Being Human in a Buddhist World
Critically exploring medical thought in a cultural milieu with no discernible influence from the European Enlightenment, Being Human in a Buddhist World reveals an otherwise unnoticed intersection of early modern sensibilities and religious values...
Buddhism in Five Minutes
In Buddhism in Five Minutes, academic specialists offer answers to 75 questions about Buddhism that people curious about Buddhism might ask. The questions cover the Buddha, what the Buddha taught, Buddhist monasticism and the role of lay people, the historical development of Buddhism, Buddhist art, Buddhist ethics, Buddhist responses to other religions, and Buddhist thought on contemporary issues. They include: Who is the fat Buddha figure? Can we know what the historical Buddha taught? What is Nirva?a? Why do Buddhists meditate? Does Buddhism support gender equality? What is Zen Buddhism? Are Buddhists pacifist? What do Buddhists think about those who are LGBTQI? Are alcohol and drugs ever acceptable to Buddhists? How do Buddhists view Artificial Intelligence? Taken together the questions cover most aspects of Buddhist belief and practice in the contemporary world. The collection is sponsored by the UK Association for Buddhist Studies but contributors are drawn from Asia, North
Buddhism and Healing in the Modern World
This rich collection focuses on the nexus between Buddhism and healing in the modern and contemporary world, highlighting the many ways Buddhists have adapted in response to and in dialogue with modern science, biomedicine, and other facets of modernity from the nineteenth century to today. Buddhist healing activities are much more diverse than the narrow range of mindfulness techniques that have dominated scholarly and popular focus. From the community-based healing practices of Asian American Buddhists and transnational Tantric sex therapy retreats to concerns about balancing being contemporary with being authentically Buddhist, contributors explore how Buddhists have rethought the mind-body relationship against the backdrop of the modernization and globalization of Buddhism. They examine Buddhists navigating the differences and commonalities that exist in their practice and modern systems of mental and physical healthcare, paying attention to how they have negotiated shifting
Being a Buddhist Nun
They may shave their heads, don simple robes, and renounce materialism and worldly desires. But the women seeking enlightenment in a Buddhist nunnery high in the folds of Himalayan Kashmir invariably find themselves subject to the tyrannies of sub...
Being a Human
A SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022 'A thrilling deep-dive through our evolutionary past, and a witty and learned commentary on why we are the way we are - and what wisdom we've lost along the way' Cal Flynn, author of Islands of Abandonment 'A wild...
A Critique of Western Buddhism
What are we to make of Western Buddhism? This open access book argues that in aligning their tradition with the contemporary wellness industry, Western Buddhists evade the consequences of Buddhist thought. Glenn Wallis shows that with concepts such as vanishing, nihility, extinction, contingency, and no-self, Buddhism, like all potent systems of thought, articulates a notion of the “real.” Raw, unflinching acceptance of this real is held by Buddhism to be at the very core of human “awakening.” Yet these preeminent human truths are universally shored up against in contemporary Buddhist practice, contravening the very heart of Buddhism. The author’s critique of Western Buddhism is threefold. It is immanent, in emerging out of Buddhist thought but taking it beyond what it itself publicly concedes; negative, in employing the “democratizing” deconstructive methods of François Laruelle’s non-philosophy; and re-descriptive, in applying Laruelle’s concept of philofiction. Through applying
Being Benevolence
Engaged Buddhist leaders make some of the most important contributions in the Buddhist world to thinking about issues in political theory, human rights, nonviolence, and social justice. ""Being Benevolence"" provides for the fi...
Buddhism and Violence
It is generally accepted in the West that Buddhism is a ‘peaceful’ religion. The Western public tends to assume that the doctrinal rejection of violence in Buddhism would make Buddhist pacifists, and often expects Buddhist societies or individual Asian Buddhists to conform to the modern Western standards of ‘peaceful’ behavior. This stereotype – which may well be termed ‘positive Orientalism,’ since it is based on assumption that an ‘Oriental’ religion would be more faithful to its original non-violent teachings than Western Christianity – has been periodically challenged by enthusiastic acquiescence by monastic Buddhism to the most brutal sorts of warfare. This volume demolishes this stereotype, and produces instead a coherent, nuanced account on the modern Buddhist attitudes towards violence and warfare, which take into consideration both doctrinal logic of Buddhism and the socio-political situation in Asian Buddhist societies. The chapters in this book offer a deeper analysis of
Being Human in a Consumer Society
This book offers a new perspective on sociological studies of the consumer society, introducing neglected normative questions relating to the good life and human flourishing - subjects more commonly discussed in fields of moral, political, and soc...
Buddhist World
The Buddhist World joins a series of books on the world's great religions and cultures, offering a lively and up-to-date survey of Buddhist studies for students and scholars alike. It explores regional varieties of Buddhism and core topics includi...
Adventures in Human Being
Sunday Times bestseller We have a lifetime's association with our bodies, but for many of us they remain uncharted territory. In Adventures in Human Being, Gavin Francis leads the reader on a journey through health and illness, offering insights o...
Socially Engaged Buddhism
Socially Engaged Buddhism is an introduction to the contemporary movement of Buddhists, East and West, who actively engage with the problems of the world - social, political, economic, and environmental - on the basis of Buddhist ideas, values, an...
On Buddhism
Six lectures by eminent Buddhist thinker Keiji Nishitani reflecting on Buddhism for the modern world. On Buddhism presents the first English-language translation of a series of lectures by Keiji Nishitani (1900-1990), a major Buddhist thinker and ...
Early Buddhist Society
A richly scholarly yet accessible and imaginative account of society in the time of the Buddha. What might daily life have been like in India in the time of the Buddha? Who were some of the rulers, monks, philosophers, devotees, and doctors with whom the Buddha would have interacted and had discussions? What was involved in spreading the message of Buddhism and setting up the Buddhist sangha (order)? What were the schisms and factions, and what was the nature of opposition to Buddhism from Brahmin hegemony? A great deal is known about Buddhist tenets and doctrine, but very little exists on the lived context of the Buddha himself. Early Buddhist texts in Pali reveal a society in ways that other texts relating to Buddhism, as well as the Brahmanical literature, do not. Xinru Liu reads this literature, along with the earliest Buddhist artworks on stupas, to argue that the historical Buddha does not really exist in the imagination of most people, including Buddhists. In this book, she
Early Buddhist Society
A richly scholarly yet accessible and imaginative account of society in the time of the Buddha. What might daily life have been like in India in the time of the Buddha? Who were some of the rulers, monks, philosophers, devotees, and doctors with whom the Buddha would have interacted and had discussions? What was involved in spreading the message of Buddhism and setting up the Buddhist sangha (order)? What were the schisms and factions, and what was the nature of opposition to Buddhism from Brahmin hegemony? A great deal is known about Buddhist tenets and doctrine, but very little exists on the lived context of the Buddha himself. Early Buddhist texts in Pali reveal a society in ways that other texts relating to Buddhism, as well as the Brahmanical literature, do not. Xinru Liu reads this literature, along with the earliest Buddhist artworks on stupas, to argue that the historical Buddha does not really exist in the imagination of most people, including Buddhists. In this book, she
Being Human
What is consciousness? Is the mind a machine? What makes us persons? What does it mean to aspire to human maturity? These are among the fundamental questions that Rowan Williams helps us to think about in this deeply engaging exploration of what i...
Being Human
'Illuminating' TIM MARSHALL, bestselling author of The Future of Geography 'Refreshing' THOMAS HALLIDAY, bestselling author of Otherlands Our biology will change how you see the world. Lewis Dartnell explores ho...
Being Human
Humanity and the very notion of the human subject are under threat from postmodernist thinking which has declared not only the 'Death of God' but also the 'Death of Man'. This book is a revindication of the concept of humanity, rejecting contempor...
Being Human
Humanity and the very notion of the human subject are under threat from postmodernist thinking which has declared not only the 'Death of God' but also the 'Death of Man'. This book is a revindication of the concept of humanity, rejecting contempor...
Being Human
Being Human is the third book in the Staying Alive series of anthologies. Staying Alive and its sequel Being Alive have introduced many thousands of new readers to contemporary poetry. Being Human is a companion volume to those two books - a world...
Being Human
'Your life is precious - a precious gift. It is sacred; every moment of it. The opportunity to live rather than sleepwalk through our days belongs to us. This book is a call to wake up. It is a call to each one of us; to wake up, to live before we...
Being Human
'Illuminating' TIM MARSHALL 'Refreshing' THOMAS HALLIDAY A mind-expanding, revolutionary journey across time that shows how our biology has determined human history for the first time. This book will change how you see the world. We're a wonder of...
Buddhism in the Nordic Countries
This book provides new unprecedented research on Buddhism in the five Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Aiming at comparisons between the different Nordic countries, the chapters identify possible unique characteristics of Nordic Buddhism. Buddhism in the Nordic Countries contributes to the growing literature on Buddhism in the West. Identifying a number of similar cultural and social trends that have been at work in the Nordic countries, the book shows that these have favoured the growth of Buddhism in northern Europe. The chapters on each of the Nordic countries describe the establishment of the main Buddhist traditions in the country, temple institutions, monasteries, demography, estimation on the number of Buddhists, geography, economy and funding. They discuss tensions between ethnic Buddhist and converts, if any, and controlling mechanisms of who is a proper Buddhist and how Buddhism should be presented in public space. The contributors analyse
Discovering Buddhism
Discovering Buddhism introduces Buddhism as a culture and civilization, a system of thought and a religion. This fascinating book presents the views and practices of all the main Buddhist traditions without bias and addresses the history of Buddhi...
Being Single in a Couple's World
Sometimes when you look around, it seems as if the entire world is coupled up. Family, friends, that couple holding hands walking down the street, everyone is either married or in a serious, committed relationship. If you're not one of those peopl...
The Extinction of Experience - Being Human in a Disembodied World
We embraced the mediated life-from Facetune and Venmo to meme culture and the Metaverse-because these technologies offer novelty and convenience. But they also transform our sense of self and warp the boundaries between virtual and real. What are ...
Buddhism in World Cultures
Buddhism in World Cultures
A New Buddhist Path
Engage with a new vision of Buddhism and the modern world with the bestselling author of Money Sex War Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution . David R. Loy addresses head-on the most pressing issues of Buddhist philosophy in our time. What ...
Human Being, Bodily Being
Human Being, Bodily Being
Being Human, Being Migrant
Migrant experiences accentuate general aspects of the human condition. Therefore, this volume explores migrant's movements not only as geographical movements from here to there but also as movements that constitute an embodied, cognitive, and exis...
Being Salmon, Being Human
Nautilus Award Silver Medal Winner, Ecology & Environment In search of a new story for our place on earthBeing Salmon, Being Human examines Western culture's tragic alienation from nature by focusing on the relationship between people and ...
Human Being, Bodily Being
Human Being, Bodily Being
Being Salmon, Being Human
Nautilus Award Silver Medal Winner, Ecology & Environment In search of a new story for our place on earth Being Salmon, Being Human examines Western culture's tragic alienation from nature by focusing on the relationship between people and...