Homa Variations

Homa Variations PDF Author: Richard K. Payne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199351589
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 449

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Book Description
"Throughout human history, and in many religious cultures, offerings are made into fire--known in the tantric world as homa. This collection provides detailed studies of the homa from its inception up to the present, allowing for the study of ritual change over long periods of time, and across religious cultures"--

Homa Variations

Homa Variations PDF Author: Richard K. Payne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199351589
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 449

Get Book

Book Description
"Throughout human history, and in many religious cultures, offerings are made into fire--known in the tantric world as homa. This collection provides detailed studies of the homa from its inception up to the present, allowing for the study of ritual change over long periods of time, and across religious cultures"--

Homa Variations

Homa Variations PDF Author: Richard Karl Payne
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780199351602
Category : RELIGION
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Throughout human history, and across many religious cultures, offerings are made into fire. The essays collected in 'Homa Variations' provide detailed studies of this practice, known in the tantric world as the 'homa, ' from its inception up to the present.

Aromaticity

Aromaticity PDF Author: Israel Fernandez
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0128227435
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 517

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Book Description
Evaluating the aromaticity of a molecular system and the influence of this concept on its properties is a crucial step in the development of novel aromatic systems. Modern computational methods can provide researchers with a high level of insight into such aromaticity, but identifying the most appropriate method for assessing a specific system can prove difficult. Aromaticity: Modern Computational Methods and Applications reviews the latest state-of-the-art computational methods in this field and discusses their applicability for evaluating the aromaticity of a system. In addition to covering aromaticity for typical organic molecules, this volume also explores systems possessing transition metals in their structures, macrocycles and even transition structures. The influence of the aromaticity on the properties of these species (including the structure, magnetic properties and reactivity) is highlighted, along with potential applications in fields including materials science and medicinal chemistry. Finally, the controversial and fuzzy nature of aromaticity as a concept is discussed, providing the basis for an updated and more comprehensive definition of this concept. Drawing on the knowledge of an international team of experts, Aromaticity: Modern Computational Methods and Applications is a unique guide for anyone researching, studying or applying principles of aromaticity in their work, from computational and organic chemists to pharmaceutical and materials scientists. Reviews a range of computational methods to assess the aromatic nature of different compounds, helping readers select the most useful tool for the system they are studying Presents a complete guide to the key concepts and fundamental principles of aromaticity Provides guidance on identifying which variables should be modified to tune the properties of an aromatic system for different potential applications

Making a Mantra

Making a Mantra PDF Author: Ellen Gough
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022676706X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Jainism originated in India and shares some features with Buddhism and Hinduism, but it is a distinct tradition with its own key texts, art, rituals, beliefs, and history. One important way it has often been distinguished from Buddhism and Hinduism is through the highly contested category of Tantra: Jainism, unlike the others, does not contain a tantric path to liberation. But in Making a Mantra, historian of religions Ellen Gough refines and challenges our understanding of Tantra by looking at the development over two millennia of a Jain incantation, or mantra, that evolved from an auspicious invocation in a second-century text into a key component of mendicant initiations and meditations that continue to this day. Typically, Jainism is characterized as a celibate, ascetic path to liberation in which one destroys karma through austerities, while the tantric path to liberation is characterized as embracing the pleasures of the material world, requiring the ritual use of mantras to destroy karma. Gough, however, argues that asceticism and Tantra should not be viewed in opposition to one another. She does so by showing that Jains perform “tantric” rituals of initiation and meditation on mantras and maṇḍalas. Jainism includes kinds of tantric practices, Gough provocatively argues, because tantric practices are a logical extension of the ascetic path to liberation.

Advances in the Theory of Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics

Advances in the Theory of Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics PDF Author: Philip E. Hoggan
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400720769
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 630

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Book Description
Advances in the Theory of Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics is a collection of 32 selected papers from the scientific contributions presented at the 15th International Workshop on Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics (QSCP-XV), held at Magdalene College, Cambridge, UK, from August 31st to September 5th, 2010. This volume discusses the state of the art, new trends, and the future of methods in molecular quantum mechanics and their applications to a wide range of problems in chemistry, physics, and biology. The breadth and depth of the scientific topics discussed during QSCP-XV are gathered in seven sections: I. Fundamental Theory; II. Model Atoms; III. Atoms and Molecules with Exponential-Type Orbitals; IV. Density-Oriented Methods; V. Dynamics and Quantum Monte-Carlo Methodology; VI. Structure and Reactivity; VII. Complex Systems, Solids, Biophysics. Advances in the Theory of Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics is written for research students and professionals in Quantum systems of chemistry and physics. It also constitutes and invaluable guide for those wishing to familiarize themselves with research perspectives in the domain of quantum systems for thematic conversion or simply to gain insight into the methodological developments and applications to physics chemistry and biology that have actually become feasible by the end of 2010.

The Buddhist Tantras: A Guide

The Buddhist Tantras: A Guide PDF Author: David B. Gray
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197623832
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
The tantric Buddhist traditions emerged in India beginning in the seventh century CE and flourished there until the demise of Buddhism in India circa the fifteenth century. These traditions were disseminated to Central, East, and Southeast Asia, and continue to be practiced, most notably in Nepal, Tibet and Japan, as well as in the numerous Tibetan traditions disseminated around the world by Tibetan masters living in diaspora. The central scriptures for these traditions were generally designated by the term tantra. Tantras are works that purport to relate secret teachings of the buddhas that enable awakening in as short as one lifetime. As such they are understood by their advocates to be the inspired speech of a buddha, and hence worthy of inclusion in the canons of Buddhist traditions. Over the past twenty years there has been considerable growth in the study of tantras as well as translations of these works into Western languages. This volume provides a detailed introduction to the Buddhist tantras. It addresses their development in India, their dissemination to Central, East and Southeast Asia, and their reception in these contexts. It introduces the key teachings in the tantras, as well as the history of their interpretation, and their connection to traditions of ritual, and contemplative practices. It also introduces the classification of the tantras and their place in Buddhist scriptural canons. It concludes with a look at the transgressive rhetoric that characterizes many of the tantras, the impact this had on their dissemination and translation, and the ways in which Buddhists explained this. It suggests that transgressive rhetoric and practices served an important role in Buddhist tantric traditions, which may be why they persist despite the challenges they have presented to the dissemination of these traditions.

Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore

Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore PDF Author: Theresa Bane
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 147662268X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
“Here there be dragons”—this notation was often made on ancient maps to indicate the edges of the known world and what lay beyond. Heroes who ventured there were only as great as the beasts they encountered. This encyclopedia contains more than 2,200 monsters of myth and folklore, who both made life difficult for humans and fought by their side. Entries describe the appearance, behavior, and cultural origin of mythic creatures well-known and obscure, collected from traditions around the world.

Rites of the God-King

Rites of the God-King PDF Author: Marko Geslani
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190862882
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Scholars of Vedic religion have long recognized the centrality of ritual categories to Indian thought. There have been few successful attempts, however, to bring the same systematic rigor of Vedic Scholarship to bear on later "Hindu" ritual. Excavating the deep history of a prominent ritual category in "classical" Hindu texts, Geslani traces the emergence of a class of rituals known as santi, or appeasement. This ritual, intended to counteract ominous omens, developed from the intersection of the fourth Veda - the oft-neglected Atharvaveda - and the emergent tradition of astral science (Jyotisastra) sometime in the early first millennium, CE. Its development would come to have far-reaching consequences on the ideal ritual life of the king in early-medieval Brahmanical society. The mantric transformations involved in the history of santi led to the emergence of a politicized ritual culture that could encompass both traditional Vedic and newer Hindu performers and practices. From astrological appeasement to gift-giving, coronation, and image worship, Rites of the God-King chronicles the multiple lives and afterlives of a single ritual mode, unveiling the always-inventive work of the priesthood to imagine and enrich royal power. Along the way, Geslani reveals the surprising role of astrologers in Hindu history, elaborates conceptions of sin and misfortune, and forges new connections between medieval texts and modern practices. In a work that details ritual forms that were dispersed widely across Asia, he concludes with a reflection on the nature of orthopraxy, ritual change, and the problem of presence in the Hindu tradition.

The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice

The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice PDF Author: Gavin Flood
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191053236
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 501

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Book Description
Traditions of asceticism, yoga, and devotion (bhakti), including dance and music, developed in Hinduism over long periods of time. Some of these practices, notably those denoted by the term yoga, are orientated towards salvation from the cycle of reincarnation and go back several thousand years. These practices, borne witness to in ancient texts called Upaniṣads, as well as in other traditions, notably early Buddhism and Jainism, are the subject of this volume in the Oxford History of Hinduism. Practices of meditation are also linked to asceticism (tapas) and its institutional articulation in renunciation (saṃnyăsa). There is a range of practices or disciplines from ascetic fasting to taking a vow (vrata) for a deity in return for a favour. There are also devotional practices that might involve ritual, making an offering to a deity and receiving a blessing, dancing, or visualization of the master (guru). The overall theme—the history of religious practices—might even be seen as being within a broader intellectual trajectory of cultural history. In the substantial introduction by the editor this broad history is sketched, paying particular attention to what we might call the medieval period (post-Gupta) through to modernity when traditions had significantly developed in relation to each other. The chapters in the book chart the history of Hindu practice, paying particular attention to indigenous terms and recognizing indigenous distinctions such as between the ritual life of the householder and the renouncer seeking liberation, between 'inner' practices of and 'external' practices of ritual, and between those desirous of liberation (mumukṣu) and those desirous of pleasure and worldly success (bubhukṣu). This whole range of meditative and devotional practices that have developed in the history of Hinduism are represented in this book.

Pure Lands in Asian Texts and Contexts

Pure Lands in Asian Texts and Contexts PDF Author: Georgios T. Halkias
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824877144
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 808

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Book Description
This diverse anthology of original Buddhist texts in translation provides a historical and conceptual framework that will transform contemporary scholarship on Pure Land Buddhism and instigate its recognition as an essential field of Buddhist studies. Traditional and contemporary primary sources carefully selected from Buddhist cultures across historical, geopolitical, and literary boundaries are organized by genre rather than chronologically, geographically, or by religious lineage—a novel juxtaposition that reveals their wider importance in fresh contexts. Together these fundamental texts from different Asian traditions, expertly translated by eminent and up-and-coming scholars, illustrate that the Buddhism of pure lands is not just an East Asian cult or a marginal type of Buddhism, but a pan-Asian and deeply entrenched religious phenomenon. The volume is organized into six parts: Ritual Practices, Contemplative Visualizations, Doctrinal Expositions, Life Writing and Poetry, Ethical and Aesthetic Explications, and Worlds beyond Sukhāvatī. Each part is introduced and summarized, and each translated piece is prefaced by its translator to supply historical and sectarian context as well as insight into the significance of the work. Common and less-common issues of practice, doctrine, and intra-religious transfer are explored, and deeper understandings of the meaning of “pure lands” are gained through the study of the celestial, cosmological, internal, and earthly pure lands associated with various buddhas, bodhisattvas, and devotional figures. The introduction by the volume editors ties the diverse themes of the book together and provides a historical background to Pure Land Buddhist studies. Scholars of Buddhism and Asian religion, including graduate and post-graduate students, as well as Buddhist practitioners, will appreciate the range of translated materials and accompanied discussions made accessible in one essential collection, the first of its kind to center on the formerly-neglected topic of Buddhist pure lands.