The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat

The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat PDF Author: Ra Yeshe Senge
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0142422614
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
The story of Tibet’s notorious master of Buddhist sorcery—translated for the first time into English An essential sacred text of Tibetan Buddhism, The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat tells the wondrous story of Ra Lotsawa Dorjé Drak. Though he was can­onized as a saint and a fully enlightened buddha, the eleventh-century Ra Lotsawa’s life story presents a darker path than those taken by Siddhartha Gautama and Milarepa. Viewed by some as a mur­derous villain and by others as a liberator of human suffering, Ra Lotsawa used his formidable power and magical abilities to defeat his rivals, accumulate wealth, and amass a devoted following. His life offers a rare view into the often overlooked roles of magic and sorcery in the Buddhist tradition. Despite this sinister legacy, his fame also rests on an illustrious career as a translator of Buddhist scriptures, through which he helped spark a renaissance of Buddhism in Tibet. This spirited new translation gives readers in English their first opportunity to encounter one of the most colorful and memorable figures in Tibetan Buddhist history. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 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.

The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat

The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat PDF Author: Ra Yeshe Senge
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0142422614
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 418

Get Book Here

Book Description
The story of Tibet’s notorious master of Buddhist sorcery—translated for the first time into English An essential sacred text of Tibetan Buddhism, The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat tells the wondrous story of Ra Lotsawa Dorjé Drak. Though he was can­onized as a saint and a fully enlightened buddha, the eleventh-century Ra Lotsawa’s life story presents a darker path than those taken by Siddhartha Gautama and Milarepa. Viewed by some as a mur­derous villain and by others as a liberator of human suffering, Ra Lotsawa used his formidable power and magical abilities to defeat his rivals, accumulate wealth, and amass a devoted following. His life offers a rare view into the often overlooked roles of magic and sorcery in the Buddhist tradition. Despite this sinister legacy, his fame also rests on an illustrious career as a translator of Buddhist scriptures, through which he helped spark a renaissance of Buddhism in Tibet. This spirited new translation gives readers in English their first opportunity to encounter one of the most colorful and memorable figures in Tibetan Buddhist history. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 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.

Primary Sources and Asian Pasts

Primary Sources and Asian Pasts PDF Author: Peter C. Bisschop
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110674262
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
This conference volume unites a wide range of scholars working in the fields of history, archaeology, religion, art, and philology in an effort to explore new perspectives and methods in the study of primary sources from premodern South and Southeast Asia. The contributions engage with primary sources (including texts, images, material artefacts, monuments, as well as archaeological sites and landscapes) and draw needed attention to highly adaptable, innovative, and dynamic modes of cultural production within traditional idioms. The volume works to develop categories of historical analysis that cross disciplinary boundaries and represent a wide variety of methodological concerns. By revisiting premodern sources, Asia Beyond Boundaries also addresses critical issues of temporality and periodization that attend established categories in Asian Studies, such as the “Classical Age” or the “Gupta Period”. This volume represents the culmination of the European Research Council (ERC) Synergy project Asia Beyond Boundaries: Religion, Region, Language and the State, a research consortium of the British Museum, the British Library and the School of Oriental and African Studies, in partnership with Leiden University.

Buddhist Meditation

Buddhist Meditation PDF Author:
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143111469
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
A Tibetan Buddhist anthology of accessible and authentic contemplative exercises to help cultivate innate yet undeveloped powers of mind, emotion, and body. A Penguin Classic Drawn from Tibet's rich contemplative literature, Buddhist Meditation offers classic exercises focused on the opportunities and challenges of life; cultivating inner calm; fostering a wider perspective on oneself in relationship to others; working with negative emotions, and the highest values of the Buddhist tradition, love and compassion. Several dozen meditation instructions are collected in twelve chapters. All major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism are represented. The book is structured on "foundation practices", practice manuals that immerse the reader in the search for meaningful and compassionate responses to the ubiquity of human suffering, and in the contemplative techniques that translate that search into consequential action. Spiritual exercises introduce 1) the opportunity for self-betterment and to be of benefit to other living beings; 2) the inescapable persistence of suffering in life, and the reality of death; 3) the workings of ethical cause and effect, otherwise known as karma; and 4) the ever-repeating succession of frustration known as cyclic existence, or samsara. The second set of foundation practices provide tools to build upon including: 5) taking refuge in Buddhism—a deep formal commitment to integrate Buddhist contemplative and ethical teachings into one's life; 6) cultivating love and compassion for all living beings; 7) clearing away cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impediments to actualizing love and compassion; 8) developing with wisdom and the experience and excellent qualities necessary to put love and compassion into practice; and 9) dedicating oneself to a spiritual mentor to serve as a guide through this intensive program of training. Part existential philosophy, part ethics, part self-help program, part cosmology—the foundation exercises present a complete Buddhist picture of life, the ethical universe, and the first steps in making a positive impact in life for ourselves and others, steps anyone can begin to take by dedicating themselves to train in contemplative exercises.

Power Objects in Tibetan Buddhism

Power Objects in Tibetan Buddhism PDF Author: James Duncan Gentry
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004335048
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description
In Power Objects in Tibetan Buddhism: The Life, Writings, and Legacy of Sokdokpa Lodrö Gyeltsen, James Duncan Gentry explores how objects of power figure in Tibetan religion, society, and polity through a study of the life of the Tibetan Buddhist ritual specialist Sokdokpa Lodrö Gyeltsen (1552–1624) within the broader context of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Tibet. In presenting Sokdokpa’s career and legacy, Gentry traces the theme of power objects across a wide spectrum of genres to show how Tibetan Buddhists themselves have theorized about objects of power and implemented them in practice. This study therefore provides a lens into how power objects serve as points of convergence for elite doctrinal discourses, socio-political dynamics, and popular religious practices in Tibetan Buddhist societies.

The Life of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great

The Life of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great PDF Author: Alexander Gardner
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834842092
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 521

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Book Description
The first-ever extensive biography of Tibet's most famous nonsectarian Buddhist lama Known as the “king of renunciates,” Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye (1813–1899) forever changed the face of Buddhism through collecting, arranging, and disseminating the various lineage traditions of Tibet across sectarian lines. His extensive treasury collections of profound Buddhist teachings continue to be taught and transmitted throughout the Himalayas by all major traditions and represent the breadth and profundity of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practice. Jamgon Kongtrul was a polymath, dedicated retreatant, ritual expert, writer, and teacher from the eastern Tibetan kingdom of Derge. During the nineteenth century, while central Tibet experienced extreme sectarian divides, Jamgon Kongtrul, along with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Chokgyur Lingpa, set about collecting, teaching, and transmitting the major practice traditions found in Tibet. Their activity—much of which did not adhere to the traditional divides of the Tibetan “schools” and included both tantric lineages coming from India as well as Tibetan treasure (terma) lineages—is one of the finest examples of Tibetan ecumenism, or Rimay, and Jamgon Kongtrul is perhaps the most famous among Tibet’s Rimay masters. This is the most accessible work available on Jamgon Kongtrul’s life, writings, and influence, written as a truly engaging historical biography. Alexander Gardner provides an intimate glimpse into the life of one of the most important Tibetan Buddhist teachers to have ever lived.

Buddhism and the Senses

Buddhism and the Senses PDF Author: Robert DeCroli
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 161429903X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
Across Buddhist traditions, the five senses—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch—are perceived both positively and negatively. Share our eminent scholars’ fascination and deep insight into what makes a sensuous experience good or bad. Following on the exhibition Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice across Asia at the National Museum of Asian Art, ten eminent scholars present their insights into Buddhism’s fascinating relation with the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch), which careens between delight and disgust, rarely finding a middle way. While much of Buddhist literature is devoted to overcoming the attachment that dooms us to rebirth in samsara, primarily by deprecating sense experience and showing that whatever brings us sensual pleasure leads only to physical and mental pain, in texts such as the Lotus Sutra, sensory powers do not offer sensory pleasure but rather knowledge, clear observation, and ability to teach the Dharma. Considering such religiously and historically contingent ambiguity, this volume presents each of the five senses in two instantiations, the good and the bad, opening up the discourse on the senses across Buddhist traditions. Just as the museum departed from tradition to incorporate sensory experiences into the exhibition, this volume is a new direction in scholarship to humanize Buddhist studies by foregrounding sensory experience and practice, inviting the reader to think about the senses in a focused manner and shifting our understanding of Buddhism from the conceptual to the material or practical, from the idealized to the human, from the abstract to the grounded, from the mind to the body.

Martyrdom, Self-sacrifice, and Self-immolation

Martyrdom, Self-sacrifice, and Self-immolation PDF Author: Margo Kitts
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190656484
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
Suicide in the forms of martyrdom, self-sacrifice, or self-immolation is perennially controversial: Should it rightly be termed suicide? Does religion sanction it? Should it be celebrated or anathematized? At least some idealization of such self-chosen deaths is found in every religious tradition treated in this volume, from ascetic heroes who conquer their passions to save others by dying, to righteous warriors who suffer and die valiantly while challenging the status quo. At the same time, there are persistent disputes about the concepts used to justify these deaths, such as altruism, heroism, and religion itself. In this volume, renowned scholars bring their literary and historical expertise to bear on the contested issue of religiously sanctioned suicide. Three examine contemporary movements with disputed classical roots, while eleven look at classical religious literatures which variously laud and disparage figures who invite self-harm to the point of death. Overall, the volume offers an important scholarly corrective to the axiom that religious traditions simply and always embrace life at any cost.

Voices from Larung Gar

Voices from Larung Gar PDF Author: Holly Gayley
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1611808944
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
A collection of new voices from Tibet--at celebrated Larung Gar--with innovative reflections on how Buddhism can meet the challenges of our times. Voices from Larung Gar is the first collection of talks and writings by the leading voices of Larung Gar, the largest Buddhist institution on the Tibetan plateau. The book offers a compelling vision for Buddhism in the twenty-first century by some of the most erudite, creative, and influential Tibetan Buddhist luminaries today. In everyday language, these leaders delve into an array of contemporary issues, including science, ethics, gender equity, and animal welfare. This collection features contributions from a range of prominent figures who are forging dynamic, modern paths forward for an ancient tradition. Included are the internationally renowned Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, founder of Larung Gar, his distinguished successors Khenpos Sodargye and Tsultrim Lodro, and erudite nuns holding the scholarly title Khenmo, who are becoming known for their impressive publishing projects. Larung Gar is thus one of Tibetan Buddhism's most vital communities, actively balancing cultural preservation and innovation.

Buddhist Magic

Buddhist Magic PDF Author: Sam van Schaik
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1611808251
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
A fascinating exploration of the role that magic has played in the history of Buddhism As far back as we can see in the historical record, Buddhist monks and nuns have offered services including healing, divination, rain making, aggressive magic, and love magic to local clients. Studying this history, scholar Sam van Schaik concludes that magic and healing have played a key role in Buddhism's flourishing, yet they have rarely been studied in academic circles or by Western practitioners. The exclusion of magical practices and powers from most discussions of Buddhism in the modern era can be seen as part of the appropriation of Buddhism by Westerners, as well as an effect of modernization movements within Asian Buddhism. However, if we are to understand the way Buddhism has worked in the past, the way it still works now in many societies, and the way it can work in the future, we need to examine these overlooked aspects of Buddhist practice. In Buddhist Magic, van Schaik takes a book of spells and rituals--one of the earliest that has survived--from the Silk Road site of Dunhuang as the key reference point for discussing Buddhist magic in Tibet and beyond. After situating Buddhist magic within a cross-cultural history of world magic, he discusses sources of magic in Buddhist scripture, early Buddhist rituals of protection, medicine and the spread of Buddhism, and magic users. Including material from across the vast array of Buddhist traditions, van Schaik offers readers a fascinating, nuanced view of a topic that has too long been ignored.

The Copper-Colored Mountain

The Copper-Colored Mountain PDF Author: Jigme Lingpa
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834844370
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
A translation of Jigme Lingpa’s eighteenth-century Tibetan Buddhist aspiration prayer for taking rebirth in the pure land Copper-Colored Mountain, accompanied by a commentary and analysis by the translators. While Pure Land Buddhism is generally thought of as an East Asian tradition with an Indian origin, the Copper-Colored Mountain is in fact the first and only pure land with scriptural origins entirely in the Tibetan tradition. It represents Tibetan culture’s fascinating intersection of traditional history with liturgical tantric practice. The Copper-Colored Mountain is understood to be the current abode of Padmasambhava, the Indian master credited with first bringing Buddhism to Tibet and founding Tibet’s first monastery, Samye. After leaving Tibet, it is said that Padmasambhava set up residence on Cāmara, one of the two islands on either side of the continent of Jambudvipa, our world according to Buddhist cosmology. After taming the resident ogres of Cāmara and converting them to Buddhism, he then built an octagonal palace where Buddhist practitioners may be transported in visions and dreams or reborn through aspiration prayers. This work is a translation and analysis of one such aspiration prayer. This prayer was composed by Jigme Lingpa, a treasure revealer of the Nyingma tradition in the eighteenth century and remains the most important prayer to this pure land in Tibetan Buddhism. Merging academic precision in representing the Tibetan texts and devotion to the principles of tantric Buddhism, translators Georgios T. Halkias and Christina Partsalaki enable a wider appreciation of the history and impact of this prayer in Tibetan Buddhist literature while elucidating its meaning for Buddhist practitioners.