Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal

Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal PDF Author: Todd T. Lewis
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791446119
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Drawing on textual and anthropological research, this book demonstrates how popular ritual texts and stories have shaped the religion and culture of the only surviving Mahayana Buddhist society, the Newars of Kathmandu.

Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal

Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal PDF Author: Todd T. Lewis
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791446119
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
Drawing on textual and anthropological research, this book demonstrates how popular ritual texts and stories have shaped the religion and culture of the only surviving Mahayana Buddhist society, the Newars of Kathmandu.

Buddhist Texts

Buddhist Texts PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description


Four Essential Buddhist Texts

Four Essential Buddhist Texts PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Buddhism
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description


River of Fire, River of Water

River of Fire, River of Water PDF Author: Taitetsu Unno
Publisher: Image
ISBN: 0307575462
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
With great spiritual insight and unparalleled scholarship, Dr. Taitetsu Unno—the foremost authority in the United States on Shin or Pure Land Buddhism—introduces us to the most popular form of Buddhism in Japan. Unique among the various practices of Buddhism, this "new" form of spiritual practice is certain to enrich the growing practice of Buddhism in the United States, which is already quite familiar with Zen and Tibetan traditions. River of Fire, River of Water is an introduction to the practice of Pure Land Buddhism for readers with or without prior experience with it. The Pure Land tradition dates back to the sixth century c.e., when Buddhism was first introduced in Japan. Unlike Zen, its counterpart which flourished in remote monasteries, the Pure Land tradition was the form of Buddhism practiced by common people. Consequently, its practice is harmonious with the workings of daily life, making it easily adaptable for seekers today. Despite the difference in method, though, the goal of Pure Land is the same as other schools—the awakening of the true self. Certain to take its place alongside great works such as Three Pillars of Zen, The Miracle of Mindfulness, and Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind—River of Fire, River of Water is an important step forward for American Buddhism.

The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha

The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha PDF Author: Bodhi
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 086171072X
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 1423

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Book Description
The 152 discourses that form this major collection combine a rich variety of contextual settings with a deep & comprehensive assortment of teachings. A companion volume to The Long Discourses of the Buddha. 1995 winner of Choice Magazine's "Outstanding Academic Book" Award.

Miracles of Book and Body

Miracles of Book and Body PDF Author: Charlotte Eubanks
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520265610
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
"This is an exciting exploration of the world of Buddhist attitudes towards religious texts, from Indian scriptures to Japanese medieval tales. Its emphasis on discursive strategies—how Buddhist texts function and what they expect of their readers/users (especially, the connection between books, their content, and their readers' bodies)—is a welcome new perspective."—Fabio Rambelli, author of Buddhist Materiality "Miracles of Book and Body is fluidly written and engaging. This book brings the reader to an awareness of the range and foci of medieval 'popular' readings of sutra literature, and Eubanks provides an important perspective to interpreting these narratives that is original and stimulating."—Thomas W. Hare, author of Zeami: Performance Notes "Charlotte Eubanks' sophisticated, insightful and readable study of the physicalities of sutra texts and sutra recitation makes sense of some of the strangest phenomena in medieval Japan. By disentangling the literal and metaphorical meanings in Buddhist setsuwa, Eubanks explains such things as how memorizing a text is an embodiment thereof, how texts can become sentient beings, and why the scroll is an appropriate format for recording dharma. Her work is both important and engaging."—Margaret H. Childs, University of Kansas "Drawing on an impressive range of Mahayana scriptures and medieval Japanese didactic tales, Eubanks unpacks recurrent tropes correlating text and flesh to reveal surprising connections among the literary, material, and ritual dimensions of Buddhist textual culture. Elegantly written and theoretically astute, this volume will be welcomed not only by specialists in Buddhist literature but also by readers interested in broader issues of text-based religious practice."—Jacqueline Stone, author of Original Enlightenment and the Transformation of Medieval Japanese Buddhism

What the Buddha Taught

What the Buddha Taught PDF Author: Walpola Rahula
Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
ISBN: 0802198104
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description
“A terrific introduction to the Buddha’s teachings.” —Paul Blairon, California Literary Review This indispensable volume is a lucid and faithful account of the Buddha’s teachings. “For years,” says the Journal of the Buddhist Society, “the newcomer to Buddhism has lacked a simple and reliable introduction to the complexities of the subject. Dr. Rahula’s What the Buddha Taught fills the need as only could be done by one having a firm grasp of the vast material to be sifted. It is a model of what a book should be that is addressed first of all to ‘the educated and intelligent reader.’ Authoritative and clear, logical and sober, this study is as comprehensive as it is masterly.” This edition contains a selection of illustrative texts from the Suttas and the Dhammapada (specially translated by the author), sixteen illustrations, and a bibliography, glossary, and index. “[Rahula’s] succinct, clear overview of Buddhist concepts has never been surpassed. It is the standard.” —Library Journal

The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts

The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts PDF Author: Bhikkhu Sujato
Publisher: Buddhist Publication Society
ISBN: 955240410X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
Are there any authentic Buddhist texts? If so, what are they? These are questions of tremendous spiritual and historical interest, about which there is a range of opinions that often appear to be irreconcilable. Traditionalists insist that the texts were “spoken by the Buddha” in the most literal of senses, while sceptics assert that we cannot know anything about the Buddha for certain, and further, that the notion of authenticity is irrelevant or pernicious. Most academic scholars of early Buddhism cautiously affirm that it is possible that the early Buddhist texts as contained in the Sutta and Vinaya Pitaka contain some authentic sayings of the Buddha. A sympathetic assessment of relevant evidence by the authors of this book shows that this is a drastic understatement and that it is very likely that the bulk of the sayings in the texts that are attributed to the Buddha were actually spoken by him. Rarely has the question of authenticity of the Buddhist texts been systematically investigated. Seeing the lack of an easily accessible summary of the evidence, the authors assembled this survey.

Chinese Buddhist Texts

Chinese Buddhist Texts PDF Author: Graham Lock
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317357949
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 205

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Book Description
The influence of Buddhism on the Chinese language, on Chinese literature and on Chinese culture in general cannot be overstated, and the language of most Chinese Buddhist texts differs considerably from both Classical and Modern Chinese. This reader aims to help students develop familiarity with features of Buddhist texts in Chinese, including patterns of organization, grammatical features and specialized vocabulary. It also aims to familiarize students with the use of a range of resources necessary for becoming independent readers of such texts. Chinese Buddhist Texts is suitable for students who have completed the equivalent of at least one year’s college level study of Modern Chinese and are familiar with roughly one thousand of the commonest Chinese characters. Previous study of Classical Chinese would be an advantage, but is not assumed. It is an ideal textbook for students taking relevant courses in Chinese studies programs and in Buddhist studies programs. However, it is also possible for a student to work through the reader on his or her own. Further online resources are available at: lockgraham.com

Spreading the Dhamma

Spreading the Dhamma PDF Author: Daniel Veidlinger
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824830245
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
How did early Buddhists actually encounter the seminal texts of their religion? What were the attitudes held by monks and laypeople toward the written and oral Pali traditions? In this pioneering work, Daniel Veidlinger explores these questions in the context of the northern Thai kingdom of Lan Na. Drawing on a vast array of sources, including indigenous chronicles, reports by foreign visitors, inscriptions, and palm-leaf manuscripts, he traces the role of written Buddhist texts in the predominantly oral milieu of northern Thailand from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Veidlinger examines how the written word was assimilated into existing Buddhist and monastic practice in the region, considering the use of manuscripts for textual study and recitation as well as the place of writing in the cultic and ritual life of the faithful. He shows how manuscripts fit into the economy, describes how they were made and stored, and highlights the understudied issue of the "cult of the book" in Theravâda Buddhism. Looking at the wider Theravâda world, Veidlinger argues that manuscripts in Burma and Sri Lanka played a more central role in the preservation and dissemination of Buddhist texts. By offering a detailed examination of the motivations driving those who sponsored manuscript production, this study draws attention to the vital role played by forest-dwelling monastic orders introduced from Sri Lanka in the development of Lan Na’s written Pali heritage. It also considers the rivalry between those monks who wished to preserve the older oral tradition and monks, rulers, and laypeople who supported the expansion of the new medium of writing.