This study reveals the world of Sufi ritual with particular reference to two major Sufi orders. It examines the ritual and practices of these orders and surveys their organisation and hierarchy, initiation ceremonies, and aspects of their liturgy such as dhikr (litany) and sama (mystical concert). Comparisons are made with the five pillars of Islam (arkan), and the Sufi rituals, together with the arkan, are examined from the perspective of theology, phenomenology, anthropology and semiotics. The work concludes with an examination of the Sufi in the context of alienation. This is a major work which highlights the importance of Sufi ritual and locates it within the broader domain of the Islamic world.

Discusses historical and contemporary aspects of pilgrimage within the Tibetan cultural world. Examines myths and legends, material conditions, textual sources, a modern pilgrim's impressions, political and economic influences, biographies and contemporary developments.

Though ancient rabbinic texts are fundamental to analyzing the history of Judaism, they are also daunting for the novice to read. Rabbinic literature presumes tremendous prior knowledge, and its fascinating twists and turns in logic can be disorienting. Rabbinic Drinking helps learners at every level navigate this brilliant but mystifying terrain by focusing on rabbinic conversations about beverages, such as beer and wine, water, and even breast milk. By studying the contents of a drinking vessel-including the contexts and practices in which they are imbibed-Rabbinic Drinking surveys key themes in rabbinic literature to introduce readers to the main contours of this extensive body of historical documents. Features and Benefits: Contains a broad array of rabbinic passages, accompanied by didactic and rich explanations and contextual discussions, both literary and historical Thematic chapters are organized into sections that include significant and original translations of rabbinic texts Each chapter includes in-text references and concludes with a list of both referenced works and suggested additional readings

How can media and performance studies take a place in the discipline of anthropology?
IRitual, Performance, Media demonstrates how individual inventiveness makes society a process of dynamic interaction between creativity and convention. Human beings perform their roles in accordance with the context of the situation--be it in theater, dance, or rites such as spirit invocation or pilgrimages--yet continue to creatively devise ways of extending their engagement with the situation. Case studies of human behavior in relation to contexts in which reality is more than that of everyday routines shows how people continue to actively construct the world in which they live, for the purpose of personal satisfaction and social advantage.

This work analyses how laughter has been used as a symbol in myths, rituals and festivals of Western religions, and has thus been inscribed in religious discourse. The author argues that laughter is a central human phenomenon. Humans use laughter as a means to experience the world, categorize its forms and judge its values. But, laughter also transcends language, and is frequently used as a characteristic of the divine. The Mesopotamian Anu, the Israelite Jahweh, the Greek Dionysos, the Gnostic Christ and the late modern Jesus were all laughing gods. Through their laughter, gods prove both their superiority and their proximity to humans. In this study, Professor Gilhus examines the relationship between corporeal human laughter and spiritual divine laughter from Classical antiquity, to the Christian West and the modern era. The book combines the study of the history of religion with social-scientific approaches, to provide an exploration of a universal human phenomenon, and its significance for the development of religions.

Robert Hayward offers a careful analysis of surviving accounts of the Temple and its service. All the central texts are provided in translation, with a detailed commentary. While descriptions of the Temple and its service are available, discussions of the meaning of these things are less easily found. This study clearly illustrates how the Temple was seen as a meeting point between heaven and earth, its service being an earthly representation of heavenly reality. Jews regarded the Temple service therefore as having significance for the whole created world. The Jewish Temple offers a valuable collection of materials both for those looking for an introduction to the topic and for the scholar interested in grasping the meanings beyond those texts.

In Locating Politics in Ethiopia's Irreecha Ritual Serawit Bekele Debele gives an account of politics and political processes in contemporary Ethiopia as manifested in the annual ritual performance. Mobilizing various sources such as archives, oral accounts, conversations, videos, newspapers, and personal observations, Debele critically analyses political processes and how they are experienced, made sense of and articulated across generational, educational, religious, gender and ethnic differences as well as political persuasions. Moreover, she engages Irreecha in relation to the hugely contested meaning making processes attached to the Thanksgiving ritual which has now become an integral part of Oromo national identity.

A guide to help you invigorate your Seder, create lively discussions, and make personal connections with the Exodus story today.

For many people, the act of simply reading the Haggadah no longer fulfills the Passover Seder's purpose: to help you feel as if you personally had gone out of Egypt. Too often, the ritual meal has become predictable, boring, and uninspiring.

Creating Lively Passover Seders, Second Edition, is an innovative, interactive guide to help encourage fresh perspectives and lively dialogue. With three new chapters, this intriguing Haggadah companion has been revised, updated, and expanded, and offers thematic discussion topics, text study ideas, activities, and readings that come alive in the traditional group setting of the Passover Seder. Each activity and discussion idea aims to: Deepen your understanding of the HaggadahProvide new opportunities for engaging the themes of the Passover festivalDevelop familiarity with the Exodus story, as well as the life and times of the people who shaped the development of the Haggadah

Reliving the Exodus is not about remembering an event long ago, but about participating in a conversation that provides hope and strength for the struggle to make tomorrow a brighter day. With this complete resource, you can create more meaningful encounters with Jewish values, traditions, and texts that lead well beyond the Seder itself.

Both a demonstration of and critical self-reflection on method, this book explores how methodologies shape our understanding of the diversity of Buddhist traditions in the past and the present. International contributors from the West and Asia explore case studies and reflect on methods in the study of Buddhism, united in their debt to Richard K. Payne, the influential Buddhist studies scholar. Methods in Buddhist Studies features new translations of Buddhist works as well as ethnographic studies on contemporary Buddhism in the United States and China. Topics discussed include Buddhist practices in relation to food, material culture, and imperial rituals; the development of modern Buddhist universities; the construction of the canon from the perspective of history, textual analysis, and ritual studies; and the ethical obligations of scholars toward the subject of Buddhism itself. Chapters are drawn from Payne's students and his colleagues, demonstrating the breadth of his intellectual interests. Payne's scholarship has left a remarkable impact on the field, making this volume essential reading for students and scholars of contemporary Buddhism and Buddhist studies.

Taking a comparative approach which considers characters that are shared across the narrative traditions of early Indian religions (Brahmanical Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism) Shared Characters in Jain, Buddhist and Hindu Narrative explores key religious and social ideals, as well as points of contact, dialogue and contention between different worldviews. The book focuses on three types of character - gods, heroes and kings - that are of particular importance to early South Asian narrative traditions because of their relevance to the concerns of the day, such as the role of deities, the qualities of a true hero or good ruler and the tension between worldly responsibilities and the pursuit of liberation. Characters (incuding character roles and lineages of characters) that are shared between traditions reveal both a common narrative heritage and important differences in worldview and ideology that are developed in interaction with other worldviews and ideologies of the day. As such, this study sheds light on an important period of Indian religious history, and will be essential reading for scholars and postgraduate students working on early South Asian religious or narrative traditions (Jain, Buddhist and Hindu) as well as being of interest more widely in the fields of Religious Studies, Classical Indology, Asian Studies and Literary Studies.

A revolutionary, science-based approach to meditation from a neuroscientist turned meditation master, The Mind Illuminated is an accessible, step-by-step toolkit for anyone looking to start—or improve—their daily meditation practice.

The book that bestselling meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg raves “brings the path of meditation to life,” The Mind Illuminated is the first how-to meditation guide from a neuroscientist who is also an acclaimed meditation master. This innovative book offers a 10-stage program that is both deeply grounded in ancient spiritual teachings about mindfulness and holistic health, and also draws from the latest brain science to provide a roadmap for anyone interested in achieving the benefits of mindfulness. Dr. John Yates offers a new and fascinating model of how the mind works, including steps to overcome mind wandering and dullness, extending your attention span while meditating, and subduing subtle distractions.

This groundbreaking manual provides illustrations and charts to help you work through each stage of the process, offering tools that work across all types of meditation practices. The Mind Illuminated is an essential read, whether you are a beginner wanting to establish your practice or a seasoned veteran ready to master the deepest state of peace and mindfulness.

The triple themes of this book - migration, pilgrimage and travel in Islam - are as old as the religion itself. The Prophet Muhammad made his famous archetypal "Hijra" (migration) from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD, a year which became the Year 1 of the Muslim lunar calendar; the "Hajj" (pilgrimage) of Farewell enacted by the Prophet in 632 AD provided the paradigm for all future pilgrimages to the sacred Ka'ba in Mecca; while a much quoted hadith portrays the Founder of Islam counselling his followers that they should seek knowledge even as far as China. The concept of "Rihla" (travel) in search of knowledge thus became a primary motif in the lives of many medieval - and modern - Muslim scholars, jurists, collectors of tradition and, indeed, ordinary people.;The editor is also author of "A Popular Dictionary of Islam".

This book treats the history, development, current practices, composition and critical views of the liturgical music of both the Jewish and Christian traditions.

Japan is one of the most urbanised and industrialised countries in the world. Yet the Japanese continue to practise a variety of religious rituals and ceremonies despite the high-tech, highly regimented nature of Japanese society. Ceremony and Ritual in Japan focuses on the traditional and religious aspects of Japanese society from an anthropological perspective, presenting new material and making cross-cultural comparisons.
The chapters in this collection cover topics as diverse as funerals and mourning, sweeping, women's roles in ritual, the division of ceremonial foods into bitter and sweet, the history of a shrine, the playing of games, the exchange of towels and the relationship between ceremony and the workplace. The book provides an overview of the meaning of tradition, and looks at the way in which new ceremonies have sprung up in changing circumstances, while old ones have been preserved, or have developed new meanings.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203429540

The issue of divinizing in South Asian traditions has not been examined before as a process involving various methods to affect the socio-cultural cognition of the community. It is therefore essential to consider the context of "divinizing" and to analyse what groups, institutions or individuals define the discourse, what are the ideological positions that they represent, and who or what is being divinized. This book deals with the issue of divinizing in South Asian traditions. It aims at studying cultural questions related to the representations and the mythologizing of the divine. It also explores the human relations to the "divine other." It studies the interpretations of the divine in religious texts and the embodiment of the "divine other" in ritual practices. The focus is on studying the phenomenon of divinizing in its religious, cultural, and ideological implications. The book comprises eight chapters that explore the question of divinizing from the 2nd century CE up to present-day in North and South India. The chapters discuss the issue both from insider and outsider perspectives, within the framework of textual study as well as ideological and anthropological analysis. All articles explore various aspects of the cultural phenomenon of being in relation to the divine other, of the process of interpreting and embodying the divine, and of the representation of the divinizing process, as revealed in the literatures and cultures of South Asia. Applying theoretical models of religious and cultural studies to discuss texts written in South Asian languages and engage in critical dialogue with current scholarship, this book is an indispensable study of literary, religious and cultural production in South Asia. It will be of interest to academics in the fields of South Asian studies, Asian Studies, religious and cultural studies as well as comparative religion.

"Dr. Bhardwaj's in-depth study of the various aspects of the institution of pilgrimage shows that instead of being a simple practice it has been a gigantic phenomenon affecting all aspects of Indian life...integrating diverse forces, various cults, and numerous traditions over the ages."--Asian Student "This is the best general survey of a major religion's total pilgrimage system and the best intensive investigation of one of its subsystems...Dr. Bhardwaj's book is an important step towards the recognition of a social phenomenon which has for millennia played a crucial role in the integration of religions, nationalities, and international communities. And, not least importantly, it is highly readable."--Journal of the American Academy of Religion "Detailed, accurate, and generally informative; he has succeeded in tracing, for the first time, the relationship of the rank-order or 'level' of a sacred place...to its degree of sanctity, type of deity, and caste and motivation of the pilgrim...The implications of Mr. Bhardwaj's study are profound and necessary to the understanding of Indian religion...it is fascinating." --Times Literary Supplement "Here is a fine example of what the geographic study of India needs: disciplined work that shows full awareness of Indian cultural meanings...it sets a worth standard."--Professional Geographer

First published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This anthology explores the dynamics of shared religious sites in Turkey, the Balkans, Palestine/Israel, Cyprus, and Algeria, indicating where local and national stakeholders maneuver between competition and cooperation, coexistence and conflict. Contributors probe the notion of coexistence and the logic that underlies centuries of "sharing," exploring when and why sharing gets interrupted -- or not -- by conflict, and the policy consequences.

These essays map the choreographies of shared sacred spaces within the framework of state-society relations, juxtaposing a site's political and religious features and exploring whether sharing or contestation is primarily religious or politically motivated. While religion and politics are intertwined phenomena, the contributors to this volume understand the category of "religion" and the "political" as devices meant to distinguish between the theological and confessional aspects of religion and the political goals of groups. Their comparative approach better represents the transition in some cases of sites into places of hatred and violence while in other instances they remain noncontroversial. The essays clearly delineate the religious and political factors that contribute to the context and causality of conflict at these sites and draw on history and anthropology to shed light on the often rapid switch from relative tolerance to distress to peace and calm.

This volume uncovers the meaning and significance of the Jewish Temple and its service during the first centuries of its existence. The sources indicate that the Temple and its rites were seen as holding the universe together, providing order and meaning in a world which could otherwise easily lapse into chaos. The author offers an analysis of surviving accounts of the Temple and its service. All the central texts are provided in translation, with a detailed commentary. While descriptions of the Temple and its service are available, discussions of the meaning of these things are less easily found. This study illustrates how the Temple was seen as a meeting point between heaven and earth, its service being an earthly representation of heavenly reality. Jews regarded the Temple service therfore as having significance for the whole created world. This collection of materials is aimed at both those looking for an introduction to the topic and for the scholar interested in grasping the meanings beyond those texts.

"Why me?" Why do we suffer? How can we heal?

"Spiritual suffering must be differentiated from physical pain, although the two are intertwined in such a way that it is nearly impossible to distinguish one from the other. We suffer spiritually when we do not grow from our illness, when we do not learn from the experience of physical and emotional pain." from the Introduction

Too many of us faced with bodily illness, whether our own or that of a loved one, feel lost as to what to do or how to handle it.

Grounded in the spiritual traditions of Judaism, this book provides healing rituals, psalms and prayers that help us initiate a dialogue with God, to guide us through the complicated path of healing and wholeness. Olitzky explores: What Judaism teaches us about healing Finding the meaning of illness in Jewish tradition How to draw on prayers, services, psalms, and other spiritual resources for healing How to grow by fully embracing the process of recovery

Olitzky brings together his inspiring guidance in using Jewish texts with his own experience dealing with illness in others including those he loves to demonstrate how the healing of the soul is an indispensable counterpart to curing the body.

"Women, the Recited Qur'an, and Islamic Music in Contemporary Indonesia" takes readers to the heart of religious musical praxis in Indonesia, home to the largest Muslim population in the world. Anne K. Rasmussen explores a rich public soundscape, where women recite the divine texts of the Qur'an, and where an extraordinary diversity of Arab-influenced Islamic musical styles and genres, also performed by women, flourishes. Based on unique and revealing ethnographic research beginning at the end of Suharto's "New Order" and continuing into the era of "Reformation," the book considers the powerful role of music in the expression of religious nationalism. In particular, it focuses on musical style, women's roles, and the ideological and aesthetic issues raised by the Indonesian style of recitation.

An examination of the evidence that the Festival of Weeks was the occasion for the celebration of the renewal of the covenant in the Second Temple period, encompassing chapters on the Hebrew Bible, book of Jubilees, Qumran Scrolls, and the New Testament (Luke-Acts and Ephesians).>

Bringing the body-mind insights of Rinzai Zen from the mountains of Japan to the Western world, Zen master Julian Daizan Skinner and Sarah Bladen present simple meditation techniques to help achieve health, wellbeing and success. Taking the reader through the first 100 days of practice, the book then shows how to adapt the new learned techniques to the rest of your life. Including case studies at the end of each chapter to show how people's lives have been transformed through their meditation journeys, this is an accessible and practical guide to adapting Eastern meditation into busy Western lives.

Challenging the idea that rituals are static and emotions irrational, the volume explores the manifold qualities of emotions in ritual practices. Focusing explicitly on the relationship between emotions and rituals, it poses two central questions. First, how and to what extent do emotions shape rituals? Second, in what way are emotions ritualized in and beyond rituals? Strong emotions are generally considered to be more spontaneous and uncontrolled, whereas ritual behaviour is regarded as planned, formalized and stereotyped, and hence less emotional. However, as the volume demonstrates, rituals often reveal strong emotions among participants, are motivated by feelings, or are intended to generate them. The essays discuss the motivation for rituals; the healing function of emotions; the creation of new emotions through new media; the aspect of mimesis in the generation of feelings; individual, collective, and non-human emotions; the importance of trance and possession; staged emotions and emotions on stage; emotions in the context of martyrdom; emotions in Indian and Western dance traditions; emotions of love, sorrow, fear, aggression, and devotion. Furthermore, aesthetic and sensory dimensions, as well as emic concepts, of emotions in rituals are underscored as relevant in understanding social practice.

The Special Times of the Jewish Year Can Be
a Framework for Your Life as a Couple

Through the holiday cycle we have seen that life is a complex weave of light and darkness, bitter and sweet, striving and surrendering. The twisted candle reminds us that as a couple our two lives have become intertwined as one. Two souls enter a partnership, interwoven yet always distinct, joined by a third strand, the Divine Presence. As we perform the ritual of Havdalah, we hold our hands up to the flame and catch the reflection of the last light on our fingertips. We pray that the light will continue to shine through our words and deeds, in our homes and in the world. from Chapter 9

More than just calendar commitments, the Jewish holidays carry with them a view of what is important in life, a set of assumptions that can challenge and deepen the way we think about relationships.

This inspiring and practical guidebook helps you to understand your life as a couple in the context of the themes of Jewish holidays ("Yom Kippur, Purim, Pesah, Sukkot, Shabbat"): Forgiving and Growing Playing, Laughing and Taking Risks Coming Home, Finding Freedom Blessing Bounty, Facing Impermanence Pausing to Bless What Is and more

Drawing from ancient and contemporary texts, Jewish tradition and personal stories, Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer and Rabbi Nancy H. Wiener provide creative exercises, rituals and guided discussions that help you make connections to tradition, community and each other. By experiencing the Jewish holidays as times to focus on your relationship, you ll find renewed meaning in these holy celebrations and new opportunities for spiritual growth all year long.