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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Aspects of religions (non-Christian) > Worship > General
This illuminating account of contemporary American Buddhism shows
the remarkable ways the tradition has changed over the past
generation The past couple of decades have witnessed Buddhist
communities both continuing the modernization of Buddhism and
questioning some of its limitations. In this fascinating portrait
of a rapidly changing religious landscape, Ann Gleig illuminates
the aspirations and struggles of younger North American Buddhists
during a period she identifies as a distinct stage in the
assimilation of Buddhism to the West. She observes both the
emergence of new innovative forms of deinstitutionalized Buddhism
that blur the boundaries between the religious and secular, and a
revalorization of traditional elements of Buddhism, such as ethics
and community, that were discarded in the modernization process.
Based on extensive ethnographic and textual research, the book
ranges from mindfulness debates in the Vipassana network to the sex
scandals in American Zen, while exploring issues around racial
diversity and social justice, the impact of new technologies, and
generational differences between baby boomer, Gen X, and millennial
teachers.
In this book, Masooda Bano presents an in-depth analysis of a new
movement that is transforming the way that young Muslims engage
with their religion. Led by a network of Islamic scholars in the
West, this movement seeks to revive the tradition of Islamic
rationalism. Bano explains how, during the period of colonial rule,
the exit of Muslim elites from madrasas, the Islamic scholarly
establishments, resulted in a stagnation of Islamic scholarship.
This trend is now being reversed. Exploring the threefold focus on
logic, metaphysics, and deep mysticism, Bano shows how Islamic
rationalism is consistent with Sunni orthodoxy and why it is so
popular among young, elite, educated Muslims, who are now engaging
with classical Islamic texts. One of the most tangible results of
this revival is that Islamic rationalism - rather than jihadism -
is emerging as one of the most influential movements in the
contemporary Muslim world.
Peace is not something we can buy. It is something we must learn to find within ourselves. This wise and soothing guide demonstrates how we can be "actively calm" by creating peace through meditation, and "calmly active" -- centered in the stillness and joy of our own essential nature while living a dynamic, fulfilling, and balanced life. Practical, inspiring, and highly effective, this book empowers the reader to transform anxiety and stress into happiness and peace. Inner Peace offers a potent antidote to our fast-paced world.
Yantra Yoga, the Buddhist parallel to the Hathayoga of the Hindu
tradition, is a system of practice entailing bodily movements,
breathing exercises, and visualizations. Originally transmitted by
the mahasiddhas of India and Oddiyana, its practice is nowadays
found in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism in relation to the
Anuttaratantras, more generally known under the Tibetan term
"trulkhor," whose Sanskrit equivalent is "yantra." The Union of the
Sun and Moon Yantra (Phrul 'khor nyi zla kha sbyor), orally
transmitted in Tibet in the eighth century by the great master
Padmasambhava to the Tibetan translator and Dzogchen master
Vairochana, can be considered the most ancient of all the systems
of Yantra, and its peculiarity is that it contains also numerous
positions which are also found in the classic Yoga tradition.
Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, one of the great living masters of Dzogchen
and Tantra, started transmitting this profound Yoga in the
seventies and at that time wrote this commentary, which is based on
the oral explanations of some Tibetan yogins and siddhas of the
twentieth century. All Western practitioners will benefit from the
extraordinary instructions contained in this volume.
Back by popular demand, the classic JPS holiday anthologies remain
essential and relevant in our digital age. Unequaled in-depth
compilations of classic and contemporary writings, they have long
guided rabbis, cantors, educators, and other readers seeking the
origins, meanings, and varied celebrations of the Jewish festivals.
The Rosh Hashanah Anthology is designed to make the commemoration
of the Jewish New Year meaningful as both a solemn and a festive
day. Its religious impact, significance, history, and messages are
embodied in the great treasures of Jewish classical writings-the
Bible, Talmud, midrashim, medieval theological and philosophical
works, codes of law and liturgy-and all are featured in this
volume. In addition, modern works by S. Y. Agnon, Franz Rosenzweig,
Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Elie Wiesel accompany liturgical
selections with commentaries, depictions of Rosh Hashanah
observances in many lands, detailed programming suggestions,
illustrations, and an extensive bibliography.
Preaching has been central to Muslim communities throughout the
centuries. The liturgical Friday sermon is a prime example,
although other genres that are less commonly known also serve
important functions. This book addresses the ways in which Muslims
relate various forms of religious oratory to authoritative
tradition in 21st-century Islamic practice, while striving to adapt
to local contexts and the changing circumstances of politics, media
and society. This is the first book of its kind to look at
homiletics beyond a specific country focus. Taking into
consideration the historical developments of Muslim preaching, it
offers a collection of thoroughly contextualised case studies of
oratory in Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Sweden and the USA.
The analyses presented here show shared emphasis on struggles for
legitimacy, efforts to speak authoritatively, as well as discursive
opportunities and constraints.
Experience the Transformational Power of Buddhism's Psychology of
the Heart with Bestselling Author Jack Kornfield
You have within you unlimited capacities for extraordinary love,
for joy, for communion with life, and for unshakable freedom--and
here is how to awaken them. In The Wise Heart," " celebrated author
and psychologist Jack Kornfield offers the most accessible,
comprehensive, and illuminating guide to Buddhist psychology ever
published in the West. For meditators and mental health
professionals, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike, here is a vision
of radiant human dignity, a journey to the highest expression of
human possibility--and a practical path for realizing it in our own
lives.
The pilgrimage to Mecca - the hajj - is a major aspect of the
Islamic religion, yet little has been written about its history or
of the conditions under which thousands of pilgrims from far flung
regions of the Islamic world travelled to the heart of the Arabian
peninsula. This pioneering book concentrates on the pilgrimage in
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when Mecca was ruled by
the Ottoman sultans. At a time when, for the majority of the
faithful, the journey was long, arduous and fraught with danger,
the provision of food, water, shelter and protection for pilgrims
presented a major challenge to the provincial governors of the vast
Ottoman Empire. Drawing on rich documentation left by Ottoman
administrators and on the accounts of contemporary pilgrims,
Suraiya Faroqhi here sheds new light on the trials and experiences
of everyday life for those undertaking the hajj.
Everything the engaged couple needs to know about the Jewish
marriage ceremony. Welcome new couples into Jewish life and your
congregation. Selecting a date and location for the wedding What is
a ketubah? A huppah? A step-by-step guide to a Jewish wedding Life
as Jewish newlyweds The perfect gift for the soon-to-be-wed couple.
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz renowned scholar, philosopher and spiritual
guide here reveals the essence of the Jewish calendar. With a
unique combination of intellectual brilliance and accessibility,
Rabbi Steinsaltz probes the meaning of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur,
Hanukka, Purim, Pesah and the other Jewish holidays. His insights
provide whole new ways of understanding the holidays, appreciating
their depth, and experiencing them to their fullest:
"Our festivals and holidays, remembrance days and special
occasions, ensure that the paths of our lives do not remain merely
dusty roads lacking meaningful points of distinction These special
days are the landmarks, signposts, and lights along the way
openings through which we may emerge from the stagnancy and rut of
life's routine. They provide us with opportunities not only to
celebrate and mourn, but also to renew and change ourselves "
Honorable Mention, 2019 Barbara T. Christian Literary Award, given
by the Caribbean Studies Association Winner, 2017 Clifford Geertz
Prize in the Anthropology of Religion, presented by the Society for
the Anthropology of Religion section of the American
Anthropological Association Finalist, 2017 Albert J. Raboteau Prize
for the Best Book in Africana Religions presented by the Journal of
Africana Religions An examination of the religious importance of
food among Caribbean and Latin American communities Before honey
can be offered to the Afro-Cuban deity Ochun, it must be tasted, to
prove to her that it is good. In African-inspired religions
throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States,
such gestures instill the attitudes that turn participants into
practitioners. Acquiring deep knowledge of the diets of the gods
and ancestors constructs adherents' identities; to learn to fix the
gods' favorite dishes is to be "seasoned" into their service. In
this innovative work, Elizabeth Perez reveals how seemingly trivial
"micropractices" such as the preparation of sacred foods, are
complex rituals in their own right. Drawing on years of
ethnographic research in Chicago among practitioners of Lucumi, the
transnational tradition popularly known as Santeria, Perez focuses
on the behind-the-scenes work of the primarily women and gay men
responsible for feeding the gods. She reveals how cooking and
talking around the kitchen table have played vital socializing
roles in Black Atlantic religions. Entering the world of divine
desires and the varied flavors that speak to them, this volume
takes a fresh approach to the anthropology of religion. Its richly
textured portrait of a predominantly African-American Lucumi
community reconceptualizes race, gender, sexuality, and affect in
the formation of religious identity, proposing that every religion
coalesces and sustains itself through its own secret recipe of
micropractices.
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