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Author: Sangharakshita
Publisher: Windhorse Publications
Published: 2022-08-18
Total Pages: 773
ISBN-13: 1911407805
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis illuminating collection of previously unpublished talks traces the development of Sangharakshita’s presentation of the Dharma in the West from 1965 to 2011. Drawing on a wide range of sources, from the Pāli canon and The Tibetan Book of the Dead to Beowulf and William Wordsworth, there are many intriguing perspectives.
Author: David W. Machacek
Publisher:
Published: 2023
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781383037289
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis study of the Soka Gakkai Buddhist movement provides an historical overview of the importance of the movement as an educational reform society and its development into a sect of Nichiren Buddhism.
Author: Clark Strand
Publisher: Middleway Press
Published: 2014-05-01
Total Pages: 193
ISBN-13: 1938252527
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIs there more to Buddhism than sitting in silent meditation? Is modern Buddhism relevant to the problems of daily life? Does it empower individuals to transform their lives? Or has Buddhism become too detached, so still and quiet that the Buddha has fallen asleep? Waking the Buddha tells the story of the Soka Gakkai International, the largest, most dynamic Buddhist movement in the world today—and one that is waking up and shaking up Buddhism so it can truly work in ordinary people’s lives. Drawing on his long personal experience as a Buddhist teacher, journalist, and editor, Clark Strand offers broad insight into how and why the Soka Gakkai, with its commitment to social justice and its egalitarian approach, has become a role model, not only for other schools of Buddhism, but for other religions as well. Readers will be inspired by the struggles and triumphs of the Soka Gakkai’s three founding presidents—individuals who staked their lives on the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and the extraordinary power of those teachings to help people become happy.
Author: Vajragupta
Publisher: Windhorse Publications
Published: 2013-09-27
Total Pages: 209
ISBN-13: 1909314285
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis is the story of a circle of friends dreaming a dream, and working to make it a reality. It's a record of idealism and naivety, growth and growing pains, friendship and fall-out. It's a celebration of how so much was achieved in so short a time, and a reflection on the mistakes made, and lessons learnt. The Triratna Story charts the growth of a Western Buddhist movement founded in the late Sixties as the 'Friends of the Western Buddhist Order' (FWBO) and recently renamed Triratna Buddhist Community. From its inception in London, to its development worldwide, The Triratna Story takes you behind the scenes of a unique modern Buddhist community.
Author: Barend ter Haar
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: 2014-11-30
Total Pages: 314
ISBN-13: 082484792X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKPracticing Scripture is an original and detailed history of one of the most successful religious movements of late imperial China, the Non-Action Teachings, or Wuweijiao, from its beginnings in the late sixteenth century in the prefectures of southern Zhejiang to the middle of the twentieth century, when communist repression dealt it a crippling blow. Uncovering important data on its beliefs and practices, Barend ter Haar paints a wholly new picture of the group, which, despite its Daoist-sounding name, was a deeply devout lay Buddhist movement whose adherents rejected the worship of statues and ancestors while venerating the writings of Patriarch Luo (fl. early sixteenth century), a soldier-turned-lay-Buddhist. The texts, written in vernacular Chinese and known as the Five Books in Six Volumes, mix personal experiences, religious views, and a wealth of quotations from the Buddhist canon. Ter Haar convincingly demonstrates that the Non-Action Teachings was not messianic or millenarian in orientation and had nothing to do with other new religious groups and networks traditionally labelled as White Lotus Teachings. It combined Chan and Pure Land practices with a strong self-identity and vegetarianism and actively insisted on the right of free practice. Members of the movement created a foundation myth in which Ming (1368–1644) emperor Zhengde bestowed the right upon their mythical forefather. In addition, they produced an imperial proclamation whereby Emperor Kangxi of the Qing (1645–1911) granted the group similar privileges. Thanks to its expert handling of a great number and variety of extant sources, Practicing Scripture depicts one of the few lay movements in traditional China that can be understood in some depth, both in terms of its religious content and history and its social environment. The work will be welcomed by China specialists in religious and Buddhist studies and social history.
Author: Christopher S. Queen
Publisher: SUNY Press
Published: 1996-01-01
Total Pages: 462
ISBN-13: 9780791428436
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis is the first comprehensive coverage of socially and politically engaged Buddhism in Asia, presenting the historical development and institutional forms of engaged Buddhism in the light of traditional Buddhist conceptions of morality, interdependence, and liberation.
Author: Kenneth K. Tanaka
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 1990-08-14
Total Pages: 340
ISBN-13: 1438421834
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAuthor: Susan M. Darlington
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 2012-11-15
Total Pages: 338
ISBN-13: 1438444664
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThai Buddhist monks wrap orange clerical robes around trees to protect forests. "Ordaining" a tree is a provocative ritual that has become the symbol of a small but influential monastic movement aimed at reversing environmental degradation and the unsustainable economic development and consumerism that fuel it. This book examines the evolution of this movement from the late 1980s to the present, exploring the tree ordination and other rituals used to resist destructive national projects. Susan M. Darlington explores monks' motivations, showing how they interpret their lived religion as the basis of their actions, and provides an in-depth portrait of activist monk Phrakhru Pitak Nanthakhun. The obstacles monks face, including damage to their reputations, arrest, and even assassination, reveal the difficulty of enacting social justice. Even the tree ordination itself must now withstand its appropriation for state projects. Despite this, monks have gone from individual action to a loosely allied movement that now works with nongovernmental organizations. This is a fascinating, firsthand account of engaged Buddhism.
Author: Robert J. Topmiller
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Published: 2002-12-27
Total Pages: 232
ISBN-13: 0813137012
DOWNLOAD EBOOKDuring the Vietnam War, Vietnamese Buddhist peace activists made extraordinary sacrifices -- including self-immolation -- to try to end the fighting. They hoped to establish a neutralist government that would broker peace with the Communists and expel the Americans. Robert J. Topmiller explores South Vietnamese attitudes toward the war, the insurgency, and U.S. intervention, and lays bare the dissension within the U.S. military. The Lotus Unleashed is one of the few studies to illuminate the impact of internal Vietnamese politics on U.S. decision-making and to examine the power of a nonviolent movement to confront a violent superpower.
Author: Sarah LeVine
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2007-09-30
Total Pages: 406
ISBN-13: 9780674040120
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRebuilding Buddhism describes in evocative detail the experiences and achievements of Nepalis who have adopted Theravada Buddhism. This form of Buddhism was introduced into Nepal from Burma and Sri Lanka in the 1930s, and its adherents have struggled for recognition and acceptance ever since. With its focus on the austere figure of the monk and the biography of the historical Buddha, and more recently with its emphasis on individualizing meditation and on gender equality, Theravada Buddhism contrasts sharply with the highly ritualized Tantric Buddhism traditionally practiced in the Kathmandu Valley. Based on extensive fieldwork, interviews, and historical reconstruction, the book provides a rich portrait of the different ways of being a Nepali Buddhist over the past seventy years. At the same time it explores the impact of the Theravada movement and what its gradual success has meant for Buddhism, for society, and for men and women in Nepal.
