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This book was written as a doctoral thesis. It was submitted to and
accepted by the University of Poona in 1979. Several people
contributed to the creation of this book, in various ways. Prof. S.
D. Joshi, my supervisor, introduced me to the study of the Sanskrit
grammatical tradition. His unfailing skepticism towards and
disagreement with the ideas worked out in this book contributed
more to their development than he may have been aware. Prof. Paul
Kiparsky gave encouragement when this was badly needed. In the
years following 1979 Dr. Dominik Wujastyk was kind enough to read
the manuscript and suggest improvements in language and style. To
all of these lowe a debt of gratitude, but most of all lowe such a
debt to Pandit Shivarama Krishna Shastri. In the course of several
years he read with me many portions of Nagesa's grammatical and
other works, and much besides. His ability to understand difficult
grammatical and philosophical texts in Sanskrit was unequalled, and
without his help it would have taken far longer to write this book
and indeed might very well have proved impossible. Shivarama
Krishna Shastri never saw the result of our reading; he died before
this book could appear in print. I dedicate it to his memory. J.
BRONKHORST Xl INTRODUCTION In the following pages an attempt will
be made to establish that the part of Nagesa's Paribha$endusekhara
(PS) which deals with Par.
This book was written as a doctoral thesis. It was submitted to and
accepted by the University of Poona in 1979. Several people
contributed to the creation of this book, in various ways. Prof. S.
D. Joshi, my supervisor, introduced me to the study of the Sanskrit
grammatical tradition. His unfailing skepticism towards and
disagreement with the ideas worked out in this book contributed
more to their development than he may have been aware. Prof. Paul
Kiparsky gave encouragement when this was badly needed. In the
years following 1979 Dr. Dominik Wujastyk was kind enough to read
the manuscript and suggest improvements in language and style. To
all of these lowe a debt of gratitude, but most of all lowe such a
debt to Pandit Shivarama Krishna Shastri. In the course of several
years he read with me many portions of Nagesa's grammatical and
other works, and much besides. His ability to understand difficult
grammatical and philosophical texts in Sanskrit was unequalled, and
without his help it would have taken far longer to write this book
and indeed might very well have proved impossible. Shivarama
Krishna Shastri never saw the result of our reading; he died before
this book could appear in print. I dedicate it to his memory. J.
BRONKHORST Xl INTRODUCTION In the following pages an attempt will
be made to establish that the part of Nagesa's Paribha$endusekhara
(PS) which deals with Par.
Language (sabda) occupied a central yet often unacknowledged place
in classical Indian philosophical thought. Foundational thinkers
considered topics such as the nature of language, its relationship
to reality, the nature and existence of linguistic units and their
capacity to convey meaning, and the role of language in the
interpretation of sacred writings. The first reader on language
in-and the language of-classical Indian philosophy, A Sabda Reader
offers a comprehensive and pedagogically valuable treatment of this
topic and its importance to Indian philosophical thought. A Sabda
Reader brings together newly translated passages by authors from a
variety of traditions-Brahmin, Buddhist, Jaina-representing a
number of schools of thought. It illuminates issues such as how
Brahmanical thinkers understood the Veda and conceived of Sanskrit;
how Buddhist thinkers came to assign importance to language's link
to phenomenal reality; how Jains saw language as strictly material;
the possibility of self-contradictory sentences; and how words
affect thought. Throughout, the volume shows that linguistic
presuppositions and implicit notions about language often play as
significant a role as explicit ideas and formal theories. Including
an introduction that places the texts and ideas in their historical
and cultural context, A Sabda Reader sheds light on a crucial
aspect of classical Indian thought and in so doing deepens our
understanding of the philosophy of language.
This book argues for the central role played by absorption in the
functioning of the human mind. The importance of absorption makes
itself felt in different ways; the two studies combined in this
book concentrate on two of them. The first study, The Symbolic
Mind, argues that, largely as a result of language acquisition,
humans have two levels of cognition, which in normal circumstances
are simultaneously active. Absorption is a (or the) means to
circumvent some, perhaps all, of the associations that characterize
one of these two levels of cognition, resulting in what is
sometimes referred to as mystical experience, but which is not
confined to mysticism and plays a role in various "religious"
phenomena, and elsewhere. In the second study, The Psychology of
the Buddha, Prof. Bronkhorst provides a theoretical context for the
observation that absorption is a source of pleasure, grapples with
Freud, and illustrates his observations through translations of
ancient Buddhist texts from the Pali and Sanskrit languages along
with his psychological commentary. Johannes Bronkhorst is emeritus
professor of Sanskrit and Indian studies at the University of
Lausanne. He has published widely in the history of Indian
religious, philosophical and scientific thought, and in religious
studies in general. Among his recent books: Greater Magadha (2007),
Aux origines de la philosophie indienne (2008), Buddhist Teaching
in India (2009), Buddhism in the Shadow of Brahmanism (2011), Karma
(2011).
Karma has become a household word in the modern world, where it is
associated with the belief in rebirth determined by one's deeds in
earlier lives. This belief was and is widespread in the Indian
subcontinent as is the word "karma" itself. In lucid and accessible
prose, this book presents karma in its historical, cultural, and
religious context. Initially, karma manifested itself in a number
of religious movements?most notably Jainism and Buddhism?and was
subsequently absorbed into Brahmanism in spite of opposition until
the end of the first millennium C.E. Philosophers of all three
traditions were confronted with the challenge of explaining by what
process rebirth and karmic retribution take place. Some took the
drastic step of accepting the participation of a supreme god who
acted as a cosmic accountant, others of opting for radical
idealism. The doctrine of karma was confronted with alternative
explanations of human destiny, among them the belief in the
transfer of merit. It also had to accommodate itself to devotional
movements that exerted a major influence on Indian religions. The
book concludes with some general reflections on the significance of
rebirth and karmic retribution, drawing attention to similarities
between early Christian and Indian ascetical practices and
philosophical notions that in India draw their inspiration from the
doctrine of karma.
Das Heimatland ihrer Eltern und Grosseltern kennen in der Diaspora
geborene Tibeterinnen und Tibeter meist nur aus Erzahlungen. In den
letzten Jahrzehnten wurde dem Leid der tibetischen Fluchtlinge sehr
viel Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt und in Bildbanden, Filmen, Studien
und Romanen dokumentiert. Die Nachkommen der Fluchtlinge fanden
bisher aber nur wenig Beachtung. Doch gerade weil sie die
Erfahrungen und Erlebnisse ihrer Eltern und Grosseltern nicht
teilen, ihre Sozialisation in einem anderen Land erfahren haben und
sich dennoch stark mit dem Schicksal Tibets verbunden fuhlen,
drangen sich kulturwissenschaftliche Fragen auf - vor allem die
nach ihrer Verbindung zur tibetischen Herkunft. Die vorliegende
Studie befasst sich erstmals ausfuhrlich mit Biografien von
Tibeterinnen und Tibetern der zweiten Generation in Indien und in
der Schweiz. Zentrale kulturelle Aspekte wie der Bezug zum
Buddhismus, zur tibetischen Sprache oder zu Rezeptionen tibetischer
Identitat werden mit zahlreichen Zitaten, Bildern und
Forschungsanekdoten eindrucksvoll dargestellt. Daneben finden auch
die Sozialisation, politisches und soziales Engagement sowie Traume
und Ziele dieser Generation Beachtung.
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Asian Traditions of Meditation (Paperback)
Halvor Eifring; Contributions by Edwin F. Bryant, Madhu Khanna, Johannes Bronkhorst, Kristina Myrvold, …
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R1,004
R902
Discovery Miles 9 020
Save R102 (10%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Meditation has flourished in different parts of the world ever
since the foundations of the great civilizations were laid. It
played a vital role in the formation of Asian cultures that trace
much of their heritage to ancient India and China. This volume
brings together for the first time studies of the major traditions
of Asian meditation as well as material on scientific approaches to
meditation. It delves deeply into the individual traditions while
viewing each of them from a global perspective, examining both
historical and generic connections between meditative practices
from numerous historical periods and different parts of the
Eurasian continent. It seeks to identify the cultural and
historical peculiarities of Asian schools of meditation while
recognizing basic features of meditative practice across cultures,
thereby taking the first step toward a framework for the
comparative study of meditation. The book, accessibly written by
scholars from several fields, opens with chapters that discuss the
definition and classification of meditation. These are followed by
contributions on Yoga and Tantra, which are often subsumed under
the broad label of Hinduism; Jainism and Sikhism, Indian traditions
not usually associated with meditation; Buddhist approaches found
in Southeast Asia, Tibet, and China; and the indigenous Chinese
traditions, Daoism and Neo-Confucianism. The final chapter explores
recent scientific interest in meditation, which, despite its
Western orientation, remains almost exclusively concerned with
practices of Asian origin. Until a few years ago a major obstacle
to the study of specific meditation practices within the traditions
explored here was a widespread scholarly orientation that
prioritized doctrinal issues and sociocultural contexts over actual
practice. The contributors seek to counter this bias and supplement
concerns over doctrine and context with the historical study of
meditative practice. Asian Traditions of Meditation will appeal
broadly to readers interested in meditation, mindfulness, and
spirituality and those in the emerging field of contemplative
education, as well as students and scholars of Asian and religious
studies.
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Karma (Paperback)
Johannes Bronkhorst
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R537
Discovery Miles 5 370
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Karma has become a household word in the modern world, where it is
associated with the belief in rebirth determined by one’s deeds
in earlier lives. This belief was and is widespread in the Indian
subcontinent as is the word “karma” itself. In lucid and
accessible prose, this book presents karma in its historical,
cultural, and religious context. Initially, karma manifested itself
in a number of religious movements?most notably Jainism and
Buddhism?and was subsequently absorbed into Brahmanism in spite of
opposition until the end of the first millennium C.E. Philosophers
of all three traditions were confronted with the challenge of
explaining by what process rebirth and karmic retribution take
place. Some took the drastic step of accepting the participation of
a supreme god who acted as a cosmic accountant, others of opting
for radical idealism. The doctrine of karma was confronted with
alternative explanations of human destiny, among them the belief in
the transfer of merit. It also had to accommodate itself to
devotional movements that exerted a major influence on Indian
religions. The book concludes with some general reflections on the
significance of rebirth and karmic retribution, drawing attention
to similarities between early Christian and Indian ascetical
practices and philosophical notions that in India draw their
inspiration from the doctrine of karma.
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