Bells, Gongs, and Wooden Fish

Bells, Gongs, and Wooden Fish

Author: Hsing Yun

Publisher: Buddhas Light Pub

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 9781932293708

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In Bells, Gongs, and Wooden Fish, Venerable Master Hsing Yun grants voices to the objects of daily monastic life to tell their stories in this collection of first-person narratives. From monastic shoes to robes and alms bowls, these everyday objects tell the story of their lives and the life of Buddhism from their own perspective. Originally published in 1953, the collected sketches are both lyrical and satiric. The collection of inanimate speakers describe and criticize the state of Chinese Buddhism in the early twentieth century in which educating the laity is an afterthought and the day-to-day activities of monastics are dominated by funerary rites. Bells, Gongs, and Wooden Fish showcases the beginnings of Master Hsing Yun's work as a Buddhist reformer, and describes a path to revolutionize, modernize, and humanize Buddhism that resonates to this day.


The Dance of Rituals

The Dance of Rituals

Author: Lily Cooper

Publisher: Vellaz Publishing

Published: 2024-10-22

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13:

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The Dance of Rituals - Buddhism and the Connection with the Divine Buddhist Rituals is a mysterious invitation to explore the secrets of the spirit. It is not merely about repeated gestures or ancient traditions, but about secret doors that, once opened, reveal a dimension where the sacred and the everyday dance in eternal communion. Each ritual described is not just an act, but a path to awakening what is most authentic and dormant in the human soul. As you delve into the practices unveiled here, you are not just reading about Buddhism; you are called to feel the echo of ancient chants, to visualize offerings dissipating as symbols of detachment, and to touch the invisible that inhabits each breath. The descriptions evoke rituals where the toll of a bell can resonate through time and the aroma of incense not only perfumes the air but transforms the surrounding energy, dissolving the veil between the material and the immaterial. The Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions emerge from the pages like trails winding up the mountain of the spirit, each offering unique ways to reach the essential and the eternal. The practice is presented not as an end in itself, but as a map of forgotten paths, leading the practitioner to break free from illusions and glimpse the essence of all things. In this work, rituals are instruments to transcend the ordinary, capable of awakening an ancient echo in the reader's heart, reminding them that the search for meaning is not distant but latent in the present moment. Buddhist Rituals is not just a book; it is a key for those who dare to explore the unknown and align themselves with the mysteries that permeate life.


Lili

Lili

Author: Annie Wang

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2007-12-18

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0307426629

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Like so many of her young compatriots, Lili Lin lives on the margins of society–she has been jailed for “having a corrupt lifestyle and hooliganism,” and at 24 she is unemployable because she doesn’t have connections and unmarriageable because she isn’t a virgin. Estranged from her parents, restless and cynical, she drifts from day to day. Then she meets an American journalist infatuated with China, who gradually opens her eyes to what is happening. Together they embark on a journey that will profoundly change Lili’s view of her country and of herself.


The Zen Monastic Experience

The Zen Monastic Experience

Author: Robert E. Buswell, Jr.

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-07-21

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 069121610X

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Robert Buswell, a Buddhist scholar who spent five years as a Zen monk in Korea, draws on personal experience in this insightful account of day-to-day Zen monastic practice. In discussing the activities of the postulants, the meditation monks, the teachers and administrators, and the support monks of the monastery of Songgwang-sa, Buswell reveals a religious tradition that differs radically from the stereotype prevalent in the West. The author's treatment lucidly relates contemporary Zen practice to the historical development of the tradition and to Korean history more generally, and his portrayal of the life of modern Zen monks in Korea provides an innovative and provocative look at Zen from the inside.


The Percussionist's Dictionary

The Percussionist's Dictionary

Author: Joseph Adato

Publisher: Alfred Music

Published:

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 9781457493829

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Translations, descriptions, and photographs of percussion instruments from around the world. Includes foreign terms in 26 languages.


An Introduction To The Culture And History Of The Teochews In Singapore

An Introduction To The Culture And History Of The Teochews In Singapore

Author: Charlene Gia Lim Tan

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2018-07-26

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 9813239379

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This book is one of the first few books written in English on Chaozhou culture and history. It compiles information from Chinese and English sources including archive material, newspapers, academic works and publications. It presents a panorama view of the Teochews in Singapore. The book is divided into three sections. The first section covers the history of Chaozhou, the Chaozhou culture, the Teochew ethnicity and the migration of the Teochew people to Southeast Asia. The second section covers the history, activities and contributions of the Teochews in Singapore from the 19th century. The third section covers core elements of the Chaozhou culture, including customs and practices, cuisine and tea culture, performing arts and craftworks. With carefully selected photos, pictures and comprehensive accounts, this book takes the general readers on a fascinating journey of the Teochew heritage. For those who wish to continue learning more about Chaozhou culture and history, a selected bibliography is provided at the end of the book.


Buddha-Dharma: Pure And Simple 1

Buddha-Dharma: Pure And Simple 1

Author: Venerable Master Hsing Yun

Publisher: Fo Guang Shan Institute of Humanistic Buddhism

Published: 2019-09-01

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 9574575128

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In today’s Buddhist sphere, numerous claims have been made on what the Buddha has taught. However, were they truly spoken by the Buddha? The Buddha-Dharma: Pure and Simple series is an exploration of over 300 topics, where Venerable Master Hsing Yun clarifies the Buddha’s teachings in a way that is accessible and relevant to modern readers. Erroneous Buddhist views should be corrected, the true meaning of the Dharma must be preserved in order to hold true to the original intents of the Buddha. This first installment contains 52 articles on the topics of faith and doctrine, laying the foundation for readers to learn and practice in the Buddha’s footsteps. Moreover, it also serves as an inspiration for practitioners to strive for Buddhahood and believe that “I am a Buddha.”


White Ghost Girls

White Ghost Girls

Author: Alice Greenway

Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic

Published: 2007-12-01

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 0802199674

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A coming of age story of two American sisters in Hong Kong during the late 1960s. “A haunting novel written with the craft and grace of a master” (Isabel Allende). Summer 1967. The turmoil of the Maoist revolution is spilling over into Hong Kong and causing unrest as war rages in neighboring Vietnam. White Ghost Girls is the story of Frankie and Kate, two American sisters living in a foreign land in a chaotic time. With their war-photographer father off in Vietnam, Marianne, their beautiful but remote mother, keeps the family nearby. Although bound by a closeness of living overseas, the sisters could not be more different—Frankie pulses with curiosity and risk, while Kate is all eyes and ears. Marianne spends her days painting watercolors of the lush surroundings, leaving the girls largely unsupervised, while their Chinese nanny, Ah Bing, does her best to look after them. One day in a village market, they decide to explore—with tragic results. In Alice Greenway’s exquisite gem of a novel, two girls tumble into their teenage years against an extraordinary backdrop both sensuous and dangerous. This astonishing literary debut is a tale of sacrifice and solidarity that gleams with the kind of intense, complicated love that only exists between sisters. “Greenway is a remarkable young writer who vividly evokes Hong Kong’s sights, smells, and sounds in poetic, finely detailed prose. What’s more, she seems to have remembered every single charged emotion from adolescence and filters them all through the sisters’ fierce, complex relationship. A heartbreakingly beautiful debut.” —Booklist, starred review


Studies on Humanistic Buddhism I: Foundational Thoughts

Studies on Humanistic Buddhism I: Foundational Thoughts

Author:

Publisher: Fo Guang Shan Institute of Humanistic Buddhism, Nan Tien Institute

Published: 2018-09-01

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 9574574660

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Studies on Humanistic Buddhism I: Foundational Thoughts contains articles that examine Humanistic Buddhism through the various perspectives of doctrine, scriptural analysis, history, religion, culture, contemporary social developments, etc. Each article inspires and reveals the ideas and development of Humanistic Buddhism from a different point of view. Each contributes to the academic thinking on Humanistic Buddhism by contextualizing it within its social and historical framework. There are articles by foundational figures such as Master Taixu, by prominent proponents such as Venerable Master Hsing Yun, as well as notable scholars such as Lewis Lancaster.