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The Reason Sixty is the most concise philosophical work by the second-century Indian Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna. This translation was prepared on the basis of a careful reading of both the Sanskrit original and its Tibetan translation and by consulting Candrakirti’s commentary (Tengyur, Dergé, dbu ma Ya, p.1a – 30b) as well as Je Tsongkhapa’s Notes on the “Sixty Stanzas of Reasoning” (rigs pa drug cu pa’i zin bris, The Collectected Works of Je Tsongkhapa, vol.ba).

Gendun Chopel is considered the most important Tibetan intellectual of the twentieth century. His life spanned the two defining moments in modern Tibetan history: the entry into Lhasa by British troops in 1904 and by Chinese troops in 1951. Recognized as an incarnate lama while he was a child, Gendun Chopel excelled in the traditional monastic curriculum and went on to become expert in fields as diverse as philosophy, history, linguistics, geography, and tantric Buddhism.

Sociology is a discipline through which Buddhism could be gainfully looked at. Ven. Dr. Gnanarama, with his erudite knowledge of Buddhism and formal training in Philosophy endeavours to look at early Buddhist Sociological Thought. In the first chapter he starts with an apt definition of early Buddhism in the perspective of various philosophies. In chapter two, Buddhism and Buddhist teachings are looked at from the perspective of medicine.

Glimpses of World Religions explores the essential elements and teachings of the world's major religions: Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zorastrianism, Judiasm, Confucianism, Taoism, Sufism and Shintoism. The book explains that one reality is expressed in innumerable ways through different religions and that each expression is as true as the other. All religions are nothing but milk in vessels of different shapes and forms.

The Bible (from Greek τὰ βιβλία ta biblia "the books") is a collection of sacred scripture of both Judaism and Christianity. There is no single version; both the individual books (Biblical canon) and their order vary between denominations.

“Religion is the set of beliefs, feelings, dogmas and practices that define the relations between human being and sacred or divinity. A given religion is defined by specific elements of a community of believers: dogmas, sacred books, rites, worship, sacrament, moral prescription, interdicts, organization. The majority of religions have developed starting from a revelation based on the exemplary history of a nation, of a prophet or a wise man who taught an ideal of life”.

Religion is a collection of behavior that is only unified in our Western conception of it. It need not have a natural unity. There is no reason to assume, and good reason not to assume, that all religious behavior evolved together at the same time in response to a single shift in the environment. This article does not look at the religion as a uni- fied entity and seek a definition of its essence. Instead, it looks at what science needs to know in order to discover how and why religion came into existence as a human behavior.

This English translation by J. Takakusu published originally as vol. XLIX of The Sacred Books of the East series (Oxford, 1894, public domain) has been edited for ease of reading and comprehension by modern readers. Footnotes from the original edition are dated and have thus been eliminated. A reprint of the unaltered and fully annotated translation exists in Dover paperback.

Translated into Chinese during the Ts’ao-Wei dynasty by the Tripitaka Master Samghavarman from India. Translated from Chinese into English by Hisao Inagaki. The text follows the Taisho Tripitaka edition, vol. 12, and the passage numbers follow Jodo-shinshu Seiten, 1988, pp. 3-83.

Nagarjuna is the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. The Mulamadhyamaka-Karika ("Fundamentals of the Middle Way") is his major work. It was originally composed in Sanskrit, and Sanskrit as well as early Tibetan versions of the work have survived, as have later Chinese translations.

Middle Beyond Extremes contains a translation of the Buddhist masterpiece Distinguishing the Middle from Extremes. This famed text, often referred to by its Sanskrit title, Madhyantavibhaga, is part of a collection known as the Five Maitreya Teachings. Maitreya, the Buddha's regent, is held to have entrusted these profound and vast instructions to the master Asanga in the heavenly realm of Tushita.

From Buddhism in Afghanistan to Zen Buddhism, this book offers an in-depth overview of this fascinating religion.In approximately 700 A-to-Z entries, "Encyclopedia of Buddhism" provides easy access to the terms, concepts, personalities, historical events, institutions, and movements that helped shape the history of Buddhism and the way it is practiced today.

This book provides the first English translation of Candrakirti's commentary (ca. 6-7th century C.E.) on four illusions that prevent us from becoming Buddhas. Lang's translation captures the clarity of Candrakirti's arguments and the lively humor of the stories and examples he uses. Lang's introduction explores the range of Candrakirti's interests in religion, philosophy, psychology, politics, and erotic poetry.

Western scholars have traditionally considered the earliest sūtra in the Prajñāpāramitā class to be the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra or "Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines", which was probably put in writing in the 1st century BCE. This chronology is based on the views of Edward Conze, who largely considered dates of translation into other languages. The first translation of the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā into Chinese occurred in the 2nd century CE.

This is a wonderful (fairly advanced) book, on Dzogchen with considerable material on Mahamudra woven in (see below). It addresses Jigme Lingpa's "Longchen Nyingtig" cycle of Termas (Treasure Texts) including discovered texts, texts resulting from "pure visions" of 14th century Dzogchen master Longchenpa while Jigme Lingpa (18th century) was in retreat, and supporting texts authored by Jigme Lingpa. All but one of these texts has been included in both English and Tibetan. Van Schaik's introductory material focuses upon certain main themes: simultaneous vs.

A psychologist in private practice and the director of the Buddhist Guhyasamaja Center in Virginia, Lorne Ladner has written a concise book that brings understanding to the Tibetan concept of compassion. In The Lost Art of Compassion: Discovering the Practice of Happiness in the Meeting of Buddhism and Psychology, he has brought his years of Buddhist meditation and mainstream psychology together into a workable formula that seeks to help people become their own therapists and seek their own inner peace, allowing them to then look outward and do good in the world.

The Tibetan Books of the Dead are a diverse collection of Buddhist scriptures that yield valuable insight into the psychology of death and dying and suggest the importance of meditative practice and knowledge as tools for self-understanding. This in-depth study of this rich body of Buddhist literature details the Tibetan Buddhist belief in the bardos, of intermediate states, and serves as an illuminating companion volume to The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Aiming to overcome the limitations of our biographical knowledge about one of the most famous Indian philosophers, Joseph Walser's ambitious Nāgārjuna in Context seeks to locate the progenitor of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist thought (generally taken to have flourished around 150 CE) with historical precision. Nāgārjuna's influential but enigmatic works were composed, Walser argues, “in a Mahāsāṅghika monastery in or near an urban center in the Lower Krishna River Valley in [what is now] modern Andhra Pradesh” (14), probably between 175 and 204 CE (86–87).

Despite the rapid spread of Buddhism -- especially the esoteric system of Tantra, one of its most popular yet most misunderstood forms -- the historical origins of Buddhist thought and practice remain obscure. This groundbreaking work describes the genesis of the Tantric movement in early medieval India, where it developed as a response to, and in some ways an example of, the feudalization of Indian society.

Armstrong carefully ties the Buddha's time to our own and champions his spiritual discoveries with an understated dignity that even the Buddha might bless. While exercising a scholar's restraint, she reveals a detectable compassion for Sidhatta Gotama, the radical who walked away from a pleasure palace because he refused to "remain locked in an undeveloped version" [of himself]. Armstrong overcame peculiar challenges to write about this historical figure who became "a type rather than an individual," as his personality and life particulars evaporated into the power of his selflessness.

Death is a subject that most people do not like to hear about, talk about, or even think about. Why is this? After all, whether we like it or not, each and every one of us will have to die one day. And even before we have to face our own death, we will most probably have to face the deaths of other people our family members, friends, colleagues, and so forth. Death is a reality, a fact of life, so wouldn’t it be better to approach it with openness and acceptance, rather than fear and denial?

Buddhism Plain & Simple did live up to its name. Throughout the book, Hagen made it evident that Buddhism is about being awake in the present moment. Hagen said, “Our journey must be two awaken here and now, to awaken to here and now. To be fully alive, we must be fully present” (19). To do this, Hagen examined the human situation of suffering, gave ways to wake up, and showed the benefits of having a free mind.

This text, the Bequeathed Teaching Sutra (Fo chui ban nie pan liao shuo jiao jiejing, or Yijiaojing for short), was translated into Chinese around 400 C.E. and became an influential text often cited and commented on among Chinese Buddhists in the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties. In Chan (Zen) communities in particular, it was considered a basic reference, taught and studied through the ages.

This course describes a series of meditation exercises and practical advice on how to apply them. It works best if you follow the course progressively, giving each sequence of instructions a good 'work-out' before proceeding further.

This book is an edited transcript of Rinpoche’s teachings during the Vajrasattva retreat at Land of Medicine Buddha, California, February through April, 1999. It contains explanations of the various practices done during the retreat, such as Vajrasattva purification, prostrations to the Thirty-five Buddhas, Lama Chöpa, making light offerings, liberating animals and much, much more. There are also many weekend public lectures covering general topics such as compassion and emptiness.

Vastly different in belief and practice, two new Buddhist religious movements in Thailand, namely the Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Santi Asoke emerged in Thailand in the 1970s at a time of political uncertainty, social change and increasing dissatisfaction with the Thai Sangha and its leadership.

This volume represents a newly revised and greatly expanded edition of Heinrich Dumoulin's acclaimed history of Zen Buddhism which was first published over 30 years ago. It has been updated to take into account the wealth of historical research that has gone on in the intervening years, insuring its place as a standard reference work in the field. This volume treats Zen from its roots in ancient Indian Buddhism and Yoga to its flowering in China under the influence of Taoism and Confucian thought.

The Venerable Myokyo-ni is one of today’s most distinguished teachers in the Rinzai Zen tradition. In Gentling the Bull she offers an insightful explanation of the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures, showing how they are a metaphor of both one’s Zen training and spiritual journey. The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures, also known as the Ten Bull Pictures, are believed to have been drawn by Kakuan, a twelfth-century Chinese Zen master, but became widely used as a means of Zen study in fifteenth-century Japan.

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

This article is the first of two comparing findings of studies of advanced practitioners of Tibetan Buddhist meditation in remote regions of the Himalayas, with established results on long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation programs. Many parallel levels of improvement were found, in sensory acuity, perceptual style and cognitive function, indicating stabilization of aspects of attentional awareness. Together with observed increases in EEG coherence and aspects of brain function, such changes are consistent with growth towards a state of total brain functioning, i.e.

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.

From the Jacket: "The book is an attempt to present the position of Buddhist laywomen and almswomen in historical perspective. For the study of the laywomen the author has exploited the material found in the Canonical literature, and the Commentaries on them".

In a probing analysis of the oldest Buddhist texts, Julius Evola places the doctrine of liberation in its original context. The early teachings, he suggests, offer the foremost example of an active spirituality that is opposed to the more passive, modern forms of theistic religions. This sophisticated, highly readable analysis of the theory and practice of Buddhist asceticism, first published in Italian in 1943 , elucidates the central truths of the eightfold path and clears away the later accretions of Buddhist doctrine.

From the Introduction: “In so far as the group of religious ideas called ‘Buddhism’ is conceded to have a history – and I have seen this denied by one or two! – it is generally held, that the earliest known stratum of this group, born in India and thence transplanted to South Asia, came to be known as Hina-yana (the lower ‘vehicle’), otherwise called Theravada (opinion of the elders).

This thoughtfully translated and organized volume is the cornerstone of any Buddhist library. The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha is a companion to the equally essential The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, The Long Discourses of the Buddha, and the 2005 anthology of Discourses of the Buddha. The 152 discourses of this major collection combine a rich variety of contextual settings with deep and comprehensive teachings.

The Connected Discourses of the Buddha is a complete translation of the Samyutta Nikaya -- the third great collection of the Buddha's discourses preserved in the Pali Canon -- containing all of the important short suttas on such major topics as the Four Noble Truths, dependent origination, and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Connected Discourses ranks as one of the most inspiring and indispensable.

From the first chapter: "Today India is again appearing on the Buddhist map of the world. Indians are awakening to their Buddhist past. In the second half of the nineteenth century—thanks to western and Indian archaeologists and orientalists—Indians began to be surprised at the discovery of the Buddhist legacy. To talk of a “revival of Buddhism” in modern India is right in this sense of the discovery of the Buddhist heritage by Indians. Even today the process of the discovery of Buddhism in India is still going on.

The purpose of this book is straightforward. It is to serve as an accessible guide for students wishing to reach as quickly as possible a familiarity with the basic ideas of Buddhist philosophical and religious thought, and the results of some of the latest research in the field. A good understanding of the way Buddhism developed in India is an essential prerequisite for any appreciation of Buddhist ideas elsewhere, in Tibet, China, or Japan and the other countries of East Asia.

Pratyupanna: Translated from the Chinese by Paul Harrison - Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 1988 - this sutra is one of the oldest Mahayana sutras and describes the techniques which have become the basis of an ambulatory meditation practice called "jog-yo-zanmai" in Japanese. [Taisho Volume 13, Number 418] [Ch: Pan-chou-san-mei-ching] [Jpn: Han-ju-zan-mai-kyo]

There are four translations exit in Chinese: T13, No. 416, 417, 418, 419. BDK English Tripitaka 25-II is the translation of T13, No. 418.

This present book systemizes the notes of lectures that I gave on numerous occasions at Taisho University. As these notes are now being printed in book form, this book will be entitled Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History, which points to the major concern of this work: the development and changes that Pure Land doctrines have undergone in China. However, religious doctrines are accompanied by faith, and this in turn carries within itself an impetus to dissemination and expansion.

圆融，乃“中国化”佛学——天台宗、华严宗、禅宗、真言宗等诸宗思想的重要内容，霍韬晦先生认为：绝对与圆融，乃中国佛学的特质，“中国佛教的整个方向都是向圆融之路而趋”。此言可谓如实。圆融，近代以来也曾受到一些学者的批评，认为是中国佛学的一大缺点。从圆融思想的内涵看，其形成虽然不无中国本土儒、道两家思想的制约，而系依据印度大乘经论诠释发挥，处处引经据典，深得大乘精髓，是中印圣者智慧的结晶。在世界各种宗教教义中，圆融思想独树一帜，引人注目，有其独具的价值，对21世纪的人类而言，特具现实意义。

　　一、圆融思想的源流及其哲学义蕴

　　圆融一语，很难找到相对应的梵、巴原语，亦非中国诸子百家古籍中本有的词语，是中国佛教理论家所创造。《辞源》解释：“圆融，佛教语。破除偏执，圆满融通。”圆，《说文》释为“圜全也”，圜则“天体也”，是则“圆”字之义，是像天一样完全。“融”字早见于《左传》等，《辞源》解释有明亮、溶化、流通长远、和谐等义。圆与融组合在一起，字面含义基本为圆满融通，有整体无亏、无滞碍、不偏执、消融一切矛盾、和谐和解的意思。在佛学中，圆融更有其特定的深刻义蕴。《佛光大词典》解释说：

Enter into the colourful world of tantric Buddhism, with its unique visualizations, liturgies, initiations, and "inner yoga" as practiced in Tibet and conveyed by Tibetan masters teaching in the West. Using non technical language, engaging stories, and personal anecdotes, Reginald Ray demonstrates how the practice of tantra opens up an appreciation for ordinary life - the world of sensory experience, of pleasure and pain - as the place where ultimate revelation occurs.

For centuries Tibetan Buddhist contemplatives have directly explored consciousness through carefully honed rigorous techniques of meditation. B. Allan Wallace explains the methods and experiences of Tibetan practitioners and compares these with investigations of consciousness by Western scientists and philosophers. Balancing the Mind includes a translation of the classic discussion by fifteenth century Tibetan contemplative Tsongkhapa of methods for developing exceptionally high degrees of attentional stability and clarity.

This book helps to fill what has long been a gap in the scholarship on Early Buddhism, offering us detailed textual study of the Sattipatthana Sutta the foundational Buddhist discourse on meditation practice.

As in all the major religions, there is a wisdom behind the theology of Buddhism that informs the believer in daily life. Stephen Batchelor would argue that the difference with Buddhism is that the wisdom is in fact independent of the theology and is not informative to believers only, but to everyone. In Buddhism Without Beliefs Batchelor lays out the major tenets of Buddhist wisdom, commenting on their relevance to modern life. The Buddha said that seekers must find the Truth for themselves, and Batchelor offers this book as a roadmap.

"Paticcasamuppada is a profound teaching," - said the Buddha - "so profound, in fact, that most people are not able to penetrate the Law of Dependent Origination." The Buddha's words to Ananda are as true today as they were 2,500 years ago. Paticcasamuppada, which is the heart of Buddhism, is difficult to see clearly and, thus, has become the center of grave misunderstandings and distortions.

In the rush of modern life, we tend to lose touch with the peace that is available in each moment. World-renowned Zen master, spiritual leader, and author Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how to make positive use of the very situations that usually pressure and antagonize us. Dirty dishes, red lights, and traffic jams are spiritual friends on the path to "mindfulness" - the process of keeping our consciousness alive to our present experience and reality.