Based on the 500BC teachings of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, this book explains the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to enlightenment.

2010 reprint of 1939 edition. The Reverend Justinas Pranaitis (1861-1917) was a Lithuanian Catholic priest, Russian Master of Theology and Professor of the Hebrew Language at the Imperial Ecclesiastical Academy of the Roman Catholic Church in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He published The Talmud Unmasked as an anti-Semitic tract called Christianus in Talmude Iudaeorum in Latin in 1892 under the imprimatur of the Archbishop Metropolitan of Mogilev. This tract was subsequently translated into Polish (1892), French (1892), German (1894), Russian (1911), Lithuanian (1912), Italian (1939), English (1939) and Spanish. In 1912, Pranaitis was called to testify as an expert witness in Jewish hatred of Christians in the famous case of Menahem Mendel Beilis. During the course of that trial his credibility rapidly evaporated, however, when the defense demonstrated his ignorance of some simple Talmudic concepts and definitions, such as hullin, to the point where many in the audience occasionally laughed out loud when he clearly became confused and couldn't even intelligibly answer some of the questions asked by my lawyer. According to accounts of the trial, "cross-examination of Pranaitis has weakened evidentiary value of his expert opinion, exposing lack of knowledge of texts, insufficient knowledge of Jewish literature. Because of amateurish knowledge and lack of resourcefulness, Pranaitis' expert opinion is of very low value." The significance of The Talmud Unmasked is as an influential anti-Semitic tract written from a Catholic perspective.

One of the most popular Asian classics for roughly two thousand years, the Vimalakirti Sutra stands out among the sacred texts of Mahayana Buddhism for its conciseness, its vivid and humorous episodes, its dramatic narratives, and its eloquent exposition of the key doctrine of emptiness or nondualism. Unlike most sutras, its central figure is not a Buddha but a wealthy townsman, who, in his mastery of doctrine and religious practice, epitomizes the ideal lay believer. For this reason, the sutra has held particular significance for men and women of the laity in Buddhist countries of Asia, assuring them that they can reach levels of spiritual attainment fully comparable to those accessible to monks and nuns of the monastic order.

Esteemed translator Burton Watson has rendered a beautiful English translation from the popular Chinese version produced in 406 C.E. by the Central Asian scholar-monk Kumarajiva, which is widely acknowledged to be the most felicitous of the various Chinese translations of the sutra (the Sanskrit original of which was lost long ago) and is the form in which it has had the greatest influence in China, Japan, and other countries of East Asia. Watson's illuminating introduction discusses the background of the sutra, its place in the development of Buddhist thought, and the profundities of its principal doctrine: emptiness.

In Understanding the Talmud: A Modern Reader's Guide for Study, Rabbi Edward S. Boraz presents a thoughtful introduction to the Talmud designed for study by the untrained reader. Using a unique approach, Rabbi Boraz focuses on a specific selection from one tractate of the Talmud, allowing readers to uncover the moral and theological concerns of the text. The portion he has selected comes from the tractate Bava Metziah and deals with the conditions under which an oath may be administered in a civil lawsuit. On the surface this issue appears mundane and far removed from the domain of holiness. However, when the discourse is studied in relation to passages from Scripture, Midrash, and Mishnah that are also presented, it becomes a spiritual and ethical adventure. Before embarking on this journey of discovery, the reader is given a concise explanation of the rules of logic and the argumentative style utilized in the Talmud. It becomes evident that the Talmud's style is essential to its mission to understand the timeless messages of Torah in the context of the ever-changing world in which we live. Equipped with the necessary background, the reader is prepared to delve into the texts.

Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century: Sh'eilot Ut'shuvot is the latest in an ongoing series of Reform Responsa. Drawing from the breadth of traditional and modern Jewish texts, law, and ideology, this two volume set addresses over seventy contemporary topics, including conversion of adopted children, fertility treatments, patrilineal descent, issues of synagogue management, social justice activism, interfaith marriage and rituals of death and mourning. Volume 1 covers 1996-1999 (5756-5769).Rabbi Mark Washofsky, Ph.D is the Solomon B. Freehof Professor of Jewish Law and Practice at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati and the Chair of the Responsa Committee of the CCAR. He received his rabbinical ordination in 1980 and Ph.D. in 1987 from HUC-JIR. Rabbi Washofsky specializes in the literature of the Talmud and Jewish law and is the author of Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice.The CCAR Press, established in 1889, is the oldest publisher of Jewish liturgy in North America. The CCAR Press is proud to make prayer books and other resources available to rabbis, cantors, scholars, educators and congregations

Reform Responsa for the Twenty-First Century: Sh'eilot Ut'shuvot is the latest in an ongoing series of Reform Responsa. Drawing from the breadth of traditional and modern Jewish texts, law, and ideology, this two volume set addresses over seventy contemporary topics, including conversion of adopted children, fertility treatments, patrilineal descent, issues of synagogue management, social justice activism, interfaith marriage and rituals of death and mourning. Voume 2 includes 1999-2007 (5769-5757).Rabbi Mark Washofsky, Ph.D is the Solomon B. Freehof Professor of Jewish Law and Practice at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati and the Chair of the Responsa Committee of the CCAR. He received his rabbinical ordination in 1980 and Ph.D. in 1987 from HUC-JIR. Rabbi Washofsky specializes in the literature of the Talmud and Jewish law and is the author of Jewish Living: A Guide to Contemporary Reform Practice.

Yogi Amrit Desai, one of the earliest pioneers of yoga in this country, began teaching in 1960. Out of the Kundalini awakening he experienced in 1970, Yogi Desai developed a spiritual dimension to the practice of Hatha Yoga and named it Kripalu Yoga in honor of his guru, Swami Sri Kripalvanandji. Today, more than 5,000 yoga teachers are certified in the methodology he developed. A prolific author, his books include Kripalu Yoga: Meditation in Motion, Book I and II and Amrit Yoga, and the upcoming Love & Bliss, a book of inspirational poetry for daily living, also available on CD, read by Yogi Desai.

2009 reprint of 1939 edition. The Reverend Justinas Pranaitis (1861-1917) was a Lithuanian Catholic priest, Russian Master of Theology and Professor of the Hebrew Language at the Imperial Ecclesiastical Academy of the Roman Catholic Church in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He published The Talmud Unmasked as an anti-Semitic tract called Christianus in Talmude Iudaeorum in Latin in 1892 under the imprimatur of the Archbishop Metropolitan of Mogilev. This tract was subsequently translated into Polish (1892), French (1892), German (1894), Russian (1911), Lithuanian (1912), Italian (1939), English (1939) and Spanish. In 1912, Pranaitis was called to testify as an expert witness in Jewish hatred of Christians in the famous case of Menahem Mendel Beilis. During the course of that trial his credibility rapidly evaporated, however, when the defense demonstrated his ignorance of some simple Talmudic concepts and definitions, such as hullin, to the point where many in the audience occasionally laughed out loud when he clearly became confused and couldn't even intelligibly answer some of the questions asked by my lawyer. According to accounts of the trial, "cross-examination of Pranaitis has weakened evidentiary value of his expert opinion, exposing lack of knowledge of texts, insufficient knowledge of Jewish literature. Because of amateurish knowledge and lack of resourcefulness, Pranaitis' expert opinion is of very low value." The significance of The Talmud Unmasked is as an influential anti-Semitic tract written from a Catholic perspective.

Steiner sees Krishna as a great spiritual teacher and the Bhagavad Gita as a preparation, though still abstract, for the coming of Christ and the Christ impulse as the living embodiment of the world, law, and devotion, represented by the three Hindu streams of Veda, Sankhya, and Yoga. For him, the epic poem of the Bhagavad Gita represents the fully ripened fruit of Hinduism, whereas Paul is related but represents the seed of something entirely new. In the last lecture, Steiner reveals Krishna as the sister soul of Adam, incarnated as Jesus, and claims Krishas Yoga teachings streamed from Christ into Paul.

The holy book of Islam, the Koran as a book is the result of: 1. revelations given to Muhammad in the period 610- 632 (Muhammad's death) 2. writing down of these revelations by people around Muhammad in a period probably starting some years after 610, and ending a couple of years after 632 3. compiling of these writings stretching from mid-630s and perhaps until mid-650s 4. vowelling and dotting of the text (ancient Arabic was written without dots, leaving some letters look identical, and without vowels, which can make two different words look identical). Old Koran Essential to the reading of the Koran are the interpretations, which are still conducted, but which were more normal and accepted in the first centuries of Islam. As the Koran has a structure and a language, as well as allusions, which often are difficult for the normal Muslim to understand, a whole science were built around the comprehension of the Koran. The early Muslims studied history, language and nature science in an effort of understanding the Koran better. The product is surprisingly well accepted by the whole Muslim society, and no Muslim child or adult of today, studying the Koran, does this without help from the interpretations built on the early science of the Koran.

This is a treatise on the meaning of "The Sutra on Generating the Resolve to Become a Buddha." It was written by the famous early Indian shastra master and bodhisattva, Shramana Vasubandhu (ca 300 ce). In this text, Vasubandhu discourses on the causality behind the origination of the bodhisattva vow (bodhicitta) and on each of the six perfections through which that vow reaches its fruition in buddhahood. This volume includes facing-page source text in both traditional and simplified scripts, variant-readings from other editions, and translator's notes. The translation is by the American monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra, a translator of numerous important classic Buddhist works.

This is The Bodhisambhara Shastra ("Treatise on the Provisions for Enlightenment"), written by Arya Nagarjuna, the early Indian monk (ca 2nd c.) who is one of the most famous figures in the history of Indian Mahayana Buddhism. This work describes the essential prerequisites for achieving the complete enlightenment of a buddha while also describing the most important practices to be undertaken by bodhisattvas. The text is accompanied here by an abridged version of its only commentary, originally written by the early Indian Bhikshu Vasitva, a monk who lived sometime in the middle or first half of the first millennium. This volume includes facing-page source text for the stanzas in both traditional and simplified scripts. Abridgement, notes, and translation by the American monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra.

This is Tripitaka Master Paramartha's earliest (ca 550 ce) complete edition of The Ratnavali, one of Arya Nagarjuna's most important works. In its five 100-verse chapters, Nagarjuna presents both abstruse teachings and practical advice to lay and monastic practitioners while also describing in considerable detail the short-term and long-term terrains of the Bodhisattva Path. This very early edition is particularly useful in shedding light on difficult passages in the much-later Tibetan "revised translation" edition, the only other complete edition of this work. Translation by the American monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra. This volume includes facing-page source text in both traditional and simplified scripts.

In this volume, Bhikshu Dharmamitra presents translations of three classic works on the bodhisattva vow (bodhicitta) authored by: The early Indian monastic eminence, Arya Nagarjuna (2nd c.); The Dhyana Master and Pureland Patriarch, Sheng'an Shixian (1686-1734); The Tang Dynasty literatus and prime minister, the Honorable Peixiu (797-870). Given that the bodhisattva vow constitutes the very essence of the path to buddhahood, this text can be said to be dedicated to the most important topic in all of Mahayana Buddhism. The translation and notes are by the American monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra. This volume includes text outlines and facing-page source text in both traditional and simplified scripts.

This text is a translation of chapters 17-30 of Arya Nagarjuna's immense "Exegesis on the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra" (Mahaprajnaparamita-upadesa). It is a free-standing section of that commentary exclusively devoted to analyzing and explaining the various levels of practice of the bodhisattva's six perfections. In it, Nagarjuna sets forth numerous stories, analogies, and analyses as he reveals the deepest meaning of giving, moral virtue, patience, vigor, meditative discipline, and transcendent wisdom, the six primary qualities cultivated by a bodhisattva in progressing toward buddhahood. The translation is by the American monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra. This volume includes facing-page source text in both traditional and simplified scripts as well as extensive text-structure outlining provided by the translator.

"The Essentials of Buddhist Meditation" is a classic Buddhist meditation instruction manual deeply rooted in the Indian Buddhist "calming-and-insight" meditation tradition. Within its tradition, it is the universally-acknowledged standard beginning-to-intermediate meditation manual, one which offers perhaps the most reliable, comprehensive, and practically-useful Buddhist meditation instruction currently available in English. The author of "The Essentials" is the sixth-century monk and meditation master, Shramana Zhiyi (Chih-i), one of the most illustrious figures in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Master Zhiyi is famous for his role in the founding of the Tiantai teachings lineage and for his authorship of a quartet of meditation manuals of which this is one. The translator of this volume is the American monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra, a translator of numerous classic works from the Indian and Chinese Buddhist traditions.

Nine short essays exploring the K'iche' Maya story of creation, the Popol Vuh. Written during the lockdown in Chicago in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, these essays consider the Popol Vuh as a work that was also written during a time of feverish social, political, and epidemiological crisis as Spanish missionaries and colonial military deepened their conquest of indigenous peoples and cultures in Mesoamerica. What separates the Popol Vuh from many other creation texts is the disposition of the gods engaged in creation. Whereas the book of Genesis is declarative in telling the story of the world's creation, the Popol Vuh is interrogative and analytical: the gods, for example, question whether people actually need to be created, given the many perfect animals they have already placed on earth. Emergency uses the historical emergency of the Popol Vuh to frame the ongoing emergencies of colonialism that have surfaced all too clearly in the global health crisis of COVID-19. In doing so, these essays reveal how the authors of the Popol Vuh-while implicated in deep social crisis-nonetheless insisted on transforming emergency into scenes of social, political, and intellectual emergence, translating crisis into creativity and world creation.

This is the second volume of a translation of India's most beloved and influential epic saga, the monumental R?m?ya?a of V?lm?ki. Of the seven sections of this great Sanskrit masterpiece, the Ayodhyak???a is the most human, and it remains one of the best introductions to the social and political values of traditional India. This readable translation is accompanied by commentary that elucidates the various problems of the text--philological, aesthetic, and cultural. The annotations make extensive use of the numerous commentaries on the R?m?ya?a composed in medieval India. The substantial introduction supplies a historical context for the poem and a critical reading that explores its literary and ideological components.