Spirit Matters
Spirit Matters

Author: J. Jeffrey Franklin

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2018-03-15

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 1501715461

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Orthodox Christianity, scientific materialism, and alternative religions -- The evolution of occult spirituality in Victorian England and the representative case of Edward Bulwer-Lytton -- Anthony Trollope's religion : the orthodox/heterodox boundary -- The influences of Buddhism and comparative religion on Matthew Arnold's theology -- Interpenetration of religion and national politics in Great Britain and Sri Lanka : William Knighton's Forest life in Ceylon -- Identity, genre, and religion in Anna Leonowens' The English governess at the Siamese court -- Ancient Egyptian religion in late-Victorian England -- The economics of immortality : the demi-immortal Oriental, Enlightenment vitalism, and political economy in Bram Stoker's Dracula -- Conclusion : from Victorian occultism to new age spiritualities

A Critical Study of the Mahāvastu
A Critical Study of the Mahāvastu

Author: Telwatte Rahula

Publisher:

Published: 1978

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Comparative study of the Mahāvastu, compilation from various sources of stories, legends, and traditions about the Buddha, his doctrine, and his previous births.

Mountain at a Center of the World
Mountain at a Center of the World

Author: Alexander McKinley

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2024-02-27

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 0231558503

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

At the pilgrimage site of Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka, a footprint is embedded atop the mountain summit. Buddhists hold that it was left by the Buddha, Hindus say Lord Siva, and Muslims and Christians identify it with Adam, the first man. The Sri Lankan state, for its part, often uses the Peak as a prop to convey a harmonious image of religious pluralism, despite increasing Buddhist hegemony. How should the diversity of this place be understood historically and managed practically? Considering the varied heritage of this sacred site, Alexander McKinley develops a new account of pluralism based in political ecology, representing the full array of actors and issues on the mountain. From its diverse people to rare species to deep geology, the Peak exemplifies a planetary pluralism that recognizes a multiplicity of beings while accepting competition and disorder. Taking a place-based approach, McKinley casts the mountain as an actor, exploring how its rocks, forests, and waters promote pilgrimage, inspire storytelling, and make ethical demands on human communities. Combining history and ethnography while furnishing original translations of sources from Pali, Sinhala, and Tamil, this multidisciplinary and stylistically innovative book shows how religious traditions share literal common ground in their reverence for the mountain.