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Books > Philosophy > Non-Western philosophy > Oriental & Indian philosophy
The question of truth has never been more urgent than today, when
the distortion of facts and the imposition of pseudo-realities in
the service of the powerful have become the order of the day. In
The Paradox of Being Poul Andersen addresses the concept of truth
in Chinese Daoist philosophy and ritual. His approach is
unapologetically universalist, and the book may be read as a call
for a new way of studying Chinese culture, one that does not shy
away from approaching "the other" in terms of an engagement with
"our own" philosophical heritage. The basic Chinese word for truth
is zhen, which means both true and real, and it bypasses the
separation of the two ideas insisted on in much of the Western
philosophical tradition. Through wide-ranging research into Daoist
ritual, both in history and as it survives in the present day,
Andersen shows that the concept of true reality that informs this
tradition posits being as a paradox anchored in the inexistent Way
(Dao). The preferred way of life suggested by this insight consists
in seeking to be an exception to ordinary norms and rules of
behavior which nonetheless engages what is common to us all.
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Be Here
(Paperback)
Dalai Lama, Noriyuki Ueda
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R239
R192
Discovery Miles 1 920
Save R47 (20%)
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The essential Taoist book and one of a triad that make up the
most influential religious and philosophical writings of Chinese
tradition, the "Tao-te Ching" is the subject of hundreds of new
interpretive studies each year. As Taoism emerges as one of the
East Asian philosophies most interesting to Westerners, an
accessible new edition of this great work -- written for
English-language readers, yet rendered with an eye toward Chinese
understanding -- has been much needed by scholars and general
readers.
Richard John Lynn, whose recent translation of the "I Ching" was
hailed by the "Times Literary Supplement" as "the best "I Ching"
that has so far appeared," presents here another fine translation.
Like his "I Ching, " this volume includes the interpretive
commentary of the third-century scholar Wang Bi (226-249), who
wrote the first and most sophisticated commentary on the "Tao-te
Ching."
Lynn's introduction explores the centrality of Wang's
commentaries in Chinese thought, the position of the "Tao-te Ching"
in East Asian tradition, Wang's short but brilliant life, and the
era in which he lived. The text consists of eighty-one short,
aphoristic sections presenting a complete view of how the sage
rules in accordance with the spontaneous ways of the natural world.
Although the "Tao-te Ching" was originally designed to provide
advice to the ruler, the Chinese regard its teachings as living and
self-cultivation tools applicable to anyone. Wang Bi's
commentaries, following each statement, flesh out the text so that
it speaks to the modern Western reader as it has to Asians for more
than seventeen centuries.
Imperiled Destinies examines the evolution of Daoist beliefs about
human liability and redemption over eight centuries and outlines
ritual procedures for rescuing an ill-starred destiny. From the
second through the tenth century CE, Daoism emerged as a liturgical
organization that engaged vigorously with Buddhism and transformed
Chinese thinking about suffering, the nature of evil, and the aims
of liberation. In the fifth century, elements of classical Daoism
combined with Indian yogic practices to interiorize the quest for
deliverance. The medieval record portrays a world engulfed by evil,
where human existence was mortgaged from birth and burdened by
increasing debts and obligations in this world and the next.
Against this gloomy outlook, Daoism offered ritual and sacramental
instruments capable of acting on the unseen world, providing
therapeutic relief and ecstatic release from apprehensions of
death, disease, war, spoilt harvests, and loss. Drawing on prayer
texts, liturgical sermons, and experiential narratives, Franciscus
Verellen focuses on the Daoist vocabulary of bondage and
redemption, the changing meanings of sacrifice, and metaphoric
conceptualizations bridging the visible and invisible realms. The
language of medieval supplicants envisaged the redemption of an
imperiled destiny as debt forgiveness, and deliverance as healing,
purification, release, or emergence from darkness into light.
Guidance for Your Spiritual Journey from the Wisdom of Yoga and
Vedanta
The ultimate goal of life is to discover the divinity within
ourselves and in all beings and things. This will lead us to adore
our true Self, adore our fellow beings, and adore the world that is
but a reflection of Reality. This reunion with the Absolute the
core of our individual being as well as of the universe is the true
meaning of yoga. from chapter 13
The yoga way maintains that spiritual quest is not a matter of
choice but a vital necessity for total well-being. This
comprehensive guide for spiritual seekers of all faiths and
backgrounds presents a roadmap to Self-knowledge, the goal of
spiritual quest, and shows that reconnecting with the center of
your being, your true Self, is real, tangible and attainable.
Exploring the route to spiritual fulfillment through the
teachings of Yoga and Vedanta, Swami Adiswarananda outlines the
meaning of spiritual quest, the nature of and the preparations
necessary for the journey and the milestones you will use to chart
your progress. He also draws from the sacred texts of these
time-tested traditions to address the vital questions that often
trouble spiritual seekers, such as: Which spiritual path should I
follow? How can I attain liberation? What are the dangers and
obstacles on the spiritual path? How do I control the restless
mind? Why are there many religions and what is the way to
interfaith unity?
The modern imagination of classical Chinese thought has long been
dominated by Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, and other so-called
"Masters" of the Warring States period. Michael Hunter argues that
this approach neglects the far more central role of poetry, and the
Shijing (Classic of Poetry) in particular, in the formation of the
philosophical tradition. Through a new reading of its ideology and
poetics, Hunter reestablishes the Shijing as a work of major
intellectual-historical significance. The Poetics of Early Chinese
Thought demonstrates how Shi poetry weaves a vision of society
united at every level by the innate and universal impulse to come
home. The Shi immersed early thinkers in a world of movement and
flow in order to teach them that the most powerful current of all
was the gravitational pull of a virtuous king, without whom people
can never truly feel at home. Hunter traces the profound influence
of the Shi ideology across numerous sources of classical Chinese
thought, which he recasts as a network centered on the Shi.
Reframing the tradition in this way reveals how poetry shaped
ancient Chinese thinkers' conception of the world and their place
within it. This book offers both a sweeping critique of how
classical Chinese thought is commonly understood and a powerful new
way of studying it.
This volume constitutes the first critical edition and translation
into any modern language of a dananibandha, a classical Hindu legal
digest devoted to the culturally and religiously important topic of
gifting. Specifically, it is a critical edition-based upon all
identifiable manuscripts-and complete, annotated translation of the
Danakanda ("Book on Gifting"), the fifth section of the
encyclopedic Krtyakalpataru (c. 1114-1154) of Laksmidhara and the
earliest extant dananibandha. David Brick has included an extensive
historical introduction to the text and its subject matter.
The Buddhist philosophical tradition is vast, internally diverse,
and comprises texts written in a variety of canonical languages. It
is hence often difficult for those with training in Western
philosophy who wish to approach this tradition for the first time
to know where to start, and difficult for those who wish to
introduce and teach courses in Buddhist philosophy to find suitable
textbooks that adequately represent the diversity of the tradition,
expose students to important primary texts in reliable
translations, that contextualize those texts, and that foreground
specifically philosophical issues.
Buddhist Philosophy fills that lacuna. It collects important
philosophical texts from each major Buddhist tradition. Each text
is translated and introduced by a recognized authority in Buddhist
studies. Each introduction sets the text in context and introduces
the philosophical issues it addresses and arguments it presents,
providing a useful and authoritative guide to reading and to
teaching the text. The volume is organized into topical sections
that reflect the way that Western philosophers think about the
structure of the discipline, and each section is introduced by an
essay explaining Buddhist approaches to that subject matter, and
the place of the texts collected in that section in the enterprise.
This volume is an ideal single text for an intermediate or
advanced course in Buddhist philosophy, and makes this tradition
immediately accessible to the philosopher or student versed in
Western philosophy coming to Buddhism for the first time. It is
also ideal for the scholar or student of Buddhist studies who is
interested specifically in the philosophical dimensions of the
Buddhist tradition.
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