This book offers a systematic and radical introduction to the Buddhist roots of Patanjala-yoga, or the Yoga system of Patanjali. By examining each of 195 aphorisms (sutras) of the Yogasutra and discussing the Yogabhasya, it shows that traditional and popular views on Patanjala-yoga obscure its true nature. The book argues that Patanjali's Yoga contains elements rooted in both orthodox and heterodox philosophical traditions, including Sankhya, Jaina and Buddhist thought. With a fresh translation and a detailed commentary on the Yogasutra, the author unearths how several of the terms, concepts and doctrines in Patanjali's Yoga can be traced to Buddhism, particularly the Abhidharma Buddhism of Vasubandhu and the early Yogacara of Asanga. The work presents the Yogasutra of Patanjali as a synthesis of two perspectives: the metaphysical perspective of Sankhya and the empirical-psychological perspective of Buddhism. Based on a holistic understanding of Yoga, the study explores key themes of the text, such as meditative absorption, means, supernormal powers, isolation, Buddhist conceptions of meditation and the interplay between Sankhya and Buddhist approaches to suffering and emancipation. It further highlights several new findings and clarifications on textual interpretation and discrepancies. An important intervention in Indian and Buddhist philosophy, this book opens up a new way of looking at the Yoga of Patanjali in the light of Buddhism beyond standard approaches and will greatly interest scholars and researchers of Buddhist studies, Yoga studies, Indian philosophy, philosophy in general, literature, religion and comparative studies, Indian and South Asian Studies and the history of ideas.

Zen Buddhist priest Shunmyo Masuno understands that today's busy world leaves little time or space for self-reflection, but that a garden--even in the most urban of spaces--can provide some respite. In his words, "The garden is a special spiritual place where the mind dwells." With this in mind, Masuno has designed scores of spectacular Japanese gardens and landscapes with the aim of helping people achieve a balanced life in the 21st century. This book explores Masuno's design process and ideas, which are integral to his daily Zen training and teachings. It features 15 unique gardens and contemplative landscapes completed in six countries over as many years--all thoughtfully described and documented in full-color photos and drawings. Readers will also find insights on Masuno's philosophy of garden design and a conversation between the designer and famed architect Terunobu Fujimori. Zen Garden Design provides an in-depth examination of Masuno's gardens and landscapes--not just as beautiful spaces, but as places for meditation and contemplation.

Sukhmani (The Pearl of Happiness) is a popular Sikh text by Guru Arjan, which inculcates the Sikh religious ethos and philosophical perspective on wellbeing and happiness. The book features a new translation of this celebrated Sikh text and provides the first in-depth analysis of it. The Sikh View on Happiness begins with an overview of the nature of suffering and the attainment of happiness in Indian religions. This provides the foundation for the examination of the historical, social, and religious context of the Sukhmani and its contribution to the development of the Sikh tradition. In addition to exploring the spiritual teachings of the Sukhmani, Nayar and Sandhu draw upon the Sikh understanding of the mind, illness, and wellbeing to both introduce key Sikh psychological concepts and illustrate the practical application of traditional healing practices in the contemporary context. In doing so, they highlight the overlap of the teachings in the Sukhmani with concepts and themes found in Western psychotherapy, such as mindfulness, meaningful living, and resilience.

Karen O'Brien-Kop's introduction to the Yogasutra highlights its status as a significant work of philosophy. Approaching the Yogasutra as living philosophy, this book elucidates philosophical conceptions of yoga, recognises the logical structure the sutras follow and explains the rules and principles that have sustained Patañjali’s system of thought for centuries. Moving beyond standard interpretations of Patañjali's text and commentary as an aphoristic practice manual, O'Brien-Kop uses branches of philosophy to read the Yogasutra. Covering reality, self, ethics, language and knowledge, Patañjali’s philosophies come to the fore. The book introduces his reasoned positions on dual and non­dual metaphysics, the relationship between mind and body, the qualities of consciousness, the nature of freedom, and how to live ethically. Carefully-selected extracts from the primary text are translated for those unfamiliar with Sanskrit and commentaries run throughout. A glossary provides definitions of key concepts with useful translations. Accessible and up-to-date, this introduction broadens our understanding of Indian philosophical thought and explains why the Yogasutra deserves to be read alongside Parmenides’ ‘On Nature’ and Plato’s Phaedo as a classic of world philosophy.

Hsieh Liang-tso (c.1050-c.1120, known as master Shang-ts'ai) was one of the leading direct disciples of Ch'eng Hao and Ch'eng I, the two brothers who were the early leaders of the Confucian revival known as Neo-Confucianism in Northern Sung China. This book presents a focused analysis of the core value of Confucian thought, namely the jen (humanity or co-humanity), through an investigation of Hsieh Liang-tso's analysis of the Analects of Confucius. Selover argues that Hsieh's handling of key issues in interpreting and applying the Confucian Analects, his experiental reasoning as well as his deference to scriptural classics and earlier tradition, bear important similarities to the practice of theology in Western religious traditions. The volume also contains a translation of Hsieh's commentary on the Analects, and a foreword by the renowned scholar of Confucianism, Tu Wei-ming.

How should we evaluate the success of each person's life? Countering the prevalent philosophical perspective on the subject, Steven M. Cahn and Christine Vitrano defend the view that our well-being is dependent not on particular activities, accomplishments, or awards but on finding personal satisfaction while treating others with due concern. The authors suggest that moral behavior is not necessary for happiness and does not ensure it. Yet they also argue that morality and happiness are needed for living well, and together suffice to achieve that goal. Cahn and Vitrano link their position to elements within both the Hellenistic and Hebraic traditions, in particular the views of Epicurus and lessons found in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Written in an accessible style and illustrated with incisive vignettes drawn from history, literature, films, and everyday life, Happiness and Goodness is a compelling work of philosophy for anyone who seeks to understand the nature of a good life.

Martial arts and philosophy have always gone hand in hand, as well as fist in throat. Philosophical argument is closely paralleled with hand-to-hand combat. And all of today's Asian martial arts were developed to embody and apply philosophical ideas. In his interview with Bodidharma, Graham Priest brings out aspects of Buddhist philosophy behind Shaolin Kung-Fu -- how fighting monks are seeking Buddhahood, not brawls. But as Scott Farrell's chapter reveals, Eastern martial arts have no monopoly on philosophical traditions: Western chivalry is an education in and living revival of Aristotelian ethical theories. Several chapters look at ethical problems raised by the fighting arts. How can the sweaty and brutal be exquisitely beautiful? Every chapter is easily understandable by readers new to martial arts or new to philosophy.

Are you frustrated with your finances and ready for a painless solution? Is your coaching or creative business ramping up, but your bookkeeping gets you down? Do you cringe when you have to deal with your finances, and wish it could just be easy? From Zero to Zen shows you how to manage your money so your business is fabulously successful. When you dig into your books and learn exactly what to do and when, you'll take your business to a whole new level. This book is for motivated coaches and creative professionals who want to help people and make money.

This volume asks poignant questions about what it means to be alive and inhabit the present. Living holds us between two places. It expresses what is most elementary-to be alive-and the absoluteness of our aspiration-finally living! But could we desire anything other than to live? In The Philosophy of Living, Francois Jullien meditates on Far Eastern thought and philosophy to analyze concepts that can be folded into a complete philosophy of living, including the idea of the moment, the ambiguity of the in-between, and what he calls the "transparency of morning." Jullien here develops a strategy of living that goes beyond morality and dwells in the space between health and spirituality.

Philosophical reflections on journeys and crossings, homes and habitats, have appeared in all major East Asian and Western philosophies. Landscape and travelling first emerged as a key issue in ancient Chinese philosophy, quickly becoming a core concern of Daoism and Confucianism. Yet despite the eminence of such reflections, Landscape and Travelling East and West: A Philosophical Journey is the first academic study to explore these philosophical themes in detail. Individual case studies from esteemed experts consider how philosophical thought about places and journeys have inspired and shaped major intellectual and cultural traditions; how such notions concretely manifested themselves in Chinese art, particularly in the genres of landscape painting and garden architecture. The studies present a philosophical dialogue between Confucianism and Daoism on issues of social space and belonging and include discussion on travel and landscape in Buddhism as well as Japanese and Tibetan contexts. Approaching the topic from an inter-cultural perspectives, particularly East Asian philosophies, and using these to enrich contemporary reflections on space, the environment, and traversing, this unique collection adds an important voice to present philosophical, political, and cultural discourses.

The Norton Critical Edition aims to situate the historical figure of Kongzi, the legendary figure of Confucius, and the Analects (or Lunyu), the single most influential book ascribed to the Master's circle of disciples, within their evolving ethical, cultural, and political contexts. Simon Leys s acclaimed translation and notes are accompanied by Michael Nylan s insightful introduction.

Eleven essays by leading experts in the field of Chinese studies discuss a broad range of issues relating to the Analects, from the origins of the classicists (Ru) and the formation of the Analects text to the use (and abuse) of the Master s iconic image in twentieth- and twenty-first-century Asian, diasporic, and Western settings. Collectively, these readings suggest that the Confucius we thought we knew is not the Kongzi of record and that this Kongzi is a protean figure given to rapid change and continual reevaluation. Contributors include Henry Rosemont Jr., Nicolas Zufferey, Robert Eno, Thomas Wilson, Sebastien Billioud and Vincent Goossaert, Julia K. Murray, Mark Csikszentmihalyi and Tae Hyun Kim, Eric L. Hutton, Luke Habberstad, He Yuming, and Sam Ho."

The Brahma-sutra, attributed to Badaraya (ca. 400 CE), is the canonical book of Vedanta, the philosophical tradition which became the doctrinal backbone of modern Hinduism. As an explanation of the Upanishads, it is principally concerned with the ideas of Brahman, the great ground of Being, and of the highest good. The Philosophy of the Brahma-sutra is the first introduction to concentrate on the text and its ideas, rather than its reception and interpretation in the different schools of Vedanta. Covering the epistemology, ontology, theory of causality and psychology of the Brahma-sutra, and its characteristic theodicy, it also: * Provides a comprehensive account of its doctrine of meditation * Elaborates on its nature and attainment, while carefully considering the wider religious context of Ancient India in which the work is situated * Draws the contours of Brahma-sutra's intellectual biography and reception history. By contextualizing the Brahma-sutra's teachings against the background of its main collocutors, it elucidates how the work gave rise to widely divergent ontologies and notions of practice. For both the undergraduate student and the specialist this is an illuminating and necessary introduction to one of Indian philosophy's most important works.

This book, the first English translation of what many consider to be the most original work of Chinese philosophy produced in the twentieth century, draws from Buddhist and Confucian philosophy to develop a critical inquiry into the relation between the ontological and the phenomenal. This annotated edition examines Xiong Shili's complex engagement with Buddhist thought and the legacy of Xiong's thought in New Confucian philosophy. It will be an indispensable resource for students of Eastern philosophy and Chinese intellectual history, as well as for philosophers who may not be familiar with the Chinese tradition.