The northern Chinese mountain range of Mount Wutai has been a preeminent site of international pilgrimage for over a millennium. Home to more than one hundred temples, the entire range is considered a Buddhist paradise on earth, and has received visitors ranging from emperors to monastic and lay devotees. Mount Wutai explores how Qing Buddhist rulers and clerics from Inner Asia, including Manchus, Tibetans, and Mongols, reimagined the mountain as their own during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Wen-Shing Chou examines a wealth of original source materials in multiple languages and media--many never before published or translated-such as temple replicas, pilgrimage guides, hagiographic representations, and panoramic maps. She shows how literary, artistic, and architectural depictions of the mountain permanently transformed the site's religious landscape and redefined Inner Asia's relations with China. Chou addresses the pivotal but previously unacknowledged history of artistic and intellectual exchange between the varying religious, linguistic, and cultural traditions of the region. The reimagining of Mount Wutai was a fluid endeavor that proved central to the cosmopolitanism of the Qing Empire, and the mountain range became a unique site of shared diplomacy, trade, and religious devotion between different constituents, as well as a spiritual bridge between China and Tibet. A compelling exploration of the changing meaning and significance of one of the world's great religious sites, Mount Wutai offers an important new framework for understanding Buddhist sacred geography.

Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki is considered a key figure in the introduction of Buddhism to the non-Asian world. Many in the West encountered Buddhism for the very first time through his writings and teaching, and for nearly a century his work and legacy have contributed to the ongoing religious and cultural interchange between Japan and the rest of the world, particularly the United States and Europe. As an early and influential representative of Zen Buddhism outside of Japan, Suzuki shaped the global conversation about the nature of religious practice for much of the twentieth century. This is the first of a multivolume series gathering the full range of Suzuki's writings. Volume 1 ("Zen") presents a collection of Suzuki's classic essays as well as lesser-known but equally influential articles on Zen Buddhist thought and practice. Chinese and Japanese characters, which were originally removed from most post-World War II editions of Suzuki's essays, have been reinstated, and the romanization of Buddhist names and technical terms has been updated uniformly throughout the volume. This collection also contains an in-depth introduction to Suzuki's approach to Zen that places his influence in the context of modern developments in religious thought, practice, and scholarship, making this a useful edition for contemporary scholars and students of Buddhism.

In this pioneering book, in turns poetic and philosophical, Nagapriya shows how the insights into the existential condition offered by Shinran can transform our understanding of what Buddhist practice consists in, and what it means to awaken to our ultimate concern. Shinran (1173 - 1263) is one of the most important thinkers of Japanese Buddhist history, and founder of the Jodo Shinshu Pure Land school. Nagapriya explores Shinran's spirituality and teachings through close readings, confessional narrative, and thoughtful interpretation. This book is an invitation to reimagine Shinran's religious universe, not for the sake of historical curiosity, but as an exercise that has the potential to remake us in the light of our ultimate concerns.

Beginning with Buddha's life story, this concise guide explains the essential elements of the Buddhist way of life, such as understanding the mind, rebirth, karma and ultimate truth, and what it means to be a Buddhist. Meditation is explained clearly and simply as a tool for developing qualities such as inner peace, love and patience. The emphasis throughout is on the practical application of Buddhist ideas and practice to finding solutions to everyday problems. Those interested in Buddhism and meditation will find this book a rich source of guidance and inspiration.

This Mah y na Buddhist s tra has been especially influential in the Chan school of Chinese Buddhism. Some of the key themes of the ra gama S tra form the foundation for Buddhist practice, mainly by sam dhi power. The moral precepts in this Sutra are so important that they are often used to combat delusions that may arise during meditation. This book serves as a guide for all Buddhist practitioners to understand the basic ideas of Buddhism and lead their hands through the way of factual practice toward the ten stages of Mah y na achievements.

A cornerstone of Buddhist philosophy, the doctrine of the four noble truths maintains that life is replete with suffering, desire is the cause of suffering, nirvana is the end of suffering, and the way to nirvana is the eightfold noble path. Although the attribution of this seminal doctrine to the historical Buddha is ubiquitous, Rethinking the Buddha demonstrates through a careful examination of early Buddhist texts that he did not envision them in this way. Shulman traces the development of what we now call the four noble truths, which in fact originated as observations to be cultivated during deep meditation. The early texts reveal that other central Buddhist doctrines, such as dependent-origination and selflessness, similarly derived from meditative observations. This book challenges the conventional view that the Buddha's teachings represent universal themes of human existence, allowing for a fresh, compelling explanation of the Buddhist theory of liberation.

Today's globalized society faces some of humanity's most unprecedented social and environmental challenges. Presenting inspiring and effective approaches to a range of these challenges, the timely volume before you draws upon individual cases of exemplary leadership from the world's Dharma traditions-Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism, and Buddhism. The volume's authors refer to such exemplary leaders as "beacons of Dharma," highlighting the ways in which each figure, through their inspirational life work, provide us with illuminating perspectives as we continue to confront cases of grave injustice and needless suffering in the world. Taking on difficult contemporary issues such as climate change, racial and gender inequality, industrial agriculture and animal rights, fair access to healthcare and education, and other such pressing concerns, Beacons of Dharma offers a promising and much needed contribution to our global conversations. Seeking to help alleviate and remedy such social and environmental issues, each of the chapters in the volume invites contemplation, inspires action, and offers a freshly invigorating source of hope.

The now-classic exploration of the role of women and the feminine in Buddhist Tantra The crowning cultural achievement of medieval India, Tantric Buddhism is known in the West primarily for the sexual practices of its adherents, who strive to transform erotic passion into spiritual bliss. Historians of religion have long held that this attempted enlightenment was for men only, and that women in the movement were at best marginal and subordinated and at worst degraded and exploited. In Passionate Enlightenment, Miranda Shaw argues to the contrary and presents extensive evidence of the outspoken and independent female founders of the Tantric movement and their creative role in shaping its distinctive vision of gender relations and sacred sexuality. Including a new preface by the author, this Princeton Classics edition makes an essential work available for new audiences.

"The Protocol of the Gods" is a pioneering study of the history of relations between Japanese native institutions (Shinto shrines) and imported Buddhist institutions (Buddhist temples). Using the Kasuga Shinto shrine and the Kofukuji Buddhist temple, one of the oldest and largest of the shrine-temple complexes, Allan Grapard characterizes what he calls the combinatory character of pre-modern Japanese religiosity. He argues that Shintoism and Buddhism should not be studied in isolation, as hitherto supposed. Rather, a study of the individual and shared characteristics of their respective origins, evolutions, structures, and practices can serve as a model for understanding the pre-modern Japanese religious experience.
Spanning the years from a period before historical records to the forcible separation of the Kasuga-Kofukuji complex by the Meiji government in 1868, Grapard presents a wealth of little-known material. He includes translations of rare texts and provides new, accessible translations of familiar documents.

In the wide range of Buddhist meditation and spirituality a very special place is held by the practice of calling on the name of Amitabha, or in Japanese Amida Buddha, using the simplest of formulas, the nenbutsu. Japanese masters such as Honen, Shinran and others made this the core of a profound spiritual experience which has fascinated numberless followers ever since. The deeper meaning of the nenbutsu has therefore become a major topic in Buddhist thought which has been reflected on by various thinkers and teachers to this day, especially in the context of Shin Buddhism. In this book, which draws on classic articles first published in The Eastern Buddhist, major historic proponents and masters of the nenbutsu are introduced, in particular Shinran, Shoku, Ippen and Rennyo. Further contributions, which set the work of these masters into the wider context of Buddhist tradition, are in fact some of the earliest Buddhist voicesA" to emerge from modern Japan into global view. Yet the presentations of writers such as Sasaki Gessho, Yamabe Shugaku and Sugihira Shizutoshi have a freshness and an immediacy which speaks to us today.

The long-awaited new book on the essence of Zen practice from the beloved author of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

“Our way of sitting is for you to become yourself.”

In this long-overdue book from one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the last century, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi shares simple, warmhearted teachings on a practice that is fundamentally about becoming yourself. In his inimitable style, filled with humor and insight, Becoming Yourself speaks directly to the newest beginners while also serving as a touchstone and a continual source of inspiration for even the most experienced practitioners and Zen teachers.

Becoming Yourself is based on the late Suzuki’s lectures and brings to light many of his unpublished teachings. Throughout, Suzuki Roshi’s voice is clear and resonates with the unmistakable power of true wisdom.

Meditation, Karma, Zen, Tantric and Nirvana are some of the many Buddhist ideas Westerners hear of frequently, even if their meaning has been lost in translation. This vast and complex non-theistic religion is woven into the fabric of Asian civilisations. from India to the Himalayan regions, China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan and elsewhere. What is Buddhism really all about? Introducing Buddha describes the life and teachings of the Buddha, but it also shows that enlightenment is a matter of experiencing the truth individually, and by inspiration which is passed from teacher to student. Superbly illustrated by Borin Van Loon, the book illuminates this process through a rich legacy of stories, explains the practices of meditation, Taoism and Zen, and goes on to describe the role of Buddhism in modern Asia and its growing influence on Western thought.

This is the first book to provide a broad overview of the ways in which Buddhist ideas have influenced political thinking and politics in Myanmar. Matthew J. Walton draws extensively on Burmese language sources from the last 150 years to describe the 'moral universe' of contemporary Theravada Buddhism that has anchored most political thought in Myanmar. In explaining multiple Burmese understandings of notions such as 'democracy' and 'political participation', the book provides readers with a conceptual framework for understanding some of the key dynamics of Myanmar's ongoing political transition. Some of these ideas help to shed light on restrictive or exclusionary political impulses, such as anti-Muslim Buddhist nationalism or scepticism towards the ability of the masses to participate in politics. Walton provides an analytical framework for understanding Buddhist influences on politics that will be accessible to a wide range of readers and will generate future research and debate.

The Tang Dynasty is one of the most prosperous periods in ancient Chinese history. This prosperity in culture and economy has a lot to do with the spread of Buddhism in the country. This book is a brief history of this great dynasty, but more than that, it is a deeper look into the cause of human nature and the important of human nature quality development which can help change the course of history and shape a better world.

Buddhism in the Modern World explores the challenges faced by Buddhism today, the distinctive forms that it has taken, the individuals and movements that have shaped it, and the modern history of Buddhism in different geographical regions. Part one surveys the Buddhist tradition in different parts of the world, from Southeast Asia to North America, while part two explores key themes including globalisation, gender issues, and the ways in which Buddhism has confronted modernity, science, popular culture and national politics. Each chapter is written by a distinguished scholar in the field, and is designed to offer a lively and up to date overview of the subject. Students and scholars alike will find this book an indispensable guide to the living Buddhist tradition. Includes photographs, summaries, discussion points and suggestions for further readin

This book serves as an accessible and reliable survey for students wishing to gain familiarity with the basic ideas of Buddhist philosophical and religious thought, and with some of the recent research in the field. It guides readers towards a richer understanding of the central concepts of classical Indian Buddhist thought, from the time of Buddha to the latest scholarly perspectives and controversies. Abstract and complex ideas are made understandable by the authors' clear and engaging style. The second edition has been fully revised in light of new scholarship, in particular on Mahayana Buddhism and Tantric Buddhism, an often neglected and inadequately understood topic. As well as a detailed bibliography this authoritative resource now includes recommended further reading, study questions, a pronunciation guide and extensive glossary of terms, all aimed at helping students to develop their knowledge and appreciation of Buddhist thought.

In this volume of memoirs we find Sangharakshita after twenty years in the East arriving back in England at the invitation of the English Sangha Trust. He expects to stay no more than a few months, but the months become years and, as he comes to know the then small world of British Buddhism, he realizes that after all it is here that he may best be able to work for the good of Buddhism , as one of his teachers had once exhorted him. After a farewell tour of his friends and teachers in India, he goes on to found a new Buddhist movement and to ordain twelve men and women into a new Buddhist Order. The answer to the question Why did Sangharakshita found a new Buddhist movement and Order? is in these pages. 'Moving Against the Stream' has for its backdrop 1960s Britain, with figures as diverse as Prime Minister Harold Wilson, and David Cooper, the anti-psychiatry psychiatrist. In the world of British Buddhism there is Christmas Humphreys, founder of the London Buddhist Society, and Maurice Walshe, translator of the Digha Nikaya, and many others. Here also is the story of a friendship that was to be deeply significant for Sangharakshita. As he and Terry Delamare drive across Europe visiting the sites of ancient Greece and the churches, museums and great works of art of Renaissance Italy, Sangharakshita makes vivid the role that higher culture can play in spiritual life. This volume includes '1970 - A Retrospect' in which Sangharakshita tells of a year that begins with lectures in Paris, continues with three months at Yale University as a visiting lecturer, and concludes back in Britain as he resumes his work for the Buddhist movement. A new phase is beginning.

A monumental work in the history of religion, the history of the book, the study of politics, and bibliographical research, this volume follows the making of the Chinese Buddhist canon from the fourth century to the digital era. Approaching the subject from a historical perspective, it ties the religious, social, and textual practices of canon formation to the development of East Asian Buddhist culture and enlivens Chinese Buddhist texts for readers interested in the evolution of Chinese writing and the Confucian and Daoist traditions. The collection undertakes extensive readings of major scriptural catalogs from the early manuscript era as well as major printed editions, including the Kaibao Canon, Qisha Canon, Goryeo Canon, and Taisho Canon. Contributors add fascinating depth to such understudied issues as the historical process of compilation, textual manipulation, physical production and management, sponsorship, the dissemination of various editions, cultic activities surrounding the canon, and the canon's reception in different East Asian societies. The Chinese Buddhist canon is one of the most enduring textual traditions in East Asian religion and culture, and through this exhaustive, multifaceted effort, an essential body of work becomes part of a new, versatile narrative of East Asian Buddhism that has far-reaching implications for world history.

This wide-ranging and powerful book argues that Theravada Buddhism provides ways of thinking about the self that can reinvigorate the humanities and offer broader insights into how to learn and how to act. Steven Collins argues that Buddhist philosophy should be approached in the spirit of its historical teachers and visionaries, who saw themselves not as preservers of an archaic body of rules but as part of a timeless effort to understand what it means to lead a worthy life. He contends that Buddhism should be studied philosophically, literarily, and ethically using its own vocabulary and rhetorical tools. Approached in this manner, Buddhist notions of the self help us rethink contemporary ideas of self-care and the promotion of human flourishing. Collins details the insights of Buddhist texts and practices that promote the ideal of active and engaged learning, offering an expansive and lyrical reflection on Theravada approaches to meditation, asceticism, and physical training. He explores views of monastic life and contemplative practices as complementing and reinforcing textual learning, and argues that the Buddhist tenet that the study of philosophy and ethics involves both rigorous reading and an ascetic lifestyle has striking resonance with modern and postmodern ideas. A bold reappraisal of the history of Buddhist literature and practice, Wisdom as a Way of Life offers students and scholars across the disciplines a nuanced understanding of the significance of Buddhist ways of knowing for the world today.