Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara and His Symbolic Mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum"
Author: Ranjana Bajracharya
Publisher: B. N. Bajracharya
Published: 2003
Total Pages: 160
ISBN-13:
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Wildmind
Author: Bodhipaksa
Publisher: Windhorse Publications
Published: 2012-02-29
Total Pages: 302
ISBN-13: 1907314326
DOWNLOAD EBOOKMeditation helps us to cut through the agonizing clutter of superficial mental turmoil and allows us to experience more spacious and joyful states of mind. It is this pure and luminous state that I call your Wildmind. From how to build your own stool to how a raisin can help you meditate, this illustrated guide explains everything you need to know to start or strengthen your meditation practice.
The Origins of Oṃ Maṇipadme Hūṃ
Author: Alexander Studholme
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 2012-02-01
Total Pages: 233
ISBN-13: 0791488489
DOWNLOAD EBOOKOṃ Maṇipadme Hūṃ, perhaps the most well-known of all Buddhist mantras, lies at the heart of the Tibetan system and is cherished by both layman and lama alike. This book documents the origins of the mantra, and presents a new interpretation of the meaning of Oṃ Maṇipadme Hūṃ, and includes a detailed, annotated precis of the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra, opening up this important Mahayana Buddhist work to a wider audience. The Kāraṇḍavyūha— the earliest textual source for Oṃ Maṇipadme Hūṃ—which describes both the compassionate activity of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva whose power the mantra invokes, and the mythical tale of the search for and discovery of the mantra. Through a detailed analysis of this sutra, Studholme explores the historical and doctrinal forces behind the appearance of Oṃ Maṇipadme Hūṃ in India at around the middle of the first millennium C.E. He argues that the Kāraṇḍavyūha has close affinities to non-Buddhist puranic literature, and that the conception of Avalokiteśvara and his six-syllable mantra is informed by the conception of the Hindu deity Śiva and his five-syllable mantra Namaḥ Śivāya. The sutra reflects an historical situation in which the Buddhist monastic establishment was coming into contact with Buddhist tantric practitioners, themselves influenced by Saivite practitioners.
Investigating the Dhamma
Author: Bhikkhu Bodhi
Publisher: Pariyatti Publishing
Published: 2017-01-01
Total Pages: 178
ISBN-13: 168172068X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis new Pariyatti Edition brings together eight essays of Bhikkhu Bodhi, five of which were earlier published in academic journals and volumes, and three not published before. Most of the essays are critical responses to various modern interpretations of the Dhamma that the author considers to be at odds with the Buddha’s teachings, in particular as transmitted and interpreted by the Theravāda school of Buddhism. The other essays are in depth discussions of important Buddhist doctrinal terms.
The Gods of Northern Buddhism
Author: Alice Getty
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Published: 1988-01-01
Total Pages: 350
ISBN-13: 9780486255750
DOWNLOAD EBOOKInvaluable reference covers names, attributes, symbolism, representations of deities in Mahayana pantheon of China, Japan, Tibet, etc. 185 illus.
Buddha in the Crown
Author: John Clifford Holt
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 1991-01-31
Total Pages: 306
ISBN-13: 0195362462
DOWNLOAD EBOOKHistorical, anthropological, and philosophical in approach, Buddha in the Crown is a case study in religious and cultural change. It examines the various ways in which Avalokitesvara, the most well known and proliferated bodhisattva of Mahayana Buddhism throughout south, southeast, and east Asia, was assimilated into the transforming religious culture of Sri Lanka, one of the most pluralistic in Asia. Exploring the expressions of the bodhisattva's cult in Sanskrit and Sinhala literature, in iconography, epigraphy, ritual, symbol, and myth, the author develops a provocative thesis regarding the dynamics of religious change. Interdisciplinary in scope, addressing a wide variety of issues relating to Buddhist thought and practice, and providing new and original information on the rich cultural history of Sri Lanka, this book will interest students of Buddhism and South Asia.
The Origins of Oṃ Maṇipadme Hūṃ
Author: Alexander Studholme
Publisher: SUNY Press
Published: 2002-08-01
Total Pages: 236
ISBN-13: 9780791453896
DOWNLOAD EBOOKSets out a history of the famous Buddhist mantra, Om Manipadme Hum, and offers new insights on its meaning.
Visible Mantra: Visualising & Writing Buddhist Mantras
Author: Jayarava
Publisher: Lulu.com
Published: 2011-01-21
Total Pages: 272
ISBN-13: 0956692915
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe long awaited print version of the popular Buddhist mantra website: visiblemantra.org. This is a celebration of the visual forms of mantra and other varieties of sacred speech, drawing on Buddhist traditions from India, China, Japan, and Tibet. The book includes all the mantras from the website, plus a few more. Each is presented in four scripts: Siddhaṃ (Bonji 梵字), Lantsa (aka Rañjana), Devanāgarī, and Tibetan (dbu can). Plus seed-syllables, dhāraṇī and Pāli chants. All accompanied by Jayarava's meticulously researched notes and comments, and background reading drawn from Jayarava's blog. An invaluable resource for Buddhist artists, calligraphers and practitioners.
Kuan-yin
Author: Chün-fang Yü
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 2001-03-22
Total Pages: 657
ISBN-13: 0231502753
DOWNLOAD EBOOKBy far one of the most important objects of worship in the Buddhist traditions, the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is regarded as the embodiment of compassion. He has been widely revered throughout the Buddhist countries of Asia since the early centuries of the Common Era. While he was closely identified with the royalty in South and Southeast Asia, and the Tibetans continue to this day to view the Dalai Lamas as his incarnations, in China he became a she—Kuan-yin, the "Goddess of Mercy"—and has a very different history. The causes and processes of this metamorphosis have perplexed Buddhist scholars for centuries. In this groundbreaking, comprehensive study, Chün-fang Yü discusses this dramatic transformation of the (male) Indian bodhisattva Avalokitesvara into the (female) Chinese Kuan-yin—from a relatively minor figure in the Buddha's retinue to a universal savior and one of the most popular deities in Chinese religion. Focusing on the various media through which the feminine Kuan-yin became constructed and domesticated in China, Yü thoroughly examines Buddhist scriptures, miracle stories, pilgrimages, popular literature, and monastic and local gazetteers—as well as the changing iconography reflected in Kuan-yin's images and artistic representations—to determine the role this material played in this amazing transformation. The book eloquently depicts the domestication of Kuan-yin as a case study of the indigenization of Buddhism in China and illuminates the ways this beloved deity has affected the lives of all Chinese people down the ages.
Drama of Cosmic Enlightenment
Author: Sangharakshita
Publisher: Windhorse Publications
Published: 2014-05-13
Total Pages: 246
ISBN-13: 190931434X
DOWNLOAD EBOOKIn the White Lotus Sutra, bursting with symbols, imagery and myths, we meet the Buddha as a story-teller. This sutra tells the greatest of all stories, that of human life and human potential. This great story takes the cosmos as its stage and all sentient beings as its players. This delightfully illustrated commentary on one of the most influential, revered and well-loved Buddhist scriptures brings these stories vividly to life and shows how they relate to our own spiritual quest.
