This book demonstrates the close link between medicine and Buddhism in early and medieval Japan. It may seem difficult to think of Japanese Buddhism as being linked to the realm of medical practices since religious healing is usually thought to be restricted to prayers for divine intervention. There is a surprising lack of scholarship regarding medicinal practices in Japanese Buddhism although an overwhelming amount of primary sources proves otherwise. A careful re-reading of well-known materials from a study-of-religions perspective, together with in some cases a first-time exploration of manuscripts and prints, opens new views on an understudied field. The book presents a topical survey and comprises chapters on treating sight-related diseases, women's health, plant-based materica medica and medicinal gardens, and finally horse medicine to include veterinary knowledge. Terminological problems faced in working on this material - such as 'religious' or 'magical healing' as opposed to 'secular medicine' - are assessed. The book suggests focusing more on the plural nature of the Japanese healing system as encountered in the primary sources and reconsidering the use of categories from the European intellectual tradition.

In the summer of 1960 Paul Tillich visited Japan. Together with his wife Hannah, he spent eight weeks in the country sightseeing, lecturing, and having discussions with local scholars. This monograph provides the first comprehensive documentation of Tillich s journey, highlighting the political context and the itinerary of his visit. Moreover, Tomoaki Fukai presents the manuscripts of Tillich s lectures, his conversations with leading Buddhists in Kyoto, and his correspondence with his Japanese hosts."

Engaged Buddhist leaders make some of the most important contributions in the Buddhist world to thinking about issues in political theory, human rights, nonviolence, and social justice. Being Benevolence provides for the first time a rich overview of the main ideas and arguments of prominent Engaged Buddhist thinkers and activists on a variety of questions: What kind of political system should modern Asian states have? What are the pros and cons of Western liberalism? Can Buddhism support the idea of human rights? Can there ever be a nonviolent nationstate? The book identifies the roots of Engaged Buddhist social ethics in such traditional Buddhist concepts and practices as interdependence, compassion, and meditation, and shows how these are applied to particular social and political issues. It illuminates the movement's metaphysical views on th individual and society and goes on to examine how Engaged Buddhists respond to fundamental questions in political theory concerning the proper balance between the individual and society. The second half of the volume focuses on applied social-political issues: human rights, nonviolence, and social justice.

Armenia is the oldest Christian country in the world and there are few countries which have made, for their size, such an outstanding contribution to civilization as Armenia has, while yet remaining virtually unknown to the Western world. The volumes in this set, written and translated by an acknowledged authority on history and religion in the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Georgia, as well as Russia itself: Examine the role played by an 18th Century Russian Radical in Tsarist Russia and his subsequent political legacy. Provide a translation of a legend important for theologians and scholars of comparative religion because through this legend the life of the Buddha and the ascetic ideal he exemplified significantly influenced the Christian West. Discuss the cultural, philosophic, religious and scientific contribution Armenia has made to the world. Provide a geographic and ethnic survey of Armenia and its people.

Looks at Buddhist influences in American literature and how literature has shaped the reception of Buddhism in North America.

"Buddhism, Modernity, and the State in Asia" explores the relationships between Buddhism and various nations in South, Southeast, and East Asia. Rather than promulgating a "Buddhist exceptionalism" in which Buddhist actors and institutions transcend politics, Pattana Kitiarsa and John Whalen-Bridge have assembled a collection of essays that closely examine the ways in which Buddhism and Asian Modernities are constantly interacting with and conditioning each other. Instead of presenting a monolithic vision of Buddhism, this volume treats particular situations in Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam to demonstrate the wide variety of forms and influences that Buddhism has taken in its many consequential roles in Asian political history.

The Moon Points Back comprises essays by both established scholars in Buddhist and Western philosophy and young scholars contributing to cross-cultural philosophy. It continues the program of Pointing at the Moon (Oxford University Press, 2009), integrating the approaches and insights of contemporary logic and analytic philosophy and those of Buddhist Studies to engage with Buddhist ideas in a contemporary voice. This volume demonstrates convincingly that integration of Buddhist philosophy with contemporary analytic philosophy and logic allows for novel understandings of and insights into Buddhist philosophical thought. It also shows how Buddhist philosophers can contribute to debates in contemporary Western philosophy and how contemporary philosophers and logicians can engage with Buddhist material. The essays in the volume focus on the Buddhist notion of emptiness (sunyata), exploring its relationship to core philosophical issues concerning the self, the nature of reality, logic, and epistemology. The volume closes with reflections on methodological issues raised by bringing together traditional Buddhist philosophy and contemporary analytic philosophy. This volume will be of interest to anyone interested in Buddhist philosophy or contemporary analytic philosophy and logic. But it will also be of interest to those who wish to learn how to bring together the insights and techniques of different philosophical traditions.

Meeting for long, midnight conversations in Paris, two poets and prophetic peacemakers -- one an exiled Buddhist monk and Zen master, the other a Jesuit priest -- explore together the farthest reaches of truth. East and West flow together in this remarkable book, transcriptions of their recorded conversations that range widely over memory, death, and religion; prison and exile; war and peace; Jesus and Buddha; and communities of faith and resistance.

Abhidhamma in Daily Life is an exposition of absolute realities in detail. Abhidhamma means higher doctrine and the book's purpose is to encourage the right application of Buddhism in order to eradicate wrong view and eventually all defilements. Many terms in Pali the language of early Buddhism are used and are defined as they are introduced. The book is therefore suitable for beginners as well as practicing Buddhists. It is detailed and precise and an invaluable aid to unlocking the deep meaning of the entire Buddhist canon and applying the theory to our daily lives for the benefit of ourselves and others.

What does it mean to be a Western Buddhist? For the predominantly Anglo-Australian affiliates of two Western Buddhist centres in Australia, the author proposes an answer to this question, and finds support for it from interviews and her own participant-observation experience. Practitioners' prior experiences of experimentation with spiritual groups and practices - and their experiences of participation, practice and self-transformation - are examined with respect to their roles in practitioners' appropriation of the Buddhist worldview, and their subsequent commitment to the path to enlightenment. Religious commitment is experienced as a decision-point, itself the effect of the individual's experimental immersion in the Centre's activities. During this time the claims of the Buddhist worldview are tested against personal experience and convictions. Using rich ethnographic data and Lofland and Skonovd's experimental conversion motif as a model for theorizing the stages of involvement leading to commitment, the author demonstrates that this study has a wider application to our understanding of the role of alternative religions in western contexts.

Using the garden as a metaphor, The Seeds of Love is a charming guide to creating your own mindfulness. The development of the practice of mindfulness and its tools can help to maintain a state of awareness and openness to oneself and others. In The Seeds of Love, readers interested in Zen Buddhism will learn how to nurture metaphorical seeds such as compassion, joy, and generosity, and how to use personal challenges such as jealousy, anger, and self-doubt as a tool for growth. The 20 chapters include: Seeing: It All Begins with the Gardener Being: Watering the Seed of Mindfulness Watering Seeds of Love and Transforming Seeds of Suffering Deep-Listening Creating a Legacy as a Master Gardener: Tending Your Inner Garden Using precepts from many faiths and traditions, The Seeds of Love offers simple, basic actions to help readers reach the best within themselves and share it with those around them. It will be an invaluable guide to anyone seeking deeper and more conscious relationships.

In a small medieval palace on Kathmandu's Durbar Square lives Nepal's famous Living Goddess - a child as young as three who is chosen from a caste of Buddhist goldsmiths to watch over the country and protect its people. To Nepalis she is the embodiment of Devi (the universal goddess) and for centuries their Hindu kings have sought her blessing to legitimize their rule. Legends swirl about her, for the facts are shrouded in secrecy and closely guarded by dynasties of priests and caretakers. How come a Buddhist girl is worshipped by autocratic Hindu rulers? Are the initiation rituals as macabre as they are rumoured to be? And what fate awaits the Living Goddesses when they attain puberty and are dismissed from their role? Weaving together myth, religious belief, modern history and court gossip, Isabella Tree takes us on a compelling and fascinating journey to the esoteric, hidden heart of Nepal. Through her unprecedented access to the many layers of Nepalese society, she is able to put the country's troubled modern history in the context of the complex spiritual beliefs and practices that inform the role of the little girl at its centre. Deeply felt, emotionally engaged and written after over a decade of travel and research, The Living Goddess is a compassionate and illuminating enquiry into this reclusive Himalayan country - a revelation.

This book establishes how Buddhism in the Insight Meditation tradition supports "remarkable relational resilience" for women who are of African descent and same-sex loving, yet living in a society that often invalidates women, African-Americans, LGBTQ people, and non-Christians. Pamela Ayo Yetunde explores the psycho-sexual experiences of African-American Buddhist lesbians, and shows that their abilities to be in healthy relationships are made possible through their Buddhist practices and communities, even in the face of invisibilizing forces related to racial, gender, sexuality, and religious discrimination and oppression.

During the first half of this century the forests of Thailand were home to wandering ascetic monks. They were Buddhists, but their brand of Buddhism did not copy the practices described in ancient doctrinal texts. Their Buddhism found expression in living day-to-day in the forest and in contending with the mental and physical challenges of hunger, pain, fear, and desire. Combining interviews and biographies with an exhaustive knowledge of archival materials and a wide reading of ephemeral popular literature, Kamala Tiyavanich documents the monastic lives of three generations of forest-dwelling ascetics and challenges the stereotype of state-centric Thai Buddhism. Although the tradition of wandering forest ascetics has disappeared, a victim of Thailand's relentless modernization and rampant deforestation, the lives of the monks presented here are a testament to the rich diversity of regional Buddhist traditions. The study of these monastic lineages and practices enriches our understanding of Buddhism in Thailand and elsewhere.

Exploring the interactions of the Buddhist world with the dominant cultures of Iran in pre- and post-Islamic times, this book demonstrates that the traces and cross-influences of Buddhism have brought the material and spiritual culture of Iran to its present state. Even after the term 'Buddhism' was eradicated from the literary and popular languages of the region, it has continued to have a significant impact on the culture as a whole. In the course of its history, Iranian culture adopted and assimilated a system of Buddhist art, iconography, religious symbolism, literature, and asceticism due to the open border of eastern Iran with the Buddhist regions, and the resultant intermingling of the two worlds.

The grammar presents a full decription of Pali, the language used in the Theravada Buddhist canon, which is still alive in Ceylon and South-East Asia. The development of its phonological and morphological systems is traced in detail from Old Indic. Comprehensive references to comparable features and phenomena from other Middle Indic languages mean that this grammar can also be used to study the literature of Jainism.

What we need to know about meditation and mindfulness to eliminate "stress" in our lives is contained in this book. This book follows and discusses the Satipatthana meditation scheme (pronunciation: sati-PA'-tana), too often neglected in the West. Many additional details about Buddhism are discussed including the very nature of spirituality. This as a mysterious human capacity in the way that electricity or mechanics are for most people -- but more like a puzzle, once understood it becomes useful. Reading this is a way of doing Buddhism as long as the reader continues meditation. The virtue of participating in chanting and other rituals is also explained. This is intended as a thorough, well documented and simply written presentation. Teachings about Purification, Anapanasati, Heart, Precious Bodhicitta, Realization, Enlightenment and many other "technical" Buddhist concepts are described. There is an extensive glossary and bibliography.

In The Spirit of Contradiction in Christianity and Buddhism, Hugh Nicholson examines the role of social identity processes in the development of two religious concepts: the Christian doctrine of Consubstantiality and the Buddhist doctrine of No-self. Consubstantiality, the claim that the Son is of the same substance as the Father, forms the basis of the doctrine of the Trinity, while No-self, the claim that the personality is reducible to its impersonal physical and psychological constituents, is a defining tenet of Theravada Buddhism. Both doctrines are massively counterintuitive in that they violate our basic assumptions and understandings about the world. While cognitive approaches to the study of religion have explained why these doctrines have difficulty taking root in popular religious thought, they are largely silent on the question of why these concepts have developed in the first place. Nicholson aims to fill this gap by examining the historical development of these two concepts. Nicholson argues that both of these doctrines were the products of hegemonic struggles in which one faction tried to get the upper hand over the other by maximizing the contrast with the dominant subgroup. Thus the "pro-Nicene" theologians of the fourth century developed the concept of Consubstantiality in an effort to maximize, against their "Arian" rivals, the contrast with Christianity's archetypal "other," Judaism. Similarly, the No-self doctrine stemmed from an effort to maximize, against the so-called Personalist schools of Buddhism, the contrast with Brahmanical Hinduism, symbolized by its doctrine of the deathless self. In this way, Nicholson demonstrates how, to the extent that religious traditions are driven by social identity processes, they back themselves into doctrinal positions that they must then retrospectively justify.