Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Buddhism - General (see also Philosophy - Buddhist)

What does it mean to be a Western Buddhist? For the predominantly Anglo-Australianaffiliates of two Western Buddhist centres in Australia, the author proposes ananswer to this question, and finds support for it from interviews and her ownparticipant-observation experience.Practitioners'prior experiences of experimentation with spiritual groups and practices--andtheir experiences of participation, practice and self-transformation--areexamined with respect to their roles in practitioners' appropriation of theBuddhist worldview, and their subsequent commitment to the path...

This is a cross-cultural study of the multifaceted relations between Buddhism, its materiality, and instances of religious violence and destruction in East Asia, which remains a vast and still largely unexplored field of inquiry. Material objects are extremely important not just for Buddhist practice, but also for the conceptualization of Buddhist doctrines; yet, Buddhism developed ambivalent attitudes towards such need for objects, and an awareness that even the most sacred objects could be destroyed.

After outlining Buddhist attitudes towards materiality and its vulnerability, the...

In recent years, there has been a growing academic acknowledgment around the world of a contemporary Buddhist phenomenon described as Engaged, or Socially Engaged Buddhism (SEB). It is a contested phenomenon variously associated with finding Buddhist solutions for social, political and ecological problems. The debate about its origins, practice and legitimacy has stirred academics and practitioners alike.

Firstly, does such an approach to Buddhist practice constitute a departure with the past, in which case a new expression of an ancient practice is being experienced all around us?...

Being mindful can help people feel calmer and more fully alive. Mindfulness and Mental Health examines other effects it can also have and presents a significant new model of how mindful awareness may influence different forms of mental suffering.

The book assesses current understandings of what mindfulness is, what it leads to, and how and when it can help. It looks at the roots and significance of mindfulness in Buddhist psychology and at the strengths and limitations of recent scientific investigations. A survey of relationships between mindfulness practice and...

China now attracts global attention in direct proportion to its increasing economic and geopolitical power. But for millennia, the philosophy which has shaped the soul of China is not modern Communism, or even new forms of capitalism, but rather Confucianism. And one of the most striking phenomena relating to China's ascendancy on the world stage is a burgeoning interest, throughout Asia and beyond, in the humanistic culture and values that underlie Chinese politics and finance: particularly the thought of Confucius passed on in the Analects. In this stimulating conversation, two leading...