This is a comprehensive work on the religions of China. As such, it includes an introduction giving an overview of the subject, and the special themes treated in the book, as well as detailed chapters on ancient religions, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese Islam, Christianity in China as well as popular religion. Throughout the book, care is taken to present both the philosophical teachings as well as the religious practices of the religious traditions, and reflections are offered regarding their present situation and future prospects. Comparisons are offered with other religions, especially Christianity.

The series Religion and Society (RS) contributes to the exploration of religions as social systems- both in Western and non-Western societies; in particular, it examines religions in their differentiation from, and intersection with, other cultural systems, such as art, economy, law and politics. Due attention is given to paradigmatic case or comparative studies that exhibit a clear theoretical orientation with the empirical and historical data of religion and such aspects of religion as ritual, the religious imagination, constructions of tradition, iconography, or media. In addition, the formation of religious communities, their construction of identity, and their relation to society and the wider public are key issues of this series.

Can you live a spiritual life in a hyperconnected world?

Technology is part of what defines us; it s part of what makes us human. More than that, the technologies we adopt affect the very type of humans we become. The tools we choose to use and how we use them affect how we think, how we make decisions, how we relate to one another, how we construct knowledge, even how we think about God. from the Introduction

Every day, new technologies affect your life at home, at work and at play. But how often do you pause to consider how your computer, mp3 player, cell phone, or PDA influence your spiritual life your beliefs, your faith, your fundamental understanding of God?

With wit and verve, Stephen Spyker leads you on a lively journey through the many ways technology impacts how we think about faith and how we practice it. He explores the role of new spiritual communities, the personal relationships we have with our gadgets, our changing expectations, helping you to think about the many, often subtle, ways technology has seeped into every aspect of our lives and changed the way we do faith. Can online churches replace traditional houses of worship? Will my iPod give me peace of mind? Is technological convenience undermining our ability to create community and make commitments?

Whether a technophile or technophobe, no matter your faith or background, this book will entertain and challenge you while encouraging you to take a fresh look at spirituality in our modern world.

Our fast-paced lives are filled with distractions, frequently leaving us disillusioned and dissatisfied-with ourselves, with others, and even with God. Spiritual practices that used to sustain us fall short when life circumstances bring us to the limits of our self. After many years leading an international humanitarian organization, Phileena Heuertz experienced the deconstruction of her identity, worldview, and faith. Centering prayer, a Christian expression of mindfulness, was a crucial remedy for her fragmented condition, offering a more peace-filled and purposeful life. The hallmarks of contemplative spirituality-solitude, silence, and stillness-have never been more important for our society: In solitude, we develop the capacity to be present. In silence, we cultivate the ability to listen. In stillness, we acquire the skill of self-control. Contemplative prayer helps us discern the voice of God, uncover our true self, and live a life of meaning and purpose. Filled with insights and wisdom from personal experiences, Phileena introduces us to themes and teachers of contemplative spirituality, as well as several prayer practices, and invites us to greater healing and wholeness by learning to practice faith through prayer. This is an opportunity to go deeper with God-to experience the Divine and be transformed.

This is a rare piece of empirical research, which reveals the workings of a spiritual order, its leadership, as well as their approaches, methods and tools. It demonstrates how the seekers, who were partly drug addicts and HIV patients, and the general segment of this Order, have been able to positively transform themselves. A multidisciplinary approach enlightens the analysis and discussion by bringing together spirituality, psychology, neuroscience as well as organisational development, to produce a rich tapestry of first hand insights. This book provides an integrated approach to understanding the landscape of a spiritual order primarily using a mixed method and a holistic approach with a particular focus on Islam. Qualitative examples include interpretivistic phenomenological approaches and neuro-linguistic programming. The book highlights the positive impact of worship by providing practical guidance and suggestions on how to spiritually improve oneself. This dualistic approach generated a working model for spiritual leadership and self-development. The unsuspecting but important link of spirituality to the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) is highlighted and discussed, which needs to be factored into the global development narrative. The text is primarily for researchers, yet has a secondary use for students and general readership given the comprehensive review establishing a conceptual framework for worship and morality.

Psyche, Self and Soul is a many faceted exploration of the relationship of psychotherapy and spirituality. Introducing the term 'an everyday transcendence', Gargiulo studies the silent alone space of each individual and relates a psychoanalytic exploration to a spiritual journey. Calling on the thought of philosophers, theologians, scientists and analysts, the text gives a new framework for understanding psychoanalysis and spirituality grounded in the here and now as well as a psychoanalysis that respects mystery, justice and civility.

The clinical cases demonstrate how each patient's task must be understood as individualized, and consequently, how the analyst/therapist must creatively adapt clinical technique. D.W. Winnicott's thoughts are applied throughout the text and are given a comprehensive summary in the final chapters.

The psychological revolution that Krishnamurti refers to is not only in the conscious mind, but also in the unconscious. He states, This is one of our difficulties, perhaps our major difficulty: to be free of the whole content of the unconscious. This hidden part of our consciousness is the result of many thousands of years of mans endeavor; we are the sum total of his struggles, his hopes, his despairs, his everlasting search for something beyond, and this piling up of experience is still going on within us. To be aware of that conditioning, and to be free of it, demands a great deal of attention.

This book focuses on the work of Mircea Eliade, taking a methodological concern, but also focusing on a wider concern, trying to indicate the many facets and implications of Eliade's scholarship as a historian of religions. Chapters two and three are concerned with the work of Eliade as a historian of religions, whereas chapter four examines the theological aspects of his work. After an examination of the human situation and his understanding of God, the book goes on to discover that the key to understanding Eliade's theological reflections is the role of nostalgia. As well as the theological aspects of Eliade's work, this book looks at his participation and contribution to cross-cultural dialogue, his theory of myth, his theory of archaic ontology, his concept of power and his views on time from the perspective of his roles as both a historian of religions and a literary figure.

Using a seven-day/weekly guide format, a recovering person and a spiritual leader who is reaching out to addicted people reflect on the traditional weekly Bible reading. They bring strong spiritual support for daily living and recovery from addictions of all kinds: alcohol, drugs, eating, gambling and sex. A profound sense of the spirit soars through their words and brings all people in Twelve Step recovery programs home to a rich and spiritually enlightening tradition.

This book is not just for Jewish people. It s for all people who would gain strength to heal and insight from the Bible and the teachings of Jewish tradition.

Pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller reveals the hidden depths within the book of Jonah-the most misunderstood parable in the Bible. Previously published as The Prodigal Prophet The story of Jonah is one of the most well-known parables in the Bible. It is also the most misunderstood. Many people, even those who are nonreligious, are familiar with Jonah: A rebellious prophet who defies God and is swallowed by a whale. But there's much more to Jonah's story than most of us realize. In Rediscovering Jonah, pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller reveals the hidden depths within the book of Jonah. Keller makes the case that Jonah was one of the worst prophets in the entire Bible. And yet there are unmistakably clear connections between Jonah, the prodigal son, and Jesus. Jesus in fact saw himself in Jonah. How could one of the most defiant and disobedient prophets in the Bible be compared to Jesus? Jonah's journey also doesn't end when he is freed from the belly of the fish. There is an entire second half to his story-but it is left unresolved within the text of the Bible. Why does the book of Jonah end on what is essentially a cliffhanger? In these pages, Timothy Keller provides an answer to the extraordinary conclusion of this biblical parable-and shares the powerful Christian message at the heart of Jonah's story.

With an introduction by Robert Plant Against an unflinching backdrop of 90s reservation life in the western Dakotas, Neither Wolf Nor Dog tells the story of two men, one white and one Native American Indian, connected by their own understandings of life yet struggling to find a common voice. As they journey together through small Native American Indian towns and down forgotten roads where the whisperings of the wind speak of ancestral voices, these two men will travel beyond myth and stereotype, revealing an America few people ever get to see.

This is the continuing story of Milarepa and his disciple Rechungpa, first encountered in volume 18 of the Complete Works. As portrayed in The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, Rechungpa is a promising disciple, but he has a lot to learn, being sometimes proud, distracted, anxious, desirous of comfort and praise, over-attached to book learning, stubborn, sulky and liable to go to extremes. In other words, he is very human, and surely recognizable to anyone who has embarked on the spiritual path. He all too often takes his teacher's advice the wrong way, or simply ignores it, and it takes all of Milarepa's skill, compassion and patience to keep their relationship intact and help his unruly disciple to stay on the path to Enlightenment. In the story that begins this volume, matters come to a head when Milarepa burns the books that Rechungpa went all the way to India to acquire, but by the end of the volume, Rechungpa is able to set out on his own mission to teach the Dharma. Much happens in between. Sangharakshita's commentary, based on seminars given in the late 1970s and early 1980s, draws from the stories of Milarepa and his wayward disciple much valuable advice for any would-be spiritual practitioner.

When Women Rise is a timely, transformative, and inspiring guide for women who want to bring more joy, power, and peace into their lives. It invites every woman to nurture her inner wisdom and strength, transcend the prevailing fears of our time, and rise into her highest wellbeing. Dr. Michele Kambolis integrates the science of mind-body medicine and more than 20 years' experience working with women in clinical therapy to provide daily practices that will help women overcome the barriers that hinder their freedom and compromise their very essence. The result is a fresh and empowering guide for women to discover, together in spirit, a more awakened way of living and being.

Powerful narratives of suffering, love and hope that inspire both personal and collective transformation.

"Our spiritual stories are full of missteps and unabashed celebration. They are narratives of suffering and of hope; lessons in shedding fear and learning to love ourselves. Ours are embodied stories that begin with emptying so that we can glimpse the Holy Other, this Light who appears in ways unplanned, unexpected and unsettling. Our lives are the surprise that begins with the response, 'Let it be.'" from Part 1

In Birthing God, forty women relate Spirit-filled moments: a grieving pastor walks a labyrinth and rediscovers the Rock of her existence; a human rights advocate re-encounters Allah in an intensely visceral moment in the sun; an educator, moved by an ancestral vision, launches a global tree-planting project to heal the wounds of slavery; a revolutionary awakens from a coma and realizes that all of life is infused with Spirit; a peasant woman under fire discovers within herself the God who gives her courage; and a disabled doctor, embraced by Shekhinah, turns her heart to rabbinical studies.

Grounded in raw experience and ideal for spiritual seekers and leaders of all faiths, these engaging and powerful stories invite you to consider the origins of your own spirituality and to deepen your relationship with God."

Our deepest need is to live in conversation with God. To hear his voice. To follow him intimately. This is the most life-changing habit that we can adopt, because it brings us back to the source of life. Yet most Christians have never been taught how to have a conversation with the Creator. In this revised and updated study guide, bestselling author John Eldredge dives deeper into his personal journals to tell his stories about walking and talking with the Lord. By putting words to the things God has shown him through some amazing experiences, he will help you shed light on the miraculous truths that God is showing you right now. Packed with questions, stories, and discussion topics, this study guide features: Journaling Prompts: Questions to help you tell your own story of walking with God Relevant Passages: Scriptures to study and memorize to help you along the way Clarity Readings: Short notes to solidify certain key points in your mind Leader's Guide: A new leader's guide to help you guide groups through the material These stories and reflections will help you recall lessons you didn't know had been forgotten, open up new horizons, and help you tell and interpret your own story of your walk with God. Includes a new study to accompany the new chapter added to the trade book.

“I want to believe, I want to have hope, but…” Pastor and bestselling author Craig Groeschel hears these words often and has asked them himself. We want to know God, feel his presence, and trust that he hears our prayers, but in the midst of great pain, we may wonder if he really cares about us. Even when we have both hope and hurt, sometimes it's the hurt that shouts the loudest. Can God be good when life is not

In Hope in the Dark, Groeschel explores the story of the father who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus, saying, “I believe! Help my unbelief!” In the man's sincere plea, Jesus heard the tension in the man's battle-scarred heart. He healed not only the boy but the father too, driving out the hopelessness that had overtaken him. He can do the same for us today.

As Groeschel shares his pain surrounding the current health challenges of his daughter, he acknowledges the questions we may ask in our own deepest pain: “Where was God when I was being abused” “Why was my child born with a disability” “Why did the cancer come back” “Why are all my friends married and I'm alone” He invites us to wrestle with such questions as we ask God to honor our faith and heal our unbelief.

In the middle of your profound pain, you long for authentic words of understanding and hope. You long to know that even in overwhelming reality, you can still believe that God is good. Rediscover a faith in the character, power, and presence of God. Even in the questions. Even now.

Ushering in a new era - where business is done on different terms - Raise Your SQ: How to use the Magic of Spiritual Intelligence to Unlock More Joy and Success will redefine what purpose and balance, at work and home, means to us all. Structured through goals, routines and exercises, Raise Your SQ will draw on Annie's own experience of how raising her spiritual intelligence transformed her work life, from scrimping and saving each month, to creating a six-figure business from scratch. We spend one third of our waking lives working, and with so many of us looking for more meaning at work, it's time we had a resource to turn to. Embodying a new way of living and working, this book will enable you to reach for your goals, help you find better balance, creative solutions and more joy. Raise Your SQ will help you unlock the potential of an intelligence you didn't know you possessed.

Warren Felt Evans (1817-1889) converted to Methodism while at Dartmouth College, became a minister, and spent his Methodist years as a spiritual seeker. His two extant journals, edited and annotated by Catherine L. Albanese, appear in print for the first time and reveal the inner journey of a leading American spiritual pilgrim at a critical period in his religious search. A voracious reader, he recorded accounts of intense religious experience in his journals. He moved from the Oberlin perfectionism he embraced early on, through the French quietism of Madame J. Guyon and Archbishop Fenelon, then into Swedenborgianism, spiritualism, and mind cure with distinct theosophical overtones. His carefully documented journey is suggestive of the similar journeys of the religious seekers who made their way into the burgeoning metaphysical movement at the end of the 19th century-and may shed light too on today's spirituality.

A profound and spiritual text focusing on the principles of universal love and forgiveness that have had a revelatory impact on people of many faiths, religious backgrounds and anyone seeking inner peace in today's complicated world. Includes in one volume the Text, the Workbook for Students, and the Manual for Teachers.