Visions of the Buddha

Visions of the Buddha PDF Author: Eviatar Shulman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197587887
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
Visions of the Buddha offers a ground-breaking approach to the nature of the early discourses of the Buddha, the most foundational scriptures of Buddhist religion. Although the early discourses are commonly considered to be attempts to preserve the Buddha's teachings, Shulman demonstrates that these texts are full of creativity, and that their main aim is to beautify the image of the wonderous Buddha. While the texts surely care for the early teachings and for the Buddha's philosophy or his guidelines for meditation, and while at times they may relate real historical events, they are no less interested in telling good stories, in re-working folkloric materials, and in the visionary contemplation of the Buddha in order to sense his unique presence. The texts can thus be, at times, a type of meditation. Eviatar Shulman frames the early discourses as literary masterpieces that helped Buddhism achieve the wonderful success it has obtained. Much of the discourses' masterful storytelling was achieved through a technique of composition defined here as the play of formulas. In the oral literature of early Buddhism, texts were composed of formulas, which are repeated within and between texts. Shulman argues that the formulas are the real texts of Buddhism, and are primary to full discourses. Shaping texts through the play of formulas balances conservative and innovative tendencies within the tradition, making room for creativity within accepted forms and patterns. The texts we find today are thus versions--remnants--chosen by history of a much more vibrant and dynamic creative process.

Naked Buddhism

Naked Buddhism PDF Author: David Deida
Publisher: Plexus
ISBN: 9781889762197
Category : Spiritual life
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Visions of the Buddha

Visions of the Buddha PDF Author: Eviatar Shulman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197587887
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Get Book Here

Book Description
Visions of the Buddha offers a ground-breaking approach to the nature of the early discourses of the Buddha, the most foundational scriptures of Buddhist religion. Although the early discourses are commonly considered to be attempts to preserve the Buddha's teachings, Shulman demonstrates that these texts are full of creativity, and that their main aim is to beautify the image of the wonderous Buddha. While the texts surely care for the early teachings and for the Buddha's philosophy or his guidelines for meditation, and while at times they may relate real historical events, they are no less interested in telling good stories, in re-working folkloric materials, and in the visionary contemplation of the Buddha in order to sense his unique presence. The texts can thus be, at times, a type of meditation. Eviatar Shulman frames the early discourses as literary masterpieces that helped Buddhism achieve the wonderful success it has obtained. Much of the discourses' masterful storytelling was achieved through a technique of composition defined here as the play of formulas. In the oral literature of early Buddhism, texts were composed of formulas, which are repeated within and between texts. Shulman argues that the formulas are the real texts of Buddhism, and are primary to full discourses. Shaping texts through the play of formulas balances conservative and innovative tendencies within the tradition, making room for creativity within accepted forms and patterns. The texts we find today are thus versions--remnants--chosen by history of a much more vibrant and dynamic creative process.

The Buddha of Love

The Buddha of Love PDF Author: Christopher Titmuss
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1326146890
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Starting with a chapter on the dysfunctional early life of the Buddha, Christopher Titmuss explores the profound importance of love in a series of 11 essays. The Buddha of Love explores such themes as deep friendship, romantic love, the way to God, the act of giving, spiritual relationships and compassion. He addresses the teachings of Jesus on love, Tantra and sexuality. Christopher explores the spiritual network and one to one professional sessions. Christopher offers a range of insightful perspectives on matters of the heart and draws on the Buddha's teachings. The author shares stories, poems and offers practices to cultivate love as a liberating force. Christopher Titmuss offers retreats, facilitates pilgrimages and leads Dharma Gatherings worldwide. Poet and social critic. A former Buddhist monk in Thailand and India, he is the founder of the online Mindfulness Training Course. He lives in Totnes, Devon, England.

The Naked Buddha Speaks

The Naked Buddha Speaks PDF Author: Adrienne Howley
Publisher: Random House Australia
ISBN: 1742747353
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
The long-awaited companion to The Naked Buddha. The Naked Buddha, a timely, down-to-earth and highly accessible beginners' guide to Buddhism, struck a chord with Australian and international readers alike. In The Naked Buddha Speaks, feisty Buddhist nun Adrienne Howley continues her mission to demystify Buddhism by showing how anyone can integrate its practices into their everyday life. She also answers the questions many of her readers have raised, such as: How can Buddhism make me happy? How does a Buddhist cope with grief and loss? How do I practise generosity when I'm having a bad day? How can I move away from greed and hatred? How can I change my expectations? I want to meditate, but how do I start? In her warm and humorous style, Adrienne Howley unlocks the original basic tenets and practices of Buddhism, now the fastest-growing religion in Australia, and shows us how we can apply its principles in useful and meaningful ways to our lives.

Seekers of the Naked Truth

Seekers of the Naked Truth PDF Author: Paul LeValley
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass
ISBN: 8120841697
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
Why would I spend a good portion of my time over the last 35 years gathering information on the Gymnosophists? The story begins even earlier. As an undergraduate student in the Flint College of the University of Michigan, I pursued an English major with a strong history minor-always looking for something between the two, and rarely finding it. Then in my practice teaching, I happened into one of the early experimental high school courses in Interdisciplinary Humanities. With the exciting interrelationships between art, literature, music, philosophy and history, I said YES-this was what I had been looking for. So I pioneered in teaching high school Humanities for the next few years. Interdisciplinary Humanities was a bottom-up movement. Gradually, colleges began offering Masters programs to give teachers the rich background they needed. I decided I was not tied to Michigan where it was cold; I would find the best Masters program in Humanities anywhere in the world, and go there. Well, it turned out that the best Masters program in the world was at Wayne State University in Detroit, of all places. Unlike other programs that were really just double majors, Wayne offered truly interdisciplinary classes. Moreover, they offered an Eastern track and a Western track. Knowing that I would never find that Eastern track anywhere else, I studied interdisciplinary courses in the cultures of India, China, Japan, and Egypt. (The middle-eastern professor was on sabbatical when I was there.) I especially liked India-perhaps because I had already travelled around the world, and India impressed me the most.

Greek Buddha

Greek Buddha PDF Author: Christopher I. Beckwith
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691176329
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
Presents a history of early Buddhism based solely on dateable artefacts and archaeology rather than received tradition, much of which data is provided by studying Pyrrho's history

Naked Awareness

Naked Awareness PDF Author: Karma Chagme
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 9781559391467
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
In this classic seventeenth-century presentation of the union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen, Karma Chagmé, one of the great teachers of both these lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, begins with an overview of the spirit of awakening and the nature of actions and their ethical consequences. Next, drawing from his enormous erudition and profound experience, Chagmé gives exceptionally lucid instructions on the two phases of Dzogchen practice—the "breakthrough" and the "leap-over"—followed by an accessible introduction to the practice of the transference of consciousness at the time of death. The concluding chapters of this treatise present a detailed analysis of Mahamudra meditation in relation to Dzogchen practice. This tour de force of scholarly erudition and contemplative insight is made all the more accessible by the lively commentary of the contemporary Nyingma Lama Gyatrul Rinpoche. Although this book stands alone, it is the concluding section of a single body of teachings by Karma Chagmé, the earlier section published under the title A Spacious Path to Freedom. Karma Chagmé was a major teacher of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and his writings have also become central to the Payul Nyingma order, making him an ideal figure to integrate these two great meditation systems.

Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism PDF Author: Richard Gombrich
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134903529
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 191

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Book Description
First Published in 1988. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Naked Buddha

Naked Buddha PDF Author: Adrienne Howley
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 9781863251655
Category : Buddhism
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
A timely, charmingly written, highly accessible beginner's guide to Buddhism by an Australian who was ordained in 1982 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Buddhism is the fastest-growing religion in Australia. For the many people who are interested in learning more about it, here is a primer on Buddhism and Buddhist practice written in a deceptively simple manner, with an engaging, gentle humour and flavour. Adrienne Howley's purpose is to demystify Buddhism, stripping away the layers of ritual and iconography that have grown up around it over the centuries, and to present the original, basic tenets and practices in a way that will be appealing to Western, and especially Australian readers. THE NAKED BUDDHA includes sections on who Buddha was and how he came to formulate his philosophy; descriptions of the three main Buddhist traditions; what ordinary Buddhists believe and practise today; and meditation: how and why? There are also answers to questions most commonly asked by non-Buddhists. The Venerable Adrienne Howley was ordained in 1982 by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In 1993 she took the highest ordination vows possible from a Vietnamese Buddhist master, thus becoming one ofthe very few Western women in the world to have done so. A former nurse and the mother of two sons, she has sailed around the world in an old 36-foot gaff-rigger, survived a life-threatening cancer, and is the author of a biography of the noted Australian poet, Dorothea Mackellar. Now in her early seventies, she lives in a small rural town north of Sydney, where she devotes her time to Buddhist practice and teaching, as well as doing volunteer work in a local hospice.

Naked in the Zendo

Naked in the Zendo PDF Author: Grace Shireson
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834842513
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
A collection of charming and funny stories on how to turn the awareness we find on the meditation cushion into wisdom for every day. We need to remove our ego's clothing to truly see ourselves and the world as they are. Grace Schireson's stories about her Zen journey--from child to grandmother--share deep insight about how we can find awareness, feel it in our bodies, and experience it wherever we are. Grace's path is at times ordinary--with stories of youthful naiveite ("Will Zen Get You High?"), parenting ("You Exist; Therefore, I Am Embarrassed"), and pets ("The Honorable Roshi Bully Cat")--and groundbreaking--with stories of her studies with Suzuki Roshi ("What's Love Got to Do with It?"), Keido Fukushima Roshi ("Don't Bow"), and more. Each story, whether humorous or poignant, highlights the power of awareness to transform our lives and the remarkable work of this pioneering woman in American Zen.