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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian sacred works & liturgy > Sacred texts > General
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.
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.
A modern book of destiny and power, using the ancient principles of
the Tao Te Ching.
How do we begin to discover and live our destined life? How can we
use the ancient, Eastern philosophy to experience more success in
our lives?
From Derek Lin, Taoist master and author of "The Tao of Daily
Life," comes this practical, systematic approach to the ancient and
time-honored spiritual learning process. The Tao of Success
navigates the five rings of life, which are common patterns of
traditional Tao cultivation, conceptualized by the ancient sages:
your spirit, your mind, your relationships, your world, and your
destiny. Success is achieved by discovering and experiencing these
five concentric rings, from the inside out, and not in the future
but in the here and now.
Using the same format that made "The Tao of Daily Life" a breakout
Eastern wisdom bestseller, Lin draws on the power of Taoist stories
to illustrate important keys, or lessons. He then offers commentary
on understanding and applying that story in modern life-all aimed
to help readers live out the destiny that lies within themselves.
By integrating the life-altering lessons of this book into their
busy lives, readers can begin to cultivate the Tao. In "The Tao of
Success," Lin returns with his enlightening approach to
understanding, centered on story and illumination of ancient Taoist
secrets for the modern beginner and the familiar student alike.
Based on the 500BC teachings of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, this
book explains the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path to
enlightenment.
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.
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.
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In Understanding the Talmud: A Modern Reader's Guide for Study,
Rabbi Edward S. Boraz presents a thoughtful introduction to the
Talmud designed for study by the untrained reader. Using a unique
approach, Rabbi Boraz focuses on a specific selection from one
tractate of the Talmud, allowing readers to uncover the moral and
theological concerns of the text. The portion he has selected comes
from the tractate Bava Metziah and deals with the conditions under
which an oath may be administered in a civil lawsuit. On the
surface this issue appears mundane and far removed from the domain
of holiness. However, when the discourse is studied in relation to
passages from Scripture, Midrash, and Mishnah that are also
presented, it becomes a spiritual and ethical adventure. Before
embarking on this journey of discovery, the reader is given a
concise explanation of the rules of logic and the argumentative
style utilized in the Talmud. It becomes evident that the Talmud's
style is essential to its mission to understand the timeless
messages of Torah in the context of the ever-changing world in
which we live. Equipped with the necessary background, the reader
is prepared to delve into the texts.
2009 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.
Steiner sees Krishna as a great spiritual teacher and the Bhagavad
Gita as a preparation, though still abstract, for the coming of
Christ and the Christ impulse as the living embodiment of the
world, law, and devotion, represented by the three Hindu streams of
Veda, Sankhya, and Yoga. For him, the epic poem of the Bhagavad
Gita represents the fully ripened fruit of Hinduism, whereas Paul
is related but represents the seed of something entirely new. In
the last lecture, Steiner reveals Krishna as the sister soul of
Adam, incarnated as Jesus, and claims Krishas Yoga teachings
streamed from Christ into Paul.
The holy book of Islam, the Koran as a book is the result of: 1.
revelations given to Muhammad in the period 610- 632 (Muhammad's
death) 2. writing down of these revelations by people around
Muhammad in a period probably starting some years after 610, and
ending a couple of years after 632 3. compiling of these writings
stretching from mid-630s and perhaps until mid-650s 4. vowelling
and dotting of the text (ancient Arabic was written without dots,
leaving some letters look identical, and without vowels, which can
make two different words look identical). Old Koran Essential to
the reading of the Koran are the interpretations, which are still
conducted, but which were more normal and accepted in the first
centuries of Islam. As the Koran has a structure and a language, as
well as allusions, which often are difficult for the normal Muslim
to understand, a whole science were built around the comprehension
of the Koran. The early Muslims studied history, language and
nature science in an effort of understanding the Koran better. The
product is surprisingly well accepted by the whole Muslim society,
and no Muslim child or adult of today, studying the Koran, does
this without help from the interpretations built on the early
science of the Koran.
This is a treatise on the meaning of "The Sutra on Generating the
Resolve to Become a Buddha." It was written by the famous early
Indian shastra master and bodhisattva, Shramana Vasubandhu (ca 300
ce). In this text, Vasubandhu discourses on the causality behind
the origination of the bodhisattva vow (bodhicitta) and on each of
the six perfections through which that vow reaches its fruition in
buddhahood. This volume includes facing-page source text in both
traditional and simplified scripts, variant-readings from other
editions, and translator's notes. The translation is by the
American monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra, a translator of numerous
important classic Buddhist works.
This is The Bodhisambhara Shastra ("Treatise on the Provisions for
Enlightenment"), written by Arya Nagarjuna, the early Indian monk
(ca 2nd c.) who is one of the most famous figures in the history of
Indian Mahayana Buddhism. This work describes the essential
prerequisites for achieving the complete enlightenment of a buddha
while also describing the most important practices to be undertaken
by bodhisattvas. The text is accompanied here by an abridged
version of its only commentary, originally written by the early
Indian Bhikshu Vasitva, a monk who lived sometime in the middle or
first half of the first millennium. This volume includes
facing-page source text for the stanzas in both traditional and
simplified scripts. Abridgement, notes, and translation by the
American monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra.
This is Tripitaka Master Paramartha's earliest (ca 550 ce) complete
edition of The Ratnavali, one of Arya Nagarjuna's most important
works. In its five 100-verse chapters, Nagarjuna presents both
abstruse teachings and practical advice to lay and monastic
practitioners while also describing in considerable detail the
short-term and long-term terrains of the Bodhisattva Path. This
very early edition is particularly useful in shedding light on
difficult passages in the much-later Tibetan "revised translation"
edition, the only other complete edition of this work. Translation
by the American monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra. This volume includes
facing-page source text in both traditional and simplified scripts.
In this volume, Bhikshu Dharmamitra presents translations of three
classic works on the bodhisattva vow (bodhicitta) authored by: The
early Indian monastic eminence, Arya Nagarjuna (2nd c.); The Dhyana
Master and Pureland Patriarch, Sheng'an Shixian (1686-1734); The
Tang Dynasty literatus and prime minister, the Honorable Peixiu
(797-870). Given that the bodhisattva vow constitutes the very
essence of the path to buddhahood, this text can be said to be
dedicated to the most important topic in all of Mahayana Buddhism.
The translation and notes are by the American monk, Bhikshu
Dharmamitra. This volume includes text outlines and facing-page
source text in both traditional and simplified scripts.
This text is a translation of chapters 17-30 of Arya Nagarjuna's
immense "Exegesis on the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra"
(Mahaprajnaparamita-upadesa). It is a free-standing section of that
commentary exclusively devoted to analyzing and explaining the
various levels of practice of the bodhisattva's six perfections. In
it, Nagarjuna sets forth numerous stories, analogies, and analyses
as he reveals the deepest meaning of giving, moral virtue,
patience, vigor, meditative discipline, and transcendent wisdom,
the six primary qualities cultivated by a bodhisattva in
progressing toward buddhahood. The translation is by the American
monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra. This volume includes facing-page source
text in both traditional and simplified scripts as well as
extensive text-structure outlining provided by the translator.
"The Essentials of Buddhist Meditation" is a classic Buddhist
meditation instruction manual deeply rooted in the Indian Buddhist
"calming-and-insight" meditation tradition. Within its tradition,
it is the universally-acknowledged standard
beginning-to-intermediate meditation manual, one which offers
perhaps the most reliable, comprehensive, and practically-useful
Buddhist meditation instruction currently available in English. The
author of "The Essentials" is the sixth-century monk and meditation
master, Shramana Zhiyi (Chih-i), one of the most illustrious
figures in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Master Zhiyi is famous
for his role in the founding of the Tiantai teachings lineage and
for his authorship of a quartet of meditation manuals of which this
is one. The translator of this volume is the American monk, Bhikshu
Dharmamitra, a translator of numerous classic works from the Indian
and Chinese Buddhist traditions.
The Talmud is one of the most significant religious texts in the
world, second only to the Bible in its importance to Judaism. As
the Bible is the word of God, The Talmud applies that word to the
lives of its followers. In a range of styles including commentary,
parables, proverbs and anecdotes, it provides guidance on all
aspects of everyday life from ownership to commerce to
relationships. This selection of its most illuminating passages
makes accessible the centuries of Jewish thought within The Talmud.
Norman Solomon's clear translation from the Bavli (Babylonian)
Talmud is accompanied by an introduction on its arrangement, social
and historical background, reception and authors. This edition also
includes appendixes of background information, a glossary, time
line, maps and indexes.
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.
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