Homa Variations

Homa Variations
Author: Richard K. Payne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2015-10-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199351597

Found in many different religious cultures, the practice of making votive offerings into fire dates back to the earliest periods of human history. Throughout the tantric world, this kind of ritual offering practice is known as the homa. With roots in Vedic and Zoroastrian rituals, the tantric homa was formed in early medieval India. Since that time tantric Buddhist practitioners transmitted it to East and Central Asia, and more recently to Europe and the Americas. Today, Hindu forms of the homa are being practiced outside of India as well. Despite this historical and cultural range, the homa retains an identifiable unity of symbolism and ritual form. Homa Variations is the first volume to provide a series of detailed studies of a variety of homa forms. This collection of essays provides an understanding of the history of the homa from its inception up to its use in the present. The book also covers homa practice throughout a wide range of religious cultures, from India and Nepal to Tibet, China, and Japan. The theoretical focus of the collection is the study of ritual change over long periods of time, and across the boundaries of religious cultures. The identifiable unity of the homa allows for an almost unique opportunity to examine ritual change with such a broad perspective.

Homa Variations

Homa Variations
Author: Richard K. Payne
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2016
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199351589

Throughout human history, and across many religious cultures, offerings are made into fire. The essays collected in Homa Variations provide detailed studies of this practice, known in the tantric world as the "homa," from its inception up to the present.

Making a Mantra

Making a Mantra
Author: Ellen Gough
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 332
Release: 2021-10-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 022676706X

Jainism originated in India and shares some features with Buddhism and Hinduism, but it is a distinct tradition with its own key texts, art, rituals, beliefs, and history. One important way it has often been distinguished from Buddhism and Hinduism is through the highly contested category of Tantra: Jainism, unlike the others, does not contain a tantric path to liberation. But in Making a Mantra, historian of religions Ellen Gough refines and challenges our understanding of Tantra by looking at the development over two millennia of a Jain incantation, or mantra, that evolved from an auspicious invocation in a second-century text into a key component of mendicant initiations and meditations that continue to this day. Typically, Jainism is characterized as a celibate, ascetic path to liberation in which one destroys karma through austerities, while the tantric path to liberation is characterized as embracing the pleasures of the material world, requiring the ritual use of mantras to destroy karma. Gough, however, argues that asceticism and Tantra should not be viewed in opposition to one another. She does so by showing that Jains perform “tantric” rituals of initiation and meditation on mantras and maṇḍalas. Jainism includes kinds of tantric practices, Gough provocatively argues, because tantric practices are a logical extension of the ascetic path to liberation.

Advances in the Theory of Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics

Advances in the Theory of Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics
Author: Philip E. Hoggan
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 630
Release: 2011-11-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400720769

Advances in the Theory of Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics is a collection of 32 selected papers from the scientific contributions presented at the 15th International Workshop on Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics (QSCP-XV), held at Magdalene College, Cambridge, UK, from August 31st to September 5th, 2010. This volume discusses the state of the art, new trends, and the future of methods in molecular quantum mechanics and their applications to a wide range of problems in chemistry, physics, and biology. The breadth and depth of the scientific topics discussed during QSCP-XV are gathered in seven sections: I. Fundamental Theory; II. Model Atoms; III. Atoms and Molecules with Exponential-Type Orbitals; IV. Density-Oriented Methods; V. Dynamics and Quantum Monte-Carlo Methodology; VI. Structure and Reactivity; VII. Complex Systems, Solids, Biophysics. Advances in the Theory of Quantum Systems in Chemistry and Physics is written for research students and professionals in Quantum systems of chemistry and physics. It also constitutes and invaluable guide for those wishing to familiarize themselves with research perspectives in the domain of quantum systems for thematic conversion or simply to gain insight into the methodological developments and applications to physics chemistry and biology that have actually become feasible by the end of 2010.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Research 2016

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Research 2016
Author: Amedeo Lonardo
Publisher: MDPI
Total Pages: 567
Release: 2018-09-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3038976008

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Research 2016" that was published in IJMS

Ritual Gone Wrong

Ritual Gone Wrong
Author: Kathryn T. McClymond
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2016-03-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 019979099X

The discipline of religious studies has historically tended to focus on discrete ritual mistakes occurring in the context of individual performances as outlined in ethnographic or sociological studies; scholars have largely overlooked the extensive discussions of ritual mistakes that exist in the religious literature of indigenous traditions. And yet ritual mistakes (ranging from the simple to the complex) happen all the time, and they continue to carry ritual "weight," even when no one seriously doubts their impact on the efficacy of a ritual. In Ritual Gone Wrong, Kathryn McClymond approaches ritual mistakes as an integral part of ritual life and argues that religious traditions can accommodate mistakes and are often prepared for them. McClymond shows that many traditions even incorporate the regular occurrence of errors into their ritual systems, developing a substantial literature on how rituals can be disrupted, how these disruptions can be addressed, and when disruptions have gone too far. Offering a series of case studies ranging from ancient India to modern day Iraq, and from medieval allegations of child sacrifice to contemporary Olympic ceremonies, McClymond explores the numerous ways in which ritual can go wrong, and demonstrates that the ritual is by nature fluid, supple, and dynamic-simultaneously adapting to socio-cultural conditions and, in some cases, shaping them.

Pure Lands in Asian Texts and Contexts

Pure Lands in Asian Texts and Contexts
Author: Georgios T. Halkias
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages: 808
Release: 2019-03-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0824877144

This diverse anthology of original Buddhist texts in translation provides a historical and conceptual framework that will transform contemporary scholarship on Pure Land Buddhism and instigate its recognition as an essential field of Buddhist studies. Traditional and contemporary primary sources carefully selected from Buddhist cultures across historical, geopolitical, and literary boundaries are organized by genre rather than chronologically, geographically, or by religious lineage—a novel juxtaposition that reveals their wider importance in fresh contexts. Together these fundamental texts from different Asian traditions, expertly translated by eminent and up-and-coming scholars, illustrate that the Buddhism of pure lands is not just an East Asian cult or a marginal type of Buddhism, but a pan-Asian and deeply entrenched religious phenomenon. The volume is organized into six parts: Ritual Practices, Contemplative Visualizations, Doctrinal Expositions, Life Writing and Poetry, Ethical and Aesthetic Explications, and Worlds beyond Sukhāvatī. Each part is introduced and summarized, and each translated piece is prefaced by its translator to supply historical and sectarian context as well as insight into the significance of the work. Common and less-common issues of practice, doctrine, and intra-religious transfer are explored, and deeper understandings of the meaning of “pure lands” are gained through the study of the celestial, cosmological, internal, and earthly pure lands associated with various buddhas, bodhisattvas, and devotional figures. The introduction by the volume editors ties the diverse themes of the book together and provides a historical background to Pure Land Buddhist studies. Scholars of Buddhism and Asian religion, including graduate and post-graduate students, as well as Buddhist practitioners, will appreciate the range of translated materials and accompanied discussions made accessible in one essential collection, the first of its kind to center on the formerly-neglected topic of Buddhist pure lands.

Esoteric Buddhism and Texts

Esoteric Buddhism and Texts
Author: Jinhua Chen
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2024-02-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1003853536

This book explores trans-cultural and cross-border transmission and transformation of Esoteric Buddhism in East Asia, focusing on its manuscript culture and the transborder transmission of Esoteric Buddhist texts. In East Asia, Esoteric Buddhism’s influences can be seen across all levels of society: not only in that it achieved a recognizable sectarian identity, but also because elements of esoteric teachings were absorbed by other religious schools, influencing their philosophical tenets and everyday practices. The influence was not confined to the religious sphere: scholars have been paying more and more attention to the significance of Tang Esoteric Buddhism in relation to material culture and the dissemination of Esoteric Buddhist technologies in South, Central, and East Asia. No matter how one looks at a maṇḍala—an integral feature of esoteric practice—or the uncannily expressive statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or Yidam that come in all shapes and sizes, or the murals that depict the variegated, mysterious themes of the esoteric tradition, one can always recognise the profound connection between art and Esoteric Buddhism. Esoteric Iifluences also abound in East Asian literature across different genres, displaying its unique characters both in poetry and prose. Likewise, in architecture, one can readily make out the enigmatic, colorful and distinctive elements characteristic of the esoteric tradition. Monks initiated into the esoteric lineages not only brought Buddhist classics and practices to China but also advanced knowledge in astronomy, calendarial calculations and mathematical theories. The chapters in this volume focus on two major aspects of textual Esoteric Buddhism—its manuscript culture and transborder transmission. This book will be beneficial to advanced students and researchers interested in Religious Studies, History and Buddhist studies. It was originally published as a special issue of Studies in Chinese Religions.

Worship Sound Spaces

Worship Sound Spaces
Author: Christine Guillebaud
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2019-11-18
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1000731502

Worship Sound Spaces unites specialists from architecture, acoustic engineering and the social sciences to encourage closer analysis of the sound environments within places of worship. Gathering a wide range of case studies set in Europe, Asia, North America, the Middle East and Africa, the book presents investigations into Muslim, Christian and Hindu spaces. These diverse cultural contexts demonstrate the composite nature of designing and experiencing places of worship. Beginning with a historical overview of the three primary indicators in acoustic design of religious buildings, reverberation, intelligibility and clarity, the second part of this edited collection offers a series of field studies devoted to perception, before moving onto recent examples of restoration of the sound ambiances of former religious buildings. Written for academics and students interested in architecture, cultural heritage, acoustics, sensory studies and sound. The multimedia documents of this volume may be consulted at the address: https://frama.link/WSS

Studies on The Gita

Studies on The Gita
Author: Chandan Sukumar Sengupta
Publisher: Chandan Sukumar Sengupta
Total Pages: 404
Release:
Genre: Antiques & Collectibles
ISBN:

On The Basis of Lectures on The Bhagavadgita delivered by Acharya Vinoba Bhave. The work, titled The Bhagavadgita as taken out from Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata is dated to the second half of first Millenium BCE. Situation of war developed during the Epic age when Kuru princes refused to deliver rights to Pandavas; which led to exhibit fellow prince Arjun to declare war against Kuru Princes; after getting assembled at the battle filed the fellow prince Arjun started thinking about ultimate fate of the war; as such war would bring calamities in the form of death and loss of properties; as such war was going to claim lives of relatives, masters and Kuru Princes; as such war was developing by rejecting doctrines of peace, nonviolence and brotherhood. Considering all these results in advance Arjun, the fellow warrior from Pandava’s side, became emotionally preoccupied with dilemma. Masterly instruction duly issued to him suggested to deliver duty of a warrior amidst the battle field for ensuring victory of wise people by destroying the brute. It was the timely instruction issued to the fellow warrior which made them contented and aware of the real fate of life after death; for such instructions equipped the fellow prince in identifying duty of a person in society; for such instructions enabled the fellow aspirant to recognise real nature of the self (Aham) alongside omnipresence of the Divine (Paramatma); for such instructions enabled the fellow Yogi to recognise the nature of Soul force which remains free from three dimensions of quality parameters; for timely instructions delivered by the fellow master was fruitful in removing dilemma and diffusing illutions; for all kinds of instructions aimed finally towards “Knowing Thyself” . Wide range of instructions accommodated in the Gita covers a broad range of spiritual topics, touching upon moral and ethical dilemmas, and philosophical issues that go far beyond the war of Epic Age. This volume of publication is prepared to promote studies on The Gita on the basis of “Talks on Rhe Gita” delivered by Acharya Vinoba during freedom struggle. It also exhibits relevance of teachings of The Bhagavadgita in modern time. .