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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian sacred works & liturgy > Sacred texts > General
A finalist for the 2020 National Jewish Book Award for
scholarship--a broad, systematic account of one of the most
original and creative kabbalists, biblical interpreters, and
Talmudic scholars the Jewish tradition has ever produced
"Beautifully written, Moshe Halbertal's groundbreaking book is
exceptional in its capability to penetrate to the heart of
Nahmanides's thinking and worldview. An admirable
achievement."-Adam Afterman, Tel Aviv University "Magisterial. . .
. Halbertal displays here his well-established talent for making
abstruse ideas accessible to a non-specialist readership."-Los
Angeles Review of Books' Marginalia Rabbi Moses b. Nahman
(1194-1270), known in English as Nahmanides, was the greatest
Talmudic scholar of the thirteenth century and one of the deepest
and most original biblical interpreters. Beyond his monumental
scholastic achievements, Nahmanides was a distinguished kabbalist
and mystic, and in his commentary on the Torah he dispensed
esoteric kabbalistic teachings that he termed "By Way of Truth."
This broad, systematic account of Nahmanides's thought explores his
conception of halakhah and his approach to the central concerns of
medieval Jewish thought, including notions of God, history,
revelation, and the reasons for the commandments. The relationship
between Nahmanides's kabbalah and mysticism and the existential
religious drive that nourishes them, as well as the legal and
exoteric aspects of his thinking, are at the center of Moshe
Halbertal's portrayal of Nahmanides as a complex and transformative
thinker.
Zen Buddhism is often said to be a practice of "mind-to-mind
transmission" without reliance on texts -- in fact, some great
teachers forbid their students to read or write. But Buddhism has
also inspired some of the greatest philosophical writings of any
religion, and two such works lie at the center of Zen: The Heart
Sutra, which monks recite all over the world, and The Diamond
Sutra, said to contain answers to all questions of delusion and
dualism. This is the Buddhist teaching on the "perfection of
wisdom" and cuts through all obstacles on the path of practice.
As Red Pine explains: "The Diamond Sutra may look like a book,
but it's really the body of the Buddha. It's also your body, my
body, all possible bodies. But it's a body with nothing inside and
nothing outside. It doesn't exist in space or time. Nor is it a
construct of the mind. It's no mind. And yet because it's no mind,
it has room for compassion. This book is the offering of no mind,
born of compassion for all suffering beings. Of all the sutras that
teach this teaching, this is the diamond."
With over 140 million copies in print, and serving as the principal
proselytizing tool of one of the world's fastest growing faiths,
the Book of Mormon is undoubtedly one of the most influential
religious texts produced in the western world. Written by Terryl
Givens, a leading authority on Mormonism, this compact volume
offers the only concise, accessible introduction to this
extraordinary work.
Givens examines the Book of Mormon first and foremost in terms of
the claims that its narrators make for its historical genesis, its
purpose as a sacred text, and its meaning for an audience which
shifts over the course of the history it unfolds. The author traces
five governing themes in particular--revelation, Christ, Zion,
scripture, and covenant--and analyzes the Book's central doctrines
and teachings. Some of these resonate with familiar
nineteenth-century religious preoccupations; others consist of
radical and unexpected takes on topics from the fall of Man to
Christ's mortal ministries and the meaning of atonement. Givens
also provides samples of a cast of characters that number in the
hundreds, and analyzes representative passages from a work that
encompasses tragedy, poetry, sermons, visions, family histories and
military chronicles. Finally, this introduction surveys the
contested origins and production of a work held by millions to be
scripture, and reviews the scholarly debates that address questions
of the record's historicity.
Here then is an accessible guide to what is, by any measure, an
indispensable key to understanding Mormonism. But it is also an
introduction to a compelling and complex text that is too often
overshadowed by the controversies that surround it.
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and
style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of
life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the
newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about
the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from
philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
The Bhagavad Gita opens with a crisis - Prince Arjuna despairs on
the battlefield, unsure if he should fight his kinsmen in a
dreadful war. For Easwaran, the Gita's epic battle represents the
war in our own hearts and Arjuna's anguish reflects the human
condition: torn between opposing forces, confused about how to
live. Sri Krishna's timeless guidance, Easwaran argues, can shed
light on our dilemmas today. Placing the Gita's teachings in a
modern context, Easwaran explores the nature of reality, the
illusion of separateness, the search for identity, the meaning of
yoga, and how to heal the unconscious. The key message of the Gita
is how to resolve our conflicts and live in harmony with the deep
unity of life, through the practice of meditation and spiritual
disciplines. Sri Krishna doesn't tell Arjuna what to do. He points
out the prince's choices, and then leaves it to Arjuna to decide.
Easwaran shows us clearly how these teachings still apply - and
how, like Arjuna, we must take courage and act wisely if we want
our world to thrive.
Imam Nawawi's commentary on Sahih Muslim is one of the most highly
regarded works in Islamic thought and literature. Accepted by every
sunni school of thought, and foundational in the Shaafi school,
this text, available for the first time in English, is famed
throughout the Muslim world. After the Qur'an, the prophetic
traditions are the most recognised source of wisdom in Islam.
Amongst the collected Hadith, Sahih Muslim is second only to the
the collection of Imam Bukhari. With a commentary by Imam Nawawi,
whose other works are amongst the most widely-read books on Islam,
and translated by Adil Salahi, a modern scholar of great acclaim,
this immense work, finally available to English readers, is an
essential addition to every Muslim library, and for anybody with an
interest in Islamic thought.
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