Virtuous Bodies breaks new ground in the field of Buddhist ethics by investigating the diverse roles bodies play in ethical development. Traditionally, Buddhists assumed a close connection between body and morality. Thus Buddhist literature contains descriptions of living beings that stink with sin, are disfigured by vices, or are perfumed and adorned with virtues. Taking an influential early medieval Indian Mahayana Buddhist text-Santideva's Compendium of Training (Siksasamuccaya)-as a case study, Susanne Mrozik demonstrates that Buddhists regarded ethical development as a process of physical and moral transformation.
Mrozik chooses The Compendium of Training because it quotes from over one hundred Buddhist scriptures, allowing her to reveal a broader Buddhist interest in the ethical significance of bodies. The text is a training manual for bodhisattvas, especially monastic bodhisattvas. In it, bodies function as markers of, and conditions for, one's own ethical development. Most strikingly, bodies also function as instruments for the ethical development of others. When living beings come into contact with the virtuous bodies of bodhisattvas, they are transformed physically and morally for the better.
Virtuous Bodies explores both the centrality of bodies to the bodhisattva ideal and the corporeal specificity of that ideal. Arguing that the bodhisattva ideal is an embodied ethical ideal, Mrozik poses an array of fascinating questions: What does virtue look like? What kinds of physical features constitute virtuous bodies? What kinds of bodies have virtuous effects on others? Drawing on a range of contemporary theorists, this book engages in a feminist hermeneutics of recoveryand suspicion in order to explore the ethical resources Buddhism offers to scholars and religious practitioners interested in the embodied nature of ethical ideals.

Whilst accounting for the present-day popularity and relevance of Alan Watts' contributions to psychology, religion, arts, and humanities, this interdisciplinary collection grapples with the ongoing criticisms which surround Watts' life and work. Offering rich examination of as yet underexplored aspects of Watts' influence in 1960s counterculture, this volume offers unique application of Watts' thinking to contemporary issues and critically engages with controversies surrounding the commodification of Watts' ideas, his alleged misreading of Biblical texts, and his apparent distortion of Asian religions and spirituality. Featuring a broad range of international contributors and bringing Watts' ideas squarely into the contemporary context, the text provides a comprehensive, yet nuanced exploration of Watts' thinking on psychotherapy, Buddhism, language, music, and sexuality. This text will benefit researchers, doctoral students, and academics in the fields of psychotherapy, phenomenology, and the philosophy of psychology more broadly. Those interested in Jungian psychotherapy, spirituality, and the self and social identity will also enjoy this volume.

This book questions whether temples and Daoism are two independent aspects of modern Chinese religion or if they are indissolubly linked. It presents a useful analysis as to how modern history has changed the structure and organization of religious and social life in China, and the role that Daoism plays in this. Using an interdisciplinary approach combining historical research and fieldwork, this book focuses on urban centers in China, as this is where sociopolitical changes came earliest and affected religious life to the greatest extent and also where the largest central Daoist temples were and are located. It compares case studies from central, eastern, and southern China with published evidence and research on other Chinese cities. Contributors examine how Daoism interacted with traditional urban social, cultural, and commercial institutions and pays close attention to how it dealt with processes of state expansion, commercialization, migration, and urban development in modern times. This book also analyses the evolution of urban religious life in modern China, particularly the ways in which temple communities, lay urbanites, and professional Daoists interact with one another. A solid ethnography that presents an abundance of new historical information, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of Asian studies, Daoist studies, Asian religions, and modern China.

This book highlights what Buddhism has to offer for "living well" here and now-for individuals, society as a whole, all sentient beings and the planet itself. From the perspectives of a variety of Buddhist thinkers, the book evaluates what a good life is like, what is desirable for human society, and ways in which we should live in and with the natural world. By examining this-worldly Buddhist philosophy and movements in India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Tibetan diaspora, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and the United States, the book assesses what Buddhists offer for the building of a good society. It explores the proposals and programs made by progressive and widely influential lay and monastic thinkers and activists, as well as the works of movement leaders such as Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, for the social, economic, political and environmental systems in their various countries. Demonstrating that Buddhism is not solely a path for the realization of nirvana but also a way of living well here and now, this book will be of interest to researchers working on contemporary and modern Buddhism, Buddhism and society, Asian religion and Engaged Buddhism.

This book analyzes Buddhist discussions of the Aryan myth and scientific racism and the ways in which this conversation reshaped Buddhism in the United States, and globally. The book traces the development of notions of Aryanism in Buddhism through Buddhist publications from 1899-1957, focusing on this so-called "yellow peril," or historical racist views in the United States of an Asian "other." During this time period in America, the Aryan myth was considered to be scientific fact, and Buddhists were able to capitalize on this idea throughout a global publishing network of books, magazines, and academic work which helped to transform the presentation of Buddhism into the "Aryan religion." Following narratives regarding colonialism and the development of the Aryan myth, Buddhists challenged these dominant tropes: they combined emic discussions about the "Aryan" myth and comparisons of Buddhism and science, in order to disprove colonial tropes of "Western" dominance, and suggest that Buddhism represented a superior tradition in world historical development. The author argues that this presentation of a Buddhist tradition of superiority helped to create space for Buddhism within the American religious landscape. The book will be of interest to academics working on Buddhism, race and religion, and American religious history.

In Germany at the turn of the century, Buddhism transformed from an obscure topic, of interest to only a few misfit scholars, into a cultural phenomenon. Many of the foremost authors of the period were profoundly influenced by this rapid rise of Buddhism-among them, some of the best-known names in the German-Jewish canon. Sebastian Musch excavates this neglected dimension of German-Jewish identity, drawing on philosophical treatises, novels, essays, diaries, and letters to trace the history of Jewish-Buddhist encounters up to the start of the Second World War. Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, Leo Baeck, Theodor Lessing, Jakob Wassermann, Walter Hasenclever, and Lion Feuchtwanger are featured alongside other, lesser known figures like Paul Cohen-Portheim and Walter Tausk. As Musch shows, when these thinkers wrote about Buddhism, they were also negotiating their own Jewishness.

Music and Temple Ritual in South India: Performing for Siva explores the musical practices of the periya melam, a South Indian instrumental temple ensemble of professional musicians. The book is much more than a rich and vivid ethnographic description of a local tradition. It also develops a comprehensive and original analytical model, in which music and performance are understood as both situated and creative practices and where the fluid relationship between humans and non-humans, in this case divine beings, is truly taken into consideration.

* Provides the only practical resource available to teach Buddhism as a complete counselling model. * The book will benefit western students by offering a non-western approach to counselling, raising their multicultural sensitivity to different assumptions about mental health. * Includes contemplative exercises, practise exercises, a list of Buddhist and psychological techniques for the Buddhist counselling model, plus additional reading suggestions.

Offers an in-depth and focused exploration of the relationship between psychoanalysis and Chinese and Japanese culture based on their ancient traditions rather than a cross-cultural approach that refers to Asian cultures in terms of contemporary generalities and cultural stereotypes. Provides a close reading of how Lacan mobilizes concepts from Zen Buddhist philosophy, culture and practice in his later teachings.

The spiritual classic, the Devimahatmya, is a central text for worshippers of the Hindu Goddess Devi. Written about 16 centuries ago, it addresses the perennial questions of the nature of the universe, humankind, and divinity. This is the first translation of the Devimahatmya to combine sound scholarship, the language skills of a native English speaker, and an insider's perspective based on 35 years of spiritual practice within the Hindu tradition.

Having translated The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra, and following with The Platform Sutra, Red Pine now turns his attention to perhaps the greatest Sutra of all. The Lankavatara Sutra is the holy grail of Zen. Zen's first patriarch, Bodhidharma, gave a copy of this text to his successor, Hui-k'o, and told him everything he needed to know was in this book. Passed down from teacher to student ever since, this is the only Zen sutra ever spoken by the Buddha. Although it covers all the major teachings of Mahayana Buddhism, it contains but two teachings: that everything we perceive as being real is nothing but the perceptions of our own mind and that the knowledge of this is something that must be realized and experienced for oneself and cannot be expressed in words. In the words of Chinese Zen masters, these two teachings became known as  have a cup of tea" and  taste the tea."This is the first translation into English of the original text used by Bodhidharma, which was the Chinese translation made by Gunabhadra in 443 and upon which all Chinese Zen masters have relied ever since. In addition to presenting one of the most difficult of all Buddhist texts in clear English, Red Pine has also added summaries, explanations, and notes, including relevant Sanskrit terms on the basis of which the Chinese translation was made. This promises to become an essential text for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding or knowledge of Zen.

The collection of teachings presented in As It Is, Volume II, is selected from talks given by the Tibetan meditation master, Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche between 1994 and 1995. The emphasis in Volume I was on the development stage practice and in Volume II primarily on the completion stage. However, to make such divisions is merely for the convenience of the editors. In the reality of Rinpoche's teaching method, no such separations exist.

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche was someone with extra¬ordinary experience and realization, a fact known throughout the world. It is evident to everyone that he was unlike anyone else when it came to pointing out the nature of mind, and making sure that people both recognized it and had some actual experience.
--Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche was an incredible master, both learned and ac¬complished. The great masters of this time -- the 16th Karmapa, Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche -- all venerated him as one of their root gurus and a jewel in their crown or¬nament. He was someone who achieved the final realization of the Great Perfection.
--Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche
The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that sentient beings are busy fabricating. Our self-existing wakefulness is being altered and contrived and as long as it continues to be so, that long we will wander in samsara. Instead, we need to recognize the nature of mind. Here I am explaining this to give you the idea, of how it is. The next step is for you to experience; intellectual understanding is not enough. You need to actually taste it and realize it. Train till it becomes uninterrupted.
--Kyabje Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

This book examines the paradoxical structure of Yijing known as the Book of Changes-a structure that promotes in a non-hierarchical way the harmony and transformation of opposites. Because the non-hierarchical model is not limited to the East Asian tradition, it will be considered in relation to ideas developed in the West, including Carl Jung's archetypal psychology, Georg Cantor's Diagonal Theorem, Rene Girard's mimetic desire, and Alfred North Whitehead's process thought. By critically reviewing the numerical and symbolic structures of Yijing, the author introduces Kim Ilbu's Jeongyeok (The Book of Right Changes) and demonstrates that he intensifies the correlation between opposites to overcome any hierarchical system implied by the Yijing. Both the Yijing and the Jeongyeok are textual sources for kindling a discussion about the Divine conceived in Eastern and Western philosophical-theological traditions quite differently. While the non-theistic aspects of the Ultimate feature prominently in Yijing, Jeongyeok extends them to a theistic issue by bringing the notion of Sangjae, the Supreme Lord, which can lead to a fruitful dialogue for understanding the dipolar characteristics of the divine reality-personal and impersonal. The author considers their contrast that has divided Eastern and Western religious belief systems, to be transformational and open to a wider perspective of the divine conception in the process of change.

A number of features mark this book apart from others. There is simply no book currently available on Daoism (Taoism) written primarily from a psychological perspective, covering topics on Laozi's sociopolitical and psychological thoughts and their points of contact with Western psychology, particularly that of Carl Jung. The book comprises an in-depth introduction and a considered translation of Laozi's classic on virtue and the Dao (Way). The introduction covers Daoism as the counterculture in China and beyond; the originality and distinctiveness of Laozi's thoughts; the classic's influence and contemporary relevance to life in the 21st century; and insights on bilingualism that the author gained in the process of translation. The book contains the very first English translation of the Beida Laozi (Peking University Laozi), in which the chapters on virtue precede those on the Dao. Accordingly, the classic is renamed The Classic of Virtue and the Dao. The author has given his best to honor both accuracy and poetic beauty by paying great attention to diction, clarity, and economy of expression. The Classic of Virtue and the Dao is one of the most creative and thought-provoking texts of antiquity. All of the 77 chapters of the classic are categorized into 13 thematic groups, each of which begins with an introduction. This would make it easier for the reader to grasp its major viewpoints and concepts, such as virtue, humility, and selflessness. Titles for individual chapters, as well as comments and notes, have also been added.

Engaging in existential discourse beyond the European tradition, this book turns to Asian philosophies to reassess vital questions of life's purpose, death's imminence, and our capacity for living meaningfully in conditions of uncertainty. Inspired by the dilemmas of European existentialism, this cross-cultural study seeks concrete techniques for existential practice via the philosophies of East Asia. The investigation begins with the provocative writings of twentieth-century Korean Buddhist nun Kim Iryop, who asserts that meditative concentration conducts a potent energy outward throughout the entire karmic network, enabling the radical transformation of our shared existential conditions. Understanding her claim requires a look at East Asian sources more broadly. Considering practices as diverse as Buddhist merit-making ceremonies, Confucian/Ruist methods for self-cultivation, the ritual memorization and recitation of texts, and Yijing divination, the book concludes by advocating a speculative turn. This 'speculative existentialism' counters the suspicion toward metaphysics characteristic of twentieth-century European existential thought and, at the same time, advances a program for action. It is not a how-to guide for living, but rather a philosophical methodology that takes seriously the power of mental cultivation to transform the meaning of the life that we share.

First comprehensive overview and analysis of Buddhist architecture in North America following the parallel history of the religion's emergence in the U.S. since the California Gold Rush to the present day. A ground-breaking investigation of Buddhist structures with respect to the humanistic qualities associated with Buddhist doctrine and how Buddhist groups promote their faith and values in an American setting. A unique study of interest to religion, architecture, space and place, US history, Asian Studies and Buddhist Studies.

PRE-ORDER THE ACCOMPANYING JOURNAL LEARN TO LET GO NOW 'Life-changing' - Sara Makin, Founder & CEO of Makin Wellness If you learn to let go, your life will take off. When you let go, you live intuitively. Everything flows, because you are no longer attached to things being a certain way, to being a certain person or always being right. What a relief. The irony is that when you feel stuck in any area of your life - career, relationships, purpose, health or money - letting go can seem very hard. You cling on for dear life just at the moment you need to take the leap. In The Power of Letting Go, John Purkiss explains why we should let go and how we can do it, using proven techniques to make things happen. The stages of letting go: -Be Present and Enjoy Each Moment -Let Go of the Thoughts that Keep You Stuck -Let Go of the Pain that Runs Your Life -Surrender and Tune into Something Far More Intelligent than Your Brain

This volume is the first in-depth study of a recently discovered Sanskrit dharani spell text from around the 5th century CE surviving in two palm-leaf and three paper manuscript compendia from Nepal. This rare Buddhist scripture focuses on the ritual practice of thaumaturgic weather control for successful agriculture through overpowering mythical Nagas. Traditionally, these serpentine beings are held responsible for the amount of rainfall. The six chapters of the Vajratundasamayakalparaja present the vidyadhara spell-master as a ritualist who uses mandalas, mudras and other techniques to gain mastery over the Nagas and thus control the rains. By subjugating the Nagas, favourable weather and good crops are guaranteed. This links this incantation tradition to economic power and the securing of worldly support for the Buddhist community.

Yoga is many things to many people. However, the basics of yoga are worth understanding given its popularity and the benefits of the practice. This includes understanding yoga's roots, its origins, its development within and outside India as well as the research involving yoga as an integrative therapeutic modality. The author introduces the topic of yoga to healthcare officials, practitioners, skeptics, and a range of curious people in between. For yoga practitioners and those interested in the practice, The Politics and Promise of Yoga: Contemporary Relevance of an Ancient Practice outlines a condensed view of traditional yoga practices and provides a glimpse into the origin of yoga within Indian history and philosophy. The author hopes that policymakers will be interested in this evidence-based scientific practice so that it can be systematically incorporated into mainstream biomedical systems around the globe. This book also serves to confirm existing knowledge and historical nuances about yoga and also addresses contemporary debates and politics which revolve around the practice.