Buddhism History

Throughout her long career of “afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted,” the cause closest to Molly Ivins’s heart was working to protect the freedoms we all value. Sadly, today we’re living in a time when dissent is equated with giving aid to terrorists, when any of us...

Why Has Nationalism Come Roaring Back? Trump in America, Brexit in the U.K., anti-EU parties in Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, and Hungary, and nativist or authoritarian leaders in Turkey, Russia, India, and China -- Why has nationalism suddenly returned with a...

A noted biblical scholar explores how the claim of divine choice has been used from ancient times to the present to justify territorial expansion and prejudice. The Bible describes many individuals and groups as specially chosen by God. But does God choose at all? Michael Coogan explains the...

Meet the members of the Sunset Club: Pandit Preetam Sharma; Nawab Barkatullah Baig and Sardar Boota Singh. Friends for over forty years; they are now in their eighties. And every evening; at the sunset hour; they sit together on a bench in Lodhi Gardens to exchange news and views on the...

"Sanam is a carefree, but headstrong young girl. A spat with a politician's son pushes her take up a big challenge-to become an IAS. At the same time, a small-town boy, Aamir, is nudged into studying for the civil services too. Their hard work pays off when both become rank holders.And soon...

"Business law in medieval and early modern India developed within thevoluminous and multifaceted texts called the Dharmashastras. These texts laiddown rules for merchants, traders, guilds, farmers and individuals in terms ofthe complex religious, legal and moral ideal of dharma.This exciting...

Venkat Iyer was living a fast-paced life in the IT world in Mumbai when he decided to stop and take a long, hard look at where he was headed. Disheartened by his stressful existence in the city, he decided to give it all up and take up organic farming in a small village near Mumbai. But...

The Buddha and Jesus Christ are two great spiritual leaders who founded two important world religions. Though they are similar in certain respects, they differ greatly one from the other as founders of religion, in the same way that their doctrines differ from one another. This paper aims at making a brief comparative study of these two great personages in their role as religious teachers.

Banned in China, this controversial and politically charged novel tells the story of the search for an entire month erased from official Chinese history. Beijing, sometime in the near future: a month has gone missing from official records. No one has any memory of it, and no one could care...

Rick Warren is arguably the most influential man in American religion today. Megachurch pastor, friend of world leaders, and trend-setting spiritual entrepreneur, he is widely recognized as the new public face of evangelical Christianity in America. No other modern churchman has matched his...

The ancient world and its politics come to life through the eyes of a young Jewish woman, Mary of Nazareth Miriam–also known as Mary–was born into a Palestine oppressed by Herod the Great; she is accustomed to living with uncertainty and unrest. But when her beloved father is wrongly...

The mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II is not only a tale of injustice; it is a moving story of faith. In this pathbreaking account, Duncan Ryuken Williams reveals how, even as they were stripped of their homes and imprisoned in camps, Japanese American Buddhists launched one of the most inspiring defenses of religious freedom in our nation's history, insisting that they could be both Buddhist and American.

Movie fans and spiritual seekers, unite! In Cinema Nirvana, veteran meditation teacher and film critic Dean Sluyter illuminates the hidden enlightenment teachings of Casablanca, Jaws, The Graduate, The Godfather, Memento, Easy Rider, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Big Sleep, Fistful of Dollars, and half a dozen more classic films, revealing spiritual wisdom in everything from 007's secret weapons to the colors of the Seven Dwarfs' eyes. So grab your popcorn, sit back, and prepare to have your mind opened. Cinema Nirvana is a funny but wise, practical but wildly entertaining guide to finding enlightenment...one movie at a time.

The murder of a young Tibetan nun at the hands of Chinese border guards at the rooftop of the world offers a unique parable for the tale of modern Tibet. Chinese police are instructed to take any measures necessary to protect the border of Tibet. When a group of climbers witness the murder of a young Tibetan nun who is fleeing to India, two men have a choice: turn a blind eye and preserve their climbing careers or alert the world to the grand scale of human injustice played out daily in Tibet.

There are many religions practiced by people today such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Taoism, and Hinduism, among others. There are people, however, who do not associate themselves with any religion and they are commonly referred to as atheists. Most religions are focused on a Supreme Being or deity.

Buddhism is often considered a religion by new practitioners. For many Buddhists it is more of a way of life than a religion. Buddhists believe meditation and other practices will lead to changes in oneself. These changes are aimed at creating awareness, wisdom, and kindness within in order to reach spiritual enlightenment. Buddhism represents the end of suffering for anyone able to attain enlightenment, because the person no longer dwells on what they lack but learns to live with the reality of what is, without needs, wants, or desires.

Composer John Cage sought the silence of a mind at peace with itself - and found it in Zen Buddhism, a spiritual path that changed both his music and his view of the universe. "Remarkably researched, exquisitely written", Where the Heart Beats weaves together "a great many threads of cultural history" (Maria Popova, Brain Pickings) to illuminate Cage’s struggle to accept himself and his relationship with choreographer Merce Cunningham. Freed to be his own man, Cage originated exciting experiments that set him at the epicenter of a new avant-garde forming in the 1950s.

From the Eastern religions of Buddhism and Taoism to the Abrahamic religions that billions across the globe follow, this audiobook provides a detailed introduction to some of the world’s major religions, breaking down their fundamental concepts in a way that anyone can understand. With insightful explanations and an unbiased approach, An Introduction to the World Religions is a must-listen for anyone interested in learning about the belief systems that billions of people practice.

This book reveals that the Buddha of Nepalese birth, otherwise known as Gautama Buddha and the avatar Buddha who appeared approximately 1000 years prior in Gaya, India are two distinct individuals with two distinct philosophical traditions. Especially investigated is the philosophy of Sri Sankacarya, whose interpretations of the Vedas were so bewildering that not only did he succeed in driving Buddhism out of India, but moreover convinced a following of scholars that Hinduism is in essence monistic.

A no-nonsense guide to the evolution of meditation, mindfulness, and enlightenment in modern-day society—from their religious origins in the East to their more secular incarnations in the West Evolving Dharma is the definitive guide to the meditation revolution. Fearless, unorthodox, and...