This collection of multi/inter-disciplinary essays explores the transformative potential of Ashwani Kumar's work on meditative inquiry - a holistic approach to teaching, learning, researching, creating, and living - in diverse educational contexts. Aspiring to awaken awareness, intelligence, compassion, collaboration, and aesthetic sensibility among students and their teachers through self-reflection, critique, dialogue, and creative exploration, this volume: Showcases unique ways in which scholars from diverse disciplinary, cultural, and geographic contexts have engaged with meditative inquiry in their own fields. Provides a space where African, Asian, Buddhist, Indigenous, and Western scholars engage with the idea of meditative inquiry from their own cultural, philosophical, and spiritual traditions, perspectives, and practices. Explores a variety of themes in relation to meditative inquiry including arts-based research, poetic inquiry, Africentricity, Indigenous thinking, martial arts, positive psychology, trauma, dispute resolution, and critical discourse analysis. Offers insights into how the principles of meditative inquiry can be incorporated in classrooms and, thereby, contributes to the growing interest in mindfulness, meditation, and other holistic approaches in schools and academia. The diverse and rich contributions contained in this volume offer valuable perspectives and practices for scholars, students, and educators interested in exploring and adopting the principles of meditative inquiry in their specific fields and contexts.

In the last 30 years, embodied, embedded, enactive, and extended (4E) accounts of mind and experience have flourished. A more cosmopolitan and pluralistic approach to the philosophy of mind has also emerged, drawing on analytic, phenomenological, pragmatist, and non-Western sources and traditions. This is the first book to fully engages the 4E approach and Buddhist philosophy, drawing on and integrating the intersection of enactivism and Buddhist thought. This book deepens and extends the dialogue between Buddhist philosophy and 4E philosophy of mind and phenomenology. It engages with core issues in the philosophy of mind broadly construed in and through the dialogue between Buddhism and enactivism. Indian philosophers developed and defended philosophically sophisticated and phenomenologically rich accounts of mind, self, cognition, perception, embodiment, and more. As a work of cross-cultural philosophy, the book investigates the nature of mind and experience in dialogue with Indian and Western thinkers. On the basis of this cross-traditional dialogue, the book articulates and defends a dynamic, non-substantialist, and embodied account of experience, subjectivity, and self.

The Routledge International Handbook of Charisma provides an unprecedented multidimensional and multidisciplinary comparative analysis of the phenomenon of charisma - first defined by Max Weber as the irrational bond between deified leader and submissive follower. It includes broad overviews of foundational theories and experiences of charisma and of associated key issues and themes. Contributors include 45 influential international scholars who approach the topic from different disciplinary perspectives and utilize examples from an array of historical and cultural settings. The Handbook presents up-to-date, concise, thought-provoking, innovative, and informative perspectives on charisma as it has been expressed in the past and as it continues to be manifested in the contemporary world by leaders ranging from shamans to presidents. It is designed to be essential reading for all students, researchers, and general readers interested in achieving a comprehensive understanding of the power and potential of charismatic authority in all its varieties, subtleties, dynamics, and current and potential directions.

Drawing on evidence from a wide range of classical Chinese texts, this book argues that xingershangxue, the study of "beyond form", constitutes the core argument and intellectual foundation of Daoist philosophy. The author presents Daoist xingershangxue as a typical concept of metaphysics distinct from that of the natural philosophy and metaphysics of ancient Greece since it focusses on understanding the world beyond perceivable objects and phenomena as well as names that are definable in their social, political, or moral structures. In comparison with other philosophical traditions in the East and West, the book discusses the ideas of dao, de, and "spontaneously self-so", which shows Daoist xingershangxue's theoretical tendency to transcendence. The author explains the differences between Daoist philosophy and ancient Greek philosophy and proposes that Daoist philosophy is the study of xingershangxue in nature, providing a valuable resource for scholars interested in Chinese philosophy, Daoism, and comparative philosophy.

This full-scaled monograph, rich in factographic material, concerns Narayana Guru (1855/56--1928), a founder of a powerful socio-religious movement in Kerala. He wrote in three languages (Malayalam, Sanskrit, Tamil), drawing on three different literary conventions. The world of this complex philosophic-religious literature is brought closer to the reader with rare deft and dexterity by the Author who not only retrieves for us the original circumstances, language and poetic metre of each work but also supplies histories of their reception. Thanks to numerous glosses, comments and elucidations supplied by the Author, we can much better understand how Narayana's mystical universe creatively relates to the Tamil OEaiva Siddhanta and to Kerala's variety of Vedanta tradition. Prof. Cezary Galewicz

Ideal for anyone with an interest in Hindu temple dance, Manipur dance, cross-cultural collaborations, and the globalising of Indian Classical Dance Comprehensive study of how an exceptional Hindu dance form developed on the global stage. Provides insight into the globalisation of Manipuri dance

Drawing on both textual and archaeological evidence, this study offers an integrated approach to scholarly debates on monasteries and guru relics in South India between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. This study analyzes the role of the guru in the development of Hindu monastic orders, from centers of education to institutions of traditional authority. Focusing on the complex socio-religious context of the whole-body icon, the author analyzes the relic as a nexus of contradictions surrounding sacredness and death.

In The Hindu Self and its Muslim Neighbors, the author sketches the contours of relations between Hindus and Muslims in Bengal. The central argument is that various patterns of amicability and antipathy have been generated towards Muslims over the last six hundred years and these patterns emerge at dynamic intersections between Hindu self-understandings and social shifts on contested landscapes. The core of the book is a set of translations of the Bengali writings of Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976), and Annada Shankar Ray (1904-2002). Their lives were deeply interwoven with some Hindu-Muslim synthetic ideas and subjectivities, and these involvements are articulated throughout their writings which provide multiple vignettes of contemporary modes of amity and antagonism. Barua argues that the characterization of relations between Hindus and Muslims either in terms of an implacable hostility or of an unfragmented peace is historically inaccurate, for these relations were modulated by a shifting array of socio-economic and socio-political parameters. It is within these contexts that Rabindranath, Nazrul, and Annada Shankar are developing their thoughts on Hindus and Muslims through the prisms of religious humanism and universalism.

In Singapore and Malaysia, the inversion of Chinese Underworld traditions has meant that Underworld demons are now amongst the most commonly venerated deities in statue form, channelled through their spirit mediums, tang-ki. The Chinese Underworld and its sub-hells are populated by a bureaucracy drawn from the Buddhist, Taoist and vernacular pantheons. Under the watchful eye of Hell's 'enforcers', the lower echelons of demon soldiers impose post-mortal punishments on the souls of the recently deceased for moral transgressions committed during their prior incarnations. Chinese religion in contemporary Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan offers an ethnography of contemporary Chinese Underworld traditions, where night-time cemetery rituals assist the souls of the dead, exorcised spirits are imprisoned in Guinness bottles, and malicious foetus ghosts are enlisted to strengthen a temple's spirit army. Understanding the religious divergences between Singapore and Malaysia (and their counterparts in Taiwan) through an analysis of socio-political and historical events, Fabian Graham challenges common assumptions about the nature and scope of Chinese vernacular religious beliefs and practices. Graham's innovative approach to alterity allows the reader to listen to first-person dialogues between the author and channelled Underworld deities. Through its alternative methodological and narrative stance, the book intervenes in debates on the interrelation between sociocultural and spiritual worlds, and promotes the destigmatisation of spirit possession and discarnate phenomena in the future study of mystical and religious traditions. -- .

Drawing on the author's lifelong practice in the non-competitive and defensive Japanese art of Aikido, this book examines education as self-cultivation, from a Japanese philosophy (e.g. Buddhist) perspective. Contemplative practices, such as secular mindfulness meditation, are being increasingly integrated into pedagogical settings to enhance social and emotional learning and well-being and to address stress-induced overwhelm due to increased pressures on the education system and its constituents. The chapters in this book explore the various ways, through the lens of this non-violent relational art of Aikido, that pedagogy is always something being practiced (on the level of psychological, somatic and emotional registers) and thus holding potential for transformation into being more relational, ecological-minded, and reflecting more 'embodied attunement.' Positioning education as a practice, one of self-discovery, the author argues that one can approach personal development as engaging in a spiritual process of integrating mind and body towards full presence of being and existence.

The Mahabharata has been explored extensively as a work of mythology, epic poetry, and religious literature, but the text's philosophical dimensions have largely been under-appreciated by Western scholars. This book explores the philosophical implications of the Mahabharata by paying attention to the centrality of dialogue, both as the text's prevailing literary expression and its organising structure. Focusing on five sets of dialogues about controversial moral problems in the central story, this book shows that philosophical deliberation is an integral part of the narrative. Black argues that by paying attention to how characters make arguments and how dialogues unfold, we can better appreciate the Mahabharata's philosophical significance and its potential contribution to debates in comparative philosophy today. This is a fresh perspective on the Mahabharata that will be of great interest to any scholar working in religious studies, Indian/South Asian religions, comparative philosophy, and world literature.

This book examines the current use of digital media in religious engagement and how new media can influence and alter faith and spirituality. As technologies are introduced and improved, they continue to raise pressing questions about the impact, both positive and negative, that they have on the lives of those that use them. The book also deals with some of the more futuristic and speculative topics related to transhumanism and digitalization. Including an international group of contributors from a variety of disciplines, chapters address the intersection of religion and digital media from multiple perspectives. Divided into two sections, the chapters included in the first section of the book present case studies from five major religions: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism and their engagement with digitalization. The second section of the volume explores the moral, ideological but also ontological implications of our increasingly digital lives. This book provides a uniquely comprehensive overview of the development of religion and spirituality in the digital age. As such, it will be of keen interest to scholars of Digital Religion, Religion and Media, Religion and Sociology, as well as Religious Studies and New Media more generally, but also for every student interested in the future of religion and spirituality in a completely digitalized world.

This book analyses the social, political and religious life of the Hyolmo people of Nepal. Highlighting patterns of change and adaptation, it addresses the Shamanic-Buddhist interface that exists in the animated landscape of the Himalayas. Opening with an analysis of the ethnic revival of Nepal, the book first considers the Himalayan religious landscape and its people. Specific attention is then given to Helambu, home of the Hyolmo people, within the framework of Tibetan Buddhism. The discussion then turns to the persisting shamanic tradition of the region and the ritual dynamics of Hyolmo culture. The book concludes by considering broader questions of Hyolmo identity in the Nepalese context, as well as reflecting on the interconnection of landscape, ritual and identity. Offering a unique insight into a fascinating Himalayan culture and its formation, this book will be of great interest to scholars of indigenous peoples and religion across religious studies, Buddhist studies, cultural anthropology and South Asian studies.

Jain Ramayana Narratives: Moral Vision and Literary Innovation traces how and why Jain authors at different points in history rewrote the story of Rama and situates these texts within larger frameworks of South Asian religious history and literature. The book argues that the plot, characters, and the very history of Jain Rama composition itself served as a continual font of inspiration for authors to create and express novel visions of moral personhood. In making this argument, the book examines three versions of the Rama story composed by two authors, separated in time and space by over 800 years and thousands of miles. The first is Ravisena, who composed the Sanskrit Padmapurana ("The Deeds of Padma"), and the second is Brahma Jinadasa, author of both a Sanskrit Padmapurana and a vernacular (bhasa) version of the story titled Ram Ras ("The Story of Ram"). While the three compositions narrate the same basic story and work to shape ethical subjects, they do so in different ways and with different visions of what a moral person actually is. A close comparative reading focused on the differences between these three texts reveals the diverse visions of moral personhood held by Jains in premodernity and demonstrates the innovative narrative strategies authors utilized in order to actualize those visions. The book is thus a valuable contribution to the fields of Jain studies and religion and literature in premodern South Asia.

This textbook not only provides a historical overview of this religious tradition but also focuses on Hinduism in American society today. Making this a very comprehensive overview of the subject areas. Each chapter includes a helpful pedagogy including a general overview, case studies, suggestions for further reading, questions for discussion, and a glossary. Making this the ideal textbook for students approaching the topic for the first time. The use of case studies and first person narratives provides a much needed 'lived religion' approach to the subject area. Helping students to apply their learning to the world around them.

The origins of modern Daoism can be traced to the Church of the Heavenly Master (Tianshidao), reputedly established by the formidable Zhang Daoling. In 142 CE, according to Daoist tradition, Zhang was visited by the Lord on High, who named him his vicar on Earth with the title Heavenly Master. The dispensation articulated an eschatological vision of saving initiates-the pure, those destined to become immortals- by enforcing a strict moral code. Under evolving forms, Tianshidao has remained central to Chinese society, and Daoist priests have upheld their spiritual allegiance to Zhang, their now divinized founder. This book tells the story of the longue duree evolution of the Heavenly Master leadership and institution. Later hagiography credits Zhang Daoling's great?grandson, putatively the fourth Heavenly Master, with settling the family at Longhushan (Dragon and Tiger Mountain); in time his descendants-down to the present contested sixty?fifth Heavenly Master living in Taiwan- made the extraordinary claim of being able to transmit hereditarily the function of the Heavenly Master and the power to grant salvation. Over the next twelve centuries, the Zhangs turned Longhushan into a major holy site and a household name in the Chinese world, and constructed a large administrative center for the bureaucratic management of Chinese society. They gradually built the Heavenly Master institution, which included a sacred site; a patriarchal line of successive Heavenly Masters wielding vast monopolistic powers to ordain humans and gods; a Zhang lineage that nurtured talent and accumulated wealth; and a bureaucratic apparatus comprised of temples, training centers, and a clerical hierarchy. So well?designed was this institution that it remained stable for more than a millennium, far outlasting the longest dynasties, and had ramifications for every city and village in imperial China. In this ambitious work, Vincent Goossaert traces the Heavenly Master bureaucracy from medieval times to the modern Chinese nation?state as well as its expansion. His in?depth portraits of influential Heavenly Masters are skillfully embedded in a large?scale analysis of the institution and its rules, ideology, and vision of society.

'The Bodhisattva ideal is a vast subject. It is the major distinctive emphasis of the phase of the development of Buddhism known as the Mahayana, which had its flowering for a period of around 500 years (0-500CE), but is still practised today in many different forms, from Tibetan Buddhism to Zen. To consider this topic is to place one's hand on the very heart of Buddhism, and feel the beating of that heart.' Thus Sangharakshita introduces his theme. The first part of this volume describes the arising of the bodhicitta and the bodhisattva's path to Enlightenment in a weaving together of the sublime and the inspiringly practical, and the second part is a commentary on Santideva's classic 8th-century text, the Bodhicaryavatara, based on a seminar given in 1973, in the very early days of Triratna, thus shaping the newly emerging Buddhist movement. The seminar was titled The Endlessly Fascinating Cry, echoing Santideva's fervent prayer: 'In order to grasp this jewel of the mind, I offer ... the endlessly fascinating cry of wild geese ...' The volume ends with 'The Bodhisattva Principle', a talk given in 1983 to a conference of scientists and mystics in which Sangharakshita presents a vision of the bodhisattva as an embodiment of the key to the evolution of consciousness, individual and collective. The subject of this book may be an ideal, but it offers many ways to take the first real steps on this most significant of all journeys, and much nourishment for the heart and mind of the would-be bodhisattva.

Every human soul is divine and valuable. An embodied being's ultimate purpose is the enjoyment of Supreme bliss as a free soul (Mukta, salvation, liberation) in the highest heaven. Enjoyment is also the basis of happiness upon earth. It leads to the spiritual enlightenment for happy, healthy, and peaceful life and environment. The knowledge of self is what leads to the knowledge of God and this knowledge is the road to eternal happiness or bliss. Real happiness cannot be found externally, it must be realized within. The soul of a man is in the hidden structure of God. He is inside all of us. All life comes from God. The causes of unhappiness are our ego, our prejudice, our desire, and our impropriety. There must not be any lust and hatred, neither longing for one thing, nor any loathing the opposite. The world is spiraling toward conflict, belligerence, and disharmony and is now going through an unprecedented spiritual crisis, class confrontation, calamity, and nuclear and terrorists' threats. The rise of drug use, the rise of broken families, the rise of the number of single parents, the rise of school and public space mass shootings, the rise of suicides and depression, the rise of sexual scandals among priests and media, rise of overuse of iPad and smartphones by young kids are all threatening our home, society, schools, and the environment with vicious violence, menacing insecurity, wild protests, and rampant immorality.

The Third Birth of Confucius deals with the Chinese sage and philosopher Confucius and his philosophical and politico-cultural legacies. As the title suggests, Confucius has once again taken birth in China. Confucius 'died' for the first time when he gave way to Buddhism in the tenth century, but was reinvented again (Neo-Confucianism). This was the second birth of Confucius. In the twentieth century, under the influence of western ideas, China's liberals and Marxists abandoned Confucius again. But how long can a civilization live without any ideational orientation? Hence, the third birth of Confucius from AD 2000 onwards. Confucius is emerging as a proxy word for cultural nationalism. In fact, it is not one Confucius who is taking birth in China but two. One is the common man's Confucius, which is authentic and genuine. The other Confucius is promoted by the Chinese Government. The author believes that soon either China will embrace democracy or it may implode and disintegrate like the former Soviet Union. This book is an attempt to unravel the muddled reality of China and will definitely prove a landmark work in the field of Chinese Studies.