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Black Religion in the Madhouse: Race and Psychiatry in Slavery's Wake
by Judith WeisenfeldHow white psychiatrists pathologized African American religionsIn the decades after the end of slavery, African Americans were committed to southern state mental hospitals at higher rates as white psychiatrists listed “religious excitement” among the most frequent causes of insanity for Black patients. At the same time, American popular culture and political discourse framed African American modes of spiritual power as fetishism and superstition, cast embodied worship as excessive or fanatical, and labeled new religious movements “cults,” unworthy of respect.As Judith Weisenfeld argues in Black Religion in the Madhouse, psychiatrists’ notions of race and religion became inextricably intertwined in the decades after the end of slavery and into the twentieth century, and had profound impacts on the diagnosis, care, and treatment of Black patients. This book charts how racialized medical understandings of mental normalcy pathologized a range of Black religious beliefs, spiritual sensibilities, practices, and social organizations and framed them as manifestations of innate racial traits. Importantly, these characterizations were marshaled to help to limit the possibilities for Black self-determination, with white psychiatrists’ theories about African American religion and mental health being used to promote claims of Black people’s unfitness for freedom.Drawing on extensive archival research, Black Religion in the Madhouse is the first book to expose how racist views of Black religion in slavery’s wake shaped the rise of psychiatry as an established and powerful profession.
Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World
by Graham Tomlin'Readable and expert - a brilliant guide to the life and thought of 17th century Europe's supreme polymath'Tom Holland'A richly detailed account of Pascal's life and times, which displays an energetic sympathy for Pascal's startling combination of intellectual precocity and humble faith.'Rory Stewart'A beautiful, accessible account of one of the era's most remarkable lives'Katherine Rundell He lived for just 39 years, yet Blaise Pascal was one of the most remarkable and creative figures of the seventeenth century. He is known for his famous (though often misunderstood) argument 'the Wager', but there's so much more to him than that. Pascal can lay claim to have built an early version of the modern computer, done ground-breaking work in mathematics and geometry, invented urban bus transport and virtually invented probability theory. He also produced one of the most haunting and effective works of Christian apologetics ever written. He is a major intellectual figure at the beginning of the modern age who blends together in his own person and thinking issues that are critical to our age. Blaise Pascal is therefore a crucial figure: not just in the history of European thought, but for how he can shed light on our many contemporary debates.From science to scepticism; mystical experience to distraction; religion to politics, self-love and death, Pascal's thinking was far-reaching. In this captivating biography, Graham Tomlin explores Pascal's short but extraordinary life, and the sweeping impact and relevance of his ideas to the modern world.
Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World
by Graham Tomlin'Readable and expert - a brilliant guide to the life and thought of 17th century Europe's supreme polymath'Tom Holland'A richly detailed account of Pascal's life and times, which displays an energetic sympathy for Pascal's startling combination of intellectual precocity and humble faith.'Rory Stewart'A beautiful, accessible account of one of the era's most remarkable lives'Katherine Rundell He lived for just 39 years, yet Blaise Pascal was one of the most remarkable and creative figures of the seventeenth century. He is known for his famous (though often misunderstood) argument 'the Wager', but there's so much more to him than that. Pascal can lay claim to have built an early version of the modern computer, done ground-breaking work in mathematics and geometry, invented urban bus transport and virtually invented probability theory. He also produced one of the most haunting and effective works of Christian apologetics ever written. He is a major intellectual figure at the beginning of the modern age who blends together in his own person and thinking issues that are critical to our age. Blaise Pascal is therefore a crucial figure: not just in the history of European thought, but for how he can shed light on our many contemporary debates.From science to scepticism; mystical experience to distraction; religion to politics, self-love and death, Pascal's thinking was far-reaching. In this captivating biography, Graham Tomlin explores Pascal's short but extraordinary life, and the sweeping impact and relevance of his ideas to the modern world.
Blasphemous Art?: Religion, Gender and Sexuality in Arts and Popular Culture (ISSN)
by Adriaan Van Klinken van den Brandt, Nella van den Berg, MarieckeThis book explores the critical and transformative potential of arts and popular culture for constructions of religion, gender and sexuality. Doing so, it deploys and develops the notion of blasphemous art, honouring and building on the work of Anne-Marie Korte. Deliberately articulated with a question mark, Blasphemous Art? raises questions about the spaces, methods and resources available to individuals and communities at the gendered, sexual and racialized margins of society to tell their stories, claim their bodies and perform symbolic and sacred meaning, and it analyses the productive effects – both aesthetically, politically and theoretically – of such provocative work. The book focuses on a wide range of artistic and cultural expressions, featuring case studies from across Europe, South Africa, Israel and the United States. Drawing on feminist, queer and postcolonial perspectives, the book reveals the critical, constructive and imaginative potential of the creative arts (broadly defined) and popular culture in its complex and diverse representation of, and engagement with, religious life, belief, text, ritual and practice.
Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age
by Leah SottileIn this "unflinching and wildly entertaining" investigation of the modern New Age movement in America, a journalist aims to understand how women like Amy Carlson (the leader of Love Has Won) and others become devoutly invested in their beliefs (Talia Lavin, author of Culture Warlords). Today, tarot cards, astrology and crystals are everywhere — on Instagram and TikTok, and sold at upscale boutiques and pricey wellness retreats. Journalist Leah Sottile turns her investigative eye toward the recent surge of New Age influencing American Culture. She looks at self-professed gurus like Love Has Won's Mother God and the mysterious channeler Ramtha, who have built devout followings based on their teachings. For more than a century, this pastel-colored world of love, light and enlightenment has been built upon a foundation of conspiracies, antisemitism, nationalism and a rejection of science. In Blazing Eye Sees All, Sottile seeks to understand the quest for New Age spirituality in an era of fear that has made us open to anything that claims to bring relief from war, the climate crisis, COVID 19, and the myriad of other issues we face. At the same time, she attempts to draw a line between truly helpful, healing ideas and snake oil—helping us sort through the crystals to find true clarity.
Blessed Are the Spiraling: How the Chaotic Search for Significance Can Lead to Joy Through Life’s Shifting Seasons
by Levi LuskoARE YOU GOING TO COPE, QUIT, OR COME ALIVE IN A BRAND-NEW WAY?The whirlwind of chaos and confusion barreling toward you has likely caught you completely off guard. Maybe you're navigating a season of transition—a career shift, a major life adjustment, or just an unshakable sense of disorientation. When the things that once brought fulfillment no longer seem to work, when the familiar feels foreign, and when life feels like it's slipped out of your control, you're actually in the perfect position for God to lead you to greater heights.Am I still enough if I don't succeed? Is this season going to last forever? Am I too old to make a change, start over, or dream again?Levi Lusko wrestled with these questions, and what he discovered on the other side wasn't despair but surprising delight.With a rich blend of personal stories, biblical insight, and hard-won wisdom, this book will help youfind your footing in the disorienting chaos and tap into steady, unshakable joy amidst life's storms;step off the treadmill of success-chasing and embrace the true significance that comes from knowing that your worth is fixed and your future is secure;challenge the lie that your best days are behind you by getting your bearings, retooling, and reframing for a vibrant future; andchannel the energy of your spiraling into something meaningful and life-giving, propelling you to a new level. This could be your new lease on life.
Bonaventure's 'Journey of the Soul into God': Context and Commentary
by Randall SmithSaint Bonaventure's Journey of the Soul into God is one of the most important works in the Christian mystical tradition. Highly regarded for it clarity, rational organization, and subtle insights, it is also one of the key theological treatises of the high Middle Ages. In this volume, Randall Smith provides the first comprehensive commentary in English of Bonaventure's classic text. He situates the work within its historical, intellectual, and cultural contexts, showing how a consideration of Bonaventure's sources helps us appreciate his text. Smith also provides an extended analysis not only of the intellectual content of the Journey of the Soul into God, but also its structure and creative use of imagery. Analyzing how Bonaventure employed and adapted the methods of thirteenth century sermo modernus-style of preaching to produce a deftly condensed work, he demonstrates how his text is at once a profound work of mysticism as well as a sophisticated and thoughtful work of medieval theology.
Borders of the Early Modern Ius Commune: England, Venice, and Scandinavia (Routledge Studies in Comparative Legal History)
by Dolores Freda, Mario Piccinini, Heikki Pihlajamäki, and Chiara Maria ValsecchiThe culture of the ius commune has been a unifying element of European and Western legal civilization. As shown by several recent studies, the influence of ius commune extended much farther than its traditional core area. This volume discusses the expansion and changes of ius commune in three significant corners of Europe, which in the classical narrative either totally or partially were left out of the picture: England, Scandinavia, and Venice. The study goes beyond the traditional question of the influence of ius commune in comparing the different constellations of normativity and legal pluralism in these regions. It investigates how not only ius commune but also other forms of normativity – such as customary law, written norms, and legal practice – were used and applied, and how they circulated. The approach helps create new narratives as to how the relationship between centers and peripheries in Europe evolved in the early modern period. These new narratives are built from bottom to top; thus, they are based on concrete source information, and they focus on the learned legal systems and their connection to the local legal sources. The collection further looks into the circulation of professors and doctors, students, and legal texts, starting from the idea that a theoretical understanding of the forms of normativity can emerge only through concrete, multidisciplinary research recognizing the tensions between global legal unification and differentiation. The book will be essential reading for researchers and academics in Legal History, Law and Religion, Comparative Legal Studies, and Early Modern History.
Born Again: Romanticism and Fundamentalism (German and European Studies #58)
by Jeffrey ChamplinBorn Again examines the deep historical roots of fundamentalism in Protestantism and the imaginative traditions of Romantic literature. It explores how the resurgence of fundamentalist thought within “born again” Christianity seeks to repress the trauma of modernity through the belief that the world must be radically transformed to align with a divine standard. By analysing the logic of this repression, the book reveals an alternative vision: a “revivalist rebirth” that offers a new ethical imperative to creatively shape the world in collaboration with others. Thinkers such as Immanuel Kant, Percy Shelley, and Friedrich Schlegel are central to the analysis, as are the literary works Faust and Frankenstein. Jeffrey Champlin illustrates how a revivalist imagination challenges blind faith, presenting figures of life reawakened to conscious moral and political engagement. Engaging with Arendt’s politics of natality and Derrida’s ethics of survival, Born Again offers pathways to reimagine a world that confronts the profound losses fueling fundamentalist ideologies, making it a timely and thought-provoking exploration for contemporary readers.
Boy Jesus: Growing Up Judean in Turbulent Times
by Joan TaylorAs a boy, Jesus was a refugee, an outsider, an immigrant in Galilee in which he grew up, and affected by horrific atrocities by the occupying Roman overlords.All this and more is explored in this scholarly but highly accessible investigation into the world of Jesus, ranging from his birth to his coming of age and beyond. Joan Taylor, a world authority on the history and literature of the first century CE, draws both on the latest archaeological findings and on the historical clues to be found within ancient texts of the period. The result is a book that brings the story of Jesus' childhood clearly and vividly to life as never before, while also pointing to the many ways in which Jesus' experiences as a child are likely to have influenced his life, attitudes, and actions as an adult.
Brave
by Weshoyot AlvitreAn affirming, heartfelt picture book about a Native American boy proudly growing out his hair and basking in the knowledge that braids are beautiful.Each morning, Dad brushes the knots from his son&’s long hair to braid it. The boy winces at the tugging, and at school he's teased for his braid. But he remembers the stories of how his father and grandpa were forced to cut their hair and forbidden from practicing their traditions when they were young, and how they fought to make it possible for him to wear his hair long. Although it can hurt, having long hair ultimately makes him feel brave and strong.This powerful picture book by author-illustrator Weshoyot Alvitre examines the traumatic history of colonization and reclaims Native pride in long hair, delivering a tender father-son story that's perfect for fans of Hair Love and Love in the Library.
Brave Woman, Mighty God: 30 Things You Can Do
by Laura L. SmithFind strength, hope, and resilience through God's mighty empowerment. Are you facing challenges you're not sure you can handle? We all have them--in relationships, work, health, marriage, parenting. Sometimes we feel like they're too much or too hard. Like we can't do what needs to be done. But you can. You can rise above the barriers, use your talents, stand up for what's right, reach out for support, speak up, and so much more. You can because God empowers, equips, and cheers you on in everything you're facing today, tomorrow, and every day. In Brave Woman, Mighty God, Laura L. Smith reminds us of the steadfast love of God. Through reflections on thirty resilient women in the Bible, such as Sarah, Ruth, Abigail, Elizabeth, and Priscilla--women in the middle of their own trials, falsely accused, in tumultuous relationships, in danger, burdened by responsibilities, or balancing work and family--you can witness God's faithfulness in the ways He empowered them to do mighty things. With the same strength, wisdom, and courage God gave these women, you can step into abundantly more than you ever hoped or imagined. "As we seek to develop courage and live as the daughters of God He has called us to be, we all need this message!" --Rebecca George, author of Do the Thing and host of the Radical Radiance podcast
Braving Difficult Decisions: What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do
by Angela Williams GorrellIf you are feeling unsettled, unfulfilled, or undone, welcome. If you are at a crossroads or in crisis and need guidance, this book is for you. If you have a big transition to make or a tough question to answer, and you are wondering how you are going to figure this out, help is at hand. Braving Difficult Decisions is a pathbreaking synthesis of spiritual insight and practical wisdom that cuts through the thicket of uncertainty toward a future you can fully embrace. Drawing from her own experience with difficult decisions and in conversation with spiritual leaders, historical figures, and everyday folks, Rev. Dr. Angela Gorrell maps out a process for working through the most challenging aspects of complex choices, listening to God and others, naming emerging possibilities, and choosing a wise way forward that you can return to time and time again as you face new challenges. Angela will help you engage your questions with less anxiety and more interest, wonder, and creativity. As you move, you will learn how to trust God, yourself, and the process. Angela explains, &“My goal is not that you reach the same decisions as me or the other people featured in this book, but that you learn how to take your own journey into and through difficult decisions.&” You are being led, not just by the wisdom of the stories others have lived, but by the God who made the sun and the moon and the stars. You are not forgotten. You are not alone. And you are braver than you think.
Breaking the Patterns That Break You: Healing from the Pain of Your Past and Finding Real Hope That Lasts
by Tori Hope PetersenExperience lasting healing and real hope as you learn to break free of destructive patterns in your life.At some point everyone finds themselves wondering…Why do I keep falling into the same patterns that leave me feeling broken?Will I ever move past the pain and experience healing?Is there something wrong with me?In Breaking the Patterns That Break You, bestselling author Tori Hope Petersen shares the profound ways she finally found relief and healing from the pain of her past, and how you can too. Tori gently shows you why it's important to recognize the destructive personal, relational, and generational patterns in your life so you can finally find freedom. As Tori weaves together vulnerable storytelling, therapeutic insights, and biblical teaching, you will feel as though she's sitting across from you, holding your hands, and inviting you into a journey that changed her life and can change yours. You will learn how to:Identify and disempower destructive cyclesDismantle codependent tendencies in order to gain and maintain healthy relationshipsFeel less alone in your inevitable human brokennessRebuild a truer perspective of self Breaking the Patterns That Break You will give you the hope and tools you need to get unstuck and find healing that lasts. If you are willing to do the hard work, it's possible to break the patterns that have broken you and see yourself for who you truly are—good, safe, and loved.
Breathing Mindfulness: Discovering the Riches at the Heart of the Buddhist Path
by Sarah ShawExplore the life-changing practice of ānāpānasati, or breathing mindfulness—one of the most popular and foundational Buddhist meditation practices.Whether you practice vipassana, samatha, or any type of practice that develops concentration, this book will be a revelation. &“Breathing mindfulness&” meditation is a cornerstone of Buddhist practice, believed to be key to the Buddha&’s own enlightenment. This powerful technique fosters a harmonious blend of awareness and tranquility, guiding practitioners toward profound meditative states and deeper wisdom. Yet, even among those who practice one strand or another of this practice, there is a treasure trove of variety and richness to discover. Oxford University scholar and practitioner Sarah Shaw guides readers through the history and contemporary interpretations of breathing mindfulness, emphasizing the Pali or Southern tradition of Buddhism. In this in-depth study, she examines:The Ānāpānasati Sutta, the foundational Buddhist text on breathing mindfulness;The systematization of the practice through the commentarial texts like Vimuttimagga (The Path to Freedom) and Visuddhimagga (The Path of Purification);Intriguing, lesser-known systems of esoteric Theravada breath meditation nearly lost to history;The history and variety of the practice within the Thai Forest tradition, looking at key figures including Ajahn Sao, Ajahn Maha Boowa, Ajahn Lee, Ajahn Chah, and Ajahn Thate;Key figures in Myanmar, including Mingun Sayadaw, Sunlun Sayadaw, Webu Sayadaw, Mahasi Sayadaw, and Pa Auk Sayadaw;Other influential innovators like U Ba Khin, S.N. Goenka, Ajahn Buddhadasa, and Ayya Khema;The importance of breath meditation and its complex relationship to the insight meditation (vipassana) movement;And the influence of breathing mindfulness within other Buddhist traditions and beyond, including Indic traditions, Chinese traditions, Zen, Tibetan Buddhism, and more.Shaw&’s exploration reveals the enduring legacy of this practice, from its ancient origins to its contemporary resurgence, and how this might be applicable in your own practice.
Broken Altars: Secularist Violence in Modern History
by Thomas Albert HowardA sweeping history of the violence perpetrated by governments committed to extreme forms of secularism in the twentieth century A popular truism derived from the Enlightenment holds that violence is somehow inherent to religion, to which political secularism offers a liberating solution. But this assumption ignores a glaring modern reality: that putatively progressive regimes committed to secularism have possessed just as much and often a vastly greater capacity for violence as those tied to a religious identity. In Broken Altars, Thomas Albert Howard presents a powerful account of the misery, deaths, and destruction visited on religious communities by secularist regimes in the twentieth century. Presenting three principal forms of modern secularism that have arisen since the Enlightenment—passive secularism, combative secularism, and eliminationist secularism—Howard argues that the latter two have been especially violence-prone. Westerners do not fully grasp this, however, because they often mistake the first form, passive secularism, for secularism as a whole. But a disconcertingly more complicated picture emerges with the adoption of a broader global vision. Admitting different species of secularism, greater historical perspective, and case studies drawn from the former Soviet Union, Turkey, Mexico, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Mongolia, and China, among other countries, Howard calls into question the conventional tale of modernity as the pacifying triumph of secularism over a benighted religious past.
Bronshtein in the Bronx
by Robert LittellA wry, thought-provoking fictional portrayal of ten pivotal weeks in the life of Leon Trotsky, inspired by the Russian revolutionary's exile in New York City in 1917, by the New York Times bestselling author of The CompanyJanuary 12, 1917: An ocean liner docks in New York Harbor. Among the disembarking emigrants is one Lev Davidovich Bronshtein—better known by his nom de guerre, Leon Trotsky. Bronshtein has been on the run for a decade, driven from his beloved Russia after escaping political exile in Siberia. He lives for—and is ready to sacrifice his life for—a workers&’ revolution, at any cost. But is he ready to become an American?In the weeks leading up to the February Revolution that will eventually see Lenin&’s Bolsheviks seize power, Bronshtein haunts the streets, newspaper offices, and socialist watering holes of New York City, wrestling with the difficult questions of his personal revolutionary ideology, his place in his own family, his relationship to Lenin, and, above all, his conscience.Master of the espionage novel Robert Littell brings to life the world-famous revolutionist&’s sojourn in the Bronx in this extraordinary meditation on purpose, passion, and the price of progress.
Bruch und Verwandlung: Studien zum Erzählwerk Aharon Appelfelds (Studien zu Literatur und Religion / Studies on Literature and Religion #9)
by Lukas PallitschDie vorliegende Arbeit nimmt ihren Ausgangspunkt beim Erzählwerk des israelischen Schriftstellers Aharon Appelfeld (1932-2018), in dessen Zentrum die Figur des flüchtenden Überlebenden steht. Entgegen der bisherigen Tendenz, Appelfelds Romane autobiographisch und fast ausschließlich vor dem Hintergrund der Schoa zu lesen, wird das Werk in einer dreifachen Weise hinsichtlich Raum, Zeit und Erzählform perspektiviert. Das bedeutet zugleich, die Erzähltexte in einen erzähltheoretischen, biblischen und theologischen Kontext zu rücken, der helfen kann, einen tieferen Aufschluss über die Verwobenheit von Religion und Literatur zu geben, die in diesem Fall im Narrativ des Exodus kulminiert.
Buddhism and Tamil
by Mayilai Seeni VenkatasamyFirst published in 1940, Mayilai Seeni Venkatasamy’s Buddhism and Tamil was one of the pioneering attempts to trace the history of Buddhism in the Tamil country. With judicious exploitation of archaeological, linguistic, and historical sources, Venkatasamy delineates how Buddhism flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 13th century CE and traces its residual presence in contemporary Tamil culture. The book challenges the then-prevalent belief that Tamil is synonymous with Saivism and problematises the simplistic understanding that Hinduism had always been the religion of India. Venkatasamy’s stylistic and literary analysis of Pali and Tamil texts, his careful study of inscriptions, and his extensive fieldwork identify the role of Buddhism in shaping the language, literature, and ethics of Tamil society.
Buddhism in the Nordic Countries (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism)
by Knut A. Jacobsen Katarina Plank Jørn Borup Mitra HärkönenThis book provides new unprecedented research on Buddhism in the five Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Aiming at comparisons between the different Nordic countries, the chapters identify possible unique characteristics of Nordic Buddhism.uddhism in the Nordic Countries contributes to the growing literature on Buddhism in the West. Identifying a number of similar cultural and social trends that have been at work in the Nordic countries, the book shows that these have favoured the growth of Buddhism in northern Europe. The chapters on each of the Nordic countries describe the establishment of the main Buddhist traditions in the country, temple institutions, monasteries, demography, estimation on the number of Buddhists, geography, economy and funding. They discuss tensions between ethnic Buddhist and converts, if any, and controlling mechanisms of who is a proper Buddhist and how Buddhism should be presented in public space. The contributors analyse representation in media and images of Buddhism in popular culture and present relevant scholarly interest in Buddhism. Additionally, the book includes chapters on significant Buddhist individuals in the Nordic countries who have played major roles in the development of Buddhism.The first book to examine the characteristics of Nordic Buddhism, its connection to the ideology of the Nordic welfare society and to establish if Nordic Buddhism might differ from other forms of Buddhism, this work will be of interest to researchers in the field of religious studies, religion in context and Buddhist studies.
Buddhism, Digital Technology and New Media in Korea: Ŭisang’s Ocean Seal Diagram (Routledge Studies in Asian Religion and Philosophy)
by Dal Yong Jin Hyangsoon YiBuddhism, Digital Technology and New Media in Korea introduces Ŭisang (625–702), a seminal figure in East Asian religion who founded the Korean Hwaŏm school of Buddhism, from various angles by placing his thought in the interdisciplinary and intercultural context of the twenty-first century.The book analyzes the scope of Ŭisang’s teachings through a study of his Ocean Seal Diagram with reference to digital technology and poetics. It attempts to identify diverse intersections between Ŭisang’s thought and Western ideas, elucidating the diagram’s potential as a meta-theory applicable to various academic fields in view of unprecedented changes in human life brought forth by the digital revolution. Contributors to the book present comprehensive and in-depth analyses of the dynamic applicability as well as persistent traits of the Ocean Seal Diagram in the AI era. Inspired by the creative potential of the diagram, the chapters unravel the points of agreement and disagreement between Hwaŏ Buddhism and contemporary intellectual currents, promising to take a transregional and transhistorical dialogue to the new level suitable to the ever-changing digitalized global environment.This book will be of interest to researchers in a wide range of disciplines such as Religious Studies, Philosophy, Korean Studies, Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Digital Humanities, Anthropology, and Globalization Studies, among others.
Buddhist Exchanges Between India and Japan: Japanese Buddhists Encountering India and Modern Buddhist Studies
by Ranjana Mukhopadhyaya and Togawa MasahikoThis book examines the role of Buddhism in India–Japan relations through three approaches.First, it studies the history of interactions between India and Japan, especially through Buddhist pilgrimages from Japan to India and how it has influenced both Japanese and Indian Buddhism, particularly the Buddhist revival movements and the development of Buddhist sacred sites, such as Bodhgaya, in India. Second, it analyses the ideological implications of these Buddhist interactions between Japan and India by focusing on the role of Japanese monks and scholars as agents of Buddhist encounters between the two countries, and their contribution towards Buddhist scholarship in Japan, and the development of ideologies such as Buddhist nationalism or Pan-Asianism in India, Japan, as well as in other Asian countries. Finally, it highlights how these historic Buddhist linkages between India and Japan have led to transnational collaborations between Buddhists/Buddhist organizations as well as the governments of the two countries, and the use of Buddhist heritage as a soft power in the diplomatic relations between India and Japan.Drawing on inter-disciplinary studies, the essays in the volume will be of interest to scholars in history, heritage studies, religious studies, especially Buddhist studies, international relations, and Asian studies.
Buddhist Hermits in Eastern Tibet: Saint-Making and Ascetic Performance (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism)
by Magdalena Maria TurekBuddhist Hermits in Eastern Tibet explores the ritual and social empowerment of Buddhist monastics devoted to meditation under a charismatic master. Based on ethnographic research at a remote hermitage in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province in China, this book examines contemplative practices and ascetic regimes as performances of renunciation, self-formation, and devotion, arguing that the master performs the ideal of Buddhist asceticism via his body and in front of a participant audience. Paralleling Tibet’s famed hermit Milarepa (eleventh/twelfth century), the ascetic master Tsultrim Tarchin is believed to have achieved liberation “in this body and life,” demonstrating that renunciation can be empowering and that elite practices and local tradition can be relatable to untrained laity and transnational practitioners alike. Providing new insights and capturing a vital aspect of the ethno-religious revival among Tibetans in China, this book enhances our understanding of Buddhist meditation in retreat and of the social and embodied dimensions of spiritual liberation. This book will be of interest to academic researchers and students of Buddhism, Religion, Anthropology, and Asian Studies.
Buddhist Masters of Modern China: The Lives and Legacies of Eight Eminent Teachers
by Edited by Benjamin BroseThrough the life stories and translated writings of eight masters, modern Chinese Buddhism comes to life for English readers for the first time.Amidst the Chinese political revolutions and cultural upheavals of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a group of dedicated and determined monks, nuns, and laypeople labored to reinvigorate the core practices and teachings of Buddhist China. These men and women—credited with instigating a &“Buddhist revival&”—overcame a series of obstacles to shore up the foundations of vibrant Buddhist traditions and ensure their transmission to future generations. Their legacies now underlay all the Buddhist teachings practiced throughout China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Chinese diaspora today.This ambitious collection introduces the lives and teachings of eight of these exceptional teachers. Brief but engaging biographies are set against accessible translations of key Buddhist teachings. We are introduced to Chan masters, Pure Land patriarchs, creative visionaries, disciplined renunciants, accomplished poets, and sophisticated scholars. These carefully crafted essays take the reader through the struggles and triumphs of Buddhists living through the transformative twentieth century in China. In a long-overdue portrait of modern Chinese Buddhism, we encounter truly remarkable individuals whose hard-won insights remain sources of inspiration and understanding for anyone interested in the history and practice of Buddhism.
Building Her a Home: An Uplifting Inspirational Romance
by Lisa CarterCan one little girl&’s wish Bring two lonely hearts together? When country music singer Noah Brenden walked away from fame to raise his orphaned niece, he made a vow never to stay anywhere long enough to be recognized. So when a blast from his past, music teacher Chloe Randolph, falls into his arms while trying to rescue little Lili&’s cat, it&’s his cue to leave. But Lili longs for a permanent home, and Chloe desperately needs Noah&’s help to restore the town&’s historic theater, promising to keep his true identity safe in return. Staying put wasn&’t his plan, but could it lead to the future he never knew he was looking for?From Love Inspired: Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.