in 1901, is attracting new attention.
Selected from the works of J. N. Mohanty over a forty-year period, these essays provide an intellectual biography of the man and insights into Eastern philosophy. Part I brings together various writings on problems in metaphysics, epistemology, and language, alongwith thoughtful treatments of notions such as experience, self consciousness, doubt, tradition, and modernity. Part II collects essays written during the exciting though turbulent years following India's independence, and they survey issues in social ethics, reform activities, and religion in the works of Aurobindo, Gandhi, Vinobha, and Ramohan Roy. Part III comprises essays that treat the encounter between phenomenology and philosophy, between Eastern and Western philosophy, and does so through an incisive analysis of the major concerns of philosophy anywhere. The collection concludes with ruminations on the future of Indian philosophy.
The essence of the iconic book The Art of Happiness distilled into a beautiful new format. Don't miss the Dalai Lama's newest, The Book of Joy, named one of Oprah's Favorite Things. The Dalai Lama inspired millions around the world with his wisdom and compassion in The Art of Happiness. Now, in The Essence of Happiness, moving insights from His Holiness are gathered in an elegantly designed keepsake book that makes for a handy and accessible medium for that wisdom. Offering sage advice on defeating day-to-day depression, anxiety, anger, jealousy, and other emotions that get in the way of true happiness, the pages of The Essence of Happiness contain transforming reflections on how to overcome suffering and obstacles to create a fulfilled, joyous life. With its new package, ideal for taking anywhere, The Essence of Happiness is poised to become the handbook for living.
Gichin Funakoshi is a legendary figure and the founder of Shotokan karate, the most popular style of Japanese karate, with millions of practitioners worldwide. In The Essence of Karate, Funakoshi creates, in his own words, a narrative of modern karate. He explains the philosophical and spiritual underpinnings and includes memories of his own training, as well as recollections of other karate masters and the history of the martial art. He also discusses the importance of winning without fighting, and the reason why many great martial artists improve with age. The preface has been contributed by Hirokazu Kanazawa, President of the Shotokan Karate-do International Federation (and Funakoshi's disciple). He fondly writes of his memories of Gichin Funakoshi during his youth and what he learned from the master. In the afterword, the founder's great-nephew, Gisho Funakoshi, shares previously unknown personal anecdotes about his "Uncle Funakoshi."
For more than two thousand years, the Heart Sutra has been part of the daily life of millions of Buddhists. This concise text, so rich and laden with meaning, concentrates the very heart of Buddhism into a powerful and evocative teaching on the interdependence of all reality. In Essence of the Heart Sutra, the Dalai Lama masterfully unpacks the Heart Sutra so that any reader can benefit from its teachings - teachings meant to help us release ourselves from suffering and live with true compassion. Comprised of his "Heart of Wisdom" talks, originally delivered to thousands of listeners in 2001, the book offers the Dalai Lama's commentary as well as his easy-to-follow overview of Buddhist philosophy that places the sutra within its historical and philosophical context. With additional contributions by scholar and translator Thupten Jinpa, Essence of the Heart Sutra is the authoritative presentation of a text seminal to the world's religious heritage.
Essential Chan Buddhism is the rare unearthing of an ancient and remarkable Chinese spiritual tradition. Master Guo Jun speaks through hard-won wisdom on Chan's spiritual themes familiar to Western readers, such as mindfulness and relaxation in meditation, as well as profound, simply expressed teachings and insightful explorations of religious commitment. Essential Chan Buddhism filters formal spiritual practices through the lens of mundane and everyday life activities. The work captures the lyrical beauty and incantatory style of Guo Jun's spoken English from the talks he gave at a fourteen-day retreat near Jakarta in 2010 and in subsequent conversations with his editor Kenneth Wapner. This value-priced hardcover edition is both a distinctive addition to Buddhist collections and a thoughtful gift for anyone looking for spiritual guidance.
Chan master Guo Jun is one of a new breed of international teachers taking the world's great wisdom traditions into the twenty-first century. He is currently abbot of Mahabodhi Monastery in Singapore and teaches internationally. Chan master Sheng Yen's youngest dharma heir, he served as abbot of his Pine Bush, New York, retreat center from 2005 to 2008. A native of Singapore, Guo Jun received his full monastic ordination in Taiwan. He is a lineage holder and successor in Chan as well as the Xianshou and Cien schools of Chinese Buddhism. Essential Chan Buddhism is his first book.
Kenneth Wapner's Peekamouse Books is a book packager and editor. Clients include Bantam, Tarcher/Putnam, Ballantine, and Doubleday. He is well known for his work on Rabbi Jesus, Bones of the Master, and The Zen of Creativity.
A deluxe paperback edition: Thomas Cleary's brilliant translation of the sayings of Confucius presented in the order of the 64 classic I Ching hexagrams.
These pithy and powerful readings provide a perfect introduction to the teachings of Zen master Dogen--and will inspire spiritual practice in people of all traditions Eihei Dogen (1200-1253), founder of the Soto School of Zen Buddhism, is one of the greatest religious, philosophical, and literary geniuses of Japan. His writings have been studied by Zen students for centuries, particularly his masterwork, Shobo Genzo or Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. This is the first book to offer the great master's incisive wisdom in short selections taken from the whole range of his voluminous works.
Compiled in the second century B.C.E, the Huainanzi clarifies a crucial period in the development of Chinese conceptions of the cosmos, human nature, and the social order. Outlining "all that a modern monarch needs to know," the text emphasizes rigorous self-cultivation and mental discipline, attributing successful rule to a balance of broad knowledge, diligent application, and penetrating wisdom.
In 2010, the editors of this volume completed the first complete English-language translation of the Huainanzi, opening exciting new pathways in the study of philosophy, Asian studies, political science, and Asian literature. This abridgement contains essential selections from each of the Huainanzi's twenty-one chapters and adds a new introduction and chapter descriptions. The text represents a remarkable synthesis of Daoist classics, such as the Laozi and the Zhuangzi; works associated with the Confucian tradition, such as the Changes, the Odes, and the Documents; and a range of other foundational philosophical and literary works, from the Mozi to the Hanfeizi. The abridgement preserves the Huainanzi's special rhetorical features, such as its parallel prose, verse, and unique compositional techniques. For decades, Western scholars overlooked the Huainanzi's sophisticated structure, creative content, and rich historical value, yet all that changed with the translation of the full text. Designed for classroom use and general readers, The Essential Huainanzi continues to increase awareness of this brilliant work and change our understanding of early Chinese history.
"This is a wonderful anthology. Its texts not only span the whole of Luther's reforming career, but also cover the theological, political, and social issues that mattered most to him and his age. Best of all, the original integrity of the texts remains perceptible, even when abridged. This valuable collection will be a great teaching tool and also a most useful resource for anyone interested in Luther or the Protestant Reformation." --Carlos Eire, Yale University, author of Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650 (Yale University Press) CONTENTS: Thematic Table of Contents
General Introduction
1. Preface to the Complete Edition of the Latin Writings (1545)
2. Disputation on the Power of Indulgences (The Ninety-Five Theses) (1517)
3. Sermon on Indulgence and Grace (1518)
4. Disputation Held at Heidelberg (1518)
5. To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation (1520)
6. The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520)
7. On the Freedom of a Christian (1520)
8. Preface to the New Testament (1522)
9. Preface to the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (1522)
10. On Married Life (1522)
11. On Secular Authority: To What Extent It Must Be Obeyed (1523)
12. That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew (1523)
13. Against the Heavenly Prophets Concerning Images and the Sacrament (1525)
14. Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants (1525)
15. The Bondage of the Will (1525)
16. The German Mass and Order of Divine Service (1526)
17. How Christians Should Regard Moses (1527)
18. Concerning Rebaptism (1528)
19. Hymns (pre-1529)
20. On the War against the Turks (1529)
21. The Small Catechism (1529)
22. Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (1535)
23. The Schmalkald Articles (1537)
24. Letter to Landgrave Philipp of Hesse (1539)
25. On the Jews and Their Lies (1543)
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index
General Introduction
1. Preface to the Complete Edition of the Latin Writings (1545)
2. Disputation on the Power of Indulgences (The Ninety-Five Theses) (1517)
3. Sermon on Indulgence and Grace (1518)
4. Disputation Held at Heidelberg (1518)
5. To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation (1520)
6. The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520)
7. On the Freedom of a Christian (1520)
8. Preface to the New Testament (1522)
9. Preface to the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (1522)
10. On Married Life (1522)
11. On Secular Authority: To What Extent It Must Be Obeyed (1523)
12. That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew (1523)
13. Against the Heavenly Prophets Concerning Images and the Sacrament (1525)
14. Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants (1525)
15. The Bondage of the Will (1525)
16. The German Mass and Order of Divine Service (1526)
17. How Christians Should Regard Moses (1527)
18. Concerning Rebaptism (1528)
19. Hymns (pre-1529)
20. On the War against the Turks (1529)
21. The Small Catechism (1529)
22. Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (1535)
23. The Schmalkald Articles (1537)
24. Letter to Landgrave Philipp of Hesse (1539)
25. On the Jews and Their Lies (1543)
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index
Theologians, ethicist, and political analyst, Reinhold Neiburh, was a towering figure of twentieth-century religious thought. In this important book, the best of Neiburh's essays have been brought together for the first time. Selected, edited, and introduced by Robert McAffee Brown - a student and friend of Nieburh's and himself a distinguished thoelogian - the works included here testify to the brilliant polemics, incisive analysis, and deep faith that characterized the whole of Neibuhr's life.
"The very imposing and very welcome Classics of Western Spirituality(TM) series...should be in every theological collection of any depth." Ardin Newsletter Meister Eckhart: The Essential Sermons, Commentaries, Treatises and Defense translated and introduced by Edmund Colledge, O.S.A. and Bernard McGinn; preface by Huston Smith "...it is necessary that all things be bathed in the blood of Christ and led back into the Father through the Son's meditation, just as the Father does all things through the Son; and so the flowing back will correspond to the flowing out." Meister Eckhart (c.1260-1327) The thought of Meister Eckhart (c. 1260-1327), Dominican philosopher and spiritual master, is among the most daring and difficult in the history of Western mysticism. Thoroughly grounded in the Scholastic method of his day and steadfastly loyal to the Church, Eckhart's love of speculation, paradox, and the apophatic way, nevertheless, resulted in the controversial condemnation of certain of his teachings by papal bull in 1329. His doctrines of detachment, the return of the soul to God, and the birth of the Son in the soul have continued to perplex his critics and nourish his disciples through the ages. This volume, based on the critical Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft edition of Eckhart's works, represents the first time that his technical Latin writings and more popular German sermons and treatises have appeared together in English. +
The Christian does not live in a vacuum, says the author, but in a world of government, politics, labor, and marriage. Hence, Christian ethics cannot exist in a vacuum; what the Christian needs, claims Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is concrete instruction in a concrete situation. Although the author died before completing his work, this book is recognized as a major contribution to Christian ethics.
The root and ground of Christian ethics, the author says, is the reality of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. This reality is not manifest in the Church as distinct from the secular world; such a juxtaposition of two separate spheres, Bonhoeffer insists, is a denial of God's having reconciled the whole world to himself in Christ. On the contrary, God's commandment is to be found and known in the Church, the family, labor, and government. His commandment permits man to live as man before God, in a world God made, with responsibility for the institutions of that world.
When the renowned Christian author and contemplative monk Thomas Merton made his first and legendary trip to Asia in 1968, he carried only a few books with him. One of these, The Message of the Tibetans, was written by a young French documentary- and film-maker and named Arnaud Desjardins.
Ever Present Peace is Desjardins' unique testimony following upon a lifetime of commitment to the spiritual Path. It is also the final work (he died in 2011) of a prolific author (of more than 20 books) and spiritual teacher, in which he summarizes and highlights the core elements of his teaching over the past 40 years.
Arnaud Desjardins was and remains "a Teacher's Teacher" - world-known and deeply-respected by his peers from varied religious traditions for this brilliant and kind presence, and for his spectacular ability to integrate the great dharmic teachings of both East and West.
From 1974 until his death in July 2011, the author followed precisely the instructions of his own guru, Swemi Prajnenpad (a Bengalese master), who asked him to teach in France what he had received - a definitive reversal of the context in his life, which resulted in the condition of unconditional love and "ever present peace." Desjardins' whole life was then committed to this mission and this book is based on his experience as a student, a disciple and as a teacher - a "guru" as the Indian tradition understands this. Arnaud Desjardins tirelessly worked with tens of thousands of individuals and groups, personally and through his writings, helping them to gain insight into the nature of their minds and the ways in which they prevented their true nature from revealing itself.
His legacy draws upon the Gospels of Christianity, the great truths of Buddhism, and the wisdom of his own guru, Sw. Prajnanpad, whose words are elaborated throughout. Yet, despite these several streams of input, they all point to the same message: Peace of mind, heart and body is possible here and now, for any who are willing to aim. . .and then practice. . . in this direction. This book is like a last will and testament, more succinct, perhaps, than previous ones, and eminently passionate. From page to page the author literally begs his readers to follow these simple, clear directives.
Topics include the nature of human suffering; the meaning of love; how peace is lost and how it is found; the advantages of working with a teacher or master, and how this legacy can be simply applied in everyday life.
Ever Present Peace is Desjardins' unique testimony following upon a lifetime of commitment to the spiritual Path. It is also the final work (he died in 2011) of a prolific author (of more than 20 books) and spiritual teacher, in which he summarizes and highlights the core elements of his teaching over the past 40 years.
Arnaud Desjardins was and remains "a Teacher's Teacher" - world-known and deeply-respected by his peers from varied religious traditions for this brilliant and kind presence, and for his spectacular ability to integrate the great dharmic teachings of both East and West.
From 1974 until his death in July 2011, the author followed precisely the instructions of his own guru, Swemi Prajnenpad (a Bengalese master), who asked him to teach in France what he had received - a definitive reversal of the context in his life, which resulted in the condition of unconditional love and "ever present peace." Desjardins' whole life was then committed to this mission and this book is based on his experience as a student, a disciple and as a teacher - a "guru" as the Indian tradition understands this. Arnaud Desjardins tirelessly worked with tens of thousands of individuals and groups, personally and through his writings, helping them to gain insight into the nature of their minds and the ways in which they prevented their true nature from revealing itself.
His legacy draws upon the Gospels of Christianity, the great truths of Buddhism, and the wisdom of his own guru, Sw. Prajnanpad, whose words are elaborated throughout. Yet, despite these several streams of input, they all point to the same message: Peace of mind, heart and body is possible here and now, for any who are willing to aim. . .and then practice. . . in this direction. This book is like a last will and testament, more succinct, perhaps, than previous ones, and eminently passionate. From page to page the author literally begs his readers to follow these simple, clear directives.
Topics include the nature of human suffering; the meaning of love; how peace is lost and how it is found; the advantages of working with a teacher or master, and how this legacy can be simply applied in everyday life.
One of the earliest surviving biographies of Prophet Muḥammad, translated into readable, modern English for the first time
The Expeditions is one of the oldest biographies of the Prophet Muḥammad to survive into the modern era. Its primary author, Maʿmar ibn Rāshid (96-153/714-770), was a prominent scholar from Basra in southern Iraq who was revered for his learning in prophetic traditions, Islamic law, and the interpretation of the Qurʾan. This fascinating foundational seminal work contains stories handed down by Maʿmar to his most prominent pupil, ʿAbd al-Razzāq of Sanaa, relating Muḥammad's early life and prophetic career as well as the adventures and tribulations of his earliest followers during their conquest of the Near East.
By what narrow path is the ineffable silence of Zen cleft by the scratch of a pen? The distilled insights of forty years, Norman Fischer's Experience: Thinking, Writing, Language, and Religion is a collection of essays by Zen master Fischer about experimental writing as a spiritual practice. Raised in a Conservative Jewish family, Fischer embraced the twin practices of Zen Buddhism and innovative poetics in San Francisco in the early 1970s. His work includes original poetry, descriptions of Buddhist practice, translations of the Hebrew psalms, and eclectic writings on a range of topics from Homer to Heidegger to Kabbalah. Both Buddhist priest and participant in avant-garde poetry's Language movement, Fischer has limned the fertile affinities and creative contradictions between Zen and writing, accumulating four decades of rich insights he shares in Experience. Fischer's work has been deeply enriched through his collaborations with leading rabbis, poets, artists, esteemed Zen Buddhist practitioners, Trappist monks, and renowned Buddhist leaders, among them the Dalai Lama. Alone and with others, he has carried on a deep and sustained investigation into the intersection of writing and consciousness as informed by meditation. The essays in this artfully curated collection range across divers, fascinating topics such as time, the Heart Sutra, God in the Hebrew psalms, the supreme "uselessness" of art making, "late work" as a category of poetic appreciation, and the subtle and dubious notion of "religious experience." From the theoretical to the revealingly personal, Fischer's essays, interviews, and notes point toward a dramatic expansion of the sense of religious feeling in writing. Readers who join Fischer on this path in Experience can discover how language is not a description of experience, but rather an experience itself: shifting, indefinite, and essential.
Place and orientation are important aspects of human experience. Place evokes geography and culture and conjures up history and myth. Place is not only a particular physical location but an idea, a mental construction that captures and directs the human relationship to the world.
The distinguished contributors to this volume invite us to reflect on the significance of places, real and imagined, in the religious traditions they study and on how places are known, imagined, remembered, and struggled for. Whether looking at the ways myth and ritual reinforce the Yoruba's bond to the land or at Australian Aboriginal engagements with the origins of the created world, exploring Hildegard of Bingen's experience of heaven or myths of the underworld in contemporary American millennialism, listening to oral narratives of divine politics and deserted places of Rajasthan or investigating literal and literary images of the Promised Land, these essays underscore that place is constructed in the intersection of material conditions, political realities, narrative, and ritual performance.
Every Buddhist should read it --David Loy
An excellent introduction --Stephen Batchelor
Cogent, knowledgeable, and penetrating--Norman Fischer
Clarifies, examines and considers these two important but often misunderstood Buddhist doctrines. Offers an imaginative reading of what the teachings could mean for us now.
In this dazzling reconsideration of the language of the Old and New Testaments, acclaimed scholar and translator of classical literature Sarah Ruden argues that the Bible's modern translations often lack the clarity and vitality of the originals. Singling out the most famous passages, such as the Genesis creation story, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Beatitudes, Ruden reexamines and retranslates from the Hebrew and Greek, illuminating what has been misunderstood and obscured in standard English translations. By showing how the original texts more clearly reveal our cherished values, Ruden gives us an unprecedented understanding of what this extraordinary document was for its earliest readers and what it can still be for us today.