First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Healing the Heart and Mind with Mindfulness is a practical book that provides strategies using mindfulness to manage stress, anxiety and depression, as well as ways to cultivate psychological wellbeing. Uniquely, it combines a traditional Buddhist approach to mindfulness with contemporary psychology and current perspectives. Drawing on the author's many years of clinical experience as a psychologist as well as his personal experience in Buddhist meditation practices, it outlines how the Buddha's four applications of mindfulness can provide a pathway to psychological wellbeing, and how this can be used personally or with clinical populations. This accessible, user friendly book provides strategies for healing the heart and mind. Malcolm Huxter introduces mindfulness as it is presented in Buddhist psychology and guides the reader through meditations in a systematic way. The practices are clearly explained and supported by relevant real life stories. Being aware that mindfulness and meditation are simple but not easy, Huxter guides the reader from the basics of mindfulness and meditation through to the more refined aspects. He provides a variety of different exercises and guided meditations so that individuals are able to access what suits them. The guided meditations can be streamed or accessed as free audio downloads. Healing the Heart and Mind with Mindfulness is aimed at anyone who wishes to use mindfulness practices for psychological freedom. This book provides insight and clarity into the clinical and general applications of Buddhist mindfulness and will be of interest to mental health practitioners, students of mindfulness, professional mindfulness coaches and trainers, researchers and academics wishing to understand Buddhist mindfulness and the general public.

This work explores the fertile interaction of Buddhism, shamanism and Tibetan culture with the subject of dreaming. Examining the 'third place' of dreams from these persepctives, Sumegi questions the interpretation of the contradictory Tibetan attitudes towards dreams as a difference between popular and elite religion.

In the early 21st century, Buddhism has become ubiquitous in America and other western nations, moving beyond the original bodhi tree in India to become a major global religion. During its journey westward, it has changed, adapted to new cultures, and offered spiritual help to many people looking for answers to the problems of life. It is being studied in institutions of higher education, being practice by many people, and having its literature translated and published. The A to Z of Buddhism covers and clarifies Buddhist concepts, significant figures, movements, schools, places, activities, and periods. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 700 cross-referenced dictionary entries.

Since the publication of Mark Siderits' important book in 2003, much has changed in the field of Buddhist philosophy. There has been unprecedented growth in analytic metaphysics, and a considerable amount of new work on Indian theories of the self and personal identity has emerged. Fully revised and updated, and drawing on these changes as well as on developments in the author's own thinking, Personal Identity and Buddhist Philosophy, second edition explores the conversation between Buddhist and Western Philosophy showing how concepts and tools drawn from one philosophical tradition can help solve problems arising in another. Siderits discusses afresh areas involved in the philosophical investigation of persons, including vagueness and its implications for personal identity, recent attempts by scholars of Buddhist philosophy to defend the attribution of an emergentist account of personhood to at least some Buddhists, and whether a distinctively Buddhist antirealism can avoid problems that beset other forms of ontological anti-foundationalism.

This book offers a Buddhist perspective on the conflict between religion and science in contemporary western society. Examining Buddhist history, authors Francisca Cho and Richard K. Squier offer a comparative analysis of Buddhist and western scientific epistemologies that transcends the limitations of non-Buddhist approaches to the subject of religion and science. The book is appropriate for undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers interested in comparative religion or in the intersection of religion and science and Buddhist Studies.

This book offers a Buddhist perspective on the conflict between religion and science in contemporary western society. Examining Buddhist history, authors Francisca Cho and Richard K. Squier offer a comparative analysis of Buddhist and western scientific epistemologies that transcends the limitations of non-Buddhist approaches to the subject of religion and science. The book is appropriate for undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers interested in comparative religion or in the intersection of religion and science and Buddhist Studies.

This work explores the fertile interaction of Buddhism, shamanism and Tibetan culture with the subject of dreaming. Examining the 'third place' of dreams from these persepctives, Sumegi questions the interpretation of the contradictory Tibetan attitudes towards dreams as a difference between popular and elite religion.

Buddhism is widely known to advocate a stance of total pacifism towards all sentient beings, and because of this, it is often thought that Buddhist doctrine would stipulate that non-violent food practices, such as vegetarianism, be mandatory. However, the Pali source materials do not encourage vegetarianism and most Buddhists do not practice it. Using research based on ethnographic evidence and interviews, this book discusses this issue by presenting an investigation of vegetarianism and animal ethics within a Buddhist cultural domain. Focusing on Sri Lanka, a place of great historical significance to Buddhism, the book looks at how lay Buddhists and the clergy came to understand the role of vegetarianism and animal ethics in Buddhism. It analyses whether the Buddha preached a view that encouraged vegetarianism, and how this squares with his pacifism towards animals. The book goes on to question how Buddhist food practices intersect with other secular activities such as traditional medicine, as well as discussing the wider implications of Buddhist animal pacifism including vegetarian political movements and animal rights groups. Shedding light on a subject that, until now, has only been tangentially treated by scholars, this interdisciplinary study will be of interest to those working in the fields of Buddhist Studies, Religion and Philosophy, as well as South Asian Studies.

This new study looks at how non-human animals have been viewed in the Buddhist and Christian religious traditions. The concept of speciesism, coined in 1970 as an analogy to racism and discussed almost exclusively within philosophical circles, is used to explore very basic questions about which animals, human or otherwise, were significant to early Buddhists and Christians. Drawing on scriptures and interpretive traditions in Christianity and Buddhism, Waldau argues that decisions about human ethical responsibilities in both religions are deeply rooted in ancient understandings of the place of humans in the world and our relationships with other animals in an integrated cosmos. His study offers scholars and others interested in the bases for ethical decisions new insights into Christian and Buddhist reasoning about animals as well as what each might have to offer to the current discussions about animal rights and environmental ethics.

Into the Mountain Stream represents a natural development in the conversation between Buddhism and psychoanalysis. This fluid, evolving, multi-textured conversation encompasses theory, philosophy, technique and the personal experiences of those involved as patients, as clinicians and as Buddhist practitioners. This edition, which formalizes and furthers this living conversation between Buddhism and psychoanalysis, in the form and style proposed, is not presently available. Clinical material expands and enriches the present rapidly growing theoretical and technical literature. In this sense, this collection bridges the gap between discourse that has impact and language that is informational. Some of the many questions that we examine include: -How does psychotherapy deepen the practitioner's Buddhist involvements? -How do both practices interact to enrich an individual's life? -What is the efficacy of a Buddhist informed psychotherapy? -What are the global and societal ramifications of the expanded vision that might derive from the mutual efficacy of both Buddhism and psychoanalysis? The contributors address the issues under discussion cogently, compellingly and succinctly through first-hand accounts both in psychotherapy and in Buddhist practice. We address the question of how Buddhist beliefs and practices become integrated into one's therapeutic stance. For example, what are the fundamental Buddhist principles of emptiness and dependent-arising and how does an understanding of these foundational cornerstones of Buddhist philosophy and experience influence clinical work? How do the basic psychoanalytic notions of transference and countertransference, when applied clinically, facilitate deepened involvement with Buddhist practice?

How do contemporary Westerners and Tibetans understand not only what it means to be 'Buddhist', but what it means to be hailed as one from 'the West' or from 'Tibet'? This anthropological study examines the encounter between Western travellers and Tibetan exiles in Bodhanath, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal and analyses the importance of Buddhism in discussions of political, cultural and religious identity. Based on extensive field research in Nepal, Buddhism Observed questions traditional assumptions about Buddhism and examines the rarely considered phenomenon of Western conversions to a non-Western religion. Scholars of Anthropology, Religion and Cultural Studies will find here a refreshing insight into how to approach 'other' societies, religions and cultures.

The Western image of Tibet as a sacred land is in many ways a mythical construction. But the Tibetans themselves have traditionally mapped out their land in terms of areas of sacred space, and pilgrimage, ensuring a high degree of mobility within all classes of Tibetan society. Pilgrims travelled to local, regional, and national centres throughout recorded Tibetan history. In recent years, pilgrimage has resumed in areas where it had been forbidden by the Chinese authorities, and has now become one of the most prominent religious expressions of Tibetan national identity. In this major new work, leading scholars of Asian pilgrimage traditions discuss historical and contemporary aspects of pilgrimage within the Tibetan cultural world. Myths and legends, material conditions, textual sources, a modern pilgrim's impressions, political and economic influences, biographies and contemporary developments - all these and many other issues are examined here. The result is an informative and often entertaining work which contributes greatly to our knowledge of the history and culture of Tibet as well as the wider issues of religious power and practice.

By providing an annotated translation of, and applying the methods of literary criticism to, a first-century account of the life of the saint Purna, this study introduces the reader to the richness and complexity of an essential Buddhist genre.

It is difficult to think of a more urgent question for Buddhism in the late twentieth century than human rights. The political, ethical and philosophical questions surrounding human rights are debated vigorously in political and intellectual circles throughout the world and now in this volume.

Prince Shotoku (573?-622?), the purported founder of Japanese Buddhism, is widely referred to as Japan's first national hero. The cult that grew up around his memory is recognized as one of the most important phenomena in early Japanese religion. This book examines the creation and evolution of the Shotoku cult over the roughly 200 years following his deatha period that saw a series of revolutionary developments in the history of Japanese religion. Michael Como highlights the activities of a cluster of kinship groups who claimed descent from ancestors from the Korean kingdom of Silla. He skillfully places these groups in their socio-cultural context and convincingly demonstrates their pivotal role in bringing continental influences to almost every aspect of government and community ideology in Japan. He argues that these immigrant kinship groups were not only responsible for the construction of the Shotoku cult, but were also associated with the introduction of the continental systems of writing, ritual, and governance.
By comparing the ancestral legends of these groups to the Shotoku legend corpus and Imperial chronicles, Como shows that these kinship groups not only played a major role in the formation of the Japanese Buddhist tradition, they also to a large degree shaped the paradigms in terms of which the Japanese Imperial cult and the nation of Japan were conceptualized and created. Offering a radically new picture of the Asuko and Nara period (551794), this innovative work will stimulate new approaches to the study of early Japanese religion focusing on the complex interactions among ideas of ethnicity, lineage, textuality, and ritual.

Business and Buddhism explores alternative ways of leading in the aftermath of the Great Recession and the many stories of fraud and greed that emerged. The book explores shifts in business perspectives as more value is placed on soft skills like emotional intelligence and listening, and introduces the reader to the principles in Buddhist philosophy that can be applied in the workplace. Buddhist practices are increasingly understood as spiritual, rather than religious per se. In fact, Buddhism is alternately referred to as a philosophy or psychology. In this book, Marques explores the value of applying the positive psychology of Buddhism to work settings. She outlines the ways in which it offers highly effective solutions to addressing important management and organizational behavior related issues, but also flags up critical areas for caution. For example, Buddhism is non-confrontational, and promotes detachment. How can business leaders negotiate these principles in light of the demands of modern day pressures? The book includes end of chapter questions to promote reflection and critical thinking, and examples of Buddhist leaders in action. It will prove a captivating read for students of organizational behavior, management, leadership, diversity and ethics, as well as business consultants.

This book approaches the Dhamma, the Buddha's teaching, from a Buddhistic perspective, viewing various individual teachings presented in hundreds of early discourses of Pali canon, comprehending them under a single systemic thought of a single individual called the Buddha. It explicates the structure of this thought, going through various contextual teachings and teaching categories of the discourses, treating them as necessary parts of a liberating thought that constitutes the right view of one who embraces the Buddha's teaching as his or her sole philosophy of life. It interprets the diverse individual dhammas as being in congruence with each other; and as contributory to forming the whole of the Buddha's teaching, the Dhamma. By exploring some selected topics such as ignorance, configurations, not-self, and nibbana in thirteen chapters, the book enables readers to understand the whole (the Dhamma) in relation to the parts (the dhammas), and the parts in relation to the whole, while realizing the importance of studying every single dhamma category or topic not for its own sake but for understand the entirety of the teaching. This way of viewing and explaining the teachings of the discourses enables readers to clearly comprehend the teaching of the Buddha in early Buddhism.

The number of Buddhists in Australia has grown dramatically in recent years. In 2006, Buddhists accounted for 2.1 per cent of Australia's population, almost doubling the 1996 figures, and making it the fastest growing religion in the country. This book analyses the arrival and localisation of Buddhism in Australia in the context of the globalisation of Buddhism. Australia's close geographical proximity to Asia has encouraged an intense flow of people, ideas, practices and commodities from its neighbouring countries, while at the same time allowing the development of the religion to be somewhat different to its growth in other Western countries. The book seeks to explore the Buddhist experience in Australia, looking at the similarities and particularities of this experience in relation to other Western countries. The inception of Buddhism in Australia is investigated, and a voice is provided to people on the ground who have been fundamental in making this process possible. For the first time, academic analysis and practitioners' experience are juxtaposed to show the adaptations and challenges of Buddhism in Australia from above and below. This book is a unique and valuable contribution to the study of Buddhism in the West, globalization of religion, and studies in Asian Religion.

It is generally accepted in the West that Buddhism is a 'peaceful' religion. The Western public tends to assume that the doctrinal rejection of violence in Buddhism would make Buddhist pacifists, and often expects Buddhist societies or individual Asian Buddhists to conform to the modern Western standards of 'peaceful' behavior. This stereotype - which may well be termed 'positive Orientalism,' since it is based on assumption that an 'Oriental' religion would be more faithful to its original non-violent teachings than Western Christianity - has been periodically challenged by enthusiastic acquiescence by monastic Buddhism to the most brutal sorts of warfare. This volume demolishes this stereotype, and produces instead a coherent, nuanced account on the modern Buddhist attitudes towards violence and warfare, which take into consideration both doctrinal logic of Buddhism and the socio-political situation in Asian Buddhist societies. The chapters in this book offer a deeper analysis of 'Buddhist militarism' and Buddhist attitudes towards violence than previous volumes, grounded in an awareness of Buddhist doctrines and the recent history of nationalism, as well as the role Buddhism plays in constructions of national identity. The international team of contributors includes scholars from Thailand, Japan, and Korea.

Mindfulness involves learning to be more aware of life as it unfolds moment by moment, even if these moments bring us difficulty, pain or suffering. This is a challenge we will all face at some time in our lives, and which health professionals face every day in their work. The Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living programme presents a new way of learning how to face the pressures of modern living by providing an antidote which teaches us how to cultivate kindness and compassion - starting with being kind to ourselves. Compassion involves both sensitivity to our own and others' suffering and the courage to deal with it. Integrating the work of experts in the field such as Paul Gilbert, Kristin Neff, Christopher Germer and Tara Brach, Erik van den Brink and Frits Koster have established an eight stage step-by-step compassion training programme, supported by practical exercises and free audio downloads, which builds on basic mindfulness skills. Grounded in ancient wisdom and modern science, they demonstrate how being compassionate shapes our minds and brains, and benefits our health and relationships. The programme will be helpful to many, including people with various types of chronic or recurring mental health problems, and can be an effective means of coping better with low self-esteem, self-reproach or shame, enabling participants to experience more warmth, safeness, acceptance and connection with themselves and others. Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living will be an invaluable manual for mindfulness teachers, therapists and counsellors wishing to bring the 'care' back into healthcare, both for their clients and themselves. It can also be used as a self-help guide for personal practice.

Emptiness means that all entities are empty of, or lack, inherent existence - entities have a merely conceptual, constructed existence. Though Nagarjuna advocates the Middle Way, his philosophy of emptiness nevertheless entails nihilism, and his critiques of the Nyaya theory of knowledge are shown to be unconvincing.

Book & Slipcase. The reader's regular perusal, and intelligent contemplation of the spiritual 'Plums' that are strewn about in these books, promises to help the spiritualising process in all serious students of esoteric lore, as well as all seekers of God, to become ever more firmly rooted (mind and heart) in the Divine.