New Ebooks

The latest ebooks added to the E-Library

Enlightenment in Dispute

Enlightenment in Dispute is the first comprehensive study of the revival of Chan Buddhism in seventeenth-century China. Focusing on the evolution of a series of controversies about Chan enlightenment, Jiang Wu describes the process by which Chan reemerged as the most prominent Buddhist establishment of the time. He investigates the development of Chan Buddhism in the seventeenth century, focusing on controversies involving issues such as correct practice and lines of lineage. In this way, he shows how the Chan revival reshaped Chinese Buddhism in late imperial China. Situating these controversies alongside major events of the fateful Ming-Qing transition, Wu shows how the rise and fall of Chan Buddhism was conditioned by social changes in the seventeenth century.

Encountering Buddhism

Creatively exploring the points of confluence and conflict between Western psychology and Buddhist teachings, various scholars, researchers, and therapists struggle to integrate their diverse psychological orientations - psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, transpersonal - with their diverse Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist practices. By investigating the degree to which Buddhist insights are compatible with Western science and culture, they then consider what each philosophical/psychological system has to offer the other. The contributors reveal how Buddhism has changed the way they practice psychotherapy, choose their research topics, and conduct their personal lives. In doing so, they illuminate the relevance of ancient Buddhist texts to contemporary cultural and psychological dilemmas.

Early Buddhist Metaphysics

"Early Buddhist Metaphysics" provides a philosophical account of the major doctrinal shift in the history of early Theravada tradition in India: the transition from the earliest stratum of Buddhist thought to the systematic and allegedly scholastic philosophy of the Pali Abhidhamma movement. Entwining comparative philosophy and Buddhology, the author probes the Abhidhamma's metaphysical transition in terms of the Aristotelian tradition and vis-a-vis modern philosophy, and exploits Western philosophical literature from Plato to contemporary texts in the fields of philosophy of mind and cultural criticism.

Did Dogen Go to China?

Dogen (1200-1253), the founder of the Soto Zen sect in Japan, is especially known for introducing to Japanese Buddhism many of the texts and practices that he discovered in China. Heine reconstructs the context of Dogen's travels to and reflections on China by means of a critical look at traditional sources both by and about Dogen in light of recent Japanese scholarship. While many studies emphasize the unique features of Dogen's Japanese influences, this book calls attention to the way Chinese and Japanese elements were fused in Dogen's religious vision.

Dharma Moments

At home and at work, we struggle every day with hope and fear- living in the past, anxious about the future. Is there an end to suffering? Dharma Moments captures the essence of Buddhist practice to help us thrive in the modern world. With sound advice about its relevance in today's busy world, Dharma Moments places the wisdom of the Dharma at the center of our lives, examining both personal and global challenges. This wide-ranging collection of deeply personal insights and real-life stories reveals the Buddha's most enduring principles.

Contexts and Dialogue

Are there Buddhist conceptions of the unconscious? If so, are they more Freudian, Jungian, or something else? If not, can Buddhist conceptions be reconciled with the Freudian, Jungian, or other models? These are some of the questions that have motivated modern scholarship to approach alayavijnana, the storehouse consciousness, formulated in Yogâcâra Buddhism as a subliminal reservoir of tendencies, habits, and future possibilities.

Compassionate Action

This book provides a series of inspiring insights into the beliefs of someone who has devoted more than eight decades to the intensive practice of Dharma and who has little time for the many ways in which people fool themselves - while at the same time caring passionately about their development towards an enlightened state.

Chatral Rinpoche, the quintessential "hidden yogi," has been a legend in the Himalayan region for the past seventy years. Although he has never traveled to the West, his amazing story and teachings have gradually been infiltrating the Western Buddhist consciousness since Father Thomas Merton first met him in 1968 and famously remarked that he was "the greatest man I ever met."

Cognitive Humanistic Therapy

Cognitive Humanistic Therapy describes a new approach to psychotherapy and self-development, based on an understanding of what it means to be “fully human.” In a unique integration of theory and practice, the book synthesises ideas from the cognitive and humanistic domains of psychotherapy and the religious worlds of Buddhism and Christianity.

China's Buddhist Culture

This book elaborates and elucidates the concepts and characteristics of China's Buddhist culture with special emphasis on two aspects: (1) the historical evolution of Chinese Buddhism as well as related ancient books, records, basic doctrines, systems and protocols, and famous historical and cultural sites; and (2) the influence of Buddhism on such aspects of Chinese culture as politics, ethics, philosophy, literature and art, and folk customs, as well as the differences and similarities between Buddhism and both Confucianism and Taoism. This book further summarizes the structure, core beliefs, internal and external relations, root of evolution, and peculiarity of China's Buddhist culture system. This book aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the historical status of Buddhism and its important role in the evolution of Chinese culture.

Buddhist women and social justice

This book on engaged Buddhism focuses on women working for social justice in a wide range of Buddhist tradition and societies. Contributors document attempts to actualize Buddhism's liberating ideas of personal growth and social transformation. Dealing with issues such as human rights, gender-based violence, prostitution, and the role of Buddhist nuns, the work illuminates the possibilities for positive change that are available to those with limited power and resources. Integrating social realities and theoretical perspectives, the work utilizes feminist interpretations of Buddhist values and looks at culturally appropriate means of instigating change.

Buddhist Philosophy

The Buddhist philosophical tradition is vast, internally diverse, and comprises texts written in a variety of canonical languages. It is hence often difficult for those with training in Western philosophy who wish to approach this tradition for the first time to know where to start, and difficult for those who wish to introduce and teach courses in Buddhist philosophy to find suitable textbooks that adequately represent the diversity of the tradition, expose students to important primary texts in reliable translations, that contextualize those texts, and that foreground specifically philosophical issues.

Buddhist Meditation

Meditative practice lies at the heart of the Buddhist tradition. This introductory anthology gives a representative sample of the various kinds of meditations described in the earliest body of Buddhist scripture, the Pali canon.

It provides a broad introduction to their traditional context and practice and supplies explanation, context and doctrinal background to the subject of meditation. The main themes of the book are the diversity and flexibility of the way that the Buddha teaches meditation from the evidence of the canon. Covering fundamental features of Buddhist practice such as posture, lay meditation, and meditative technique it provides comments both from the principal early commentators on Buddhist practice, Upatissa and Buddhaghosa, and from reputable modern meditation teachers in a number of Theravadin traditions.

Buddhism, Power and Political Order

Weber's claim that Buddhism is an otherworldly religion is only partially true. Early sources indicate that the Buddha was sometimes diverted from supramundane interests to dwell on a variety of politically-related matters. The significance of Asoka Maurya as a paradigm for later traditions of Buddhist kingship is also well-attested. However, there has been little scholarly effort to integrate findings on the extent to which Buddhism interacted with the political order in the classical and modern states of Theravada Asia into a wider, comparative study.

Buddhism

In this authoritative guide, one of the world's most distinguished scholars of Buddhism provides a compact summary of the tradition's development, from the time of the Buddha to the 20th century exile of the Dalai Lama. Covering all the Buddhist schools from Mahayana to Zen, this comprehensive, concise study is widely acknowledged as the classic introduction to the history of the Buddhist tradition, perfect for students and interested readers alike.

Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face

Christine Mollier reveals in this volume previously unexplored dimensions of the interaction between Buddhism and Taoism in medieval China. While scholars of Chinese religions have long recognized the mutual influences linking the two traditions, Mollier here brings to light their intense contest for hegemony in the domains of scripture and ritual. Drawing on a far-reaching investigation of canonical texts, together with manuscript sources from Dunhuang and the monastic libraries of Japan--many of them studied here for the first time--she demonstrates the competition and complementarity of the two great Chinese religions in their quest to address personal and collective fears of diverse ills, including sorcery, famine, and untimely death.

Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness

This book is billed as a sequel to Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Suzuki's classic collection of talks on Zen, but it stands on its own considerable merits as an eloquent, humorous series of lectures on the Sandokai, an eighth-century poem central to the Soto Zen tradition. These lectures show Suzuki, head priest of Tassajara monastery in California until his death in 1971, using his line-by-line exposition of the poem to illuminate what it means to practice Zen Buddhism. He stresses the simultaneity of the relative and the absolute, skillfully using words to direct his listeners toward understanding, all the while emphasizing that words are merely fingers pointing at the moon of enlightenment.

An Introduction to Buddhist Philosophy

In this clearly written undergraduate textbook, Stephen Laumakis explains the origin and development of Buddhist ideas and concepts, focusing on the philosophical ideas and arguments presented and defended by selected thinkers and sutras from various traditions. He starts with a sketch of the Buddha and the Dharma, and highlights the origins of Buddhism in India. He then considers specific details of the Dharma with special attention to Buddhist metaphysics and epistemology, and examines the development of Buddhism in China, Japan, and Tibet, concluding with the ideas of the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh. In each chapter he includes explanations of key terms and teachings, excerpts from primary source materials, and presentations of the arguments for each position. His book will be an invaluable guide for all who are interested in this rich and vibrant philosophy.

Awakening and Insight

Buddhism first came to the West many centuries ago through the Greeks, who also influenced some of the culture and practices of Indian Buddhism. As Buddhism has spread beyond India, it has always been affected by the indigenous traditions of its new homes. When Buddhism appeared in America and Europe in the 1950s and 1960s, it encountered contemporary psychology and psychotherapy, rather than religious traditions. Since the 1990s, many efforts have been made by Westerners to analyze and integrate the similarities and differences between Buddhism and it therapeutic ancestors, particularly Jungian psychology. Taking Japanese Zen-Buddhism as its starting point, this volume is a collection of critiques, commentaries, and histories about a particular meeting of Buddhism and psychology.

Analytical Buddhism

We spend our lives protecting an elusive self - but does the self actually exist? Drawing on literature from Western philosophy, neuroscience and Buddhism (interpreted), the author argues that there is no self. The self - as unified owner and thinker of thoughts - is an illusion created by two tiers. A tier of naturally unified consciousness (notably absent in standard bundle-theory accounts) merges with a tier of desire-driven thoughts and emotions to yield the impression of a self. So while the self, if real, would think up the thoughts, the thoughts, in reality, think up the self.

Buddhist History of the West

Buddhism teaches that to become happy, greed, ill-will, and delusion must be transformed into their positive counterparts: generosity, compassion, and wisdom. The history of the West, like all histories, has been plagued by the consequences of greed, ill-will, and delusion. A Buddhist History of the West investigates how individuals have tried to ground themselves to make themselves feel more real. To be self-conscious is to experience ungroundedness as a sense of lack, but what is lacking has been understood differently in different historical periods. Author David R. Loy examines how the understanding of lack changes at historical junctures and shows how those junctures were so crucial in the development of the West.

Yogacara Buddhism and Modern Psychology

Are there Buddhist conceptions of the unconscious? If so, are they more Freudian, Jungian, or something else? If not, can Buddhist conceptions be reconciled with the Freudian, Jungian, or other models. These are some of the questions that have motivated modern scholarship to approach alayavijnan, the storehouse consciousness, formulated in Yogacara Buddhism as a subliminal reservoir of tendencies, habits, and future possibilities.

Lectures on Abhidharmasamuccaya

We will be exploring the Abhidharmasamuccaya, a text that belongs to the later development of Buddhism. Early Buddhism is known as Theravadin or Hinayana Buddhism. Later Buddhism is known as Mahayana Buddhism. It has two schools: Madhyamika, the school of the middle way, and Yogacara, the practitioners of yoga. Yoga, in this case, has very little to do with physical dexterity, with how you can twist your arms or fiddle your toes. It is very much related with learning how to meditate properly and relate to one's own mind, with trying to understand the sort of mental states we go through in meditation and so on. The Abhidharmasamuccaya presents that kind of overall structure, in the fullest sense.

Mind Science

What is the subtle relationship between mind and body? What can today's scientists learn about this relationship from masters of Buddhist thought? Is it possible that by combining Western and Eastern approaches, we can reach a new understanding of the nature of the mind, the human potential for growth, the possibilities for mental and physical health? MindScience explores these and other questions as it documents the beginning of an historic dialogue between modern science and Buddhism, based on a day-long Harvard Medical School symposium in which The Harvard Mind Science Symposium brought together the Dalai Lama and authorities from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, and education. Here, they examine myriad questions concerning the nature of the mind and its relationship to the body.

A History of Pali Literature

This book is in 2 volumes and has become a classic in Pali studies. It provides a vast amount of information about early Buddhism and about early Indian ancient history. It is a valuable reference book for the scholar as well as the general reader interested in Buddhism.

Outlines of Indian Philosophy

The beginning of Indian Philosophy takes us very far back to about the middle of the second millennium before Christ.The speculative activity begun so early was continued till a century or two ago, so that the history that is narrated in the following pages cover a period of over thirty centuries. During this long period Indian thought developed practically unaffected by outside influence and it has evolved several systems of philosophy. The present work is based upon the lectures by Prof. Hiriyanna.

Buddhism and Psychology

'Buddhism and Psychology' has been carefully designed to provide the reader with a comprehensive, in-depth view of what Buddhism is all about. I have tried to blend the concepts of psychology and most of the teaching of the Buddha that has so impressed me. The most exciting areas of Buddhism are represented, as are the early concepts of Theravada Buddhism that constitute the foundation of Buddhism.

How Buddhism Began

Written by one of the world's top scholars in the field of Pali Buddhism, this new and updated edition of How Buddhism Began, discusses various important doctrines and themes in early Buddhism. It takes 'early Buddhism' to be that reflected in the Pali canon, and to some extent assumes that these doctrines reflect the teachings of the Buddha himself.

Buddha in Theravada Buddhism

Dr. Endo's primary task, as he states, is to present the data and information embodied in the Pali Atthakatha concerning the Buddha-concept as much and as systematically as possible. He begins with a brief examination of the Buddha-concept found in the pre-commentarial literature as a prelude to his main themes both of the Buddha-concept and the Bodhisatta concept from Chapter I onwards. Findings presented in his work clearly indicate that the Buddha-concept in the Atthakatha literature forms in itself an important and dynamic force to reckon with for the establishment of what we later regard as Theravada Buddhism reflected in the commentarial and subsequent literature.

Philosophy of Mind in Sixth-Century China

Of the many translators who carried the Buddhist doctrine to China, Paramärtha, a missionary-monk who arrived in China in A.D. 546, ranks as the translator par excellence of the sixth century. Introducing philosophical ideas that would subsequently excite the Chinese imagination to develop the great schools of Sui and Tang Buddhism, Paramartha's translations are almost exclusively of Yogacara Buddhist texts on the nature of the mind and consciousness.

Journal of the Pali Text Society

Report for 1887 (T.W. Rhys Davids);
The Pajjamadhu. A Poem in Praise of Buddha (ed. E.R. Gooneratne);
Simå-vivåda-vinicchayå-kathå (ed. Prof. J.P. Minayeff);
Saddhammopåyana (ed. Dr. Morris);
Notes on Sadhammopåyana; Index of subjects and words;
Notes and Queries (Dr. Morris); Spellicans (T.W. Rhys Davids); List of members of the
Society; Accounts; Works already published.

Journal of the Pali Text Society

Report for 1886 (T.W. Rhys Davids);
Någårjuna's "Friendly Epistle" (tr. H. Wenzel);
The Anagata-vaμsa (ed. Prof. Minayeff);
The Gandha-vaμsa (ed. Prof. Minayeff);
Index to Verses in the Divyåvadåna (H. Wenzel);
Notes and Queries (Dr. Morris); List of members of the Society; Accounts; Works
already published.

Journal of the Pali Text Society

Report for 1885 (T.W. Rhys Davids);
Påli Mss. in the Brown University Library at Providence, R.I., U.S. (Henry C. Warren);
The Cha-kesa-dhatË-vaμsa (ed. Prof. Minayeff);
The Sandesa-kathå (ed. Prof. Minayeff);
Notes and Queries (Dr. Morris); List of members of the Society; Balance sheet, ets.,
Works published and in progress.

Journal of the Pali Text Society

Report for 1884 (T.W. Rhys Davids);
Abhidhammattha-saˆgaha;
Tela-ka†åha-gåthå (ed. E.R. Gooneratne);
Notes and Queries (Dr. Morris);
Då†hå-vaμsa;
Pañca-gat¥-d¥påna (ed. Leon Feer);
List of members of the Society; Balance sheet, etc.; Works published and in progress.

Journal of the Pali Text Society

Lectures by Mr. James Alwis (1. On Buddhism, 2. On Påli);
The Late Kenjiu Kasawara (Max Müller);
Buddha (A.C. Benson);
Notes and Queries on Passages in the Mahåvagga (Cecil Bendall);
Khudda-sikkhå and MËla-sikkhå (ed. Edward Müller);
List of Påli Manuscripts in the British Museum (Dr. Hoerning);
List of Påli Manuscripts in the Cambridge University Library (T.W. Rhys Davids);
List of Påli Manuscripts in the Copenhagen Royal Library;
Påli manuscripts at Stockholm;

Journal of the Pali Text Society

Report of the Society for 1882 (T.W. Rhys Davids);
Lists of Members;
Letters from Theras in Ceylon;
List of Mss. in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (O. Frankfurter);
List of Mss. in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris (Leon Feer);
List of Mss. in the Oriental Library, Kandy (H.C.P. Bell);
List of Mss. in the India Office Library (H. Oldenberg).

Journal of the Pali Text Society

1. The Anāgatavaṃsa Revisited (K.R. Norman)
2. Sri Lankan Manuscriptology (Jinadasa Liyanaratne)
3. Sāriputta's Three Works on the Samantapāsādikā (Kate Crosby)
4. The Canonicity of the Netti and Other Works (Peter Jackson)
5. Mythology as Meditation: From the Mahāsudassana Sutta to the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra (Rupert Gethin)
6. Jātaka and Paññāsa-jātaka in South-East Asia (Peter Skilling)
7. I.B. Horner Lectures
8. An Index to JPTS, Volumes IX-XXVIII
9. Contributors to this volume

An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy

It is noteworthy that the two most recent textbooks that bear this title, the current one by Karyn Lai, and one by JeeLoo Liu (2006, Blackwell; also reviewed on NDPR), limit themselves to introducing the reader to early Chinese philosophy (Warring States period through the Han -- roughly 5th century BCE through 3rd century CE) and the early schools of Chinese Buddhism (from ca. 1st through 6th centuries CE).

The Shobogenzo

The Shobogenzo is a collection of writings by the First Japanese Soto Zen Buddhist Ancestor, Great Master Eihei Dogen, based primarily on formal Dharma talks which he gave to his disciples at various times between 1233 and his death twenty years later at age fifty-three.

The Four Noble Truths

From the preface: "This small booklet was compiled and edited from talks given by Venerable Ajahn Sumedho on the central teaching of the Buddha: that the unhappiness of humanity can be overcome through spiritual means. The teaching is conveyed through the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths, first expounded in 528 BC in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi and kept alive in the Buddhist world ever since."

Manual of Zen Buddhism

From the preface: "In my Introduction to Zen Buddhism (published 1934), an outline of Zen teaching is sketched, and in The Training of the Zen Monk (1934) a description of the Meditation Hall and its life is given. To complete a triptych the present Manual has been compiled. The object is to inform the reader of the various literary materials relating to the monastery life.

The Indian Roots of Pure Land Buddhism

Masatoshi Nagatomi was a panoramic thinker. Raised in a Jodo Shinshu family, he chose the distant world of Indian Buddhism as his research field. Educated at Kyoto University, he went on to complete his doctorate at Harvard University, spending time studying in India as well. When thinking about Indian Buddhist literature he could call upon analogies from East Asia; when discussing Buddhist rituals in China he could draw upon his knowledge of Tibet.

What Is Meditation?

What Is Meditation? explains the Buddhist worldview and the age-old practice it perfected to unfold our innate qualities of compassion, self-acceptance, and inner peace. Rob Nairn gives step-by-step instructions for beginning your own meditation practice, including three simple exercises—"Bare Attention," "Remaining in the Present," and "Meditation Using Sound"—to help get you started.

Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis

The West learning from the East: This fascinating book is an excellent insight into the ancient Asian philosophy of Zen Buddhism. Though at times it is a hard read, the book ultimately rewards the patient reader. For those with little or no prior knowledge of Zen Buddhism this is an eye opener and a very important book in this day and age. Paradoxically the book was written in 1959 at the beginning of the consumer age, since when the Western capitalism has become only more extreme in its pursuit of "success". In the first segment Dr.

Chih-i (538-597)

Tradition places Chih-i as the third in the line of patriarchs in the T'ien-t'ai school, but in fact he founded the school and furnished most of its distinctive teachings himself, including (1) the T'ien-t'ai method of organizing and classifying scriptures and teachings known as p'an-chiao which gave the Lotus Sūtra the honoured place as the supreme scripture (see P'an-chiao); (2) the Three Truths that overcame the disconnection between the traditional Two Truths of Madhyamaka teaching; (3) the idea that the transcendent principle (Chinese, li) and phenomenal reality (Chinese, shih) mutuall

Foundations of T'ien-t'ai Philosophy

T'ien-t'ai philosophy synthesized the vision of the Lotus Sutra and the dialectics of the Middle Path philosophy. Of the works in English on T'ien-t'ai, this one deals most thoroughly with the development of Nagarjuna's Two Truths into a Threefold Truth. Although such a threefold division is not known in India, the study well shows how this is by no means a misunderstanding. Rather, it captures well the spirit of the letter of the Law of Interdependence. The first half of the book (pp. 1-156) deals with the history of this idea. This is followed by a translation (pp.

The “Round” Doctrine of Tian Tai and Its Significance for Modern Time

From the text: "When discussing on Chinese mind, Inada K. Kenneth agrees with Fung Yu-lan’s notion that the Chinese mind is one endowed with “a continental spirit” on which the unique Chinese culture or civilization was created (K. Inada, 1997, p.7). The term "continental" depicts a huge land mass, a vastness, an illimitable nature, and the term "spirit" is modified with the same nature, a spirit that is huge, large, extensive, holistic, totalistic and a grand unity.

Philosophy - East and West

This volume presents the results of the East-West Philosophers Conference held at the University of Hawaii during the summer of 1939. At this conference, representatives of Orient and Occident were brought together to investigate, through the mediums of per sonal contact, discussion, and formal papers, the meaning and sig nificance of the basic attitudes of these two major traditions. The conference was particularly concerned with the significance of the philosophy of the East for the West.

Yogacara Idealism

In this book an attempt has been made to expound the metaphysics of the Yogacara school of Buddhism in all its aspects and bearings. Chapters are devoted to a critical and constructive discussion of its idealistic core as well as its spiritual discipline. According to Prof. T.R.V. Murti who occupied a conspicuous place in the galaxy of Indian philosophers, the author 'has utilized nearly all the sources available on the subject and has given a faithful and persuasive account of this system of thought'.

Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey

This book is written primarily for those people who already have a general acquaintance with the history and religions of the Far East, with some particular interest in Chinese history and civilization, and those who desire to know more about the development of Buddhism in China. It also serves as a useful source of collateral readings for courses dealing with the history and culture of China and East Asia.

A comprehensive manual of Abhidhamma

The Abhidhamma is the Buddhist analysis of mind and mental processes, a wide-ranging systemization of the Buddha's teaching that combnes philosophy, psychology, and ethics into a unique and remarkable synthesis. The Buddhist monks and scholars of southern Asia hold the Abhidhamma in the highest regard, pursuing its study with great diligence.

CB403 - School of Chinese Buddhism II: Tian Tai School

Course Description:
This study is designed to enable the students to gain a general knowledge of the fundamental teachings of the T'ien T'ai (Tian Tai) School of China and the Tendai School of Japan. It will make a historical survey of the developments within the school and the influence it exerted on the subsequent schools of Buddhist thought, both in China and Japan.

Required Textbook:

- Hurvitz, Leon. "Chih-i (538-597): An Introduction to the Life and Ideas of a Chinese Monk." Melanges Chinoises et Bouddhiques 12 (1962): 1-372.

World religions: Buddhism

Buddhism, Fourth Edition tells the story of Buddhism’s origins and its development into three major schools of thought—and presents the particular beliefs and practices of those schools of Buddhism that still flourish today. This fascinating title explores the concept of the “socially engaged Buddhist,” the growth and practice of Buddhism in America, and the recent revival of Buddhism in Asia.

Coverage includes:
- Introduction to the modern Buddhist world
- The life of the Buddha
- The spread of Buddhism throughout Asia, and the world

A Historical Study of the Terms Hinayana and Mahayana and the Origin of Mahayana Buddhism

The main book is divided into two parts. The first part is mainly devoted to a full discussion of the terms Hinayana and Mahayana from various points of view. In the second part the different applications of the terms Hinayana and Mahayana in the two periods of the making of Mahayana Buddhism and of Mahayana teachers are discussed.

Pure Land Buddhism

The core of Pure Land Buddhism and its teachings can be expressed in two major concepts: purity of mind and practice. Traditional Pure Land teachings emphasize the three elements of Faith, Vows and Practice (Buddha Recitation) as the essential conditions for rebirth in the Pure Land – in the Pure Mind. This approach is presented as the easiest, most expedient path for the majority of people. Pure Land is also in line Zen, which sees all teachings as expedients, “fingers pointing to the moon” – the moon being the True Mind, the Mind of Thusness, always bright, pure and unchanging.

Critique of Pure Reason

Critique of Pure Reason is one of the cornerstones in western philosophy. It was first published in 1781 and it was later followed by the works: Critique of Judgement and the Critique of Judgement. In Critique of Pure Reason, Kant outline his theories about space and time as a form of perceiving and causality as a form of knowing. Both space and time and our conceptual principles and processes pre-structure our experience.

The Doctrine Of Paticcasamuppada

The Doctrine Of Paticcasamuppada By U Than Daing with the subtitle “The Law of Dependent Origination” is a guide for the yogi who seeks the path to end all suffering and for the English speaking reader an explanation of the various mental and physical phenomena we call personality. This work has a great insight to the Buddhist doctrines of Anatta, Non-Ego og Not-self (something only found in Buddhism and a very few temporary schools).

Mind without Measure

Mind without measure by Jiddu Krishnamurti is a huge collection of public talks held by Krishnamurti in Delhi, Calcutta and Madras during 1982 and 1983.

Form the book: “Now, to live without measurement, to be totally, completely, free of all measurement, is part of meditation. Not that `I ampractising this, I will achieve something in a year’s time.’ That ismeasurement which is the very nature of one’s egotistic activity.”

The Wings to Awakening

Many anthologies of the Buddha’s teachings have appeared in English, but this ebook is the first to be organized around the set of teachings that the Buddha himself said formed the heart of his message: The Wings to Awakening (bodhi-pakkhiya-dhamma). The material is arranged in three parts, preceded by a long Introduction. The Introduction tries to define the concept of Enlightenment so as to give a clear sense of where the Wings to Awakening are headed.

The Mind like Fire Unbound

Early Buddhism borrowed two of its central terms from the workings of fire. Upadana, or clinging, originally referred to the fuel that kept fire burning; nibbana, the name of the goal, to a fire's going out. This is the first book to examine these terms from the perspective of how the early Buddhists themselves viewed fire--what they saw happening as a fire burned, and what happened to the fire when it went out--to show what light this perspective throws on Buddhist doctrine in general, and the practice of meditation in particular.

Guide Through the Abhidhamma Pitaka

Guide Through the Abhidhamma Pitaka – A synopsis of the Philosophical. Collection oft he Buddhist Pali Canon Followed by an essay on Dependent Origination (Pratītyasamutpāda) by Nyanatiloka Mahathera was publised first in 1938. This is a reprint of the second revised edition from 1957.

The Power of Now

It's no wonder that The Power of Now has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 30 foreign languages. Much more than simple principles and platitudes, the book takes readers on an inspiring spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self and reach the ultimate in personal growth and spirituality: the discovery of truth and light. In the first chapter, Tolle introduces readers to enlightenment and its natural enemy, the mind.

Tales of Power

Carlos Castaneda is the author of a range of books on his alleged meetings with a group of Mexican sorcerers. According to the books, Carlos Castaneda became the pupil of the Indians Don Juan and Don Genaro who during many years introduced him to the world of traditional Mesoamerican shamanism. Starting with The Teachings of Don Juan in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that describe his purported training . His 12 books have sold more than 8 million copies in 17 languages.

Virtue and Reality

Virtue and Reality by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. The teachings of the Buddha, can be divided into two overall categories: extensive method and profound wisdom. In the context of the teachings presented here, method is the loving, compassionate bodhicitta and wisdom is the realization of ultimate reality, the right view of emptiness. It would be hard to find a simpler, clearer, more practical explanation of these two fundamental paths than the one Lama Zopa offers us here. Through practicing method, we attain the holy body of a Buddha; through developing wisdom we attain the enlightened mind.

Wisdom and the seventy-three kinds of mundane and supramundane knowledge

The Seventy Three Kinds of Knowledge describes at a glance the knowledges Buddhas and their disciples gain in the attainment of mundane and supramundane states. Since these knowledges are, as a Summary, very briefly stated, the present translation has explanatory notes in order to facilitate the reader understand them, at least intellectually, more easily. These explanations are based on the Pañisambhidà-magga, the Visuddhi-magga and their corresponding commentaries, and their references are clearly distinguished.

Can Killing a Living Being Ever Be an Act of Compassion?

In the Theravdin exegetical tradition, the notion that a intentionally killing a living being is wrong involves a claim that when certain mental states (such as compassion) are present in the mind, it is simply impossible that one could act in certain ways (such as to intentionally kill). Contrary to what Keown has claimed, the only criterion for judging whether an act is “moral” (kusala) or “immoral” (akusala) in Indian systematic Buddhist thought is the quality of the intention that motivates it.

Critical Review of the Book: Buddhism and Science

The great Marxist sinologist Joseph Needham blamed Buddhism for stifling science and technology in China while they flourished in Europe. In claiming that everything is an illusion, Buddhism ‘played a part in strangling the development of Chinese science’. Zen Buddhism, in ‘rejecting all philosophy’ was also unfavourable to a scientific view. Since the Buddha refused to speculate, Buddhism discouraged scientific research. Above all, its main object is to escape from this world, not to try to understand it. A ‘despairing’ and ‘perverse’ philosophy, he concludes.

Transmission and Enlightenment in Chan Buddhism Seen Through the Platform Sūtra (Liuzu tanjing 六祖壇經)

Transmission of the Dharma is at the center of Chan (also known as Zen) Buddhist identity and self-understanding. In the mature Chan school, the basis for Dharma transmission is seen as the moment when a Chan master recognizes that a student has attained the same enlightened state that he himself has achieved. By receiving Dharma transmission the student becomes a member of a Chan lineage that goes directly back to the Buddha himself and, in principle, his enlightenment is recognized as equal to that of all the past masters in his lineage.

Engaging in Bodhisattva Behaviour

Engaging in Bodhisattva Behaviour (sPyod-‘jug, Bodhisattvacharya-avatara) by Shantideva is text translated from Tibetan by Alexander Berzin, 2005. It was composed by the teacher Shantideva (first half of the eighth century C. E.). It was translated into Tibetan,edited, and settled upon from a Kashmiri manuscript by the learned Indian master Sarvajna-deva and the editor-translator monk Peltseg (early ninth century C. E.).

The Lankavatara Sutra

The present translation of D.T. Suzuki is based upon the Sanskrit edition of Bunyu Nanjo (1923). This edition reflects those fundamental themes of Buddhism which the Mahayana in general cherishes and upholds. It looks at existence from the absolute and relative realms, and thinks that suffering will be experienced so long as one confines oneself to the realm of the relative. Since the relative cannot be ultimately realm, it has to be seen as nothing more than a projection of the mind.

In the Spirit of Ch’an

In the Spirit of Ch’an is a window on the world of Chinese Zen (Ch’an), this little booklet is a short summary of Ch’an Buddhist thought distilled from Master Sheng-yen’s published and unpublished materials. It is published in the hope of providing beginners and the general public with a new and fresh perspective on the self, the mind,and the nature of our relationships and interactions in the world. Students of other spiritual denominations and Buddhist traditions will find it a helpful guide to understanding the basic ideas and methods of Ch’an.

The Manuals of Ledi Dipani

The Manuals of Ledi Dipani is written by the Burmese Buddhist monk Maha-Thera Ledi Sayadaw and is actually three books: The Vipassana Dapani – or the Manual of Insight, Niyama Dipani or the Manual of Cosmic Order, and Patthanuddasa Dipani – or the Buddhist Philosophy of Relations. These instructions are meant as initial studies before commencing the Practice of Exercise of Insight also know as vipassana-kammattathana in the Theravada tradition.

The Sweet Dews of Ch’an (Zen)

As an outcome of Dhyana, you will be able to observe these phenomena very clearly because your “mental mirror” is very clear, for there are no more disturbances to veil it. Out of these observations will come Transcendental Wisdom, which in Sanskrit is called “Prajna.” This book The Sweet Dews of Ch’an (Zen) is a series of lectures on practical Zen meditation.

Patipadā

Patipadā is a translation of the Dhutanga Kammaṭṭhāna practices of Venerable Ajaan Mun Bhūridatta Thera. This book includes many things that may not be easy to understand for the reader who is not familiar with the theory and practice of Theravada Buddhism. For this reason the reader may find that for the first reading it is better to skip over many of the deeper explanations of the Dhamma teaching, and to go on to the methods and practices of the Ācariyas which are related herein.

The Venerable Phra Acariya Mun Bhuridatta Thera, Meditation Master

The aim of spiritual liberation must be accomplished by appropriate means: The Middle Way as taught by Buddha. Although the Buddha forbade the use of self-mortification as a means to gain enlightenment, he authorized and encouraged specialized ascetic practices, known as Dhutangas. The true Middle Way is not the smooth path of least resistance negotiated with easy compromises and happy mediums; but rather, it is that path of practice which most effectively counters the mental defilements that impede progress by resisting the aspirant every step of the way.

A Song of Milarepa

"A Song of Milarepa – An Authentic Expression of the Middle Way" is a book from Milarepa that was translated by Geshe In Drin. It is a song about the approach of the Kadampa geshe who is stuck at the level of words and the approach of the yogi who has practised at and attained to the meaning beyond words.

The Complete Pythagoras

The Complete Pythagoras is a compilation of two books. The first is entitled The Life Of Pythagoras and contains the four biographies of Pythagoras that have survived from antiquity: that of Iamblichus (280-333 A.D.), Porphry (233-306 A.D.), Photius (ca 820- ca 891 A.D.) and Diogenes Laertius (180 A.D.). The second is entitled Pythagorean Library and is a complete collection of the surviving fragments from the Pythagoreans.

Mahanirvana Tantra

Mahanirvana Tantra – Tantra of the Great Liberation Translated by Arthur Avalon. This is one of the best known of the Tantric scriptures. It was translated by Sir John Woodroffe (under the pseudonym ‘Arthur Avalon‘), one of the few Indologists to gain direct access to this obscure and secretive branch of Hinduism. Framed as a conversation between the god Shiva and goddess Shaki, this text describes the chakra, or subtle energy structure of the human body, ceremonies, yogic practices and mantras for meditation, and a summary of the Hindu laws (dharma) regarding sexual behavior.

Bag of Bones

The body is thought to be most obviously “me,” what I regard as the most tangible part of myself. Around it therefore are constructed many views, all of them distorted to some extent, which prevent insight arising into the body as it really is. This book is a small anthology relating to the body in various ways, and presents material which, if contemplated by the earnest and sincere student of Dhamma, will eventually provide fruitful insight and, thereby, freedom from the many desires and fears centered on the body.

The Science of Breath & the Philosophy of the Tatwas

The Science of Breath & the Philosophy of the Tatwas by Rama Prasad is an ancient text translated from sanskrit. It deals with breathing and breaths potential as a tool for spriritual enlightenment. The book goes in deep details about the nature of breathing from a scientific viewpoint and thereby give us both an understanding of the early Aryan culture and the basics of all later breathing techniques.

Mae Chee Kaew

This book presents the life and the practice of a woman who reached the pinnacle of Buddhist practice. She was known as Mae Chee Kaew. Mae Chee Kaew felt the calling to a spiritual life at an early age. Blessed as a girl with the good fortune to meet some of the most renowned meditation masters of her era, she took their teachings on meditation to heart and, with youthful enthusiasm, earnestly put them into practice. Due to a favorable disposition, she soon developed into a child prodigy, skilled in the art of samādhi meditation.

An Outline of Occult Science

From the intro: "My knowledge of things of the spirit is a direct result of my own perception, and I am fully conscious of this fact. In all details I had always examined myself carefully as to whether every step I took in the progress of my perception was accompanied by a fully awake consciousness.

A Dialogue With Oneself

A Dialogue With Oneself by J. Krishnamurti is a two-part short book. It consists of a discussion on love and attachment and discussion known as the Brockwood Park 1st Public Dialogue held at 30th August 1977. From the book:

The Renaissance in India and Other Essays on Indian culture

The book is based on the Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo. Sri Arobindo (15 August 1872 - 5 December 1950) was an Indian nationalist and freedom fighter, major Indian English poet, philosopher, and yogi. He joined the movement for India's freedom from British rule and for a duration (1905 - 10), became one of its most important leaders,before turning to developing his own vision and philosophy of human progress and spiritual evolution. The central theme of Sri Aurobindo's vision is the evolution of life into a "life divine". In his own words: "Man is a transitional being. He is not final.

I am That

The forms around us, says Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, are constituted of the five elements. They are transient, and in a state of perpetual flux. Also they are governed by the law of causation. All this applies to the body and the mind also, both of which are transient and subject to birth and death. We know that only by means of the bodily senses and the mind can the world beknown. As in the Kantian view, it is a correlate of the human knowing subject, and, therefore, has the fundamental structure of our way of knowing.

The Mark

The Mark by Maurice Nicoll, from the intro: “Man touches the Earth with his physical feet, but he touches life with his psychological feet. His most external psychological level is sensual, a matter of sensation, a matter of the senses. That is, his most external thinking and feeling arise from what he perceives from sense. This level represents the feet of his psychological being as distinct from the feet of his physical being, and the kind of shoes which cover his feet represent his particular views, opinions, and attitudes that he wears or uses in his approach to sense-given life.

The New Man

The New Man By Maurice Nicoll. From the introduction: ALL sacred writings contain an outer and an inner meaning. Behind the literal words lies another range of meaning, another form of knowledge. According to an old−age tradition, Man once was in touch with this inner knowledge and inner meaning. There are many stories in the Old Testament which convey another knowledge, a meaning quite different from the literal sense of the words.

Secret of the Golden Flower

Secret of the Golden Flower. This ancient esoteric treatise was transmitted orally for centuries before being recorded on a series of wooden tablets in the eighth century. It was recorded by a member of the Religion of Light, whose leader was the Taoist adept Lu Yen (also known as Lu Yen and Lu “Guest of the Cavern”). It is said that Lu Tzu became one of the Eight Immortals using these methods. The ideas have been traced back to Persia and the Zarathustra tradition and its roots in the Egyptian Hermetic tradition.

Amata Dhamma – Six Talks on Dhamma

Amata Dhamma – Six Talks on Dhamma. From the intro: “The Dhamma of Buddha was expounded correctly and properly. It was not hidden or obscure but was presented according to the truths existing on every level of Dhamma. It proclaims, for example, that virtue and vice, hell, heaven and Nibbãna really do exist, that kilesas are true, that they are real and that they prevail just like the other more apparent things. There are no contradictions, so why are these things a problem for us? The Dhamma was openly presented. There was nothing esoteric and mystical about it.

Consciousness and the Absolute

Consciousness and the Absolute with the subtitle “The Final Talks of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj” were recorded shortly before Nisargadatta’s death in 1981, and translated carefully to English with no changes. In a question and answer format the visitors and devotees accompanied the master during his final teachings.

Jesus in India

Jesus in India by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian is one of the original sources of the controversial theory of Jesus’ visit to India. According to this book, first published in 1908, Jesus went to Kashmir and Tibet after deliverance from death on the cross. The author documents his theories through documents from Buddhist, Christian and Muslim sources. Much of this research is the foundations for later books and bestseller on the topic.

How to Practice the Buddhadharma

How to Practice the Buddhadharma with the subtitle: A Lamp Illuminating the Path to Liberation by Sera Je Lharam Geshe Tsulga is a practical explanation of how to put the Buddha’s teachings into practice, with emphasis on the early stages of the path, guru devotion and the importance of dharma in light of reincarnation. The book gives excellent and throughout instructions for meditations. Geshe Tsulga fled Tibet in 1959 after the Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation. He arrived in USA in 1995 and is now teacher at Kurukulla Center in Boston.

The book of Oneself

A Dialogue With Oneself by J. Krishnamurti is a two-part short book. It consists of a discussion on love and attachment and discussion known as the Brockwood Park 1st Public Dialogue held at 30th August 1977.

The Ultimate Medicine

The Ultimate Medicine by Nisargadatta Maharaj was compiled during the last year of Nisargadatta’s life. The Ultimate Medicine gives detailed, advanced and precise instruction for spiritual aspirants seeking powerful antidotes to unawareness. Nisargadatta Maharaj is an extraordinary teacher from the Tantra Nath lineage. His style is abrupt and provocative, he cuts to the core and wastes little effort on inessentials.

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