Since its first appearance in China in the third century CE, the Lotus Sutra has been the object of intense veneration among generations of Buddhists in China, Korea, and Japan, as well as other parts of the world. It is often considered the fundamental Mahayana Buddhist sutra, has attracted more commentary than any other Buddhist scripture, and has had a profound impact on the great works of Japanese and Chinese literature. No one can understand East Asia without some knowledge of its teachings.

This abridged edition of Burton Watson's acclaimed translation contains this sutra's essential chapters, derived from the most authoritative and felicitous version of the sutra, translated from Sanskrit into Chinese in 406 by the great Central Asian scholar-monk Kumarajiva. "The Essential Lotus" refines the focus from the sprawling magnitude of the original to the chapters that expound its core ideas and have been the most influential in the later development of Buddhist and East Asian thought. From the famous parable of the burning house to the firm assertion that women can attain the highest enlightenment, from a sermon preached in midair around a miraculously floating jewel-adorned tower to the principle that the Buddha is not to be delimited in time or space, "The Essential Lotus" presents the riches and profundities of one of the most beautiful treasures in any religious heritage.

The environmental crisis has prompted religious leaders and lay people to look to their traditions for resources to respond to environmental degradation. In this book, Mari Joerstad contributes to this effort by examining an ignored feature of the Hebrew Bible: its attribution of activity and affect to trees, fields, soil, and mountains. The Bible presents a social cosmos, in which humans are one kind of person among many. Using a combination of the tools of biblical studies and anthropological writings on animism, Joerstad traces the activity of non-animal nature through the canon. She shows how biblical writers go beyond sustainable development, asking us to be good neighbors to mountains and trees, and to be generous to our fields and vineyards. They envision human communities that are sources of joy to plants and animals. The Biblical writers' attention to inhabited spaces is particularly salient for contemporary environmental ethics in their insistence that our cities, suburbs, and villages contribute to flourishing landscapes.

The figure of Sakuntala appears in many forms throughout South Asian literature, most famously in the "Mahabharata" and in Kalidisa's fourth-century Sanskrit play, "Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection." In these two texts, Sakuntala undergoes a critical transformation, relinquishing her assertiveness and autonomy to become the quintessentially submissive woman, revealing much about the performance of Hindu femininity that would come to dominate South Asian culture. Through a careful analysis of sections from "Sakuntala" and their various iterations in different contexts, Romila Thapar explores the interactions between literature and history, culture and gender, that frame the development of this canonical figure, as well as a distinct conception of female identity.

Epics of ancient India rank with the timeless myths of classical Greece and Rome in the power of their language and the underlying moral lessons. The "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata, " both written in Sanskrit, contain vibrant stories of kings and princes, sages and tricksters, demons and gods, damsels in distress and mighty heroes. "Ganesha Goes to Lunch" collects some of the most vivid stories from these and other early Indian folklore and spiritual texts including the Vedas and the Puranas. These stories feature the gods of India in their celestial and earthly abodes, hapless humans struggling with life's many problems, and gods and humans interacting. Assembled by Kamla Kapur, these stories illustrate the great spiritual and practical themes of the human condition. Kamla Kapur brings her poet's eye and ear to the retelling of these stories, recreating and dramatizing them to illuminate their relevance to modern times.

Passover Haggadah: A New English Translation and Instructions for the Seder, New Revised Edition It includes the full text and translation, plus instructions, notes and an introduction. Convenient and ideal for groups.

The medieval vernacular (non-Sanskrit) traditions of yoga represent an aspect of Hinduism that to date has received much less scholarly attention than classical and contemporary Hinduism. Gordan Djurdjevic here brings together a representative selection of medieval Hindi poetry attributed to the legendary guru Gorakhnath. Gorakhnath is famed as the founder of the influential order of the Nath yogis, who are credited with the development of hatha yoga. The poetry gathered in the collection, known as The Sayings of Gorakh Bani, reflects this worldview. Its major thematic concerns relate to the practice of yoga, engagement with the various chakras within the body, and the attempts to reverse the flow of seminal fluid, by which process yogis believe the state of immortality may be reached. These often-enigmatic texts on the one hand provide a criticism of religious authority based on bookish knowledge, while on the other hand they celebrate yogic engagement with the subtle body and its centers of occult energy and miraculous powers. Sayings of Gorakhnath offers translations or the complete sabad and pad sections from the Gorakh Bani, the two largest sections in the collection. Some additional texts from the collection are also provided. Translations are preceded by an introduction and accompanied by notes, which contextualize and elucidate the subject matter.

The Dhammapada, the Pali version of one of the most popular texts of the Buddhist canon, also ranks among the classics of the world's religious literature. This critical edition presents to the English reader for the first time the Dhammapada as it has been known throughout the centuries. With this volume, Carter and Palihawadana make a major contribution to the understanding of the Dhammapada, not only by presenting a new and accurate translation of the verses, but also by enabling readers to see the wake of this remarkable text through centuries of Buddhist tradition. In addition to the original Pali, the editors provide a translation of the commentary on the verses and the subsequent brief explanations of verse and commentarial passages provided by Sinhala sources.

'Outstanding, timely and much needed.' Amir Hussain, Professor of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University 'A very well-written, remarkably accessible, timely and important book. It is sure to be read widely.' Muhammad Qasim Zaman, Robert H. Niehaus '77 Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Religion, Princeton University A compact introduction and reader's guide to the Qur'an This is an ideal introduction to the Qur'an, featuring the most up-to-date methods for reading and understanding the text. It deals with sensitive issues regarding the interpretation of sacred texts as well as differing points of view and major debates. A substantial explanatory introduction summarises the historical and literary issues and engages with the religious and political context of understanding the Qur'an today, including an appreciation of the ritual and oral uses of text. Key Features: * Includes new translations of 725 Qur'anic verses * Promotes an understanding of multiple interpretations of the Qur'an * Designed for use on introductory courses and for self-study Keywords: Qur'an; sacred; translation; text.

From the bestselling author of Here I Am, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and We are the Weather - Jonathan Safran Foer presents a new edition of the sacred Jewish Haggadah Read each year around the Seder table, the Haggadah recounts through prayer and song the extraordinary story of Exodus, when Moses led the ancient Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to wander through the desert for forty years before reaching the Promised Land. In this new version of the traditional Haggadah text, Jonathan Safran Foer brings together some of the most preeminent voices of our time. Nathan Englander's new translation, beautifully designed and illustrated in full colour by the Israeli artist and typographer Oded Ezer, is accompanied by thought-provoking commentaries by four major Jewish writers and thinkers: Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, Lemony Snicket, Jeffrey Goldberg and Nathaniel Deutsch; plus a timeline by Mia Sara Bruch.

'Across the language barrier Dawood captures the thunder and poetry of the original' The Times The Koran is universally accepted by Muslims to be the infallible Word of God as first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel nearly fourteen hundred years ago. Its 114 chapters, or surahs, recount the narratives central to Muslim belief, and together they form one of the world's most influential prophetic works and a literary masterpiece in its own right. But, above all, the Koran provides the rules of conduct that remain fundamental to the Muslim faith today: prayer, fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimage to Mecca and absolute faith in God and His apostle. Also available from Penguin: The Koran with Parallel Text 9780141393841

Intended to be a treatise on life itself, this epic poem embraces religion and ethics, polity and government, philosophy and the pursuit of salvation. This collection of more than 4,000 verses is supplemented by a glossary, genealogical tables, and an index correlating the verses with the original Sanskrit text.

Nine short essays exploring the K'iche' Maya story of creation, the Popol Vuh. Written during the lockdown in Chicago in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, these essays consider the Popol Vuh as a work that was also written during a time of feverish social, political, and epidemiological crisis as Spanish missionaries and colonial military deepened their conquest of indigenous peoples and cultures in Mesoamerica. What separates the Popol Vuh from many other creation texts is the disposition of the gods engaged in creation. Whereas the book of Genesis is declarative in telling the story of the world's creation, the Popol Vuh is interrogative and analytical: the gods, for example, question whether people actually need to be created, given the many perfect animals they have already placed on earth. Emergency uses the historical emergency of the Popol Vuh to frame the ongoing emergencies of colonialism that have surfaced all too clearly in the global health crisis of COVID-19. In doing so, these essays reveal how the authors of the Popol Vuh-while implicated in deep social crisis-nonetheless insisted on transforming emergency into scenes of social, political, and intellectual emergence, translating crisis into creativity and world creation.

One of the most popular Asian classics for roughly two thousand years, the Vimalakirti Sutra stands out among the sacred texts of Mahayana Buddhism for its conciseness, its vivid and humorous episodes, its dramatic narratives, and its eloquent exposition of the key doctrine of emptiness or nondualism. Unlike most sutras, its central figure is not a Buddha but a wealthy townsman, who, in his mastery of doctrine and religious practice, epitomizes the ideal lay believer. For this reason, the sutra has held particular significance for men and women of the laity in Buddhist countries of Asia, assuring them that they can reach levels of spiritual attainment fully comparable to those accessible to monks and nuns of the monastic order.

Esteemed translator Burton Watson has rendered a beautiful English translation from the popular Chinese version produced in 406 C.E. by the Central Asian scholar-monk Kumarajiva, which is widely acknowledged to be the most felicitous of the various Chinese translations of the sutra (the Sanskrit original of which was lost long ago) and is the form in which it has had the greatest influence in China, Japan, and other countries of East Asia. Watson's illuminating introduction discusses the background of the sutra, its place in the development of Buddhist thought, and the profundities of its principal doctrine: emptiness.

Philosophy of The Bhagavad Gita: A Contemporary Introduction presents a complete philosophical guide and new translation of the most celebrated text of Hinduism. While usually treated as mystical and religious poetry, this new translation focuses on the philosophy underpinning the story of a battle between two sets of cousins of the Aryan clan. Designed for use in the classroom, this lively and readable translation: - Situates the text in its philosophical and cultural contexts - Features summaries and chapter analyses and questions at the opening and end of each of the eighteen chapters encouraging further study - Highlights points of comparison and overlap between Indian and Western philosophical concepts and themes such as just war, care ethics, integrity and authenticity - Includes a glossary allowing the reader to determine the meaning of central concepts Written with clarity and without presupposing any prior knowledge of Hinduism, Philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita: A Contemporary Introduction reveals the importance and value of reading the Gita philosophically.

The Qur'an's biblical foregrounds have long formed a controversial concern within Qur'anic Studies, with field-leading scholars debating the Muslim scripture's complex relationship and response to the Judeo-Christian canon. This contentious subject has largely overshadowed, however, a reciprocal, yet no less rich, question which motivates the present study. Rather than read the Muslim scripture in light of its biblical antecedents, The Qur'an & Kerygma adopts the inverse approach, situating the Qur'an as itself the formative foreground to Western literary innovation and biblical exegesis, stretching from late antiquity in the 9th century to postmodernity in the 20th. The book argues, in particular, that Qur'anic readings and renditions have provoked and paralleled key developments in the Christian canon and its critique, catalyzing pivotal acts of authorship and interpretation which have creatively contoured the language and legacy of biblical kerygma. Structured chronologically, the study's span of more than a millennium is sustained by its specific concentration on four case studies selected from representative areas and eras, exploring innovative translations and interpretations of the Qur'an authored by Christian literati from 9th-century Andalucia to 20th-century North America. Mirroring its subject matter, the book engages a literary critical approach, offering close-readings of targeted texts frequently neglected and never before synthesized in a single study, highlighting the stylistic, as well as spiritual, influence on Western authors exercised by Islamic writ.

2010 reprint of 1939 edition. The Reverend Justinas Pranaitis (1861-1917) was a Lithuanian Catholic priest, Russian Master of Theology and Professor of the Hebrew Language at the Imperial Ecclesiastical Academy of the Roman Catholic Church in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He published The Talmud Unmasked as an anti-Semitic tract called Christianus in Talmude Iudaeorum in Latin in 1892 under the imprimatur of the Archbishop Metropolitan of Mogilev. This tract was subsequently translated into Polish (1892), French (1892), German (1894), Russian (1911), Lithuanian (1912), Italian (1939), English (1939) and Spanish. In 1912, Pranaitis was called to testify as an expert witness in Jewish hatred of Christians in the famous case of Menahem Mendel Beilis. During the course of that trial his credibility rapidly evaporated, however, when the defense demonstrated his ignorance of some simple Talmudic concepts and definitions, such as hullin, to the point where many in the audience occasionally laughed out loud when he clearly became confused and couldn't even intelligibly answer some of the questions asked by my lawyer. According to accounts of the trial, "cross-examination of Pranaitis has weakened evidentiary value of his expert opinion, exposing lack of knowledge of texts, insufficient knowledge of Jewish literature. Because of amateurish knowledge and lack of resourcefulness, Pranaitis' expert opinion is of very low value." The significance of The Talmud Unmasked is as an influential anti-Semitic tract written from a Catholic perspective.

This is a NEW (2010) easy-to-read translation by ancient languages scholar Dr. A. Nyland and is NOT one of the many Public Domain translations of Enoch NOR IS IT A REWORDED PUBLIC DOMAIN VERSION of Enoch. Great advances which have been made in ancient word meaning in the last twenty years were unknown to the translators of the public domain versions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. There are copious background notes and cross references. This book is an easy to read translation with cross references and notes. Ideal for those interested in Theosophy Despite the current trend for non-translators to reproduce public domain versions (both as is and disguised by slight rewording) as a commercial venture, be aware that such public domain versions do not take advantage of recent scholarship. This new translation by Dr. A. Nyland contains all three books of Enoch: 1 Enoch (Also called The Ethiopic Book of Enoch) 2 Enoch (Also called The Slavonic Book of Enoch, The Secrets of Enoch). This volume contains the extended version of 2 Enoch, The Exaltation of Melchizedek. 3 Enoch (Also called The Hebrew Book of Enoch) Note that this is Dr. Nyland's translation and NOT a public domain work. 1 Enoch tells of the Watchers, a class of angel, who taught humans weapons, spell potions, root cuttings, astrology, astronomy, and alchemies. The Watchers also slept with human women and produced the Nephilim. For this, they were imprisoned and cast into Tartarus. This is also mentioned in the New Testament. In 2 Enoch, two angels take Enoch through the 7 heavens. This volume contains the extended version of 2 Enoch, The Exaltation of Melchizedek. In 3 Enoch, Enoch ascends to heaven and is transformed into the angel Metatron. This is about the Merkabah and is of interest to Kabbalists. People interested in Theosophy and Rosicrucianism will find this book invaluable. Dr. A. Nyland is an ancient language scholar and lexicographer who served as Faculty at the University of New England, Australia. Dr. Nyland is also the translator of "The Book of Jubilees," and "The Gospel of Thomas," among others. She is also the author of the Amy Stuart Mystery series.

Explores how the classical Islamic tradition has been retrieved, reformed and reshaped in the modern Islamic worldRecent events in the Islamic world have demonstrated the endurance, neglect and careful reshaping of the classical Islamic heritage. A range of modern Islamic movements and intellectuals has sought to reclaim certain concepts, ideas, persons and trends from the Islamic tradition. This book profiles some of the fundamental debates that have defined the conversation between the past and the present in the Islamic world. Qur'anic exegesis, Islamic law, gender, violence and eschatology are just some of the key themes in this study of the Islamic tradition's vitality in the modern Islamic world. This book will allow readers to situate modern developments in the Islamic world within the 'longue duree' of Islamic history and thought.Key FeaturesBrings clarity to modern trends, events and debates in the Islamic world by placing them in their longer historical trajectoriesBrings together experts of the medieval and modern Islamic worldProvides an examination of how the classical Islamic heritage functions in today's Islamic world in regions as diverse as the Middle East, Iran and the Indian subcontinentCase Studies IncludeJihad Treatise Impact in IndiaJihadist PropagandaWomen's Legal Testimony in IslamIslamic Legal Issues in Iran

2010 reprint of 1939 edition. The Reverend Justinas Pranaitis (1861-1917) was a Lithuanian Catholic priest, Russian Master of Theology and Professor of the Hebrew Language at the Imperial Ecclesiastical Academy of the Roman Catholic Church in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He published The Talmud Unmasked as an anti-Semitic tract called Christianus in Talmude Iudaeorum in Latin in 1892 under the imprimatur of the Archbishop Metropolitan of Mogilev. This tract was subsequently translated into Polish (1892), French (1892), German (1894), Russian (1911), Lithuanian (1912), Italian (1939), English (1939) and Spanish. In 1912, Pranaitis was called to testify as an expert witness in Jewish hatred of Christians in the famous case of Menahem Mendel Beilis. During the course of that trial his credibility rapidly evaporated, however, when the defense demonstrated his ignorance of some simple Talmudic concepts and definitions, such as hullin, to the point where many in the audience occasionally laughed out loud when he clearly became confused and couldn't even intelligibly answer some of the questions asked by my lawyer. According to accounts of the trial, "cross-examination of Pranaitis has weakened evidentiary value of his expert opinion, exposing lack of knowledge of texts, insufficient knowledge of Jewish literature. Because of amateurish knowledge and lack of resourcefulness, Pranaitis' expert opinion is of very low value." The significance of The Talmud Unmasked is as an influential anti-Semitic tract written from a Catholic perspective.

The Steinsaltz Talmud is the most accessible edition available of the Talmud, the nearly 2,000-year-old, central text of the Jewish people. Translated from the Aramaic to modern Hebrew, with explanations and commentary by one of the great Talmud scholars of all time, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, The Steinsaltz Talmud fosters deep and creative engagement with the text. The Steinsaltz Talmud offers solutions to linguistic and contextual issues in the text, removes obstacles stemming from the its non-linear construction, and provides succinct commentaries, pertinent Halachic rulings, explanatory notes to Rashi and other commentators, detailed indexes, and background from the sciences, history and the humanities.The Steinsaltz Talmud enables both beginning and seasoned students to participate in the living Talmudic conversation.

Biblical Aramaic and Related Dialects is a comprehensive, introductory-level textbook for the acquisition of the language of the Old Testament and related dialects that were in use from the last few centuries BCE. Based on the latest research, it uses a method that guides students into knowledge of the language inductively, with selections taken from the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and papyrus discoveries from ancient Egypt. The volume offers a comprehensive view of ancient Aramaic that enables students to progress to advanced levels with a solid grounding in historical grammar. Most up-to-date description of Aramaic in light of modern discoveries and methods. Provides more detail than previous textbooks. Includes comprehensive description of Biblical dialect, along with Aramaic of the Persian period and of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Guided readings begin with primary sources, enabling students learn the language by reading historical texts.

Since its appearance in China in the third century, the Lotus Sutra has been regarded as one of the most illustrious scriptures in the Mahayana Buddhist canon. The object of intense veneration among generations of Buddhists in China, Korea, Japan, and other parts of East Asia, it has attracted more commentary than any other Buddhist scripture and has had a profound impact on the great works of Japanese and Chinese literature. Conceived as a drama of colossal proportions, the text takes on new meaning in Burton Watson's translation. Depicting events in a cosmic world that transcends ordinary concepts of time and space, the Lotus Sutra presents abstract religious concepts in concrete terms and affirms that there is a single path to enlightenment - that of the bodhisattva - and that the Buddha is not to be delimited in time and space. Filled with striking imagery. memorable parables, and countless revelations concerning the universal accessibility of Buddhahood, the Lotus Sutra has brought comfort and wisdom to devotees over the centuries and stands as a pivotal text in world literature. As Watson notes, "The Lotus Sutra is not so much an integral work as a collection of religious texts, an anthology of sermons, stories and devotional manuals, some speaking with particular force to persons of one type or in one set of circumstances, some to those of another type or in other circumstances. This is no doubt one reason why it has had such broad and lasting appeal over the ages and has permeated so deeply into the cultures that have been exposed to it".

A landmark new translation of the sacred text of Islam? in an elegant deluxe edition
Literally ?the recitation, ? "The Qur?an" is considered within the Muslim faith to be the infallible word of God. Tarif Khalidi, the foremost scholar of Islamic history and faith, provides a fresh English translation that captures the startling, exquisite poetry of one of the world's most beloved religious texts. Retaining the structure and rhythms of the original Arabic, Khalidi enlivens the ancient teachings and prophetic narratives central to the Muslim faith and solidifies "The Qur?an" as a work of spiritual authority and breathtaking beauty.
A landmark new translation of the sacred text of Islam? in an elegant deluxe edition
Literally ?the recitat ion, ? "The Qur?an" is considered within the Muslim faith to be the infallible word of God. Tarif Khalidi, the foremost scholar of Islamic history and faith, provides a fresh English translation that captures the startling, exquisite poetry of one of the world's most beloved religious texts. Retaining the structure and rhythms of the original Arabic, Khalidi enlivens the ancient teachings and prophetic narratives central to the Muslim faith and solidifies "The Qur?an" as a work of spiritual authority and breathtaking beauty.