Category Archives: Buddhism

Nirvana: Concept, Imagery, Narrative

The idea of nirvana (Pali nibb?na) is alluring but elusive for non-specialists and specialists alike. Offering his own interpretation of key texts, Steven Collins explains the idea in a new, accessible way – as a concept, as an image (metaphor), … Continue reading

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The Dispeller of Disputes: Nagarjuna’s Vigrahavyavartani

Nagarjuna’s Vigrahavyavartani is an essential work of Madhyamaka Buddhist philosophical literature. Written in an accessible question-and-answer style, it contains Nagarjuna’s replies to criticisms of his philosophy of the “Middle Way.” The Vigrahavyavartani has been widely cited both in canonical literature … Continue reading

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The Spirit of Hindu Law

Law is too often perceived solely as state-based rules and institutions that provide a rational alternative to religious rites and ancestral customs. The Spirit of Hindu Law uses the Hindu legal tradition as a heuristic tool to question this view … Continue reading

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Buddhist Manuscript Cultures: Knowledge, Ritual, and Art

Buddhist Manuscript Cultures explores how religious and cultural practices in premodern Asia were shaped by literary and artistic traditions as well as by Buddhist material culture. This study of Buddhist texts focuses on the significance of their material forms rather … Continue reading

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Buddhist Warfare

Though traditionally regarded as a peaceful religion, Buddhism has a dark side. On multiple occasions over the past fifteen centuries, Buddhist leaders have sanctioned violence, and even war. The eight essays in this book focus on a variety of Buddhist … Continue reading

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Unmasking Buddhism

An ideal introduction to Buddhism for anyone who has unanswered questions about one of the world’s largest and most popular religions. A fascinating, short book that challenges us to strip away existing preconceptions we may have about Buddhism Considers questions … Continue reading

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Great Perfection: The Outer and Inner Preliminaries (Heart Essence)

This book explains the foundational practices of the Great Perfection (Dzogchen), widely considered to contain Tibetan Buddhism’s most powerful methods for transforming the mind. Traditionally, this book was used as an instruction manual for those engaged in long-term meditation retreat. … Continue reading

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Thus Have I Seen: Visualizing Faith in Early Indian Buddhism

Although Buddhism is often depicted as a religion of meditators and philosophers, some of the earliest writings extant in India offer a very different portrait of the Buddhist practitioner. In Indian Buddhist narratives from the early centuries of the Common … Continue reading

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Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China

Christine Mollier reveals in this volume previously unexplored dimensions of the interaction between Buddhism and Taoism in medieval China. While scholars of Chinese religions have long recognized the mutual influences linking the two traditions, Mollier here brings to light their … Continue reading

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The Making of Buddhist Modernism

A great deal of Buddhist literature and scholarly writing about Buddhism of the past 150 years reflects, and indeed constructs, a historically unique modern Buddhism, even while purporting to represent ancient tradition, timeless teaching, or the “essentials” of Buddhism. This … Continue reading

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