First Published in 2000. This is Volume XI of sixteen of the Oriental series looking at Buddhism. It was written in 1922 and cover the period of 600 B.C to 100 B.C. and the early Buddhist Monachism, an investigation into the history of Buddhist monks and Hindu Sannyasis of ancient India.

A revolutionary, science-based approach to meditation from a neuroscientist turned meditation master, The Mind Illuminated is an accessible, step-by-step toolkit for anyone looking to start—or improve—their daily meditation practice.

The book that bestselling meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg raves “brings the path of meditation to life,” The Mind Illuminated is the first how-to meditation guide from a neuroscientist who is also an acclaimed meditation master. This innovative book offers a 10-stage program that is both deeply grounded in ancient spiritual teachings about mindfulness and holistic health, and also draws from the latest brain science to provide a roadmap for anyone interested in achieving the benefits of mindfulness. Dr. John Yates offers a new and fascinating model of how the mind works, including steps to overcome mind wandering and dullness, extending your attention span while meditating, and subduing subtle distractions.

This groundbreaking manual provides illustrations and charts to help you work through each stage of the process, offering tools that work across all types of meditation practices. The Mind Illuminated is an essential read, whether you are a beginner wanting to establish your practice or a seasoned veteran ready to master the deepest state of peace and mindfulness.

The first major collection of teachings by Kalu Rinpoche, a great meditation master in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. These discourses were presented in America with a Western audience in mind, and have been specially edited for this volume.

This book presents a detailed fieldwork-based study of the ancient Indian religion of Jainism. Drawing on field research in northern Gujarat and on the study of both ancient Sanskrit and Prakrit and modern vernacular Jain religious literature, John Cort provides a rounded portrait of the religion as it is practised today.

DEITIES AND WORSHIP Contained in the ALBERT PIKE 1872 19 in THE STA3STDABJ3 PRINTINO CO. Louisville CopyrigU, 1930, by The Supreme Council, 33, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America PREFACE. It. is quite uncertain, now that I have this book finished, whether I shall ever care to publish it. It was not commenced for that purpose and it may always remain a monotype, in manuscript. For it has been written as a study, and not as a teaching for myself and not for others. It is not at all the fruit of a meditated purpose, and was not commenced as a diagnosis of the Deities of the Veda, an attempt to discover the distinctive personality and individuality of each, which it afterwards became, and the fruits of itself to myself have been sufficient to reward me abundantly for the labour it has cost. Nothing has ever so much interested me, as this endeavour to penetrate into the adyta of the ancient Aryan thought, to discover what things, principles or phenomena our remote ancestors worshipped as Gods, what Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Aryaman, the Agvins, Vayu, Vishnu, SavitJfi and the others really were, in the conception of the composers of the Vedic hymns. It has had a singular charm for me, this inquiry into the true mean ing of the epithets and phrases, often, in appearance, indiscriminately applied to different Deities, often seemingly inappropriate, and the expres sions of a wild and riotous imagination into the true meaning of names and epithets and phrases that became, literally accepted and misunderstood, the sources, seeds or germs of the legendary myths and many of the Deities of the Grecian mythology and theBrahmanic fables and pantheon. And I have felt the most intense satisfaction in deciphering, as it seemed to me I did, these hieroglyphs of ancient Aryan thought in bringing myself into relation en rapport with these old Poets and Philosophers, under standing them in part, and thinking with them in deciphering their hiero glyphics, infinitely better worth the labour than all that are engraved on the monuments of Egypt and Assyria, and in solving one by one the enigmas contained in their figurative and seemingly extravagant language, whose meaning was only to be discovered by beginning with their simplest notions and conceptions, and making the curious processes of their thought my own trying as it were, to be them, intellectually, and to think their thoughts. Thus I satisfied myself that every one of their Deities had for them a perfectly distinct and dear personality and individuality that their ideas were not in the least vague, incoherent or confused that their imagination was perfectly - ell-regulated, and that every epithet and phrase was logically appropriate and correct. So also, upon a partial examination, I found it to be in the ancient Zarathustrian G tMs, which are, I do not doubt, even older than the Vedic hymns. I found in both, the most profound philosophic or metaphysical ideas, which those of every philosophy and religion have merely developed and that, so far from being Barbarians or Savages, the old Aryan herdsmen and husbandmen, in the Indus country under the Himalayan Mountains, on the rivers of Bactria, and, long before, on the Scythic Steppes where they originated, were men of singularly clear and acute intellects, profound thought and an infinite reverence of thebeings whom they worshipped. The inquiry has opened to me an entirely new chapter of the history of human thought, and given me an infinitely higher conception of the Aryan intellect...

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. This volume in the Contemporary Anarchist Studies series focuses on anti-statist critiques in ancient and modern China and demonstrates that China does not have an unchallenged authoritarian political culture. Treating anarchism as a critique of centralized state power, the work first examines radical Daoist thought from the 4th century BCE to the 9th century CE and compares Daoist philosophers and poets to Western anarchist and utopian thinkers. This is followed by a survey of anarchist themes in dissident thought in the People's Republic of China from 1949 to the present. A concluding chapter discusses how Daoist anarchism can be applied to any anarchist-inspired radical critique today. This work not only challenges the usual ideas of the scope and nature of dissent in China, it also provides a unique comparison of ancient Chinese Daoist anarchism to Western anarchist. Featuring previously untranslated texts, such as the 9th century Buddhist anarchist tract, the Wunengzi, and essays from the PRC press, it will be an essential resource to anyone studying anarchism, Chinese political thought, political dissent, and political history.

This volume presents both a historical and a systematic examination of the philosophy of classical Confucianism. Taking into account newly unearthed materials and the most recent scholarship, it features contributions by experts in the field, ranging from senior scholars to outstanding early career scholars. The book first presents the historical development of classical Confucianism, detailing its development amidst a fading ancient political theology and a rising wave of creative humanism. It examines the development of the philosophical ideas of Confucius as well as his disciples and his grandson Zisi, the Zisi-Mencius School, Mencius, and Xunzi. Together with this historical development, the book analyzes and critically assesses the philosophy in the Confucian Classics and other major works of these philosophers. The second part systematically examines such philosophical issues as feeling and emotion, the aesthetic appreciation of music, wisdom in poetry, moral psychology, virtue ethics, political thoughts, the relation with the Ultimate Reality, and the concept of harmony in Confucianism. The Philosophy of Classical Confucianism offers an unparalleled examination to the philosophers, basic texts and philosophical concepts and ideas of Classical Confucianism as well as the recently unearthed bamboo slips related to Classical Confucianism. It will prove itself a valuable reference to undergraduate and postgraduate university students and teachers in philosophy, Chinese history, History, Chinese language and Culture.

In this third decade of the 21st century, deep problems plague our world. Many people lack adequate nutrition, health care, and education, because-while there is enough wealth for everyone to meet these basic needs-most of it is tightly controlled by precious few. Global warming causes droughts, floods, rising sea levels, and soon the forced migrations of millions of people. In this book, philosopher Graham Priest explains why we find ourselves in this situation, defines the nature of the problems we face, and explains how we might solve and move beyond our current state. The first part of this book draws on Buddhist philosophy, Marx's analysis of capitalism, and their complementary role in explaining our present crisis and the events that led us here. In the second part of the book, Priest turns to the much harder question of how one might go about creating a more rational and humane world. Here, he draws again on Buddhist and Marxist ideas as well as some key aspects of anarchist thought. His discussion of the need for bottom-up control of production, power, ideology, and an emerging awareness of our interdependence is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of the planet and our latent capacity to care for each other. Key Features Explains the necessary elements of Marxist, Buddhist, and anarchist thought-no background knowledge of political theory or Buddhism is necessary Shows how Buddhist and Marxist notions of persons are complementary Convincingly shows capitalism's role in creating current socio-economic problems Provides an analysis of the corrosiveness of top-down power structures and why they should be eliminated in a post-capitalist state Discusses capitalism's role in war, environmental degradation, and race and gender-based oppression

In medieval Japan (14th-16th centuries), it was customary for elite families to entrust their young sons to the care of renowned Buddhist priests from whom they received a premier education in Buddhist scriptures, poetry, music, and dance. When the boys reached adolescence, some underwent coming-of-age rites, others entered the priesthood, and several extended their education, becoming chigo, or Buddhist acolytes. Chigo served their masters as personal attendants and as sexual partners. During religious ceremonies-adorned in colorful robes, their faces made up and hair styled in long ponytails-they entertained local donors and pilgrims with music and dance. Stories of acolytes (chigo monogatari) from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries form the basis of the present volume, an original and detailed literary analysis of six tales coupled with a thorough examination of the sociopolitical, religious, and cultural matrices that produced these texts. Sachi Schmidt-Hori begins by delineating various dimensions of chigo (the chigo "title," personal names, gender, sexuality, class, politics, and religiosity) to show the complexity of this cultural construct-the chigo as a triply liminal figure who is neither male nor female, child nor adult, human nor deity. A modern reception history of chigo monogatari follows, revealing, not surprisingly, that the tales have often been interpreted through cultural paradigms rooted in historical moments and worldviews far removed from the original. From the 1950s to 1980s, research on chigo was hindered by widespread homophobic prejudice. More recently, aversion to the age gap in historical master-acolyte relations has prevented scholars from analyzing the religious and political messages underlying the genre. Schmidt-Hori's work calls for a shift in the hermeneutic strategies applied to chigo and chigo monogatari and puts forth both a nuanced historicization of social constructs such as gender, sexuality, age, and agency, and a mode of reading propelled by curiosity and introspection.

A new generation of Confucian scholars is coming of age. China is reawakening to the power and importance of its own culture. This volume provides a unique view of the emerging Confucian vision for China and the world in the 21st century. Unlike the Neo-Confucians sojourning in North America who recast Confucianism in terms of modern Western values, this new generation of Chinese scholars takes the authentic roots of Confucian thought seriously. This collection of essays offers the first critical exploration in English of the emerging Confucian, non-liberal, non-social-democratic, moral and political vision for China s future. Inspired by the life and scholarship of Jiang Qing who has emerged as China's exemplar contemporary Confucian, this volume allows the English reader access to a moral and cultural vision that seeks to direct China s political power, social governance, and moral life. For those working in Chinese studies, this collection provides the first access in English to major debates in China concerning a Confucian reconceptualization of governance, a critical Confucian assessment of feminism, Confucianism functioning again as a religion, and the possibility of a moral vision that can fill the cultural vacuum created by the collapse of Marxism.

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