Simply written, and with a view to taking the wisdom of Confucius out of the hands of the academics and the philosophers and making it accessible to the general reader, Confucius From the Heart gives us a contemporary Confucius, one who can teach us how to attain spiritual happiness, adjust our daily routines and find our place in modern life. Yu Dan argues that his sayings, or Analects - far from being merely interesting quotes from ancient lore, of little use in our hectic, stress-filled world. Instead, they are simple truths that can speak to each and every one of us and help us lead better, happier, calmer lives.

The word 'yoga' conjures up in the minds of many Westerners images of people performing exercises and adopting unusual, sometimes contortive postures. Such exercises and postures do have a place within the practice of yoga, but it is much more than that. Indeed, the early literature on yoga describes and defines it as a form of mental rather than physical discipline. Yoga is also associated with the Indian subcontinent and the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. This revised edition of a classic textbook concentrates on the evolution of yoga in the context of Indian culture, though the final chapters also explore some of its links with non-Indian mystical traditions and some of its developments outside of India during the modern period. The book is aimed at both university students taking courses in Comparative Religion and Philosophy and practitioners of yoga who seek to go beyond the activity and explore its spiritual dimensions. Hence, it presents yoga in the context of its historical evolution in India and seeks to explain the nature of its associations with various metaphysical doctrines. The work also draws upon a number of conceptual schemes designed to facilitate comparative study. Some of these are employed throughout the book so as to link the material from each chapter together within a common framework. This edition incorporates revisions and expansions to most chapters and contains one new chapter on the future of modern yoga in the West.

In eighty-one brief chapters, Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, provides advice that imparts balance and perspective, a serene and generous spirit, and teaches us how to work for the good with the effortless skill that comes from being in accord with the Tao&#8212the basic principle of the universe.Stephen Mitchell's bestselling version has been widely acclaimed as a gift to contemporary culture.

The culmination of 25 years of research, Alex Bennett's groundbreaking English translation of Miyamoto Musashi's The Book of Five Rings reveals the true meaning of the original work. Plus, definitive translations of five more known works of Musashi! This piece of writing by famed samurai Musashi (1584-1645) is the single-most influential work on samurai swordsmanship, offering insights into samurai history, the Zen Buddhist state of "no-mind" that enables warriors to triumph and the philosophical meaning of Bushido--"the way of the warrior." Until now, English translations of The Book of Five Rings have been based on inaccurate copies of Musashi's long-lost original manuscript. Bennett's translation is the first to be based on a careful reconstruction of the original text by Japan's foremost Musashi scholar. By identifying discrepancies among the existing copies, adding missing texts and correcting over 150 incorrect characters, this source is the closest representation of Musashi's original work possible. Utilizing this new source, Bennett captures the subtle nuance of the classic Japanese text, resulting in the most accurate English translation of The Book of Five Rings available Enjoy complete, richly annotated translations of Musashi's most-known works: The Book of Five Rings Mirror on the Way of Combat Notes on Combat Strategy Combat Strategy in 35 Articles The Five-Direction Sword Pathways The Path Walked Alone The texts are richly annotated by Bennett, who includes an extensive introduction on Musashi's life and legacy. This paperback edition also includes a new introduction by Kendo Kyoshi 7th Dan Graham Sayer, who talks about the influence Musashi's writings have had on him as a person and martial artist. The Complete Musashi: The Book of Five Rings and Other Works will be widely read by those interested in Japanese culture, Samurai history and martial arts--setting a new standard against which all other translations will be measured.

There are few people in the world who can claim anything near the experience of Professor Ananda Guruge. From his childhood under colonial rule to his early adulthood as a government official for the emerging nation of Sri Lanka and finally to mature years on the international stage of UNESCO, he has witnessed the shifting of social, economic, and religious patterns. It would be misleading to say that he has only "witnessed," because his imprint can been found on many of the institutions of his home country, the influence of the UN in international agreements, the representation of Buddhism to the world community, and in a host of educational centers around the globe. Moving in the highest ranks of prime ministers, presidents, kings, and ambassadors, Professor Guruge has tirelessly pursued his intention of service to society. At the same time, he can be seen working with at-risk youth in Los Angeles, developing strategies for lessening violence when it erupts in our cities, devoting time to helping rescue students who need a mentor, and speaking day after day to service groups, university classes, and leaders of society. With a background such as this, he has unique credentials to appraise the role of Buddhism in the contemporary scene, whether it is in social programs or scientific and technical research. Lewis Lancaster University of California, Berkeley

The present publication is a continuation of two earlier series of chronicles, Philosophy in the Mid-Century (Firenze 1958/59) and Contemporary Philosophy (Firenze 1968), edited by Raymond Klibansky. As with the earlier series the present surveys purport to give a survey of significant trends in contemporary philosophical discussion. The need for such surveys has, I believe, increased rather than decreased over the last years. The philosophical scene appears, for various reasons, rather more complex than ever before. The continuing process of specialization in most branches, the emergence of new schools of thought, particularly in philosophical logic in the philosophy of language, and in social and political philosophy, the increasing attention being paid to the history of philosophy in discussions of contem porary problems as well as the increasing interest in cross-cultural philosophical discussion, are the most important contributory factors. Surveys of the present kind are a valuable source of knowledge about this complexity and may as such be of assistance in renewing the understanding of one's own philosophical problems. The surveys, it is to be hoped, may help to strengthen the Socratic element of modern philosophy, the world wide dialogue or Kommunikationsgemeinschaft. So far, six volumes have been prepared for the new series. The present surveys in Asian Philosophy (Vol. 7) follow the surveys in the Philosophy of Language and Philosophical Logic (Vol. I), Philosophy of Science (Vol. 2), Philosophy of Action (Vol. 3), Philosophy of Mind (Vol. 4), African Philosophy (Vol. 5), and Medieval Philosophy Part 1-2 (Vol. 6)."

David Cooper explores and defends the view that a reality independent of human perspectives is necessarily indescribable, a 'mystery'. Other views are shown to be hubristic. Humanists, for whom 'man is the measure' of reality, exaggerate our capacity to live without the sense of an independent measure. Absolutists, who proclaim our capacity to know an independent reality, exaggerate our cognitive powers. In this highly original book Cooper restores to philosophy a proper appreciation of mystery - that is what provides a measure of our beliefs and conduct.

Analyzing the intersection between Sufism and philosophy, this volume is a sweeping examination of the mystical philosophy of Muhyi-l-Din Ibn al-'Arabi (d. 637/1240), one of the most influential and original thinkers of the Islamic world. This book systematically covers Ibn al-'Arabi's ontology, theology, epistemology, teleology, spiritual anthropology and eschatology. While philosophy uses deductive reasoning to discover the fundamental nature of existence and Sufism relies on spiritual experience, it was not until the school of Ibn al-'Arabi that philosophy and Sufism converged into a single framework by elaborating spiritual doctrines in precise philosophical language. Contextualizing the historical development of Ibn al-'Arabi's school, the work draws from the earliest commentators of Ibn al-'Arabi's oeuvre, Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi (d. 673/1274), 'Abd al-Razzaq al-Kashani (d. ca. 730/1330) and Dawud al-Qaysari (d. 751/1350), but also draws from the medieval heirs of his doctrines Sayyid Haydar Amuli (d. 787/1385), the pivotal intellectual and mystical figure of Persia who recast philosophical Sufism within the framework of Twelver Shi'ism and 'Abd al-Rahman Jami (d. 898/1492), the key figure in the dissemination of Ibn al-'Arabi's ideas in the Persianate world as well as the Ottoman Empire, India, China and East Asia via Central Asia. Lucidly written and comprehensive in scope, with careful treatments of the key authors, Philosophical Sufism is a highly accessible introductory text for students and researchers interested in Islam, philosophy, religion and the Middle East.

Japanese Environmental Philosophy is an anthology that responds to the environmental problems of the 21st century by drawing from Japanese philosophical traditions to investigate our relationships with other humans, nonhuman animals, and the environment. It contains chapters from fifteen top scholars from Japan, the United States, and Europe. The essays cover a broad range of Japanese thought, including Zen Buddhism, Shintoism, the Kyoto School, Japanese art and aesthetics, and traditional Japanese culture.

Classical Indian schools of philosophy seek to attain a supreme end to existence--liberation from the cycle of lives. This book looks at four conceptions of liberation and the roles of analytic inquiry and philosophical knowledge in its attainment. The central motivation of Indian philosophy--the quest for the Highest Good--is situated in the analytic philosophical activity of key thinkers.

This book presents two essays by Nishida Kitaro, translated into English for the first time by John Krummel and Shigenori Nagatomo. Nishida is widely regarded as one of the father figures of modern Japanese philosophy and as the founder of the first distinctly Japanese school of philosophy, the Kyoto school, known for its synthesis of western philosophy, Christian theology, and Buddhist thought. The two essays included here are ''Basho'' from 1926/27 and ''Logic and Life'' from 1936/37. Each essay is divided into several sections and each section is preceded by a synopsis added by the translators. The first essay represents the first systematic articulation of Nishida's philosophy of basho, literally meaning ''place, '' a system of thought that came to be known as ''Nishida philosophy.'' In the second essay, Nishida inquires after the pre-logical origin of what we call logic, which he suggests is to be found within the dialectical unfoldings of world-history and human society. A substantial introduction by John Krummel considers the significance of Nishida as a thinker, discusses the key components of Nishida's philosophy as a whole and its development throughout his life, and contextualizes the translated essays within his oeuvre. The Introduction also places Nishida and his work within the historical context of his time, and highlights the relevance of his ideas to the global circumstances of our day. The publication of these two essays by Nishida, a major figure in world philosophy and the most important philosopher of twentieth-century Japan, will be of significant value to the fields not only of Asian philosophy and East-West comparative philosophy but also of philosophy in general as well as of theology and religious studies