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"The Tibetan Book of the Dead": A Biography (PDF)
by Donald S. Lopez Jr.The Tibetan Book of the Dead is the most famous Buddhist text in the West, having sold more than a million copies since it was first published in English in 1927. Carl Jung wrote a commentary on it, Timothy Leary redesigned it as a guidebook for an acid trip, and the Beatles quoted Leary's version in their song "Tomorrow Never Knows." More recently, the book has been adopted by the hospice movement, enshrined by Penguin Classics, and made into an audiobook read by Richard Gere. Yet, as acclaimed writer and scholar of Buddhism Donald Lopez writes, "The Tibetan Book of the Dead is not really Tibetan, it is not really a book, and it is not really about death." In this compelling introduction and short history, Lopez tells the strange story of how a relatively obscure and malleable collection of Buddhist texts of uncertain origin came to be so revered--and so misunderstood--in the West. The central character in this story is Walter Evans-Wentz (1878-1965), an eccentric scholar and spiritual seeker from Trenton, New Jersey, who, despite not knowing the Tibetan language and never visiting the country, crafted and named The Tibetan Book of the Dead. In fact, Lopez argues, Evans-Wentz's book is much more American than Tibetan, owing a greater debt to Theosophy and Madame Blavatsky than to the lamas of the Land of Snows. Indeed, Lopez suggests that the book's perennial appeal stems not only from its origins in magical and mysterious Tibet, but also from the way Evans-Wentz translated the text into the language of a very American spirituality.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Arcturus Classics)
by Padmasambhava John BaldockSaid to have its origins in the 'treasure texts' that were supposedly hidden away by Padmasambhava, the Lotus Guru, in Tibet in the 8th century, The Tibetan Book of the Dead was traditionally read aloud to the dying or recently deceased as a guide to the afterlife.It explains how to recognize the true nature of the mind so that after death it will be possible to attain enlightenment and liberation from the suffering associated with the endless cycle of death and rebirth.For many, reading The Tibetan Book of the Dead has been a revelatory experience on the path to finding a sense of spirituality and self-knowledge.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Or The After-Death Experiences on the Bardo Plane, according to L=ama Kazi Dawa-Samdup's English Rendering
by W. Y. Evans-WentzThe Tibetan Book of the Dead is one of the texts that, according to legend, Padma-Sambhava was compelled to hide during his visit to Tibet in the late 8th century. The guru hid his books in stones, lakes, and pillars because the Tibetans of that day and age were somehow unprepared for their teachings. Now, in the form of the ever-popular Tibetan Book of the Dead, these teachings are constantly being discovered and rediscovered by Western readers of many different backgrounds--a phenomenon which began in 1927 with Oxford's first edition of Dr. Evans-Wentz's landmark volume. While it is traditionally used as a mortuary text, to be read or recited in the presence of a dead or dying person, this book--which relates the whole experience of death and rebirth in three intermediate states of being--was originally understood as a guide not only for the dead but also for the living. As a contribution to the science of death and dying--not to mention the belief in life after death, or the belief in rebirth--The Tibetan Book of the Dead is unique among the sacred texts of the world, for its socio-cultural influence in this regard is without comparison. This fourth edition features a new foreword, afterword, and suggested further reading list by Donald S. Lopez, author of Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. Lopez traces the whole history of the late Evans-Wentz's three earlier editions of this book, fully considering the work of contributors to previous editions (C. G. Jung among them), the sections that were added by Evans-Wentz along the way, the questions surrounding the book's translation, and finally the volume's profound importance in engendering both popular and academic interest in the religion and culture of Tibet. Another key theme that Lopez addresses is the changing nature of this book's audience--from the prewar theosophists to the beat poets to the hippies to contemporary exponents of the hospice movement--and what these audiences have found (or sought) in its very old pages.
The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying: A Spiritual Classic from One of the Foremost Interpreters of Tibetan Buddhism to the West
by Sogyal Rinpoche25th Anniversary EditionOver 3 Million Copies Sold'I couldn't give this book a higher recommendation' BILLY CONNOLLYWritten by the Buddhist meditation master and popular international speaker Sogyal Rinpoche, this highly acclaimed book clarifies the majestic vision of life and death that underlies the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. It includes not only a lucid, inspiring and complete introduction to the practice of meditation, but also advice on how to care for the dying with love and compassion, and how to bring them help of a spiritual kind. But there is much more besides in this classic work, which was written to inspire all who read it to begin the journey to enlightenment and so become 'servants of peace'.
The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism: Conversion, Contestation, and Memory
by Matthew T. KapsteinThis book explores the Buddhist role in the formation of Tibetan religious thought and identity. In three major sections, the author examines Tibet's eighth-century conversion, sources of dispute within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and the continuing revelation of the teaching in both doctrine and myth.
Tibet on Fire: Buddhism, Protest, and the Rhetoric of Self-Immolation
by John Whalen-BridgeUsing Kenneth Burke's concept of dramatism as a way of exploring multiple motivations in symbolic expression, Tibet on Fire examines the Tibetan self-immolation movement of 2011-2015. The volume asserts that the self-immolation act is an affirmation of Tibetan identity in the face of cultural genocide.
Thy Will Be Done: The 2021 Lent Book
by Stephen CherryAt a time of change, uncertainty and widespread anxiety, we need to discover again the freshness of our most familiar spiritual resources. Stephen Cherry's Lent Book does exactly this by inviting the reader to immerse themselves in the most central, important and iconic of Christian prayers – the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father.Mining the tradition for wisdom and insight, and finding inspiration in the theologians of the past such as St Paul, Gregory of Nyssa, John Calvin, but also more contemporary voices such as Evelyn Underhill, Simone Weil, and Michelle Obama, Thy Will Be Done presents the comforts and challenges of the prayer in 36 short chapters. This most accessible Lent Book, rich in anecdote as well as analysis, is daily bread for the spiritually hungry.
Thy Will Be Done: The 2021 Lent Book
by Stephen CherryAt a time of change, uncertainty and widespread anxiety, we need to discover again the freshness of our most familiar spiritual resources. Stephen Cherry's Lent Book does exactly this by inviting the reader to immerse themselves in the most central, important and iconic of Christian prayers – the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father.Mining the tradition for wisdom and insight, and finding inspiration in the theologians of the past such as St Paul, Gregory of Nyssa, John Calvin, but also more contemporary voices such as Evelyn Underhill, Simone Weil, and Michelle Obama, Thy Will Be Done presents the comforts and challenges of the prayer in 36 short chapters. This most accessible Lent Book, rich in anecdote as well as analysis, is daily bread for the spiritually hungry.
Thy Kingdom Come
by Augean LakeA dark comedy that takes place in the overwhelming afterlife of sin, sultry luxury, simmering lava pools and more. Walk with the Holy and the Unholy, the Blessed and the Unblessed, the Forgiven and the Unforgiven, in three kingdoms filled with love, lust and sin. Follow the tough guy, Cleavage, the mindless, unscrupulous womanizer, Grengo, and the lethal human weapon, Wohl, after they go skidding off a cliff's edge on their Harley-Davidson's. They cause havoc among the jeweled Angels of Heaven and the sexy, voluptuous Angels of Hell alike. 'Thy Kingdom Come' is a witness to the fight against the malicious and vengeful Lucifer and his wicked comrades in sin. Who will triumph?
Thus Says the LORD: Essays on the Former and Latter Prophets in Honor of Robert R. Wilson (The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies)
by Stephen L. Cook John J. AhnThis work assembles contributions from North America's leading Hebrew Bible/Old Testament scholars in honor of a highly respected biblical scholar, whose work on biblical prophets has been especially influential. Within the list are former teachers, current colleagues, and former students who are now colleagues in their own right, representing a wide range of denominational traditions represented-Roman Catholics, Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian, etc. The book is divided into major two sections with a brief introduction by the editors, John Ahn and the Stephen Cook. Here, a brief biography and the academic career of Robert Wilson's contribution to the guild (with a bibliography at the end of this section) and more over, at a personal level, his ceaseless work in helping to transform and reform the "new" Yale Divinity School and his impact in molding the Ph.D. program in HB/OT in the Religious Studies Department of the Graduate School at Yale University. Part I hold the essays on the Former Prophets and Part II on the Latter Prophets.
Thus Have I Seen: Visualizing Faith in Early Indian Buddhism
by Andy RotmanAlthough Buddhism is often depicted as a religion of meditators and philosophers, some of the earliest writings extant in India offer a very different portrait of the Buddhist practitioner. In Indian Buddhist narratives from the early centuries of the Common Era, most lay religious practice consists not of reading, praying, or meditating, but of visually engaging with certain kinds of objects. These visual practices, moreover, are represented as the primary means of cultivating faith, a necessary precondition for proceeding along the Buddhist spiritual path. In Thus Have I Seen: Visualizing Faith in Early Indian Buddhism, Andy Rotman examines these visual practices and how they function as a kind of skeleton key for opening up Buddhist conceptualizations about the world and the ways it should be navigated. Rotman's analysis is based primarily on stories from the Divyavadana (Divine Stories), one of the most important collections of ancient Buddhist narratives from India. Though discourses of the Buddha are well known for their opening words, "thus have I heard" - for Buddhist teachings were first preserved and transmitted orally - the Divyavadana presents a very different model for disseminating the Buddhist dharma. Devotees are enjoined to look, not just hear, and visual legacies and lineages are shown to trump their oral counterparts. As Rotman makes clear, this configuration of the visual fundamentally transforms the world of the Buddhist practitioner, changing what one sees, what one believes, and what one does.
The Thunder: A New Translation and Introduction
by H. Taussig J. Calaway M. Kotrosits C. Lillie J. LasserThis is the first book-length treatment in English of the Nag Hammadi text, The Thunder: Perfect Mind - a poem of 'I am' statements that has garnered a strong following in mainstream culture. This book offers a fresh, current translation (with detailed Coptic annotations) and ten chapters of introductory analysis of the text.
Through the Year with Newman: Daily Readings
by Bernard DiveJohn Henry Newman was a great thinker - a seminal theologian and philosopher - but he possessed something more than intellectual brilliance: he possessed wisdom and a profound devotional life. He brought to any practical topic an awareness of the unity and consistency of the Christian faith. His writings are shot through with insights that get to the very core of what Christianity means.Who better to take as a spiritual guide? Through the Year with Newman is a collection of reflections and prayers - one for every day of the year. It focuses on core Christian doctrines as presented with piercing clarity by Newman. It concentrates less on controversial issues than on matters of faith common to all Christians; but it also gets across the essence of the distinctive achievement of Newman, a sense of his central ideas and of the complexion of his thought.
Through the Year with Newman: Daily Readings
by Bernard DiveJohn Henry Newman was a great thinker - a seminal theologian and philosopher - but he possessed something more than intellectual brilliance: he possessed wisdom and a profound devotional life. He brought to any practical topic an awareness of the unity and consistency of the Christian faith. His writings are shot through with insights that get to the very core of what Christianity means.Who better to take as a spiritual guide? Through the Year with Newman is a collection of reflections and prayers - one for every day of the year. It focuses on core Christian doctrines as presented with piercing clarity by Newman. It concentrates less on controversial issues than on matters of faith common to all Christians; but it also gets across the essence of the distinctive achievement of Newman, a sense of his central ideas and of the complexion of his thought.
Through the Year with Jesus (Continuum Icons)
by Anselm GrünHere is an entirely fresh and original book about Jesus, the Jesus of devotion, the Jesus within.Here are fifty pictures (or images) of Jesus, each being a chapter of the book. We need to get away from cliches and see what Jesus really means for people today. After a brief account of Jesus and his times, the author introduces the book and how to read it. Some of the pictures of Jesus are surprising- Jesus the drop out, the vagabond, the one who refuses power,the family therapist and the exorcist.Gruen has a rare gift of simple communication, of bringing Jesus alive to modern men and women.This was a gift which Henri Nouwen also had and the publishers are expecting to command similar sales.The style is simple and direct and psychologically in tune with our times.
Through the Narrow Gate: A Nun's Story
by Karen ArmstrongThrough the Narrow Gate is Karen Armstrong’s memoir of life inside a Catholic convent in the 1960’s.
Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD
by Peter BrownJesus taught his followers that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Yet by the fall of Rome, the church was becoming rich beyond measure. Through the Eye of a Needle is a sweeping intellectual and social history of the vexing problem of wealth in Christianity in the waning days of the Roman Empire, written by the world's foremost scholar of late antiquity. Peter Brown examines the rise of the church through the lens of money and the challenges it posed to an institution that espoused the virtue of poverty and called avarice the root of all evil. Drawing on the writings of major Christian thinkers such as Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome, Brown examines the controversies and changing attitudes toward money caused by the influx of new wealth into church coffers, and describes the spectacular acts of divestment by rich donors and their growing influence in an empire beset with crisis. He shows how the use of wealth for the care of the poor competed with older forms of philanthropy deeply rooted in the Roman world, and sheds light on the ordinary people who gave away their money in hopes of treasure in heaven. Through the Eye of a Needle challenges the widely held notion that Christianity's growing wealth sapped Rome of its ability to resist the barbarian invasions, and offers a fresh perspective on the social history of the church in late antiquity.
Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD
by Peter BrownJesus taught his followers that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Yet by the fall of Rome, the church was becoming rich beyond measure. Through the Eye of a Needle is a sweeping intellectual and social history of the vexing problem of wealth in Christianity in the waning days of the Roman Empire, written by the world's foremost scholar of late antiquity. Peter Brown examines the rise of the church through the lens of money and the challenges it posed to an institution that espoused the virtue of poverty and called avarice the root of all evil. Drawing on the writings of major Christian thinkers such as Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome, Brown examines the controversies and changing attitudes toward money caused by the influx of new wealth into church coffers, and describes the spectacular acts of divestment by rich donors and their growing influence in an empire beset with crisis. He shows how the use of wealth for the care of the poor competed with older forms of philanthropy deeply rooted in the Roman world, and sheds light on the ordinary people who gave away their money in hopes of treasure in heaven. Through the Eye of a Needle challenges the widely held notion that Christianity's growing wealth sapped Rome of its ability to resist the barbarian invasions, and offers a fresh perspective on the social history of the church in late antiquity.
Through the Earth Darkly: Female Spirituality in Comparative Perspective (Religious Studies: Bloomsbury Academic Collections)
by Jordan PaperThis book makes a compelling case for male-female religious complementarity in many of the world's religions. It offers an extensive survey of female spiritual roles in a variety of cultures and provides evidence that women have exercised authority and sacred power in a variety of traditional religions.
Through Many Tribulations: The Theology of Persecution in Luke-Acts (The Library of New Testament Studies #142)
by Scott CunninghamThis book, the first comprehensive study of persecution in Luke-Acts from a literary and theological perspective, argues that the author uses the theme of persecution in pursuit of his theological agenda. It brings to the surface six theological functions of the persecution theme, which has an important paraenetic and especially apologetic role for Luke's persecuted community. The persecution Luke's readers suffer is evidence that they are legitimate recipients of God's salvific blessings.
Through a Glass Darkly: Journeys through Science, Faith and Doubt – A Memoir
by Alister McGrathIn what he anticipates will be his final book, respected scientist and theologian Professor Alister McGrath shares the story of a life spent in pursuit of truth: first through the discipline of science, then in tandem with the Christian faith he found as a young man. In Through a Glass Darkly Professor McGrath shares at length and for the first time how exactly he moved from atheism to faith while studying natural sciences at Oxford University, and how each discipline has informed the other throughout his life. This is a rich, inspiring read from one of today's greatest public theologians.
The Throne of Adulis: Red Sea Wars on the Eve of Islam (Emblems of Antiquity)
by G.W. BowersockJust prior to the rise of Islam in the sixth century AD, southern Arabia was embroiled in a violent conflict between Christian Ethiopians and Jewish Arabs. Though little known today, this was an international war that involved both the Byzantine Empire, which had established Christian churches in Ethiopia, and the Sasanian Empire in Persia, which supported the Jews in what became a proxy war against its longtime foe Byzantium. Our knowledge of these events derives largely from an inscribed marble throne at the Ethiopian port of Adulis, meticulously described by a sixth-century Christian merchant known as Cosmas Indicopleustes. Using the writings of Cosmas and a wealth of other historical and archaeological evidence from the period, eminent historian G. W. Bowersock carefully reconstructs this fascinating but overlooked chapter in pre-Islamic Arabian history. The flashpoint of the war, Bowersock tells us, occurred when Yusuf, the Jewish king of Himyar, massacred hundreds of Christians living in Najran. The Christian ruler of Ethiopia, Kaleb, urged on by the Byzantine emperor Justin, led a force of 120,000 men across the Red Sea to defeat Yusuf. But when the victorious Kaleb--said to have retired to a monastery-left behind weak leaders in both Ethiopia and Himyar, the Byzantine and Persian empires expanded their activity in the Arabian territory. In the midst of this conflict, a new religion was born, destined to bring a wholly unanticipated resolution to the power struggle in Arabia. The Throne of Adulis vividly recreates the Red Sea world of Late Antiquity, transporting readers back to a remote but pivotal epoch in ancient history, one that sheds light on the collapse of the Persian Empire as well as the rise of Islam.
The Throne of Adulis: Red Sea Wars on the Eve of Islam (Emblems of Antiquity)
by G.W. BowersockJust prior to the rise of Islam in the sixth century AD, southern Arabia was embroiled in a violent conflict between Christian Ethiopians and Jewish Arabs. Though little known today, this was an international war that involved both the Byzantine Empire, which had established Christian churches in Ethiopia, and the Sasanian Empire in Persia, which supported the Jews in what became a proxy war against its longtime foe Byzantium. Our knowledge of these events derives largely from an inscribed marble throne at the Ethiopian port of Adulis, meticulously described by a sixth-century Christian merchant known as Cosmas Indicopleustes. Using the writings of Cosmas and a wealth of other historical and archaeological evidence from the period, eminent historian G. W. Bowersock carefully reconstructs this fascinating but overlooked chapter in pre-Islamic Arabian history. The flashpoint of the war, Bowersock tells us, occurred when Yusuf, the Jewish king of Himyar, massacred hundreds of Christians living in Najran. The Christian ruler of Ethiopia, Kaleb, urged on by the Byzantine emperor Justin, led a force of 120,000 men across the Red Sea to defeat Yusuf. But when the victorious Kaleb--said to have retired to a monastery-left behind weak leaders in both Ethiopia and Himyar, the Byzantine and Persian empires expanded their activity in the Arabian territory. In the midst of this conflict, a new religion was born, destined to bring a wholly unanticipated resolution to the power struggle in Arabia. The Throne of Adulis vividly recreates the Red Sea world of Late Antiquity, transporting readers back to a remote but pivotal epoch in ancient history, one that sheds light on the collapse of the Persian Empire as well as the rise of Islam.
The Throne Motif in the Book of Revelation (The Library of New Testament Studies #487)
by Laszlo GalluszThis book argues that the throne motif constitutes the major interpretive key to the complex structure and theology of the book of Revelation. In the first part of the book, Gallusz examines the throne motif in the Old Testament, Jewish literature and Graeco-Roman sources. He moves on to devote significant attention to the throne of God texts of Revelation and particularly to the analysis of the throne-room vision (chs. 4&5), which is foundational for the development of the throne motif. Â Gallusz reveals how Revelation utilizes the throne motif as the central principle for conveying a theological message, since it appears as the focus of the author from the outset to the climax of the drama. The book concludes with an investigation into the rhetorical impact of the motif and its contribution to the theology of Revelation. Gallusz finally shows that the throne, what it actually represents, is of critical significance both to Revelation's theism and to God's dealing with the problem of evil in the course of human history.
Thrill of the Chaste: The Allure of Amish Romance Novels (Young Center Books in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies)
by Valerie Weaver-ZercherBrowse the inspirational fiction section of your local bookstore, and you will likely find cover after cover depicting virtuous young women cloaked in modest dresses and wearing a pensive or playful expression. They hover innocently above sun-drenched pastures or rustic country lanes, often with a horse-drawn buggy in the background—or the occasional brawny stranger. Romance novels with Amish protagonists, such as the best-selling trailblazer The Shunning by Beverly Lewis, are becoming increasingly popular with a largely evangelical female audience. Thrill of the Chaste is the first book to analyze this growing trend in romance fiction and to place it into the context of contemporary literature, religion, and popular culture.Valerie Weaver-Zercher combines research and interviews with devoted readers, publishers, and authors to produce a lively and provocative examination of the Amish romance novel. She discusses strategies that literary agents and booksellers use to drive the genre’s popularity. By asking questions about authenticity, cultural appropriation, and commodification, Thrill of the Chaste also considers Amish fiction’s effects on Amish and non-Amish audiences alike.