Heaven and Hell in Buddhist Perspective
Heaven and Hell in Buddhist Perspective

Author: B. C. Law

Publisher: Pilgrims Book House

Published: 2004-12

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 9788177690859

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book describes the Buddhist idea of heaven and hell prevalent amongst the people of northern India at the time of Buddha and later incorporated in the Buddhist scriptures.

Buddhist Cosmology
Buddhist Cosmology

Author: Akira Sadakata

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This extensively researched and illustrated volume offers Western readers a rare introduction to Buddhism's complex and fascinating views about the structure of the universe. The book begins by clearly explaining classical cosmology, with its symmetrical, India-centered universe and multitudinous heavens and hells, and illuminates the cosmos's relation to the human concerns of karma, transmigration, and enlightenment. It moves on to discuss the Mahayana conception of the universe as a lotus flower containing uncountable realms, each with its own buddha. Then, examining changes in the notions of hell and the gods, the author traces Buddhism's gradual shift from a religion to a mythology. Throughout, treatment of Buddhism's historical, geographical, and doctrinal origins complements detailed cosmological descriptions. Finally, the author shows us how this ancient philosophy resembles the modern scientific view of the cosmos, and how even today it can help us lead more fulfilling lives.

Heaven and Philosophy
Heaven and Philosophy

Author: Simon Cushing

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2017-11-30

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 1498555675

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume is a collection of essays analyzing different issues concerning the nature, possibility, and desirability of heaven as understood by the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity. and Islam. Topics include whether or not it is possible that a mortal could, upon bodily death, become an inhabitant of heaven without loss of identity, where exactly heaven might be located, whether or not everyone should be saved, or if there might be alternative destinations (including some less fiery versions of Hell). Chapter authors include believers and skeptics, well-known philosophers, and new voices. While some chapters are more challenging than others, all are written in a style that should be accessible to any interested reader.

A Guided Tour of Hell
A Guided Tour of Hell

Author: Samuel Bercholz

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2016-12-06

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 1611801427

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Take a trip through the realms of hell with a man whose temporary visitor’s pass gave him a horrifying—and enlightening—preview of its torments. This true account of Sam Bercholz’s near-death experience has more in common with Dante’s Inferno than it does with any of the popular feel-good stories of what happens when we die. In the aftermath of heart surgery, Sam, a longtime Buddhist practitioner and teacher, is surprised to find himself in the lowest realms of karmic rebirth, where he is sent to gain insight into human suffering. Under the guidance of a luminous being, Sam’s encounters with a series of hell-beings trapped in repetitious rounds of misery and delusion reveal to him how an individual’s own habits of fiery hatred and icy disdain, of grasping desire and nihilistic ennui, are the source of horrific agonies that pound consciousness for seemingly endless cycles of time. Comforted by the compassion of a winged goddess and sustained by the kindness of his Buddhist teachers, Sam eventually emerges from his ordeal with renewed faith that even the worst hell contains the seed of wakefulness. His story is offered, along with the modernist illustrations of a master of Tibetan sacred arts, in order to share what can be learned about awakening from our own self-created hells and helping others to find relief and liberation from theirs.

The Good Heart
The Good Heart

Author: Dalai Lama

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2016-03-22

Total Pages: 228

ISBN-13: 1614293252

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This landmark of interfaith dialogue will inspire readers of all faiths. In The Good Heart, The Dalai Lama provides an extraordinary Buddhist perspective on the teachings of Jesus. His Holiness comments on well-known passages from the four Christian Gospels, including the Sermon on the Mount, the parable of the mustard seed, the Resurrection, and others. Drawing parallels between Jesus and the Buddha — and the rich traditions from which they hail — the Dalai Lama delivers a profound affirmation of the sacred in all religions. Readers will be uplifted by the exploration of each tradition’s endless merits and the common humanity they share.

The Bad Jesus: The Ethics of New Testament Ethics
The Bad Jesus: The Ethics of New Testament Ethics

Author: Hector Avalos

Publisher:

Published: 2015-04-09

Total Pages: 476

ISBN-13: 9781909697737

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Did Jesus ever do anything wrong? Judging by the vast majority of books on New Testament ethics, the answer is a resounding No. Writers on New Testament ethics generally view Jesus as the paradigm of human standards and behaviour. But since the his-torical Jesus was a human being, must he not have had flaws, like everyone else? The notion of a flawless human Jesus is a paradoxical oddity in New Testament ethics. According to Avalos, it shows that New Testament ethics is still primarily an apologetic enterprise de-spite its claim to rest on critical and historical scholarship. The Bad Jesus is a powerful and challenging study, presenting de-tailed case studies of fundamental ethical principles enunciated or practised by Jesus but antithetical to what would be widely deemed 'acceptable' or 'good' today. Such topics include Jesus' supposedly innovative teachings on love, along with his views on hate, violence, imperialism, animal rights, environmental ethics, Judaism, women, disabled persons and biblical hermeneutics. After closely examining arguments offered by those unwilling to find any fault with the Jesus depicted in the Gospels, Avalos concludes that current treatments of New Testament ethics are permeated by a religiocentric, ethnocentric and imperialistic orientation. But if it is to be a credible historical and critical dis-cipline in modern academia, New Testament ethics needs to discover both a Good and a Bad Jesus.