Buddhist studies is a rapidly changing field of research, constantly transforming and adapting to new scholarship. This creates a problem for instructors, both in a university setting and in monastic schools, as they try to develop a curriculum based on a body of scholarship that continually shifts in focus and expands to new areas. Teaching Buddhism establishes a dialogue between the community of instructors of Buddhism and leading scholars in the field who are updating, revising, and correcting earlier understandings of Buddhist traditions. Each chapter presents new ideas within a particular theme of Buddhist studies and explores how courses can be enhanced with these insights. Contributors in the first section focus on the typical approaches, figures, and traditions in undergraduate courses, such as the role of philosophy in Buddhism, Nagarjuna, Yogacara Buddhism, tantric traditions, and Zen Buddhism. They describe the impact of recent developments-like new studies in the cognitive sciences-on scholarship in those areas. Part Two examines how political engagement and ritual practice have shaped the tradition throughout its history. Focus then shifts to the issues facing instructors of Buddhism-dilemmas for the scholar-practitioner in the academic and monastic classroom, the tradition's possible roles in teaching feminism and diversity, and how to present the tradition in the context of a world religions course. In the final section, contributors offer stories of their own experiences teaching, paying particular attention to the ways in which American culture has impacted them. They discuss the development of courses on American Buddhism; using course material on the family and children; the history and trajectory of a Buddhist-Christian dialog; and Buddhist bioethics, environmentalism, economic development, and social justice. In synthesizing this vast and varied body of research, the contributors in this volume have provided an invaluable service to the field

This is Iris's second book. Her first, Panama? Why Panama?, described the lengthy process she and Chris endured as they prepared to move to Panama upon retirement, the roller coaster of emotion involved, and the dos and don'ts of how to achieve this. Iris now picks up the thread and, with actually living in Panama, describes their first year of adaptation to the language and culture of a foreign country. At times funny, sometimes poignant, often perplexing, daily life is a cacophony of change in expectations. Herein lies the tale of one couple and their initial year in Panama

The Book of Revelation is the summation and capstone of Scripture, showing Jesus Christ in all of his ascended glory. Intimately interwoven is the presentation of the Church as His beloved bride. Revelation clarifies the mandate and plan of action of this everlasting union and priesthood of Christ and his Church. If the Church today seems weak, in retreat, and culturally irrelevant, Revelation gives us the cure. The command to overcome is the same for the Church today as it was in John's day. She is called, in all generations, to reject doctrines of defeat, literalist fantasy, and vain speculation about the future and to embrace Her commission to rule. Reconciling all things in heaven and on earth in Christ Jesus is the Church's historical task and the basis of Her heavenly reward. "The Revelation Mandate "is a fully accessible and completely biblical study that demystifies the message of Revelation so that we all may fulfill our high calling in Christ.

Iris and spouse, Chris, along with two delightful cats, were determined to move to Panama once retired. Not an easy task Their two-year-plus adventure in making an international move proved frustrating at times, but filled with humor and excitement. Starting with a blog, Iris put herself to work documenting the ups and downs of the move and found there was much to learn despite her previously thorough research and decided to convert the blog to a book that would provide sensible alternatives to others who desire to make a similar move. The result is a useful, often entertaining, account of what to do and what not to do Full of tips and references, this book deserves a place on your shelf if you too yearn for sunnier climes.

Recently anthropology has turned to accounts of persons-in-history/history-in-persons, focusing on how individuals and groups as agents both fashion and are fashioned by social, political, and cultural discourses and practices. In this approach, power, agency, and history are made explicit as individuals and groups work to constitute themselves in relation to others and within and against sociopolitical and historical contexts. Contributors to this volume extend this emphasis, drawing upon their ethnographic research in Nepal to examine closely how selves, identities, and experience are produced in dialogical relationships through time in a multi-ethic nation-state and within a discourse of nationalism. The diversity of peoples, recent political transformations, and nation-building efforts make Nepal an especially rich locale to examine people's struggles to define and position themselves. But the authors move beyond geographical boundaries to more theoretical terrain to problematicize the ways in which people recreate or contest certain identities and positions. Various authors explore how people-positioned by gender, ethnicity, and locale-use cultural genres to produce aspects of identities and experiences; they examine how subjectivities, agencies and cultural worlds co-develop and are shaped through engagement with cultural forms; and they portray the appropriation of multiple voices for self and group formation. As such, this collection offers a richly textured and complex accounting of the mutual constitution of selves and society.

Part of the Christian Worldview Integration Series Whether setting about to love our neighbor, to settle a dispute, to share in the suffering of others or to speak up on behalf of the marginalized, we inevitably must engage in communication. And what could be more natural, more human, than communication? But we all learn quickly enough that good communication is not always natural. There is much to learn from Scripture and from the academic study of human communication. Tim Muehlhoff and Todd Lewis are able guides, aiding us in understanding the broad field of human communication in Christian perspective. Here they offer readers a vital assessment of the power of words, perspective-taking, persuasion and conflict management--all in an effort to improve our abilities to communicate forgiveness and shape the world we live in for the good. Special attention is focused on the place of Christians as counterpublics--those who offer alternative perspectives to the dominant voices in society. The Christian Worldview Integration Series, edited by J. P. Moreland and Francis J. Beckwith, seeks to promote a robust personal and conceptual integration of Christian faith and learning, with textbooks focused on disciplines such as education, psychology, literature, politics, science, communications, biology, philosophy, and history.

This is Iris's second book. Her first, Panama? Why Panama?, described the lengthy process she and Chris endured as they prepared to move to Panama upon retirement, the roller coaster of emotion involved, and the dos and don'ts of how to achieve this. Iris now picks up the thread and, with actually living in Panama, describes their first year of adaptation to the language and culture of a foreign country. At times funny, sometimes poignant, often perplexing, daily life is a cacophony of change in expectations. Herein lies the tale of one couple and their initial year in Panama

The Book of Revelation is the summation and capstone of Scripture, showing Jesus Christ in all of his ascended glory. Intimately interwoven is the presentation of the Church as His beloved bride. Revelation clarifies the mandate and plan of action of this everlasting union and priesthood of Christ and his Church. If the Church today seems weak, in retreat, and culturally irrelevant, Revelation gives us the cure. The command to overcome is the same for the Church today as it was in John's day. She is called, in all generations, to reject doctrines of defeat, literalist fantasy, and vain speculation about the future and to embrace Her commission to rule. Reconciling all things in heaven and on earth in Christ Jesus is the Church's historical task and the basis of Her heavenly reward. "The Revelation Mandate "is a fully accessible and completely biblical study that demystifies the message of Revelation so that we all may fulfill our high calling in Christ.

Iris and spouse, Chris, along with two delightful cats, were determined to move to Panama once retired. Not an easy task Their two-year-plus adventure in making an international move proved frustrating at times, but filled with humor and excitement. Starting with a blog, Iris put herself to work documenting the ups and downs of the move and found there was much to learn despite her previously thorough research and decided to convert the blog to a book that would provide sensible alternatives to others who desire to make a similar move. The result is a useful, often entertaining, account of what to do and what not to do Full of tips and references, this book deserves a place on your shelf if you too yearn for sunnier climes.

A twentieth-century account of the life of the Buddha, presented in a fascinating form, with an incredible story behind it.

This book contains the English translation of "The Sweet Fragrance of the Buddha," a beautiful, devotional epic poem that portrays the major events in the Buddha's life from birth to death. Chittadhar Hrdaya, a master poet from Nepal, wrote it while in prison in the 1940s, smuggling it out over time on pieces of paper. Hrdaya's verses create a sense of a magical environment in which clouds, trees, flowers, and the buzzing of bees all reflect and evoke the full range of emotions, from erotic love to anger to heroism to compassion and peace, experienced by the young prince Siddhartha, as well as by his father, mother, wife, and son. By showing how the central events of the Buddha's life are experienced from different people's viewpoints, the poem communicates a fuller and deeper sense of the humanity of everyone involved and the depth of the Buddha's loving-kindness for all beings. This English translation captures the beauty and flow of the original, and the volume supplements the translation with short essays that both explain the Indic poetry conventions that Hrdaya employed and provide the political backstory behind the author's imprisonment.