Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction

Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Damien Keown
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
ISBN: 0191606448
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
This Very Short Introduction introduces the reader to the teachings of the Buddha and to the integration of Buddhism into daily life. What are the distinctive features of Buddhism? Who was the Buddha, and what are his teachings? How has Buddhist thought developed over the centuries, and how can contemporary dilemmas be faced from a Buddhist perspective? Words such as 'karma' and 'nirvana' have entered our vocabulary, but what do they mean? Damien Keown's book provides a lively, informative response to these frequently asked questions about Buddhism.

Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction

Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Damien Keown
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
ISBN: 0191606448
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Get Book Here

Book Description
This Very Short Introduction introduces the reader to the teachings of the Buddha and to the integration of Buddhism into daily life. What are the distinctive features of Buddhism? Who was the Buddha, and what are his teachings? How has Buddhist thought developed over the centuries, and how can contemporary dilemmas be faced from a Buddhist perspective? Words such as 'karma' and 'nirvana' have entered our vocabulary, but what do they mean? Damien Keown's book provides a lively, informative response to these frequently asked questions about Buddhism.

Exploring Buddhism

Exploring Buddhism PDF Author: Christmas Humphreys
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136228772
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
The Buddhist field of knowledge is now so vast that few can master all of it, and the study and application of its principles must be a matter of choice. One may choose the magnificent moral philosophy of Theravada, the oldest school, or the Zen training of Japan; or special themes such as the doctrine of No-self, the Mahayana emphasis on compassion or the universal law of Karma and Rebirth. But the intense self-discipline needed for true spiritual experience calls for specialization of subject and technique. In this reissue, first published in 1974, Christmas Humphreys takes us on a personal journey through Buddhism, offering insights into the many different paths, doctrines and approaches to Buddhism. This collection of twenty essays ranges from history to doctrine, and from the rise of Buddhism in the West through to the finer points of its everyday practice. It is a truly valuable piece of Western Buddhist literature and its reissue will be welcomed be scholars of Buddhism and interested laypeople alike.

Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction

Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: Damien Keown
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191577944
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 167

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Book Description
The latter half of the twentieth century witnessed a growing interest in Buddhism, and it continues to capture the imagination of many in the West who see it as either an alternative or a supplement to their own religious beliefs. Numerous introductory books have appeared in recent years to cater for this growing interest, but almost none devotes attention to the specifically ethical dimension of the tradition. For complex cultural and historical reasons, ethics has not received as much attention in traditional Buddhist thought as it has in the West, and publications on the subject are few and far between. Here, Damien Keown, author of Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction , illustrates how Buddhism might approach a range of fascinating moral issues ranging from abortion and suicide to cloning. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Introducing Buddhism

Introducing Buddhism PDF Author: Charles S. Prebish
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780415392358
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
The key teachings of Buddhism are explained clearly in this text, and the historical development and spread of the religion is traced from its beginnings.

Beat Zen, Square Zen and Zen

Beat Zen, Square Zen and Zen PDF Author: Alan W. Watts
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781258121242
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description


The Monk and the Philosopher

The Monk and the Philosopher PDF Author: Jean Francois Revel
Publisher: Schocken
ISBN: 030778701X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Jean Francois-Revel, a pillar of French intellectual life in our time, became world famous for his challenges to both Communism and Christianity. Twenty-seven years ago, his son, Matthieu Ricard, gave up a promising career as a scientist to study Tibetan Buddhism -- not as a detached observer but by immersing himself in its practice under the guidance of its greatest living masters. Meeting in an inn overlooking Katmandu, these two profoundly thoughtful men explored the questions that have occupied humankind throughout its history. Does life have meaning? What is consciousness? Is man free? What is the value of scientific and material progress? Why is there suffering, war, and hatred? Their conversation is not merely abstract: they ask each other questions about ethics, rights, and responsibilities, about knowledge and belief, and they discuss frankly the differences in the way each has tried to make sense of his life. Utterly absorbing, inspiring, and accessible, this remarkable dialogue engages East with West, ideas with life, and science with the humanities, providing wisdom on how to enrich the way we live our lives.

Buddhism in America

Buddhism in America PDF Author: Richard Hughes Seager
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231504373
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
Over the past half century in America, Buddhism has grown from a transplanted philosophy to a full-fledged religious movement, rich in its own practices, leaders, adherents, and institutions. Long favored as an essential guide to this history, Buddhism in America covers the three major groups that shape the tradition—an emerging Asian immigrant population, native-born converts, and old-line Asian American Buddhists—and their distinct, yet spiritually connected efforts to remake Buddhism in a Western context. This edition updates existing text and adds three new essays on contemporary developments in American Buddhism, particularly the aging of the baby boom population and its effect on American Buddhism's modern character. New material includes revised information on the full range of communities profiled in the first edition; an added study of a second generation of young, Euro-American leaders and teachers; an accessible look at the increasing importance of meditation and neurobiological research; and a provocative consideration of the mindfulness movement in American culture. The volume maintains its detailed account of South and East Asian influences on American Buddhist practices, as well as instances of interreligious dialogue, socially activist Buddhism, and complex gender roles within the community. Introductory chapters describe Buddhism's arrival in America with the nineteenth-century transcendentalists and rapid spread with the Beat poets of the 1950s. The volume now concludes with a frank assessment of the challenges and prospects of American Buddhism in the twenty-first century.

Buddhism in Chinese Society

Buddhism in Chinese Society PDF Author: Jacques Gernet
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231114110
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 466

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Book Description
Translated and revised by respected scholar of Chinese religions Franciscus Verellen, who has worked closely with Gernet, this edition includes new references, an extensive, up-to-date bibliography, and a comprehensive index.

The Rice Seedling Sutra

The Rice Seedling Sutra PDF Author: Yeshe Thabkhe
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1614296448
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
One of Tibet’s great scholars presents the Buddha’s profound teachings on the laws of karma and dependent arising. In the Rice Seedling Sutra, the Buddha unpacks the law of cause and effect. He notes how in the natural world, a seed becomes a sprout, which produces a flower, which bears fruit. A seed has no intention to sprout; when the right conditions are assembled the fruit arises. Similarly, when our senses encounter an object, a sense consciousness arises naturally, without our intending it. This, says the Buddha, is also how karma works and how actions performed out of ignorance create suffering, whether we want it or not. And this same law of causality also governs enlightenment—when the right conditions are assembled, awakening is assured. In many sutras like this one, the Buddha explains that to understand his Dharma is to understand dependent arising. Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe explores dependent arising, and the corollary teaching of emptiness, through this sutra and others. Commenting on the works of Indian masters such as Shantaraksita, he shows how belief in a creator god is incompatible with dependent arising, and by illuminating the teachings of Nagarjuna and Chandrakirti, he shows how we do—and do not—exist. Geshe Yeshe Thabkhe was among the last generation of scholars to be trained in Tibet before the Chinese occupation. He has been teaching Westerners for decades, having worked with top scholars in the United States, and he is especially familiar with this sutra, having translated the commentary by Kamalasila into Hindi. Here his deep familiarity, combined with his extensive command of the Buddhist scriptures, allows him to present the Buddha’s words in a rich and authoritative context.

Engaged Buddhism in the West

Engaged Buddhism in the West PDF Author: Christopher S. Queen
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0861718410
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
Engaged Buddhism is founded on the belief that genuine spiritual practice requires an active involvement in society. Engaged Buddhism in the West illuminates the evolution of this new chapter in the Buddhist tradition - including its history, leadership, and teachings - and addresses issues such as violence and peace, race and gender, homelessness, prisons, and the environment. Eighteen new studies explore the activism of renowned leaders and organizations, such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Bernard Glassman, Joanna Macy, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and the Free Tibet Movement, and the emergence of a new Buddhism in North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia.