The Thousand and One Lives of the Buddha

The Thousand and One Lives of the Buddha PDF Author: Bernard Faure
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824893549
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Praise for the French edition “This is a book that should be read by all those who are interested, whether near or far, in Buddhism, its history and its interpretations. . . . [Faure] proposes considering the ‘Life of the Buddha’ as a kind of treasure that never ceases to be reinvented and experienced, from story to story, from language to language, from culture to culture.” —Roger-Pol Droit, Le Monde Many biographies of the Buddha have been published in the last 150 years, and all claim to describe the authentic life of the historical Buddha. This book, written by one of the leading scholars of Buddhism and Japanese religion, starts from the opposite assumption and argues that we do not yet possess the archival and archaeological materials required to compose such a biography: All we have are narratives, not facts. Yet traditional biographies have neglected the literary, mythological, and ritual elements in the life of the Buddha. Bernard Faure aims to bridge this gap and shed light on a Buddha that is not historical but has constituted a paradigm of practice and been an object of faith for 2,500 years. The Thousand and One Lives of the Buddha opens with a criticism of the prevalent historicism before examining the mythological elements in a life of the Buddha no longer constrained by an artificial biographical framework. Once the search for the “historical Buddha” is abandoned, there is no longer any need to limit the narrative to early Indian stories. The life—or lives—of the Buddha, as an expression of the creative imaginations of Buddhists, developed beyond India over the centuries. Faure accordingly shifts his focus to East Asia and, more particularly, to Japan. Finally, he examines recent developments of the Buddha’s life in not only Asia but also the modern West and neglected literary genres such as science fiction.

The Thousand and One Lives of the Buddha

The Thousand and One Lives of the Buddha PDF Author: Bernard Faure
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824893549
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Get Book Here

Book Description
Praise for the French edition “This is a book that should be read by all those who are interested, whether near or far, in Buddhism, its history and its interpretations. . . . [Faure] proposes considering the ‘Life of the Buddha’ as a kind of treasure that never ceases to be reinvented and experienced, from story to story, from language to language, from culture to culture.” —Roger-Pol Droit, Le Monde Many biographies of the Buddha have been published in the last 150 years, and all claim to describe the authentic life of the historical Buddha. This book, written by one of the leading scholars of Buddhism and Japanese religion, starts from the opposite assumption and argues that we do not yet possess the archival and archaeological materials required to compose such a biography: All we have are narratives, not facts. Yet traditional biographies have neglected the literary, mythological, and ritual elements in the life of the Buddha. Bernard Faure aims to bridge this gap and shed light on a Buddha that is not historical but has constituted a paradigm of practice and been an object of faith for 2,500 years. The Thousand and One Lives of the Buddha opens with a criticism of the prevalent historicism before examining the mythological elements in a life of the Buddha no longer constrained by an artificial biographical framework. Once the search for the “historical Buddha” is abandoned, there is no longer any need to limit the narrative to early Indian stories. The life—or lives—of the Buddha, as an expression of the creative imaginations of Buddhists, developed beyond India over the centuries. Faure accordingly shifts his focus to East Asia and, more particularly, to Japan. Finally, he examines recent developments of the Buddha’s life in not only Asia but also the modern West and neglected literary genres such as science fiction.

One Hundred Tales for Ten Thousand Buddhas

One Hundred Tales for Ten Thousand Buddhas PDF Author: Ma Dharm Jyoti
Publisher: Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd
ISBN: 812882287X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
One Hundred Tales For Ten Thousand Buddhas—this is an essential book. There exists no other quite like it. It is a collection of living moments with the living Buddha. It is not some events remembered and then adorned with reactions. These are tales vitally alive. These tales are a great gift for all of us—those who have sat with the living Master and those who haven’t. It is a book for all seekers. It is also a book for those who are not actively seeking, but surely have the same longing-the longing for a taste of that love which has no bondage.

One Buddha is Not Enough

One Buddha is Not Enough PDF Author: Thich Nhat Hanh
Publisher: Parallax Press
ISBN: 1935209973
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
This is the ebook version of One Buddha Is Not Enough. How do we learn to believe in ourselves and not just rely on our spiritual teachers? Based on a retreat that Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh organized but then couldn't attend, One Buddha Is Not Enough is a book on how to become your own teacher and create your own community where you might least expect it. It offers fresh and original insight from emerging Buddhist teachers on topics such as how to handle grief, strengthen our relationships with family and friends, deal with anger and other strong emotions, and find happiness in the present moment. Through letters, stories, poems, calligraphies, and photographs, Thich Nhat Hanh shares his unique insights on illness, health, and different healing modalities. One Buddha Is Not Enough is a true expression of American Buddhism. We already contain all the insight and wisdom we need--and we're surrounded by the people who can help us on our journey. Sometimes all it takes is a wake-up call to remind us of what we are capable.

Great Disciples of the Buddha

Great Disciples of the Buddha PDF Author: Nyanaponika (Thera)
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0861713818
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 450

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Book Description
This book is a compilation of twenty-four life stories of the closest and most eminent of the Buddha's personal disciples.

Eat the Buddha

Eat the Buddha PDF Author: Barbara Demick
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0812998766
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
A gripping portrait of modern Tibet told through the lives of its people, from the bestselling author of Nothing to Envy “A brilliantly reported and eye-opening work of narrative nonfiction.”—The New York Times Book Review NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Parul Sehgal, The New York Times • The New York Times Book Review • The Washington Post • NPR • The Economist • Outside • Foreign Affairs Just as she did with North Korea, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick explores one of the most hidden corners of the world. She tells the story of a Tibetan town perched eleven thousand feet above sea level that is one of the most difficult places in all of China for foreigners to visit. Ngaba was one of the first places where the Tibetans and the Chinese Communists encountered one another. In the 1930s, Mao Zedong’s Red Army fled into the Tibetan plateau to escape their adversaries in the Chinese Civil War. By the time the soldiers reached Ngaba, they were so hungry that they looted monasteries and ate religious statues made of flour and butter—to Tibetans, it was as if they were eating the Buddha. Their experiences would make Ngaba one of the engines of Tibetan resistance for decades to come, culminating in shocking acts of self-immolation. Eat the Buddha spans decades of modern Tibetan and Chinese history, as told through the private lives of Demick’s subjects, among them a princess whose family is wiped out during the Cultural Revolution, a young Tibetan nomad who becomes radicalized in the storied monastery of Kirti, an upwardly mobile entrepreneur who falls in love with a Chinese woman, a poet and intellectual who risks everything to voice his resistance, and a Tibetan schoolgirl forced to choose at an early age between her family and the elusive lure of Chinese money. All of them face the same dilemma: Do they resist the Chinese, or do they join them? Do they adhere to Buddhist teachings of compassion and nonviolence, or do they fight? Illuminating a culture that has long been romanticized by Westerners as deeply spiritual and peaceful, Demick reveals what it is really like to be a Tibetan in the twenty-first century, trying to preserve one’s culture, faith, and language against the depredations of a seemingly unstoppable, technologically all-seeing superpower. Her depiction is nuanced, unvarnished, and at times shocking.

Thus Have I Heard

Thus Have I Heard PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 668

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Book Description
The Pali scriptures here translated are from the 'Triple Basket' (Tipitaka), a collection of the Buddha's teachings regarded as canonical by the Theravada school of Buddhism, which is found today in Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand. The translator is a devout Buddhist whose Pali scholarship is backed up by personal practice of meditation.

Enku, Sculptor of a Hundred Thousand Buddhas

Enku, Sculptor of a Hundred Thousand Buddhas PDF Author: Kazuaki Tanahashi
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 132

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Book Description
Here is a magnificently illustrated collection of the sculpture of Enku, a seventeenth-century monk, now emerging as one of the most important sculptors in the history of Japanese art. Although hundreds of years old, Enku's work has been justly compared to modern Western expressionist art. The composition is abstract and the form simple, unique and free from traditional iconography. Details were abbreviated with an economy of strokes and the style created such a rought and direct quality that Enku's work seems extremely "modern." The author traces Enku's life and the development of his art-- reproducing many of his fine sculptures. There is also a rich sampling of Enku's poetry and the varied folklore that surrounds him.

The Buddha in the Attic

The Buddha in the Attic PDF Author: Julie Otsuka
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0307700461
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • PEN/FAULKER AWARD WINNER • The acclaimed author of The Swimmers and When the Emperor Was Divine tells the story of a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as “picture brides” a century ago in this "understated masterpiece ... that unfolds with great emotional power" (San Francisco Chronicle). In eight unforgettable sections, The Buddha in the Attic traces the extraordinary lives of these women, from their arduous journeys by boat, to their arrival in San Francisco and their tremulous first nights as new wives; from their experiences raising children who would later reject their culture and language, to the deracinating arrival of war. Julie Otsuka has written a spellbinding novel about identity and loyalty, and what it means to be an American in uncertain times.

Buddha's Brain

Buddha's Brain PDF Author: Rick Hanson
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN: 1459624157
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
Jesus, Moses, Mohammed, Gandhi, and the Buddha all had brains built essentially like anyone else's, yet they were able to harness their thoughts and shape their patterns of thinking in ways that changed history. With new breakthroughs in modern neuroscience and the wisdom of thousands of years of contemplative practice, it is possible for us to shape our own thoughts in a similar way for greater happiness, love, compassion, and wisdom. Buddha's Brain joins the forces of modern neuroscience with ancient contemplative teachings to show readers how they can work toward greater emotional well-being, healthier relationships, more effective actions, and deepened religious and spiritual understanding. This book will explain how the core elements of both psychological well-being and religious or spiritual life-virtue, mindfulness, and wisdom--are based in the core functions of the brain: regulating, learning, and valuing. Readers will also learn practical ways to apply this information, as the book offers many exercises they can do to tap the unused potential of the brain and rewire it over time for greater peace and well-being.

The Buddha

The Buddha PDF Author: Philip C. Almond
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009346822
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 379

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Book Description
Philip Almond's engaging new book is the first to combine a history of early traditions about the Buddha's life with an account of how he and the philosophy inspired by him went 'global'. It shows how the enchanted mythological figure of Buddhism became the disenchanted historical Buddha of the West.