This work introduces the reader to the central issues and theories in Western environmental ethics, and against this background develops a Buddhist environmental philosophy and ethics. Drawing material from original sources, there is a lucid exposition of Buddhist environmentalism, its ethics, economics and Buddhist perspectives for environmental education. The work is focused on a diagnosis of the contemporary environmental crisis and a Buddhist contribution for positive solutions. Replete with stories and illustrations from original Buddhist sources, it is both informative and engaging.

This work introduces the reader to the central issues and theories in western environmental ethics, and against this background develops a Buddhist environmental philosophy and code of ethics. It contains a lucid exposition of Buddhist environmentalism, its ethics, economics and Buddhist perspectives for environmental education. The work is focused on a diagnosis of the contemporary environmental crisis and a Buddhist contribution to positive solutions. Replete with stories and illustrations from original Buddhist sources, it is both informative and engaging.

The Radha Tantra is an anonymous 17th century tantric text from Bengal. The text offers a lively picture of the meeting of different religious traditions in 17th century Bengal, since it presents a Sakta version of the famous Vaisnava story of Radha and Krsna. This book presents a critically edited text of the Radha Tantra, based on manuscripts in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, as well as an annotated translation It is prefaced by an introduction that situates the text in its social and historical context and discusses its significance. The introduction also looks at the composition and metrics, vocabulary and grammar, and contents and doctrine of the text. It also includes a discussion of the extensive intertextualities of the Radha Tantra, as well as the sources used for this edition. The Sanskrit text in Roman transliteration, following the standard IAST system, is then presented, followed by an English translation of the text. This book will be of interest to scholars of South Asian Religion, Tantric Studies and Religious History.

An indispensable introduction to the evolution of Buddhist imagery from its origins in India through its spread to China, Japan, and South Asia For more than 2,000 years, sublime works of art have been created to embody essential aspects of Buddhist thought, which developed and evolved as its practice spread from India to East Asia and beyond. How to Read Buddhist Art introduces this complex visual tradition to a general audience by examining sixty seminal works. Beginning with the origins of representations of the Buddha in India, and moving on to address the development of Buddhist art as the religion spread across Asia, this book conveys how Buddhist philosophy affected artistic works and practice across cultural boundaries. Reliquaries, sculptures, and paintings produced in China, the Himalayas, Japan, Korea, and South and Southeast Asia provide insight into the rich iconography of Buddhism, the technical virtuosity of their makers, and the social and political climate in which they were created. Beautiful photographs of the artworks, maps, and a glossary of the major Buddhist deities offer an engaging and informative setting in which readers-regardless of their familiarity with Buddhism-can better understand the art related to the religion's practices and representations. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press

The Buddha Journey aspires to answer the most commonly asked questions beginning or advancing students would ask. The Buddha Journey covers your basic Buddhism 101 introduction, then answers over 100 questions about compassion, anger, forgiveness, meditation, impermanence, sex, karma, death, becoming a Buddhist and more! Quang Tri writes in a simple, easy-to-understand way that allows the reader to understand the content and contemplate the subject matter on their own for their own interpretation."

'The monk who taught the world mindfulness' Time This is the definitive book on mindfulness from the beloved Zen master and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh. With his signature clarity and warmth, he shares practical exercises and anecdotes to help us arrive at greater self-understanding and peacefulness, whether we are beginners or advanced students. Beautifully written, The Miracle of Mindfulness is the essential guide to welcoming presence in your life and truly living in the moment from the father of mindfulness. 'One of the most influential spiritual leaders of our times' Oprah

Zen is not a religion of God, nor a religion of faith. It is a religion of emptiness, a religion of absolute nothingness. However it is not nothingness but dynamically positive, for Zen is based on self-awakening, awakening to the self. In this book, a sequel to Zen and Western Thought, the author tries to clarify the true meaning of Buddhist emptiness in comparison with Aristotelian notion of substance and Whiteheadron notion of process. He also emphasises that Buddhism completely defies and overcomes dualism, but it is not monistic, but rather nondualistic. What is Nondualism? This is one of the important themes of this book.

This book examines culture, religion and polity in the context of Buddhism. Gananath Obeyesekere, one of the foremost analytical voices from South Asia develops Freud's notion of 'dream work', the 'work of culture' and ideas of no-self (anatta) to understand Buddhism in contemporary Sri Lanka. This work offers a restorative interpretation of Buddhist myths in contrast to the perspective involving deconstruction. The book deals with a range of themes connected with Buddhism, including oral traditions and stories, the religious pantheon, philosophy, emotions, reform movements, questions of identity and culture, and issues of modernity. This fascinating volume will greatly interest students, teachers and researchers of religion and philosophy, especially Buddhism, ethics, cultural studies, social and cultural anthropology, Sri Lanka and modern South Asian history.

Ecotherapy in Practice reflects the growing interest and research in this field. Drawing on a diversity of experience from the counselling and psychotherapy professions, but also from practitioners in community work, mental health and education, this book explores the exciting and innovative possibilities involved in practising outdoors. Caroline Brazier brings to bear her experience and knowledge as a psychotherapist, group worker and trainer over several decades to think about therapeutic work outdoors in all its forms. The book presents a model of ecotherapy based on principles drawn from Buddhist psychology and Western psychotherapy which focuses particularly on the relationship between person and environment at three levels, moving from the personal level of individual history to cultural influences, then finally to global circumstances, all of which condition mind-states and psychological wellbeing. Ecotherapy in Practice will provide refreshing and valuable reading for psychotherapists and counsellors in the field, those interested in Buddhism, and other mental health and health professionals working outdoors

This book explores the reciprocity between Buddhist, Derridean, and Foucauldian understandings about ethics, subjectivity, and ontological contingency, to investigate the ethical and political potential of insight meditation practice. The book is narrated from the perspective of a postcolonial 'Western Buddhist' convert who, despite growing up in Singapore where Buddhism was a part of his disaporic 'Chinese' ancestral heritage, only embraced Buddhism when he migrated to Australia and discovered Western translations of Buddhist teachings. Through an autoethnography of the author's Buddhist-inspired pursuit of an academic profession, the book develops and professes a non-doctrinal understanding of faith that may be pertinent to 'believers' and 'non-believers' alike, inviting the academic reader in particular to consider the (unacknowledged) role of faith in supporting scholarly practice. Striking a careful balance between critical analysis and self-reflexive inquiry, the book performs in all senses of the word, a profession of faith.

This book is a study on the nature and effects of the Theravada Buddhist religious experiences of the four supramundane fruits of the Noble Eightfold Path - the experience of the fruit which is stream-entry, once returning, non-returning and Arahanthship - with special focus on the experience of stream-entry.It represents the first time within Theravada Buddhist studies that a serious textual study has been combined with a substantial field research. Despite disciplinary rules which virtually prohibit a monk with higher ordination from discussing their personal religious experiences, this book presents seven comprehensive anonymous interviews conducted mainly with forest monks on their meditative experiences.The study presents a definition for the 'supramundane fruit' of the path and an alternate framework to discuss and evaluate Theravada Buddhist religious experiences. It then uses this framework to address some longstanding debates around the Theravada path and its fruits thus bringing experience back to the centre stage of these debates.

The Buddhist view of inter-religious dialogue is significantly different from, say, that of Christianity. In Christianity Jesus Christ, being the only incarnation in the history, has an inexplicable uniqueness. It must be maintained even in the inter-faith dialogue. By contrast, in Buddhism Guatama Buddha is not the only Buddha, but one of many Buddhas. His uniqueness is realized in the fact that he is the first Buddha in human history. Furthermore, the Buddhist teaching of dependent co-origination and emptiness not only provides a dynamic common basis for various religions, but also will suggest a creative cooperation amongst world religions. The book clarifies such a Buddhist view and inter-religious dialogue from various perspectives.

Abandon your treasured delusions and hit the road with one of the most important Zen masters of twentieth-century Japan.
Eschewing the entrapments of vanity, power, and money, "Homeless" Kodo Sawaki Roshi refused to accept a permanent position as a temple abbot, despite repeated offers. Instead, he lived a traveling, "homeless" life, going from temple to temple, student to student, teaching and instructing and never allowing himself to stray from his chosen path. He is responsible for making Soto Zen available to the common people outside of monasteries.
His teachings are short, sharp, and powerful. Always clear, often funny, and sometimes uncomfortably close to home, they jolt us into awakening.
Kosho Uchiyama expands and explains his teacher's wisdom with his commentary. Trained in Western philosophy, he draws parallels between Zen teachings and the Bible, Descartes, and Pascal. Shohaku Okumura has also added his own commentary, grounding his teachers' power and sagacity for the contemporary, Western practitioner.
Experience the timeless, practical wisdom of three generations of Zen masters.

Nagarjuna's renowned 27-chapter 'Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way' ('Mulamadhyamakakarika'), the definitive, touchstone presentation of the doctrine of emptiness, is the foundational text of the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. Professors Siderits and Katsura prepared this translation using the four surviving Indian commentaries in an attempt to reconstruct an interpretation of its enigmatic verses that adheres as closely as possible to that of its earliest proponents.

This book discusses contemporary issues in medical ethics from a Buddhist perspective. Drawing on ancient and modern sources, Damien Keown shows how Buddhist ethical principles can be applied consistently to a range of bioethical problems, including abortion, embryo research, and euthanasia.

In this first serious study of Hanshan ("Cold Mountain"), Paul Rouzer discusses some seventy poems of the iconic Chinese poet who lived sometime during the Tang dynasty (618-907). Hanshan's poems gained a large readership in English-speaking countries following the publication of Jack Kerouac's novel The Dharma Bums (1958) and Gary Snyder's translations (which began to appear that same year), and they have been translated into English more than any other body of Chinese verse. Rouzer investigates how Buddhism defined the way that believers may have read Hanshan in premodern times. He proposes a Buddhist poetics as a counter-model to the Confucian assumptions of Chinese literary thought and examines how texts by Kerouac, Snyder, and Jane Hirshfield respond to the East Asian Buddhist tradition.

This book tries to clarify a Buddhist view of interfaith dialogue from various points of view. It discusses how the Buddhist notion of Sunyata (Emptiness) works dynamically for mutual understanding and transformation of world religions. It also analyzes dialogue between Buddhism and Contemporary Christian theology, especially that of Paul Tillioh and Langdon Gillay.

Mysticism is popularly understood as becoming one with God or the Absolute. Here in this inspirational book are the Dalai Lama's thoughts on: The nature and meaning of mysticism How we can live lives infused with mystical experience How mysticism can result in both personal and social change. The book consists of four sections that provide an accessible introduction to the Dalai Lama's core teachings on the mystical path: Introduction Quotations Lecture on mysticism by the Dalai Lama Glossary This is a book for fans of His Holiness and anyone interested in developing a rich and meaningful inner life.

This book examines the potential of conducting studies in comparative hagiology, through parallel literary and historical analyses of spiritual life writings pertaining to distinct religious contexts. In particular, it focuses on a comparative analysis of the early sources on the medieval Christian Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) and the Tibetan Buddhist Milarepa (c. 1052-1135), up to and including the so-called 'standard versions' of their life stories written by Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (1221-1274) and Tsangnyoen Heruka (1452-1507) respectively. The book thus demonstrates how in the social and religious contexts of both 1200s Italy and 1400s Tibet, narratives of the lives, deeds and teachings of two individuals recognized as spiritual champions were seen as the most effective means to promote spiritual, doctrinal and political agendas. Therefore, as well being highly relevant to those studying hagiographical sources, this book will be of interest to scholars working across the fields of religion and the comparative study of religious phenomena, as well as history and literature in the pre-modern period.

Zen: Tradition and Transition brings together some of the foremost Zen masters and scholars to create a unique sourcebook for anyone interested in understanding this rich tradition, its history, and its current practice. The wide-ranging original contributions include Chinese master Shen-yen on the essential techniques of meditation; Philip Kapleau on the master-disciple relationship; and Philip Yampolsky on the historical evolution of Japanese Zen. Burton Watson explores Zen poetry using classics from China and Japan, while Albert Low demonstrates the spirited style of Zen commentary in his essay on one of the tradition's best-known texts. Other fascinating pieces include Morinaga Sato's memoir, "My Struggle to Become a Zen Monk, " and T. Griffith Foulk's portrait of the daily life of modern Zen monks in Japan. Both accessible to beginners and challenging to the serious student of Zen, this is an authoritative and complete perspective on a philosophical tradition that has flourished for a thousand years.

Included in this volume are Suzuki's famous study "Enlightenment and Ignorance," a chapter on "Practical Methods of Zen Instruction," the essays "On Satori -- The Revelation of a New Truth in Zen Buddhism" and "History of Zen Buddhism from Bodhidharma to Hui-NIng (Yeno)," and his commentary on "The Ten Cow-herding Pictures" which have long been used in Zen to illustrate the stages of spiritual progress.

An insightful look at the historical damages early colonizers of America caused and how their descendants may recognize and heal the harm done to the earth and the native peoples Inherited Silence tells the story of beloved land in California's Napa Valley-how the land fared during the onslaught of colonization and how it fares now in the drought, development, and wildfires that are the consequences of the colonial mind. Author Louise Dunlap's ancestors were among the first Europeans to claim ownership of traditional lands of the Wappo people during a period of genocide. As settlers, her ancestors lived the dream of Manifest Destiny, their consciousness changing only gradually over the generations. When Dunlap's generation inherited the land, she had already begun to wonder about its unspoken story. What had kept her ancestors from seeing and telling the truth of their history? What had they brought west with them from the very earliest colonial experience in New England? Dunlap looks back into California's and America's history for the key to their silences and a way to heal the wounds of the land, its original people, and the harmful mind of the colonizer. It's a powerful story that will awaken others to consider their own ancestors' role in colonization and encourage them to begin reparations for the harmful actions of those who came before. More broadly, it offers a way for every reader to evaluate their own current life actions and the lasting impact they can have on society and our planet.

In Integrative Spirituality, Patrick J. Mahaffey elucidates spirituality as a developmental process that is enhanced by integrating the teachings and practices of multiple religious traditions, Jungian depth psychology, and contemplative yoga. In the postmodern world of religious pluralism, Mahaffey compellingly argues that each of us must fashion a unique path to wholeness which integrates aspects of life and of the self that have become disconnected and disowned. Integrative Spirituality uniquely conjoins four components: exemplary religious pluralists from three traditions, individuation, the forms of contemplative Hindu yoga that have been successfully transmitted to the West, and a presentation of two models for integrating psychological growth and spiritual awakening. The book presents pioneering practitioners in each field who exemplify how we may fashion our own approach to integrating both spiritual awakening and psychological development and delineates an array of spiritual practices that integrate the somatic, psychological, interpersonal, and spiritual aspects of life. Ultimately, Mahaffey contends that integrative spirituality is a mode of being that fully embraces the divinity inherent in each of us and in the world. Integrative Spirituality will be essential reading for academics and students of Jungian and post-Jungian studies, transpersonal and Jungian psychology, and religious studies and contemplative education. It will also be of interest to analytical and depth psychologists in practice and in training, and to anyone seeking a greater understanding of spirituality, psychological growth, religious traditions, individuation, and contemplative yoga.

Analayo outlines how to meditate on emptiness, according to early Buddhism. His presentation is geared to practical concerns, something that the reader can put into practice when sitting on the cushion, with an appendix giving a translation of the key discourses from the Pali and Chinese. This brings out an aspect of early Buddhism so far fairly neglected, providing an important perspective on emptiness as a form of meditation in relation to later developments, and is a practical companion to his bestselling book: Satipatthana.

Zen Buddhism was founded in China in the 6th century A.D. and in due course this direct path to Enlightenment passed to Japan, where it is flourishing today. It first came West in 1927 with the publication of Dr D.T. Suzuki's first series of Essays in Zen Buddhism, to be followed by other works dealing with this school of spiritual endeavour. Since then, there has been a great expansion of interest in Buddhism, and particularly in Zen training. In this work an attempt is made to guide the reader towards Zen teaching in practice, as well as theory, and to provide the material for further explorations into this significant area of meditative experience.