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Books > Philosophy > Non-Western philosophy > Oriental & Indian philosophy
Saadya ben Joseph al-Fayyumi (882-942), gaon (head) of the rabbinic
academy at Sura and one of the pre-eminent Jewish thinkers of the
medieval period, attempted to create a complete statement of Jewish
religious philosophy in which all strands of philosophical thought
were to be knit into a unified system. In 'The Book of Doctrines
and Beliefs', Saadya sought to rescue believers from 'a sea of
doubt and the waters of confusion' into which they had been cast by
Christianity, Islam, and other faiths. By employing philosophical
-- or kalamic -- argumentation to examine and defend traditional
Jewish beliefs, Saadya hoped to turn blind faith into conviction
based on rational understanding. First published in 1946, and
reprinted here without alteration, Alexander Altmann's judicious
abridgement of his own translation has remained the standard
edition of this influential work. A new Introduction by Daniel
Frank sets Saadya's work in its broader historical, cultural, and
philosophical contexts.
The mantram, or mantra, is a short, powerful, spiritual formula
from the world's great traditions, repeated silently in the mind,
anytime, anywhere. Examples of mantrams are "Rama, Rama, " used by
Gandhi, or "My God and My All, " repeated by St. Francis of Assisi,
or "Om Mani Padme Hum." Easwaran taught the use of the mantram for
over forty years as part of his passage meditation program. He
explains how the mantram works, and gives practical guidelines for
using it to focus our thoughts and access deeper resources of
strength, patience, and love. The mantram can help us replenish our
energy, release creativity, and heal old conflicts. These resonant
phrases work equally well for parents with young children,
colleagues at work, couples in a relationship, in illness or
depression, and even at the time of death. And Easwaran shows how
repetition of the mantram can open the door to a life that is
increasingly meaningful and fulfilling.
Kumazawa Banzan's (1619-1691) Responding to the Great Learning
(Daigaku wakumon) stands as the first major writing on political
economy in early modern Japanese history. John A. Tucker's
translation is the first English rendition of this controversial
text to be published in eighty years. The introduction offers an
accessible and incisive commentary, including detailed analyses of
Banzan's text within the context of his life, as well as broader
historical and intellectual developments in East Asian Confucian
thought. Emphasizing parallels between Banzan's life events, such
as his relief efforts in the Okayama domain following devastating
flooding, and his later writings advocating compassionate
government, environmental initiatives, and projects for growing
wealth, Tucker sheds light on Banzan's main objective of 'governing
the realm and bringing peace and prosperity to all below heaven'.
In Responding to the Great Learning, Banzan was doing more than
writing a philosophical commentary, he was advising the Tokugawa
shogunate to undertake a major reorganization of the polity - or
face the consequences.
Human history has been marked by the great number of people born
into conditions of war, violence, oppression and social exclusion.
But at the same time, this history has been shaped by the long
struggle for human rights and the people who have committed
themselves to the practices of solidarity and nonviolence. The
Power of Hope: Thoughts on Peace and Human Rights in the Third
Millennium is a dialogue between two high-profile activists and
thinkers who discuss the concrete ways we can shift to a world that
prioritises justice and human dignity. Adolfo Pérez Esquivel -
Argentinian human rights activist and winner of the 1980 Nobel
Peace Prize - played a vital role in resisting military
dictatorship and was arrested and tortured under the Argentine
militarist government. Daisaku Ikeda is a peacebuilder, Buddhist
philosopher, educator, author and poet as well as being the
founding president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), the
world’s largest Buddhist lay organisation. Their dialogue
intertwines their rich personal experiences in the struggle for
human rights with wider reflections on how to make the Third
Millennium the millennium of peace. The book combines rich accounts
of Latin America under the brutality of the 1970s military regimes;
insights from the Buddhist faith on the role of meditation for
human rights activists; recognition of the crucial role of women in
the practice of nonviolence; thoughts on international geopolitics
and the legacies of Hiroshima; and discussion of the perilous role
of globalisation in the loss of identities and ethical values.
This book considers the Chinese conception of beauty from a
historical perspective with regard to its significant relation to
human personality and human existence. It examines the etymological
implications of the pictographic character mei, the totemic
symbolism of beauty, the ferocious beauty of the bronzeware.
Further on, it proceeds to look into the conceptual progression of
beauty in such main schools of thought as Confucianism, Daoism and
Chan Buddhism. Then, it goes on to illustrate through art and
literature the leading principles of equilibriumharmony,
spontaneous naturalness, subtle void and synthetic possibilities.
It also offers a discussion of modern change and transcultural
creation conducted with particular reference to the theory of the
poetic state par excellence (yi jing shuo) and that of art as
sedimentation (ji dian shuo).
As with many religious and philosophical traditions, Buddhist
intellectual discourse owes its development to a dynamic interplay
of primary source material and subsequent interpretation, yet until
now Buddhist scholarship has neglected to privilege one crucial
series of texts. Commentaries on Buddhist scripture, particularly
the sutras, written by seminal thinkers across the history of
Indian Buddhism, contain myriad insights into the relationship
between textual analysis and ritual practice. Evaluating these
commentaries in detail for the first time, Richard F. Nance
revisits--and rewrites--the critical history of Buddhist thought,
including its unique conception of doctrinal transmission.
Written by such luminaries as Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Dignaga,
and Santideva, scriptural commentaries have long played an
important role in the monastic and philosophical life of Indian
Buddhism. Nance reads these texts against the social and cultural
conditions of their making, establishing a solid historical basis
for the interpretation of key beliefs and doctrines. He also
underscores areas of contention, in which scholars debate what it
means to speak for, and as, a Buddha. Throughout these texts,
Buddhist commentators struggle to deduce and characterize the
speech of Buddhas and teach others how to convey and interpret its
meaning. At the same time, they demonstrate the fundamental dilemma
of trying to speak on behalf of Buddhas. Nance also investigates
the notion of "right speech" as articulated by Buddhist texts and
follows ideas about teaching as imagined through the common figure
of a Buddhist preacher. He notes the use of epistemological
concepts in scriptural interpretation and the protocols guiding the
composition of scriptural commentary. He then translates three such
commentarial guides to better clarify the normative assumptions
organizing these scholars' work.
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