Donald S. Lopez Jr., is Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan. He is the editor of three other volumes in this series: Religions of Tibet in Practice, Religions of India in Practice, and Religions of China in Practice. This anthology, first published in 1995, illustrates the vast scope of Buddhist practice in Asia, past and present. Re-released now in a slimmer but still extensive...

CONTENTS: Preface. Table of Chinese Dynasties. Maps of Dynasties. Introduction, Growth and Domestication. Maturity and Acceptance. Decline. Conclusion. Glossary. Chinese Names and Titles. Bibliography. Index. "A precious contribution to Buddhistic studies . . . The first true history of Chinese Buddhism written in a Western language. Not only does it till an important gap in research, but it is composed and written in a masterly manner."

In this study a social and cultural anthropologist and a specialist in the study of religion pool their talents to examine recent changes in popular religion in Sri Lanka. As the Sinhalas themselves perceive it, Buddhism proper has always shared the religious arena with a spirit religion. While Buddhism concerns salvation, the spirit religion focuses on worldly welfare. Buddhism Transformed describes and analyzes the changes that have profoundly altered...

A pivotal work studying the influences of Buddhism on Christianity. IT has been wisely said that, to understand any solitary religion, two, at least, must be studied. This seems essentially important when the religion is Eastern, and the student has been educated in the West. There is a tendency in the human mind to explain to itself that which is remote by that which is familiar. The Western mind is logical, matter-of-fact, impatient of symbolism....

A guide to Buddhism's rich variety of traditions and cultural expressions for educators who would like to include Buddhism in their undergraduate courses. Over its long history, Buddhism has never been a simple monolithic phenomenon, but rather a complex living tradition-or better, a family of traditions-continually shaped by and shaping a vast array of social, economic, political, literary, and aesthetic contexts across East Asia, South Asia, and...

"From the woman who helped introduce Buddhism to the West and founded Tricycle magazine comes a brilliant memoir of forging one's own path that Pico Iyer calls "unflinching" and "indispensable." The daughter of an artist, Helen Tworkov grew up in the heady climate of the New York School of Abstract Expressionism; yet from an early age, she questioned the value of Western cultural norms. Her life was forever changed when she saw the iconic photo of...

"Winner of the 1994 James Henry Breasted Prize, American Historical Association" "Winner of the 1994 Tricycle Prize for Excellence in Buddhist Scholarship" Miranda Shaw is Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Richmond. The crowning cultural achievement of medieval India, Tantric Buddhism is known in the West primarily for the sexual practices of its adherents, who strive to transform erotic passion into spiritual ecstasy. Historians...

A master of psychoanalysis and social philosophy explores Zen Buddhism In 1957, social philosopher and psychoanalyst Erich Fromm invited Daisetz T. Suzuki, the most famous Zen Buddhist master in the Western world, to a seminar at his new home in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Their discussion was one of the highlights of Fromm's life, and the paper Fromm presented (and later expanded into a book) was a watershed work. Fromm demonstrates his mastery of the philosophy...

Terry Johnson is a trouble shooter in the aviation industry working on business trips to the far east. Suddenly his driver said he had killed baby fetuses to make baby spirits go to work for him. 'We do it all the time said the driver.' 'How do you get a real baby?' Asked Terry. We pay a real women to get pregnant then after eight months have gone by, we make her have the baby. Then we put the baby on the roof in the sun and pray and chant over the...

The first comprehensive anthropological description of the Khmer Buddhism practiced by Cambodian refugees in the United States over the past four decades. Cambodian Buddhism in the United States is the first comprehensive anthropological study of Khmer Buddhism as practiced by Khmer refugees in the United States. Based on research conducted at Khmer temples and sites throughout the country over a period of three and a half decades, Carol A. Mortland...