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Text as Fatherby Alan Cole
University of California Press 2005; US$ 15.95This beautifully written work sheds new light on the origins and nature of Mahayana Buddhism with close readings of four well-known texts? the Lotus Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Tathagatagarbha Sutra, and Vimalakirtinirdesa. Treating these sutras as literary works rather than as straightforward philosophic or doctrinal treatises, Alan Cole argues that these writings were carefully sculpted to undermine traditional monastic Buddhism and to gain legitimacy and authority for Mahayana Buddhism as it was veering away from Buddhism?s older oral and institutional forms. His sophisticated and sustained analysis of the narrative structures and seductive literary strategies used in these sutras suggests that they were specifically written to encourage devotion... more...
Power, Wealth and Women in Indian Mahayana Buddhismby Douglas Osto
Taylor & Francis 2008; US$ 158.00This book presents the most detailed and theoretically sophisticated study of the important Mahayana Buddhist scripture Gandavyuha-sutra. The author puts forward a new approach to the study of Mahayana Buddhist sources, the systems approach, by which literature is viewed as embedded in a social system, and he analyses the key themes of power, wealth and women to its social context in ancient India. more...
The Diamond Sutraby Red Pine
Counterpoint 2002; US$ 20.00Zen Buddhism is often said to be a practice of mind-to-mind transmission without reliance on texts --in fact, some great teachers forbid their students to read or write. But Buddhism has also inspired some of the greatest philosophical writings of any religion, and two such works lie at the center of Zen: The Heart Sutra, which monks recite all over the world, and The Diamond Sutra, said to contain answers to all questions of delusion and dualism. This is the Buddhist teaching on the perfection of wisdom and cuts through all obstacles on the path of practice. As Red Pine explains: The Diamond Sutra may look like a book, but it's really the body of the Buddha. It's also your body, my body, all possible bodies. But it's a body with nothing inside... more...
Essence of the Heart Sutraby The Dalai Lama; Thupten Jinpa
Wisdom Publications 2005; US$ 14.95For more than 2,000 years, the Heart Sutra has been of central importance to millions of Buddhists. Whether memorized, chanted, or studied, this sacred text is often looked to for inspiration. Based on talks the Dalai Lama gave in the spring of 2001, Essence of the Heart Sutra is a masterful translation of the Dalai Lama's teachings and reflections on the Heart Sutra, teachings that provide fresh insights on a mainstay of Buddhist practice. In addition to providing the words of the Dalai Lama, this book also brings together an overview of Buddhism, background material, and complete commentaries to elucidate the teachings and place them in their proper context. These bonus materials make Essence of the Heart Sutra a book that can be valued... more...
The Heart of the Universeby Mu Soeng
Wisdom Publications 2010; US$ 15.95Though The Heart Sutra is an ancient Buddhist scripture, scholars are now discovering how it offers insight into the nature of an ultimate reality perceived through intuitive wisdom. Fascinatingly, quantum physicists are increasingly discovering interesting parallels between science and the basic insights of The Heart Sutra. In this important offering, Mu Soeng shows how the intellectual and the intuitive can begin to meet. In offering a commentary on this important piece of the world’s great religious literature, The Heart of the Universe establishes a broad context to encounter The Heart Sutra on many levels historical, spiritual, and empirical each serving to interdependently illuminate the other. more...
Opening the Heart of the Cosmosby Thich Nhat Hanh
Parallax Press 2003; US$ 16.99This book has been re-released with a new title, Peaceful Action, Open Heart. Peaceful Action, Open Heart is available as both a paperback and an ebook. The hardcover edition of Opening the Heart of the Cosmos is out of print. In both editions, Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how a revered Buddhist sutra can be a profound guide to transforming ourselves and the world. Teaching universal mindfulness, he speaks with the authority which comes from the depths of a people's suffering and yet has remained open and pure. Opening the Heart of the Cosmos highlights elements of the sutra as keys to global compassion, love, and understanding, while invoking a wide range of contemporary concerns. "This is the great insight of the Mahayana," he says, "that everyone... more...
The Stories of the Lotus Sutraby Gene Reeves
Wisdom Publications 2010; US$ 18.95The Lotus Sutra is one of the world's great religious scriptures and most influential texts. It has been a seminal work in the development of Buddhism throughout East Asia and, by extension in the development of Mahayana Buddhism throughout the world. Taking place in a vast and fantastical cosmic setting, the Lotus Sutra places emphasis on skillfully doing whatever is needed to serve and compassionately care for others, on breaking down sharp distinctions between the ideals of the fully enlightened buddha and the bodhisattva who vows to postpone personal salvation until all beings may share it together, and especially on each and every being's innate capacity to become a buddha. more...
The British Discovery of Buddhismby Philip C. Almond
Cambridge University Press 1988; US$ 40.00This book examines the British discovery of Buddhism during the Victorian period. more...
Endless Pathby Rafe Martin; Richard Wehrman
North Atlantic Books 2011; US$ 19.95***WINNER, 2011 Storytelling World Resource Award – Best Storytelling Collection The jataka tales—stories of the Buddha’s past lives (in both human and animal form)—were first said to have been told by the Buddha himself 2,500 years ago. Five hundred and fifty jataka tales comprise part of the oldest Buddhist text, the Pali Canon. From this wealth of folklore, award-winning author and storyteller Rafe Martin has chosen ten tales that illustrate the ideals of the Buddhist paramitas , or “perfections” of character: giving, morality, forbearance, vitality, focused meditation, wisdom, compassionate skillful means, resolve, strength, and knowledge. Artist and designer Richard Wehrman helps bring the spirit... more...
The Diamond Sutraby Mu Soeng
Wisdom Publications 2011; US$ 16.95In this brilliant new translation and commentary on The Diamond Sutra—one of the sublime wisdom teachings of Mahayana Buddhism—Mu Soeng integrates this ancient wisdom teaching with current scientific and psychological thought. His clear and readable commentary traces the connections between these teachings and contemporary theories of quantum reality, explores the sutra within the framework of Buddhist meditation practices, and provides a comprehensive historical survey of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. Mu Soeng's goal throughout is to reveal the inspiration and wisdom of The Diamond Sutra to today's reader in an accessible, engaging, and modern manner. more...









