What is yoga? Stereotypical images of people practicing this ancient art range from white-bearded Indian mystics chanting 'om' on mountaintops to urban fitness fanatics contorted into uncomfortable looking positions. We recognize the name, but may not realize how the set of ideas and practices known as yoga moved from its birthplace on the Indian subcontinent to become a global phenomenon. Positioning Yoga considers how the recent development of yoga, from its introduction to Western audiences by the Indian Swami Vivekananda at the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago through to the present day, has generated specific forms of modern practice. Strauss takes us on an illuminating journey from India to Germany and America, and back again to India. While acknowledging yogas point of origin, Strauss explores how yogic practices and ideas have been transformed when they cross cultural boundaries.Yoga can be defined in many ways as an attitude, a philosophic system, a set of practices, a way of being in the world but its definition is always located within a particular historical context. What makes yoga practitioners affiliated with Swami Sivanandas Divine Life Society of Rishikesh, India - whether they hail from India, North America, or Europe - unique? What values around the world have supported the surging popularity of yoga over the past century? This absorbing book considers how lifestyle values have made yoga a global industry and shows how culture is produced and disseminated across boundaries.

What is yoga? Stereotypical images of people practicing this ancient art range from white-bearded Indian mystics chanting 'om' on mountaintops to urban fitness fanatics contorted into uncomfortable looking positions. We recognize the name, but may not realize how the set of ideas and practices known as yoga moved from its birthplace on the Indian subcontinent to become a global phenomenon. Positioning Yoga considers how the recent development of yoga, from its introduction to Western audiences by the Indian Swami Vivekananda at the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago through to the present day, has generated specific forms of modern practice. Strauss takes us on an illuminating journey from India to Germany and America, and back again to India. While acknowledging yogas point of origin, Strauss explores how yogic practices and ideas have been transformed when they cross cultural boundaries.Yoga can be defined in many ways as an attitude, a philosophic system, a set of practices, a way of being in the world but its definition is always located within a particular historical context. What makes yoga practitioners affiliated with Swami Sivanandas Divine Life Society of Rishikesh, India - whether they hail from India, North America, or Europe - unique? What values around the world have supported the surging popularity of yoga over the past century? This absorbing book considers how lifestyle values have made yoga a global industry and shows how culture is produced and disseminated across boundaries.

This collection of translated texts includes:
-"Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook: An extraordinarily rich and diverse collection of Taoist writings from the fifth century BCE to modern times.
-"The Secret of the Golden Flower: The Classic Chinese Book of Life: Essentially a practical guide to the integration of personality--hailed by C. G. Jung as a link between the insights of the East and his own psychological research."
-"Immortal Sisters: Secrets of Taoist Women: The writings of six distinguished Taoist women adepts writing between the fourth and twelfth centuries.
-"Awakening to the Tao: Another treasure from Liu I-ming, this is a collection of one hundred fourty-two of the master's brief but admirably lucid essays on living according to the Tao.

Chang Tsai is one of the three major Chinese philosophers who, in the eleventh century, revitalised Confucian thought after centuries of stagnation and formed the foundation for the neo-Confucian thinking that was predominant till the nineteenth century. The book analyses in depth Chang’s views of man, his nature and endowments, the cosmos, heaven and earth, the problems of learning and self cultivation, the ideal of the sage - and how that ideal might be attained. It looks at the intellectual climate of the eleventh century, the assumptions Chinese intellectuals shared, and the problems which concerned them. It describes the triumph of Chang’s rivals within the neo-Confucian movement and the subsequent emergence of neo-Confucianism to state orthodoxy in the thirteenth century.

This is the first full-length study of the devotional poetry and poetics of the 14th-century poet-philosopher Vedantadesika, one of the most outstanding and influential figures in the hindu tradition of Sri-Vaishnavism (the cult of Lord Vishnu). Despite their intrinsic beauty and theological importance, the poetry and philosophy of Vedantadesika have received very little scholarly attention. However, for millions who belong to the Vaishnava tradition these poems are not just classical literature; they are committed to memory, recited, sung and enacted in ritual both in India and throughout the Hindu diaspora. Steven Hopkins here offers a comparative study of the Sanskrit, Pakrit and Tamil poems composed by Vedantadesika in praise of important Vaishnava shrines and their icons - poems that are considered to be the apogee of South Indian devotional literature.

The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (Mulamadhyamakakarika), a second-century philosophical text by the Buddhist saint Nagarjuna, is the foundational text of Mahayana, the Buddhist school that predominates in Tibet, China, Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. Nagarjuna is the founder of the Madhyamaka, or Middle Path, school of Mahayana. Jay Garfield's magisterial translation (with commentary) of this seminal text (OUP, 1995) has established itself as the definitive edition in the English language. Empty Words is intended as a companion to Garfield's translation to The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, providing additional background, argument and context. It considers the work of philosophical rivals, and sheds important light on the relation of Nagarjuna's views to other Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophical positions. Garfield is one of the leading scholars in this field, and this volume is the culmination of his work of the last decade.

Thanks to the international celebrity of the present Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism is attracting more attention than at any time in its history. Although there have been numerous specialist studies of individual Tibetan texts, however, no scholarly work has as yet done justice to the rich variety of types of Tibetan discourse. This book fills this lacuna, bringing to bear the best methodological insights of the contemporary human sciences, and at the same time conveying to non-specialist readers an impression of the broad domain of Tibetan religious and philosophical thought. Ranging widely over the immense corpus of Tibetan literature, Kapstein brilliantly illuminates many of the distinctive Tibetan contributions and points out some of the insights.

Confucius is a key figure not only in Eastern thought and philosophy but in world history as well. The Analects, the sayings attributed to him, is a classic of world literature. Nonetheless there is a great dispute about how to approach and understand both him and his work. This is the first anthology of critical writings on this crucial and influential work. The contributors come to the Analects from a variety of perspectives - including philosophical, philological, and religious - and address a host of key topics. Rigorous yet highly accessible, the volume will also include a general introduction and an exhaustive bibliography on English-language works on Confucius.

This book represents an ambitious attempt to remove the stumbling blocks that stand in the way of a dialogue between Chinese and world philosophy. Hansen's main goal is to present a unified theory of Classical Chinese thought. What makes his attempt very different from innumerable previous efforts is that he uses Daoism, not Confucianism, as the central and unifying principle.

Solidly grounded in Chinese primary sources, Neo Confucianism: Metaphysics, Mind, and Morality engages the latest global scholarship to provide an innovative, rigorous, and clear articulation of neo-Confucianism and its application to Western philosophy. * Contextualizes neo-Confucianism for contemporary analytic philosophy by engaging with today s philosophical questions and debates * Based on the most recent and influential scholarship on neo-Confucianism, and supported by primary texts in Chinese and cross-cultural secondary literature * Presents a cohesive analysis of neo-Confucianism by investigating the metaphysical foundations of neo-Confucian perspectives on the relationship between human nature, human mind, and morality * Offers innovative interpretations of neo-Confucian terminology and examines the ideas of eight major philosophers, from Zhou Dunyi and Cheng-Zhu to Zhang Zai and Wang Fuzhi * Approaches neo-Confucian concepts in an penetrating yet accessible way

Guides for an Age of Confusion compares and contrasts the views of the two great Jewish philosophers Avraham Y. Kook and Mordecai M. Kaplan. Although these two thinkers stand at opposite ends of the spectrum of Jewish thought, they are united in their love for the Jewish people and in their belief in the need for Jewish unity. Following an introduction to both men, the author, a disciple of Kaplan's, explores their views regarding some of the most important issues confronting the Jewish people today. These include traditions such as Israel's chosenness; the status of the Halakhah, traditional Jewish law, in today's society; prayer and its revitalization; repentance (Teshuvah) leading to the return to God; and the role of Eretz Yisrael in the life of the Jewish people. Other topics covered are the idea of and the search for God, the position of women in Jewish society, and philosophies of education, along with an exploration of esthetics in Jewish life and the challenges of democracy. Each chapter provides an overview of the subject and then discusses the divergent views of the two thinkers, as well as their areas of agreement. Finally, the book endeavors to portray the future of Jewish life as envisaged through the eyes of these two great men. In the author's view, a dialogue must be established between the followers of both Kook and Kaplan. Only in this way can Jewish solidarity be maintained and the Jewish future secured. This book is an effort to open that dialogue.

Explore the Amazing Bond Between Humans and Animals"Turtles have been a part of earth's natural balance for hundreds of millions of years...In this passionate, shining work, Yun Rou champions their cause and indicts our self-destructive relationship with Mother Earth." -William Holmstrom, Wildlife Conservation Society #1 New Release in Biology of Reptiles & Amphibians and Taoism Turtle lover and Daoist Monk Yun Rou shares a beautiful depiction of the wonders of the world-and a powerful plea for preserving our planet-in this fictional philosophical tale. Turtle Planet, a unique work of philosophical fact and fiction by ordained Daoist Monk Yun Rou, explores the wonders and suffering of the natural world through the eyes of eighteen exotic turtles. This beautifully written book deeply explores the intimate bond between humans and animals the wisdom they teach us, the wounds they can heal, and the role we play in their destruction. A call for environmental conservation and political and social justice. Daoist Monk Yun Rou received his academic education at Yale, Cornell, and the University of California and was ordained a Daoist monk at the Chun Yang (Pure Yang) Taoist Temple in Guangzhou, China. Drawing on fifty years of loving and husbanding turtles, from the car-sized giant Leatherback turtle to the Central Asian tortoise, Monk Yun Rou sounds the alarm of what climate change, global extinction, human intervention, and environmental devastation really mean to their worlds and to ours. See the world through the eyes of turtles. An informational glossary and description of each turtle at the end of the book is provided as a bonus gift to readers. If you have read and learned from books such as H is for Hawk, The Soul of an Octopus, or Ishmael; you will be moved by Turtle Planet, a must for any reader who loves nature, cherishes animals, and celebrates ideas. Also read Monk Yun Rou's Mad Monk Manifesto.

In this book, J.J. Clarke shows us how Taoist texts, ideas and practices have been assimilated within a whole range of Western ideas and agendas. We see how Chinese thinkers such as Lao-tzu and Chuang tzu, along with practices such as Feng Shui and Tai Chi, have been used as a key Western inspiration in religion, philosophy, ethics, politics, ecology and health.
The Tao of the West not only provides a fascinating introduction to Taoism, it also offers a timely insight into the history of the West's encounter with this ancient tradition, and into the issues arising from inter-cultural dialogue. Anyone interested in understanding the key influence Taoism has had on the West will welcome and embrace this book.

In the long river of human history, if one person can represent the civilization of a whole nation, it is perhaps Master Kong, better known as Confucius in the West. If there is one single book that can be upheld as the common code of a whole people, it is perhaps Lun Yu, or The Analects. Surely few individuals in history have shaped their country's civilization more profoundly than Master Kong. The great Han historiographer, Si-ma Qian, writing 2,100 years ago said, "He may be called the wisest indeed!" And, as recently as 1988, at a final session of the first international conference of Nobel prize-winners in Paris, the seventy-five participants, fifty-two of whom were scientists, concluded: "If mankind is to survive, it must go back twenty- five centuries in time to tap the wisdom of Confucius". This is a man whose influence in world history is truly incomparable. His sayings (and those of his disciples) form the basis of a distinct social, ethical, and intellectual system.They have retained their freshness and vigour for two and a half millennia, and are still admired in today's China. Compiled by pupils of Confucius's disciples half a century after the Master's death, The Analects of Confucius laid the foundation of his philosophy of humanity--a philosophy aimed at "cultivating the individual's moral conduct, achieving family harmony, bringing good order to the state and peace to the empire". Containing 501 very succinct chapters (the longest do not exceed fifteen lines and the shortest are less than one) and organized into twenty books, the collection comprises mostly dialogues between the Master and his disciples and contemporaries. The ethical tenets Confucius put forth not only became the norm of conduct for the officialdom and intelligentsia, but also had a profound impact on the behaviour of the common people.The great sage's unique integration of humanity and righteousness (love and reason) struck a powerful chord in all who attempted to understand his moral philosophy. As the translator Chichung Huang contends, "What ethical principle laid down by man could be more sensible that none which blends the best our heart can offer with the best our mind can offer as the guiding light for our conduct throughout our lives?". Ever timely, Confucius's teachings on humanity (family harmony in particular) and righteousness may well serve as a ready-made cure for today's ills in an era which human beings are blinded by force and lust, not unlike Confucius's own day. Far more literal than any English version still in circulation, this brilliant new rendition of The Analects helps the reader not only to acquire and accurate and lucid understanding of the original text, but also to appreciate the imagery, imagery, parallelism, and concision of its classical style.The translator Chichung Huang, a Chinese scholar born in a family of Confucian teachers and schooled in one of the last village Confucian schools in South China, brings to this treasure of world literature a sure voice that captures the power and subtleties of the original. Vivid, simple, and eminently readable, this illuminating work makes the golden teachings of the sage of the East readily available to anyone in search of them.

Charlotte Joko Beck offers a warm, engaging, uniquely American approach to using Zen to deal with the problems of daily living--love, relationships, work, fear, ambition, and suffering. "Everyday Zen" shows us how to live each moment to the fullest. This Plus edition includes an interview with the author.

"Scholars of Marxism will be in Nick Knight's debt for this pioneering study of one of the most important figures in the development of Marxism in China. Knight makes an important case about the relationship of Chinese Marxist thought to Marxist thought in general (with particular attention to Soviet Marxism). The book makes available to readers not just important texts of Chinese Marxism, but a whole series of texts of Marxism that were crucial to the political discourse of the thirties. Knight displays impressive erudition and command of these texts. In spite of the strong case he makes for his thesis, he retains throughout an admirable critical self-awareness that enhances the plausibility of his argument." -Arif DirlikDuke University

Christian theologians have for some decades affirmed that they have no monopoly on encounters with God or ultimate reality and that other religions also have access to religious truth and transformation. If that is the case, the time has come for Christians not only to learn about but also from their religious neighbors. Circling the Elephant affirms that the best way to be truly open to the mystery of the infinite is to move away from defensive postures of religious isolationism and self-sufficiency and to move, in vulnerability and openness, toward the mystery of the neighbor. Employing the ancient Indian allegory of the elephant and blind(folded) men, John J. Thatamanil argues for the integration of three often-separated theological projects: theologies of religious diversity (the work of accounting for why there are so many different understandings of the elephant), comparative theology (the venture of walking over to a different side of the elephant), and constructive theology (the endeavor of re-describing the elephant in light of the other two tasks). Circling the Elephant also offers an analysis of why we have fallen short in the past. Interreligious learning has been obstructed by problematic ideas about "religion" and "religions," Thatamanil argues, while also pointing out the troubling resonances between reified notions of "religion" and "race." He contests these notions and offers a new theory of the religious that makes interreligious learning both possible and desirable. Christians have much to learn from their religious neighbors, even about such central features of Christian theology as Christ and the Trinity. This book envisions religious diversity as a promise, not a problem, and proposes a new theology of religious diversity that opens the door to robust interreligious learning and Christian transformation through encountering the other.

This is the story of fifth century CE India, when the Yogacarin Buddhists tested the awareness of unawareness, and became aware of human unawareness to an extraordinary degree. They not only explicitly differentiated this dimension of mental processes from conscious cognitive processes, but also offered reasoned arguments on behalf of this dimension of mind. This is the concept of the 'Buddhist unconscious', which arose just as philosophical discourse in other circles was fiercely debating the limits of conscious awareness, and these ideas in turn had developed as a systematisation of teachings from the Buddha himself. For us in the twenty-first century, these teachings connect in fascinating ways to the Western conceptions of the 'cognitive unconscious' which have been elaborated in the work of Jung and Freud. This important study reveals how the Buddhist unconscious illuminates and draws out aspects of current western thinking on the unconscious mind. One of the most intriguing connections is the idea that there is in fact no substantial 'self' underlying all mental activity; 'the thoughts themselves are the thinker'. William S. Waldron considers the implications of this radical notion, which, despite only recently gaining plausibility, was in fact first posited 2,500 years ago.

This book develops a critical understanding of Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy and practice in the context of contemporary challenges and engages with some of his key work and ideas. It highlights the relevance of Gandhi's legacy in the quest towards peace-building, equity and global justice. The volume examines diverse facets of Gandhi's holistic view of human life - social, economic and political - for the creation of a just society. Bringing together expert analyses and reflections, the chapters here emphasise the philosophical and practical urgency of Gandhi's thought and action. They explore the significance of his concepts of truth and nonviolence to address moral, spiritual and ethical issues, growing intolerance, conflict and violence, poverty and hunger, and environmental crisis for the present world. The volume serves as a platform for constructive dialogue for academics, researchers, policymakers and students to re-imagine Gandhi and his moral and political principles. It will be of great interest to those in philosophy, political studies, Gandhi studies, history, cultural studies, peace studies and sociology.